"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))

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

To Hell and Back (Audie Murphy, 1949)

I've seen numerous positive references to this book. Including comparisons to "All Quiet on the Western Front" (discussed here), but set in WWII.

I didn't find it all that compelling. One indicator: I don't like to write notes in books; instead, I dog-ear pages with passages I find interesting. I didn't dog-ear any pages in this book.

Murphy did have an unbelievable career in the army, and worked his way through Italy, France and Germany. And the stories are very interesting (especially as I have quite a bit of interest in the Italian campaign due to interest in Cassino, etc.) But too much space was devoted to wise-cracking repartee between folks in his unit.

Also interesting that he started out in extreme poverty - share-cropping background - and was able to thrive in the army and in Hollywood.

Monday, December 20, 2010

The End of the Affair (Graham Greene, 1951)

This was quite different from Our Man in Havana and The Quiet American. Set mostly in WWII London; protagonist has an affair with wife of an acquaintance; various characters deal with the question of belief in God in a Catholic sort of way; this takes an unexpected turn in the latter part of the book. The private detective's son recovers; the rationalist's facial markings disappear.

I liked. Perhaps should try the movie version(s) (1955, 1999).

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Age of Wonder - How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science (Richard Holmes, 2008)

I liked this. Entertaining, informative, and a good fit with other things I've been reading recently about this period. The book primarily revolved around several discrete biographies - but the subjects overlapped, and were linked, somewhat, by association with Joseph Banks (in his role as President of the Royal Society - an organization promoting science in Britain).

The bios:

1. Joseph Banks - very interesting story of his travels around the world; especially in the South Pacific; specifically to Tahiti (first arriving there in 1769). JB was great at collecting data, sketches, etc. But his notebooks etc. about native life in Tahiti created quite the stir in England. JB was open-minded about the lifestyle there. And he was spending time before booze, Christianity and venereal disease permanently changed the Tahitian atmosphere. Sufficiently well-thought of to be elected as President of the Royal Society - a position he held for decades.

Contributed to development of viewpoints on man in "state of nature."

2. William Hershel - came over from Hanover due to hard times there; eventually brought over his smallpox-scarred sister (Caroline), who wanted to be a singer. Hershel was an excellent musician and had meaningful gigs in England. Avocation was astronomy - something like John Harrison, he somehow taught himself the techniques for grinding lenses for marvelous telescopes. Unlike Harrison, he was generally supported by the Astronomer Royal (Nevil Maskelyn). (Harrison situation discussed here.) Made his reputation by discovering Uranus - the first "new" planet since ancient times.

Caroline's story was most interesting - she did progress to where she was starting to have performance opportunities as a singer, but she ended up working hand in hand with William on astronomy matters. Eventually gained her own recognition.

All sorts of famous folks visited - Hayden supposedly was inspired in writing the "Creation."

Led to discussions about the infinite number of stars, the likelihood of life on other planets given the huge number, whether Christ could have redeemed all these worlds, etc. A discussion continuing to this day.

3. There was a mostly uninteresting chapter about balloonists.

4. Mungo Park - Scottish - toured Africa. I do love the stories of 19th century explorers there.

5. Humphrey Davy - sold the scientific community (and the public) on the importance of chemistry. Experimented with various gases and how they might be used - if he had stuck with this, might well have pioneered anesthesia - did test, on himself, all sorts of dangerous mixtures and amounts. Hung closely with various poets (Coleridge), especially after a society marriage. Invented the Davy Lamp (trying to make coal mining safer).

6. There were shorter passages on other scientists, including Hershel's son.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (Dava Sobel, 1996)

Quick and easy read. I didn't realize that determining longitude for sailors was so difficult, nor the attendant dangers. Basically, folks far out at sea were able to find latitude - but were guessing at longitude. Especially on a longer voyage, this could be deadly.

Apparently there were numerous attempts over the years, but no good solution. Reliance on tactics like "dead reckoning" was dicey.

A British ship returning from battle ran aground with great loss of life; with other disasters, the government was prompted to throw some serious money (>$4.5 million in today's dollars) behind finding a solution.

There were two main approaches thought most likely to succeed: a highly accurate clock (permitting the navigator to know the difference in time from London); or extensive star charts.

This book focuses on John Harrison, who worked on a clock. I didn't realize how inaccurate clocks were up to this point (Harrison was working on this in the mid-18th century). He had to figure out a way to keep the clock precise on a pitching ship that faced extremes of temperature and humidity. He seemed to have absolutely no background for the task, but somehow figured it out. The powers-that-be that ran the prize commission favored the star-chart approach, and placed all sorts of roadblocks in Harrison's way. But he succeeded.

I had no idea "Longitude" would overlap with concepts in this book by Umberto Eco - including the race for a solution, the idea of using a wounded dog on ship to bark in sympathy with a dog on land (hopefully not a serious idea), the clocks, etc.

And - by another coincidence - this book overlaps with another that I'm reading about the royal society (under Maskelyne) that mistreated Harrison (but supported folks like Herschel).

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Memoirs of Hadrian (Marguerite Yourcenar, 1951)

I don't quite know what to make of this book. Reviews were highly favorable; it seemed like a topic I'd enjoy a lot. Probably I'm missing something. I do believe one of the problems is that some of Hadrian's musings sounded like Montaigne essays, only not as compelling.

But still.

The story is quite interesting; the comments from the author about her experiences and goals with this work are fascinating. She was struck by a quote from Gustave Flaubert: "Just when the gods had ceased to be, and the Christ had not yet come, there was a unique moment in history, between Cicero and Marcus Aurelius, when man stood alone."

