I read for ideas. Here are some of the ideas I have found in books.
Robert Kennedy and His Times. Vol. 1. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Why read it? To realize the opportunities the world has lost because of Robert Kennedy’s assassination. Schlesinger divides the topics in the book among RFK’s growing up; his shyness and feelings of inferiority to his brothers; his physical exertions; his mixed achievement in school; his work in Congressional investigations, including those concerned with corrupt unions; his work in organizing his brother’s Senatorial and Presidential campaigns; his work as Attorney General and his battle with institutional inertia, particularly the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover; his work with his brother on Civil Rights; his trips to foreign, unfriendly countries in which he confronted aggressive criticism of the United States, especially from the young; and his work with his brother during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Robert Kennedy and His Times, Vol. 2. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Why read it? Robert Kennedy was a “profile in courage.” The second volume of this biography of RFK covers the period of the assassination of his brother, his stormy relationship with LBJ, becoming the Junior Senator from New York, considering the vice-presidency under LBJ and, finally, when the he realizes that Vietnam is tearing American society apart, the run for the presidency that is halted by his own assassination.
Roughing It. Mark Twain.
Why read it? Mark Twain’s impressions of the “wild West” are sometimes hilarious, sometimes vivid and always interesting. Twain describes pioneering in the West, riding in a stage coach; the Pony Express; the Mormon Bible (“chloroform in print”); the “scholarly” Indians in The Last of the Mohicans; a landslide; a character who knows everyone he meets or a relative; the colorful idiomatic language of the West; lawyers—“First and last aim…was to defeat justice”; the belief that everything that happens is good if we wait long enough to find out—“Prov’dence don’t fire no blank ca’tridges, boy”; the missionaries who converted the natives of Hawaii to Christianity and made them permanently miserable; and Brigham Young and polygamy.
The Roots of Heaven. Romain Gary.
Novel. Why read it? The slaughter of the elephants will lead to man’s slaughter of mankind. Morel, the idealistic defender of elephants, is the moral of this story. Opposed to the slaughter of the elephants in Africa, and laughingstock to most of the people around him, he mounts a campaign to gather signatures to stop the slaughter of the elephants. However, he is not just defending the elephants, who are a symbol of freedom, man’s freedom. He is trying to show men that they can be the sensitive, moral, compassionate creatures that they are in potential. His selfless obsession for saving the elephants attracts a number of people who have other agendas—but their agendas fade as Morel’s quest to save the elephants takes on a higher purpose—to save men from their own self-destruction. For what they do to the elephants, they will do to themselves. Morel is confident that he will achieve his goal, so confident, so sure, that he fears not for his safety. He is the exemplar of what he wants men to become.
Saints and Strangers. George F. Willison.
Why read it? The author set out to separate the myths and the truth about the Pilgrims. The author found that much of what he thought he knew about the Pilgrims was wrong and learned that he did not really know much about them. The Pilgrims, “Separatists” from the Church of England, had emigrated to Leyden, the Netherlands, and then sailed on the Mayflower to found Plymouth Colony in 1620. While the Leyden group held the power and were the motivating force behind the voyage, the majority of the group consisted of “strangers,” non-Pilgrims. This story is as much about the “strangers” as the “Saints.”
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Books and Ideas (14)
I read for ideas. Here are some of the ideas I have found in books.
Poland. James A. Michener.
Why read it? To learn why the Polish people are far more courageous than the Polish jokes that are their stereotype. It’s a novel, of course, but most of Michener’s “novels” are really loaded with information about his topics, almost an encyclopedia, but told in story form. Michener is Polish and he wrote this novel to help people in the rest of the world understand the peculiar circumstances that makes Poland what it is—a country beset by large powers that have torn it apart, brutalized it, yet produced people of courage who never give up trying to live productive lives.
Portrait of a Lady. Henry James.
Novel. Why read it? Henry James studies the relationships between the American character and the staid, aristocratic Europeans. In this novel, Isabel Archer visits American relatives who have lived for a long time in Britain and who have adopted the British view of belief in a stratified society with special emphasis on proper manners. Isabel’s American/British relatives enjoy observing her in action, watching to see how she deals with certain situations. Isabel is manipulated by the sophisticated and socially polished Madame Merle into marrying an aristocratic, impoverished aesthete who tries to control her after they are married. At first, Isabel rebels and leaves him, but then returns because of the marriage bonds.
Pensées. Blaise Pascal.
Why read it? The first half of Pascal’s Pensées is profound. At one point, I considered Pascal’s Pensées to be the Christian counterpoint to Islam’s Koran, “the only book needed in the world.” The second half of the book, arguing that the Catholic Church is the answer to the conundrums and dilemmas of humanity, is interesting, but less profound.
Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen.
Novel. Why read it? Quite a few people say that Pride and Prejudice is their favorite novel. Austen’s view of marriage is both satirical and reverent. She makes fun of most veteran wedded couples who are, as is true in most marriages that I have observed, misfits, but the realities of marriage do not stop Elizabeth and Jane, her sister, from seeing marriage as their ultimate goal for achieving happiness in life. Elizabeth represents prejudice; Darcy represents pride. Elizabeth thinks Darcy is an arrogant aristocratic snob. Darcy thinks Elizabeth’s family—but not Elizabeth—is beneath his social standing as an aristocrat. Will they get together?
Profiles in Courage. John F. Kennedy.
Why read it? It is not easy to vote according to conscience if you are a politician. This book puts political courage into the context of the forces with which politicians must concern themselves, including loss of their careers if they act courageously. This book is as much about the abuse that politicians suffered in public as it is the tenacity with which they voted according to conscience.
Ragtime. E.L. Doctorow.
Novel. Why read it? In this novel, Doctorow presents an impression of the ragtime era, the period before WWI. These were the “good old days.” With vivid prose and facts, Doctorow paints a picture of a raw American society divided into a few very rich and many poor. It was the era of immigrants, slavery in the coal mines, women without equal rights and child labor. In this novel, you will gain a realistic view of just how “good” the “old days” were.
Essays and Lectures. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Why read it? Because Emerson will make you think. He writes in sentences, each sentence suggestive, freighted with ideas. His sentences are like a stone skipping across the pond—each idea leading to other ideas in never-ending concentric circles He writes in prose but his images create poetry. When you read Emerson, be ready to think and to reflect for surprisingly long periods.
Poland. James A. Michener.
Why read it? To learn why the Polish people are far more courageous than the Polish jokes that are their stereotype. It’s a novel, of course, but most of Michener’s “novels” are really loaded with information about his topics, almost an encyclopedia, but told in story form. Michener is Polish and he wrote this novel to help people in the rest of the world understand the peculiar circumstances that makes Poland what it is—a country beset by large powers that have torn it apart, brutalized it, yet produced people of courage who never give up trying to live productive lives.
Portrait of a Lady. Henry James.
Novel. Why read it? Henry James studies the relationships between the American character and the staid, aristocratic Europeans. In this novel, Isabel Archer visits American relatives who have lived for a long time in Britain and who have adopted the British view of belief in a stratified society with special emphasis on proper manners. Isabel’s American/British relatives enjoy observing her in action, watching to see how she deals with certain situations. Isabel is manipulated by the sophisticated and socially polished Madame Merle into marrying an aristocratic, impoverished aesthete who tries to control her after they are married. At first, Isabel rebels and leaves him, but then returns because of the marriage bonds.
Pensées. Blaise Pascal.
Why read it? The first half of Pascal’s Pensées is profound. At one point, I considered Pascal’s Pensées to be the Christian counterpoint to Islam’s Koran, “the only book needed in the world.” The second half of the book, arguing that the Catholic Church is the answer to the conundrums and dilemmas of humanity, is interesting, but less profound.
Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen.
Novel. Why read it? Quite a few people say that Pride and Prejudice is their favorite novel. Austen’s view of marriage is both satirical and reverent. She makes fun of most veteran wedded couples who are, as is true in most marriages that I have observed, misfits, but the realities of marriage do not stop Elizabeth and Jane, her sister, from seeing marriage as their ultimate goal for achieving happiness in life. Elizabeth represents prejudice; Darcy represents pride. Elizabeth thinks Darcy is an arrogant aristocratic snob. Darcy thinks Elizabeth’s family—but not Elizabeth—is beneath his social standing as an aristocrat. Will they get together?
Profiles in Courage. John F. Kennedy.
Why read it? It is not easy to vote according to conscience if you are a politician. This book puts political courage into the context of the forces with which politicians must concern themselves, including loss of their careers if they act courageously. This book is as much about the abuse that politicians suffered in public as it is the tenacity with which they voted according to conscience.
Ragtime. E.L. Doctorow.
Novel. Why read it? In this novel, Doctorow presents an impression of the ragtime era, the period before WWI. These were the “good old days.” With vivid prose and facts, Doctorow paints a picture of a raw American society divided into a few very rich and many poor. It was the era of immigrants, slavery in the coal mines, women without equal rights and child labor. In this novel, you will gain a realistic view of just how “good” the “old days” were.
Essays and Lectures. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Why read it? Because Emerson will make you think. He writes in sentences, each sentence suggestive, freighted with ideas. His sentences are like a stone skipping across the pond—each idea leading to other ideas in never-ending concentric circles He writes in prose but his images create poetry. When you read Emerson, be ready to think and to reflect for surprisingly long periods.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Books and Ideas (13)
I read for ideas. Here are some of the ideas I have found in books.
On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Second Edition. William Zinsser.
Why read it? A helpful book on all aspects of writing nonfiction, including articles and business communications. Zinsser is especially critical of “clutter” in American writing. He discusses audience, the size of paragraphs and usage. Everyone can learn something about how to write better from reading this book. I guarantee it.
Civilization: A Personal View. Kenneth Clark.
Why read it? History of Western civilization. A personal study of the nature of civilization, which needs confidence to construct and is easily destroyed.
Deephaven. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. Why read it? Two young women spend an idyllic summer vacation in Deephaven, once a thriving Maine seaport town. Will remind readers of their own idyllic summer vacations.
Fox at the Wood’s Edge. Loren Eiseley. Gale Christianson.
Why read it? Biography of a scientist, a paleontologist and poet who wrote essays on nature and the meaning of evolution. Some of his essays are unforgettable. He conveys a melancholy, yet joyous, view of life. The miracles he discovers are found in everyday existence.
The Immense Journey. Loren Eiseley.
Why read it? Series of essays concerned with the meaning of evolution. Eiseley views evolution as a continuing process, changing to become—who knows what? Men and women as they are now will not be the men and women of the far future. We are working out what we are going to be.
Medea. Euripides.
Why read it? The ultimate revenge. This play is the story of a woman scorned, who took vicious revenge on her lover, Jason.
A Random Walk in Science: An Anthology. Compiled by RL Weber. Ed. E Mendoza. Foreword by William Cooper.
Why read it? Before you take science too seriously, you need to read this anthology. Parts of it are very, very funny. 133 selections record anecdotes about noted scientists, items of historical interest and articles showing the often bizarre ways in which scientific theories and achievements are brought into existence.
