Zeitoun (Dave Eggers, 2009)

Book club selection (via Zaida; session held December 20, 2015)

Not what I expected!  The story line is unusual/interesting - involves Hurricane Katrina and post-storm life in New Orleans.  The protagonist seems like a pretty capable fellow - nice family, immigrant from north Africa, making a living with some rental properties and construction work.

Some elements of the story line reminiscent of the Galveston story.  Anti-Islamic strains, reminiscent of current issues.  Civic officials and law enforcement dealing with a situation that really could not be prepared for, and plenty of venal behavior to go around.

All that was interesting enough.

But it turns out that the protagonist had some issues with the wife after the hurricane - probably understandable given what they all went through.  Seems like the author should have dealt with this?  Maybe it was a timing thing?

Poland - A History (Adam Zamoyski, 2009)

I find this author quite readable (here, and here).  Motive for reading this book - I know so little about Poland, yet it appears my wife has about 3/4 of her heritage there (meaning 3/8 for our kids)  - that's a lot.

Zamoyski comes from a family with a long history in Polish nobility.

So what did I learn?  Way too much to keep straight, but some useful strands:

1.  Poland had very large land territories at various stages in what I'll call early-modern times.  Arrangements with Lithuania, Ruthenia (Ukraine), etc.  Often lightly populated and loosely controlled - but a large power player.

2.  Russia got stronger.  German states got stronger, culminating in 19th century unification.  But even somewhat before that - an essential issue for Poland is its unfortunate position between Russia and Germany.  A huge effect on its history especially in early 18th century and after.

3.  Hard to believe that Poland was simply partitioned off the map following a sequence of moves primarily involving Germany, Austria, Russia.  Polish politics wrapped up in regaining the homeland; less experience addressing practical governance.

4.  And of course there was the Soviet era.

5.  Farther back - a governing method that involved an elective king and required lots of consensus - in some ways probably quite modern - but in the end this paralyzed the state.

6.  As I've gotten to understand better - in part because of the Zamoyski books linked above - the concept of the "nation" and "patriotism" are incredibly slippery, and dangerous.  So much is invented after the fact for reasons of state.  There does seem to be a core . . . but on the margins, what really is "Poland" and "Polish?"  Borders and peoples have moved around for as far back as our knowledge extends.

7.  A consequence of being positioned so far east - Cossacks, Tatars, Turks.  Important roles in fighting the Ottomans.

8.  And the incredibly large Jewish population - at least compared to other European countries - lightly-populated areas welcomed Jews getting kicked out of western European countries.  Though once in place - often mistreated.

9.  Roman Catholicism certainly not a sure thing!  Look at the geography.

10.  Lots of diplomatic noise in 19th and 20th century about re-forming a nation of Poland - but mostly talk, as the balance of power seemed to work - and radical change like this could upset things.  Short-lived state post WWI.

Nine Stories (J.D. Salinger, 1953)

Book club selection (via Nick P; November 16, 2015)

I too seldom read short stories - and never read Salinger - so this was time well spent.  But I think I will continue to avoid short stories - for whatever reason, I find the format limiting, or frustrating, or whatever; probably it's just me.

The "Laughing Man" story was highly creative.

The "Banana Fish" story was compelling but I would have liked to see it developed a bit further. Gave an insight into the challenges of the returning vet.

"For Esme - With Love and Squalor" - very effective, perhaps because it was a more traditional style of story-telling?

Good stuff.

The Code of the Woosters (PG Wodehouse, 1938)

I keep seeing the most positive reviews of Wodehouse, but so far haven't been moved to read his works.

While I don't expect to spend a lot of time with Wodehouse - I will say that this book was thoroughly enjoyable, and I can really see why he is popular.  Incredible skill in telling the stories here.

Main characters:  Bertie Wooster and his (marvelous) valet, Jeeves.  They run into all sorts of difficulties and - primarily through Jeeves's ingenuity - come out on top.

The author's facility with the English language was consistently pleasurable if not amazing.  I read a lot, and don't run into this kind of thing.  Constantly expecting him to say something other than what appears on the page.  Nice.

Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie, 1981)

Book club selection via Nicole (October 18, 2015).  Interesting to see that it appears on lists of "100 greatest novels" or all time.

I wouldn't say I loved the book, but I would say that I think I benefited - a lot from reading it.  My main downside:  I just couldn't really care about, or connect with, any of the characters.

I did care about the story arc  - India around the time of the partition - but that wasn't enough.  And the virtuoso writing doesn't move me so much.  Same problem for me as with Laurence Stern (Tristram Shandy - which I gave up on pretty quickly so haven't included on this blog) or Marquez.

The protagonist was born at midnight on India's independence day from Britain (Aug 15, 1947).  He had a huge nose (reminiscent of Sterne book, with same humor on that point).  He had super-powers to communicate with others born at the same time - "Midnight's Children."

But even that conceit didn't entirely work - seemed like Midnight's Children didn't really end up doing much of anything, and fell out of the general story line.

Something I liked:  author knew how to tell us about history without telling it directly or pedantically - I think he assumed his readers weren't looking for a direct history lesson - but he gives so much of it.  One example of a clever device:  where the protagonist is cutting letters out of the newspaper headlines as part of a plot sequence.  Guess what:  lots of history is communicated this way.

A glimpse, rare for me, of 20th century India/Pakistan/Bangladesh.

Reminder of Britain's hasty exit - no real preparation - the awful movement of peoples; what real for east-west Pakistan given geographic separation?  The depth of the antipathy Islam/Hindu.

Also liked how he revealed a lot about India/Pakistan geography:  author moves characters around:  Bombay, Karachi, Kashmir, Bangladesh, Delhi.

The Rational Optimist (Matt Ridley, 2010)

Via Paul Jr.  Had read the reviews and it met high expectations.

Essentially:  it recounts, skillfully and inventively the narrative that gets severely underplayed. That things are good; have gotten better; in all probability will continue to get better; it's rational to be an optimist!

Media gets clicks and ratings by emphasizing trouble.  Politicians chase votes by emphasizing the negatives.  Skeptics/cynics come across as smarter/more clever than optimists.

Yet the world is an immensely better place than it's been at any time in history - not even close - and there's no particular reason to think that progress will halt, let alone regress.  Even chronic bad governance - which certainly has held back, or contributed mightily to holding back, so many countries - can't overwhelm the innovation machine in all the places where it is deeply grounded.

The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand, 1943)

This author of course provokes all sorts of reactions.  Complicated by efforts to shape, or modify, her legacy.

My reaction after now reading four of her novels:  she's continually thought-provoking and highly worthwhile.  The characters and the story lines do seem over the top, but I have to believe that's intentional on her part.

The Fountainhead is the story of Howard Roark (the architect).  I've seen most of the movie version (Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal) but for whatever reason hadn't picked up the book before.

Ellsworth Toohey, Peter Keating, Dominique Francon, etc.

The Winter of Our Discontent (John Steinbeck, 1961)

Book club selection (via Chris; August 30, 2015).

As discussed here, I'm a fan of this novel.  Well-received in the book club.

Before the Industrial Revolution - European Society and Economy 1000-1700 (Carlo M. Cipolla, 1993 edition)

Trying to get a little better handle on stuff going on in Europe in this period.  Helpful book (probably primarily intended as a textbook); but the topic is so vast that I don't know that I'm making any progress.

As is true with so much historical reading - one is struck with the idea that "they lived so much like us" - certainly rings true for this fairly recent, increasingly commercial era.

Interesting stuff about the growth of what I'll call commerce - "fairs" in various European locales; towns; free towns; trading leagues; interruptions via plague, war; amazing outliers such as Italy and - perhaps my favorite - Holland.

I keep thinking that Dierdre McCloskey is onto something with her focus on innovation (and governments that allow it to flourish).

Useful, hard to summarize (in part because there is so much variance by geography even within Europe).

Dreyfus - A Family Affair: 1789-1945 (Michael Burns, 1991)

Another - and highly interesting/effective - take on the Dreyfus story.  This author provided a significantly broader view of the situation than anything I've previously read, well worth it.

