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.
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.
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.
----
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.
---
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.
----
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 here but it should and hopefully will be.
Probably the best and easiest way to learn about Peak Oil, but even
experts are raving about it saying they too learned new things.
Alessandro
Barbero (2004) Hardcover US first June 2007
Thematic survey of the Carolingian world during the reign of
Charlemagne. Up to date historiographical approach regarding the "dark
ages" not being so dark after all. Well written, lots of interesting
anecdotes, gives a decent picture of the times, within the limitations
of the sources.
"Deep Ancestry" is a sort of simplified version of "The Journey of Man"
which is a classic. Although many of the details were new, details which
I will forget, the concepts are the same, no new ideas. Given all the
recent controversy of Genographic Project with indigenous peoples, in
particular American Indians, this reads like an apology on why the
project is important and the nature of the research. I did learn some
new things and its a very short 170 pages of text (the rest being
appendix).
To Travel
Hopefully journal
of a death not foretold
Christopher
Rush (2005) Paperback US 2006 edition June 2006
I am a big fan of Robert Louis Stevenson and in particular Travels
With
a Donkey in the Cevennes (1878) so I was very excited to
discover this
memoir by Scottish novelist Christopher Rush (who is new to me). I was
expecting an "in the footsteps" re-enactment with literary history and
of course 'Hopefully' has these elements, but it turns out to be an
original and beautiful work in its own right. The first 100 pages are
about the life of Rush and how he suffers a series of terrible losses in
his family. Desperate with grief and anger he sets off to re-trace
Stevenson's journey in southern France and along the way he re-connects
with himself and ultimately finds hope to continue living. Rush writes
with honesty and humor, intelligence and learning. Very powerful,
uplifting, full of wisdom and truth that is rare and beautiful.
Although a memior it really has the elements of a novel, specifically a
character who encounters diversity, travels and finds answers and
changes to become a better person. This is the sort of travel memoir
that is the most satisfying. It is also a story of finding hope and
anyone facing depression from personal loss, bad health, etc,, would
benefit from this powerful tale.
It might be a mistake to call this a novel. As Anthony Burgess said in
the introduction to "A Clockwork Orange", a novel shows a character
changing and evolving and learning a lesson and hopefully becoming a
better person in the end. Anything else is a fable. While "The Road" is
well written and very good post-apocalyptic fiction, complete with
flesh-eating "bad guys", and while it strikes a deep chord with
generational zeitgeist in America, that is all, no deep truth.
For a real-life and ultimately more satisfying "Road", see John Muir's
"A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf" (1911) - two years after the end of
the Civil War, John Muir walked from Chicago to Northern Florida,
crossing the Appalachian mountains in the cold and snow, passing through
the wasted and desolate lands of the South. Bivouacking in abandoned
farm houses, passing burnt and destroyed croplands and forests, he was
constantly at threat from bands of ex-Confederate bandits who patrolled
the road and would "kill a man for $5". Not to mention the "wild
negroes". Many times he almost starved to death, became sick and in the
end his life was saved by a family who took him in. If "The Road" is a
fable, it is a fable of the South after the end of the Civil
War.
Mark Lynas (2007) Paperback, UK first
edition June 2007
The IPCC says that in the 21st century global warming could bring
temperatures anywhere from 1 to 6 degrees hotter. Lynas uses
peer-reviewed scientific literature to show what these temperature rises
could mean. In 6 chapters he outlines 6 degrees, 1 degree for each
chapter. Fundamentally, once temps get past 2 or 3 degrees, like a wild
fire burning out of control, the planet will continue to heat up no
matter we do because nature starts releasing massive stores of CO2 from
burning forests, melting tundra, warming oceans etc.. once it reaches 6
degrees it could wipe out most life on the planet.
This is the first comprehensive attempt I have seen to outline what
exactly a warmer world will be like, based on the most recent peer
reviewed scientific literature. It is one part of the learning curve
about global warming but an important part. It should be read in
conjunction with other books, such as Monbiot's "Heat" which offers
solutions to keep temps below 2 or 3 degrees.
This is scary stuff and we don't have much time, 8 or 10 years, to make
drastic changes. Once things reach a certain temperature its out of our
control and the higher temps become just a matter of time. There is a
fire smoldering in the kitchen and we need to get off the couch and turn
off the TV and do something about it before it burns down the
house.
Richistan: A Journey Through the
American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich
Robert
Frank (2007) Audiobook June 2007
Robert Frank is a reporter at the Wall Street Journal who, a number of
years ago, began a column on what it's like to be rich in America. This
soon became a very popular column and he was tasked to work on it full
time. This book represents the synthesis of his experiences over the
past few years.
"Richistan" is a colloquial term Frank uses to describe the booming
numbers of wealthy. Starting in the late 1980s, there has been a
doubling or tripling of the number of wealthy households in the US,
currently at over 9 million with $1 million or more in net assets.
Within this "nation within a nation" there is a class system, with the
"lower class" rich (or "merely affluent") in the 1-10 million net worth
range, the "middle class" rich in the 10-100 range and the "upper class"
rich in the 100-1 billion range. The billionaires, estimated to be about
1000 strong in the US, are in a separate group entirely. Each of these
groups have distinct spending patterns and investment goals. 90% of
these new rich came from middle or lower class backgrounds and
everything about them is different from the stereotypes of the "old"
rich: how they made their money, how they spend it, how they give it
away.
Frank's book is both easy reading and hard to put down. I listened to
the audiobook version, going through the 7 hours in "no time". Although
educational, this is also a very funny book. The audio greatly enhances
the humor as the narrator has perfect timing and change of voice, many
times I was laughing out loud, yet at the same time going "ah-ha!". A
rare treat.
John Muir (1911) Barnes and Noble "Suggested
Reading" (2006), Hardcover. June 2007
When Muir first arrived in CA in 1869, and got a summer job herding
sheep to the highlands of the Sierra mountains, there he would discover
his life's passion, Yosemite and the Sierra Mountains. This journal
details with excitement and awe the bounty of nature, and the colorful
backwoods characters he encountered.
Muir is at his best when he is trying to express the unexpressable and
that is best seen in the chapter on Yosemite. Parts of this book are
dull but the chapters on Yosemite and later are pretty good.
Also available on Internet Archive, first edition, illustrated:
http://www.archive.org/details/myfirstsummerins00muirrich
A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe on the Rivers and Lakes of
Europe
John Macgregor (1866) First
edition, Internet Archive June 2007
John
MacGregor, outdoor writer and distant relative of Scottish folk hero
and outlaw Rob Roy, designed and built a hybrid canoe / kayak with a
sail and kayaking paddle which he named the "Rob Roy". He then paddled
through the rivers, lakes and canals of Germany, France and Switzerland,
portaging between waterways on a cart or on trains. This was a
completely novel idea for the time, traveling alone, by water, in a boat
so light it can be carried, and it fired popular imaginations across
Europe. His account of the journey became a best seller read by royalty
and laymen alike, attracting newspaper attention and crowds along the
route.
"A Thousand Miles" was written as both an account of the journey and a
sort of travel guide for those wishing to follow in MacGregors wake.
Indeed, fellow Scotsman Robert Louis Stevenson was so enthralled by
MacGregors trip, he soon made his own in a Rob Roy, which he wrote about
in "An Inland Voyage", Stevenson's first published book. One can
profitably find comparison between MacGregor and Stevenson's accounts,
Stevenson being the genre imitator, but superior in writing
quality.