The Red Badge of Courage. Stephen Crane.
Novel. Why read it? A realistic, impressionistic description of confusion and fear and death in the American Civil War, written by an author who had never seen a real battle, but describes the scenes so vividly that “you are there.” War is all about irony. The irony of Henry Fleming’s illusion that he will be a hero when engaging in combat, but when faced with the reality of the conflict, he turns and runs. And justifies his cowardice to himself. The irony of being struck accidentally on the head by a fellow soldier’s rifle, giving Henry his “red badge of courage,” the sign to others that he had actually fought and been wounded during the battle. In turn, he feels courageous because of his “red badge.” In the end, Henry Fleming forgets himself, forgets his doubts, joins in the shooting, becomes one with the other men on the lines.
The Road Ahead. William H. Gates, III.
Why read it? Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, predicts the changes in the world that will happen because of the computer and the Internet. He is not far off. “There will be a day, not far distant, when you will be able to conduct business, study, explore the world and its cultures, call up any great entertainment, make friends, attend neighborhood markets and show pictures to distant relatives—without leaving your desk or armchair.”
On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Second Edition. William Zinsser.
Why read it? A helpful book on all aspects of writing nonfiction, including articles and business communications. Zinsser is especially critical of “clutter” in American writing. He discusses audience, the size of paragraphs and usage. Everyone can learn something about how to write better from reading this book. I guarantee it.
Civilization: A Personal View. Kenneth Clark.
Why read it? History of Western civilization. A personal study of the nature of civilization, which needs confidence to construct and is easily destroyed.
Deephaven. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. Why read it? Two young women spend an idyllic summer vacation in Deephaven, once a thriving Maine seaport town. Will remind readers of their own idyllic summer vacations.
Fox at the Wood’s Edge. Loren Eiseley. Gale Christianson.
Why read it? Biography of a scientist, a paleontologist and poet who wrote essays on nature and the meaning of evolution. Some of his essays are unforgettable. He conveys a melancholy, yet joyous, view of life. The miracles he discovers are found in everyday existence.
The Immense Journey. Loren Eiseley.
Why read it? Series of essays concerned with the meaning of evolution. Eiseley views evolution as a continuing process, changing to become—who knows what? Men and women as they are now will not be the men and women of the far future. We are working out what we are going to be.
Medea. Euripides.
Why read it? The ultimate revenge. This play is the story of a woman scorned, who took vicious revenge on her lover, Jason.
A Random Walk in Science: An Anthology. Compiled by RL Weber. Ed. E Mendoza. Foreword by William Cooper.
Why read it? Before you take science too seriously, you need to read this anthology. Parts of it are very, very funny. 133 selections record anecdotes about noted scientists, items of historical interest and articles showing the often bizarre ways in which scientific theories and achievements are brought into existence.
The Red Badge of Courage. Stephen Crane.
Novel. Why read it? A realistic, impressionistic description of confusion and fear and death in the American Civil War, written by an author who had never seen a real battle, but describes the scenes so vividly that “you are there.” War is all about irony. The irony of Henry Fleming’s illusion that he will be a hero when engaging in combat, but when faced with the reality of the conflict, he turns and runs. And justifies his cowardice to himself. The irony of being struck accidentally on the head by a fellow soldier’s rifle, giving Henry his “red badge of courage,” the sign to others that he had actually fought and been wounded during the battle. In turn, he feels courageous because of his “red badge.” In the end, Henry Fleming forgets himself, forgets his doubts, joins in the shooting, becomes one with the other men on the lines.
The Road Ahead. William H. Gates, III.
Why read it? Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, predicts the changes in the world that will happen because of the computer and the Internet. He is not far off. “There will be a day, not far distant, when you will be able to conduct business, study, explore the world and its cultures, call up any great entertainment, make friends, attend neighborhood markets and show pictures to distant relatives—without leaving your desk or armchair.”
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Books and Ideas (12)
I read for ideas. Here are some of the ideas I have found in books.
The Once and Future King. T.H. White.
Why read it? A delightful story of the education for leadership of King Arthur by Merlyn. Part of his training was in learning to live with the animals and gain their perspective. His purpose in founding the Round Table was to channel the natural aggressiveness of men into fighting for good causes.
The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod. Henry Beston.
Why read it? Like Thoreau at Walden, Beston took up a solitary residence in a cottage on the beach where he could observe the life of the sand and the dunes and the moods of the ocean.
Oxford Book of Aphorisms. John Gross, Ed.
Why read it? There’s much wisdom in this collection of aphorisms listed by topic. Perhaps the best advice for reading books of aphorisms is the aphorism on page 2: “The only way to read a book of aphorisms without being bored is to open it at random and having found something that interests you, close the book and meditate.” Prince DeLigne, 1796.
The Ordeal of Mark Twain. Van Wyck Brooks.
Why read it? To understand why Mark Twain did not become America’s Shakespeare. According to the author, Twain was a writer who could have made a significant contribution to the world’s literature, but became sidetracked by his success and popularity as a humorist. Possibly explains his extreme bitterness in the latter part of his life. He never fulfilled his destiny. Desired wealth and prestige as well as fulfillment of his creative instinct. He couldn’t have both.
Out of Chaos. Louis J. Halle.
Why read it? To understand the apparent contradiction between accident in the foundations of matter and order in its developed form, between molecules bouncing by chance from one to another like pinballs and a fully grown, fully developed human being. The closer our perspective, the more chaotic things appear to be; the wider and broader our perspective, the more ordered things appear to be.
The Passions of the Mind: A Novel of Sigmund Freud. Irving Stone.
Why read it? To understand Freud’s ideas in relatively plain English. All right. It’s a fictionalized biography of Freud, and not one of Stone’s best, either. [His best fictionalized novel was Lust for Life on Vincent Van Gogh.] Freud’s original writing reads like a textbook and so does Stone’s fictionalized biography. But the novel does explain Freud’s thought in readable prose so that ordinary people like me can understand his ideas. Freud suggested that childhood experiences significantly affected adult lives. Freud was viciously insulted for his work in describing the reality of human nature. Inhibitions are caused by repressed instinctual drives. Freud showed us how much of our rational lives is influenced by the unconscious.
Persuasion. Jane Austen.
Novel. Why read it?. To appreciate Jane Austen’s humorous observation of the people in her social circle and her keen sense of the place of women in her society. The heroine, Anne Elliot, and her lover, Captain Wentworth, were engaged for eight years before the story begins but Anne broke the engagement in deference to family and friends—they didn’t like him. Reunited, they fall in love again. Austen’s impressions of the people around her are delightful.
The Pickwick Papers. Charles Dickens.
Why read it? Novel. One of the funniest books ever written. The history of the Nimrod Club, the members of which go out shooting, fishing, etc., and get themselves into difficulty because of their lack of dexterity. In short, a club of klutzes. A mixture of wit and wisdom; the introduction of Sam Weller (pronounced, “Veller”) and his widow-hating father. The sheer joy in using language. Simply hilarious.
The Once and Future King. T.H. White.
Why read it? A delightful story of the education for leadership of King Arthur by Merlyn. Part of his training was in learning to live with the animals and gain their perspective. His purpose in founding the Round Table was to channel the natural aggressiveness of men into fighting for good causes.
The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod. Henry Beston.
Why read it? Like Thoreau at Walden, Beston took up a solitary residence in a cottage on the beach where he could observe the life of the sand and the dunes and the moods of the ocean.
Oxford Book of Aphorisms. John Gross, Ed.
Why read it? There’s much wisdom in this collection of aphorisms listed by topic. Perhaps the best advice for reading books of aphorisms is the aphorism on page 2: “The only way to read a book of aphorisms without being bored is to open it at random and having found something that interests you, close the book and meditate.” Prince DeLigne, 1796.
The Ordeal of Mark Twain. Van Wyck Brooks.
Why read it? To understand why Mark Twain did not become America’s Shakespeare. According to the author, Twain was a writer who could have made a significant contribution to the world’s literature, but became sidetracked by his success and popularity as a humorist. Possibly explains his extreme bitterness in the latter part of his life. He never fulfilled his destiny. Desired wealth and prestige as well as fulfillment of his creative instinct. He couldn’t have both.
Out of Chaos. Louis J. Halle.
Why read it? To understand the apparent contradiction between accident in the foundations of matter and order in its developed form, between molecules bouncing by chance from one to another like pinballs and a fully grown, fully developed human being. The closer our perspective, the more chaotic things appear to be; the wider and broader our perspective, the more ordered things appear to be.
The Passions of the Mind: A Novel of Sigmund Freud. Irving Stone.
Why read it? To understand Freud’s ideas in relatively plain English. All right. It’s a fictionalized biography of Freud, and not one of Stone’s best, either. [His best fictionalized novel was Lust for Life on Vincent Van Gogh.] Freud’s original writing reads like a textbook and so does Stone’s fictionalized biography. But the novel does explain Freud’s thought in readable prose so that ordinary people like me can understand his ideas. Freud suggested that childhood experiences significantly affected adult lives. Freud was viciously insulted for his work in describing the reality of human nature. Inhibitions are caused by repressed instinctual drives. Freud showed us how much of our rational lives is influenced by the unconscious.
Persuasion. Jane Austen.
Novel. Why read it?. To appreciate Jane Austen’s humorous observation of the people in her social circle and her keen sense of the place of women in her society. The heroine, Anne Elliot, and her lover, Captain Wentworth, were engaged for eight years before the story begins but Anne broke the engagement in deference to family and friends—they didn’t like him. Reunited, they fall in love again. Austen’s impressions of the people around her are delightful.
The Pickwick Papers. Charles Dickens.
Why read it? Novel. One of the funniest books ever written. The history of the Nimrod Club, the members of which go out shooting, fishing, etc., and get themselves into difficulty because of their lack of dexterity. In short, a club of klutzes. A mixture of wit and wisdom; the introduction of Sam Weller (pronounced, “Veller”) and his widow-hating father. The sheer joy in using language. Simply hilarious.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Books and Ideas (11)
I read for ideas. Here are some of the ideas I have found in books.
Northanger Abbey. Jane Austen.
Novel. Why read it? Satirizes the genre of Gothic mansions with mysterious goings on and horror. I think this novel illustrates Austen’s versatility within the limited experiences she was able to describe. Of course, for another point of view on the Gothic, read Edgar Allen Poe.
Notes from Turtle Creek. Ted Browning.
Essays. Why read it? Makes a convincing argument for man’s learning to live with nature, not exterminate it. A local (Chester County, PA) naturalist helps us to see the world of nature with a fresh view. You’ll never look at nature again in the same way after reading these essays. Ted Browning is right there with Loren Eiseley and Joseph Wood Krutch, though not so well known. They all believe that people should be partners with nature, not dominate it.
Not So Wild a Dream. Eric Sevareid.
Autobiography. Why read it? Most of this book describes Sevareid’s experiences in WWII as a reporter and commentator. To those who heard and watched him on TV or read his newspaper columns, Eric Sevareid expressed himself concisely and memorably. He never wasted a word. One of his prominent traits was irony. This book helps people who are not familiar with Eric Sevareid to learn from him again.