A highly useful part of the background included Dreyfus family history going back to their days in Alsace and beyond.  In terms of Jewish experiences, very complementary to this book (which by coincidence I was working through at the same time).  Anti-Semitism intensifying as 20th century dawns - almost unbelievable, except that it somehow continues to this day.

Dreyfus family intensely patriotic notwithstanding everything - true believers in the ideals of the Revolution (if grievously tarnished).

It's really a truth-stranger-than-fiction situation - hugely interesting, very helpful in thinking about the 20th century.  Defining for France, etc.  No wonder folks like Proust were so focused - everyone was.

One other reaction:  the recent historical fiction version was really quite well done.

The Story of the Jews - Finding the Words - 1000 BC - 1492 AD (Simon Schama, 2013)

I need to know more on this topic, but was a bit reluctant to pick up this book as it is linked to a PBS TV series.  But not to worry - very readable, full of useful information, changed my understanding on a number of topics.  So I hope the author is credible.

Worth paging through multiple times.  A key takeaway - like other religions, this one is continually writing and rewriting its own history based on needs or objectives of leaders in various situations and geographies.  Meaning:  don't assume anyone's pronouncements are dispositive.

Author goes through biblical times, then into New Testament; the strange, and sad, manner in which persecutions flowered.

1492 is a logical breaking point given events in Spain, I will look forward to the next volume.

The Things They Carried (Tim O'Brien, 1990)

I believe this is a considered a novel, and properly so.   But O'Brien mixes in his own Vietnam experiences and the effect is really powerful.

I was a bit too young to grasp much of anything about the war while it was taking place - a constant topic, but we never talked with any returning veterans or did much of anything beyond following news accounts and listening to politicians blather on.  The author here permitted my imagination to kick in.

Part of the effectiveness - his Midwest roots.  The story of Norman Bowker is heartbreaking.

Recommended.

The Education of Little Tree (Forrest Carter, 1976)

Book club selection (via Zach; session held July 19, 2016).

Interesting back story - a white supremacist wrote this book recounting childhood experiences of a young orphan boy who spends a few years living with his Cherokee grandparents.  Despite this - I think it works.

The author did display an incredible amount of "local knowledge" - interesting to think that this deep local knowledge exists for any type of place occupied by humans at any time period, I don't think about this enough.

Sometimes too smug - wears out the noble Indian, bad whitey, evil businessmen themes; also the five-year-old seems unrealistically mature and capable throughout (although this is set up as a memoir, so an adult writer might so interpret things).

I did appreciate Grandpa's attitude toward politicians and guv'mint.  Wise man.

Chapters are somewhat repetitive, but as the book goes on this contributes to the effect.  Sad as they look at Sirius.  The Jewish peddler.

Also made me think about the loss of the Nations - which was more than loss of a political subdivision, it led to the loss of a particular way of life - story of John Willow - different than voluntary emigration.

Key characters die off pretty quickly at the end, and then a 8-10 year old goes wandering?

Danube - A Journey Through the Landscape, History, and Culture of Central Europe (Claudio Magris, 1986)

Continuing to try to get a better feel for MittelEuropa.  Much more obscure to me than Western Europe.  Some of my interest was prompted by this so-interesting travelogue.

But what was the author up to here?  This is a travelogue that is nothing like a travelogue, at least as I conceive the genre.  The author - an Italian professor - has all sorts of consistently interesting things on his mind - but they don't always connect well with the Danube theme.

And the Danube is a very long river - as he proceeds east - away from Germany and his areas of familiarity - Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania - he seems progressively less knowledgeable, and relies more and more on narratives about selected writers.

Endless literary and historical references.  I read enough to make sense of some, which is pleasing.  But . . . so many . . . must leave readers with questions, at least it did for me.

But I like the book, an awful lot.  Would have preferred more straight historical-narrative style information, but once I gave up on that, I just enjoyed the ride.

Some ideas:

1.  The Danube as an east-flowing, Asiatic, river.  Compare the Rhine (Germanic purity).  At the end of the Danube line:  Attila and his ilk.  This notion reinforced by the Roman experience - barbarians across the Limes.

2.  Large zones where armies from major powers constantly traverse - with endless consequences for the affected populations.  The Turk.  Magyars getting hit from every direction.

