"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))

Monday, November 30, 2009

Stanley - The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer (Tim Jeal, 2007)

I had read Jeal's biography of David Livingstone (summarized here), so was quite interested in reading this biography. And was surprised to find it even more enjoyable. The subtitle ("Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer") sounds quite hyped but ends up seeming to be pretty accurate on both counts.

Stanley was Welsh; pretty much abandoned by family; spent years in a workhouse; took a chance on working a ship to the United States; spent some time in New Orleans; somehow got involved in the Civil War (fought at Shiloh); deserted; ended up in the Navy somehow; on and on. One point of comparison to Livingston - Stanley also had a background from which almost no one emerged into prominence. The author contends this led to insecurities which accounted for behaviors which harmed Stanley's reputation (sounds simplistic but makes some sense when it's all laid out).

Ended up as a newspaperman in the midwest, then took the job with the New York Herald; had developed the idea of an expedition to "find" Livingstone - though often there was doubt that he was "lost." Somehow obtained funding and succeeded - with very limited background for this kind of thing - and struck up a close relationship with Livingstone. Supposedly he never said "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" - the author think he put this in his journals/letters because he thought it sounded "right."

Not very popular in England despite his achievements - in part because they thought he was American, and certainly he wasn't of the correct class. Wanted back in Africa, best available route was working with King Leopold of Belgium. Leopold fooled pretty much everyone, but Stanley was tarred with responsibility for the atrocities in connection with rubber gathering, etc. He was competing with French explorers, though this was prior to the "Scramble."

He made one final unbelievable journey in support of Emin Pasha. Who also wasn't sure he wanted any help.

He married late in life; sounds like this worked out ok, though his wife wouldn't let him return to Africa and he didn't care for hanging around in England. They eventually adopted a boy.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Light That Failed (Rudyard Kipling, 1890)

I was interested in reading this after working through this biography of Kipling.

Per the biography, the knock on Kipling was that his short stories were amusing and clever, but he never really could pull off a full-length novel. This book was one of his first attempts to do so - and it is a dud. I wouldn't have read all the way through except for the interest in Kipling generated by the biography.

It really does track his boyhood experience in a foster home in the early stages. Uses an artist instead of a writer to stand in for Kipling. All the jolly good banter among the boys is represented.

I dog-ear pages when something strikes me as memorable or interesting. No dog-eared pages in this one.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A History of Histories (John Burrow, 2007)

Talk about ambitious - this author tries to cover just what the title states - he reviews historians (and history as a discipline) starting from ancient times. Covers Herodotus and Thucydides early on. Spends quite a bit of time on Roman historians.

It was interesting how much these writers thought about the rise and fall of the great powers. Polybius saw a cycle of kingship into tyranny, aristocracy into oligarchy, democracy into mob rule; almost considered inevitable.

Also interesting how the writers even then lamented how things had been so much better back in the old days.

Josephus wrote about things Jewish though he had crossed over to assist the Romans. Detail about Palestine and yes, zealots in the area.

Then onto Christian historians, many of whom were interested in teaching. Into Renaissance, etc. Detours where politics (always) and nationalistic considerations (later) influenced the writing of history.

The latter parts of the book were difficult to follow - far more historians, many more threads.