Cool Reading IV (2007)

A reading journal by Stephen Balbach

Reading journal from other years:
Cool Reading I (2004)
Cool Reading II (2005)
Cool Reading III (2006)
Cool Reading V (2008)

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Old Christmas illustrated by Randolph Caldecott


Washington Irving (1819-1820)
Paperback, Dover Pictorial Archive Series, 2005
December 2007

"Old Christmas" is a collection of five Christmas "sketches" by Washington Irving from his famous Sketch Book. It describes Irving's experiences at the old English country estate Mr. Bracebridge during the "coaching days" of the early 19th century, focusing on the sights, sounds, smells and traditions of "Old" Christmas, hearkening back to the Middle Ages -- before the "peasants" had learned to read newspapers or were talking politics at the local pub, when manner lords opened their halls for the local people to feast in a show of gratitude, under the watchful stare of paintings of ancient family crusaders and armored statues. This wonderful account has a tangible sense of realism mixed with romanticism for the Middle Ages and the comforts of tradition.

The 100+ pen and ink drawings throughout are by Randolph Caldecott, a prolific and famous children's book artist of the 19th century. This illustrated edition was created in 1886 (posthumously to Irving) and was a best seller, remaining in print to this day. The pictures bring the book to life, we see the exact "physiognomy" and "countenance" of the many curious Dickens-like characters, the scenes of feasting and dancing, the old English kitchens, the stage coach, the dress and mannerisms of a "Coachy" - priceless details that effortlessly transport the reader back in time.

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The Chimes A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In


Charles Dickens (1844)
Hardcover "Books, Inc." 1936 set of 20 Vol.III ("A Christmas Carol/American Notes")
December 2007

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A History of Histories Epics, Chronicles, Romances and Inquires from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Twentieth Century


John Burrow (2007)
Hardcover, first English
December 2007

John Burrow is a professor of that somewhat orphaned discipline "history of ideas", or intellectual history. His earlier books include Evolution and Society: a study in Victorian Social Theory (1966), A Liberal Descent: four Victorian Historians (1981), which won the Wolfson Prize for History, Gibbon (1984) and The Crisis of Reason: European Thought 1848-1914 (2000).

Burrow approaches A History of Histories as an intellectual historian, and not a critic. That means you won't find critiques regarding historical accuracy. Instead Burrow emphasizes the general character of the historians achievement, relying on the work of specialized scholars and biographers: the biography lists many excellent "secondary" sources a few of which Burrow has relied heavily on. He is, in a sense, a popularizer of some the most important histories, his goal being to "give a sense of the experience of reading these histories and what may be enjoyable about them"; he assumes that you have not read or even heard of the works. Such an approach, which mixes interpretation and summary, allows Burrow to cover a great number of works across time - from Herodotus to the late 20th century - but at some cost: a reader may feel they understand the significance of a work, but a connected developing narrative seems unclear; and while there are many block quotes (in particular with the earlier authors), often one yearns for more of a taste of the work.

How can one create a narrative of a "history of histories"? Burrow examines the ideas of the past, and how today we stand in relation to those ideas, as expressed in history books. These themes include the emerging conception of a distinct European identity contrasted with Asia (Greece vs Persia); ideas of republican virtue in early Rome, supposedly corrupted by conquest and vice; the Bible's narrative of transgression, punishment and redemption; the idea of an early Germanic state of "freedom" as the ultimate basis for modern constitutional democracy; 19th century ideas of nationalism; 20th century divergences into many genres, none of which dominate.

At its best, A History of Histories conveys the imaginative energies of some of the worlds most famous and important historians. In the end a book such as this really only matter if it sends us off -- for the first or 10th time -- to read Gibbon's account of a Fall, Xenophon's travels through the desert or Parkman's epic of the New World. These works are kept alive because every new generation re-discovers their qualities, and that is why they still matter.

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The Pickwick Papers


Charles Dickens (1836)
Hardcover "Books, Inc." 1936 set of 20 Vol.VII
December 2007

In 1890's, about 60 years after The Pickwick Papers was published, literary scholar Percy H. Fitzgerald looked back and reminisced about the novel in two books, The History of Pickwick (1891) and Pickwickian Manners and Customs (1897). Below are some excerpts from Fitzgerald which I believe capture the spirit of the time and why the novel was so popular with generations of Victorians. The Pickwick Papers is certainly a novel of comedy, but as these quotes illustrate, it is also a romantic work, romanticizing about times gone by (the late 18th and early 19th century), which gives it a whole new level of good cheer and warmth. Not unlike the movie A Christmas Story, filmed in 1983 but set around 1939, both works are nostalgic comforts for adults and children, of memories past and lives current, creating a mythology that has never died. Today of course no one alive feels teary-eyed about the by-gone, innocent and simple olden days described in Pickwick; no one remembers the excitement of the delivery of the next green papered installment and having your father read it it aloud to the family after dinner. If the modern reader can transport back to that perspective, the novel comes alive in ways that were hidden before - it is not only funny, not only Dickens first novel, not only a literary masterpiece, it is a romantic and nostalgic journey.

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THERE are many who look back with delight to the days of their childhood, when " Pickwick," in its green wrappers, was coming out month by month, and furnished nearly two years of sustained enjoyment to people of all ages and conditions. The cherished numbers, bound into a volume, now lie before me, and bring back the recollection of the almost feverish expectancy with which its mirth-moving incidents were awaited or listened to, as the head of the family read them aloud, to increase, it might be, his own sense of the relish. Not the least merit in this book is that it should have been thus appreciated by children ; but the aged found no less enjoyment in its humours; so those of the old and new fashion were alike recreated. This was in itself a phenomenon.

The book is so rich in suggestion, so stored with humorous touches and allusions, that each reading as Professor Ward has pointed out brings out something that has escaped notice: while the general hilarity is so overpowering that many delicate touches escape notice, and require pause and deliberation to discover.

The sale of this extraordinary work has never flagged during fifty years, and we are told that, since the death of the author, over a million copies have been disposed of by its publishers.

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PEOPLE, indeed, seem never to tire of the subject the same topics are taken up over and over again. The secret seems to be that the book was a living thing, and still lives. It is, moreover, perhaps the best, most accurate picture of character and manners that are quite gone by: in it the meaning and significance of old buildings, old inns, old churches, and old towns are reached, and interpreted in most interesting fashion people are reckoning up the wonderful changes in life and manners that have taken place within the past sixty years. These have been so imperceptibly made that they are likely to escape our ken, and the eye chiefly settles on some few of the more striking and monu- mental kind, such as the introduction of railways, of ocean steamships, electricity, and the like. But no standard of comparison could be more useful or more compendious than the immortal chronicle of PICKWICK, in which the old life, not forgotten by some of us, is summarised with the com- pleteness of a history. The reign of Pickwick, like that of the sovereign, began some sixty years ago. Let us recall some of these changes.

To begin : We have now no arrest for debt, with the attendant sponging-houses, Cursitor Street, sheriffs' officers, and bailiffs; and no great Fleet Prison, Marshal- sea, or King's Bench for imprisoning debtors. There are no polling days and hustings, with riotous proceedings, or "hocussing" of voters ; and no bribery on a splendid scale.

Drinking and drunkenness in society have quite gone out of fashion. Gentlemen at a country house rarely or never come up from dinner, or return from a cricket match, in an almost "beastly " state of intoxication; and "cold punch" is not very constantly drunk through the day. There are no elopements now in chaises and four, like Miss Wardle's, with headlong pursuit in other chaises and four; nor are special licenses issued at a moment's notice to help clandestine marriages. There is now no frequenting of taverns and " free and easies " by gentlemen, at the "Magpie and Stump" and such places, nor do persons of means take up their residence at houses like the "George and Vulture" in the City. No galleried inns (though one still lingers on in Holborn), are there, at which travellers put up : there were then nearly a dozen, in the Borough and else- where. There are no coaches on the great roads, no guards and bulky drivers ; no gigs with hoods, called "cabs," with the driver's seat next his fare; no "hackney coaches," no "Hampstead stages," no "Stanhopes" or "guillotined cabriolets" whatever they were or "mail-carts," the "pwettiest thing" driven by gentlemen. And there are no " sedan chairs " to take Mrs. Dowler home.

There are no "poke" or "coal-scuttle" bonnets, such as the Miss Wardles wore; no knee-breeches and gaiters ; no "tights," with silk stockings and pumps for evening wear ; no big low-crowned hats, no striped vests for valets, and, above all, no gorgeous "uniforms," light blue, crimson, and gold, or "orange plush," such as were worn by the Bath gentlemen's gentlemen. "Thunder and lightning" shirt buttons, "mosaic studs" whatever they were are things of the past. They are all gone. Gone too is "half-price " at the theatres. At Bath, the "White Hart" has disappeared with its waiters dressed so peculiarly "like West- minster boys." We have no Serjeants now like Buzfuz or Snubbin: their Inn is abolished, and so are all the smaller Inns Clement's or Clifford's where the queer client lived. Neither are valentines in high fashion. Chatham Dockyard, with its hierarchy, "the Clubbers," and the rest, has been closed. No one now gives dfy'efads, not dejeuners; or "public breakfasts," such as the authoress of the "Expiring Frog" gave. The "delegates" have been suppressed, and Doctors' Commons itself is levelled to the ground. The "Fox under the Hill" has given place to a great hotel. The old familiar "White Horse Cellars" has been rebuilt, made into shops and a restaurant. There are no "street keepers" now, but the London Police. The Eatanswill Gazette and its scurrilities are not tolerated. Special constables are rarely heard of, and appear only to be laughed at : their staves, tipped with a brass crown, are sold as curios. Turnpikes, which are found largely in "Pickwick," have been suppressed. The abuses of protracted litigation in Chancery and other Courts have been reformed. No papers are "filed at the Temple" whatever that meant. The Pound, as an incident of village correction has, all but a few, disappeared.

Another startling change is in the matter of duels. The duels in Pickwick come about quite as a matter of course, and as a common social incident. In the "forties"! recall a military uncle of my own a gentleman, like uncle Toby handing his card to some one in a billiard room, with a view to "a meeting." Dickens' friend Forster was at one time "going out" with another gentleman. Mr. Lang thinks that duelling was prohibited about 1844, and "Courts of Honour" substituted. But the real cause was the duel between Colonel Fawcett and Lieut. Munro, brothers-in-law, when the former was killed. This, and some other tragedies of the kind, shocked the public. The "Courts of Honour," of course, only affected military men.

Gas was introduced into London about the year 1812 and was thought a prodigiously "brilliant illuminant." But in the Pick- wickian days it was still in a crude state and we can see in the first print that of the club room only two attenuated jets over the table. In many of the prints we find the dip or mould candle, which was used to light Sam as he sat in the coffee room of the Blue Boar. Mr. Nupkins' kitchen was not lit by gas.