This led her to a multi-decade effort to write memoirs from Hadrian's perspective.

I don't know much about the various emperors, but Hadrian apparently was one of the greats. He did far more than construct a big wall in Britain. The book goes through his ascent to power, military career, loving Antinuous (in an Achilles-Patroclus sort of way) (with the Antinuous thing resulting in significant follow-through, as described here), dealing with issues in Germany, Egypt, Roman politics, etc. Ruminations on impending death; this was written as a guide of some kind to Marcus Aurelius at the time Hadrian's health was failing.

A minor note: he recognized that stretching Roman interests all the way up into the Afghanistan area would be a mistake . . .

It seems that a movie version is in the works, scheduled for release in Italy this year (2010).

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Five Germanys I Have Known (Fritz Stern, 2006)

I would highly recommend this book - it was unexpectedly personal, interesting, even moving. Also unexpectedly helpful for me in piecing together some threads of German history.

Stern lived through "five Germanys": a few years as a youth in Weimar Republic; Third Reich; postwar West and East Germany; unified Germany after the Berlin wall came down.

But he also wrote interestingly about pre-World War I Germany. About how political immaturity of the area compared to at least some other nations - Germany didn't come together until 1870 - persisted into 20th century. Germany energy went into Bildung (self-formation and education) (Bildungsroman stories popular to this day) and Wissenschaft (science); if at risk of Bildungsphilister (cultured philistine); at any event, not much opportunity to put energy into politics. ( This resonated with themes in the Goethe and the Holy Madness book, among others.)

Stern's family included a line of eminent physicians. Had converted away from Judaism a couple generations back. Plenty of interesting family connections, including Einstein. The religious conversion, such as it was, didn't help in the Third Reich. The family emigrated to NYC just in time; Stern ended up as a student and long-time professor at Columbia (along with many other roles).

Some items:

1. He had a great relationship with Jacques Barzun (whose recent book I like so much) - who also was at Columbia.

2. Had a good way of writing about how Jews and liberals were scapegoated for the WWI defeat.

3. Interesting to think about how Jews converted to Christianity in Germany and elsewhere . . . we had touched on this when performing "Elijah" by Felix Mendelssohn. Pressures everywhere . ..

4. His retelling made the Nazi dangers seem more personal - folks losing positions in universities, etc. Hiding books in home library. Watching conversations. Even in the early days before Nazi power had been consolidated.

5. What an interesting, difficult idea - shifting borders - Stern's family was in Breslau -which ended up in Poland (as "Wroclaw") after the war - some pretty hard feelings about this which took awhile to resolve.

6. A big focus was the lingering question about why the Germans stood by in the face of Nazi behavior; Stern referred to National Socialism as a "temptation" - it's hard to imagine the depth of Nazi participation (whether as enthusiasts, "mere collaborators", or whatever) that ran through Germany in the 1930s and 1940s; how possibly to address this in the postwar era? Fritz Stern - an American - as an unlikely but effective voice in framing the issue.

There was a lot in this book.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

The Greatest Battle (WWII - Battle of Moscow) (Andrew Nagorski, 2007)

Interesting. But all in all, one of the less interesting books I've read lately. Mostly because I didn't feel like it added much new to similar items previously read. The author is a "senior editor" at Newsweek (International), which I didn't take to be a great sign.

Anyway, it made for a quick read at the gym.

He recounts the stories of Stalin ignoring Hitler's fairly obvious preparations for repudiating the shaky treaty between Germany and Russia; then panicking as the German army rolls through Russia; then Hitler compounding his belated start by hesitating and dividing his troops, rather than smashing straight through to Moscow. Also the stories of Hitler not sending winter clothes for his troops (limited rail capacity was prioritized in favor of ammunition and food stocks). Stalin did stick around in Moscow rather than evacuating, which no doubt helped save the day.

Also interesting to hear again the stories of the Soviet "blocking" units, and the harsh treatment for any Russian soldier that was captured. Wow.

One new concept for me: I hadn't thought about how it came about that Polish soldiers fought at Monte Cassino - what with Poland having disappeared from the map following the deal between Russia and Germany in 1939. Turns out that Stalin gave permission for Poles to join the fighting in the west by escaping through eastern Europe. Stalin didn't want these folks anywhere near the Eastern front (of course).

Saturday, October 02, 2010

The Charterhouse of Parma (Stendahl, 1839)

I liked The Red and the Black so was looking forward to this one. Also because I had for the first time (and quite recently) paid some attention to Napoleon's early military success in Italy in this book - so the setting seemed quite familiar territory. And Zamoya talked about Stendahl and his participation in the retreat from Moscow in this book.

I read that Stendahl is categorized by some as an early "realist". OK.

Numerous strong characters; perhaps the lead is Fabrizio de Dongo - his father is collaborating with the Austrians, but Fabrizio runs off and appears, if ineffectively, at Waterloo. His aunt (Duchessa Sanseverina) is a great character, as is Count Mosca - who works for a despotic prince. Clelia Conti, daughter of the warden at the infamous Farnese Tower, falls for Fabrizio.

Fabrizio - despite lacking any apparent inclination for the job - becomes a leading cleric in Parma. Intrigues with court factions. Etc.

Friday, September 24, 2010

The Complete Essays of Montaigne (Book I) (translated by Donald Frame)

Jacque Barzun had raved about Montaigne; I liked Barzun's work a lot, and decided to take a tour through the essays. 800+ pages, written in late 16th century, looked like something I might scan through at best.

