The Taste of Empire - How Britain's Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World (Lizzie Collingham, 2017)

(276 pages)

I had much enjoyed another one of the author's books - that earlier one focused moreso on Indian food and its evolution via British influence - so gave this one a shot.  I liked it quite a bit, though not quite sure of the takeaway. I think the main perspective was that globally-shipped, high-efficiency (in growing) food items were gaining sway a lot earlier than I would have realized.

A cool device was providing a recipe at the beginning of each chapter to anchor the development of key ingredients.

Gemini's summary:

In The Taste of Empire, Lizzie Collingham provides a comprehensive historical analysis of how the British Empire was shaped by the fundamental human need for food. Moving away from traditional political or military narratives, Collingham argues that the empire was essentially a vast global food system, driven by the necessity of feeding a growing domestic population and the commercial desire for new commodities.

The book explores the intricate "web of trade" that connected distant corners of the globe:

Commercial Expansion: It details how the pursuit of stable food sources, such as North Atlantic cod and Caribbean sugar, laid the groundwork for early colonial infrastructure.

Logistical Innovation: Collingham highlights the incredible organizational feats required to transport perishable goods across oceans, which spurred advancements in shipping, preservation, and global finance.

Cultural Exchange: The narrative shows how the British palate became "internationalized," adopting products like tea from China and spices from India, while simultaneously introducing European farming techniques and crops to the Americas and Australia.

While the book acknowledges the disruptions caused by these shifts—such as the transition from local subsistence to export-based economies—its primary focus is on the interconnectivity of the imperial era. Collingham illustrates how the modern globalized food market, characterized by the year-round availability of diverse ingredients, is the direct descendant of this historical British mercantile network.

Macbeth (William Shakespeare, 1606)

A classic I'd not read in many years - there it was on Kindle, so I read it.  Much enjoyed.

Story line is familiar - witches prophecy, Macbeth gets ambitious (with assist from his wife), Macbeth kills the kind of Scotland and takes over; further murders to try to cement his position.  Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth overcome with guilt (I had forgotten the scenes where she sleepwalks trying to wash the blood off her hands).

Banquo's ghost! Birnam Wood moves! Beware Macduff - born via C-section! 

Tons of familiar quotes. Shakespeare talent unreal.

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day... / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing."

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Parts I-II)

Another famous book included in the "Harvard Classics" so I gave it a try.

Franklin's early years - a unique look at life in the colonies in the decades prior to the Revolutionary War.

All of this was fascinating but for whatever reason I just didn't get into the writing. I don't plan to finish this.

Early days.  Franklin learns the printing business and makes a success of it.  Poor Richard's Almanac. The Franklin stove.  Lending libraries.  He was an effective businessman and entrepreneur even in the early portions that I was reading.  Perhaps I would have enjoyed the Revolutionary War days and his time as an ambassador in Paris more?

Winter's Tale (Mark Helprin, 1983)

(748 pages)

My third Helprin book. I was caught up in it and looked forward to picking it up, but didn't love it.

Here is a Google Gemini 100-word summary:

"Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale is a sprawling work of magical realism primarily set in a mythical, snowbound New York City spanning the turn of the 20th century into the millennium.

The narrative centers on Peter Lake, an Irish orphan and master-mechanic turned thief, who is pursued by the sinister gang leader Pearly Soames. Peter is aided by a mysterious, flying white horse named Athansor. Breaking into a mansion, he encounters and falls instantly in love with Beverly Penn, a wealthy, visionary young woman dying of consumption.

After Beverly's tragic death, Peter escapes his pursuers by vanishing into a timeless cloud wall. He re-emerges decades later with amnesia, his ultimate quest to shatter time, bring back the dead, and achieve a perfectly just city, guided by the enduring power of his impossible love."

It's pretty accurate for just 100 words. The limit doesn't allow mentioning other key characters, such as Virginia Gamely - resident in Lake of the Coheeries. This small upstate town, often snowbound, is where the Penn family (Isaac, father of Beverly and also of Harry - he ran a newspaper that was central to the story (The Sun) summered. There was a bridge builder named Jackson Mead, who isn't bound by time.

A problem is that the themes (mentioned above as "quests") just don't really go anywhere. But it's interesting to think about.

The Siege of Berlin and other stories (Alphonse Daudet, 1873)

Poking through the "Harvard Classics," I gave a try to this set of five or six stories. Rather patriotic in tone by this French author; stories are set in the Franco-Prussian was of 1870 (a disaster for France). Characters without much depth. Super easy read but not particularly recommended. 

Two Years Before the Mast (Richard Henry Dana Jr., 1840)

I enjoyed this book a ton, a favorite. I had heard of the movie (which doesn't seem to track the book all that closely) but was unfamiliar with the book.  Found it in a $0.99 edition of the Harvard Classics - thousands of pages mostly comprised of classics in the way we thought of them 50 years ago (meaning high quality, enduring content - unashamedly Western Civ focused).

Google's summary is below, it's good enough.

Absolutely unique in mostly being told from the perspective of the ordinary sailor - the unusual circumstance of a college boy taking on this role for health reasons.

All the detail one could want about shipboard life, the terminology, the tasks; the excitement going around Cape Horn; dealing with storms; adjusting rigging in ice (the expertise required to make the decisions that led to the commands that were so difficult to execute).

They are engaged in the "hide" trade in California. This is a rare description of California in those days - starting all the way down in San Diego and moving all the way up to San Francisco - interesting to read about places with which we are so familiar. Santa Barbara, Monterey.  The "hides" were acquired from the few ranchers established in this part of the world - difficult work collecting them and then getting them through the rocks and surf onto the landing vessels, then rowing to the main vessel anchored offshore.  I hadn't thought about this part before - life prior to docks and cranes and the like was so difficult for the sailors - they handled these duties on top of their usual sailing tasks. Picked up Sandwich Islanders (Hawaiians) for assistance with labor.

I really liked the postscript that was added about 20 years after publication - the author goes back to California and finds out that most everyone had read his book.  He learns that not a few of the persons named in the book were still there in California.

Great read, just what I like. 

_______________________

"Two Years Before the Mast is Richard Henry Dana Jr.'s famous 1840 memoir about his two-year voyage as a common sailor from Boston to California in the mid-1830s, detailing the harsh life at sea, the brutality of captains, and the culture of pre-Gold Rush California, making it a classic of American maritime literature. The book, based on his diary, offers a realistic and vivid account of the hardships, adventures, and the hide trade, and it served as a powerful commentary on the poor conditions for sailors. 

Key aspects of the book:

Author's motivation: Dana, a Harvard student, left for the sea due to eye problems, seeking adventure and a remedy for his ailment. 

Content: It vividly describes the treacherous journey around Cape Horn, the daily life of a sailor, the cruelty of officers, and the beauty of the natural world, including whales and icebergs. 

Historical significance: It provides an invaluable, firsthand look at the California coast before the Gold Rush, documenting the hide trade and the people of Mexican California. 