Notre Dame of Paris. Allan Temko.
Nonfiction. Why read it? This book re-creates for the reader the world in which Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral was built. Construction of the cathedral occurred because of the extraordinary faith of the people of its time—the world which Henry Adams describes as a unified society built around the Catholic religion and the universal love for the Virgin Mary. To read this book is to engage actively in the construction of one of the world’s great monuments to faith.
On Aggression. Konrad Lorenz.
Nonfiction. Why read it? To understand something about the causes and cures of human aggression. The author claims to have studied aggressive behavior in animals and to have drawn conclusions from their behavior that might help humans to control the aggressive instinct. Suggests that the aggressive instinct in humans be redirected toward the goals of art, science and medicine—beauty, truth and the alleviation of suffering.
Only Yesterday. Frederick Lewis Allen.
Why read it? Remember the 1920s? You will while reading this book, even though you did not live in the 1920s. Allen vividly re-creates the time that I think marks the beginning of modern society in the United States. You will recognize many of the practices that originated in the 1920s today in the 21st century. The era of the 1920s, from the end of World War I to the collapse of the stock market in 1929, is one of the most colorful decades in U.S. history.
On the Road. Jack Kerouac.
Novel. Why read it? To understand the spirit of the 1950’s that led to the spirit of the 1960’s. In On the Road, the mood is one of “Go!” Stay for any period of time and you will feel the urge to “Go!” Travel back and forth across the U.S. See the different social classes in action. Gather impressions of America in the 1950s. This novel is a “beat” classic, and the tempo of the book carries the reader frenetically through changing moods and experiences in different parts of the country.
Northanger Abbey. Jane Austen.
Novel. Why read it? Satirizes the genre of Gothic mansions with mysterious goings on and horror. I think this novel illustrates Austen’s versatility within the limited experiences she was able to describe. Of course, for another point of view on the Gothic, read Edgar Allen Poe.
Notes from Turtle Creek. Ted Browning.
Essays. Why read it? Makes a convincing argument for man’s learning to live with nature, not exterminate it. A local (Chester County, PA) naturalist helps us to see the world of nature with a fresh view. You’ll never look at nature again in the same way after reading these essays. Ted Browning is right there with Loren Eiseley and Joseph Wood Krutch, though not so well known. They all believe that people should be partners with nature, not dominate it.
Not So Wild a Dream. Eric Sevareid.
Autobiography. Why read it? Most of this book describes Sevareid’s experiences in WWII as a reporter and commentator. To those who heard and watched him on TV or read his newspaper columns, Eric Sevareid expressed himself concisely and memorably. He never wasted a word. One of his prominent traits was irony. This book helps people who are not familiar with Eric Sevareid to learn from him again.
Notre Dame of Paris. Allan Temko.
Nonfiction. Why read it? This book re-creates for the reader the world in which Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral was built. Construction of the cathedral occurred because of the extraordinary faith of the people of its time—the world which Henry Adams describes as a unified society built around the Catholic religion and the universal love for the Virgin Mary. To read this book is to engage actively in the construction of one of the world’s great monuments to faith.
On Aggression. Konrad Lorenz.
Nonfiction. Why read it? To understand something about the causes and cures of human aggression. The author claims to have studied aggressive behavior in animals and to have drawn conclusions from their behavior that might help humans to control the aggressive instinct. Suggests that the aggressive instinct in humans be redirected toward the goals of art, science and medicine—beauty, truth and the alleviation of suffering.
Only Yesterday. Frederick Lewis Allen.
Why read it? Remember the 1920s? You will while reading this book, even though you did not live in the 1920s. Allen vividly re-creates the time that I think marks the beginning of modern society in the United States. You will recognize many of the practices that originated in the 1920s today in the 21st century. The era of the 1920s, from the end of World War I to the collapse of the stock market in 1929, is one of the most colorful decades in U.S. history.
On the Road. Jack Kerouac.
Novel. Why read it? To understand the spirit of the 1950’s that led to the spirit of the 1960’s. In On the Road, the mood is one of “Go!” Stay for any period of time and you will feel the urge to “Go!” Travel back and forth across the U.S. See the different social classes in action. Gather impressions of America in the 1950s. This novel is a “beat” classic, and the tempo of the book carries the reader frenetically through changing moods and experiences in different parts of the country.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Books and Ideas (10)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
Minority Report: HL Mencken’s Notebooks.
Why read it? If you have not read something by H.L. Mencken, you have missed one of the truly memorable misanthropes in civilization, who wrote in a style that infuriated most of his readers. He is a wall-to-wall critic of almost everything to be encountered in American society in his own day and today, and each of his shafts brings from readers the response, “Damn it, he’s right!” Well, half-right, anyway. Anyone who reads H.L. Mencken never forgets him.
Montaigne: Selected Essays. The Charles Cotton, W. Hazlitt Translation. Revised and Edited with Introduction by Blanchard Bates.
Why read it? Beyond the definition of the essay as written on a single subject, there are two types of essays. The first type of essay is planned, with a beginning, middle and end, like the essays of Francis Bacon and Joseph Addison, and the essays written by students in modern American schools based on the model of the “five-paragraph essay.”
The second type of essay, less imitated, is like those of Montaigne. These essays give the impression of not being planned, of moving as the mind muses, from idea to idea. As the editor of these selected essays of Montaigne, Blanchard Bates, describes them: “Often a sentence rambles on, idea suggesting idea and clause added to clause and then suddenly returns to the original thought. He wanted the style of the essays to convey an impression of the movement of the writer’s thought.”
Mr. Blue. Myles Connolly.
Novel. Why read it? Mr. Blue is an unusual character. He is a Christian who loves life, who can sacrifice his own personal interests to help others with no promise of reward other than alleviating the plight of others. He is, in short, a replication of Christ in the modern world. An unforgettable character.
My Antonia. Willa Cather.
Novel. Why read it? A story about the struggles and hardships of settlers in the West, the settlers who made life easier for the generations that followed. “Antonia” is pronounced An’ toe nee’ ah. The history books can tell about the westward movement, but this novel—and others, notably Giants in the Earth—can convey the experience and the human cost of being a pioneer.
The Naked and the Dead. Norman Mailer.
Why read it? The battles can be named, won or lost, and the statistics of losses can be compiled, but the personal experience of war is most vividly found in novels like this one. A novel about the complex inner workings of people who engage in war, their interactions with others, and the effects of authority on those who are under their command. This novel demonstrates again the ironies of warfare.
Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Times. James R. Mellow.
Biography. Why read it? You’re going to learn about the contradictory personality of one of America’s greatest writers—the recluse who forced himself to become involved in society and politics. His themes are hidden sin and the unpardonable sin in his romances (novels?), tales and stories. He once said he could not read stories like those he wrote because he would not have the patience to do so. Believe me, reading his stories is worth the time that it takes.
The New Golden Bough. Sir James George Frazer. Edited by Dr. Theodore H. Caster.
Why read it? This book contains a thorough discussion of primitive superstitions. The book may appear to be of formidable length, but it is readable, entertaining and even humorous. I loved discovering ideas buried in my memory that had been passed on to me by my mother and other relatives. Readers will learn just how much our thoughts are controlled by ideas that go back to primitive people. They will be surprised by the degree to which these superstitions are part of our present-day consciousness.
Minority Report: HL Mencken’s Notebooks.
Why read it? If you have not read something by H.L. Mencken, you have missed one of the truly memorable misanthropes in civilization, who wrote in a style that infuriated most of his readers. He is a wall-to-wall critic of almost everything to be encountered in American society in his own day and today, and each of his shafts brings from readers the response, “Damn it, he’s right!” Well, half-right, anyway. Anyone who reads H.L. Mencken never forgets him.
Montaigne: Selected Essays. The Charles Cotton, W. Hazlitt Translation. Revised and Edited with Introduction by Blanchard Bates.
Why read it? Beyond the definition of the essay as written on a single subject, there are two types of essays. The first type of essay is planned, with a beginning, middle and end, like the essays of Francis Bacon and Joseph Addison, and the essays written by students in modern American schools based on the model of the “five-paragraph essay.”
The second type of essay, less imitated, is like those of Montaigne. These essays give the impression of not being planned, of moving as the mind muses, from idea to idea. As the editor of these selected essays of Montaigne, Blanchard Bates, describes them: “Often a sentence rambles on, idea suggesting idea and clause added to clause and then suddenly returns to the original thought. He wanted the style of the essays to convey an impression of the movement of the writer’s thought.”
Mr. Blue. Myles Connolly.
Novel. Why read it? Mr. Blue is an unusual character. He is a Christian who loves life, who can sacrifice his own personal interests to help others with no promise of reward other than alleviating the plight of others. He is, in short, a replication of Christ in the modern world. An unforgettable character.
My Antonia. Willa Cather.
Novel. Why read it? A story about the struggles and hardships of settlers in the West, the settlers who made life easier for the generations that followed. “Antonia” is pronounced An’ toe nee’ ah. The history books can tell about the westward movement, but this novel—and others, notably Giants in the Earth—can convey the experience and the human cost of being a pioneer.
The Naked and the Dead. Norman Mailer.
Why read it? The battles can be named, won or lost, and the statistics of losses can be compiled, but the personal experience of war is most vividly found in novels like this one. A novel about the complex inner workings of people who engage in war, their interactions with others, and the effects of authority on those who are under their command. This novel demonstrates again the ironies of warfare.
Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Times. James R. Mellow.
Biography. Why read it? You’re going to learn about the contradictory personality of one of America’s greatest writers—the recluse who forced himself to become involved in society and politics. His themes are hidden sin and the unpardonable sin in his romances (novels?), tales and stories. He once said he could not read stories like those he wrote because he would not have the patience to do so. Believe me, reading his stories is worth the time that it takes.
The New Golden Bough. Sir James George Frazer. Edited by Dr. Theodore H. Caster.
Why read it? This book contains a thorough discussion of primitive superstitions. The book may appear to be of formidable length, but it is readable, entertaining and even humorous. I loved discovering ideas buried in my memory that had been passed on to me by my mother and other relatives. Readers will learn just how much our thoughts are controlled by ideas that go back to primitive people. They will be surprised by the degree to which these superstitions are part of our present-day consciousness.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Books and Ideas (09)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
The Mayor of Casterbridge: A Story of a Man of Character. Thomas Hardy.
Novel. Why read it? Twenty years ago, when I was an English supervisor in a K-12 school district, a parent asked me, “Why is all the literature we read in English so depressing?” She might have been referring to this novel, Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. A man gets drunk at a fair and sells his wife and daughter to another man. He repents and becomes a successful citizen and mayor of Casterbridge. But he cannot escape the consequences of his evil act. Depressing? No, an insight into life.
Memoirs by Harry S. Truman. Vol. One: Year of Decision.
Why read it? To understand the magnitude of Harry S. Truman’s achievement, the flexibility of his personality, the sophistication of his political skills and the application of his fundamental principles. This memoir belies his image of a small-town hayseed who somehow managed to stumble through his Presidency. He was a prolific reader.