But about 50 pages in, I decided I needed to own this book. So went out and found a lightly-used hardcover version. Worked through Book I (of III, to use Super Bowl numbering) and about half of Book II before pausing. Not that I wasn't interested in going on - there just is too much to absorb.

Not sure how to describe this. Apparently the book was a staple for centuries, sat on bookshelves of most anyone with much education. How neat that folks like Pascal (to pick one from a very, very long list) worked through this, commented on it, praised it? Montaigne covers everyday and not-so-everyday topics in depth, or briefly. His style is conversational; loaded with quotes from classical sources; thoughtful; candid; seems like just the kind of person I would love to sit and talk with. When I went back and read the "introduction" section, it seems that my reaction is not unique (a better description would be "it's commonplace") - readers tend to see themselves in Montaigne's musings, even if different readers bring very different things to the book.

He was writing at a time when religious wars were quite violent in France.

I note a few sections here, but this book just needs to be read.

Of pedantry - includes a good discussion of the age-old distinction between book-learning and wisdom - this discussion never goes away.

I liked his discussion of the value of creating a written record, or diary; and his discussion of keeping written summaries of books he read so that he wouldn't entirely forget them. I'm going to use some of those quotes as a sort of frontispiece on two of my websites.

Much liked his discussion about being a father. Much liked his passages about worrying for the future, finances, etc.

Incredibly modern, incredibly pertinent. One of the few off-key notes is general dismissiveness toward the capabilities of women.

I generally don't write notes in books; I dog-ear pages that I find interesting. Which has led to ridiculous dog-earedness in the case of this volume.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Big Hair and Plastic Grass - A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s (Dan Epstein, 2010)

My brother Charlie sent this one along, it was published by St. Martin's Press (where Kate worked).

The subject matter and era are hard to beat for someone like me - I have more coherent memories of 1970s baseball than any other decade (including the current one). Plus we were collecting baseball cards in those days at a pretty fast clip, at least at the beginning of the decade. So this was highly enjoyed.

The author has a chapter for each year in the decade during which he summarizes the divisional races, playoff and World Series outcomes, major events during the year.

The far more interesting part of the book - though unfortunately just four of the chapters - is where he takes off on various themes: those round multi-purpose stadiums; AstroTurf; colorful uniforms; haircuts; stadium promotions (featuring, of course, dime beer night at Cleveland Muni and disco demolition at Comiskey Park).

A couple items of note:

I read that the wire "baskets" on the Wrigley Field fences were installed in 1970 following a bunch of drunk and/or stoned folks storming the field following an April game (supposedly a bunch of antiwar protesters in town). Also a discussion of how seedy the Wrigley area was in those days, much changed now.

Folks were distraught that Dave Kingman struck out 140 times in 1972 (he hit higher totals later in his career). You can tell baseball has changed, our own Diamondbacks feature a third baseman who has the three highest single-season strikeout totals of all time (topping out at 223). And they just gave him a contract extension last off-season.

Crazy times. It's difficult to imagine any current player involved in a wife-swap, pitching a game while on LSD, etc.

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Unknown Soldiers (reprised) (Chicago Symphony)

As noted here, I found the whole discussion of the British WWI memorial services to be quite compelling. I won't recount the earlier discussion except to note that it is difficult to try to imagine a more solemn, emotional setting than those raw years right after the war.

I ran across a Chicago Symphony version of Elgar's "Nimrod" Enigma (Adagio, Variation #9). (There is a whole story about how these came to be created, discussed here.) I have heard this work in various contexts and always thought it quite wonderful. Now I learn it is played every year at the Cenotaph (the one in London) on Remembrance Sunday - and I'll bet it has gained power over the decades.

Elgar was quite famous, late 19th century and early 20th century, also did "Pomp and Circumstance."

I like this version of Enigma #9 a great deal, perhaps because it is a touch slower than others I've heard. I try to imagine how this felt 90 years ago at the first memorial services at the Cenotaph.

(The entire piece is quite excellent, but I note the buildup with the double bass section that you can feel (and see!) starting at 2:28; then I like how the camera "moves back" at the climactic passages, around 3:30.)

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Unknown Soldiers (Neil Hanson, 2005)

[Re-read for book club per my own selection, 2015.  Below is from original read in 2010.]

Another WWI book; these are increasingly compelling as I get a bit more familiar with the subject matter.

I found this particular book particularly powerful, particularly poignant. There's something about the (British) author's style. Systematic; detailed; matter-of-fact; he totally "gets it" that the subject matter is so intrinsically powerful that no hyperbole is required.

In many ways he is taking Remarque's approach in "All Quiet on the Western Front", but with a different story angle. With the same underlying, unspoken message that beyond all the rationalizations and pious memorials - and who can blame anyone for trying to make sense of this in the immediate aftermath - so much of this slaughter was nonsense.

He starts with the stories of three characters. Paul Hub's story is the most interesting - this poor German enlisted in the first days of the war; refused to marry his fiancee because he didn't want to leave a war widow behind; survived all the major hell-holes - amazing in itself (Verdun, the Somme, Ypres, Passchendaele); lost his only two brothers in combat in the first months of the war; relented after four years and was married while on a short leave; was killed when the Allies counterattacked against Germany's "Operation Michael" in spring/summer 1918; and all the while sent a steady stream of loving, personal, informative letters to his parents and fiance. His body was never found. She never remarried.