MacGregor's account has a degree of Victorian optimism that is
refreshing, not unlike Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days",
the world is an Englishman's oyster with new and exciting modes of
transportation making outdoor expeditions available to everyman. At
times his account becomes journal-like and banal, commenting on every
town, supper and rapid he comes across, and there is no central
narrative other than the curious mode of travel and incidental
encounters - but for learning about the details of European life in the
1860s and the zeitgeist of the time it is an authentic and pleasurable
journey that was influential.
A scanned illustrated first edition is available online at Internet
Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/thousandmilesinr00macguoft
There were many later editions, I think up to nine, that had additions
including a map, discussions of the Prussian War etc.. the success of "A
Thousand Miles" would spur Macgregor to take many more voyages and write
other travel accounts of his trips in the Rob Roy.
Heat is an optimistic response to more pessimistic works such as
Lovelock's The Revenge of Gaia which suggest we should prepare
for the
consequences because it is too late. Monbiot asks the hard question:
what specific solutions could reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2050 and
thus save the world from the worst impacts of global warming?
He examines electricity production, transportation, housing and some
case examples, such as retail stores and concrete production. Relying on
government reports, think tanks and other sources he discovers that it
may "just" be possible, so long as a society we approach it like we did
WWII, with a massive and focused effort and some sacrifices. Except for
long distance travel (by air, train or ship), everything else it should
be possible, says Monbiot, to reduce by 90%.
Monbiot mainly addresses England. However, England is one of the worlds
best organized countries politically and economically, so anything
difficult for England is going to nearly impossible for other nations -
can Georgia or Belarus or Chile or China reduce carbon emissions by 90%?
It is a global problem and Monbiot doesn't look beyond England and the
US, thus it is difficult to see how the entire world can turn around in
such a short period of time. There are big areas that Monbiot does not
address, such as agriculture. He also does not look at "climate
surprises" or tipping points, where a little CO2 increase by humans
triggers a massive CO2 release in nature (see Fred Pearce With Speed
and
Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate
Change).
Monbiot is optimistic solutions are available, but I found his solutions
so politically difficult to implement, and nearly impossible globally, I
came away even more depressed about our prospects. However, one thing is
clear, we have no choice but to try.
No god but
God The Origins,
Evolution and Future of Islam
Reza
Aslan (2005) Hardcover first June 2007
Good beginners background to Islam. Notable for me is the comparison of
Islam today to the Christian Reformation and wars of religion of the
16th C - the violence in the Middle East is not a clash of civilations
of East vs West, but an internal civil war over what religion means and
what it means to be religious in the modern world. The progressive and
laudable egalitarian and pluralism (acceptance of other religions) of
Muhammad's original vision. The Ulmaad's present day tight control over
Islamic society which has strangled it from advancing because no
rational commentary of the original Quaran is allowed since it is the
literal direct words of God. The origins and meaning of the five pillars
(such as the fast of Ramadan, circleing the Ka'ba (black cube) seven
times at Mecca during the Hajj, praying to Mecca five times daily). The
immediate history after Muhammad's death that lead to the split between
Suni and Shi'ite, a sort of tribal feud; and Suffism's strange mixture
of Christian, Buddhist, Islam, etc.. How Iran became Shii'ite while the
majority of the rest were Suni. The happen-chance start of the Saudi
Kingdom. Etc..
The Day of the Barbarians:
The Battle That Led to the Fall of the Roman Empire
Alessandro Barbero (2007) Hardcover first May
2007
The story of the Gothic War and the famous Battle of Adrianople has
often been re-constructed, for example by Gibbon (1776) and more
recently by Peter Heather The Fall of the Roman Empire (2005) and
Michael Kulikowski Rome's Gothic Wars (2006) - what makes this account
special is not any new over-arching theory, but simply a well
researched, reliable and very well told story - if writing history is a
type of literature, this is literature at its best. Barbero has the
ability to fire the imagination and make it all real - he can take a
single sentence from Ammianus Marcellinus (the primary source for the
events) and draw in other related material to fill in the details to
make a book-length retelling where others have a chapter or two. As
Steven Coats said, reviewing in the New York Times (April 29, 2007),
this is an "elegant and pleasurable little account - what a joy it is to
read about the ancient world in digestible portions." This is clearly a
book for the general reader, but Barbero is a medieval scholar, it
contains supporting footnotes (which are worthwhile) and references to
further reading. I never tire of reading about this story, it brings
together so many elements of the ancient and medieval worlds, it was one
of the pivotal moments in world history and also one of the most
dramatic.
With all the praise above, a couple things about what the book is not:
1) this is a short book, 147 pages of actual text, the rest is footnotes
2) it is not for specialists or experts - Barbero does not go into too
much chronological or geographic detail - it is not a definitive
scientific study 3) the question if Adrianople was the dividing line
between the Ancient and Medieval world is thankfully relegated to the
Preface and last two pages, a "hook" I suppose. The books real value is
in the skillful narration of events, and understanding the process of
the 'barbarization' of the Roman Empire.
Michael
Cook (1977) Paperback 1996 edition, Past Masters series from Oxford
UP May 2007
Wonderful little introduction to Muhammad and Islam. Monotheistic
Judaism and Christianity were making cultural headway into polytheistic
pagan Arabia by the 7th century. Facing cultural challenge by an outside
monotheistic religion, Muhammad co-opted elements of these faiths, the
exact sources and origins a matter of great debate. Muhammad saw
biblical history as a series of prophets from God who came to earth to
deliver a message - Moses, Jesus and finally Muhammad were all
"messengers" from God - the message of the Koran, as written by
Muhammad, is the most recent, and therefore most valid, message from God
and only the "true believers" (Muslims) can go to heaven.
John Muir (1867) Internet Archive first
edition, 1916 May 2007
John Muir (naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club) left his home in
Indiana at age 29 and "rambled" 1,000 miles through the woods of the
southern US ending in Florida in 1867/68. It was just 2 years after the
end of the Civil War and he ran into "wild negros" and long-haired
horse-riding ex-guerrillas who would kill a man for $5. He passed
through uninhabited stretches of burnt out fields and deserted farms and
was often seen as a northern interluder mistrusted by his southern
guests. He lived mostly on stale pieces of bread, almost dieing of
starvation while camping in a graveyard outside of Savannah, GA. He
caught malaria and was bed ridden for 3 months, cared for by a kind
family in Florida.
This is a snapshot of the south right after the war and the contrast
between Muir's beautiful nature writing and the devastation of war are
just as striking today as they must have been for the many people who
encountered this unusual walker of the woods. Muir's writing is
under-stated - the book was published posthumously and is more a diary
than a finished book, which gives it a truthfulness and matter of
factness. Fundamentally a Romanticist world-view - the power of nature
and mans relation to it - Muir delights in finding, sampling and
discussing plants, animals and geography. The genre is best compared
with Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Travels With a Donkey in the Cevennes'
and Thoreau's 'The Maine Woods'.
Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change
the Way We Think About Our Lives
David
Sloan Wilson (2007) First
hardcover May 2007
This is a wonderful book that will change lives. Just about any
phenomenon can be viewed from an evolutionary perspective - from the big
questions of religion and war, to the curious such as why we smile. The
book is only 350 pages, but has 36 chapters, each one packed with
information easily accessable to a general reader (I could only digest
50 pages a day). Abundant references to further reading. A central
thread is that seeing the world as an evolutionist is not hard and many
age-old mysteries can and have been recently solved by so-called
amateurs relying on the power of the idea of evolution, it is a wide
open field that you don't have to be a "scientist" to understand or even
contribute.
My suggestion is to read the book with a question in mind and see if the
book (or evolution) can provide an answer: my question is, can
"generations" (GenX, Baby Boomers, etc..), such as discussed by Strauss
and Howe, be understood in evolutionary terms - the book doesn't discuss
this in particular, but it provides enough information to come to some
startlingly unique and powerful insights, all on my own. It's a
wonderful feeling to be armed with these powerful ideas that have such
universal application.