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IT may seem somewhat far-fetched to put "Pickwick" beside Boswell's also immortal work, but I think really the comparison is not a fanciful one. No one enjoyed the book so much as "Boz." He knew it thoroughly. Indeed, it is fitting that "Boz" should relish " Bozzy;" for "Bozzy" would certainly have relished "Boz" and have "attended him with respectful attention." It has not been yet shown how much there is in common between the two great books, and, indeed, between them and a third, greater than either, the immortal "Don Quixote." All three are "travelling stories." Sterne also was partial to a travelling story.

For an excellent review of Pickwick Papers, see Murr's Review November 17, 2008
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Girl with a Pearl Earring


Tracy Chevalier (1999)
Hardcover
December 2007

Beautiful and somewhat believable journey into a everyday life of 17th century Netherlands. The plot uses standard rules of romance first set down by 19th century writers like Jane Austen. It also displays some modern feminist values about women and pictures ("He traps them in his world, you can get lost there."). Both of these would make it seem foreign to a contemporary, but it creates a bridge of understanding backwards in time.

Griet, a 17 year old illiterate maid, has an natural artists eye for composition and offers her advice to Vermeer. For example she finds fault in a composition's perfection by rumpling a cloth on a table to provide distraction and sense of balance. Likewise the story of her brother Franz and her sister who dies of plague provide dark contrast to the perl that is Griet's successful life. The perl in the painting is Griet, she is the center that holds the novel together, the bright light surrounded by various pieces - her covered hair represents her virginity; her bleeding, painful and pierced earlobes have a more direct symbolism.

Looking for faults I would say it was the unsympathetic treatment of Vermeer's wife Catharina, who, is in many ways the victim of Vermeer and ultimately Griert. She is a somewhat flat character (as are her daughters) and serves mainly as a so much background contrast, an easy foil or villein in a melodramatic plot. She doesn't change in the end, although she hands over the pearl, only because she has no choice it was her husbands wish, and not because of any internal enlightenment about forgiveness and charity. However the lesson that the husband is "Master" is apparently not lost on Griert who sells the pearls for the price of a Maid.

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The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance


John Hale (1993)
Hardcover, first American
December 2007

John Rigby Hale (1922-1999) was a legendary Renaissance scholar, this was his last and probably greatest work. The title is an allusion to Jacob Burckhardt's The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860) - which seems presumptuous considering Burkhardt is the single most important historian of the Renaissance; however it succeeds - Hale has written a modern up to date version of Burckhardt's masterpiece. Just a few months after the final draft Hale had a debilitating stroke, with the final version touched up by his wife and some professional friends. It is one of those rare books that enters the realm of the mythological.

Hale's style can be compared to a French impressionistic painting. The texture and details awash over the reader like so many dots forming grand narratives and themes; one not so much understands in so many words, but experiences understanding through the revelation of others. Unlike many historical surveys which tell the reader how things were, Hale shows it through direct quotes from the people who lived the age. This is not always easy going, the mind has to constantly shift between examining the dots and the image it paints, sort of like the optical illusion of a vase, or two faces looking at one another, back and forth between perspectives, it is not a book for speedy reading but contemplation and absorption.

Although many subjects are covered in this imaginative social survey, the consistent theme of "civilization" has a title role. In the Middle Ages, Europeans envisioned themselves as belonging to one of three "Estates": The Clergy, The Nobles (warriors), The Peasants. The vast majority were peasants who worked on behalf of the other two estates, who in turn protected and prayed for them. Those who work, fight and pray lived ideally in a sort of balanced harmony according to Christian precepts. However the Peasant estate also included urban merchants, and with increased prosperity in the latter Middle Ages, the distinction between peasant and noble became blurred as merchants became as powerful as nobles (Medici). Other things changed like guns and longbows allowed peasants to fight just as well as knights (100 Years War), so the three estate view started to break down. By the Renaissance, with the rediscovery of Classical texts, they looked back and asked how the Ancients structured society and found it was based on a 2-tier system: civilized and "barbarian" (uncivilized). The 3-tier Christian view was gradually replaced with the 2-tier secular system, which we still use to this day (civil laws, clash of civilizations, uncivilized behavior, civics, etc..). Order, peace and harmony is maintained through civilization and all it entails (education, prosperity, freedom, etc), and what that meant was being worked out in this period.

Hale shows a profound and noticeable change within a single generation starting around the middle of the 15th century, people were conscious and aware of a shift, often saying how they now lived in a modern era, one that surpassed even the ancients. Although they wrongly disparaged the Middle Ages as backwards (a sentiment that sadly still lives to this day among some scholars and the public alike), they were correct that things really did change. Hale's primary theme are these changes as so many contrasting bright new colors on the pale canvas of tradition. By the end of the Thirty Years' War in the early 17th century society had absorbed too many structural changes and "civilization" was collapsing - this lead to a retrenchment through the era of the "Old Regime" and finally, after a period of restoration and stability, an era of social and industrial Revolution in the late 18th and 19th centuries, the world we inherit.

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Fleeing Hitler: France 1940


Hanna Diamond (2007)
Hardcover first
November 2007

I originally bought Fleeing Hitler for a family member, who as a child took part in the Parisian "Exodus" in the summer of 1940 as Hitler advanced at Blitzkrieg speed into France. I honestly didn't think a book about civilians fleeing would be very interesting, it's such a seemingly minor, and for many embarrassing event in World War II history; but I was soon hooked after reading the first few pages. Not only did the Exodus directly shape the course of the war, Fleeing Hitler is hugely educational, entertaining, and even relevant today.

Diamond unfolds the events with liberal use of direct quotes from about a dozen people who left excellent accounts, published and private. The first few chapters describe the build-up to war, invasion, the "phony war" and finally the Exodus itself. Diamond has a novelists sense of building a story so that by the time the Nazi's invade you feel ready to flee along with everyone else. Then there is an excellent history of how and why the French government split into the Vichy government and the government in exile - this has always been a confusing for me, but now I understand it was largely in direct consequence of the Exodus.

I live in the DC region and after 9/11 I sometimes wonder what I would do in a evacuation (terror, hurricane, pandemic, etc). Clearly, the first decision is whether to leave home when there is confusion and conflicting instructions from authorities, the road can be more dangerous than staying home when order breaks down. Assuming one leaves, the number one lesson is to always keep your family together, never separate, even for a brief time - in the case of 1940 some families took years to re-unite after being briefly separated on the road, it was probably the worst long term consequence of the Exodus.

Fleeing Hitler can be enjoyed on many levels, from WWII history of a largely forgotten and unknown but major event, to personal stories of survival, to general lessons about evacuations and what happens when a modern western industrial society breaks down.

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Europe, 1648-1815: From the Old Regime to the Age of Revolution


Robin W. Winks (2003)
Paperback, 2004
November 2007

The period between the end of the Thirty Years War (1648) and the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1815) is covered in this short readable undergraduate survey, part of a series by the author that covers all of European history. The first half of the period is characterized by recovery and consolidation after an age of chaos (16th and early 17th century Wars of Religion); the second half by a movement to towards Enlightenment and Revolution (political and industrial).

Although no one living at the time saw themselves as transitory, historians today see the period as a transition from the Medieval to the Modern, sometimes called the "Early Modern". This perspective makes me wonder if our time will be securely placed within history, or be a road sign pointing to a as yet unknown destination not afforded the attention and study of other more interesting periods (the Renaissance, the Ancients). As an introductory school survey for a semester long class, it at least mentions in passing most of the important things, but because of its brevity, it does not bring the period to life. On the other hand, it's nice to read about things like The French Revolution from start to end in 10 pages to get a big picture view.

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The Tokyo Look Book: Stylish To Spectacular, Goth To Gyaru, Sidewalk To Catwalk


Philomena Keet (2007)
First, paperback
November 2007

Fascinating tour of the world-renowned hyper-speed Tokyo fashion scene. Almost all the pictures are "on the street" and cover a wide range a genres. Japanese youth fashion seems strange, exotic and weird to westerners and for good reason - they treat dress as we might Halloween. What the clothes represent is not so important as the Japanese club or group that wears that style of fashion. So, someone wearing 1980s Heavy Metal fashion does not actually live the Heavy Metal lifestyle, fashion is a blank canvas into which anything can be mixed with little regard to its underlying meaning or connection to lifestyle - just as we can dress up on Halloween as gangsters, monsters and demons without regard to its underlying representation. As an example, kids wearing a NYC rapper style would go around saying "this is for real, we are real" - not because they are "real" (how could they be), but in imitation of NYC rappers who say those things! It's very postmodern. Another illustrative example, some kids dressed as American biker gangs attacked a police car throwing bottles - not because they were bad biker guys, but because that is what bad biker guys are supposed to do - when the police apprehended them, the kids apologized and just said they were doing what bikers are supposed to do.

Fashion can represent a person, who they are and what they do. It can also serve as a mask, to be someone we are not, and I believe for the Japanese who are otherwise so tightly regulated and controlled fashion is both a rebellion, a way to be unique and different, and a mask to hide ones true self.

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Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction


Christopher Butler (2002)
Paperback, first
November 2007

Postmodernism can be a difficult topic, but this Introduction provides clarity of vision for a subject of muddled origin and meaning. Butler certainly makes value judgments, it is not a NPOV wikipedia article thank goodness; he takes a position in what is ultimately a political movement, but provides multiple POVs. Short but some pages can take a long time to digest, its a "slow read", pithy but never banal.

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Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age


Adrian Lister (2007)
First, hardcover
November 2007

This beautifully produced coffee-table size (mammoth) book is full of pictures, maps, drawings and text detailing the origins, natural history, interaction with humans and eventual extinction of the Mammoth. It's aesthetically on par with something produced by National Geographic or the Smithsonian Institute. The actual content however exceeds that, it is a labor of love written by someone who obviously has a lifetime of experience and knowledge about mammoths. Nor has it been dumbed down for a general or younger audience - the science is clearly explained and accessible. What do we know? How do we know it?

I read it cover to cover in under 4 hours and with all the visual aids (pictures, maps, drawings, graphics) carefully tied into the text, it is a multimedia joy, I only wish more science books could be this effortless. We know more about the extinct Mammoth than some living species because there are so many well preserved frozen in the ground, and the close relation with living elephants tells us a lot about behavior.

This is a third edition (1994, 2000, 2007) and some of the information is extremely recent, for example the best preserved Mammoth ever found was in early 2007, and there is a picture included!

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Tourists with Typewriters: Critical Reflections on Contemporary Travel Writing


Patrick Holland and Graham Huggan (1998)
2003 paperback
November 2007

Travel "literature" traditionally has not been taken very seriously in academia, and so the authors (Professors at Harvard) have undertaken a scholarly examination of some popular post-WWII authors and works, while trying, they say, not to be polemical. To give a sense of what kind of book this is, here are two illustrative quotes: "Travel has recently emerged as a crucial epistemological category for the displacement of normative values and homogenizing, essentialist views." If your eyes have not glazed over yet, try this one:
"At first blush, it certainly seems there ought to be an affinity between travel writing and postmodernism; for among its many, not infrequently contradictory features, postmodern theory foregrounds the instability of the human subject, shifting ontologies of space and place, and the undermining of linear history, which characteristically assumes a fractured or palimpsestic structure."
This is the kind of writing that gives scholarly books a bad reputation, at least among general readers without a degree in literature. Yet for the intrepid adventurer willing to put in the work, there is gold to be found within. The book is structured into four main chapters, along with a meaty Prologue, Introduction and Postscript that summarize and expand on the core ideas.