Second character was Alec Reader - British. Third was an American aviator - but he didn't have any letters to quote and was in the war only a few months, I think he was included here because his mother was involved in the founding of the Gold Star Mothers.

The author quotes extensively from Hub's letters in particular; also Reader's letters; works these into factual descriptions and excerpts from other letter-writers in a manner that really works.

Lots of matter-of-fact descriptions of trench life, shells.

The volume of shelling was just unbelievable. Supposedly 14 million shells at Verdun alone

Difficulties on the German home front - the British blockade made life extremely difficult. This is illuminated in the letters Hub received from home hoping he could track down basics like shoes, string, etc.

While the German army itself was weak with low supplies. When they swept over Allied trenches in Operation Michael - the good news was that they finally had chocolate, food, tobacco; the bad news was they realized their leaders had been constantly lying to them about how the Allies were starving (when the opposite was true). Germans were quickly pushed back.

The author then turned to the idea of remembering the war dead and covered this in detail - remembrances previously had not been done except for senior officer types. There was definitely a political calculus involved. No British bodies had been brought home - too dangerous to morale for stacks of coffins to show up. Literally millions of bodies unidentifiable.

The stories of the remembrances were far more compelling than expected - the Cenotaph in London; the tomb for the unknown warrior in Westminster. The planning - special seating for mothers who lost husband and all sons; mothers who lost all sons; and down the line. The unexpected outpouring of emotion; endless piles of wreaths (dwarfing the piles for the people's princess, it seems)

Hard to imagine the effect on those left behind in the countries with the biggest losses. America was at a definite distance.

And just look at the guys in the bottom photo . . .

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Candide (reprised)

I was quite taken with Voltaire's Candide, especially the closing line about "we must cultivate our garden." Maybe it was a good idea to wait until age 54 to read it; that approach looks better and better over time.

In any event, I was vaguely aware that a musical of some kind had been written based on Candide. Today I was listening to a CD (or MP3 collection) from the San Francisco Symphony Choir and heard a song I've heard many times (particularly liking Dawn Upshaw's version) . . . finally made the connection . . . it' s "Make Our Garden Grow".

Leonard Bernstein wrote this. It's beautiful. Sounds like the operetta was a failure at the outset, but was revised and has gained a great deal of popularity.

Lyrics below, along with video version of the last performance Bernstein conducted (London symphony orchestra). I'm convinced Voltaire wouldn't have approved this song (except perhaps for the cow dying (per lyrics below, but not part of this musical presentation - instead we have Pangloss at the end)). But I like it.



CANDIDE
You've been a fool
And so have I,
But come and be my wife.
And let us try,
Before we die,
To make some sense of life.
We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow...
And make our garden grow.

CUNEGONDE
I thought the world
Was sugar cake
For so our master said.
But, now I'll teach
My hands to bake
Our loaf of daily bread.

CANDIDE AND CUNEGONDE
We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow...
And make our garden grow.

(ensemble enters in gardening gear and a cow walks on)

CANDIDE, CUNEGONDE, MAXIMILLIAN, PAQUETTE, OLD LADY, DR. PANGLOSS
Let dreamers dream
What worlds they please
Those Edens can't be found.
The sweetest flowers,
The fairest trees
Are grown in solid ground.

ENSEMBLE (a cappella)
We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow.
And make our garden grow!

(The cow dies)

VOLTAIRE
Ah, me! The pox!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Napoleon - The Path to Power (Philip Dwyer, 2007)

I've never known much about Napoleon's early years - was vaguely aware that he wasn't French per se; knew of the expedition to Egypt etc. But mostly had just read that he showed up in Paris as an artillery expert and helped put down some sort of insurrection in the years following the start of the revolution, after which his career took off.

So this book was very interesting - looked in-depth at Napoleon right up to the time of the 1799 coup. Starting with his days in Corsica - he was very focused on events there and learned a ton about politics. (Corsica was being passed between Genoa and France, and considering (or pipe-dreaming about) independence.) Idolized "Paoli," the local leader.

Earlier, he had been lined up for schooling in France thanks to his father's intervention. So he had something of a dual background - initially strongly Corsican, but with enough French background to handle the transition.

The French Revolution, and Napoleon himself, were responsible for so many modern innovations (many quite terrible). First mass conscription. Adroit manipulation of newspapers to sell false imagery. Pillaging of art works from Italy in a manner that would have impressed the Nazis. Creation of puppet states to serve as allies or buffers, or both.

Napoleon definitely had something remarkable in his military leadership - after gaining popularity and credibility with the politicians, he had great success in charge of the Army of Italy.

Infatuated with Josephine (who apparently had plenty of charms that outweighed her bad teeth). Pulled a David and Bethsheba scene when taking up with a soldier's wife in Egypt - sent the poor fellow on a mission where he was almost certain to be captured. British spies knew what was up so, to the surprise and consternation of all the principals, they released him back to Egypt.

Awful scenes in Egypt as Napoleon demonstrated an insensitivity to loss of human life that would be repeated. It was a bad campaign, but skillful propaganda left him pretty much untouched if not aggrandized - notwithstanding his abandoning his army there.

This should be good background reading for The Charterhouse of Parma. A good follow-on to this book.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Inception

We had heard lots of good things about the movie "Inception" from various sources, so Patricia and I went to see it this afternoon (with Paul Jr. and Pat Herrera). Leonardo DiCaprio is the lead - he is expert at utilizing technology to invade dreams - seems the technology is used regularly as a corporate espionage tool. But now he is hired by a corporation to implant an idea in the mind of the principal of a competing firm, which we're told is much more difficult to accomplish.