Oil on the Brain: Adventures from the Pump to
the Pipeline
Lisa
Margonelli (2007) Hardcover,
first May 2007
Margonelli spent three years traveling around the world documenting
different stages in the oil flow. The book can be divided in two parts,
the first part in the USA in six chapters: 1) gas station, 2) oil
delivery trucks, 3) oil refinery, 4) oil drilling, 5) oil futures
market, 6) strategic oil reserve. The second part examines overseas oil
sources: 7) Venezuela, 8) Chad, 9) Iran, 10) Nigeria, 11) China. Within
each chapter it is a human-interest story with Margonelli interacting
with a main character (gas station owner, drill operator, oil warlord,
Iranian minister of oil, etc..) with tangents to highlight encyclopedic
facts about the history of the place or institution in a sometimes
overly-wrought magazine-style prose.
I found the later overseas chapters the most interesting, to learn about
the history of oil states and how interconnected everything is. The vast
majority of the worlds oil is owned by governments, and not by the
Exxon's of the world which only have about 20%, thus Margonelli's focus
on the oil states was spot on. In regards to who is to blame for high
gas prices in the US, the best theory was from a oil trader in NYC who
says its simple supply and demand, China and other countries are
demanding a lot more oil.
4 stars: stylistically the prose was inconsistent. At times it flowed
well, other times it was choppy with halting sentences, or tried too
hard to be clever and endearing (how many ways can you say "the bolt is
as big as (fill in the blank)"). I also thought some of the exposes were
unnecessarily unsympathetic. The excellent information about oil made it
worth the trip, Margonelli's three years traveling around the world to
remote and often dangerous places (and probably often boring) has been a
great help in understanding first-hand what is happening.
Umberto
Eco (1983) First,
hardcover, Harcourt May 2007
This will be a difficult novel for anyone that does not have an academic
background in the Middle Ages. Luckily, I have spent the past 3 years
preparing with excellent surveys such as Norman Cantor (The Civilization
of the Middle Ages), Joseph Strayer (The Middle Ages, 395-1500) and
Morris Bishop (The Middle Ages). There is hardly a sentence that does
not connect with a scholarly topic on the Middle Ages, which should come
as no surprise as Eco was foremost a medieval scholar before he wrote
this his first novel. The first 100 pages of the novel are like reading
a medieval manuscript, trying to piece together what is known of
Medieval history and figuring out what Eco is talking about, not unlike
what happens with the characters in the novel. With that said, the novel
can still be enjoyed by anyone without a medieval history background
because of the excellent plot and Gothic atmosphere. The novel needs
extensive annotations to fully appreciate (such as The Key to The Name
of the Rose, although I found it lacking in many ways).
'Rose' works on many layers and can be approached from many
perspectives. It's impossible to cover all the permutations in a single
reading, indeed I have read it only once primarily a "reading for the
plot" to understand the sequence of events. The movie helps in this
regard, although it has some substantial "Hollywood" changes at the end
and is much less subtle and interesting - recommend reading the novel
first.
Most valuable for me was Eco brought to life the Guelphs vs Ghibellines
dispute in color, shape and form that only fiction can achieve. It's the
difference between intellectually understanding history versus
emotionally experiencing, and for this alone the novel is priceless, the
best of what historical fiction can achieve.
Update: Read the book The Key to the Nameing of the Rose.
It has a lot of helpful material, but there was no line by line
annotation (other than Latin translations) so it misses a lot. Update: Watched the film with Sean Connery. It does an
admirable job of following the sequence of murders but at the
exspense of removing some of the mystery - does not do a good
job at explaining the conflic between the Papacy, Emperor and
Franciscans - overall, the movie is impossible to fully
understand without reading the novel, but it doesn't matter
since it has great acting and atmosphere. The ending is
Hollywood.
Robert Southern (1952) 1975 Yale paperback April 2007
The Making of the Middle Ages is a study of the period 972 to
1204. Before Southern wrote this book in 1952, the period has
traditionally been called the High Middle Ages or the "Renaissance of
the 12th Century". However Southern sees it as more than a Renaissance
(usually thought of as a period of *re* discovery of classical texts and
ideas), rather it as a period of new and original ideas and
institutions. Southern says the period "had been overtaken by a creative
spirit, which was not derived from the past, but nourished by a medley
of influences both past and present." What is the "creative spirit"?
According to Southern, it is Romanticism, which can be defined as a
heightened sense of self-consciousness in perceiving the physical and
natural world, both in the secular and spiritual.
It was with the publication of "Making" that decades of subsequent
research into the period has focused on Romanticism as the primary
creative movement that helped propel European culture from a backwater
throughout the early middle ages to a leading civilization by 1500. The
Virgin Cult, courtly love, the Arthurian tradition, the origins of
Gothic architecture, are just a few of the peculiar institutions and
ideas that have been re-examined from a Romantic viewpoint. And it is
for that reason "Making" is so often classified as one of the most
important medieval history books of the 20th century. Further, it was
groundbreaking stylistically because it legitimized speculative and
imaginative cultural history, which has found many imitators, such as
Peter Brown (The World of Late Antiquity) and Robin Lane Fox
(Pagans and Christians).
Although "Making" is accessible and readable by anyone, the books intent
as described above is subtle and nuanced, in particular outside of the
"state of the art" of medievalism in 1952 which saw the 12th century as
a Renaissance at best, or a "dark age" at worst. This was a
revolutionary and groundbreaking book for its day and is as interesting
today for historiographical reasons, some of the actual content has
since been refuted. Literary speaking, it is well written and
delightful. It does contain interesting anecdotes about the period, but
this is not a survey text and those looking for a introduction to the
Middle Ages may be disappointed if not dazzled.
Baldesar
Castiglione (1528) 2002 Norton Critical, Singleton
translation April 2007
One of the most popular books of the 16th century. Written at a time
when the Italian Renaissance was drawing to a close as France invaded
Italy, Castiglione looked back at all the best qualities of the
Renaissance and applied them to the model of the French court in the
form of the "perfect courtier". Highly influential for generations its
echo's on western civilization can still be felt to this day.
Note: I read the first 2 of 4 books and about half the critical essays.
The last 2 books - about court ladies and the relationship between men
and women, and about philosophy and the nature of leading a
contemplative life versus an active one, remain for future.
Norman
F. Cantor (1963 / 1993 2nd) 1993 hardcover 2nd April 2007
Civilization is a single volume survey of Medieval history from
300 to 1500. Cantor was a Medieval history professor at a New York City
university from the 1960s until the 1990s teaching thousands of
undergrad classes. This is a synthesis of everything "most people want
to know" about the Middle Ages, it has consistently remained one of the
most popular medieval history books in the US for decades.
I've been studying Medieval history fairly intently for about three
years - it is a vast subject of about 1,200 years, each century filled
with unique events, people and ideas. Distilling it into 500 pages of
the most important elements and weaving a common thematic narrative is
something only a few have attempted and very few have successfully
achieved. Cantors work is truely a gift.
Cantor avoids the common, but banal, political narrative of kings, wars
and conquests. He reminds us that the Battle Milvian Bridge was one of
only a handful of truely important battles in history. He focuses on
that most powerful of all historical forces: ideas. As such the Middle
Ages was a period of Christianity, and many of the changing ideas
related to theology and the synthesis of faith with reason.