Memoirs by Harry S. Truman. Vol. II: Years of Trial and Hope.
Why read it? The second volume of Truman’s Memoirs concerns the major issues with which he had to deal after WWII: Russia and the Cold War; the Berlin Blockade; labor, management and the Taft-Hartley Law; Korea, Communist China; Mac Arthur; the Marshall Plan and, of course, his reelection in 1948.
Memoirs of the Second World War: An Abridgement. Winston S. Churchill.
Why read it? Churchill was given the power to lead when things looked darkest, used the power of the English language to rally his people, maintained the willingness to fight until the bitter end in order to save Western civilization, managed to hold off defeat in spite of horrendous bombings of London, U-boat depredations and fears of invasion until America entered the war, went on alone in spite of the fall of France, worked with Roosevelt and clashed with Stalin to win the war, and, when the Allies had won and their enemies had surrendered unconditionally, was promptly turned out of office by his people. This too is democracy.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Allusions. E. Webber and M. Feinsilber, Eds.
Why read it? I bet you think reading dictionaries is a nerdish activity. Maybe so, but if you love language, you have to enjoy reading books that talk about words. In this review of allusions, you will find a rich assortment of indirect references, references assumed by writers to be understood by their readers and therefore unexplained in the text. Spot an allusion you don’t understand? Look it up in this book. Reading the allusions in this book is a bachelor of arts degree in itself.
Microbe Hunters. Paul DeKruif.
Why read it? The stories in this book are about known and unknown heroes of humanity. They are distinct personalities. Sometimes they doggedly worked to achieve their goals and sometimes they achieved them by accident. Paul DeKruif, the author of these biographies of scientists, has an engaging style of writing. Your eyes will fly over the pages of this book. These scientists struggled to achieve victory over disease, a victory that today we take for granted. You will also learn from this history of science that science is not a neat, orderly process.
Middlemarch. George Eliot.
Novel. Why read it? The theme of this novel is the loss of idealism. Dorothea is disillusioned to find that her husband is a desiccated scholar, a scholar whose work is a waste of time. The second loss of idealism occurs with Dr. Lydgate, a physician. The lost idealism of Dr. Lydgate is probably true of many physicians today. Depressing? No, an insight into life.
The Mayor of Casterbridge: A Story of a Man of Character. Thomas Hardy.
Novel. Why read it? Twenty years ago, when I was an English supervisor in a K-12 school district, a parent asked me, “Why is all the literature we read in English so depressing?” She might have been referring to this novel, Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. A man gets drunk at a fair and sells his wife and daughter to another man. He repents and becomes a successful citizen and mayor of Casterbridge. But he cannot escape the consequences of his evil act. Depressing? No, an insight into life.
Memoirs by Harry S. Truman. Vol. One: Year of Decision.
Why read it? To understand the magnitude of Harry S. Truman’s achievement, the flexibility of his personality, the sophistication of his political skills and the application of his fundamental principles. This memoir belies his image of a small-town hayseed who somehow managed to stumble through his Presidency. He was a prolific reader.
Memoirs by Harry S. Truman. Vol. II: Years of Trial and Hope.
Why read it? The second volume of Truman’s Memoirs concerns the major issues with which he had to deal after WWII: Russia and the Cold War; the Berlin Blockade; labor, management and the Taft-Hartley Law; Korea, Communist China; Mac Arthur; the Marshall Plan and, of course, his reelection in 1948.
Memoirs of the Second World War: An Abridgement. Winston S. Churchill.
Why read it? Churchill was given the power to lead when things looked darkest, used the power of the English language to rally his people, maintained the willingness to fight until the bitter end in order to save Western civilization, managed to hold off defeat in spite of horrendous bombings of London, U-boat depredations and fears of invasion until America entered the war, went on alone in spite of the fall of France, worked with Roosevelt and clashed with Stalin to win the war, and, when the Allies had won and their enemies had surrendered unconditionally, was promptly turned out of office by his people. This too is democracy.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Allusions. E. Webber and M. Feinsilber, Eds.
Why read it? I bet you think reading dictionaries is a nerdish activity. Maybe so, but if you love language, you have to enjoy reading books that talk about words. In this review of allusions, you will find a rich assortment of indirect references, references assumed by writers to be understood by their readers and therefore unexplained in the text. Spot an allusion you don’t understand? Look it up in this book. Reading the allusions in this book is a bachelor of arts degree in itself.
Microbe Hunters. Paul DeKruif.
Why read it? The stories in this book are about known and unknown heroes of humanity. They are distinct personalities. Sometimes they doggedly worked to achieve their goals and sometimes they achieved them by accident. Paul DeKruif, the author of these biographies of scientists, has an engaging style of writing. Your eyes will fly over the pages of this book. These scientists struggled to achieve victory over disease, a victory that today we take for granted. You will also learn from this history of science that science is not a neat, orderly process.
Middlemarch. George Eliot.
Novel. Why read it? The theme of this novel is the loss of idealism. Dorothea is disillusioned to find that her husband is a desiccated scholar, a scholar whose work is a waste of time. The second loss of idealism occurs with Dr. Lydgate, a physician. The lost idealism of Dr. Lydgate is probably true of many physicians today. Depressing? No, an insight into life.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Books and Ideas (08)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Volume One. James Boswell.
The most famous and thorough biography in English literature. Samuel Johnson is one of the most quoted people in the English language.
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher. Lewis Thomas.
This book by Lewis Thomas, a physician, is a series of essays consisting of ideas and reflections about medicine, biology and the nature of the cell. One idea that stood out for me was Lewis’s speculation about the hereafter: Where do all the consciousnesses go?
Lolita. Vladimir Nabokov.
Novel. Ah ha! A dirty book! Right? The basic plot certainly seems so--a middle-aged man chasing around after a pre-teenage girl. However, Nabokov says it is actually a celebration of the American language and culture, and anyone who reads it will begin to realize this purpose during the odyssey of Humbert and Lolita across America. In some ways, Lolita is like Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
The Magus. John Fowles.
For a while, in the early 1970s, this novel became a cult classic. Many high school and college students were reading it. No one could figure it out. The scenes were page-turners. You couldn’t stop reading them, But put them together and what did they all mean? It took several readings, but I finally figured it out.
Main Street. Sinclair Lewis.
Novel. Lewis captures the “spirit” of small-town America—its tediousness, self-importance; endless repetition of activities, jokes and stories; conformity; and intolerance. Carol sets out to reform the town, to introduce it to high culture, but the town eventually reduces her to resigned acceptance of its values.
The Making of the President 1960. Theodore H. White.
Gives insights into the personalities and strategies of the Presidential candidates, JFK and Richard Nixon, in 1960. Also reveals the strain of undergoing the primaries. The first television presidential debates.
Mansfield Park. Jane Austen.
Novel Example of life at a different time (early 19th century) in a different society (British). In a sense, Austen’s novels are soap operas. The plots move at a snail’s pace and feature many twists and turns. However, they are about real people who use and hurt other people. In this novel, two good people emerge—Fanny and Edmund—and they eventually find their way to each other.
The Marble Faun or The Romance of Monte Beni. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1860).
Romance/Novel. Theme is the need for the experience of sin in order to become truly human. Complete innocence results in an inhuman intolerance. A meditation on guilt and the effects of sin. It’s also a pretty good travelogue on the city of Rome.
The Masks of God: Creative Mythology. Joseph Campbell.
The author tries to show that we are unwittingly controlled by mythology and that mythology, of which we are conscious and unconscious, rules our responses to life, guides our actions in life.
Medea. Euripides.
This play is the story of a woman scorned, who took vicious revenge on her lover, Jason.
The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Volume One. James Boswell.
The most famous and thorough biography in English literature. Samuel Johnson is one of the most quoted people in the English language.
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher. Lewis Thomas.
This book by Lewis Thomas, a physician, is a series of essays consisting of ideas and reflections about medicine, biology and the nature of the cell. One idea that stood out for me was Lewis’s speculation about the hereafter: Where do all the consciousnesses go?
Lolita. Vladimir Nabokov.
Novel. Ah ha! A dirty book! Right? The basic plot certainly seems so--a middle-aged man chasing around after a pre-teenage girl. However, Nabokov says it is actually a celebration of the American language and culture, and anyone who reads it will begin to realize this purpose during the odyssey of Humbert and Lolita across America. In some ways, Lolita is like Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
The Magus. John Fowles.
For a while, in the early 1970s, this novel became a cult classic. Many high school and college students were reading it. No one could figure it out. The scenes were page-turners. You couldn’t stop reading them, But put them together and what did they all mean? It took several readings, but I finally figured it out.
Main Street. Sinclair Lewis.
Novel. Lewis captures the “spirit” of small-town America—its tediousness, self-importance; endless repetition of activities, jokes and stories; conformity; and intolerance. Carol sets out to reform the town, to introduce it to high culture, but the town eventually reduces her to resigned acceptance of its values.
The Making of the President 1960. Theodore H. White.
Gives insights into the personalities and strategies of the Presidential candidates, JFK and Richard Nixon, in 1960. Also reveals the strain of undergoing the primaries. The first television presidential debates.
Mansfield Park. Jane Austen.
Novel Example of life at a different time (early 19th century) in a different society (British). In a sense, Austen’s novels are soap operas. The plots move at a snail’s pace and feature many twists and turns. However, they are about real people who use and hurt other people. In this novel, two good people emerge—Fanny and Edmund—and they eventually find their way to each other.
The Marble Faun or The Romance of Monte Beni. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1860).
Romance/Novel. Theme is the need for the experience of sin in order to become truly human. Complete innocence results in an inhuman intolerance. A meditation on guilt and the effects of sin. It’s also a pretty good travelogue on the city of Rome.
The Masks of God: Creative Mythology. Joseph Campbell.
The author tries to show that we are unwittingly controlled by mythology and that mythology, of which we are conscious and unconscious, rules our responses to life, guides our actions in life.
Medea. Euripides.
This play is the story of a woman scorned, who took vicious revenge on her lover, Jason.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Books and Ideas (7)
Books and Ideas (07)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
The Innocents Abroad or the New Pilgrims’ Progress. Mark Twain.
Twain poked fun at hallowed European landmarks. Some of the scenes are hilarious. A very entertaining view of tourism.
In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. Robert S. McNamara with Brian Van DeMark.
There were eleven major causes for our disaster in Vietnam. McNamara explains each of the eleven causes, half of which were also true in Iraq. Didn’t any U.S. government official read this book before repeating our Vietnam experience in Iraq?
East of Eden. John Steinbeck.
Novel. Parallel to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Steinbeck’s philosophical musings are interesting. Themes of evil vs. good and heredity vs. free will. Realistic portrait of California farming.
Jane Austen. Carol Shields.
Biography. Jane Austen was one of the finest writers of English novels, often ranked with Shakespeare. One reason to read this biography of Jane Austen is to realize the degree to which women of her time were restricted by living in a man’s world. We’ve come part of the way, Baby.
The Jane Austen Book Club. Karen Joy Fowler.