Longish but engaging; I was a little concerned during the first hour but ended up liking the movie. Definitely in the summer blockbuster field with lots of action, chases, shooting, etc. But much more thoughtful. Four layers of dreams are depicted simultaneously toward the climax. I still can't figure out a number of things, especially the way the opening scenes fit with the rest of the movie.

He had a complicated relationship, let's say, with his dead wife. (I read that there is Edith Piaf music on the soundtrack.)

The special effects were really well done, especially the scenes where they were floating in the hallway (a couple dream layers down). And this is the kind of movie - depicting dream worlds - where the effects actually add something to the storyline.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Taylor King concert (round 2) (Anaheim, CA, July 20, 2010)

As part of our recent trip to Laguna Beach, PJ and I attended what was the final performance for the Troubadour Reunion Tour (Carole King and James Taylor). We had previously attended in Glendale, described here.

We liked it a lot, for all the same reasons noted in the prior post. I had been reading in the newspaper how this tour had just blown away all expectations for ticket sales in what has otherwise been a very down year for the concert tour business. Somehow they are very much striking the right chord.

It was a different crowd than in Arizona - more immediately responsive, but not better. Hard to believe at this age they were on the road this long (he's 62, she's 68).

I had sought tickets late, but we were pretty lucky with this - first row in upper level. That actually works quite nicely. With the revolving stage in the middle of the arena and the various video boards, it was a good location.

Here's a short clip taken via cellphone video (from someone who lugged around massive video cameras for years: who can believe a cellphone can take video even of this quality?) It's a portion of "Sweet Baby James," which is performed following his little story about writing it for his nephew . . . live, the violin line sounded good (example here at 0:30), as did Carole King singing a line against the melody (starting around 1:00).



Lots of very nice moments, including the tour finale (same song they ended with in Glendale) (Close Your Eyes) . . .



Then the GPS directed us out of Anaheim and back to Laguna Beach, a kind service without which we might have been circling quite awhile.

Monday, July 26, 2010

The Island of the Day Before (Umberto Eco, 1994)

I liked The Name of the Rose a great deal. I liked Foucault's Pendulum quite a bit. So I read this on the strength of Umberto Eco as author. Didn't work out as well.

I never really did figure out what Eco was up to in this one. It's worth reading because there is a ton of interesting things floating around - ideas about the efforts to figure out longitude; politics and battles at the time of the 30 Years War; Richelieu and Mazarin; etc.; long discussions about knowledge, religious belief compared to scientific method, role of imagination; etc.

So I think the best aspect - and perhaps what Eco was up to - was giving the reader a window into the mindset and conversations of the first half of the 17th century.

As far as the plot - the protagonist (Roberto) is shipwrecked, and ends up being washed up onto an abandoned ship moored just far enough off a south seas island such that Roberto - a non-swimmer - is pretty much trapped. The abandoned ship relates to the intrigues surrounding the efforts to be the first to reliably calculate longitudes, and Roberto explores. While imagining things with a woman back in Paris whom he hopes to love.

Friday, July 23, 2010

The Burning Land (Bernard Cornwell, 2009)

Another historical novel by Cornwell (#4 for me) - apparently he has recently written several novels set in the 9th century in what will become England. Reviewers indicate that this story is based on a number of somewhat well documented historical episodes.

Read a favorable review in WSJ so tried this. More of a page-turner, but Cornwell's research and story-telling are very strong. He can make you imagine what this might have felt like. Details about battles, politics, etc. Very enjoyable to read (on the stairmaster).

King Alfred dreams of uniting Angle-land as a Christian kingdom; but relies on Uhtred (pagan protagonist) for military success.

They are dealing with several Danish invasions. Alfred's son (to be King Edward) is being groomed. There is an angry Danish woman named Skade. Uhtred is loyal to Alfred's daughter.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Candide - the Optimist (or All for the Best) (Voltaire, 1759)

I had never gotten around to reading this short work. It is one of Voltaire's most famous works; one of the more famous works in Western literature. It is a satire; among other things, he was reacting to the optimism of Leibniz, who considered that God had placed us in the best of all possible worlds.

Voltaire notes all of the suffering and bad behavior that the world always features; current events included the Seven Years War and the Lisbon earthquake (which happened on Sunday, resulting in the roasting of many churchgoers in the fires that followed the quake (including those not killed in the collapse of the churches)).

Candide is candid and pretty much retains his optimism despite going through some amazingly tough times, starting with being kicked out of the house and being pressed into the Bulgarian army. (Optimism had been instilled in him by his tutor, Pangloss, a Leibniz adherent (at least for awhile)).

All sorts of messaging; all sorts of controversy as he fairly directly criticized governments, royal houses, organized religion, etc.

Lots of philosophical debate among Candide, Pangloss, Martin. Voltaire is pointing out this leads to a dead end. Yet the ending of the story is very positive - great line from Candide as he snuffs another philosophical debate: "'Tis well said," replied Candide, "but we must cultivate our gardens."

The "Modern Library" version was neat - included the setting and illustrations from a 1920s edition.

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

The Temptation of St. Antony (Gustave Flaubert, 1874)

Flaubert is much better known for Madame Bovary (on our Great Books reading lists in the late 1970s) and A Sentimental Education (discussed here). He took a stab at doing a - well, I don't know how to describe this, a fantasy? - early in his career. This was based on the famous temptations endured by St. Antony (one of those third-century saints who lived as a hermit in the desert, or was up on a pole for awhile, or perhaps both). But his friends told him the book was awful.