3.  German settlers and influence.  German colonists in the Banat.  Bringing some order into places that lacked it.  Interesting.

4.  Lots of discussion on Regensburg.  I still want to see this.  Passau, maybe?

5.  Hungarians compromising with Austria in 1862 (Dual Monarchy).  Obliterated by Turks in 1526 (Mohacs).

6.  The "Military Frontier" - described as a thousand kilometers - borderlands, somewhat lawless, first line of defense against the Turk.

7.  1986 Bulgaria - "Oppression, he writes in his novel-epic of Bulgaria, has the privilege of making peoples happy; for when the political arena is closed, society seeks consolation in the immediate good things of life, in wine drunk under the trees, in love, in generation.  'Enslaved peoples have their philosophy which reconciles them to life.'"

8.  He has an idea that folks living in landlocked areas are more conservative, less adventuresome, less liberal and adaptable in comparison to folks living nearer the sea.

Author is a colleague of Umberto Eco!

There's just a lot here, and I need to spend more time with it.  Many glorious passages.  Dense.  Requires slow reading.  Worthwhile.

Leningrad - Siege and Symphony - The Story of the Great City Terrorized by Stalin, Starved by Hitler, Immortalized by Shostakovich (Brian Moynahan, 2013)

This book fit very well with this excellent overview of the Leningrad siege; this discussion of Sergei and Lina Prokofiev; and this novelistic presentation on the siege and its effects on ordinary folks.

I expected the book to be more focused on Shostakovich and the process of writing his 7th ("Leningrad") Symphony, but the author also mixed in a great deal of information about pre-war terror by Stalin and the military aspects of the Leningrad situation (siege, etc.).  And in the end it all fit together pretty well, much worth reading.

The overall story arc is entirely amazing.

Stalin always distrustful of Leningrad - some of its leaders not necessarily in his camp at selection time; plus general suspicion based on the city's proximity to the West.

Shostakovich - young, talented, popular; a symphony runs afoul of the authorities for whatever reason and is branded as "formalism" - never a good thing for one's future.

But war came along, Shostakovich did have useful allies within the government, and it was recognized that he could be used for propaganda.  One example is a famous posed photo where he serves in a fire brigade atop a building.  The photo was fake, but his service was real.  Eventually he was whisked out of Leningrad to the safety of the south - too valuable an asset to risk.  Most of the 7th ("Leningrad") Symphony wasn't written in Leningrad (though Shostakovich certainly had lived the life there).

Much more detail than I'd seen about the difficulties of keeping alive performances of classical music in siege-beset Leningrad.  Performers starved to death, or were too weak to function.  Performance halls (not to mention rehearsals) were ridiculously cold.  Performing the 7th in Leningrad itself was almost asking too much - but it was a huge success.  Military authorities timed massive barrages to reduce the risk that German bombers might hit the performance venue.

Tremendous propaganda value - Shostakovich's music helped ease fears in the Allied nations that the Soviets were Asiatic brutes, or something.

The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (John LeCarre, 1963)

Book club selection (via POC, I think).

Entertaining spy novel set in Cold War years.

It is rather amazing to think that such a thing as the Berlin Wall existed.

Even more amazing to think about the lives of the folks that worked in the intelligence services of these countries.  Though one could make the case that their services had value in those days given WWII experiences and nuclear arsenals.

Folks believed in Communism in good faith in England, at least some of them did.

Leamas, Smiley, Control.  Mundt, Fiedler.  Liz.

Final scene at the Wall.

The Ariadne Objective - The Underground War to Rescue Crete from the Nazis (Wes Davis, 2013)

Author recounts resistance activities on the island of Crete.

I think the impetus for the book is the increasing stature of Patrick Leigh Fermor - a delightful author indeed, who set out on foot from Holland to Constantinople in the 1930s and maintained a journal that has been converted into delightful books.  Fermor and some other dashing Brits work with local Crete population in opposition to Nazis.  Main claim to fame is that they abducted a German general (some minor figure named Kreipe) - utilizing a fairly simple roadside ambush using pilfered German uniforms.  The notion was that this act would demoralize the Germans - but I doubt anyone really believes it had much significance.