Novel. presents an interesting contrast between the life styles of Jane Austen and the characters in her novels and 21st-century liberated American women. A thoughtful look at the role of women in society—then and now.
Justice at Nuremberg. Robert E. Conot.
Read to understand the enormity of the Nazi atrocities. And to understand that vengeance might have been better served by summarily executing the German leaders without a trial, which refused to allow the defendants the logical defenses that the Allies had used in their histories the very atrocities—the Boar War and concentration camps and the extermination of Native Americans, for example—with which the Nazis in WWII were charged. The charges were made up after the fact. A travesty of American justice.
Karl Marx: His Life and Environment. Isaiah Berlin.
This is a biography of ideas, not a biography of action. We can learn some things from Karl Marx, who said, “I am not a Marxist.” One idea that especially influenced me was Marx’s belief that the history of the world involves economic exploitation. Also, his view of competition and cooperation Today’s business models emphasize both processes.
Kennedy. Theodore C. Sorenson.
Sorenson presents a comprehensive view of Kennedy’s ideas and methods of leadership. Kennedy was a reader and he had a sense of history. His philosophy of government was very much like Harry Truman’s.
A Left-Hand Turn Around the World: Chasing the Mystery and Meanings of All Things Southpaw. David Wolman.
If you’re not left-handed, you have probably not given the topic of left-handedness much thought. “Gauche,” “sinister,” “left-handed compliment,” “maladroit”: the English language has treated left-handers negatively. So our author, a left-hander, decided to explore the phenomenon of left-handedness. Conclusion? Considerable research, but not much help on learning the causes, nature and effects of left-handedness.
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
The Innocents Abroad or the New Pilgrims’ Progress. Mark Twain.
Twain poked fun at hallowed European landmarks. Some of the scenes are hilarious. A very entertaining view of tourism.
In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. Robert S. McNamara with Brian Van DeMark.
There were eleven major causes for our disaster in Vietnam. McNamara explains each of the eleven causes, half of which were also true in Iraq. Didn’t any U.S. government official read this book before repeating our Vietnam experience in Iraq?
East of Eden. John Steinbeck.
Novel. Parallel to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Steinbeck’s philosophical musings are interesting. Themes of evil vs. good and heredity vs. free will. Realistic portrait of California farming.
Jane Austen. Carol Shields.
Biography. Jane Austen was one of the finest writers of English novels, often ranked with Shakespeare. One reason to read this biography of Jane Austen is to realize the degree to which women of her time were restricted by living in a man’s world. We’ve come part of the way, Baby.
The Jane Austen Book Club. Karen Joy Fowler.
Novel. presents an interesting contrast between the life styles of Jane Austen and the characters in her novels and 21st-century liberated American women. A thoughtful look at the role of women in society—then and now.
Justice at Nuremberg. Robert E. Conot.
Read to understand the enormity of the Nazi atrocities. And to understand that vengeance might have been better served by summarily executing the German leaders without a trial, which refused to allow the defendants the logical defenses that the Allies had used in their histories the very atrocities—the Boar War and concentration camps and the extermination of Native Americans, for example—with which the Nazis in WWII were charged. The charges were made up after the fact. A travesty of American justice.
Karl Marx: His Life and Environment. Isaiah Berlin.
This is a biography of ideas, not a biography of action. We can learn some things from Karl Marx, who said, “I am not a Marxist.” One idea that especially influenced me was Marx’s belief that the history of the world involves economic exploitation. Also, his view of competition and cooperation Today’s business models emphasize both processes.
Kennedy. Theodore C. Sorenson.
Sorenson presents a comprehensive view of Kennedy’s ideas and methods of leadership. Kennedy was a reader and he had a sense of history. His philosophy of government was very much like Harry Truman’s.
A Left-Hand Turn Around the World: Chasing the Mystery and Meanings of All Things Southpaw. David Wolman.
If you’re not left-handed, you have probably not given the topic of left-handedness much thought. “Gauche,” “sinister,” “left-handed compliment,” “maladroit”: the English language has treated left-handers negatively. So our author, a left-hander, decided to explore the phenomenon of left-handedness. Conclusion? Considerable research, but not much help on learning the causes, nature and effects of left-handedness.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Books and Ideas (06)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
The Devil in Massachusetts. Marion L. Starkey.
Young girls set off hysteria by charging that they had been hurt by witches. The result was both chaos and crisis, the Salem Witch Trials—and executions of innocent people. A study of irrational behavior in society.
The Greek Way. Edith Hamilton.
The Greek spirit: rejoice in life; the world is a beautiful place and a delight to live in. Joy, sorrow, exultation, tragedy stood hand in hand in Greek literature. Even in the darkest moments, the Greeks did not lose their taste for life or for criticizing the powerful and influential.
A Handful of Dust. Evelyn Waugh.
Novel. Bored British aristocrats and the breakup of their marriage.
Here at the New Yorker. Brendan Gill.
The joy and hard work of producing interesting stories and nonfiction at The New Yorker. Brendan Gill, the author of this book, fills his pages with gossip about the editors and the writers and the process of putting together each week’s issue.
A History of Reading. Alberto Manguel.
I thought I knew all there was to know about reading until I came across this book. Manguel’s ideas gave me plenty to think about. Examples. Socrates: “Only that which the reader already knows can be activated by reading.” Kafka: “One reads in order to ask questions.”
The House of the Seven Gables. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Romance/Novel. The plot is glacial, almost like a somnolent summer afternoon in New England. Small crises gradually enlarge to a major crisis. The curse of one generation is resolved by the marriage of a young couple who represent the cursed and the curser.
How to Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking. Dale Carnegie.
Some interesting and practical points on successful public speaking. Interesting opening: Know explicitly in advance. Don’t use humorous story unrelated to your speech. Plan your ending in advance. Close with a brief summary of your points. Appeal for action.
How to Read a Book: The Art of Getting a Liberal Education. Mortimer J. Adler.
Books must be read in three ways: to understand, to question and to criticize the work.
I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born BC X. Murdered and Deified AD LIV. Robert Graves.
Novel. RayS.: My research revealed Claudius to be far from the benign, scholarly narrator of Graves’ I, Claudius. He was as cruel as his predecessors and the emperors who followed him.
Iliad. Homer (800BC).
Events of a few days near the end of the Trojan War, focusing on the withdrawal of Achilles from the contest and the disastrous effect of this act on the Greek campaign. Took place in the 13th century BC. Four centuries later, the material was organized and attributed to Homer.
The Immense Journey. Loren Eiseley.
Series of essays concerned with the meaning of evolution. Eiseley views evolution as a continuing process, changing to become—who knows what? Men and women as they are now will not be the men and women of the far future. We are working out what we are going to be.
The Devil in Massachusetts. Marion L. Starkey.
Young girls set off hysteria by charging that they had been hurt by witches. The result was both chaos and crisis, the Salem Witch Trials—and executions of innocent people. A study of irrational behavior in society.
The Greek Way. Edith Hamilton.
The Greek spirit: rejoice in life; the world is a beautiful place and a delight to live in. Joy, sorrow, exultation, tragedy stood hand in hand in Greek literature. Even in the darkest moments, the Greeks did not lose their taste for life or for criticizing the powerful and influential.
A Handful of Dust. Evelyn Waugh.
Novel. Bored British aristocrats and the breakup of their marriage.
Here at the New Yorker. Brendan Gill.
The joy and hard work of producing interesting stories and nonfiction at The New Yorker. Brendan Gill, the author of this book, fills his pages with gossip about the editors and the writers and the process of putting together each week’s issue.
A History of Reading. Alberto Manguel.
I thought I knew all there was to know about reading until I came across this book. Manguel’s ideas gave me plenty to think about. Examples. Socrates: “Only that which the reader already knows can be activated by reading.” Kafka: “One reads in order to ask questions.”
The House of the Seven Gables. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Romance/Novel. The plot is glacial, almost like a somnolent summer afternoon in New England. Small crises gradually enlarge to a major crisis. The curse of one generation is resolved by the marriage of a young couple who represent the cursed and the curser.
How to Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking. Dale Carnegie.
Some interesting and practical points on successful public speaking. Interesting opening: Know explicitly in advance. Don’t use humorous story unrelated to your speech. Plan your ending in advance. Close with a brief summary of your points. Appeal for action.
How to Read a Book: The Art of Getting a Liberal Education. Mortimer J. Adler.
Books must be read in three ways: to understand, to question and to criticize the work.
I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born BC X. Murdered and Deified AD LIV. Robert Graves.
Novel. RayS.: My research revealed Claudius to be far from the benign, scholarly narrator of Graves’ I, Claudius. He was as cruel as his predecessors and the emperors who followed him.
Iliad. Homer (800BC).
Events of a few days near the end of the Trojan War, focusing on the withdrawal of Achilles from the contest and the disastrous effect of this act on the Greek campaign. Took place in the 13th century BC. Four centuries later, the material was organized and attributed to Homer.
The Immense Journey. Loren Eiseley.
Series of essays concerned with the meaning of evolution. Eiseley views evolution as a continuing process, changing to become—who knows what? Men and women as they are now will not be the men and women of the far future. We are working out what we are going to be.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Books and Ideas (05)
Books and Ideas (05)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
From time to Time: A Novel. Jack Finney.
If we could travel back in time, could and should we try to change future events by manipulating circumstances in the past?
Wings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down Over Germany in world War II. Thomas Childers.
Vivid re-creation of the experience of training for and flying a B-24 in the last days over Germany in WWII. You are there. The story is pieced together from the letters home, documents from the government and interviews with German citizens who were present when the plane crashed.
F Scott Fitzgerald on Writing. Ed. Larry W. Phillips.
Series of short quotes on the act of writing. Example: “The desire for glory has to be matched by the endurance of the monotony needed to acquire it.”
The Future of the Novel: Essays on the Art of Fiction. Henry James.
In his inimitable style [read ‘convoluted sentences'], James writes about the authors of his time, Dickens, George Eliot, Zola, Balzac, Flaubert, deMaupassant, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Trollope, HG Wells, Arnold Bennett and Joseph Conrad. Example of his ideas: “The only purpose of the novel is to reflect life. The good novel should give the reader a sense of experience. Two types of novels are those that have a pattern and a plan and lead to a unity of impression and those that are merely a series of episodes. Character is the essence of the novel. As long as there are people there will be mirrors and novels.”
Future Shock. Alvin Toffler.
People are overwhelmed by change. Acceleration of change. Too much change in too short a time.
The German Dictatorship: The Origins, Structure and effects of National Socialism. Karl Dietrich Bracher.
Gives the complicated reasons for Hitler’s rise and fall. Concludes that “the German dictatorship has failed, but German democracy has not yet been secured.”
Giants in the Earth. O.E. Rolvaag.
Novel. The effects on the American pioneers’ character of the desolate, endless, malevolent landscapes on which they lived and worked. Gives the reader an understanding of the physical and emotional difficulties encountered by the pioneers.
Good Advice on Writing: Writers Past and Present on How to Write Well. William Safire and Leonard Safir.
Includes this advice: Four questions to ask before writing. What specific point do I want to make? Is it worth making? For whom am I writing? How can I best convey my point to my readers?