He came back to the idea in the 1870s - after tinkering with it from time to time, and after finding great success with the two books noted.

I didn't quite know what to make of it. St. Antony is weak with hunger, somewhat regretful of the path he took; endures a long night in which every type of temptation shows up. Flaubert must have been incredibly knowledgeable about ancient gods, old heresies, myths, etc.

Artists liked this story also, I include a painting attributed to Bosch.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Holy Madness - Romantics, Patriots and Revolutionaries, 1776-1876 (Adam Zamoyski, 1999)

I was reading this at the gym while simultaneously working through the Barzun book. They overlapped in interesting ways. I had never heard of the author until reading his biography of Napoleon earlier this year - his stuff makes for good reading.

And this book gives some highly useful insights into all the blather and phoniness surrounding what our politicians would pass off as "patriotism" or "nationalism." Like identity politics, celebrating and emphasizing differences just doesn't make much sense.

In this book he examines a century of high-minded efforts (or at least involving high-flown rhetoric) to throw off kings, emperors, church leaders, whoever - often in the name of some would-be national group or the other.

He discusses the American Revolution at the outset - essentially a transition from one leadership structure to another without much disturbance of the society. But as we saw in the last presidential election, when words like "freedom" and "change" and the like start getting thrown around by skilled orators, folks around the world can fill in the blanks however they like - and find inspiration and justification to proceed.

Lots of details about revolutionaries in France, Italy, Poland; Russia; Belgium; etc. The French experience was the key - they marketed the ideals of the revolution all across Europe. Their huge armies picked up conscripts from all over, and traveled all over. This altered the outlook of some many folks so dramatically that all sorts of change happened.

The author discusses how a small group of revolutionaries would show up in disturbance after revolt after war all around Europe and South America. Only to typically find that the group of people ("nation") or whatever that they intended to lead to "freedom" wasn't even interested in the disturbance.

Metternich's "system" after Waterloo to preserve order. Russian "Decembrists" in 1825. Outbreaks in 1830 in various locales. Another round of outbreaks in 1848 - starting with high hopes, ending with minimal change. France increasingly conservative under Louis Philippe and Napoleon III. The "commune" following the defeat by Prussia.

Interesting to observe the scramble of the "nations" to discover - or more typically invent - their national heritage and customs. Then members of sub-groups intended to comprise so-called "nations" found out they had significant differences and aims - oops.

Scotland adopts the "kilt" in 18th century - named and sold by English. Germany reaching back to Tacitus, seeking martial honor in the deep forest tradition (rather than per the decadent French). Almost every group designated someone as its "Washington" or "Lafayette."

Famous artists showing up here and there - Wagner, Liszt, Stendhal, Hugo. Beethoven ("Eroica" for Napoleon).

How all things Greek became wildly popular around 1830 or so - Europeans rush to liberate Greeks from the Turks, only to find that the classical imagery (Achilles et al) didn't quite match the locals. Lord Byron. Now everyone needed to learn Greek in school.

Louis Kossuth in Hungary (very popular in US at time Kossuth County, Iowa was named).

Behaviors and symbols borrowed liberally from the religions it was fashionable to despise.

At the end of the book, the author notes the disillusionment of these high-minded revolutionaries, and states that this led to the cold-blooded approach of Lenin and his ilk - if the people didn't want regime change, they would be taught to want it (or else).

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present : 500 Years of Western Cultural Life (Jacques Barzun, 2000)

How useful did I find this book? I actually went out and bought a hardcover copy for myself. (My usual approach is to borrow books from the library; I have a list of those I want to own, but too seldom find the motivation to start purchasing. Not the case here.)

The value proposition for Barzun's work is simple in my case. I read as much as I can; I also try to learn about as much classical music as possible, and (to a much lesser extent) art (typically meaning paintings). Opera and "plays" remain mostly mysteries to me. On all fronts, I don't have a very organized way of identifying items I'll read or view. On top of that, I have trouble remembering what I've read or seen.

Enter Barzun.

He is a fascinating character in his own right. He was class valedictorian at Columbia in 1927 (born in France, the book includes his recollection of Paris being shelled by "Big Bertha" German gunnery). He finished this book when he was well over 90 years old. By that time, he had spent what - seven decades? - learning, teaching, writing at a very high level. It's hard to imagine the insights that would accumulate in that setting over that extended period of time - and that he would have the energy so late in life to put together a volume like this.


The book is a delight. Incredibly economical with the language - how else could one even try to take on a 500-year period across multiple disciplines in one book of manageable size? I slowed down and read pretty much every word, often working backward in the book. (This approach (along with a too-busy work schedule for the first half of 2010) is reflected in the slowed pace of my reading recently.)

Just an example - he spent about six pages working around World War I - and left me with an entirely different sense of how the world was affected (i.e. the changed outlook for those who survived). Most of my WWI reading has focused on particular battles, the experience of the soldiers, how the war started, etc. This was different.

He uses the term "decadence" to describe the current state of affairs - but not in as gloomy a sense as the word might suggest. Very cogent observations about the effect of the welfare state (which he (like many others) traces to 1870s Prussia), the media, etc.

I will refer to this regularly. I need to read more of his stuff.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Vertigo Years - Europe, 1900-1914 (Philipp Blom, 2008)

Another great history read.