Author rather blithely assumes that the activities of these semi-regulars was brave, useful, etc.  I'm sure it was.  But I was rather struck by the thought of the reprisals against regular Cretans - this was nasty business - the insignificant resistance stuff is difficult to weigh against civilian suffering.  I don't know how to think about this part.

But it's fun to read about Fermor; some interesting excerpts of his writing; learned a little more about Crete and the Minotaur, labyrinth ("Ariadne").

The travels across the Cretan mountains with the overweight general in tow were interesting.  Great scene when the General is looking out at a snowcapped mountain and Fermor overhears him murmuring in Latin - figures out it was an ode of Horace - Fermor naturally continues the ode in Latin.  The two got along pretty famously thereafter.  The strangeness of two quite normal folks with a completely common cultural heritage - at war - over ??

An example of his writing - he sees all the incredible wood carving in Bavarian towns (in 1933) - attributes it "long winters, early nightfall, soft wood and sharp knives".

Beware of Pity (Stefan Zweig, 1939)

I liked this book very much.  I keep hearing references to Zweig but never have read any of his works.  Wanted to learn something about this as I try to develop a better feel for eastern-central Europe.  I find that this is Zweig's only novel.

Protagonist is an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer stationed in a rather dreary post pretty far removed from cities; he is invited to a party at the home of a rich local landowner.  Much enjoys the change of scenery; asks the host's daughter for a dance but learns she is crippled; this creates an unpleasant scene.  But he is welcomed back to the house very shortly thereafter; tries to be helpful; it turns out badly.  Actions based on pity certainly can be dangerous.

Dr. Condor is treating the invalid.  The landowner (father of the invalid) has quite a story of his own.  Protagonist enlists for WWI and becomes a hero (though that isn't a direct part of the plot line).

Interesting beginning to end, usually compelling, very much worthwhile.  (Which is particularly appreciated as I recently seem to be encountering a higher percentage of mundane books than usual . . .)

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life (Russ Roberts, 2014)

The author here is one of the two contributors to Cafe Hayek, a primarily-econ blog that I find continually useful.

Instead of focusing on Adam Smith's by far best-known work (The Wealth of Nations), this book is built on The Theory of Moral Sentiments.

I think Smith was an incredibly astute observer - his understanding of human nature is makes the  economic principles that he articulates so solid.  This same deep understanding comes through in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (which I've not read), as explicated by the author here.

More self-help-y than I normally prefer, but Russ Roberts and Adam Smith make for a highly useful combination.

They hammer home - effectively and repeatedly - just how easy it is for each of us to fool ourselves - so difficult to see ourselves accurately.  Not a novel insight, but expressed in a useful way.

Easy read, worthwhile.

Falling Upwards - How We Took to the Air (Richard Holmes, 2013)

Kind of disappointing - the subject matter just isn't interesting enough to me to support all of the detail.  The author runs through the history of ballooning.

I was optimistic because of how interesting and useful I found this work by the same author.  Plenty of similarities in time period and subject matter.  But the earlier book covered a wider range of topics - this book didn't benefit from tighter focus.

The first balloon passengers were pretty amazed at how the world looked from overhead - that's cool because it's rather hard to imagine these days.

Early efforts to use balloons in war - including U.S. Civil War - not terribly effective.

Something I hadn't realized:  balloonists played a key role in maintaining communications between Paris and the rest of France during the German siege of 1871.  Not that it helped France a whole lot. (Victor Hugo heavily involved at this time - he returned from his "exile" once Napoleon III was out of power.)

Author wraps up with a tale of folks seeking to use a balloon to reach the North Pole.  Touching story, good finale to this era.

The Martian (Andy Weir, 2014)

First-time novel by a software engineer (now also a novelist, I guess).

A team of astronauts runs into a bunch of challenges on a Mars mission.  But they are pretty resourceful.  It's pretty interesting throughout - repeated problem-solving exercises.

Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven (John Eliot Gardiner, 2013)

I feel a connection to Bach that is unlike whatever connection I feel to any other musician, or artist.  Quite possibly this is due to the sheer weight of cumulative exposure - my undergraduate piano teachers (and Joseph Henderson, who taught me for a semester during law school) emphasized Bach.  I've read four or five books (including this one) focused on Bach.  I listen to his works incessantly.  His B minor Mass (courtesy Phoenix Chorale) was, I believe, my single favorite concert ever.

So there's that.

This book is uniquely helpful.  The author writes beautifully and knowledgeably . . . but there is a depth here because the author also is a world-renowned musician who has directed Bach's works with pretty much unprecedented historical accuracy, precision, success.

Gardiner gave me a notion of the utter impossibility of JS Bach - the working conditions, the incredible volume of productivity, the sublime quality.  How could this be??

Gardiner gives me the idea that Bach could only have existed at that moment in that place - maybe that's true for all us, but it's true in an incredibly interesting way for Bach.  Born and bred in an old-school Lutheran style in a society still immersed in its agrarian, seasonal-cycle roots - but exposed to (and benefiting from) modernizing social developments and musical elements, including elements outside Germany.

As I've read elsewhere - the notion (foreign to us today) that someone like Bach was essentially a low-paid clerk-type figure, forced to deal with municipal flunkies, indifferent students, etc.  OK I just overstated that a bit - folks like Bach were recognized as unusual talents in their spheres - but overstated just a bit.  The towering figure of the "artist" did not yet exist.

I need to get to Leipzig, Eisenach, Thomaskirche.

It's really all too incredible. What a gift to us courtesy JS Bach, how does this happen?

The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco, 1980)

Book club selection (via PJr/PJ).

As the years go by, I can see that I will spend more of my reading on re-reading prior books that I found useful.  While this re-read was prompted by book club, I could also have seen myself re-reading it on its own merits.

Discussion from initial read is here.

Enjoyed it more this time around.  I have a better sense of the history, partly because of books like this.  Also, the book is pretty complex - so even though I didn't recall all that many details, it ultimately was helpful to have some familiarity going in (from the prior read).

Eco's "Afterword" is quite interesting.

Guns, Germs and Steel - the Fate of Human Societies (Jared Diamond, 1999)

[Something unusual:  I was reading two books within about a month of each other; both featuring the same cover artwork (second book linked here).]

Diamond's book has gotten a lot of attention so I'm glad I worked through it.  There are lots of very interesting ideas.  But his basic premise seems a little tired - he knocks himself out explaining that different levels of what we call "progress" among different civilizations are not due to intrinsic differences among the peoples.  I'm not sure there's a big audience out there promoting that viewpoint anymore?  Would have been a hot topic decades ago.  Now he just sounds a little boring flogging the "inequality" language.  But whatever.  When he sticks to basic ideas, there is a lot to learn.

Interesting stuff:

1.  Lots of information about the locus of useful plants.  Guess what:  a civilization can make more progress if it is blessed with useful plants.

2.  Same in regard to domesticable animals.  This part is really interesting to me, I had never read much about it.  The list of domesticable animals is pretty short.  Living in proximity to these of course led to disease/immunity implications as Europeans encountered new worlds.(Germs)

3.  He reiterates something I've read elsewhere:  plants and animals travel much better along lines of latitude than they do along lines of longitude.  Seems obvious once you focus on it.  This resulted in diffusion of plants and animals (and, of course, ideas) from China to Portugal.  Much harder for movement North to South America, or north to south in Africa.  Harder than I had realized.

4.  Big game has survived in Africa but has generally been wiped out everywhere else - and pretty shortly after humans showed up in those areas.  The theory:  humans and big game evolved together in Africa.  As humans showed up elsewhere, they found big game with all the savvy of dodo birds (and same outcome).

5.  Hunter-gatherer societies - limited fertility - I hadn't thought about their need to space out children a few years - would not want to be carrying >1.  And how accumulating "stuff" was just a useless idea.

6.  Agriculture, water projects, government, religion, armies, specialization - fascinating. (Guns, Steel)

7.  Like this author, scope is a little too ambitious here - can he really know enough about all the areas and time frames he discusses?

But all in all:  valuable, recommended.