What I found most remarkable was how Cantor could touch on a huge number
of subjects, in one or two sentences putting them into historical
context, and move on to the next. This book really demands prior
knowledge of the Middle Ages, the more the better, but it can also
profitably be read by a beginer. In fact for beginers I would suggest
professor Phillip Daileader's 2-part (12hrs ea) series from The Teaching
Company before reading Cantor's book as it gives an easier entry, but
doesn't have Cantors incredible intellect and insight tieing everything
together.
Henry David
Thoreau (1864) Published as Canoeing in the
Wilderness 1916 April 2007
The Maine Woods (1864) was written in three essays and published
posthumously. If he had lived longer, Thoreau might have revised them
into a more cohesive whole, but he never had time to do this. The book
describes trips over an eleven year period, and Thoreau's work on these
essays spanned 15 years. The third and longest essay was
originally titled "Allegash & East Branch", about 200 pages, and in 1916
it was published as a separate (very slightly abridged) book re-named
Canoeing in the Wilderness which is reviewed here.
This is one of the most vivid and realistic experience of an out-door
trip I have ever had, in part because I have direct experience in the
lakes of Canada and can smell, hear and see everything Thoreau
describes. Nothing particularly "adventuresome" happens, just the normal
day to day of being in the wilderness (fishing, getting lost, telling
stories, rain, cooking fires, wet clothes, etc..), but Thoreau describes
it with such grace, simplicity and clarity I was completely in the
woods. But perhaps the best part was the Indian guide Joseph Polis
(1809-1884), a Penobscot tribal leader, who Thoreau hired -- he starts
out cold and indifferent and as the days move on his character and
nature is revealed until by the end he is an old friend. It is the most
intimate and realistic portrait of a native American individual I have
ever read. Considering this is written circa late 1850s, Joseph was the
"real deal", and has been forever immortalized by Thoreau.
The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations in an Antique
Land
Mogens
Trolle Larsen (1996)
hardocver, first April 2007
"Conquest of Assyria" came highly recommended by David Damrosch in a
footnote in "The Buried Book", so I took the chance. What a discovery!
This is a very readable and enjoyable narrative of one of the most
romantic and picturesque stories in archeology. Perhaps partly
justifying the steep price ($135 list), the book is physically above
average in terms of quality - it is large format, the binding is like a
tank, the boards are heavy and solid, the paper is heavy gloss, there
are full-color plates, maps and drawings throughout (at least every 3rd
page). The narrative reads like a novel covering the lives of about half
a dozen gentleman "scientists" (more like antiquarian diggers). Layard
is the central hero with adventures and tales equal to anything in India
Jones, but all real. If it was re-printed in paperback for a mass
audience it would probably overshadow books like The Buried Book, but
for whatever reason, it remains for a limited audience because of the
high price. If you have any interest in learning more about the desert
adventures of 19th C archaeologists, this is one book to get lost in, it
was hard to put down.
There are some scholarly quibbles. Larsen takes Laylards accounts of his
adventures, written for a 19th C popular audience, at face value and in
the end tends to have written a hagiography of Laylard. He repeats
racists 19th c perspectives about Arabs (stupid, bad workers, etc..).
His perspective on the Oriental middle east is likewise outdated calling
it "endless, monotonous and flat.. decrepit.. not a nice place to spend
the summer or any other time of year." There is no awareness by Larsen
of post-colonial views, he seems to favor the 19th c colonial position
of superiority. As a story of mystery and adventure it can't be beat, as
a scholarly account it repeats old stereotypes that should be
retired.
Inventing the Middle Ages: The Lives, Works, and Ideas
of the Great Medievalists of the 20th Century
Norman
F. Cantor (1991) Hardover April 2007
Unless your a Medievalist this book would be pretty boring, but if
you've ever taken on the quest to answer the question "What were the
Middle Ages really like?", this book serves as a sort of cheat-sheet.
It's Medieval historiography of influential historians, their works,
ideas and schools of thought. Highly recommended. Cantor is
brilliant.
This is the best single-volume account of the Thirty Years War
(1618-1648). The war was very complex but Wedgwood provides singular
clarity. Other interpretations are possible, but her vision is strong
and memorable. The Machiavellian machinations are head-spinning, one has
to read carefully, the reward is a solid understanding of not only
17th C dynastic politics but how Medieval politics operated
before the rise of the nation state.
Wedgwood is an old-fashioned historian like Gibbon, retelling the events
in highly-readable prose, focused on the "great men". This can be
problematic, the Thirty Years War was more than just the decisions made
by a few elites - social, economic and other forces were at work. Her
sources are almost all 19th century. There are no new insights on the
war, it is a retelling of established views. As a political narrative it
is not only a great work of history but also literature.
N.K.
Sandars (trans.; 1960) "Penguin Epics" series 2006,
re-print from 1960 April 2007
This is a review of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Epics) published
2006, a prose translation by N.K. Sandars, first published in Penguin's
1960 edition, re-printed here under the "Penguin Epics" series, without
the book-length editors introduction and notes. Just the meat, no
potatoes or desert. It took me about 2 hours to read as an average
reader, was clear and easy to understand. The book is physically tiny,
4x8 inches and a quarter-inch thick, it would disappear on a book
shelf.
I purchased this at the same time as The Buried Book: The Loss and
Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh, however I wished I had
waited, as 'Buried Book' has a good overview of more recent translations
available. However I am not disappointed as Sandar's translation is good
and easy and understandable - it may not be scholarly level, but
perfectly acceptable for most readers who just want to read the epic and
enjoy it in prose format.
The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great
Epic of Gilgamesh
David
Damrosch (2007) Hardcover, first March 2007
The story begins in 19th century Iraq with the accidental discovery of
the until then unknown Epic of Gilgamesh, and unlike most history books,
works backwards in time slowly revealing the mystery of its origins and
meaning - this chronology works well, not unlike an archaeological dig.
The first half of the book is devoted to two unlikely and largely unsung
heroes of the Victorian era who first found and deciphered the tablets,
George Smith and Horzmud Rassam. Rassam is probably the most important
and unique revelation of the book, as Damrosch restores an unfairly
maligned scholar to his rightful place in history and perhaps some
immortality. The second half of the book jumps backwards from the 19th
century to when the Epic was written, discussing the history of the
Assyrian kingdom, and the library where the tablets were buried. The
tablets were buried around 700 BC when the city was sacked, and thus the
Epic lain forgotten from that time until the 19th century. Had the city
not been sacked and the tablets not buried, it is likely the Epic would
have been lost forever, as most tablets from that period did not survive
otherwise.
This is a fun tale, both Smith and Rassam encompass dramatic lives as
underdogs who rose from obscurity, overcoming Victorian prejudices of
class and race. If nothing else the first half of the book is worth the
price of admission, in particular Rassam's side adventure to Ethiopia.
Damrosch's literary interpretation of the Epic (Ch. 6) provides valuable
insights, such as the importance of cedar trees, making it less
"foreign" (both in time and culture) and more universally human. I
certainly came away with a new appreciation of the tales message of the
quest for immortality.
The Sources and Notes section includes an up to date guide of recent
translations of the Epic, recommended reading before deciding which
translation(s) to pursue.
A historical narrative survey of the 16th and 17th century reformations.
Encyclopedic in scope. Well written. The parts I already knew about were
excellent and enlightening with new perspectives. The parts that were
new to me I found difficult and boring. This is one of those surveys
where the more you know before hand the better off you'll be. This is
because the author assumes that established histories and narratives are
known and wants to add new ideas - thus not leaving much room for the
newbie trying to understand the basics. I stopped reading at page 330
and hope to re-read and return and finish at a later date when my
background on the 16th and 17th centuries are more solid, will get a lot
more out of it then.