The author was trying to put a different interpretation on the pre-war years - he is concerned that the period is characterized as a quiet "summer" before the war started, or is simply overshadowed as a lead-in period to the more important years of actual armed conflict.

Blom shows that the period in fact was anything but serene - marked by rapid change that wasn't giving folks a sense of where things might be headed - hence a feeling of "vertigo."

He devotes one chapter to each of the fourteen years. Starting with the famed Paris exposition and the continuing ascent of machines (as recounted by Henry Adams in this book). Discussion of France's decline - lower population growth than Germany, Dreyfus affair, loss of Alsace/Lorraine in 1870 (propagandized to school children thereafter) - was the country losing its virility? Roger Casement's success in the Congo (and later flirtation with Germany). The rise of Japan - Russia's loss in 1905. Women's rights, changing roles. Progress in the sciences - but creating more questions than the hoped-for certainty. Eugenics? Freud. Increasing frequency of mental illness of various kinds. Cities. Speed: automobiles (15mph!), early airplanes. Department stores, consumerism for the masses.

Educated folks who would laugh at religion join pseudo-mystical societies - with similar rituals.

Still not sure what Virginia Woolf meant when she said human nature changed in December 1910 - including reference to the cook's hat.

Jacques Barzun's work on cultural history goes into quite a bit of detail, and provides some more context around the topics discussed by Blom; I'll post on it when finished. Many overlapping concepts, which helps this make some sense.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Up In The Air


We saw this at Camelview - rather by accident, as we had gone there to see a different movie (I don't recall which) and the projector wasn't working. Found this surprisingly enjoyable - George Clooney did a good job as someone who flies around constantly firing people; then he is more or less grounded as his employer introduces video technology. Things start changing for the protagonist at that point, I was surprised by the direction things went.

Monday, March 22, 2010

The Discovery of France (Graham Robb, 2007)

This book is subtitled "A Historical Geography from the Revolution to the First World War."

As I keep reading more French history and novelists, this type of book comes into focus. I liked it a lot, a very different look at France. The author claims to have traveled 14,000 miles through France over the course of several years - by bicycle. I can believe this would provide some unusual perspective.

There are countless interesting items. Overarching theme: what we think of as "France" might more accurately be thought of as a smallish area surround Paris; the rest is broken up into a large number of "pays", let alone larger regions - each with long histories, traditions, cultures, etc. Most didn't speak French, or think of themselves as French at all.

After the Revolution, the government actively sought to imbue the entire country with a national spirit, standardize the language etc. But it sounds like students learned "French" similar to how students learned "Latin" - something to be forgotten immediately after graduation.

Items:

1. Pagan beliefs lingered. An explanation of Lourdes in terms of local fairies; benefits of tourism. Local saints and cults (often overlays of pagan predecessors) stronger than other forms of religion.

2. Trips by early map-makers - surprised by hostility, unfamiliar dialects (or languages), unfamiliar terrain.

3. Royal roads - otherwise local bypass. Built for royal convenience - you almost always had to pass through Paris to go anywhere.

4. Early tourism, including to the Alps. Tourist spots - spas - often inventing their own histories and therapeutic powers. No one interested in hanging out by the sea until tourism. Contact between the tourists and the locals (reminding me of Proust when his character stayed seaside).

5. Descriptions of the propaganda (often directed at school children) following the loss of Alsace and Lorraine in 1870 - makes it more believable how this was such a hot topic prior to World War I.

6. The effect of bicycle - four million in France prior to WW I. Opened up the world to folks who previously knew almost no one outside their immediate zone.

7. The mind-numbing boredom of winter in French Alps for poor persons - limited food, limited oil for lamps, generally unable to even read, nothing to do - this is hard to imagine.

8. The famous French cuisine - again, Paris-centered. Most others were too poor. This author thinks many of the regional specialties are pure marketing.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

The Last Station

Saw this movie at Camelview with PJ and Liz (during her AZ visit).

Liked it a lot.

The story focused on Tolstoy's end-of-life. As discussed here: the wife he loved and couldn't live with, or without. Tolstoyans - followed Tolstoy's later blandishments far more than he did. Chertkov's efforts to take control of copyrights.

Much of the story was told from the viewpoint of a Tolstoy acolyte who showed quite a bit of independence, found a love affair of his own, etc.

Hadn't realized that the book on which the movie was based was written by the same guy that did the Frost bio PJ and I enjoyed.

Monday, March 01, 2010

Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand, 1957)

Kerry and Nicole had bought this book for me for Christmas. Because I had reached my early 50s without actually reading any of Rand's stuff.

I can see why her writings have gained in popularity - the Obama "hope and change" ruse fits right in with her messaging.

Her characters reminded me a bit of a Dan Brown novel, so that part wasn't so great for me. But the messaging - especially accessible to anyone who on any scale funds situations and gets to observe the too-common reactions of some of those being funded - is spot-on. Writ large, it's the increasingly tiresome rhetoric from politicians and non-profits in endless attack on their sole funding source - the sliver of the population that actually produces the wealth that keeps the entire system afloat.

The mistake of kowtowing to the takers' faux moralizing.

John Galt's best line: "Get the hell out of my way!"

Friday, February 12, 2010

Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March (Adam Zamoyski, 2004)

I'd read a book or two already about this situation so was a bit unsure whether to read another one . . . but this one was well worth it.

The basic story line involves a long list of larger-than-life elements, which are pretty well known. Napoleon. Alexander. Etc.