The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity. Roy Porter.
A history of medicine from the clearly defined convictions of the Hippocratic oath to the muddy ethical dilemmas of modern-day medicine.
The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Novel. Gatsby’s attempt to re-live his idealized view of his past experience with Daisy. Symbolizes the illusion of the American dream: work hard, achieve success, make money, win the pretty girl and die a failure.
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
From time to Time: A Novel. Jack Finney.
If we could travel back in time, could and should we try to change future events by manipulating circumstances in the past?
Wings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down Over Germany in world War II. Thomas Childers.
Vivid re-creation of the experience of training for and flying a B-24 in the last days over Germany in WWII. You are there. The story is pieced together from the letters home, documents from the government and interviews with German citizens who were present when the plane crashed.
F Scott Fitzgerald on Writing. Ed. Larry W. Phillips.
Series of short quotes on the act of writing. Example: “The desire for glory has to be matched by the endurance of the monotony needed to acquire it.”
The Future of the Novel: Essays on the Art of Fiction. Henry James.
In his inimitable style [read ‘convoluted sentences'], James writes about the authors of his time, Dickens, George Eliot, Zola, Balzac, Flaubert, deMaupassant, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Trollope, HG Wells, Arnold Bennett and Joseph Conrad. Example of his ideas: “The only purpose of the novel is to reflect life. The good novel should give the reader a sense of experience. Two types of novels are those that have a pattern and a plan and lead to a unity of impression and those that are merely a series of episodes. Character is the essence of the novel. As long as there are people there will be mirrors and novels.”
Future Shock. Alvin Toffler.
People are overwhelmed by change. Acceleration of change. Too much change in too short a time.
The German Dictatorship: The Origins, Structure and effects of National Socialism. Karl Dietrich Bracher.
Gives the complicated reasons for Hitler’s rise and fall. Concludes that “the German dictatorship has failed, but German democracy has not yet been secured.”
Giants in the Earth. O.E. Rolvaag.
Novel. The effects on the American pioneers’ character of the desolate, endless, malevolent landscapes on which they lived and worked. Gives the reader an understanding of the physical and emotional difficulties encountered by the pioneers.
Good Advice on Writing: Writers Past and Present on How to Write Well. William Safire and Leonard Safir.
Includes this advice: Four questions to ask before writing. What specific point do I want to make? Is it worth making? For whom am I writing? How can I best convey my point to my readers?
The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity. Roy Porter.
A history of medicine from the clearly defined convictions of the Hippocratic oath to the muddy ethical dilemmas of modern-day medicine.
The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Novel. Gatsby’s attempt to re-live his idealized view of his past experience with Daisy. Symbolizes the illusion of the American dream: work hard, achieve success, make money, win the pretty girl and die a failure.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Books and Ideas (04)
Books and Ideas (04)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
Dictionary of Foreign Terms
A compendium of short, pithy, thought-provoking statements from many parts of the world.
Don Quixote of La Mancha. Miguel de Cervantes.
If you read Don Quixote for no other reason, read it for the abundance of proverbs uttered by Sancho Panza and by many others.
The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. James D. Watson.
An inside view of the chaotic process that is science. And an apology to women scientists.
Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know about What Editors Do. Ed. Gerald Gross.
Editors today do far more than simply correct mistakes in grammar. It takes tact to encourage writers to make corrections. And they have to sell—the writers on changes, the members of the publishing house on accepting the book for publishing and, of course, readers to buy the book.
The Eighth Day. Thornton Wilder.
Novel. God finished His creation on the seventh day. The human race picked up from what God finished on the eighth day. A study of creativity and achievement and a theory that every family has a messiah. Oh, yes, there is a murder mystery, too.
Emma. Jane Austen.
Emma tries to manipulate the lives of others with disastrous effects for those she is manipulating and for herself.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Thornton Wilder.
Novel. In 1714, a bridge over a canyon in Peru breaks, precipitating five travelers into the gorge. A friar wonders why these five people perished. Does God have a plan?
End Zone. Don DeLillo.
The experience of playing college football. In one sense, it is a ritual.
Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud. Herbert Marcuse.
Civilization and society are repressive. Why not let people use their potential?
The Essays of E. B. White.
E.B. White believes that people will want to read what he wants to write. Writes on a variety of topics, including New York City and Maine.
The Flowering of New England. Van Wyck Brooks.
Tells the story of the “New England Renaissance” in the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War, the time of Emerson, Longfellow, Thoreau, Hawthorne, among others. A time of excitement and achievement in learning.
For the Glory. Ken Denlinger.
The story of a Penn State football recruiting class. Nonfiction. It’s the story of football recruits in a major college football program. Don DeLillo catches the spirit of college football in his novel End Zone. Denlinger's book is fact. They're not too much different.
Fox at the Wood’s Edge. Loren Eiseley. Gale Christianson.
Biography of a scientist, a paleontologist, who wrote essays on nature and the meaning of evolution. Some of his essays are unforgettable. He conveys a melancholy, yet joyous, view of life. The miracles he discovers are found in everyday existence.
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
Dictionary of Foreign Terms
A compendium of short, pithy, thought-provoking statements from many parts of the world.
Don Quixote of La Mancha. Miguel de Cervantes.
If you read Don Quixote for no other reason, read it for the abundance of proverbs uttered by Sancho Panza and by many others.
The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. James D. Watson.
An inside view of the chaotic process that is science. And an apology to women scientists.
Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know about What Editors Do. Ed. Gerald Gross.
Editors today do far more than simply correct mistakes in grammar. It takes tact to encourage writers to make corrections. And they have to sell—the writers on changes, the members of the publishing house on accepting the book for publishing and, of course, readers to buy the book.
The Eighth Day. Thornton Wilder.
Novel. God finished His creation on the seventh day. The human race picked up from what God finished on the eighth day. A study of creativity and achievement and a theory that every family has a messiah. Oh, yes, there is a murder mystery, too.
Emma. Jane Austen.
Emma tries to manipulate the lives of others with disastrous effects for those she is manipulating and for herself.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Thornton Wilder.
Novel. In 1714, a bridge over a canyon in Peru breaks, precipitating five travelers into the gorge. A friar wonders why these five people perished. Does God have a plan?
End Zone. Don DeLillo.
The experience of playing college football. In one sense, it is a ritual.
Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud. Herbert Marcuse.
Civilization and society are repressive. Why not let people use their potential?
The Essays of E. B. White.
E.B. White believes that people will want to read what he wants to write. Writes on a variety of topics, including New York City and Maine.
The Flowering of New England. Van Wyck Brooks.
Tells the story of the “New England Renaissance” in the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War, the time of Emerson, Longfellow, Thoreau, Hawthorne, among others. A time of excitement and achievement in learning.
For the Glory. Ken Denlinger.
The story of a Penn State football recruiting class. Nonfiction. It’s the story of football recruits in a major college football program. Don DeLillo catches the spirit of college football in his novel End Zone. Denlinger's book is fact. They're not too much different.
Fox at the Wood’s Edge. Loren Eiseley. Gale Christianson.
Biography of a scientist, a paleontologist, who wrote essays on nature and the meaning of evolution. Some of his essays are unforgettable. He conveys a melancholy, yet joyous, view of life. The miracles he discovers are found in everyday existence.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Books and Ideas (3)
Books and Ideas (03)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
A Collection of Essays. George Orwell.
In one of his most famous essays, Orwell rails against the misuse of the English language. Pointing out these mistakes is useful, but he makes the same mistakes in his own writing—and admits it. In another essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” he learns that the conquering British Empire is at the mercy of the people it has conquered.
A Country Doctor. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. Nan decides to become a doctor instead of marrying for which she is severely criticized by friends and relatives, but not by her father, a doctor. In Jewett’s day, Nan could not do both.
The Country of the Pointed Firs. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. A series of stories about the people of the rural seacoast of Maine, whose lives are both rich and lonely. After reading this novel, I learned why rural people are in the habit of just “dropping in” unannounced.
Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. Howard Gardner.
Distinguishes between creative thinking which is diverse and convergent thinking that looks only for right answers.
Criticism: The Major Texts. Walter Jackson Bate, ed.
This book is a textbook that contains the original statements on literary and artistic criticism from Plato to Edmund Wilson.
Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Pope John Paul II.
The Pope confronts the most persistent questions about religion. Example: Why does God permit suffering?
The Da Vinci Code: A Novel. Dan Brown.
Novel. Contains all the ingredients of a best-seller, but one of its ideas makes serious assertions about Jesus Christ.
Day One: Before Hiroshima and After. Peter Wyden.
Account of the problems in communication that occurred on America’s way to developing the atomic bomb. Disturbing retelling of the sufferings of the Japanese people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Balanced account of the reasons for dropping the atomic bomb—the fanatical defense of the homeland by the Japanese military that would have cost at least 500,000 American lives.
Bonfire of the Vanities. Tom Wolfe.
Novel. Goal of the American Justice System: Don’t do what’s right; do what is going to make you look good in the media. Affluent lawyer winds up on the other side of the law, although he has not caused the death of a black teenager who was attempting to rob him. Innocence is proved guilty.
Decline and Fall. Evelyn Waugh.
A wacky novel with wacky characters. Send-up of public schools and prisons in England.
Deephaven. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. Two young women spend an idyllic summer vacation in Deephaven, once a thriving Maine seaport town. Will remind readers of their own idyllic summer vacations.
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
A Collection of Essays. George Orwell.
In one of his most famous essays, Orwell rails against the misuse of the English language. Pointing out these mistakes is useful, but he makes the same mistakes in his own writing—and admits it. In another essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” he learns that the conquering British Empire is at the mercy of the people it has conquered.
A Country Doctor. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. Nan decides to become a doctor instead of marrying for which she is severely criticized by friends and relatives, but not by her father, a doctor. In Jewett’s day, Nan could not do both.
The Country of the Pointed Firs. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. A series of stories about the people of the rural seacoast of Maine, whose lives are both rich and lonely. After reading this novel, I learned why rural people are in the habit of just “dropping in” unannounced.
Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. Howard Gardner.
Distinguishes between creative thinking which is diverse and convergent thinking that looks only for right answers.
Criticism: The Major Texts. Walter Jackson Bate, ed.
This book is a textbook that contains the original statements on literary and artistic criticism from Plato to Edmund Wilson.
Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Pope John Paul II.
The Pope confronts the most persistent questions about religion. Example: Why does God permit suffering?
The Da Vinci Code: A Novel. Dan Brown.
Novel. Contains all the ingredients of a best-seller, but one of its ideas makes serious assertions about Jesus Christ.
Day One: Before Hiroshima and After. Peter Wyden.
Account of the problems in communication that occurred on America’s way to developing the atomic bomb. Disturbing retelling of the sufferings of the Japanese people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Balanced account of the reasons for dropping the atomic bomb—the fanatical defense of the homeland by the Japanese military that would have cost at least 500,000 American lives.
Bonfire of the Vanities. Tom Wolfe.
