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.