Some other thoughts:

1. Zamoya thinks the criticism Napoleon took for starting the campaign late was unfair - felt he had no real choice due to the logistics around the horses and fodder. (Though this failed in the end, creating huge problems.)

2. Examples of Russian incompetence - political fallout as the Russian armies retreated. Kutuzov considered a national hero for various political reasons over time; Zamoya thinks he was ineffective.

3. Interesting information about the Russian army - 20-year hitches, pretty much everyone other than serfs bought their way out. The villages held a funeral when a serf went to the army because it was so unlikely that he would be seen again. Yet somehow they fought like dogs.

4. Marshal Ney unbelievably courageous.

5. The famous battle at Borodino - where the French win but lose. War and Peace based on this.

6. Moscow; fires.

7. The too-late retreat - I don' t think the author was gratuitously gory and violent in describing this, it plainly was just awful. Freezing, nothing to eat, both armies suffering mightily; the French would finally reach a destination and find out the logistics had failed again. Heroic bridge builders at river crossings (esp. the Berezina, where an unbelievable escape was achieved).

8. To some extent the peasants were armed and involved; this led to some agitation for political and social change; some of the military types ultimately became the 1825 Decembrists.

9. Alexander sold liberalism/reform to Europe. But things ended up very reactionary in Russia; and Prussia took a leading role in what much later became became Germany - also reactionary.

10. Stendahl part of the retreat - but early, lucky for him. He made it back to France. An incredibly small percentage of the Grande Armee survived.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Inheritance of Rome - Illuminating the Dark Ages (Chris Wickham, 2009)

The author had two main goals if I understand things correctly. First, he wanted to debunk the notion that the era from 400 - 1000 was a simple "dark" age wedged between the "fall" of Rome and the stirrings of modernity. Second, he observes the many claims that were made, probably mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries, about the birth of European nations, with politicians searching for roots in the 400-1000 era that would support whatever borders or ideology they were pushing for at the time.

I liked the book a bunch, though it did slow down a bit along the way. Part of this is a scope problem - even if sources in this area are somewhat limited, it is a daunting task to cover all of Europe and beyond over five centuries.

I do think his two main tasks are important. He does a good job of explaining how the transition of Roman power in the west took place over a long period of time; barbarians having served in the Roman army and as administrators etc. How Roman customs and forms survived with varying strength over time.

It is interesting to read how the church and the state grew in complementary ways - each needed the others. Also how land was donated to monasteries -turns out this was a good way for families to continue to control blocs of property (if not providing some afterlife insurance). Parish churches as a later development, with generally unschooled local priests becoming another control mechanism.

Tax systems - Romans maintained a land tax, which permitted feeding cities and keeping huge standing armies. Few other systems could pull this off. Kings started giving away land to nobles; which was tricky business given the finite supply.

Some strong centralized kingdoms developed, especially Charlemagne. But then devolves into local powers over time. Who become increasingly adept at limiting the freedom of peasants, skimming off more of their work time and production. Castles start appearing . . . feudalism in the offing. With weaker kings, stronger local nobility.

Pilgrimage sites as big business - wise investment to come up with a bunch of relics.

He also threw in some information about Scandinavia, Russia, Bulgaria, etc. - much later developing.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Management Myth - Why the Experts Keep Getting it Wrong (Matthew Stewart, 2009)

Very unusual subject matter for me, as I make a point of not reading business books.

I found it highly interesting and probably quite useful, though I don't really know enough about the subject to put the author's views in context.

He did think that studying philosophy and history is better preparation for business than going to business school - so I was instantly inclined to agree with whatever else he wrote.

The author intersperses anecdotes about his education and his forays into the business consulting world with observations about the history of business schools. Names I've heard but know nothing about - Frederick Taylor, Elton Mayo (and the famous Western Electric study) - basically pointing out how these folks sought to imbue business theory with a scientific precision, when actually doing nothing of the sort.

The business school elites were only too happy to play along - otherwise how to legitimize their very new (and unproven) schools being promoted at some of the most famous Eastern universities?

Stewart discusses why all this may be worse than just nonsense - folks like Taylor (he of the pig iron loading study) emphasized the separation of management from labor and the view of laborers as inputs, not to mention the faux science.

He has lots of fun skewering the recent pop psychology business writers - the Jim Peters types. They somehow pass off cliches and truisms as wisdom, and are paid handsomely for doing so.

Also highly entertaining: his descriptions of the management approach (and oddities) in his consulting firm. Plenty of that was reminiscent of the management issues in the professional service firms in which I've worked.

Very much worthwhile.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Old Goriot (Honore de Balzac, 1835)

I like Balzac's writing. Though this one, not quite so well as Cousin Bette or Lost Illusions.

Old Goriot is another part of "La Comédie humaine"(as were the novels mentioned above). One of the first where the "recurring characters" conceit is developed.

In this one, a successful merchant gives all to his two daughters - each accomplishes an upscale marriage greased by lots of his cash; each promptly forgets his kindnesses and is mostly embarrassed by having him around. And Old Goriot didn't have enough cash to live comfortably at all, though he never stopped adoring his daughters.

So Goriot lives in a boarding house with the protagonist, Eugène de Rastignac. Rastignac is from the provinces; many nice qualities; but overcome with the urge to climb socially. (So he reminds of Lucien Chardon from Lost Illusions.) The boarding house also features a criminal-in-hiding.

This book is set during the Bourbon restoration.

Wikipedia says it is considered the "essential" Balzac novel, that it was highly influential, etc.