Novel. Goal of the American Justice System: Don’t do what’s right; do what is going to make you look good in the media. Affluent lawyer winds up on the other side of the law, although he has not caused the death of a black teenager who was attempting to rob him. Innocence is proved guilty.
Decline and Fall. Evelyn Waugh.
A wacky novel with wacky characters. Send-up of public schools and prisons in England.
Deephaven. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. Two young women spend an idyllic summer vacation in Deephaven, once a thriving Maine seaport town. Will remind readers of their own idyllic summer vacations.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Books and Ideas (2)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America. Thurston Clarke.
Explains the methods used by JFK and Ted Sorenson in preparing JFK’s speeches, particularly the inauguration speech. The inauguration itself was a study of political backbiting.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain. Ed. Charles Neider.
Twain’s autobiography reflects his cynicism and, in the end, his preoccupation with death, “the deliverer.”
Babbitt. Sinclair Lewis.
Satirical novel about the American middle class. George Babbitt is unimaginative, self-important, and longing for something beyond conformity.
The Best and the Brightest. David Halberstam.
Contrast between the Kennedy and LBJ styles of leadership, which led to the escalation of the war in Vietnam by LBJ.
The Best Nature Writing of Joseph Wood Krutch.
Writes about nature to spread the joy of living. One of a number of writers on nature who believes that humanity is an equal partner in nature, rather than its dominator.
Bill Campbell: The Voice of Philadelphia Sports. Sam Carchidi.
Bill Campbell was as much a part of Philadelphia sports as booing.
The Blithedale Romance. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Novel/Romance. Hawthorne was a feminist before his time. The intellectual woman is no match for the sweet, clinging, dependent and worshipful pretty girl whom men seek as their companions.
Booknotes: America’s Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas. Brian Lamb, ed.
How do writers write? Fascinating view of the writing process. On one thing most of these writers agree: it takes years to write books.
The Book on the Bookshelf. Henry Petroski.
The author describes the growing problem through the centuries of finding enough shelf space for books.
The Brothers Karamazov. Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Novel. Who killed Fyodor Karamazov? All of his sons in one way or another. A very philosophical novel on good and evil, sons’ hatred for their fathers and people’s hatred of authority.
Catch-22. Joseph Heller.
Novel. A man would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t but if he was sane, he had to fly them. A “catch-22” is a diabolical dilemma. Some funny scenes and language.
Building of Christendom. Warren H. Carroll.
The cruelty of Christians to other Christians and Jews. Vividly told. The brutal conquests of Christian countries by Muslims. One reader said that if history had been written like this when he was in high school, he would have loved reading history. He was referring to how history is written, not the bloody and cruel nature of the events.
Civilization: A Personal View. Kenneth Clark.
History of Western civilization. A personal study of the nature of civilization, which needs confidence to construct and is easily destroyed.
The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America. Thurston Clarke.
Explains the methods used by JFK and Ted Sorenson in preparing JFK’s speeches, particularly the inauguration speech. The inauguration itself was a study of political backbiting.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain. Ed. Charles Neider.
Twain’s autobiography reflects his cynicism and, in the end, his preoccupation with death, “the deliverer.”
Babbitt. Sinclair Lewis.
Satirical novel about the American middle class. George Babbitt is unimaginative, self-important, and longing for something beyond conformity.
The Best and the Brightest. David Halberstam.
Contrast between the Kennedy and LBJ styles of leadership, which led to the escalation of the war in Vietnam by LBJ.
The Best Nature Writing of Joseph Wood Krutch.
Writes about nature to spread the joy of living. One of a number of writers on nature who believes that humanity is an equal partner in nature, rather than its dominator.
Bill Campbell: The Voice of Philadelphia Sports. Sam Carchidi.
Bill Campbell was as much a part of Philadelphia sports as booing.
The Blithedale Romance. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Novel/Romance. Hawthorne was a feminist before his time. The intellectual woman is no match for the sweet, clinging, dependent and worshipful pretty girl whom men seek as their companions.
Booknotes: America’s Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas. Brian Lamb, ed.
How do writers write? Fascinating view of the writing process. On one thing most of these writers agree: it takes years to write books.
The Book on the Bookshelf. Henry Petroski.
The author describes the growing problem through the centuries of finding enough shelf space for books.
The Brothers Karamazov. Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Novel. Who killed Fyodor Karamazov? All of his sons in one way or another. A very philosophical novel on good and evil, sons’ hatred for their fathers and people’s hatred of authority.
Catch-22. Joseph Heller.
Novel. A man would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t but if he was sane, he had to fly them. A “catch-22” is a diabolical dilemma. Some funny scenes and language.
Building of Christendom. Warren H. Carroll.
The cruelty of Christians to other Christians and Jews. Vividly told. The brutal conquests of Christian countries by Muslims. One reader said that if history had been written like this when he was in high school, he would have loved reading history. He was referring to how history is written, not the bloody and cruel nature of the events.
Civilization: A Personal View. Kenneth Clark.
History of Western civilization. A personal study of the nature of civilization, which needs confidence to construct and is easily destroyed.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Books and Ideas (1)
Books and Ideas
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
Abraham Lincoln: Prairie Years. Carl Sandburg.
Abraham Lincoln grows up. Many anecdotes. Vivid re-creation of his times, personality, and sense of humor.
Abraham Lincoln: War Years. Carl Sandburg.
Abraham Lincoln was the real commander of the Union forces and Robert E. Lee underestimated him.
Act One. Moss Hart.
A playwright tells how he learned to write successful plays.
Adirondack Country. William C. White.
History of the Adirondacks: the mountain peaks, the lakes, the guides, the natives and the tourists.
Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain.
Novel. A combination of hilarious scenes and a deep, deep understanding of the tragedy of slavery. A study in conscience.
All the King’s Men. Robert Penn Warren.
Novel. The complexity of a politician’s motivation: does he perform good acts for the sake of doing good or does he do good for political profit?
All Too Human: A Political Education. George Stephanopoulos.
Behind-the-scenes view of Bill Clinton’s Presidency. He was a “good president who should have been a better man.”
American Humor: A Study of the American Character. Constance Rourke.
Two types of American humor: the Yankee and the backwoodsman.
The American Presidency. Clinton Rossiter.
Thoughtful view of the powers and limitations of the American Presidency.
The Americans: The Colonial Experience. Daniel J. Boorstin.
The seeds of American culture were sown in the Colonial period.
The American Seasons. Edwin Way Teal.
Traveled through the seasons across America.
Anthem. Ayn Rand.
Novel. An antidote to the culture of melding the individual into the group.
The Art of Teaching. Gilbert Highet.
There is more to teaching than simply standing up in front of a classroom and telling students what to do.
As I Lay Dying. William Faulkner.
Novel. Faulkner uses words to help the reader visualize the character, mood and even the weather in the South after the Civil War. A disastrous funeral trip that is, in the end, hilarious.
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
Abraham Lincoln: Prairie Years. Carl Sandburg.
Abraham Lincoln grows up. Many anecdotes. Vivid re-creation of his times, personality, and sense of humor.
Abraham Lincoln: War Years. Carl Sandburg.
Abraham Lincoln was the real commander of the Union forces and Robert E. Lee underestimated him.
Act One. Moss Hart.
A playwright tells how he learned to write successful plays.
Adirondack Country. William C. White.
History of the Adirondacks: the mountain peaks, the lakes, the guides, the natives and the tourists.
Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain.
Novel. A combination of hilarious scenes and a deep, deep understanding of the tragedy of slavery. A study in conscience.
All the King’s Men. Robert Penn Warren.
Novel. The complexity of a politician’s motivation: does he perform good acts for the sake of doing good or does he do good for political profit?
All Too Human: A Political Education. George Stephanopoulos.
Behind-the-scenes view of Bill Clinton’s Presidency. He was a “good president who should have been a better man.”
American Humor: A Study of the American Character. Constance Rourke.
Two types of American humor: the Yankee and the backwoodsman.
The American Presidency. Clinton Rossiter.
Thoughtful view of the powers and limitations of the American Presidency.
The Americans: The Colonial Experience. Daniel J. Boorstin.
The seeds of American culture were sown in the Colonial period.
The American Seasons. Edwin Way Teal.
Traveled through the seasons across America.
Anthem. Ayn Rand.
Novel. An antidote to the culture of melding the individual into the group.
The Art of Teaching. Gilbert Highet.
There is more to teaching than simply standing up in front of a classroom and telling students what to do.
As I Lay Dying. William Faulkner.
Novel. Faulkner uses words to help the reader visualize the character, mood and even the weather in the South after the Civil War. A disastrous funeral trip that is, in the end, hilarious.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Why Read Books?
In recent years, more and more people have confessed to me that they do not know why they read. Probably the reason is that films and TV shows have provided stories and entertainment that books used to supply. With entertainment available in other mediums, people have no need for it in books. Besides entertainment, the only other purpose for reading books is information which, frankly, inundates the Internet. So, why read books?
Ideas.
When I read Day One, the story of the atomic bomb, I was amazed at the mistakes, mishaps, and misjudgments that went into the making of a scientific marvel; the disagreements over the target and the reasons that one target was chosen over another illustrate how human decisions can change the map of human destiny. The book also tells about the vivid effects of the bomb. And hubris brought down General Grove and Dr. Oppenheimer when they thought they were invincible because of what they had achieved as leaders of the Manhattan Project. They weren’t. These experiences reinforced my belief that everything human is political.
I was chagrined at the irony of war in Wings of Morning, the story of the last American bomber shot down over Germany at the end of WWII. The plane was not scheduled to fly a mission; the weather should have caused the flight to be turned back; the position of the plane in the formation was not its normal position; the target, Regensburg, should not have been on the flight path and it was the only plane hit by flack in spite of the fact that it was surrounded by other planes. The result was the needless loss of young lives and a crushing loss to their loved ones. The irony of war has never been more clearly illustrated.
Bonfire of the Vanities was a novel of the injustice of the American justice system, played out in real life in Duke University’s witch hunt by a demagogic attorney general. The essential workings of the injustice in the novel were shockingly like the real-life story of the Duke University athletes. The district attorney, the lawyers and the media conspired to convict the innocent.
John Kennedy said that he never saw his father read a serious book. My own father told me that after he graduated from law school he said he would never read another book and he never did.
I think people are overwhelmed by books. Reading books was required in school and it was a chore. The book dominates the person; people do not use books for their own purposes. My goal in this portion of English in Plain English is to show people how to use books to find ideas of interest to them.
Many people feel that reading books is boring. They are overwhelmed by long books and they inevitably lose interest. Someone once said that it’s not the book that is boring; it’s the reader. The trouble with readers who think books are boring is that they begin with the first word in the first sentence on page one and read every word and every sentence from the first page to the last page. They feel it is their duty to put the same effort into reading that writers put into writing their books. However, I have learned that Francis Bacon was right when he said in 1625, “…some books are to be read only in parts; … and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
People will take the time to read books if they can immerse themselves in them. How can they immerse themselves in books? Maintaining interest in reading books is what this section of English in Plain English is about. Reading is not a passive activity. The key to maintaining interest in reading books is reading actively and the key to reading actively is previewing.