Chapter 1 deals with colonial myths still lurking in modern travel literature, and the post-colonial "countertravel" writers who are not white, middle-class western males. A number of examples are examined including the "anti-racist" works of Caryl Phillip's The European Tribe and Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place. The "resistance" work of Salman Rushdie's The Jaguar Smile. The "counter-Orientalist" narratives such as by Amitav Ghosh's In an Antique Land and Vikram Seth's From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet. And "anti-Imperialist" works such as Pico Iyer's Video Night in Kathmandu.

Chapter 2 discusses the concept of geographic "zones", or how regions have travel mythologies built up by previous travel writers; new writers either attempt to re-discover what they pre-suppose to be there ("the dark heart of Africa"), or attempt to tear down the myths, in both cases reinforcing and continuing the mythologies. The chapter examines the zones of of the "tropical" (Congo and Amazon); the "Oriental" (Japan); the "exotic" (South Seas); and the "liminal" (Arctic). Within each zone there are 3 or 4 case authors and works discussed.

Chapter 3 looks at women and gay male writers as alternative voices. Chapter 4 examines hybrids of travel literature such as "virtual travel" and the "eco-traveler" - some of the best examples of the later include David Quammen's The Song of the Dodo, Peter Matthiessen's The Cloud Forest and Barry Lopez' Arctic Dreams.

Overall I learned a lot, even though certain passages were opaque with academic verbosity. It has made me examine my notions about the trustworthiness of travel literature as an alternative to travel; the value of travel itself and the hidden complacency (co-dependence) between the travel industry and travel writing; my own inherit prejudices as a white, middle-class male and the mythologies that travel literature re-enforce; and to expand my horizons on what kind of travel literature I choose to read; it helped place many well known authors and works in context.

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Mediaeval Feudalism


Carl Stephenson (1942)
Internet Archive
November 2007

Carl Stephenson (1886-1954) was an early 20th century American Medievalist, a student of Charles Homer Haskins (America's "first medievalist"). This little gem was written in 1942 before the more fashionable works on Feudalism by Bloch, Ganshof, Reynolds and Brown. It is a solid and easily digested essay written in a delightfully simple down to earth style. Even if some of the perspectives have been questioned or expanded by later works, it still provides a necessary and accessible foundation. As the opening paragraph of the 1956 edition says:
SINCE its first printing in 1942 the late Carl Stephenson's 'Mediaeval Feudalism' has enjoyed a distinguished career. Eminent historians of America and Europe have reviewed it with high praise in the most respected historical journals. To the college freshman it has been a "vade mecum" in the awesome task of mastering such complicated feudal principles as subinfeudation and liege homage. The omniscient graduate student has at first reading whisked through it with disdain, casting it aside for the imaginative hypotheses of a Marc Bloch or for the impressive tomes of German historians, only to come meekly back to it to obtain his bearings and a sense of proportion. Seasoned scholars and teachers have read the book with discrimination, realizing that behind each page stood years of research and thought devoted to the study of feudalism in mediaeval Europe; they in turn have recommended it to their students.
Another book by Stephenson, Medieval History: Europe from the Fourth to the Sixteenth Century, was for decades one of the most widely used textbooks in the field. He is probably best known for Borough and Town: A Study of Urban Origins in England (1933). Stephenson was working in an age rife with prejudiced nationalism among European scholars; as an outsider he helped show the commonality of medieval institutions and move the discussion beyond 19th and early 20th century nationalistic concerns.

Read via Internet Archive

Created a Wikipedia Article

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Of Mice and Men


John Steinbeck (1937)
First edition, hardcover, no DJ, later printing
November 2007

A beautiful book about what it means to be human. As the last sentence shows, some get it, some don't. It is easy enough and short enough and multi-faceted enough to deserve re-reading at different points in life. I first read it in high school and now again at age 40 and hope to continue revisiting it again in the years ahead.

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At Play in the Fields of the Lord


Peter Matthiessen (1965)
First edition hardcover
November 2007

Although written in 1965 (when Matthiessen was 38) the novel still remains vibrant and relevant, its staying power attested by its transition to film almost 30 years later in 1992. Even though it would seem almost un-filmable, the director did a good job, carried in part by the beautiful photography of the Amazon. The book is basically about the extinction of a smaller culture by a larger more powerful culture - it is no accident the main characters are Jewish and Navajo Indian, two cultures that have historically successfully resisted assimilation. Matthiessen was active with indigenous peoples in the Amazon when he published the non-fiction book "The Cloud Forest" in 1962, just a few years before "Fields of the Lord", the two works can be profitably be read in conjunction as both biographical of Matthiessen's evolving views and understanding of the culture and geography.

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Nana


Emile Zola (1880)
Oxford World's Classics (pb), tr. Douglass Parmee
November 2007

What an amazing novel. From the first blow-away chapter it is a hot-house driven by the unpredictable winds of lust and fortune. Nana's addictive qualities ensnare the most vulnerable to her charms, perversely encouraged by society in the decedent years leading up to the Franco-Prussian crises. Chapter 5's description of the inner workings of a theater is an unforgettable submersion into Dante's Inferno. The gruesome ending is a Realist version of 'Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde', or 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (both later works and probably influenced by Zola). In the end there were no villains, just victims.

The most difficult element is keeping the many secondary characters straight, it is a crowded novel. They are introduced in rapid fire sequence and the details (age, weight, background, relations etc) are spread throughout so the characters are not easily visualized which can make the plot often confusing, a whirl of people. Yet this is exactly the point, imagine the modern club scene or college parties.

The symbolism throughout is intense and unusual for Zola, this is the least Naturalistic of his novels, yet is retains its realism, as Flaubert said: "Nana turns into myth, without ceasing to be real."

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Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu


Laurence Bergreen (2007)
First hardcover
November 2007

Marco Polo (1254-1324) was not the first European to make it to China, but he was the first to bring the news back to a wider European public. As famous as he is, Marco Polo remains a mysterious and controversial figure. The author of this biography Laurence Bergreen is probably best known for his wonderful account of Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, and there is a connection - it was on that journey beginning in 1519 that one of the 18 survivors named Antonio Pigafetta, the official chronicler, had read and was inspired by Marco Polo's 'Travels'.

Marco Polo's 'Travels' (ca. 1298) is not a single account but about 119 surviving manuscripts, each one different and none authoritative. Scholars have tried to patch the various versions together over the centuries, but in the age before the printing press, Marco kept handing out new hand-written copies with additions and subtractions, and others would make more copies adding their own embellishments or mistakes: chronology would change, ordering of events would change as if the pages were dropped on the floor and re-assembled incorrectly, specifics of events would change, places and people changed, etc.. there is no "correct" version. Bergenger bases his account on the longest version available and usually does not question its accuracy, rather, often pointing out why it must be so (except for a few well known problems).

The "Great Question" that has haunted 'Travels' since it first appeared is its veracity; children are said to have followed Marco Polo chanting, "Messer Marco, tell us another lie!". Until the 19th century it was mostly seen as comparable to 'The Travels of Sir John Mandeville' (1357), an enjoyable but fanciful account. When scholars in the 19th and early 20th centuries were able to verify through Chinese records many of the details, and with the recognition of the importance of the Age of Discovery and global trade and travel in World History, Marco has become today one of the most well known figures of the Middle Ages. Yet there still remain a few critics who question if Marco Polo actually ever went, and this myth of the "faked Travels" hangs over it. Even in Colin Thubron's ('Shadow of the Silk Road', 2007) recent review of this very book in The Washington Post (November 4, 2007; Page BW10) he raises the question; but as Bergreen says in the "Epilogue", it would have been a more amazing feat to amass so much accurate information about Asia without actually going there, then to have made the trip and wrote about it (Occam's Razor).

Four stars instead of five because I think Bergreen is not able to create a convincingly strong central narrative like he did in 'Over the Edge'; he shows Marco Polo develop from a naive youth to a curious sensualist, into a spiritual awakened middle aged man into a petty, cranky and aged ex-opium addict - we know very little about Marco Polo the person, it is conjecture when faced with Marcos externally orientated 'Travels' - the portrait is believable but the sources are weak. Bergreen also sometimes makes allusions to current events which will dilute the books timeless appeal.

The book is organized with an Introduction, 15 chapters, and an Epilogue. Most of the issues discussed in this review are in the Epilogue and they hung over me while reading the body of the story, which is essentially an excellent re-construction of 'Travels'. One approach is to read the Epilogue first, putting the text and story in historical context. Then enjoy one of the most astounding snapshots of the world in time ever compiled - 13th century Asia in all its extremes, diversity and exotica.

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On Deep History and the Brain


Daniel Lord Smail (2007)
Hardcover first
November 2007

This is a fairly short book that Harvard professor of history Daniel Smail describes as a series of connected essays. It is essentially an argument to include all of human history, not just written history, in academic history survey courses and textbooks. Most of the book is an interesting historiographical survey of how historians essentially ignore "pre-history"; the problems with periodization; and a post-modern rejection of Christian Universal History metanarratives which are stealthily lurking in much of western secular historiography to this day.

Smail suggests using evolution as a new approach - one idea he suggests - changes in human brain chemistry, from external and internal forces, play a role in shaping human history. For example the widespread adoption of caffeine in Europe in the 17th century altered Europeans brain chemistry and thus the track of history. Similar investigations could be done with "pre-historic" periods. Smail doesn't get into many specifics, this is concept book about how to approach history, not a definitive scientific analysis or conclusion - it is part of the larger ongoing discussions on how the ideas of evolution can be applied scientifically to the humanities (history, literature, etc) . Overall I was intellectually stimulated throughout and greatly enjoyed the ideas and perspectives, Smail is well versed in western historiography and the philosophy of history. Even if you are not convinced by the titles premise (almost a sort of hook), discussed only in one chapter, there is a lot to learn in this short but pithy book.

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The Genius of Michelangelo

Wiliam E. Wallace (2007)
The Teaching Company 6-DVD 18hr lecture
October 2007

"The Genius of Michelangelo" is an 18 hour video lecture by William Wallace published by The Teaching Company, 36 episodes of 30 minutes each. It focuses primarily on Michelangelo's works from an artistic perspective, less so on his life story or later reputation. It is for a general non-specialist audience, but is not dumbed down and contains real up to date and original scholarship by one of the worlds most knowledgeable and respected living Michelangelo scholars who also happens to be an excellent public speaker. Most Teaching Company courses cover a wide variety of topics, this is a very narrow subject, one person, and very long, 18 hours, so at times it can feel like minutia detail, but in the end it is worthwhile to really understand a single artist in such depth to better know the Renaissance as a whole. The production quality is top notch with tons of visuals.