Impact: The book was an instant classic, influencing writers like Herman Melville, and remains a significant work for its realism and social commentary on the plight of sailors."

How the Spanish Empire was Built - a 400-Year History (Fernandez-Armesto and Lucena Giraldo, 2024)

(309 pages)

Pretty quick read; not as interesting as I expected.  Something it helped me think about - the incredible distances spanned by the "empire" - also the lack of local skilled workers or many components essential to building anything - just didn't exist in the New World. A real challenge to get anything done. 

Also interesting - we have spent a fair amount of time in areas of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico that were part of the build-out effort - helps appreciate what was attempted, some of the challenges, etc.

I was reading "Two Years Before the Mast" on Kindle at the same time as reading this book, and it was quite interesting hearing the historians describe California areas and travel by ship while reading an account from early/mid 18th century. 

Here's Google Gemini's 150-word summary:

"The Spanish Empire, despite Spain's initial status as a relatively poor and disunited kingdom, grew into the largest realm the world had ever seen, spanning four continents for centuries. Beginning with Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage, Spain's drive for wealth and Catholicism led to the conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires and vast expansion across the Americas, financed by American gold and silver.

This history highlights the crucial role of "engineers"—including soldiers, priests, and master craftsmen—who built the infrastructure of roads, ports, fortifications, and missions that managed communications and sustained the overstretched global monarchy. The empire was characterized by a complex mix of oppression and collaboration, with investments in infrastructure benefiting both the Spanish crown and local elites, ultimately shaping the cultural, social, and economic realities of the modern world."

A House of Gentlefolk (Ivan Turgenev, 1859)

I hadn't heard of this work but there it was in the "free" section on Kindle. Having a lot of time around the house what with radiation treatments etc., I gave it a run - and much enjoyed. Turgenev of course a great writer and I'm happy I ran across this.

Google Gemini's 200-word summary - 

"Published in 1859, Ivan Turgenev’s A House of Gentlefolk (also known as Home of the Gentry) is a bittersweet exploration of duty, lost opportunities, and the clash between Russian tradition and Western influence.

The Story

The novel follows Fyodor Lavretsky, a nobleman who returns to his Russian estate after discovering his wife Varvara’s infidelity in Paris. Seeking a quiet, meaningful life close to the soil, Lavretsky visits his cousin, Marya Kalitina, and becomes captivated by her daughter, Liza.

Liza is a deeply religious, morally steadfast young woman who represents a "pure" Russian spirit. Despite their age difference and Lavretsky’s marital status, they fall in love. When Lavretsky reads a report in a foreign journal claiming Varvara has died, he confesses his love to Liza, and they envision a future together.

The Turning Point

Their hope is shattered when Varvara suddenly arrives in Russia, very much alive and seeking money. Bound by religious and social duty, Liza refuses to build happiness on the ruin of a marriage. She enters a convent to seek redemption through suffering. Lavretsky, resigned to his fate, returns to his estate to age in solitude."

Those Days: An American Album (Richard Critchfield, 1986)

(419 pages)

I think I learned more about the day-to-day lives of my great grandparents and grandparents in this book than anywhere else. The author is a novelist who had the idea of writing up something of a family history - only he had the idea early enough to capture wonderful source materials from his grandparents and parents while they were still around, and his professional skill allowed him to put it together in book format that stayed interesting (one exception, below).

His parents' families were centered in Iowa and North Dakota, and most of the book's action ends up in North Dakota. But it mirrors (and greatly expands upon) so much of what I've heard about those generations in NW Iowa - details of farming; details of the way the households operated; activities in towns as those towns matured; all set against some pretty empty land that was filling up pretty quickly. Town baseball team. First car; first tractor. Threshing crews. Blizzards. Horses.

The author's father farmed for some years and the descriptions are great; then he was able to go to med school and he became the country doc.  Lots of descriptions here of making house calls, etc. The family moved into town so descriptions of that type of life.

The author's father developed a drinking problem and also was unfaithful to his marriage; for my taste, the author took too much time explaining all this, I didn't really care.  But it was an important factor in the family history, I suppose. 

This was a lucky find, much enjoyed.   

Revolutionary Spring - Europe Aflame and The Fight for a New World 1848-1849 (Christopher Clark, 2023)

(754 pages)

This took a while to read but was thoroughly worth it. The events of these two years are amazing. 

Google Gemini's 150-word blurb:

"Christopher Clark's Revolutionary Spring provides a panoramic history of the 1848 revolutions that swept across Europe, arguing against the traditional view of them as a failure. Instead, he casts the simultaneous continental upheavals as "the particle collision chamber" of the nineteenth century, a critical turning point that profoundly shaped the future.

Clark traces the origins of the revolts to a mix of economic precarity, social inequality, and a collision of emergent political ideologies, including liberalism, radicalism, and nationalism. The book vividly recounts the rapid spread of uprisings, constitutional changes, and the subsequent, often ruthless, counter-revolution. He highlights how the movements forced open debates on social rights, democracy, and capitalism. Though short-lived, the 1848 revolutions left a profound and lasting legacy on European political thought and public life."

Part of my interest was the rather strange times we're going through here in the 2020s. Donald Trump's emergence (going back to mid 2010s) has been and remains, for reasons I don't really grasp, a perceived threat to the way political business has been done in the US for decades. A dire threat. There exists a continuing resistance that certainly reminds of mid-19th century elements described in this book.

Though vast differences. The French Revolution and the Napoleonic era had stirred the pot of sentiments that hadn't really developed previously - national identity, the desire for a constitution, political viewpoints arranged left to right (or vice versa) - all this getting more and more refined.

Similar problems as today - the leadership of the left somehow refused "to have any enemies on the left" - leaving them stuck with positions that just didn't have much support. Mazzini’s idea for Italy - that the revolution needed the blood of martyrs to feed success - sounds familiar. The familiar trope of students locking themselves into university buildings - always way too sure of themselves. A bunch of folks who take advantage of unrest to just plain loot.

When the excitement and glamour of change and revolution flips to mundane matters of governance - much harder. Most governments conceded some form of constitution, though some retook control through different methods than prior to the revolutions. 

Different types of revolutionaries. Poor people who wanted better wages, or even just food, some poor harvests were involved here (timing of potato famine?) Then the more theoretical types who were looking for social change, a constitution, etc.  Often minimal understanding of the poor or rural folk.  Elements of the “haves” v. “have-mores” a driver as much as the “have-nots” as drivers.

Widespread across Europe - astonishing scope and speed.

Little preparation - groups assemble to fill a governance void.  Existing regimes often in a position to regain.  Parliaments that might end up supporting monarchy - for a while.

Louis Kossuth incredibly popular - led to naming places after him (such as Kossuth County, Iowa). His popularity did wane however.

This just scratches the surface, a lot to learn here.  I think. 

Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1946)

It's such a good book. Orwell "gets" it. Worth an occasional re-read.