Warning: The ideas on reading in the preceding pages of my blog on Teaching English, How To.... are unorthodox. Several people have told me that I read “crazy.” I have learned how to immerse myself in books. I read for ideas. And you never can tell where ideas will take you.
My methods could turn you into the reader you want to be.
Re-read the previous descriptions of how to preview and how to read actively by interacting (annotating) articles, chapters, nonfiction books, novels and short stories.
In my next blogs I will give examples of ideas I have gained from books. RayS.
Ideas.
When I read Day One, the story of the atomic bomb, I was amazed at the mistakes, mishaps, and misjudgments that went into the making of a scientific marvel; the disagreements over the target and the reasons that one target was chosen over another illustrate how human decisions can change the map of human destiny. The book also tells about the vivid effects of the bomb. And hubris brought down General Grove and Dr. Oppenheimer when they thought they were invincible because of what they had achieved as leaders of the Manhattan Project. They weren’t. These experiences reinforced my belief that everything human is political.
I was chagrined at the irony of war in Wings of Morning, the story of the last American bomber shot down over Germany at the end of WWII. The plane was not scheduled to fly a mission; the weather should have caused the flight to be turned back; the position of the plane in the formation was not its normal position; the target, Regensburg, should not have been on the flight path and it was the only plane hit by flack in spite of the fact that it was surrounded by other planes. The result was the needless loss of young lives and a crushing loss to their loved ones. The irony of war has never been more clearly illustrated.
Bonfire of the Vanities was a novel of the injustice of the American justice system, played out in real life in Duke University’s witch hunt by a demagogic attorney general. The essential workings of the injustice in the novel were shockingly like the real-life story of the Duke University athletes. The district attorney, the lawyers and the media conspired to convict the innocent.
John Kennedy said that he never saw his father read a serious book. My own father told me that after he graduated from law school he said he would never read another book and he never did.
I think people are overwhelmed by books. Reading books was required in school and it was a chore. The book dominates the person; people do not use books for their own purposes. My goal in this portion of English in Plain English is to show people how to use books to find ideas of interest to them.
Many people feel that reading books is boring. They are overwhelmed by long books and they inevitably lose interest. Someone once said that it’s not the book that is boring; it’s the reader. The trouble with readers who think books are boring is that they begin with the first word in the first sentence on page one and read every word and every sentence from the first page to the last page. They feel it is their duty to put the same effort into reading that writers put into writing their books. However, I have learned that Francis Bacon was right when he said in 1625, “…some books are to be read only in parts; … and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
People will take the time to read books if they can immerse themselves in them. How can they immerse themselves in books? Maintaining interest in reading books is what this section of English in Plain English is about. Reading is not a passive activity. The key to maintaining interest in reading books is reading actively and the key to reading actively is previewing.
Warning: The ideas on reading in the preceding pages of my blog on Teaching English, How To.... are unorthodox. Several people have told me that I read “crazy.” I have learned how to immerse myself in books. I read for ideas. And you never can tell where ideas will take you.
My methods could turn you into the reader you want to be.
Re-read the previous descriptions of how to preview and how to read actively by interacting (annotating) articles, chapters, nonfiction books, novels and short stories.
In my next blogs I will give examples of ideas I have gained from books. RayS.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Savvy Readers
Reading
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.” Francis Bacon, “Of Studies,” 1625.
Savvy Readers
Savvy readers know a few facts about reading:
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.” Francis Bacon, “Of Studies,” 1625.
Savvy Readers
Savvy readers know a few facts about reading:
Exposition is the type of writing that explains.
Most nonfiction is exposition.
Most exposition or nonfiction is organized as follows: “Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them.”
Savvy readers know that the first and last paragraphs of articles and chapters in nonfiction are significant. The first paragraph(s) almost always introduce the main idea of the article or chapter. The last paragraph(s) almost always summarize it.
Savvy readers know that middle paragraphs in exposition or nonfiction usually begin with topic sentences that are developed in the body of the paragraph or paragraphs that follow.
Savvy readers know that first and last paragraphs and topic sentences save time in gaining ideas when they read exposition or nonfiction.
Savvy readers know how to recapture their interest in novels when they are about to give up on the book.
Savvy readers know how to immerse themselves in nonfiction, novels, short stories and journal or magazine articles.
Savvy readers read books for ideas.
People who say that they never or rarely read books have not learned how to be savvy readers.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Active Reading: Annotating What You Read
Question: Why should I write in books? How can I write in books when it’s somebody else’s book or the library’s?
Answer: Annotating is a good way to summarize ideas briefly. When you can’t write in the book, try a “sticky.”
Summarize but No Comments
I like to write in books. But years of doing it have taught me some things. First, when I annotate, I do not comment. I find that my comments grow stale and besides they’re too long. Later, when I take up the book again, I don’t feel like reading them. Comments are soon out of date.
I annotate by paraphrasing or summarizing briefly the interesting ideas I meet in books or periodicals. Those paraphrases and summaries, especially if they are brief, remind me quickly of the ideas I have encountered. I never grow tired of ideas in the book or periodical, but I quickly tire of my comments.
Underlining
By the way, I also underline. When I have finished the book, I go back to select from my underlinings what I call the “significant sentences” to use as quotes when I write or speak. I try to keep those quotes as brief as possible, a sentence or two at most. No one likes to read long quotes.
Somebody Else’s Book
When the book is a loaner from a friend or a library, I use a system I found in a professional article, long since lost, that enables me to keep track of ideas or quotes without writing in the book.
Mentally, divide the page into five sections, A, B, C, D and E from top to bottom. When you find an idea you want to record, put a sticky on the page with the page number and the section of the page where you found the quote or idea, A at the top, C in the middle and E at the end with B somewhere between the top (A) and the Middle (C) or (D) between the middle (C) and (E), the end: (page) 135 A or (page) 271 E. If the book or periodical is in columns, attach “1” for column 1 or “2” for column 2: (page) 35 1A or 2D.
You can easily go back to locate the idea and can record it in your notebook or on your computer.
There are those who think it is a crime to write in books. Today, “interactive” is a buzz word that shows people are actively involved in media. Annotating is a way of interacting with books or periodicals. The only crime against writing in books is if the books are someone else’s. But then you can use a “sticky.” Annotations help to keep ideas fresh in your mind when you take up the book or periodical again at a later time.
Answer: Annotating is a good way to summarize ideas briefly. When you can’t write in the book, try a “sticky.”
Summarize but No Comments
I like to write in books. But years of doing it have taught me some things. First, when I annotate, I do not comment. I find that my comments grow stale and besides they’re too long. Later, when I take up the book again, I don’t feel like reading them. Comments are soon out of date.
I annotate by paraphrasing or summarizing briefly the interesting ideas I meet in books or periodicals. Those paraphrases and summaries, especially if they are brief, remind me quickly of the ideas I have encountered. I never grow tired of ideas in the book or periodical, but I quickly tire of my comments.
Underlining
By the way, I also underline. When I have finished the book, I go back to select from my underlinings what I call the “significant sentences” to use as quotes when I write or speak. I try to keep those quotes as brief as possible, a sentence or two at most. No one likes to read long quotes.
Somebody Else’s Book
When the book is a loaner from a friend or a library, I use a system I found in a professional article, long since lost, that enables me to keep track of ideas or quotes without writing in the book.
Mentally, divide the page into five sections, A, B, C, D and E from top to bottom. When you find an idea you want to record, put a sticky on the page with the page number and the section of the page where you found the quote or idea, A at the top, C in the middle and E at the end with B somewhere between the top (A) and the Middle (C) or (D) between the middle (C) and (E), the end: (page) 135 A or (page) 271 E. If the book or periodical is in columns, attach “1” for column 1 or “2” for column 2: (page) 35 1A or 2D.
You can easily go back to locate the idea and can record it in your notebook or on your computer.
There are those who think it is a crime to write in books. Today, “interactive” is a buzz word that shows people are actively involved in media. Annotating is a way of interacting with books or periodicals. The only crime against writing in books is if the books are someone else’s. But then you can use a “sticky.” Annotations help to keep ideas fresh in your mind when you take up the book or periodical again at a later time.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Active Reading: Magazines and Professional Journals
Question: Any way to cut to the essential ideas of articles in professional journals and magazines?
Answer: A two-step preview
In reading professional journals and magazines, you want to find the important ideas quickly. Here’s how.
1. First and Last Paragraph
Read the first and last paragraph of the first article. If you have learned all that you need from the first and last paragraphs, simply jot a very brief summary and move on to the next article. You need to jot down that summary or you will find that later, when you pick up the journal or magazine, you will have forgotten what the article was about.
2. First Sentence of Each Intermediate Paragraph
If, after reading the first and last paragraph of the article, you have questions, go back and read the first sentence of each paragraph. Answered your questions? Know the main idea and details? Know enough? Go on to the next article.
Important Ideas in Little Time
My experience has been that for most articles in journals and magazines, reading the first and last paragraphs of the articles is usually enough to tell me what I want to know. With three or maybe four articles in a journal or magazine, I need to read the first sentence of each paragraph to find important details to answer my questions.
Only VERY RARELY is the article good enough that I have to read the entire article—at the most, one article a journal or magazine, but often none. When the article requires a complete reading, I never resent it. I want to know all that the author can tell me. Articles that require me to read everything are very special.
Reading for Ideas
This way of reading is what I call reading for ideas. And you can gain twenty to thirty ideas in just one fifteen-minute session with professional journals and magazines by reading the first and last paragraph and, occasionally, the first sentence in each intermediate paragraph. Remember to summarize briefly the article and the ideas that are important to you or you will forget what the article is about later when you pick it up again.
Answer: A two-step preview
In reading professional journals and magazines, you want to find the important ideas quickly. Here’s how.
1. First and Last Paragraph
Read the first and last paragraph of the first article. If you have learned all that you need from the first and last paragraphs, simply jot a very brief summary and move on to the next article. You need to jot down that summary or you will find that later, when you pick up the journal or magazine, you will have forgotten what the article was about.
2. First Sentence of Each Intermediate Paragraph
If, after reading the first and last paragraph of the article, you have questions, go back and read the first sentence of each paragraph. Answered your questions? Know the main idea and details? Know enough? Go on to the next article.
Important Ideas in Little Time
My experience has been that for most articles in journals and magazines, reading the first and last paragraphs of the articles is usually enough to tell me what I want to know. With three or maybe four articles in a journal or magazine, I need to read the first sentence of each paragraph to find important details to answer my questions.
Only VERY RARELY is the article good enough that I have to read the entire article—at the most, one article a journal or magazine, but often none. When the article requires a complete reading, I never resent it. I want to know all that the author can tell me. Articles that require me to read everything are very special.
Reading for Ideas
This way of reading is what I call reading for ideas. And you can gain twenty to thirty ideas in just one fifteen-minute session with professional journals and magazines by reading the first and last paragraph and, occasionally, the first sentence in each intermediate paragraph. Remember to summarize briefly the article and the ideas that are important to you or you will forget what the article is about later when you pick it up again.
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