I felt at times that Wallace was a bit over the top in his love of Michelangelo and his place in history, but then, it's hard to deny his greatness; it brings up post-modern questions about the nature of genius and the nature of how history works. It seemed like the propaganda of the Renaissance is alive and well in Wallace, and for good reason, job security. Still, it's possible to speak of Michelangelo as a "genius" and not be off the mark.

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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang


Ian Fleming (1964)
Audiobook, narrated by Andrew Sachs 2003. 2.5hrs
October 2007

Caution: This is a negative review of a "beloved" children's book. My apologies, I'm normally a pretty nice person, see Charlotte's Web below.

A mercifully short genre work. The best scene was the discovery of the tunnel because of its silly Freudian symbolism. I suppose it's popular because of the clever title, character of the car and many popular movie adaptations. It's a sort of kids gateway to mass popular culture period pieces : Harry Potter, Steven King and of course James Bond - if the kids are inspired enough to keep reading that far (if at all).

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Charlotte's Web


E. B. White (1952)
Audiobook, read by the author. 3.5 hours
October 2007

It's hard to be impartial, Charlotte's Web is the first "real" book I ever read, a special occasion that happens only once in life. Our first grade teacher read it aloud (Northfield Elementary School in Howard County Maryland) over the course of a few weeks, and remains one of the few lasting memories I have of first grade (that and some food fight incidents). I was totally enthralled and could not wait for each school day as our class sat in a group on the floor, our teacher towering tall above us in a chair, her lips gave forth the most wonderful sets of words and images I had ever imagined. I suspect it has had some deep influence on me in ways I can not fully understand, but that is perfectly alright, this is the book one wants to be shaped by. Reading it again for the first time as an adult 35 years later I don't remember most of the story specifics, but the atmosphere and good feeling remain tangable. It works on many levels for children and adults, it is just as wonderful today as it was then, although it doesn't compare to my feelings of a first grader hearing it for the first time.

This audiobook edition is narrated by E. B. White, who died in 1985, we are fortunate to have his audio rendition, the technical and artistic quality are excellent. White never approved of the annimated film adaptions, so this is as close as one can get to a "correct" interpretation of his work (other than the original book illustrations).

Interestingly, White was born in the Chinese Year of the Pig (1899) - the character of Wilbur the pig is exactly like the Pig personality as described by Chinese astrology, in fact it reminded me of some other Year-of-the-Pig people that I know. I believe this is one reason the book works so well, it was the right book for White to write, the perfect self-expression. "But I don't want to die, Charlotte." No, you will live forever Mr White, through your wonderful story of a little white pig.

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Sister Carrie


Theodore Dreiser (1900)
1997 New York Library, based on the 1981 Pennsylvania edition.
October 2007

I found this in the bargain bin of a local used book store for $3. I had never heard of the title or the author, but it looked "literary" so I brought it home and started reading with zero expectations. It took a while to finish because the prose is often dense, but I loved it, spending most of the time lost in the story. It is written in the Realist/Naturalistic style common to Balzac, Zola and Harold Frederic - the detailed descriptions of everday life in Chicago and New York - the clothing, shops, transportation, restaurants, food, etc.. creates wonderful sights, sounds, smells and feel of another time, with the interesting story and deep and moving insights just so much icing on the cake. After finishing I read some critical commentary and it seems many people don't like the prose, but I found it perfect for the story - like a polite society person spooning out dirty gossip through round about indirect and seemingly innocent vocabulary loaded with meaning and innuendo, the reader has to carefully pay attention yet remain a bit aloof. At times the prose was densely complex for the most simple things, it seemed banal, but banality is the key to understanding the novel. There are some really great and timeless quotes, see "Quotes & Notes" below.

Sister Carrie has been rightly compared to Balzac's Pierre Goriot, but I found close comparison with Frederic's The Damnation of Theon Ware; or, Illumination (1896); written at around the same time, in the Naturalistic style, about New York, a novel of manners, both somewhat controversial and not widely read and their day, both more popular in Europe and both influential with later modernist writers.

Quotes & Notes for Sister Carrie

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Pecos Bill:The Greatest Cowboy of All Time


James Cloyd Bowman (1937)
2007 hardcover, New York Review of Books Children's Collection
October 2007

The American legend of Pecos Bill was supposedly handed down by early settlers of the Southwest, however more recent research has shown this is probably apocryphal. The stories were largely invented as "fakelore" by Edward O'Reilly in 1923 for The Century Magazine, soon after collected in the book Saga of Pecos Bill. Later writers then borrowed or expanded on O'Reilly's stories.

Although O'Reilly created the legend, probably the most well known and best written collection of Pecos Bill stories is by James Cloyd Bowman, who won a Newbery Honor in 1938 for Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time. In the 1937 Preface, Bowman does not discuss the legendary background, except to say "This is a volume of genuine American folklore", and that he collected from "original documents left by the early adventurers into the open range country." This sounds suspicious today, and it is unfortunate the publishers of this 2007 re-print did not include an updated literary history Introduction that examines Bowman's sources in more detail. It now gives the appearance of a buried literary crime waiting to be uncovered.

Still, this is a beautifully written and re-produced book with original illustrations by Laura Bannon. It is exactly the children's book my parents would have read and fits perfectly with the 1940s and 50s image of the American cowboy hero, or something out of the movie A Christmas Story. I was first introduced to Bowman's work in a non-fiction biography of Robert Louis Stevenson and was impressed by his down to earth, easy to read and factual prose and thus sought out more. He's not that well know today, in particular for his literary criticism, but considering his generation (born 1880) his writing is unpretentious and modern yet gentle and easy to read.

As for Pecos Bill himself, readers of Kiplings The Jungle Books will recognize the story of the orphaned human baby raised by wolves, mastering the natural world around him, then returning to his human folk to do the same. Many of the stories describe the origins of various cowboy related things: the roundup, branding, roping, the rodeo, etc.. along the way you learn about cowboy life and culture.

One thing to note, although this is an illustrated children's book it is still a lot of text, about 20 chapters it took me about 4-5 hours to read, it is more in the young adult category, some of the vocabulary is fairly advanced and specialized.

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What Is the What


Dave Eggers (2006)
Audiobook, 20hrs
October 2007

There are a number of really excellent non-fiction autobiographies of the Lost Boys currently available, 5 of them (see below). "What Is the What" is the only fictionalized account I am aware of. I've read some of the non-fiction accounts, and they are just as compelling, fascinating and dramatic as fiction; in many ways more so because they are factual and have a sense of "otherness" and level of specific detail. Although the novel has plenty of violence, it seems somewhat sterilized and made more palatable for the sensibilities of a middle class American audience - Deng's "voice" (really Eggers?) is confident and optimistic about the future, rarely did I sense the utter loneliness, despondency, hopelessness, weakness and fear that is palpable in the real autobiographies.

This is not a bad book, Eggers has created an entertaining work of art, not unlike what Charles Dickens did for the poor in "Oliver Twist", it serves to advance a social cause. But the real autobiographies are just as page-turning readable and even more emotionally moving because of their truthfulness. Literary critic Lee Siegel in "The New Republic" took the problem even further saying the novels "innocent expropriation of another man's identity is a post-colonial arrogance.. How strange for one man to think that he could write the story of another man, a real living man who is perfectly capable of telling his story himself -- and then call it an autobiography. Where is the dignity in that?" Francis Prose in "The New York Times" said the novel is very popular among younger readers in their 20s and I guess this is not surprising since fiction is usually more approachable and accessible than non-fiction, but there are some excellent real-life accounts, told in the actual words and voice of someone from Sudan, it is a challenge to step into someone else's world, but can be a transformative experience.

Autobiographies:
* They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky (2005)
* God Grew Tired Of Us: A Memoir (2006)
* The Lost Boys of Sudan (2005)
* The Journey of the Lost Boys (2005)
* Lost Boy No More (2004)

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Thinking Medieval: An Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages


Marcus Bull (2005)
First hardcover
October 2007

Thinking Medieval is targeted to an introductory academic audience, but it is so well written, easy to read and fascinating it would appeal to anyone with an interest in the Middle Ages. This is really a book about "medievalism" - the Middles Ages in popular culture and modern scholarship - which is extremely helpful in better understanding how to approach and read medieval history. Dr. Marcus Bull is a professor at Bristol University in England.

There are four chapters. Chapter 1 deals with the Middle Ages in modern popular culture. Bull examines the conflicting positive and negative views of the period; how it is portrayed in movies in particular a case example Pulp Fiction; books such as Timeline and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court; the Gothic Novel of the 18th-19th centuries; the role of Scott and Ivanhoe; Neo-Gothic architecture; J.R.R. Tolkien; and much much more. I've studied this endlessly fascinating topic before, but Bull finds new perspectives and anecdotes that make it worthwhile even for the most hardened myth-buster. Arcane as it seems, medieval mythology is so ingrained in popular culture it is probably as critical to understanding ourselves as understanding the period in question.

Chapter 2 asks "What are the Middle Ages?" It looks at questions of periodization and how to define the beginning and end of the period and if it even makes sense to call it a period at all, as if it had a single "essence". He ends with what seems like a radical, but logical, suggestion to consider removing "medieval" and "Middle Ages" from academic discourse and find new more finely tuned categorizes for the immense diversity and scope of the time. This is exciting stuff!

Chapter 3 "The Evidence for Medieval History" examines how we know what we know, mainly from source documents and surviving art and architecture. Very interesting discussions about how much written material has survived (probably less than 1%) and how this has shaped our views of the period. It also discusses the 12th century break between the oral and written culture when written evidence explodes, before which the amount of written material is so limited that scholars can actually know all there is to know about a time period, which has its advantages and disadvantages.

Chapter 4 "Is Medieval History Relevant?" is essentially an apology for why we should study Medieval history, a question which seems to be driven by occasional academic funding squabbles. As someone who studies from home solely for the love of the subject I find it curiously amusing that anyone would think Medieval history is not worth knowing, and feel fortunate we have so many academics devoting a career to it. The chapter also looks at some case examples of areas of study which are still relevant today, such as the English Language and the Crusades.

The Bibliography is annotated and excellent and recently updated, many of the cited papers and books are post-2000.

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Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs, and the Chesapeake Bay


William W. Warner (1976)
Hardcover first (11th printing)
October 2007

Even though Pulitzer Prize winning Beautiful Swimmers was published in 1976, it employs the now popular "narrative non-fiction" technique so it feels very modern and up to date. Like the weathered watermen of the Bay, Beautiful Swimmers improves with age while retaining a youthful luster. It has a certain classic gentleness and pleasantness, like more recent works such as The Secret Life of Lobsters, which clearly owes a lot to Warner's style and technique.