Across Arctic America: Narrative of the Fifth Thule
Expedition
Knud Rasmussen (1927) First, Internet Archive March 2007
Knud Rasmussen was a native Greenlander who was half Inuit and half
Danish. He was the first person to travel the Northwest Passage by
dog-sled, around 1922, as re-told in this readable and enjoyable account
first published in 1927. Known as the "Fifth Thule Expedition", it was
designed to be an ethnographic expedition to answer "that great question
the origins of the Eskimo race". A native speaker of Inuit, Rasmussen's
insights into the religion and inner-life, voice and spirit of the Inuit
remains a classic of polar travel literature and ethnography. The Inuit
language is difficult to translate and Rasmussen's unique position of
straddling both cultures proves indispensable.
Rasmussen traveled with two Inuit who had never before left Greenland.
On the return trip home by plane, the group stopped in New York City and
were awed by what they saw. One said while looking over the city skyline
from a rooftop: "I see things more than my mind can grasp; and the only
way to save myself from madness is to suppose that we have all died, and
that this is part of another life." An Inuit Shaman revealed to
Rasmussen "All true wisdom is only to be found far from the dwellings of
men, in the great solitudes; and it can only be obtained through
suffering. Suffering and privation are the only things that can open the
mind of man to that which is hidden from his fellows."
An Inuit-produced film 'The Journals of Knud Rasmussen' (2006) was
recently made based on the book, produced by the same people who made
'The Fast Runner' (2001), which has been called one of the 10 best
Canadian films. This book is pretty rare in first editions going for
$50-$100 in the used market. A re-issue was made in 1999, still in
print. See also the books by Peter Freuchan for accounts of this journey
and others he took with Rasmussen.
Thomas
Frederick Tout (1916) Manchester: The University Press,
1916 March 2007
"A Mediaeval Burglary" is a 24-page lecture transcript from 1915 about a
little known burglary of King Edward I's treasure room in 1303. It is a
real-life medieval mystery with interesting characters, scandal,
cover-up, and an accurate feel of the times from a ground-up
perspective, as told in a smoky Victorian library about 100 years ago.
Entertaining, includes a hand-drawn map and two relevant manuscript
pages.
There is a recent book about it called The Great Crown Jewels Robbery
of 1303 (2005) by an author better known as a novelist -- its 300+
pages (I have not read it), but I think this short lecture by a Medieval
scholar covers it pretty well and has Victorian character which adds to
the atmosphere.
St. Ignatius was the founder of the Catholic order of the Jesuits in the
early 16th Century. He started from humble beginnings in Spain, and like
many of his day, was zealously religious. He rose from obscurity and
founded one of the most successful Catholic orders to this day. His life
story is an inspiration for anyone who believes in something and has a
vision and goal to overcome adversity. This is not just a story about
Catholicism or even religion, it is inspirational for anyone.
Some of the memorable scenes from the book include his encounter with
the Moore on the road and his struggle to decide if he should kill him
or not for insulting the Virgin Mary. His trip to Jerusalem and sneaking
past the guards to climb the Olive Mount. His days of begging in the
streets of Paris while trying to earn a doctorate in the "Queen of
sciences" (theology). Being imprisoned as a youth in Spain and standing
up to what he believed in and overcoming the tribunals. His extreme
mortifications (fasting, standing all night, roping his leg off with a
cord). His injury to the legs with a cannonball and stoicism during
three surgeries without anesthesia.
Ignatius was born into the "Reformation" generation, the same generation
as Luther, Calvin, Henry VIII and many others who would re-shape
religious life as we know it. It was a time when the bible was being
made widely available because of the printing press, and a subsequent
re-evaluation of what it meant to be Christian. Ignatius was a
revolutionary like the Protestants who broke with the Catholic Church,
but he was at the opposite extreme, fighting for Catholicism, not
against it. The Jesuits would eventually win back Poland, Lithuania and
other places from the Protestants, they were called the Catholic "shock
troops" or front-line vanguard in the 'Counter Reformation'. They also
went on to found some of the worlds top educational institutions which
still exist today.
Ernest Belfort Bax (1899) Internet
Archive March 2007
The Peasants War in Germany was the largest popular uprising in European
history (besides the French Revolution). Yet most modern history books
devote a page or two at most. This is perhaps not surprising since the
Peasants War is surrounded by racist and socialist scholarship -
Friedrich Engels famously wrote about it in 1850 from a
Communist/Socialist perspective, and the Nazi's had some special
attachment to it for their own agendas - most historians today just give
it a brief account in relation to the Reformation.
I wanted to learn more about the specifics of the events - the battles,
the people involved, the stories. Although written in 1899, this old
fashioned historical narrative written in the tradition of Gibbon is a
pleasure to read. For the most part it sticks with a chronological
narrative of events, the first chapter has historical interpretations
that are largely in-line with modern ones.
I read it through Internet Archive's "Flip Book" feature online and it
was actually very enjoyable, in particular with the old scrawl some
early 20th C socialists revolutionary hurriedly underlined throughout,
giving it added atmosphere.
Richard
Wolfson (2007) The Teaching Company 2-DVD, 6hr March
2007
Video lecture by The Teaching Company (www.teach12.com) about the basic
science behind climate change and global warming. Although I already
know a lot about climate change, I learned a lot from this course and
feel more confident about what the mainstream/traditional views is, and
where there are questions of less certainty. This is basic education
everyone should have in high school, like chemistry and biology. There
is a considerable amount of politics surrounding global warming, and
having the knowledge to separate the science from the politics is vital,
which this course provides the basic scientific facts.
William
F.
Nolan and
George Clayton Johnson (1967) Bucanner Books Library Binding 1999
March 2007
Run! The action starts and never ends in this short but breathless 1967
sci-fi fantasy. Published the same year I was born, it says more about
the zeitgeist of America at the time than any prophecy of the future.
Youth culture, hedonistic living, rebellion and revolution - it turns
the tables instead of the old people in charge it is the youth, instead
of the youth rebelling it is the old people. One can find 1960s
"hippies" in the "pleasure gypsies", and the giant thinker computer
which connecs and runs the world as a proto-internet. Like H.G Wells,
this is great classic fiction that reveals the dystopian fears and
visions of another era.
The Magic Circle of Rudolf II: Alchemy and Astrology
in
Renaissance Prague
Peter
Marshall (2006) Hardcover March 2007
I first heard about Rudolf II while reading a history of collecting.
Even though Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor, king of the largest empire
in Europe, that part of his life is the least interesting and this book
thankfully does not spend too much time on politics. Rudolf, too, would
have been pleased.
Rudolf II was one of the world's greatest collectors, he spared no
expense in finding rare and exotic objects from around the world to fill
his castle in Prague. He never married, had a stable of 'imperial
women', rarely left his castle or appeared in public, had little
interest in the affairs of state - all of his energies were in his
collections and in the occult sciences of astrology and alchemy. He was
so wealthy and patronized so many artists and intellectuals that Prague
became Europe's late Renaissance cultural capital for about 30 years
around the turn of the 17thC.
Peter Marshall does a wonderful job of revealing this eccentric and
fascinating monarch, and the amazing artists and thinkers that were a
part of his world. It was because of Rudolf's patronage that
foundational scientific works were created, such as Kepler's "New
Astronomy". Although Rudolf's ultimate quest was to find the
Philosopher's Stone, a legendary alchemy rock that made one immortal, he
inadvertently helped lay the foundational stone of the scientific
revolution by allowing many great minds to flourish in an atmosphere of
freedom and creativity. It is called the "Rudolfian age", comparable to
the "Elizabethan age" (Elizabeth I of England).
