Tribe - On Homecoming and Belonging (Sebastian Junger, 2016)

(136 pages)

Short; built atop a Vanity Fair article; thought it might be of interest as I try to be more thoughtful about group or tribe behavior.  Author served as a correspondent from several war zones - not military, but constantly around military and in combat areas.  PTSD.

Main thesis - he observes the closeness of soldiers - or even civilians in war zones (Sarajevo) - then he provides some historical examples (London during the Blitz) - the connectedness, how many feel these were the best times of their lives notwithstanding the horrible parts.  Suicide rates drop in these horrible situations, etc.  Then he focuses on evolution - thinking back over millennia - where humans evolved in small bands regularly dealing with common threats, again close connectedness - this is the normal, this is how we're wired.  Then he focuses on the atomization of modern society - wealthy sure, but loss of connectedness.  Examples like 9/11 - where there was a short-term sense of connection - but quickly dissipates.

Most of us will never be called upon to protect ourselves or our loved ones or our communities against an actual imminent threat - everything outsourced to military and police.  A good approach but author points out the immense change from the environment in which we evolved.  Discourages connectedness.

None of this is new, but he has an interesting and useful perspective.  We're not going back in time, so we need to consider how better to connect, and how to be more patient with the frustrations experienced by the disconnected.

He compares the experiences of WWII vets to the current crop - much dislikes "thank you for your service" platitudes, recognition at sporting events - he feels vets want to be re-integrated (especially in the job market), not to have their separateness emphasized.

Storm Lake - A Chronicle of Change, Resilience, and Hope from a Heartland Newspaper (Art Cullen, 2018)

(317 pages)

Author is my brother-in-law - who won Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in April 2017 - obviously quite an achievement.  This leads to book opportunities with top publishing houses - they eventually settle on Viking (which the frontispiece tells me is an "imprint of Penguin Random House") i.e. a real deal.

The guy can write.

I cannot evaluate the book in any objective manner (of course I'm not a professional (or even amateur) reviewer anyway so who cares - I keep this website as a memory aid anyway).  Some reasons why an objective evaluation is impossible:

• There are quite a few family references interspersed throughout - I very much enjoy the way they are handled.  Especially the interactions with my dad - which are fairly significant to the exposition - Art captures him quite well!  These passages are highly interesting to me.

• Then there are all of the Iowa references, including many from the 1960s or 1970s - author's path has more overlap with mine than I had realized - again, highly interesting to me.

• I came to the book with a decent level of familiarity with Storm Lake's unique demographics and challenges (and opportunities) - so pretty well versed on that part (meaning I read through these pages pretty quickly).

For readers who pick this up "cold" - I expect there's quite a bit to learn via the Storm Lake story - this at a time when immigration issues are front and center - quite a few positive aspects here.  Also for this group of "cold" readers - I hope they can relate somewhat to the story elements revolving around the family.  Hard to know.

Useful discussions of the evolution of agriculture and resulting social changes.

Perhaps my main reaction:  deeply grateful that someone with actual writing skills has chronicled a few of the pieces of our family's story line.  That is highly valuable to me.

Art & Dolores have a lot to be proud of.

In the First Circle (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, written between 1955-1958; this translation 2009)

(741 pages)

Solzhenitsyn is amazing - a favorite.

First read this book almost 13 years ago in a version that Solzhenitsyn had self-censored in hopes of getting it published in the USSR - which didn't happen.  This - the full version - became available in English translation a few years ago.  Delightful re-read; the full version is an improvement (though I was thoroughly satisfied with the first version that I had read).

Not difficult to see why many compare his works to those of Dostoevsky - prolonged discussions of ethical or philosophical matters; stand-alone chapters; many characters interacting.

Solzhenitsyn so effective at weaving into the story the effects of the socialist system on persons from all walks of Russian life - not just the prisoners - returning veterans, stranded spouses (typically wives), the stress on the jailers and officials, Stalin's loneliness, etc.  Pretty much everything corrupted.

Innokenty's decision.  Lubyanka.

Zeks in the sharaska live so well compared to the camps (after all, it's only the First Circle! (yes it's a Dante allusion)) - but facing ethical decisions - typically the scientific projects involved devices used to imprison folks! - is it ethical to assist with this project - when succeeding at it might be the zek's only hope of ever being released from the gulag (with profound positive implications not just for the zek - but also for the stranded spouse and other family members)?  Returning to the camps if fail or refuse to cooperate?

Main character is Gleb Nerzhin (imprisoned mostly for having spent time as a POW in a German camp) - he faces this ethical issue.  As do Sologdin and Gerasimovich.  Gleb discussing ideas with various folks as he tries to find his way.  As the story progresses, Gleb interacts more and more with Spiridon - a peasant whose story line illustrates the ways that those folks lived through those times, for better or worse.  Some folk wisdom.

Excellent throughout but - as I felt in the first reading - the chapter where Gleb is visited by his spouse (Nadya) - is just a knockout, heartbreaking.  Solzhenitsyn knew about this, had experienced it.  (Following chapter - where Gerasimovich is visited by his spouse - also very fine.)

One of my favorite bloggers recently read this book for his first time, loved it, did a virtual book club on it - so I listened to a couple podcasts - I hadn't realized that Solzhenitsyn's personal background incorporated so many elements of this story.  What a life he led.

The letters from Dyrsin's wife.

Rubin - dedicated communist yet well-liked.

The "relationship" decisions faced by the prisoner and the spouse over so many years - continued marriage to a prisoner almost certainly preventing meaningful education or employment - and opportunities with others - ach.

Etc.  Wonderful - a gift to run across works like this.