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.