History has not been kind to Rudolf, only in the past 50 years or so has
his life been been re-examined beyond the lens of his political
failures, and his contributions to the arts and sciences been given
their due credit. His life story will be appealing to anyone with an
interest in collecting, astrology/alchemy, science history, European
history, and eccentric monarchs. Marshall writes in a very readable
style and brings life and color to the period, people and
events.
With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping
Points in Climate Change
Fred
Pearce (2007) Hardcover March 2007
Fred Pearce is a journalist with 'New Scientist' magazine who has been
writing about climate change since the 1980s. With a background writing
for a popular science magazine he is naturally skilled at quickly
distilling complex science into a readable and understandable narrative
for the educated lay reader and placing things in the big picture. But
he is also grounded and objective, saying in the Introduction "I am a
skeptical environmentalist" but that "climate change is different.. the
more I learn.. the more scared I get.. because this story adds
up."
Pearce goes through a checklist of major concerns scientists are looking
at: Melting ice in Greenland and the Arctic. Glaciological "monsters"
lurking in Pine Island Bay and Totten glacier. The stability of the West
Antarctic ice sheet. El Nino getting stuck, trigger droughts or
super-storms. The Amazon rain forest disappearing due to drought or
fire. The acidification of the oceans. Damage to the atmospheric
hydroxyl smog cleaning system. Influences of the stratosphere on global
warming. Methane releases from melting arctic bogs. The North Atlantic
conveyor belt shutdown. Frozen undersea methane clathrates. The impact
of soot. The unknown factor of clouds. The many ways the sun and the
earths orbit effects climate change. And much more.
In addition he covers a bit of history including a history of the debate
between the the polar and tropical camps on what is the driver of
climate change. His explanation of El Nino was simple yet it finally
made sense to me how it works and why it is so important.
Interleaved throughout is the common narrative that climate is not a
steady beast, but a widely unpredictable "drunk", who prodded a little
can go off irrationally and unexpectedly in any direction. This is an
excellent overview that is easy to read, fascinating, well written, a
roller-coaster of ideas and insights.
Graham Greene is a famous 20th C novelist ("The Orient Express") who
also wrote a few travel accounts. This is his first, when he was 31
years old and left Europe for the first time in his life to experience
the uncivilized "dark heart of Africa" by traveling through the back
country of Liberia in 1935. It was a 4-week, 350-mile walk, mostly
through an unchanging tunnel forest path, ending each day in a primitive
village. He had about a dozen black porters who would carry him in a
sling, although he walked much of the way.
It's written with a very "old school" perspective, with one foot in the
19th (or 18th) century of romantic colonial imperialism, and one foot in
the pre-war 1930s perspective of deterioration, rot and things falling
apart. Heavy whiskey drinking, descriptions of the festering diseases of
the natives, and plethora of bothersome insects, the run down European
outposts and a motley cast of white rejects fill many descriptive
pages.
It reminds me a lot of Samuel Johnson's "Journals of the Western Isles"
(1770s) when Johnson, who had never left England in his life, decided to
go to Scotland to see what uncivilized people were like. Just as Johnson
brought Boswell who would go on to write his own version of the trip,
Greene brought his female cousin Barbara Greene (who remains unnamed in
the book and largely unmentioned), who went on to write her own version
of the trip in the 1970s called "Too Late to Turn Back", which mostly
contradicts Grahams version.
I can't say I totally enjoyed this book, I found Greene's attitude
irritating - but therein lies its value, as a snapshot of prewar
European zeitgeist. It is reminiscent of "Kabloona" (1940), another
prewar travel account to an uncivilized place (Arctic Eskimos) by a
young European aristocrat, who also is deeply inward looking and finds a
new perspective and appreciation for the "cave man" people he meets.
It's very much a transition period between prewar and post-war attitudes
and the fluctuation's back and forth, the sense of things falling apart,
but also new-found perspective, make it a challenging but interesting
work.
Update: I created a Wiki page Journey Without
Maps (although I think the above entry is better).
Louis
Auchinclos (1990) First, hardcover February 2007
J. P. Morgan amassed one of the worlds greatest art collections, mostly
European works between the Fall of the Roman Empire through the
Renaissance. The type of work was endless from painting to sculpture to
relics to grave goods to furniture, tapestries, gems and so on. By the
time he died in 1913 half his fortune was in art, 60 million dollars. He
collected not only individual pieces but other collections, many dozens.
He donated most of it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of which he was
president and was a major force in its establishment.
This is a coffee-table picture book containing about 30 pages of text
and 100s of pictures of some of his most important works. It's not very
in-depth and a quick read but for the right price it's a pretty book
and, printed in Japan, it is of high quality material. One leaves it
with a feeling of seeing a random pile of stuff, which is exactly what
many critics of Morgans collection have expressed.
Morgan was a collector since childhood, the only difference between him
and a beer can collector is the price of his toys - like all manic
collectors he hoped to find immortality through material things -
remember Citizen Kane and Rosebud - we all die and the lesson of Morgan
is "you can't take it with you".
Jon
Clinch (2007) Audio (11.5hr) + first hardcover February
2007
It is rare that I read brand new fiction ("The Echo Maker" being the
only other example) and even more rare to read a first-time novelist
(never before) so this represents something out of the ordinary. Who can
resist the temptation to learn the dark secrets of Pap Finn, Huckleberry
Finn's alcoholic and abusive father, and how he ended up floating down
the Mississippi River inside a house with a bullet in his back. Clinch
takes up the few clues from Twain's book and weaves a believable if
ultimately dark and sad biography of Pap Finn from his childhood to
untimely demise. It is Mark Twain with a little bit of creepy
"Deliverance" wrapped around a murder mystery. Clinch crafts his words
and sentences with almost poetic care creating a cadence that bounces
along the river pulling up secrets from its muddy depths.
In the audio version the narrator has a relaxing country drawl and
pleasant rhythm that combines with carefully crafted sentences to form a
song-like cadence, dancing lightly along the longer descriptive passages
but grounding satisfyingly in the simple but meaning laden dialog. There
is an additional 30 minutes or so of post material including an
interview with the author in which we learn he would write about 250
words a day, crafting the words and sentences with meticulous care; that
certain scenes were derived from Melville; and other interesting
back-stories to the back-story.
Carole Gallagher (1993) First
(limited 10,000), hardcover February 2007
Disturbing and revealing oral history of America's atomic testing
program and the health impacts caused by radiation. Hundreds of atomic
bombs were exploded above-ground in the deserts of southern Nevada in
the 1950s and 60s. The Atomic Energy Commission waited until the wind
was blowing eastward because people in Utah "didn't give a shit about
radiation", as they were Mormons who were a "low use population" that
were taught never to protest or raise any concern and put God and
Country as equals (the Mormons believe the US Govt is divinely
inspired). Each bomb released more rads than the Chernobyl accident.
Radiation has spread to every state in the country.
The effects have been devastating. Carole spent about 10 years in the
1980's traveling through Nevada and Utah interviewing people - cancer
rates went through the roof and remain high to this day. Strange
pregnancies and birth defects became the order of the day. The US
government has done everything possible to cover it up going so far as
to suggest radiation is good for you. The epidemic of cancer in the USA
could be explained largely as a result of these tests which released
enough rads to kill the world many times over.
As a result of reading this book, and the similar oral history "Voices
from Chernobyl", I have purchased a new high quality Geiger counter. It
is difficult reading to realize the scale of the horror but the US Govt
has perpetrated a holocaust-scale crime on its own citizens and no one
really knows about it. The evidence can be "soft" - how do you know what
causes cancer? - but like global warming, or lung cancer caused by
smoking - you don't need a scientist to tell you what your intuition and
gut know to be true - the US has unloaded literally 1000s of Hiroshima's
on US soil.