As with most narrative non-fiction accounts about wildlife, there is a wide smattering of biology, history, geography, travel writing and human interest story written by someone who loves his subject and has experienced it first hand. It is not an archival based encyclopedic work, Warner captures the sights, sounds, smells and feel for the thing, its essence - for example through the use of dialog and a slangy waterman kind of drawl. The first chapters which focus on the biology of crabs are somewhat interesting, in particular the mating ritual, but can drag a little with the minutia of anatomy. We then leave the classromm and go out crabbing with trot lines off Kent Island for the "monster" crabs of crab alley, and finally end up in the big leagues off Smith Island, all the while learning more about the watermen, their families and communities - and of course crabs.

Maryland waterman culture continues to loose its uniqueness as the communities have been more homogeneously drawn into the vortex of the Wash/Baltimore metroplex. Warner clearly notices it, but he has still captured a time and place that is some respects no longer exists or is rapidly disappearing. He also raises the warning flag about the bay waters appearing old and tired (pollution), a warning that is even louder and more urgent today as we continue to use the Bay as a freebie water filtration plant, the cost of which is ultimately born by wildlife extinctions and our quality of life. But this is not a Silent Spring, it is a beautiful ode to the crab, the Chesapeake and the watermen.

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Le Mariage de Loti ("The Marriage of Loti")


Pierre Loti (1880)
Hardcover Kegan Paul 2002 trans. Clara Bell
September 2007

Pierre Loti's first 3 or 4 books, including The Marriage of Loti, are his most autobiographical, immediate and passionate. If his later works are better artistically conceived they lack something as purely travelogues or fiction. Loti's descriptions of Tahiti are lyrical and haunting and because we know most of the story to be true, at least in the broad strokes, and most of the people real, it makes it all that much more fascinating.

The Marriage of Loti is his second novel, but chronologically recounts the first of his life's exotic-romantic adventures, when he was just twenty-two years old. It marks the genesis of his pseudonym -Loti- and when his modus operandi first takes form: blending in with the locals, going native, wearing their dress, speaking their language, making love to their women, and then writing about it.

This is a titillating novel as the amount of sex is pretty high by 19th century standards, although still mostly implied and understood. Post-colonials rightly bash it as imperialistic and racist, but it can still be read to better understand the almost narcotic sense of power European colonialists had during the late 19th century. The novel is haunting in the end, indeed very spooky, almost subversive in its implied testament of the dangers of colonialism.

Reading Loti, in particular early Loti, it is impossible to separate the story from the person - the more literary history available the better, Lesley Blanch's biography (ch. 4) as an excellent background as is the Wikipedia article for those on the quick and cheap!

Update: Wikipedia article

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The Medieval World View (2nd edition)


William Cook and Ronald Herzman (1983 / 2004 (2nd))
hardcover 2nd edition
September 2007

This is a recently updated (2003) survey of Medieval history from about 0 AD to 1500 AD designed for the beginning student, by two American medieval professors. I'm not a student or beginner, yet I found this to be one of the best surveys I have read and learned a tremendous amount. Other comparable general surveys I have read that are good include Morris Bishop's The Middle Ages, Joseph Strayer's The Middle Ages 395-1500 and Norman Cantor's The Civilization of the Middle Ages.

It is only 278 pages which for medieval surveys is a miracle of economy. It really is pithy, with the most important people, events and places in the big picture. But I think its strongest point is that it explains those elements of Medieval history that beginners have the most trouble understanding. The iconography of the medieval mindset is very foreign for the modern reader and most history books do not explain it very well, probably because its thought too specialized, but its a core foundation to understanding the period, and that is what makes this work most unique.

Cook/Herzman use the wonderful method of not only telling us what things mean, but also actually showing it, either through pictures or extended block quotes - there is barely a page without at least one extended block quote and I suspect 20% of the book is quotations. I don't know why this is not done by other historians more often, Cook/Herzman demonstrate a great thinkers ideas in their own words, usually with historically well known and significant quotes, it is very effective. For example I now have a much more solid understanding of the Scholastic method and how Thomas Aquinas wrote his masterpiece by actually reading an excerpt from Summa Theologica. I suppose a serious student can find source documents and read them in conjunction, but allowing Cook/Herzman to find short approachable excerpts that demonstrate the idea is priceless and probably something I would never do on my own.

There is no doubt Cook and Herzman focus on Christian topics, for example it is a 10 chapter book covering 1000+ years but there is an entire chapter devoted to the Franciscan monastic order. To be fair they are up front about the Christian theme from the start, and Medieval history is in many ways church history. Yet strangely, by avoiding much of the political narrative, it simplifies the perspective, for example the events in Italy between roughly 1000 and 1200 can be seen not as a complex web of invasions and feuds but simply secular and church conflict over who has ultimate power. I could not help but think of our own times and the conflicts with secularists (Dawkins, etc..) as an extension of this trend.

The bibliography is excellent, it includes not only monographs but web sites, primary sources, and reference works. Cook/Herzman even dare to say what other medieval historians should be saying more often: most monographs are written by specialists for specialists and most novices (ie. popular reading public) end up laboring to understand without a full grasp of the basics. Titles like "Wanning of the Middle Ages", "The Distant Mirror" and "Making of the Middle Ages" seem to be big sellers, but many people skip the basics before diving into these more difficult and/or controversial works.

Cook and Herzman also have a series of video lectures with The Teaching Company which are excellent and reinforce and expand on many of the ideas discussed in the book.

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Chasing Kangaroos: a continent, a scientist, and a search for the world's most extraordinary creature


Tim Flannery (2007)
First hardcover
September 2007

I knew almost nothing about kangaroo's and now have a somewhat better sense of how diverse they are (over 70 species) and when and why and how they arose in Australia. Flannery uses the modern style of non-fiction narrative, wrapping facts into a storyline that keeps the reader turning pages to find out what happens. The "story" in this case is his experience in the outback back in the 70s, into which is wrapped the information about the science, biology and history of the kangaroo. This technique is now so common as to be tiresome if not done well and honestly the story part was not that interesting. At the same time much of the biology terminology was very specific and over my head. Flannery's enthusiasm for kangaroos, and himself, is apparent but I never got caught up in it. Still, it was a quick read, painless and I learned a few things that have stuck with me.

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The Agony and the Ecstasy (the biographical novel of Michelangelo)


Irving Stone (1961)
BotMC hardcover 1961
September 2007

Writing a fictionalized life of one of the most famous and studied iconic figures in world history is tricky business. Stone plots a steady if somewhat conservative course, sanitizing some of the more ugly aspects of life in Renaissance Italy, and perpetuating some of the mythology. It helps to approach Stone's version of the story already having studied the basic history of the Medici family and late 15th/early 16th century Italy, there are many large and important events that swirl around and through Michelangelo's life. The number of names is overwhelming and they often re-appear, unless your Italian they all start sounding the same. Fortunatly a list of primary characters can be found in I, Michelangelo, Sculptor (1962) by Irving Stone, along with the translated letters that Stone largely based the novel on.

I normally don't read a lot of modern historical fiction, much less fictional biographies, but I wanted to get a better more emotional feel for the age, and hoped historical fiction would provide an artistic interpretation. I was not disappointed although not as overwhelmed as I was with Name of the Rose. Stone is strongest when describing the act of sculpting, which is not surprising as he was an apprenticed sculptor and knew it first hand. However I think he misinterpreted and didn't fully realize some of the more nuanced aspects of life in the 15th and 16th centuries that would have made Michelangelo seem less a mavrick and slightly more typical of his age (although he was still a genius and mavrick). However this is still a very good work and Michelangelo for me is now more than just a name attached to static works of art. This is the kind of novel that could profitably be re-read with an encyclopedia to discover in detail all the people and events mentioned, or even reading Michelangelo's translated letters in the above mentioned book.

Update Watched the 1965 movie starring Charlton Heston, it only covers Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel, so it's not really a film adaptation of the novel or Michelangelo's life, they just share the same title. A decent movie on its own, the sets and acting are excellent.

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Among English Hedgerows


Clifton Johnson (1899)
Hardcover 1912 The Macmillan co. via Internet Archive, original copyright 1899
September 2007

In the late 1890s, American writer/photographer Clifton Johnson traveled through the English countryside recording picturesque scenes of English daily life. Each chapter examines a different theme - tavern, village, castle, school, church, etc.. with portraits of the people and places rendered hyper-realistically, a style fashionable in America at the time, bordering on the banal or anthropoligical depending on your interest level. The many beautiful photographs are of unusual quality in both composition and technical effect - they appear to be partially hand painted as if seen through a "Claude glass". As some contemporary critics pointed out, the placement of the photos alongside the body of the text that discusses the scene is very effective.

Some of the chapters were originally published in leading magazines of the day, it was a popular book remaining in print for at least 25 years, including at least one paperback edition. There is something very relaxing, pleasant and satisfying and I don't think something like this could ever be published today. Although it is not a classic of travel literature, today it would probably be considered a nice period piece. There are better known travel books from the 19th century written by Americans in England such as Henry James, Herman Melville, Frederick Olmsted, Nathaniel Hawthorne and of course Mark Twain. But it is still a quality book, if not intentionally a bit naive and conservative, the pictures are worth a peruse and it's an enjoyable way to help understand what we have gained and lost since 1900.

A funny quote about the English aristocracy:
It seemed to be the opinion of the general public that the gentry were, in the main, not of much value as a part of the national life. The best of them study politics and statecraft, or some branch of science, or they interest themselves helpfully in their tenants and home villages. But the large majority, after being sent as young men to Oxford or Cambridge, settle down to a life of indolence and the pursuit of pleasure. Their greatest accomplishment is very likely the ability to ride well after the hounds, and their finest boast is of the times they have come in first in the hunt.
This attitude towards the "gentry" can be traced back to the late Middle Ages (14-17th centuries), when the traditional armored knight gradually became irrelevant because of changes in warfare (gunpowder, longbow, standing armies)- the aristocracy morphed into a new role as "Courtiers" (see The Book of the Courtier), who had a mixed reputation at best of well-rounded Renaissance men, or at worst, effeminate pleasure seekers, which lead to that embarrassing period of the 18th century when everyone wore puffy clothes, makeup and wigs - and eventually Monty Python, that troup of hedonistic Don Quixote Renaissance men.

Read via Internet Archive

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Aziyade (or, Constantinople)


Pierre Loti (1879)
2002 Paul Kegan hardcover trans. Marjorie Laruie
September 2007

This is Pierre Loti's first book (1879), and I believe his best (of those I have read), because it is so amazingly autobiographical about one of the most influential periods that would shape his life and later works. It should be read in conjunction with Lesley Branch's biography (see prev, chapters 6-8) to better understand what is going on as there is a lot of back story. Beyond all that, it is one of the world's great love stories - Aziyade was Loti's greatest love and he would remember her for the rest of his life. Aziyade and the Marriage of Loti (1880) were very influential with Proust who could quote passages from memory (and there are some very quotable passages).

The translation in the Kegan Paul edition is by Marjorie Laurie from the early 20th century - it is dated and edited to remove some of the more controversial scenes, but sadly seems to be the only one available, but at least it is still in print!

Update: Created a Wikipedia article.