I feel pretty much the same about the book as when I wrote this summary on this blog back in 2011:

"The story is familiar.

The inevitable end-point of centralized political/ideological control:  "All animals are equal.  But some are more equal than others."  Boxer's death - compelling. 

I haven't read this since high school.  I'm sure it was quite interesting in high school - but (as often when I think of books read back then) - I wonder what I then thought of it.  I pretty much read it in an information vacuum.  Now - nigh 40 years later - have had the benefit of much more reading about Russia, Communism, the Spanish Civil War, political environment when this was written in the 1940s.  Maybe I get half of Orwell's allusions now?  What percentage did I get in high school (when I wouldn't have even known about Leon Trotsky)?  What percentage if I read this again in 20 years?

Another thing I hadn't realized was the extent of Orwell's commitment to socialism - given the nature of the book, I would have assumed he opposed.  But the foreword to this edition indicates that he was then a true believer - had fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Soviet-supported government against the Nazi (fascist)-supported rebels - but left after seeing the murderous nature of the Russian "support."  Animal Farm was supposed to debunk the myth of the Russian version of socialism, to help prospects in other socialist systems. 

Good.  Short.  Effective."

The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese (2023)

Rose picked this for book club. Kind of long but it was OK. The second time we've been asked to read a Verghese book.

Thought it would be duplicative of the other book, but no so much. 

Kerala as a place of interest, I just know it’s different but not so much why.  Water! Much more criss-cross with the west than many other places in India - catholics, islam, etc. Roman coin hoards, Hard for the Mughuls to make headway. 

100 years of solitude feel - overlapping names in the generations.

The idea that Elsie didn't much love Phillipose, even told him that she believed he would not interfere with her work. 

A little weird that young Elsie guiding Digby's hand was too much like a lover.

Big Ammachi is a fine character - kind of central to the book. She is married into a family that experiences death through water or drowning, sometimes in odd ways, repeating over generations.

Her husband also an incredibly fine human

The way Digby’s hand was repaired (somewhat) - I just ran into that in an X post. Had no idea. 

A version of Matron from the prior book was a key character here.

The Communist stuff always strikes me as absurd - meaning the author probably described it accurately! Lenin Evermore, of course. 

Even tossed in a reference to liberation theology - same.

The idea of the Western Ghats as a protective barrier.

The elephant - huh? 

So much leprosy.  Digby immunity impressive.  

Death of the Dream - Farmhouses in the Heartland (William G. Gabler, 1999)

(128 pages)

Gift from my parents a couple decades back - I had seen it at their home and requested a copy. The book is based on a PBS series documenting (mostly through photos, though I've not seen the documentary) the types of homes built on prairie farms in late 19th century and on into the 20th century. This book is focused on south-southwest Minnesota and the homes look just like those common on the farms I grew up around in the 1960s.

Beautiful photography; evocative; sad - as happened with the home I grew up in and my grandparents' "house on the hill" - after no one lived there any more, the homes fell apart in a pretty consistent pattern. The photos in this book were taken when the homes were in this falling-apart condition.  We have similar photos of the two homes I mention ("house on the hill" being more similar in design to the SW Minnesota homes in this book). There are a few photos included of select homes in their "prime", with family members included.

Much enjoyed, including the 38-page text beginning chapter that provides good background on the arrival of the settlers and the construction of these homes.

I'm glad to own this.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain - In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life (George Saunders, 2021)

(408 pages)

In The Cart

The Singers

The Darling

Master and Man

The Nose

Gooseberries

Alyosha the Pot

Re-read for me, I picked it for book club.  Things I talked about -

A book celebrating these peerless Russian authors and learning to write - or more pertinently to me, to READ.  Seven short stories plus discussion around each.

That made this book well worth some contradictions.  I don’t really love the short story format; you just get used to a few characters and then - it’s over. I was kind of disappointed in some of the stories Saunders selected. I got tired of his preaching.  

The contrast to Lonesome Dove. Big canvas; led me to War & Peace.

Two good rules: Be entertaining.  Advance the story in a non-trivial way.

The Cart - was Marya changed by remembering childhood happily?

The Singers - I really liked this, especially his efforts to describe music (the indescribable, I’ve tried). Keyed to the reactions of the audience, especially the wife (sharp-nosed and quick-eyed tradeswoman). (Kind of rich – in The Singers, he is criticizing Turgenev for running on and on, apparently not understanding that he is doing a far worse job of it himself. Plus, I like Turgenev’s running on!)

Too much analysis = yuck. 

This collection is worth it for Master and Man alone. 

Grappling with spirituality - the moment when the master decides to devote himself. Difficult to write about that something “larger than ourselves” - but it works, quite a moment.

In the first few pages after Master and Man, Saunders talks about opinion and fact, that Tolstoy here is pure fact. Compare War and Peace - all sorts of opinions about Napoleon, war, etc. Here:  “It’s mostly just descriptions of people doing things.”  Perfect. Saunders is helping me read better.

The “facts” of being out in that snow for anyone who’s lived there.  Billy Devine’s corncrib. 

        Page 219. Reminds me of my reaction to the snow drift sections.

        How Tolstoy goes into the master’s mind as he tries to sleep. Everyone familiar with this from night experiences of difficult situations - tell yourself not to think about it; select something happier to think about; keep trying; maybe drift off but there it is again! Saunders discusses section 6 of the story at page 232 (the part where master and man are in the cart overnight).

The Nose - can anyone find something of value either in the story, or in the author’s notes? I liked Dead Souls, but this?

At 331, Chekhov uses the same technique to describe beauty as Turgenev does to describe music in the singers. Here: “The moment when Pelageya stops Ivan and Burkin in their tracks with her good looks.” 

At 336-7 is a key for my readings of Chekhov.  Saunders best work appears here (or is it just because I agree with it?!) The idea of Checkov having clear views, weakly held. Start at “interested in everything but not wedded to any fixed system of belief” and read the highlights.

Refer to page 381 re Russian history. Saunders cites the 70-year explosion (mostly literature but some music)! How does it fit in with Russian Revolution, Stalin, etc. I’ve wondered about this.

The Berrybender Narratives (Larry McMurtry, 2002-04)

I enjoyed "Lonesome Dove" enough (recent book club selection per Chris) to give this McMurtry book a try.  While I didn't like it nearly as much, I did it find it drawing me in.  It was four separate novels and I read the entire work in one shot. 

Things I especially liked - vignettes on the Plains; travel on the Missouri; scenes set in so many of the famous frontier towns, north to south; working in key figures such as Jim Bridger, Kit Carson and others; helping me imagine the lives of people in those times (though nobody lived like the Berrybenders). 

Sin Killer was a great character; he would have been tough to live with however. The Berrybinder women were weird, I kind of got tired of their schtick.

Gemini's 200-word summary:

"Set in the 1830s, the series follows the Berrybenders, a wealthy, eccentric, and hopelessly unprepared family of English aristocrats who embark on a grand hunting expedition across the American West. Led by the drunken and irresponsible Lord Berrybender, the family travels up the Missouri River and across the Great Plains, encountering the brutal realities of the frontier that their privilege cannot protect them from.