Update: I received a new geiger counter. So far everything has
checked out clean. Since the battery lasts 12-years and never turns off
I can leave it on full-time. A certain peace of mind.
To Have And To Hold: An
Intimate History Of Collectors and Collecting
Philipp Blom (2003) Hardcover, first February
2007
At first I thought this was going to be a survey of some eccentric
collectors in history, on which is does not disappoint, but it turns out
to be a lot richer and contain some real pearls of wisdom about life in
general, and flashes of historical insight.
Reading through the chapters of this book was a lot like rummaging
through a private collectors cabinet of curiosities. The chapter titles
alone don't reveal its direction and only after a few pages does it
begin to reveal its treasure. Chapters cover aspects of collecting as
diverse as: people who collected experiences with women (Casanova), the
collecting of body parts (religious relics), collecting memories,
American billionaires who bought up European heritage (JP Morgan,
Hearst), collectors of mass-produced items (milk bottles, food
wrappers), Princes and Kings such as Rudolf of Hapsburg (17th C) who
filled his castle with the worlds greatest collections and slowly went
mad, collecting as a madness, as a substitute for love, as a form of
autism, as psychology, as crime - and in the end, as a warning to all
those who take it too far.
H. G. Wells (1895) Audibook by Alien Voices
1999, 2hr February 2007
An original script, full-cast, full-production, original score, radio
adaptation. If there was an audio-book "Hollywood", this is what it
would sound like. Leonard Nimoy stars as the time traveler. It is
helpful that Nimoy's reputation as a space faring time traveler gives
the story an extra degree of verisimilitude. Although many of the finer
details from Well's original story are lost in this abbreviated version,
for the most part it sticks to the original plot and is highly
entertaining and makes for a wonderful listening experience.
Recommended.
The Short Stories of
Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume 1
Robert Louis Stevenson (1880s) Audiobook 3hrs, narrated by
Charlton Griffin, Audio Connoisseur, 2005 February
2007
This is a wonderful audio narration of three Stevenson tales:
"Markheim", "A Lodging for the Night" and "The Body Snatcher" along with
a circa 1900 biographical essay by long-time friend Edmund Gosse. The
narrations are multi-cast (although Griffin multi-voices where possible,
they are clearly different sounding people) with some background noises
and music. The narrator is a professional actor who breathes life into
the story without falling into a formula - a lot of artistic thought was
used to combine the pacing, music and sounds, top notch quality that
greatly enhances the original work.
"A Lodging for the Night" is Stevenson's first published fiction when he
was 27 years old. It is my favorite of these three. "Markheim" opens the
door on the thoughts of a murderer before and after he comits the act,
ultimately finding redemption. It's a complex piece that takes two or
three listens. "The Body Snatcher" is great Gothic horror in the creepy
way that an innocent person commits a murder in the name of science. It
would be later re-worked into a classic 1940s film.
Bruce
Rosenblum and Fred
Kuttner (2006) Hardcover, first February 2007
"Quantum Enigma" opens with a colleague's objection to the book: "Though
what you are saying is correct, presenting this information to
non-scientists is the intellectual equivalent of allowing children to
play with loaded guns."
Visualizing the quantum enigma is not difficult, the authors reveal it
with stories and diagrams that any careful reader can understand. It is
a lot like watching a magic show: the rabbit disappears - it is an
enigma. But a disappearing rabbit we all know is a trick with some
reasonable explanation that resolves the enigma. In the case of the
quantum enigma, it is no trick, but an experimental fact, and the enigma
remains unresolved. This creates a metaphysical crises once you really
grasp the meaning of it, which is what makes this book so difficult, the
implications and what it could mean. The authors call it physics'
"skeleton in the closet", or a "loaded gun", because it is so strange in
its implications and how it can be interpreted, it transcend physics,
which makes many uncomfortable.
Beyond the quantum enigma and how scientists came to discover it, the
book discusses consciousness studies and suggest, intuitively, that
there is a connection between the quantum enigma and consciousness -
perhaps understanding one can lead to the other. I found this the most
provocative, and also the most difficult part to understand. The last
50-pages took nearly as long to read as the first 150 and I am still not
on firm ground - but that may be the point, no one is. The implication
that we are creating the universe as we discover it (John Wheeler's eye
looking backwards) is great fun and makes paraphenomena and "law of
attraction" and "what the bleep" stuff look small-minded when
considering the possibility!
My only regret is I can not take the University of CA (Santa Cruz)
course this book came out of as there are some areas that I just don't
understand and could use further help with. It may be asking too much
but some authors have web sites with FAQs, or forums, or even interact
through Amazon. In any case hope to see and read more about this subject
in the future.
Rajiv Chandrasekaran (2006) Hardover, first January
2007
Rajiv was a WashPo reporter in Iraq from pre-invasion to late 2004. The
core of his narrative is the period under Bremer when the CPA
(the US civilians tasked with re-building Iraq) were stationed in the
Green Zone (ie. Emerald City because in Oz, the city was Green, except
that everyone wore green-colored glasses). It is a devastating account
of American corruption, incompetence, denial of reality and humanitarian
crimes. We get to see the reality behind the headlines during a period
when we were told everything was going well and getting better when in
facts things were getting worse - not in spite of the Americans, but
because of the Americans. Most people today blame the CPA, Bremer in
particular, which is all this book focuses on. Another book
Fiasco looks at the military as well and offers some larger
lessons.
After reading this I am left wondering how things could have gone
better. No doubt Iraq is a tough place and no plan could have gone
perfectly. The biggest mistake was the assumption that free Iraq would
welcome Democracy with open arms. Creating a Democracy and capitalist
economy is one of the hardest things that can be done, look at the
history of the west and how long it took and how bloody it has been.
Dictatorships and the like are easy to set up, that is why there are so
many of them. In a collapsed stated like Iraq, creating a Democracy and
capitalism in a few years through American intervention was never going
to work because the Iraqi's never really wanted it. It can't be forced.
Many critics were saying this from the start, and the neo-cons had no
plan to implement their vision - it was an afterthought after WMD's were
not found.
Until Damros published this 2005 National Book Award finalist, there has
not been a good single-volume biography of Rousseau in the English
language. This is because Rousseau's own auto-biography, "Confessions"
(1782), is so well done and the number of sources for Rousseau's first
40 years are otherwise so weak, that writing a new biography is mostly a
retelling of what Rousseau has already said. The strength of Damros'
biography is to summarize Rousseau's life, his evolving thinking and his
major works, including historical significance and context, while
weaving in some of the best scholarship available after two centuries of
reflection.
Rousseau's influences are so vital and important to so many aspects of
modernity that they seem like second nature, a testament to his triumph:
the idea that government exists for the good of the people it governs,
and not for the people to be good "subjects" of its rulers, is why he
was called the "prophet of the French Revolution". As mentioned,
Confessions was the first auto-biography to focus on otherwise mundane
events in life, particularly childhood traumas (and adult sexual
escapades), which he saw as influential in creating personality - an
original idea for the time which otherwise saw childhood as a time to be
forgotten. His ideas of "natural man" in his natural state as the height
of good, and civilization a downfall, are at the roots of
Romanticism.