" . . . the official religions and patriotic fervor of many states make their troops willing to fight suicidally.  The latter willingness is one so strongly programmed into us citizens of modern states, by our schools and churches and governments, that we forget what a radical break it marks with previous human history."

The Brewer's Tale - A History of the World According to Beer (William Bostwick, 2014)

I enjoy beer mightily.  As POC 'n NOC know, so this book was a gift from them.

I'm pretty sure there's never been a better time to be a fan of beer.  Quality and variety are both far superior to anything I knew even 10 or 20 years ago (and, it seems, times prior to that).

The author goes through something of a beer tour across time and geography - so the book is pretty ambitious in that sense.  Starts with Babylonians and works up to contemporary.  Interesting throughout, though some of the pieces are more interesting than others.  I will keep the book handy as a reference as I run across various beer styles - useful information but too much detail to remember.

Among other topics:  the beginnings and spread of using hops; "Trappist" definition; world war devastation in Belgium (the breweries there don't have quite the continuity I would have expected); IPAs; porters; saisons; Prohibition and its beneficial effect on the largest U.S. breweries.

The author had the idea to make his own attempt at brewing various of the styles he discussed; that idea could have been dropped.

My Struggle (Book One) (Karl Ove Knausgaard, 2009)

This is the first book of a multi-book series that has created a huge buzz.  The author - Norwegian - writes in great detail about early experiences.  The focus in Book One is on his relationship with his alcoholic father.  But much more ground is covered.

I've read that the percentage of folks in Norway that have read Knausgaard's work is incredibly high, and further that his life has changed for the worse due to resentment by characters in the book who are readily identifiable in the relatively small communities about which he writes.

Lots of comparisons to Proust among the reviewers; even direct references in this Book One.

My tentative conclusion:  (1) Book One is good-not-great, clearly worthwhile however; (2) I think I will read Book Two and see how it goes; (3) depending on how Book Two works out I will either keep going, or drop the project and re-read Proust (which I will do soon in any event).

I realize it's quite early to judge - based on just one book - but so far I don't think the comparison to Proust stands up well.  Part of this may be simply that discussions of things that occurred in the 1980s or 1990s inevitably sound less interesting or exotic than discussions of things from early 20th century?

Alcohol definitely an issue for these folks.

I read that the Mein Kampf-style title for the book was chosen deliberately though I don't recall why.

Owning the Earth - The Transforming History of Land Ownership (Andro Linklater, 2013)

In the end I didn't find this very useful.  The author simply is trying to do too much - there's no way he can be expert about all of the subjects covered.  Also suspect because he is pretty open about his policy orientation - while I of course prefer openness, in this case it supports the impression that the author is applying policy preferences as gap-fillers as he comments on just about everything under the sun.

The author tells us that the genesis of the book is his effort to explain the financial "crisis" circa 2008 - as he looked for explanations he kept coming back to the importance of land ownership - then the arc of the book changed and he indicates that he wrote a different book than intended.

It's certainly not startling to assert that land ownership policies are important.  He tries to address the topic across the globe and across the centuries, inevitably supplemented by observations about social and political systems - to repeat, there's just no way he can be sufficiently knowledgeable to knit all these pieces together.

So I read pretty closely for a hundred pages or so - and there are plenty of interesting ideas floating around.  Government policy matters immensely, but it needs to take into account local history, etc.  Nothing startling here.

Reminded me of Dierdre McCloskey in describing why there was nothing inevitable about the economic progress of northern Europe (including England), though he comes from a different ideological perspective.  China, Middle East - examples of areas more advanced than Europe, but failed to advance.

Seems to adopt the standard narrative on lots of issues . . .  The Road to Serfdom tellingly described as a "savage hymn"; also throws in some standard-issue CEO bashing (not sure how it fit the story line, but then again he did start from 2008 perspective - of course with no mention that government policy might have had a role).  The selfishness and greed memes become tiresome.

Interesting discussion comparing serfs (eastern Europe) and peasants (western Europe) with analogous discussions regarding other geographies.  I'd like to come back to this part of the discussion.