As they journey toward Santa Fe and eventually Texas, the narrative shifts from a dark comedy of manners to a harrowing tale of survival. The family faces starvation, Indian raids, and internal dysfunction. By the end of the saga, the "civilized" veneer of the Berrybenders is stripped away, leaving only a few survivors to reckon with the unforgiving landscape and the high cost of their father’s folly.

Main Characters

Tasmin Berrybender: The eldest daughter and the story’s true protagonist. Strong-willed, intelligent, and adaptable, she evolves from a sheltered aristocrat into a rugged survivor.

Jim Snow (The Sin Killer): A fierce frontiersman and part-time preacher who becomes Tasmin’s husband. He is a man of few words and sudden violence, representing the raw spirit of the West.

Lord Berrybender: The family patriarch. His obsession with hunting buffalo and his general incompetence serve as the catalyst for the family’s many disasters.

Pomp Charbonneau: The son of Sacagawea, he acts as a sophisticated guide who provides a bridge between the European travelers and the wilderness."

Beowulf (Old English, 8th century(?))

I had never read this and saw it as a Kindle item - so why not? Seems like it's the kind of thing that should be read.  

But it is rather hard to follow. Beowulf crosses some body of water to hep King Hrothgar of Denmark - Hrothgar's royal hall is regularly attacked at night by a monster named Grendel. Beowulf pledges to defeat the monster without using weapons, and succeeds by tearing off Grendel's arm, after which Grendel dies.

They celebrate - but on the next (or one of the next) night Grendel's nasty mother (a swamp resident) attacks the hall and kills a key warrior. Beowulf gets into Ma's underwater den and kills her by using a giant's sword conveniently found there.  

Beowulf goes home and becomes king.  The story then jumps forward ~50 years. A dragon with an immense treasure hoard (Smaug-like!) is disturbed by a thief and starts attacking the kingdom. Beowulf and a few warriors go to take on the dragon.  All the men but one abandon Beowulf.  But he gets the job done, though mortally wounded.

Didn't take much time, I didn't love reading it but am glad I did. 

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (William Shakespeare, 1599-1601)

Another Shakespeare classic that somehow I've never read.  I wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but found the story entirely engaging.  

Yes, it is a tragedy! The ghost of Hamlet's murdered father sets much of the plot in motion. Hamlet unhappy with his uncle (the murderer) who took over the throne as well as Hamlet's mother. Questions about Hamlet's sanity. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern aren't good friends to Hamlet and pay a price.  Ophelia (now I get the pre-Raphaelite painting). Polonius, Laertes. 

More famous quotes than I knew, examples - 

• to thine own self be true
• neither a borrower nor a lender be
• more honored in the breach than the observance
• something is rotten in the state of Denmark
• There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy
• Brevity is the soul of wit.
• Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
• To be, or not to be, that is the question.
• The lady protests too much, methinks

Really happy to have read this, long overdue.

An Iowa Album - A Photographic History, 1860-1920 (Mary Bennett, 1990)

(319 pages)

I have several books about Iowa that were given to me by my parents - back in the days when I told my mom that was the preferred gift when she inquired about Christmas presents.  This is one of them,

And it was a joy to parse through.  The years 1860-1920, at least the latter half, were years through which my great-grandparents and grandparents passed - and many of the photographs and descriptive text resonate closely to what little I picked up from them about those early years.  Also resonates with the photos and text in the marvelous 1976 St. Joseph Parish history book that my parents did so much to put together.

I was born in 1956, and was struck by how close in time that birth-year was to the events and lifestyle in the latter part of this book. Nearly 70 years later, those events and lifestyle seem very far away indeed.

Early settlers; rapid growth; evolution of agricultural techniques; nicer homes; arrival of railroads; nascent automobile presence; the towns grow up.

The book is focused on photography, and has interesting information about available methods and equipment throughout the period.

Much enjoyed reading, and I will continue to page through this one.   

The Remains of the Day (Kazuo Ishiguro, 1988)

(245 pages)

Written in the voice of a butler (Stevens) who served in an important English hall for decades, serving under the rather famous Lord Darlington.  The service period included the difficult years between the two world wars and continued through and beyond the hall's postwar purchase by a wealthy American (as Britain declined economically).

Remarkable accomplishment by the author - uses, almost exclusively, the carefully restrained voice of a professional butler - and also manages to communicate deep, believable emotions.

At the behest of the new owner (who is leaving the hall to spend some weeks in his native US), Stevens borrows the owner's car and takes a tour by motor car into the English countryside.  The book sets out the butler's description of the trip and various topics about which he muses during it.

Long discussions about professionalism in the early going, what makes a "great" butler. There were demanding positions, especially in the years when a large staff was required.

Stevens muses about his father - also a high-end butler, he came to work under the younger Stevens late in his life.  An example of the protagonist-butler prioritizing his work commitments over his butler-father. Pursuing "greatness" - hmmm.

Mostly protective of Lord Darlington, but notes - and eventually completely admits - some serious chinks.  Efforts to help Germany ameliorate the punitive Versailles peace treaty - a goal shared by many - turn into a period where Lord Darlington is a useful idiot for the rising Nazi regime.

The butler (Stevens) thinks a lot about a housekeeper (Miss Kenton) who he worked closely with at Darlington Hall, often at odds, and who left the hall to get married.  Stevens characterized the relationship as professional until admitting at the end of the book that it was (and could/should have been) quite a lot more.

Concludes somehow on a hopeful note - Stevens hopes to learn how to banter. 

The Oceans and the Stars (Mark Helprin, 2023)

(493 pages) 

Respected career naval officer runs afoul of POTUS in a meeting because the officer can't do anything except speak with complete honesty. Assigned as punishment to be captain of a small ship - he had championed the prototype though it's decided no more will be built. So it's a one-of-a-kind vessel.  Things get hot in the Middle East and the protagonist takes the ship and a hastily-assembled crew of Navy folks and a half-dozen SEALS into action.  A lot of action!

And I very much liked the action sequences - lots of detail about operations and weaponry of the modern Navy, also the skillsets of the SEALs.  This was very good, I was impressed.  Seems like the author knows a lot about this.

Less good were the characters - this part of the book was comparatively weak.  The protagonist and his lover were idealized (the love story part very meh); the terrorists were without a shred of humanity; the law firm, naval career types, politicians including POTUS were completely shallow. Some of the crew characters were pretty interesting.

There is a court martial - this part was OK, of course his lawyer is superb-plus.

Some cranky comments here but I very much enjoyed the book and was tugged right along.

Kim (Rudyard Kipling, 1901)

Re-read of another previously-enjoyed book.  The Anecdotal Evidence guy continues to enthuse so I gave it another quick run-through.

Here are my notes from first read, they are a pretty good summary.