His personality can best be describe as immature and "sharp at the
edges". He either loved a person with all his heart, or hated them as
his worst enemy. Usually, it started with the former and ended with the
later, fueled by his paranoia and over-active imagination. These are
traits one normally sees in a child, a black and white world view of
love and hate unable to deal with the ambiguities of human weaknesses -
which makes sense given Rousseau's brilliant genius combined with his
abusive child-hood; lacking a mother he needed to trust someone, but at
the same time could trust no one because of his abusive past. This
fueled his desire for self-sufficiency and subsequent rejection of
dependent relationships - thus he was naturally conflicted in an 18th C
French society which was based on hierarchies of dependencies, where
everyone was either the master of someone, or mastered by someone (and
usually both)--Rousseau found a way to both live and preach an isolated
life of self-sufficiency and inward reflection, hallmarks of the modern
man. The master of no one, mastered by no one, and completely isolated
from everyone. All of this is directly reflected in his works and ideas,
so it is possible to fully understand Rousseau's works by understanding
Rousseau the person - this biography paints the full portrait and
answers many questions.
Adventure literature classic. National Geographic ranked it #57 in its
top 100 Adventure Books of all-time. Outdoor Magazine included it in its
top-25 list of best outdoor books for the last 100-years.
A team of nine, most strangers, attempt to be the first to paddle the
Amazon river--from its source in Peru to the Atlantic--the longest river
in the world. Joe Kane is invited as a journalist to document the
journey, but he has no boating or adventure experience. Crisis among
the team leadership leads to a breakdown and in the end things don't
turn out as expected. Reads like a novel.
The question is, why among the thousands of adventure and outdoor books
is this one ranked so highly. I believe for a number of reasons: for one
it is extremely well-written, Kane is a professional journalist who has
written articles in The New Yorker, National Geographic and the like.
But unlike most outdoor books written by journalists, Kane is also an
active participant, indeed in the end he is one of the few to actually
make it all the way. The journey was indeed epic in scope, comparable to
traveling the length of the Nile, the holy grail for 19th C explorers.
It contains a love story. Narco-trafficing and Shining Path guerrilla's.
Multiple-near-death experiences from man and nature. All these things
combine to make it a classic of the genre.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1968) 1995 hardcover Everyman's
Library January 2007
Marquez, born 1927, published Solitude when he was about 40 in 1967, the
same year I was born, and I was about 40 when I first read it in 2007,
"in medias res". It is from this perspective of being in the "middle of
things" that it is possible to understand the novel.
Themes of inter-generational similarities and solitude becomes very much
a part of life when sandwiched between the twin responsibilities of
caring for both the younger and elder generations.
For me, the novel became increasingly tedious towards the end as old
characters died and new characters appear, all with the same names, it
becomes difficult to even care anymore, creating a sense of despair and
pessimistic pre-determinism that I did not find enjoyable. Either it is
a lesson I am resisting, or an outlook on life that is foreign, I am not
sure yet.
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (2006) First, hardcover January
2007
I first heard of the Bushmen through National Geographic's Genographic
Project (Spencer Wells "The Journey of Man") which found genetic
evidence suggesting Bushmen are one of the oldest, if not the oldest,
peoples in the world--a "genetic Adam" from which all the worlds ethnic
groups can ultimately trace genetic heritage. Within the face of a
Bushmen one can see all the genetic expressions of the world (Asian
eyes, African nose, Indian skin, etc..) So I was delighted when this new
book appeared by bushmen expert Elizabeth Marshall Thomas who, along
with her brother and parents, were one of the first westerners to live
with and scientifically document the Bushmen in the 1950s (when
Elizabeth was a teenager). Her parents and brother went on to become
famous Bushmen experts and proponents in their own careers.
Older members of the Bushmen tribe were valued and respected for their
wisdom, likewise Elizabeth is passing down her knowledge and experience
for later generations. The Bushman way of life she saw in the 1950s,
perhaps as old as 150,000 years, no longer exists - all it took was one
generation and the long unbroken chain known as "The Old Way" has
disappeared. It is the same sad story told the world over from Native
Americans to Tibet to Eskimos. Yet Elizabeth reveals a deeper lesson,
which is the "myth" that the Bushmen ever wanted it any other way - they
want the comforts of modernization, just as we would prefer not to hunt
and gather food each day. Bushmen want to travel, see the world, be a
part of wider humanity, and for that we can celebrate and welcome all
they have to teach. This book provides that introduction.
Edward O.
Wilson (2002) 2005 9th printing hardcover January 2007
A great "state of the planet" survey circa 2002 covering species
extinctions and the environment. In the end Wilson is optimistic with
solutions. I came away with the desire to buy a microscope and start
exploring the micro-world - and I also immediately donated money to the
three top environmental organizations: World Wildlife Fund, The Nature
Conservancy and Conservation International. Wilson clarified some
questions I had about how these organizations operate and their
histories and accomplishments. I was also amazed to learn how relatively
cheap it is to buy and protect large areas of wilderness. Overall a book
of unflinching dark reality and a hopeful future.
Rory Stewart (2004) Paperback, 2006 Harvest Books +
Audiobook January 2007
Scottish author and historian Stewart walked across some of the most
difficult mountain terrain in Afghanistan in the early winter months of
2002 right after 9/11. He experienced a land of contrasts: a feudal-like
culture living in mud huts with modern weapons and vehicles. Villages in
which people lived their entire lives a few miles from home but who
regularly saw international forces from the USSR, USA, NATO and
elsewhere passing through. Poor Afghans one step away from starvation
willingly giving food to a passing stranger and then shooting at him for
sport and fun the next. Afghanistan has always been resistant to
understanding, but Rory, by traveling and living with the mountain
tribes who comprise most of the country, comes close as any by pulling
back the curtain and revealing the character of the country in their own
words and actions. A classic of travel literature and
anthropology.
The audibook version is highly recommend as a supplement to the text. It
is narrated by Rory (from a studio in Kabul) and his pronunciations of
Afghan names and places are priceless, as well as his overall character
and tone.
L. Frank Baum and W.W. Denslow (illus.), 1900 2000 Centenial
Hardcover ed. Michael Patrick Hearn
January 2007
Three books in one. 1) The original story with all the original
illustrations reproduced exactly as appeared in the first edition. Tthis
is the only full re-production edition available. 2) A 102 page literary
history with extensive biography of Baum and his works and illustrator
Denslow. 3) Extensive annotated notes.
Michael Hearn is the master of annotation and this is just one in a
series he has done including The Christmas Carol and Huckleberry Finn.
The factual detail is dense, but always relevant and interesting. Oz may
be a "kids story" but this is serious adult entertainment.
*Kerry Emanuel,
"Phaeton's
Reins: The human hand in climate change", January/February 2007
issue of Boston Review. A lucid and poignant survey of the
science and politics of global warming for a popular audience.
Update: Well, the article was so popular they decided to make it
subscription only and re-print it as a pamphalet size
book. It was great while it was free, an excerpt is here.
*Barbara
Ehrenreich, "How
we learned to stop having fun", an excerpt from her book
Dancing
in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy, about how
depression is
a phenomenon that became more widespread around 1600 and might be
attributable to the reduction in the number of public festivals.
*Sherrie McMillan, "What time is
dinner?", from Oct/Nov 2001 History Magazine. Fascinating
account of when and how meal times changed from early afternoon to early
evening in the late 18th century with the introduction of artificial
light.
*Richard Schickel, "Not
Everybody's a Critic", May 20 LA Times. The qualitative difference between a professional book review and what is found on
blogs
and Amazon reviews. The same criticisms can be expanded to Wikipedia and
other free culture forums.
*Harold Bloom,
How
to Read and Why, 2000 video interview. Amazing insights by an
amazing person. He has a gift for speed reading and memorization
allowing him to "read out" many public libraries and now in his 70s has
probably read many 100s of thousands of books.
*Larry Lessig,
How creativity is
being strangled by the law. TED confrence video, 20-minutes.
Powerful speech, people were standing up at the end clapping. Lessig
makes the delima and debate of copyright into a larger social movement.
"We are living in a time of Prohabition". Highly recommended.
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