"To compensate a little for the treachery and weakness of my memory, so extreme that it has happened to me more than once to pick up again, as recent and unknown to me, books which I had read carefully a few years before . . . I have adopted the habit for some time now of adding at the end of each book . . . the time I finished reading it and the judgment I have derived of it as a whole, so that this may represent to me at least the sense and general idea I had conceived of the author in reading it." (Montaigne, Book II, Essay 10 (publ. 1580))

Saturday, December 04, 2004

The Soong Dynasty (Sterling Seagrave, 1996)

Charlie Soong and children (married to Sun Yet Sen and Chiang kai Shek; T.V. Soong).  Not flattering to US policy, Chiang kai Shek.  Read at La Camarilla.

Friday, November 12, 2004

Willa Cather - Later Novels

A Lost Lady - Nebraska/Denver.  Woman married to older guy who dies.

The Professor's House - Chicago.  A professor doesn't want to move to his new home.

Death Comes for the Archbishop - Latour and Vaillant.

Shadows on the Rock - Quebec c. 1700

Lucy Gayheart - Music student moves from Nebraska to Chicago and returns after singer drowns.

Sapphira and the Slave Girl - Virginia story of slave and owner


Wednesday, November 03, 2004

The Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper, 1826)

Recounts events of 1757.  There were some pretty dramatic scenes from the French and Indian War (or Seven Years War) (an interesting world war).  I liked the book quite a bit.  Magua - bad Indian.  Mohicans were good (Uncas).  Hawkeye - the laconic, skilled, backwoodsman.  British and French soldiers.

Friday, October 08, 2004

Mexico – Biography of Power (1810-1996) (Enrique Krauze)


Very interesting, helpful in getting some initial handle on Mexico.  Series of biographies of leaders:

  • Benito Juarez c. 1858; contemporary with Maximilian
  • Porfirio Diaz – 40 years until Revolution in 1910 – inspired “no re-election”
  • Francisco Madero – mysticism; Coahuila
  • Emiliano Zapata – peasant, Morelos
  • Francisco Villa – north
  • Lazaro Cardenas – around and active until the ‘70s; flirtation with Communism, looks out for peasants
  • Miguel Aleman – 1940s – associated with corruption, business/PRI ties
  • 1968 – killing of students just prior to Olympics

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Sharpe's Trafalgar (Bernard Cornwell, 2000)

"Read" this via audio book format while commuting.

The author has a long list of books featuring "Sharpe."

In this one, he is returning to England from India in 1805; lovely lady on board ship; captured by French; ends up linked with Nelson at Trafalgar while dealing with French intriguers.

Cornwell always has good detail in these historical novels. "Line ahead," for example.

Thursday, July 15, 2004

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

MiddleMarch (George Eliot, 1871-72 (serialised))

As best I can tell - deservedly on various lists of the best novels in English literature.

Main story involves Dorothea - something of a do-gooder - drops the fiance folks that she would marry (with every expectation of a good match) to marry a middle-aged, not-robust scholar (Casaubon) who she thought was involved in a great work, and she thought it would be great to be his assistant.  This didn't work out so well.  There were a few other story lines as well, quite a few characters.

Would be worth a re-read.

Friday, May 07, 2004

Tomorrow's Gold (Marc Faber)

Economist reviewing history, recommending commodities Asia.  Not very interesting.

Saturday, April 10, 2004