I had forgotten that the "Great Game" aspect was not central to the main parts of the book; this is a strength.  

Papyrus - The Invention of Books in the Ancient World (Irene Vallejo, 2022)

(384 pages) (gift from Paul Jr & Nedda)

So many interesting things going on; hard to summarize the book though the title actually does a pretty good job. I take books for granted. This explains lots about the path from oral tradition to writings to writings-in-book-form, and about how some of the oldest texts somehow survived.  The author does this in a consistently interesting way.

Lots of focus on ancient Greece - where it all started - lots on the Library of Alexandria and the Ptolemies (Alexander the Great local successors) spending lots of money sending emissaries in an effort to collect every book in existence.

Some thoughts - 

--How the ancient epics survived and evolved relying on memory and storytellers.  Once written down, the tale settles into fixed format - probably a good thing but still. 

--Why it makes sense that poetry and singing dominated when memory was the primary or only method of preservation - think of how we can remember poems and songs compared to prose. (From grade school, one of the few verbatim items I recall is six lines memorized from Whittier's Snowbound (a punishment for talking in class, some of the students learned quite a few lines).

-Papyrus as a legitimate marvel - but clumsy to work with, and the shelf life isn't that long.  Many re-writes needed for an old text to make it to Gutenberg, many opportunities for loss or error.

--Just the amazing-ness as humans transition from memory-reliance to a system that can preserve all knowledge for all time (with gaps that decrease over time).  

--Setting up library systems - goes back to Alexandria and beyond.  References to The Name of the Rose, of course. Handling, storing, preserving scrolls; arranging re-writes (which to choose?)

--A good discussion of the challenges of translation - an unavoidable necessity but one that necessarily creates something of a new work.

--Interesting discussion of Rome - so backward compared to Greece; Greek slaves could read and often ended up as tutors in wealthy Roman homes. Rome owned it - always acknowledge Greek primacy (though potshots about this being effeminate, of course).

--Development of the codex format - higher efficiency than scrolls.

--Censorship over the millennia.  Horace was banished.  Etc.

--The incredible fall-off after Rome lost its mojo.  A risky period, much was lost but the monasteries and the Islamic world eventually saved a lot (not in the scope of this book)  

My Antonia (Willa Cather, 1918)

This is another delightful re-read, though my initial read would have been prior to blogging about books.

Antonia is the daughter of Czech immigrants to Nebraska; she arrives with her family (the Shimerda family) on the same train bearing newly-orphaned Jim Burden, who will be living with his grandparents on their Nebraska farm just a short distance from the Shimerdas.

Jim is four years younger than Antonia; helps her learn English at the request of her father (a strong character who didn't adapt well to moving across the ocean); he admires and falls in love with Antonia after a fashion, though separation by age and life trajectory didn't permit anything to happen (other than a lifelong friendship, if often separated by distance).

The book is rightly famous for its descriptions of the Nebraska prairie and of life in those frontier days.  The Shimerdas were not well prepared and received quite a bit of help from Jim's grandparents in the early going.

I liked the role of the "hired men" on Jim's grandparents' farm - this rang quite accurate, there were many folks floating around like that in those days (and into the mid-20th century, declining as mechanization "took their jobs".)

The story isn't quite as interesting once Jim and his grandparents move into town (as they aged off the farm); arrangemenets are made for Antonia to get off her farm (overworked by her brother) and take domestic jobs in town.  We meet several other immigrant girls.  Antonia with a bad experience with a railroad guy that promised marriage. Jim eventually comes back to Nebraska and meets Antonia's husband and children.

Cather an absolute favorite of mine.    

The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde, 1895)

Kindle offered this as a free item; we had joked about it with my dad; so why not? Entertaining, light.  Two Londoners claim to be named "Ernest" as they woo two separate young women who have a thing about marrying someone named "Ernest". 

There is a butler of course, but not nearly as entertaining as Wodehouse's Jeeves.

I liked it but was hoping for more. Very quick read.  

Oedipus Trilogy (Oedipus Rex (429 BC), Oedipus at Colonus (406 BC), Antigone (442 BC)) (Sophocles)

Re-read - first time would have been freshman year at Notre Dame, so 1974 or 1975.  I got the idea to read this from a book gifted on Father's Day from Paul Jr. and Nedda ("Papyrus" - lots of interesting thoughts on the ancient Greeks).

Pretty quick reading, the story lines are familiar.  Oedipus runs into some bad luck and is made eternally famous; in his old age he is supported by Antigone in particular and then protected by Theseus; one of his sons, slain in battle, is left to the jackals by Creon (an incredible insult in those days, perhaps any time) - at least until Antigone defies Creon.

Kind of amazing that folks were doing this quality of literature this long ago, I hope I don't take it for granted.  I hadn't realized the sequencing of the three works, how far apart in time.

The "Papyrus" book indicates that Sophocles was one of the big three of that time period (with Aeschyles and Euripides). 

War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy, 1869) (re-read)

After finishing Lonesome Dove - I much enjoyed the "big canvas" type of very-long-book - so seemed like a good time to re-read War and Peace.  Last time was in 2012, summarized here.  It continues to delight.  Partly because it's interesting how much of the details, even some key plot items, get forgotten over the years (at least by me).

I won't repeat the 2012 thoughts. A couple additional items - 

There is a super-charming minor scene - the hunt - Natasha and Petya accompany Nicholas.  “Uncle’s” low-rent borzoi catches the hare. Later they gather at Uncle’s home for food and music. Natasha dancing to the peasant music.  Everyone happy.

The hunt scene is followed pretty shortly by another charming evening - Nicholas, Natasha, Petya, Sonya accompany some of the serfs etc as “mummers” on sleigh ride across the snow to a neighbor’s house.  Nicholas charmed (re-charmed?) by Sonya just when getting pressured to marry a wealthy heiress (Julie Karagin).

Prince Andrew facing death after Borodino, encounters Natasha.  Looking to the next world rather than this one. These passages are really well done.

I had forgotten the parts about Natasha growing up a lot between packing up the Moscow house and caring for post-Borodino Prince Andrew. I had remembered her mostly for immaturity, which wasn't complete.

Re-reads are great pleasures. 

Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry, 1985)

Book club selection via Chris (session held June 8, 2025).

It's a really delightful read.  It's also really long, so here I'm going to include various notes I jotted as I read (rather than a more traditional write-up).

Emptiness of the plains; the gap moment when the Indians had largely been removed but the settlers were not yet numerous.  A good job communicating this.

Whore with a kindly heart appears - Crime and Punishment, From Here to Eternity, etc. - a classic character.

Prevalence of whoring as profession for women in this part of the world - I think it's probably correct on the leading edge.  Mining camps.

Grasshoppers - a good description of the swarm - these don't seem to happen anymore?

Rough characters sloughing off from the Civil War.

Life in Lonesome Dove, Call's increasing restlessness.

The whole idea of uprooting everything, for many folks including folks not fully capable of making independent decisions, to run some cattle up to Montana - unknown territory, relying on Jake's comments in the early going. 