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Leviathan The History of Whaling in America


Eric Jay Dolin (2007)
Hardcover first
September 2007

When I told some friends I was reading a history of whaling in America I got blank stares, a long pause and "sounds boring". Oh, but wait, I said, did you know.. and so goes the fascinating and romantic history of the American whaling industry. Dolin has mined extensive archives and written a very readable account of whales, whaling, whalers and whaling ships. It moves chronologically starting with our very first settlers on the Mayflower who found a beached whale, through the rise and fall of the Quaker community of Nantucket (before the wealthy retreat, it was the whaling capital of the world), to the long demise with the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania.

I wanted to read this because, well, it got great reviews, but also because I have read Moby-Dick and Philbriock's excellent In the Heart of the Sea. These are more focused and romantic works, Dolin's survey is of course brief on detail and wide in scope, but he retains a lot of the character and emotional awe and wonder of whaling, it is not a dry work (you might even say it's all wet). There is hardly a page that does not have a fascinating book in the footnotes for further reading - the history of whaling is extensive and the jump off points many and varied.

Back to the footnotes, at over 75 pages of small font text they are almost a book within a book, some more than a page long and not just banal references. I suspect the editors moved portions of the book into the footnotes to keep the narrative flowing and page count under 400 pages. It also has 2 sections of glossy B&W photos, it is a shame they did not make the photos color as many of them are beautiful paintings.

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Shadow of the Silk Road


Colin Thubron (2007)
Hardcover first
September 2007

Shadow of the Silk Road has good reviews but I am not as impressed. Of course it is well written, there are some brilliant insightful quotes (see below); but as travel literature it lacks life, there is something missing. Thubron is revisiting places he has gone before, we are constantly reminded that he has been there before, a trip down memory lane, the "shadow" of Thubron. The focus is on the old and decaying, buildings and graveyards crumbling away, the past, like an old man near death for whom the world is falling apart. The historical asides are accurate, but short enough they lack context or meaning; it was only those places and histories I already knew in more depth that left a memorable impact. Nothing particularly exciting happens because he is in and out of peoples lives in a few days, not enough time except for the banal: a scary trip to the dentist, almost running off the road while driving drunk and seeing a man masturbate are stand outs.

One critic called Thubron "Our greatest living travel writer," which implies most of the "great" travel writers are dead, from another era, presumably the golden age of travel literature pre-WWII. This is a sad reputation, Thubron seemingly has one foot in the grave (literarlly if one follows his morbid itinerary). The same critic called it "A shining example of the modern travel account", in which case I prefer the older accounts which have life, optimism and adventure. Perhaps in the end it is a statement of the reality of the modern world of central Asia; or a statement about the decay of the travel literature genre. Surely there are other more fun, optimistic and ultimately hopeful travel accounts along the Silk Road.

Quotes & Notes for Shadow of the Silk Road

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Rocketeers How a visionary band of business leaders, engineers, and pilots is boldly privatizing space


Michael Belfiore (2007)
Hard first
August 2007

Fairly short and easy to read magazine-style investigative journalistic human interest narrative about some of the exciting people and companies involved in America's burgeoning private space industry: the X Prize, Burt Rutan, Virgin Galactic, Elon Musk, Robert Bigelow and a few others. I thought the best chapters were about Burt Rutan and winning the XPrize, in particular the blow by blow account of all the troubles they had, very edge of the seat; also the backgrounds of Elon Musk and Robert Bigelow. As a journalistic work it is ephemeral and will be outdated (except as a source for later writers) but if your fascinated by the events, people and rocket ships, this is an excellent overview that is valuable right now. Belfiore writes for a number of periodicals like Popular Science, Wired, New Scientists, and claims to be one of only a few who are covering this exciting new industry, so he will certainly be an author to watch in the years ahead.

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Song for the Blue Ocean Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas


Carl Safina (1998)
Hardcover first
August 2007

Song for the Blue Ocean is a powerful book and Safina shows the complexity and often contradictory nature of conservation; it's a story of the ocean, but the problems are applicable to the worlds environment. It's a depressing book, yet ultimately hopeful. It is a difficult work to summarize crossing many genres, which can be a sign of greatness. Another sign of greatness is timelessness, but sadly it is already outdated in 2007 - he wrote and researched most of it in the early 1990s so it is a snapshot of that time, the current state of affairs are now beyond the book. This creates a sort of empty feeling, for example people in the book would say "we only have 10 years left" -- well it's been over 10 years.. In a way this has worked against the message because some of the doom and gloom predicitons have not come to pass, although things are certainly very, very bad.

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Au Maroc ("Into Morocco")


Pierre Loti (1890)
Philadelphia, D. McKay. 1914 trans. William Peter Baines, via Internet Archive
August 2007

Au Maroc was Pierre Loti's first pure travel book. It covers about a month of spring while travelling by horseback between the cities of Tangiers, Fez and Meknes. Loti starts out as part of a French diplomatic mission, but in characteristic style, he quickly ditches the pomp of politics for native garb and takes off on his own to explore the people and culture in a more down to earth fashion.

Highlites include wonderfully visual and olafactory descriptions of the carpets of wild flowers that cover the bloming spring landscape in patterns reminicent of oriental rugs; the salt-hand torture of folding the fingers into slits in the palm, packing with salt, binding and waiting for the fingernails to grow into the hand and slowly kill the victim; the smelly muddy streets layerd with refuse and dead animals compared with the dark cool and clean interiors of the buildings; the rooftop culture of women who congregate there during the day; the contrast between the ancient building and people that remain unchanged since the early middle ages and the surrounding pristine flowers and newly emerging spring re-birth; the erotic secretivness and sad life of women who live in harems.

Read via Internet Archive

Update: Created a Wikipedia article. Not much there yet. This article by Arthur Clark is pretty good background.

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Pierre Loti The Legendary Romantic


Lesley Blanch (1982)
hardcover first American edition 1983
August 2007

Pierre Loti is a biography of turn of the century French "romanticist/realist" Pierre Loti. Lovingly told by Lesley Branch who spent considerable time searching for the people still alive who knew him and examining his private personal letters and artifacts. Loti was one of the most famous writers of his day but his style has gone out of fashion and most people today have never heard of him, much less read his works. Yet his life was the stuff of legend and his corpus of writing still remains valuable and readable. Loti said he wished to die with two objects: a garden spade and a scarf from a former lover. They represent the two things he thought most important in life: nature and love. His works and life reflect this deeply.

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Mon Frere Yves ("My Brother Yves")


Pierre Loti (1883)
Translated by Mary P Fletcher, 1887 Vizetelly & co., on Google Books
August 2007

My Brother Yves (1883) was one of Pierre Loti's most famous books. It continued the style of his first three books as partly auto-biographical and partly novelistic, perhaps "romanticized memoir" would be a good description. The 1887 translation by MP Fletcher is not very good, but it is the only free copy available online, there are better translations available in print. There is no strong central plot and it describes in vinnegets Loti's relationship with a hard drinking working class Breton sailor named Yves, with snapshots of their times together at sea and on shore in Brittany, and the changing nature of Yves as he grows older, more mature and settles down. Yves is based on a real sailor who Loti was friends with. Some commentators have said there is a hidden sub-text of a homosexual relationship between Yves and Loti, however there is nothing overtly like that in the text. I just see it at face value as a close brotherly relationship which in the 19th century was more common when strange men regularly shared beds in hotels (see Moby-Dick) and lived in close quarters on ships for years on end; turning it into a sexual affair without evidence is a later less authoritative interpretation.

Of the Loti books I've read (see below) this so far is the weakest but it was one of his most respected and popular, in the top 5 anyway, I think the bad translation is part of the problem. Still, it is interesting to learn about French naval life and Breton sea-fareing culture which are probably the real main characters of the novel.

Read via Google Books.

Created a Wikipedia article.

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Ramuntcho


Pierre Loti (1897)
New York : R. F. Fenno 1897 trans. Henri Pene du Bois, via Internet Archive
August 2007

In Ramuntcho (1897), Pierre Loti poetically describes the Basque peasants of the French Pyrenees, revealing the "ancient" and beautiful speech of the Euskara language, the mantilla and woolen Basque cap, dances such as the fandango with the castanets, the ancient white-washed houses, the game of pelota, etc.. an exotic and attractive subject. It is helpful to have an encyclopedia nearby to translate the many Basque terms. The plot is a Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet which never fails to pull the heart strings. The style is impressionism and Loti does a wonderful job visually painting the French Basque lands and people. It's the kind of work to read slowly savoring - a beautiful work of art to become immersed in another world, an ancient world were things move slower, the colors bright pastel pinks and blues, the breezes warm and smelling of mountain herbs and flowers, the people gentle and life inevitably destined by the forces of history.

Read via Internet Archive.

Update: Created a Wikipedia article.

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Pecheurs d'Islande ("An Iceland Fisherman")


Pierre Loti (1886)
Internet Archive, New York P.F. Collier, 1902. Translated from the French with a critical introd. by Jules Cambon. With descriptive notes.
August 2007

This is my first Loti book and I was immediately captivated by the blend of impressionism and realism. In the tradition of Balzac and Zola, Loti writes with documentary realism, but also subjective poetic description, a precursor of the modernist movement. The scenes of geography and place are miniture works of art, beautiful and original. The actual story is simple but moving and believable. Iceland Fisherman is often considered Loti's most commercially successful work and perhaps critically one of his best as well, it was adapted to film by acclaimed writer and director Pierre Schoendoerffer in 1959.

Read via Internet Archive

Update: Created a Wikipedia article.

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The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby


Charles Dickens (1839)
Hardcover "Books, Inc." 1936 set of 20 Vol.IX
August 2007

This is my 4th Dickens novel and probably the longest. As usual I both loved and hated it. Loved it for all the good reasons: characters, descriptions of 19th C England, wit - and hated it, as usual, for being too long (at least 40 hours to read!) and meandering plot. Dicken's novels usually have a central theme which is explored in all its permutations by it's many typological characters. In Nickleby the theme I saw is childhood abandonment followed by the redemption of coming home for those who are deserving and banishment for the rest (a common theme for Dicken's, the "coming home" feel-goodness, gathering the family at Christmas - a very Christian theme). Another commentator (see "Resources" below) says the main theme is "flattery" and makes an interesting case for it. There are really many themes here which is what makes it so rich a work to explore.

Here are some observations made by other commentators in the "Reources" section:

* Writing at the same time he was writing Oliver Twist
* First Dickens novel with a strong central female character
* First Dickens novel with a traditional hero as main character.
* Main theme is "flattery", as seen in all the characters.
* Last third of novel takes on a melodramatic stage performance.
* Unequal work that could be 3 or 4 separate novels, but shows Dicken's development from earlier "sketches" into a whole novel.

See also my Quotes & Notes for Nicholas Nickleby

Resources
Robert Giddings. Although about the 2002 film, it contains more about the book, using the film as a contrast, this lengthy essay is the best I've read on the Internet about Nicholas Nickleby.
George Gissing, The Immortal Dickens. Some old commentary from 1925.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens (1911) . More old commentary.
Flattery in Nicholas Nickleby. Interesting in depth thesis about "Flattery" being the central theme.