History of the Conquest of Peru (William H. Prescott, 1847)

Much enjoyed Prescott's write-up of the conquest of Mexico; had forgotten to follow up on this second key work until recent NOC-POC Peru trip led to discussions.  I'd prefer the Mexico book over the Peru book if pressed - but both are quite delightful.  The only downside on the Peru book is that so much of the story line is devoted to infighting among the Spanish conquerors - including several of the quite vigorous Pizarro brothers.

My favorite part of the book was the descriptions of the Inca empire prior to arrival of the Spaniards - if accurate, these folks were ridiculously well organized.  Roads, food system, religious, etc.  Yet they never figured out the wheel; very primitive writing.  As discussed in this book, and also here - Peru such a unique environment - so many micro-climates at such a low latitude - they could grow pretty much anything.

Pizarro benefited from lucky timing - arriving during a period of heightened imperial infighting - similar to Cortez in this respect.

But the courage, or madness, of the tiny group of adventurers is simply breathtaking.  Also borrowed from Cortez:  the bold abduction of the emperor.  The room full of gold.

How quickly the system fell apart once the emperor was taken; how quickly and permanently the changes wrought via the Spaniards reduced the country.

And how little long-term benefit to Spain - the ongoing myth that it was enriched - visible to Prescott - ". . . the wealth thus suddenly acquired, by diverting them from the slow but surer and more permanent sources of national prosperity, has in the end glided from their grasp, and left them among the poorest of the nations of Christendom."  Exploiting colonies wasn't a great strategy except for a handful of insiders, as discussed here.

Rampant inflation.

Charles V needing cash for wars - influx of precious metals helped in short run.

A younger Pizarro brother makes an incredible journey into the Amazon.

Definitely stranger than fiction.

Lina & Serge - The Love & Wars of Lina Prokofiev (Simon Morrison, 2013)

A very interesting and personal (due to access to family correspondence) look at what happened to Lina Prokofiev - and also of great interest from a general-historical perspective as her experiences unfold across the big events of the 20th century, with a focus on Russia.

(Also the story is made more interesting to us as we learn more about, and increasingly like, Prokofiev's music; for example Alexander Nevsky (performed with MusicFest in 2013), plus his second piano concerto performed with Phoenix Symphony by the 2013 Van Cliburn winner while I was in the midst of this book.)

Lina's mother was Russian; her father was Spanish; she tended to identify with the Russian side due to a grandmother.  The parents were actor/singer types of mediocre stature; ended up in U.S. to do performances, so Lina mostly grew up here, mostly in NY.  She aspired to be a singer - nice soprano voice but not quite enough.  Family was well-connected in Russian emigre circles.  She meets the talented Serge Prokofiev - somewhat struggling to break through notwithstanding his talent - and fell in love with him.  Serge seemed to behave mostly like a jerk throughout; she follows him to Europe; he finally agrees to marry after a number of years (once she's pregnant).

1930s - for propaganda purposes, Stalin wants Russian artists to come home (many had fled in aftermath of Bolshevik revolution) - Serge and Lina are enticed to return with promises of special treatment, honors, artistic freedom, etc.  Misgivings; they are tailed while in Paris during this time; but Serge felt the opportunity would be better in the Soviet Union, especially based on a Potemkin tour, I'll call it, arranged while they were considering their decision.

Once there - not possible to defect.  Some relatively good times early and they did live with special privileges; this fluctuates as Serge moves in and out of favor; Lina's singing career doesn't take off though they do perform together some; she is suspect to the authorities because of friendships with foreigners via embassies.  Tense, difficult, quite unimaginable.

Serge falls in love with a younger woman; is evacuated from Moscow as Hitler invades; Lina left behind to cope, with their two sons.  She was able to get excused after a day or so from the amazing tasks performed by the citizen teams digging tank traps on Moscow periphery - in favor of a desk job - but endured the bombing and food shortages (all as discussed here).  After the war - she's sent to the gulag for a 10-year sentence (or a "tenner" as these were called in Solzhenitsyn's book).  Just an amazing story, and she must have been a really tough individual.  Eventually released after Stalin dies.

Sad and sad.  Compelling throughout.  What folks like this lived through = just unbelievable.