Wilbarger is funny in his opening scenes. A favorite character. Reading John Milton. 

Sean O'Brien and the snakes

Louisa's proposal to just-arrived Roscoe

Jake and Lorena

The cattle drivers (Call and co)

Roscoe pursuing July, picks up Janey

July (accompanied by Joe) pursuing Jake, switches to chasing Elmira

Elmira pursuing Dee

July, Roscoe, Joe, Janey take the two robbers to Ft Worth jail

Blue Duck takes Lorena. Gus follows. 

Jake falls in with the Suggs brothers. Chapters involving them were not pleasant.  They get Wilbarger.  Gus and Call get them and Jake whew.  Another rough passage.

As i get to the 75% area I'm feeling like I need a break.  So much heavy stuff happening.  Much lighter earlier in the novel.

Law and order, peace and prosperity, these are not the default condition anywhere in the world at any time. Action on the plains!

Was Clara right - her long speech about Gus and Call - just two guys who couldn't resist a ramble - leaving behind women, Newt?

All these folks relocated to Montana.  For what? Their future?

Call witnesses Blue Duck's death, then he runs into settlers.  Change.

Call - the world for which he was suited didn't exist anymore.

His pleasure in watching Newt.  His failure to tell Newt. The author didn't give us what we wanted. Leaves more of a sting at the end.

Wrapping up the book with Wanz committing suicide over Lorena. Her power over Dish. Gus spending time with her.

The scene of Gus's death is very long but works very well.

Lots of death; Newt's reaction.

Numerous characters with "why did we leave Texas?" Pretty normal.

Deets - most gifted helper. Very sad to be drawn north.

Many highlighted passages.

Trying to understand the wistfulness, or ?, as conclude the book.

Maybe because McMurtry didn't tie up loose ends.

Gus dead, didn't end up with Clara or anyone. Killed by an arrow.

Deets dead, sad to be far away.

Call not feeling any purpose, disappointed in himself for not speaking with Newt. (Call pretty deep throughout)

Newt very disappointed with Call.  But he's young.  With a ton of responsibility.

Clara up in Nebraska; no Gus; seems accepting of the dud July Johnson but why; just rationalizing about why she didn't accept Gus, or did she mean it? 

Lorena - felt pretty shallow to me, also stuck in Nebraska.

The whole group of hands up in Montana - are they OK? How long can they ranch up there when no surrounding towns or ranches? Loneliness plus plus.  Indians probably less of a threat.

Charles Goodnight!

The old cook; Bolivar.

Pea Eye pretty simple. 

Jake Spoon - also shallow.

One of the best passages in the book was Gus telling Pea Eye that he wouldn't have missed the drive for the world - a fine horse in a fresh country - and that Call was just the same.

Call and Gus like a married couple.

Mason Dixon - Crucible of the Nation (Edward G. Gray, 2023)

(374 pages)

Grok's summary below.  I liked the book but it was kind of a slog in spots. Here are some ideas I took away - 

The idea of uncertain boundaries in the early colonial era, sometimes continuing quite a while.  Vague land grants, inexact or nonexistent maps. Settlers who don't know if they have title, don't know who is entitled to tax payments, etc.  Challenges of surveying - in merry old England you could line up a bell tower or whatnot whereas in this area it was a bunch of trees and other ephemera.

Similar - vague wording of authority granted to proprietors of the various colonies. In this immediate area - conflict between Lord Baltimore and successors (Maryland) and William Penn and successors (Pennsylvania).

Meeting the actual Mason and Dixon - very little biographical information, few details of their surveying expedition.  One of them later became obsessed with figuring out longitude (though I don't think he was part of the famous contest, per this). 

Interesting discussion about Lancaster (Charlie & Beth's area) - always part of Pennsylvania, a bit to the west and nearing Maryland; Pennsylvania ultimately succeed in pushing its border a bit south (at Maryland's expense).

Low Counties become Delaware.

Mason Dixon line as fraught for blacks - I hadn't thought about it but because getting into Pennsylvania was a very useful step in escaping - southerners very watchful in this area - tough for free blacks. 

Fugitive slave acts. Roger Taney and James Buchanan.  

Maryland and Delaware south of the Line and both permitted slavery; but they did not secede.

I didn't appreciate how exposed Washington DC was during Civil war times.  Maryland with slaveholders and mixed feelings about this; if it seceded, no way to get federal trips to DC without passing through rebel territory.  

Author with a couple obligatory potshots at capitalism as driving slavery. Does not mention that slavery existed pretty much always and everywhere, before any idea of capitalism was conceived; or that capitalist countries were the first to ban it.  Oh well.

Grok is kind of generic - 

Mason-Dixon: Crucible of the Nation by Edward G. Gray traces the history of the Mason-Dixon Line, a boundary that resolved a colonial dispute and became a symbol of America’s divisions. Established in 1767, the line settled a conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland, sparked by Pennsylvania’s 1681 founding, Dutch settlers in Delaware, and rapid agricultural growth. This led to jurisdictional chaos, violence, and ethnic clashes with Lenape and Susquehannock natives. Historian Gray frames the line as a geopolitical border where colonial, imperial, Native, and U.S. sovereignties collided.

The book highlights the line’s transformation into a cultural and political divide. Pennsylvania’s 1780 abolition act positioned the Mason-Dixon as a boundary between free and slave states, intensified by the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, which made it a federal tool to recapture enslaved people. Gray details the region’s history of imperial intrigue, Native dispossession, and settler violence, featuring colonial grandees, Native diplomats, Quaker abolitionists, and Underground Railroad conductors navigating a volatile borderland.

Gray excels in analyzing the line’s role in pre-Civil War tensions between abolitionist Pennsylvania and slaveholding Maryland. Initially meant to end conflict, the line became a metaphor for a divided nation, reflecting struggles over slavery, freedom, and identity. Its significance faded post-Civil War but lingered through Jim Crow oppression. Deeply researched, Gray’s narrative reframes U.S. history by centering this overlooked region, revealing its national impact. Praised for its vivid storytelling, the book underscores the Mason-Dixon Line’s role in shaping America’s colonial roots, nation-building, and enduring racial divides.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain, 1885)

I had never read this one and found it worthwhile, if mostly because of its place in American literature. 

Not a favorite, and there were plenty parts where I just blew through it.  But entertaining.

A sequel to Twain's novel Tom Sawyer (also never read by me); Huck has some money, is living with an aunt, runs into problems with his alcoholic father.  Escapes the father by faking his own murder and getting to an island in the river.  A slave named Jim (familiar to Huck) escapes upon hearing of a plan to sell him downriver, is thought to have murdered Huck, escapes to the same island.  They meet up and decide to head downriver to Cairo, from which they will get Jim to a free state.

But they sail past Cairo in foggy conditions.  Keep heading south, which is risky.  Encounter the King and the Duke - a couple grifters preying on river towns - Twain spends quite a bit of time with those two.  Jim eventually is captured and held for return to his owner.