Update. Watched all 9 hours of the Tony Away winning play by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Fantastic - actors, sets, costumes. Very faithful to the original with only minor variations. It would be difficult to fully appreciate without reading the book first, and many of the themes get lost or misinterpreated, but it still does an amazing job of capturing the period. Although produced in 1982, nearly 25-years ago, one would never know, there is nothing that makes it a 1980s period piece, it is a timeless adaptation.

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Doctor Zhivago


Boris Pasternak (1956)
Hardcover 1958 edition
July 2007

Doctor Zhivago is a difficult and uneven work but also rewarding for the careful reader . Pasternak is foremost a poet, the prose is often densely specific, metaphorical or philosophical. One running metaphor is "mother Russia", and the women in Zhivago's life - his first wife represents the old tradition of the 19th century, comfortable but not passionate - his second wife was the bad girl revolutionary, passionate but deadly, his third wife of necessity and survival and finally the orphaned daughter, cut off from the past headed into an uncertain future. Like Tolstoy in War and Peace, Pasternak examines the old question: does the individual make history or history make the individual - the characters mirror the historical events. There are many "philosophy bombs", little insights on life and art weaved into the text which are worth quoting (see "Quotes & Notes" below). Pasternak was born in 1890 and saw the transition from 19th ideals to 20th century first-hand and the novel is the epic story of that transition across generations. Some particularly illuminating text about this can be found in chapter 13(14). There are hundreds of named characters in the novel, most with minor appearances, giving an all-inclusive "communist" feel, no one is left out!

I could not help but reflect on Kang Zhengguo's 2007 memoir Confessions (below) since Doctor Zhivago is the novel that, after requesting to borrow a copy from the library, landed Kang prison for 3 years for "thought crimes" against the state. Today in the 21st century, when high literature is seen as rarefied art, perhaps even headed for extinction, when the CIA is chasing after YouTube clips of terrorists, it's hard to imagine that not too long ago people were jailed and sometimes even killed over literary art. It should be noted the CIA was involved in either the novels translation or publication because they knew it would be an embarassment for the Soviet's. I suspect the 1965 film version also contains some Cold War propaganda, parts of the film, which are not in the novel, are clearly designed to make the USSR look bad. This political dimension either adds or takes away from its value as a work of art, depending on your point of view, time will tell, my guess is it will diminish its reputation as a period piece.

See also Quotes & Notes on Doctor Zhivago

Update: (re)watched the 1965 film, with a fresh perspective having now read the novel. Of course the movie cuts a lot and changes some things around, and even adds a lot of new things, but in some ways the movie is more immediately satisfying - since the novel moves so slowly, the high climax scenes are few and far between making them almost anti-climatic, while in the movie (about 3.5 hrs long) the emotional coaster can be experienced in a single sitting from start to end. The cinematography, scenery and sets in the movie are outstanding, and a few scenes in the movie helped clarify some confusion in the novel. With this praise of the movie, it would be impossible to understand the film fully without reading the novel first - the relationship of the characters and their backgrounds are not fully fleshed out leaving the viewer grasping at the central love story and missing the deeper insights. See the film, but also read the novel, they are complementary.

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Confessions An Innocent Life in China


Kang Zhengguo (2007)
First hardcover
July 2007

Extraordinary. Princeton professor Perry Link says in the Introduction "This may be the best account of daily life in Communist China that I have ever read. It stands out .. because of the extraordinary lifelike qualities of the writing and the credibility of its account .. Hundreds of writers .. have given accounts of China during Mao's years, but nearly all use an ideological lens .. This account, in contrast, is clear eyed."

It has a number of factors that make it stand out. As Link says, it is honest and devoid of Communist ideology, Link considers this the first account "free of Mao" to appear out of China. The writing is superb and the characters pop out of the page to such an extent I feel I know them all personally. Certain scenes are anthropological in detail of Chinese rural peasant life and some of the prison descriptions are, according to Link, as good as anything else of its type available.

Zhengguo never sacrificed his internal integrity, which made him a nail-head that constantly attracted the notice of the Communist hammer, usually involving literature and books, in particular his desire to read Doctor Zhivago (see above). Zhengguo says in writing his memoirs "I sought salvation through describing my trials and tribulations in writing. My purpose was not merely to complain but rather to salvage my dignity through honest revelations about myself and everyone who had interacted with me, whether friend or foe." He has obvious faults, there are times the reader wonders how he could be so foolish and stubborn, but anyone who is a devotee of books and the literary life will find in Zhengguo, and many other Chinese intellectuals like him, inspiration for a dignified life and personal integrity.

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Ivan Ilych and Hadji Murad


Leo Tolstoy (1886-1905)
Internet Archive, Oxford Univ Press, trans. by Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1935
July 2007

From Internet Archive.

This is a collection of Leo Tolstoy's later short stories and novella's, translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude and published in 1935 by Oxford University Press; the translations were originally published earlier, "Hadji Murad" in 1912, not sure of the rest. Louise and Aylmer Maude are well known English Tolstoy scholars from the early 20th C who wrote a decent biography soon after he died, which is also available on Internet Archive in two volumes.

The contents of "Ivan Ilych and Hadji Murad" are arranged in chronological order:

*The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886)
*Master and Man (1893)
A Talk Among Leisured People (1893)
Walk in the Light While There is Light (1893)
Memoirs of a Madman (1894)
*Hadji Murad (ca. 1896/8, 1901/4)
Fedor Kuzmich (1905)

The three best are marked with a '*' which are "Ivan Ilych", "Master and Man" and "Hadji Murad", which comprise the bulk of the books length. The three short stories after "Master and Man" are somewhat polemic and not too valuable except from a biographical view, and the last story - "Fedor Kuzmich" - is brief and incomplete before he died. The overall translation is excellent, well respected and highly readable with helpful footnotes.

"Hadji Murad" is a masterpiece. Yale professor Harold Bloom considers it the central canonical work of fiction of the 19th century and devotes an entire chapter of "The Western Canon" (1994) to it. At about 160 pages, it's a lot more approachable than the behemoth "War and Peace." Lots of heroism and adventure and the politics of Islam vs Christianity are applicable to the present day.

"Master and Man" is wonderful in the descriptions and will leave a lasting memory - everything normal seems new again. It's the shortest and lightest read of the three, with a lot of foreshadowing and a kind of twist ending.

"Ivan Ilych" is a well known classic that has amazing re-readability, as we age and go through stages of life, so does Ilych and we can plot ourselves along his course. A heavy read but if you have not read it in a while it's well worth a re-visit.

Note: this scan has 4 missing pages, 2 in "Ivan Ilych" (pp. 50-51) and 2 in "Master and Man" (pp. 132-33) - however Project Gutenberg has a plain text version of the same translation so the missing text is available.

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The Secret Life of Lobsters: how fishermen and scientists are unraveling the mysteries of our favorite crustacean


Trevor Corson (2004)
Hardcover first
July 2007

De-mystified the lobster and lobster fisherman. Amazed at how complex the lobster is and how much it depends on human activity - the destruction of the Cod allowed the lobster to thrive. Lobster eggs travel 100s of miles, the bay where they are caught is not a year-round home or place of birth. Lobsters are managed substainably, one of the few wild catches of the sea to be so.

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A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush


Eric Newby (1958)
Paperback, Lonely Planet (1998)
July 2007

English traveler and author Eric Newby (1919-2006) published over a dozen travel books during his remarkably adventerous life, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush (1958) is his most well known and considered a classic of travel adventure writing. At the age of 33 in 1956, he quit a job as a high-end clothing salesman in London and joined a friend in a remote part of Afghanistan to attempt a first ascent of a 23,000' mountain. The problem is neither Newby or his friend had any mountaineering experience. Armed with 4 days of mountaineering training and a fold-out pamphlet for beginners, they drove 5000 miles across Europe and Asia into Afghanistan, the super-bowl of the climbing world. Many things go wrong and by the end of the 2 weeks they return much the worse for wear but still alive. Newby is a good writer and the book flows well. Most memorable is his humor, many times I was laughing out loud at the self-deprecation and understated silliness that is English humor. A comparison could be, and has been, made with this book and Rory Stewart's The Places In Between (2004).

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The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories


Leo Tolstoy (1889)
Project Gutenberg e-text #689, Trans. Benjamin R. Tucker in 1920
..and, Penguin Classics, trans. by David McDuff 1983
July 2007

Harold Bloom in "The Western Canon" ranks Tolstoy among the best authors in world history (post medieval), proceeded only by Shakespeare and Dante. Although best known for his epic novels, Tolstoy also wrote some excellent short stories and novellas. Near the top of the later is The Kreutzer Sonata which demonstrates Tolstoy's powerful command of the craft in a digestible portion.

It is a morality story about how social forces shape and eventually corrupt men and womens relationship with one another. What is love, is there really love? There was barely a paragraph where I did not recognize either myself or someone I know. Although fiction this might as well be psychoanalysis. It is not always easy reading to confront bare naked mysonginy, and Tolstoy takes things to logic extremes, but in the process reveals something timeless, basic and wise. As a story that delves into "the mind of a killer" it is the best I've ever read in terms of believability, whereas other authors tell you what the person is thinking, Tolstoy shows you how he came to think it.

Read via Project Gutenberg

In addition I read The Devil, The Forged Coupon, and After the Ball in the Penguin Classics collection The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories (2004), The Devil and Kreutzer tackle the same question/problem of what is love and how to deal with sex in marriage. The Devil is a more concise and better-told tale than Kreutzer, it is based in part on Tolstoy's real-life affair with a peasant on his estate (much to the chagrin of Tolstoy's wife who found out about it through this story). In my opinion Tolstoy's hang-up is prostitution, so common for men of his class in Russia that he saw it as normal, he could not envision life without it, and was stuck trying to integrate it with the idea of true love and marriage according to Christian precepts. In these stories Tolstoy was coming to grips with his own debauchary and trying to find a moral and religious way out - he eventually found it by renouncing his wife and all wordly goods, an acknowledgement that one can't buy love.

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Stephen Crane (HBJ Album Biographies)


James B. Colvert (1984)
Hardcover first
July 2007

At 162 pages and many full-page photographs this is a quick and painless way to learn about the life of Stephen Crane. It is well written, well researched and well designed. There are other more detailed biographies, but for a 1-day read for the non-specialists it is very enjoyable and educational.

Crane published a few novels and many short stories. His work was uneven and beyond the big three - Red Badge of Courage, Maggie and The Open Boat - it is hard to know where to start. This book provides an excellent guide to know what stories are his better ones, and the context of his life and surroundings when he wrote them. It also places his relationships with other well known authors like Henry James and HG Welles and Joseph Conrad in context.