Huck ends up with Tom Sawyer's relatives somewhere pretty far south; then Tom shows up; they work out an elaborate plan to free Jim.  All ends well.

Twain clearly knew the river; antebellum South descriptions are good; it's a useful way to think about slavery.

The Inimitable Jeeves (P.G. Wodehouse, 1923)

(225 pages)

I really want to like Wodehouse's books.  He has such a funny way of writing (always coming up with a phrase or word that I wouldn't expect); I think the books are considered to have aged well; I want to keep trying; but I usually end up wondering why I'm spending any time reading them.  Hmm.

My last Wodehouse attempt was 10 years ago.

This is the first volume in what became a lengthy series of books centered around the unflappable problem-solving butler, Jeeves. He is employed by Bertie Wooster - a youngish gentleman who is independently wealthy. In this volume, Bertie is beset by Aunt Agatha; deals with multiple romances experienced by his friend Bingo; deals with two miscreant cousins (Claude and Eustace).

With Jeeves around, everything turns out well.  

OK I will try the next Jeeves volume before deciding on whether to give up.

Excellent Women (Barbara Pym, 1952)

(231 pages)

Paul Jr. recommendation. 

Miss (Mildred) Lathbury is the protagonist - she (and several of her acquaintances) are "excellent women" - single, perhaps a bit frumpy, unlikely to ever attract a husband, reliable when it comes to church functions, etc.

During the period covered in this novel, Mildred experiences an unusual level of activity due to Mr. and Mrs. Napier moving into the flat immediately below Mildred's; Mrs. Napier's anthropologist connection Mr. Everard Bone; Mildred's close friends Father Julian Malory (who almost ends up marrying widowed Allegra Gray) and his sister Winifred; etc.  Mildred nonetheless remains an "excellent woman".

I liked this book; it was thought-provoking.  Something striking is the near-poverty experienced by the British in these postwar years - food choices, shortage of housing - this is seven years after victory.

More striking is the description of life for people who just generally aren't considered what later came to be called "cool", know it, and don't see a path to anything different. Yet they, or at least Mildred, is living a valuable life.  Descriptions of selecting clothes, hairstyle, eating meals alone - lowkey heartbreaking stuff.  Jockeying for position when it comes to determining flower arrangements for the altar; working through the "jumble" (rummage sale). This part was very effective, probably is the main driver of the book for me.

Things feel kind of dreary for all the adults involved - then I realized (only after reading A.N. Wilson's foreword) - that there are utterly no children in the story - none on the horizon for any of the adults. That seems like kind of an odd choice. 

Focus - The ASML Way - Inside the Power Struggle over the Most Complex Machine on Earth (Marc Hijink, 2023)

 (337 pages)

ASML today is a world-famous company.  Its core product is photolithography machines, used to print intricate patterns on silicon wafers, a key step in chip manufacturing. ASML is the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, enabling the production of smaller, faster, and more powerful microchips.  Largest tech company in Europe.

Their machines are critical to production of pretty much every single advanced chip - for AI or whatnot (Invidia and the like). I don't understand all this so well, I do see that the price of newest machine is nearly $400 million per unit.

I'm deeply interested in the company because I was lead lawyer for ASML's US operations (based in Phoenix) from 1991 - 1996 (working with the senior partner who had initiated the relationship).  It was fascinating work at the time.  The newly-released (1991) PAS 5500 wafer stepper cost an astounding $1 million per unit.  We were doing purchase agreements with Micron and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).  And a new customer - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC).  It was interesting to read that many 5500s continue in operation to this day.  I'm wondering about the service contracts we wrote for those machines in the 1990s!  ASML's big competitor was Nikon.  Karl Zeiss lenses were a big selling point, that was a new relationship for ASML when I was involved.

My then-law firm had initiated the relationship with ASML in approximately 1984. ASML was a pure Dutch start-up funded by Philips (big Dutch electronics company), but didn't fit well with Philips.  Tech entrepreneur Arthur del Prado - founder and CEO of Dutch corporation Advanced Semiconductor Materials International (ASMI) - talked Philips into a 50-50 joint venture with ASMI.  My then-law firm already represented ASMI in the US, so took over the joint venture (soon named ASML).  

Arthur del Prado is a guy I spent quite a bit of time with, both in the Netherlands and in the US.  An entrepreneur with a vision for ASMI of developing wafer processing machines that would cover every step of the manufacturing process (from the "front end" - high science devices that mostly etched the chips atop the silicon wafers - to the "back end" - incrementally less sophisticated devices that cut the wafers into chips and then packaged them and attached lead "wires").  ASML would have filled a key gap in the ASMI front-end product line. But ASMI had too ambitious of a goal, and was running out of money trying to take on too many production segments - so it reluctantly cashed out its interest in ASML in 1988 (selling back to Philips).  A decade later, ASML alone - concentrating on a single key wafer processing machine - was worth more than all of ASMI put together. (ASML considered changing its name - it didn't like the "ASM" portion of the name once the ASMI relationship had ended - but finally decided that the confusion and hassle wasn't worth it.) (ASMI did have some product hits, including a wafer stepper that processed every single Pentium chip manufactured by Intel; we created two limited partnerships to partially finance development of this stepper.)

Even though ASMI no longer had any ownership interest in ASML, we in Phoenix were able to continue representing both companies. Per above, 35-year old me took over the relationship in 1991 with both ASMI and ASML.

The book discusses ASML hiring Peter Wennink as CFO in 1997, and how he became effectively co-CEO, just hitting retirement now.  Wennink was a Deloitte partner and I got to know him in that capacity. Philips listed ASML shares on Nasdaq starting in 1995.  I was looking to leave my law firm, and Wennink asked if I was interested in taking a general counsel role with ASML (he liked my securities law experience in addition to general familiarity with the company). I didn't want to take on the commitment - which would have involved lots of travel to the Netherlands - and I'm not sure they even wanted someone like me - after we ended the discussion, they hired a more junior person for US operations and he has worked out great. (It also wasn't clear to me how things would work with the corporate center of gravity still in the Netherlands.) Instead of ASML I ended up moving to Employee Solutions as GC/SVP (we loved titles!); sadly, it went bankrupt in ~ 2003 (I left ESI in January 2000).)

The book also discusses the hiring of Doug Dunn as ASML CEO at the same time - I got to know him, liked him, he didn't last nearly as long as Wennink.

The book goes on to describe ASML's ascension to world-class status - that happened long after I no longer worked with the company.  The discussion of TSMC and ASML in Arizona in recent years is of course very interesting (CHIPS Act as part of the story).  Also the political issues have gotten quite hot, with the US in particular interested in preventing China from getting its hands on ASML's technology. This was happening during both the Trump and Biden administrations, probably still is. 

A good read.  ASML's product is magic, unbelievable stuff.

A Man at Arms (Steven Pressfield, 2021)

(316 pages)

St. Paul's letter (epistle) to the Corinthians needs to be delivered from [wherever it was penned]; copies are entrusted to several messengers; all but one are intercepted by Roman forces (Rome considering the letter as highly insurrectionary).  The final copy is entrusted to a courier named Michael, traveling with a mute girl named Ruth. Rome enlists Telamon - former Roman legionary - as a mercenary to find the pair and bring back the letter.  Telamon has an unexpected apprentice (Michael); they are dogged by a sorceress who accompanies them for long stretches. 

Rome is not trustworthy and pursues the pair with its own forces; also chased by Jews feeling threatened by Christianity, other bounty hunters.

The tale of the pursuit and the journey in general - from Judea to the Nile and across to Greece - is very well done.

I did not see the ending coming, but I thought it was really effective.  The contrast between Roman brutality and St. Paul's messaging.  

(I don't know much theology though understand that chunks of St. Paul's writings are out of favor with some; but yes there remain many quite fine passages.) 

Having attended literally thousands of Roman Catholic Masses - St. Paul included in the readings for no doubt a large majority of them - the familiarity with the topic makes this story more compelling.  

High - A Journey Across the Himalaya through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and China (Erika Fatland, 2023)

 (570 pages)

Author took a journey through the areas mentioned in the title; it was divided into two segments, each lasting months.

I like travel books - they give a feel for geography and history told against a story line of things the traveler is encountering, difficulties along the way, etc.

These areas are generally unfamiliar to me. As she moves east, even less familiar.  Lots of visits to Buddhist temples (after starting more with Hindu-Muslim mix, mostly Hindu, then Hindu-Buddhist mix).

Discussions of India-China borderlands are interesting, also India-Pakistan - fraught areas, as is well-known. Kashmir.

Discussions of Chinese control in these areas - after some intermittent resistance, now it's mostly well-controlled.  Social media monitored more closely than in modern-day Great Britain! In the short "acknowledgements" section at the end of the book the author mentions the risks that folks took in speaking with her, including on dangerous topics; she obscured their names and locations in the telling. This atmosphere won't be changing anytime soon.

Lots of Chinese tourists in various areas - as the country has gotten wealthier, they are on the move.

Some of the areas are incredibly obscure.  Shamans with lots of power.  Menstruating women sent off to a hut for days; poor conditions, unhealthy to the point of causing some deaths.  Changing, but many still stuck with this.

Dealing with altitude. She visits Mt. Everest base camp, an interesting perspective from a person not attempting the summit.

Pretty amazing to imagine throughout; I don't foresee visiting any of these places; so it's nice to at least get an armchair experience.

Gates of Fire (The Battle of Thermopylae) (Steven Pressfield, 1998)

(384 pages)

Greek survivor at Thermopylae is asked by Xerxes, seeking understanding about the courage of the Spartans, to tell the story of the battle as he understood it.  A Persian historian records the tale.

A good job of moving back and forth in time. Weaving in early childhood experiences of the survivor (and his sister), his incorporation into Spartan ways.

I wasn't as interested in the battle sequences though no doubt they are rendered effectively.

This kind of fighting - no drones; no gunfire from a distance.  

Descriptions of the Spartan training.  Their superiority. Selection of the 300; their known fate.

I appreciated that the author typically presented the Persians, even their auxiliaries, as courageous fighters. 

Ending phases of the book are remarkably good.  The speeches of King Leonidas and others on the final morning of the battle. The type of brotherhood of these men in arms; echoes of similar stories from wars throughout history; very effective. A relationship unlike any other.

This is an idealized presentation of Sparta as I understand things - though that's OK, the focus here is military matters and it seems Sparta very much excelled there.

Courage of the Spartan women is presented, an interesting angle that I hadn't previously seen; how their support mattered.

Good discussions of courage and fear; "there are rooms we must not enter" - courage doesn't mean absence of fear.

Well worth reading.

The Pioneers (David McCullough, 2019)

 (258 pages)

Quick read, enjoyable, McCullough writes engagingly.

This is a story about the Northwest Territory - which became five states with which I'm quite familiar (WI, IL, IN, MI, OH) - I don't know much about this history.  

For one thing I didn't realize the scale of the Ohio River - looking at it on the map was useful.

Also didn't realize how this followed close on the heels of the Revolutionary War; lots of veterans involved.  First settlers head for Ohio in 1787. Founding of Marietta, Ohio.  

Author kind of obsessed with the education and anti-slavery planks of the founding documents; somewhat though much less interested in the fate of the local natives.

The stories about clearing the land, building settlements, dealing with Indians, etc. seemed more familiar.  Mad Anthony Wayne's expedition ended the Indian threat (if that's the way to describe it).

Rapid growth, a lot of change is seen - flatboats, keelboats eventually steam power. Crossing the Alleghenies very difficult; early travelers sometimes had to take apart their wagons and carry the pieces through a rough spot or two (along with the cargo).

Story is told via diaries and letters that I don't think were previously plumbed to such depth.  It's an effective way to tell the story - we see things through the eyes of selected founders and their descendants. One was a doctor who moonlighted as a naturalist (Hildreth). Reminded of the approach in Holland's excellent book about WWII in Italy (though not as compelling as that instance). 

Rabbit, Run (John Updike, 1960)

 (325 pages)

Updike is well thought of, I think.  This novel (and a couple companion pieces) are considered to be among his best, I think. 

But I only made it a little over halfway.  Maybe missed something great. But I don't like this kind of book.  Protagonist was a successful high school basketball player, later unhappy with his wife, acting immature, mostly interacting with unappealing folks.

Destiny of the Republic - A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (Candice Millard, 2011)

(308 pages)

Book club selection per Nicole.

An era of US history I don't know much about. Garfield was elected in 1880 and assassinated shortly thereafter.  The author focuses on four people - 

1. James Garfield - author presents him as a great guy; not running for president (or at least effectively demure about it) but becomes nominee after an impasse.  Great orator, family guy, has a farm in Ohio, ancestors carved out life on the farm.  Civil War veteran with success despite no experience. 

2. The assassin - Guiteau or somesuch name - pretty much mentally ill, not very interesting. Minimal or zero security for US presidents at this era.

3. Alexander Graham Bell - had achieved great success with the telephone, now thought to apply related principles to create a device to locate the bullet embedded in Garfield. Probably on a useful track but this was difficult to pull off.  I was interested in the descriptions of Bell's creative process - in a way it reminded me of Mandelstam's (per the book immediately prior).  Inventive outbursts, keep going while the flame is burning!

4. Lister (of antiseptic medicine fame) and Bliss (Garfield's doctor) - avatars for the then state-of-the-art medical practices.  US doctors generally uninterested in Lister's ideas at this phase.  Bliss poking his fingers into the wound - guess what, lots of infection! Not that long ago.

Medical treatment in DC in the summertime - intense heat - a group try to create a sort of air-conditioning system.  Includes John Wesley Powell.

Insanity defense in the assassin's trial.  England's McNaughton rule.