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Brave New World


Aldous Huxley (1932)
Hardcover 1946 Harper & Row "Blue Ribbon"
July 2007

Huxley correctly predicts "political correctness", the modern emphasis on information over wisdom, the dangers of a "do it if it feels good" culture.

Yale professor Harold Bloom is the living embodiment of John the "Savage", for more in depth see his excellent 2000 interview on BookTV (See "Essays and Film" section at bottom) as well as his introduction in some editions of "Brave New World".

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The Black Sheep ("La Rabouilleuse")


Honore de Balzac (1842)
Paperback Penguin 1970 trans. Donald Adamson
July 2007

Although full of action and entertaining, "The Black Sheep" is something more. This is a story of two brothers and a mother, very similar to my own family situation, and apparently like Balzac's home life as well - speaking from personal experience, the novel has a good deal of verisimilitude: the competition for the affection of the mother, the changing fortunes of the brothers - one plodding slowly along, the other a bright but erratic star - the physical prowess and weakness of each - these are not just fictional devices. Balzac speaks broadly to the reality of life, all the while set in the delightful atmosphere of early 19th century France, it really is a treat.

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Children of the Sun a history of humanity's unappeasable appetite for energy


Alfred W. Crosby (2006)
First hardcover
July 2007

Quick world history survey of sources and uses of energy. Fairly un-inspired and not very deep. Everything is correct just not very nuanced. Might recommend for someone with no previous experience. Crosby is very pro-nuclear but misses some of the major problems with it.

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The Snow Leopard


Peter Matthiessen (1976)
Hardcover first (no DJ)
July 2007

National Geographic ranked The Snow Loepard #12 in its respected list of 100 all-time best travel and exploration literature. It opened new vistas in the travel literature genre, combining spiritual quest, autobiography, nature writing and travel/adventure literature. It also won the National Book Award.

In some ways The Snow Leopard represents a document of not only Peter's journey but an entire generations. Traveling to the Himalaya's, smoking pot, zen-ing out with Buddhist's monks - this was the height of hip in 1973 when Peter took the trip, and it obviously has had life-changing impact on many people. Some of this vision and lifestyle has lost its luster over the past 30 years with new generations and new values, but this book will certainly be forever a documentary of the times. Peter's descriptive powers are formidable - it can take some effort to get into his flow as the passages are dense with information, visual and encyclopedic, but if you can keep up with his energy, the reward is an unforgettable trip.

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Maggie, a girl of the streets (a story of New York)


Stephen Crane (1893)
First, Internet Archive
July 2007

A story of a NYC working class Irish immigrant family that slides into degeneration because of alcohol and family abuse, very similar in style and content to Emile Zola's L'Assommoir and Nana, but about 1/10th as long and less "pornographic" to turn of the century sensibilities. Maggie is portrayed as a "devil child" to those around her - a sign of the Gilded Age when children took second place to partying - for comparison to the mood of the time, think 1970s and Stephen King's "Carrie".

Read via Internet Archive, the 1896 first edition. Crane self-published the 1893 edition which was in pamphlet form.

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The Red Badge of Courage


Stephen Crane (1894)
1951 Modern Library
July 2007

Stephen Crane first published Red Badge in a local Philadelphia magazine when he was 23 years old. It is a short work because Crane found other popular realists like Zola ("Germinal") and Toltstoy to be tiresome, saying of "War and Peace" - "He could have done the whole business in one third the time and made it just as wonderful". He even criticized his own "Red Badge of Courage" as being too long. Crane was a rebel and non-conformist, essentially without any formal education, he disliked anything that was considered popular.

Crane was aiming for photographic documentation, but the work is also richly symbolic, with a series of episodic scenes juxtaposed like a French impressionist painting forming contrasts. Thus he is able to capture the ironic and contradictory nature of war, swinging from elation to fear, pride to humbleness, love to anger .. time and geography are lost, what is right becomes wrong and what is wrong becomes right. The book has no real plot, and is morally ambiguous, one leaves it feeling a bit disheveled wondering exactly what happened, but with certain scenes forever etched in your memory. Probably one of the best artistic representations of the experience of combat.

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In the track of R.L. Stevenson and elsewhere in old France


John Alexander Hammerton (1907)
First hardcover
July 2007

This is one of the first "in the footsteps" of Robert Louis Stevenson, some of whose best works were his auto-biographical travel journals.

In 1903 Hammerton re-traced Stevenson's 1873 ten-day hiking trip ("Travels with a donkey in the Cevennes") through the Cevennes mountains in south-central France, except on a bicycle instead of a donkey, taking many pictures and even meeting a few people who remembered Stevenson. He then bicycled along the canals as originally detailed in "An Inland Voyage" (1870), Stevenson's first book. Later chapters are less Stevenson-specific but also in France. Hammerton heavily quotes Stevenson and shows a wonderful eye for the romance of France that Stevenson also captured. Hammerton's trip was only about 25 years after Stevenson so much remained the same and his descriptions and feel for the place are very authentic and help further fill in the picture of rural France in the later 19th century, in particular the introduction of urban electric trains which were common in the 1890s to 1920s.

This edition is available on Internet Archive including pictures. I purchased the hardcopy to get better quality picture scans. This book is notable for its construction - only 254 pages, the spine is about 2 inches thick. Each page is so thick that they don't bend when turned, the cover is a deep blue leather, this is book love at its height.

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Waiting for the Barbarians


J.M. Coetzee (1980)
Paperback, "Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century"
June 2007

Timeless observations about human nature. In a post-911 world, in particular the Abu Ghraib Prison torture scandal, it is strangely prescient, but it is not allegorical to any particular time or place, rather a timeless fable or myth. It is essential post-colonial literature, applicable to the 4th Century Goths/Romans, the 5th century Chinese/Mongols, the 19th century Americans/Indians, Europeans/Africans, etc.. Many layers to look at, but also a well told and exciting story.

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The Cult of the Amateur how today's internet is killing our culture


Andrew Keen (2007)
Hardcover first
June 2007

Prior to the 19th Century just about everyone was an amateur, limited only be time and resources, but with the rise of the professional in the 20th century, the amateur lost his role, shoved aside by gatekeepers who required credentials to be taken seriously. Now, with people living longer and having more free time, the amateur is making a come back in a big way in many areas. On the Internet, it is having an impact on the professionals, in particular journalists (blogs), reference works (Wikipedia), entertainment (theft of copyright material), distributors (P2P), publishers (web). Andrew Keen looks at the downside of this movement, saying the amateurs are undermining the very professionals they initially set out to imitate, replacing them with inferior quality material. It's an important conversation, even you don't agree with everything, the ideals of participatory user-generated content need to be examined in light of the realities of what actually goes on. Realities that many idealists are quick to apologize for or ignore.

See the (somewhat ironic) Wikipedia entry on "Professional amateur" which I helped write.

See also an excellent debate between Keen and new media guru Kevin Kelly.

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Facing Athens encounters with the modern city


George Sarrinikolaou (2004)
Hardcover first edition
June 2004

A quick and thoughtful travel memoir about Athens by a Greek immigrant to the US who returned to Athens in his 30s and took walking tours around town and comments on his personal recollections and thoughts. George focused on things most people disregard - working class people and neighborhoods, Gypsies and Albanian low-wage workers, the corruption and general systematic disregard for the law. The hospital story of bribes for the doctors is frightening.

As both an American and Greek, George is able to write for an American audience but from a Greek perspective. For those of us who see ourselves as "travelers" and not "tourists", George's focus on the street and dark corners is exactly what we are looking for, a "rough guide", but told with respect, humanity and tact.

I found this book for free at "The Great Sage" restaurant in Clarksville, MD in June 2007 - one of the employees set out a box for anyone to take from her personal collection. Thank you anonymous giver, I would have never read it otherwise.

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The Bridges of Madison County


Robert James Waller (1992)
Hardcover "first printing"
June 2007

In 2003 while traveling across country, on a solo camping trip for 3 months, I drove to Madison County and found my way to Roseman Bridge. I had not read the book or the movie but knew from the title the "Bridges of Madison County" were something to see. It was a dusty hot day with no one around and I made a few pictures. A car drove up with three women who were on a literary tour. They had traveled from Japan, California and Texas to see Roseman Bridge. They asked if I could take their picture in front on the bridge and seemed genuinely moved by the experience - we did not exchange many words and I went on my way feeling a bit out of the loop. I decided one day I would either read the book or watch the movie - now I understand.

This is moving and wonderful work of art. The juxtaposition of the freedom loving man who chases his dreams, and the woman who sacrifices her dreams for the security of the routine, speaks volumes of the human experience on many levels. They both desired what the other had, but knew that in attainment would come its destruction. If only we could all be so wise - careful what you wish for.

See my 2003 blog entry with pictures of Roseman Bridge here.

I found this book for free at "The Great Sage" restaurant in Clarksville, MD in June 2007 - one of the employees set out a box for anyone to take from her personal collection. Thank you anonymous giver.

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The Zen of Fish The story of sushi, from samurai to supermarket


Trevor Corson (2007)
Hardcover first
June 2007

The Zen of Fish is an appropriate title. Like small decorative servings of visually appealing sushi, Trevor Corson playfully dishes out many short chapters full of descriptive appeal, encyclopedic knowledge and witty banter, a written "documentary" of the sushi experience in easily digestible portions. The variety of information about sushi is varied, but like the ubiquitous bed of white rice it is served on, a consistent human-interest narrative holds everything together, popping one short satisfying chapter down after the next. Reams of encyclopedic information are interesting, but when wrapped around a person and a story, it becomes an unforgettable experience.

Gratefully, Corson has added an appendix on how to go about ordering and eating Sushi "correctly", and he covers at least a dozen different fish types that make knowing what to order beyond the standards easier. Fun and educational book, highly recommended.

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L'Assommoir ("The Dram Shop")


Emile Zola (1877)
Oxford World Classics, trans by Margaret Mauldon
June 2007

The seventh volume in the Les Rougon-Macquart cycle of 20 novels by one of the best 19th century authors of world literature. Along with Nana and Germinal it is probably Zola's most famous and commercially successful. It is also his most controversial, outraging many contemporary conservative critics with NSFW language and portrayals of sex and violence - the sexualization of pre-teen Nana is treated frankly for example. The minute level and accuracy of working class 19th century Parisian life remains a study for anthropologists to this day.

The novel is notoriously difficult to translate. Indeed, even the contemporary native French version needed translations since many of the words and phrases were localized slang unfamiliar to many people. The Oxford World Classics is the most recent translation and reads beautifully.

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The Last Oil Shock: A Survival Guide to the Imminent Extinction of Petroleum Man


David Strahan (2007)
First UK paper
June 2007

Despite the histrionic title this is a remarkable book. Not only is it full of accurate, up to date and important information about peak oil, it is entirely entertaining and impossible to put down. Written by an investigative journalist, he explains concepts and ideas about peak oil in a way that are fully understandable to the lay reader, and very entertaining - I read it in 3 sittings over a day and a half. Highly recommended. I had to import it from Amazon.ca (Canada) into the US as it's not available for sale h