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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Very much worthwhile.

Old Goriot (Honore de Balzac, 1835)

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

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

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

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

This book is set during the Bourbon restoration.

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

Avatar (December 27, 2009)

All seven of us attended, with Pat Herrera. My first movie in a theater for about a year and a half (last saw Wall-E).

I bought into the movie from the beginning, and really liked it.

We saw the IMAX 3-D version, and it was captivating. I just liked looking around the screens. The critics who comment that James Cameron bridged the gap between live action and CGI, are correct, it's almost seamless.

I also liked the lead actors.

I also can see the points made by various critics who found the story line unoriginal, plus found other things to pick at. Including a cartoonish military guy and some lame dialogue moments. The movie had elements of Apocalypse Now, Heart of Darkness, Braveheart, Independence Day, Lord of the Rings. And I guess Dances with Wolves, which I've never seen.

But in the end I was a big fan. Grateful for movie makers who try to do something new. Even if demonstrably imperfect, so much more going on than the pedestrian TV junk with which I'm bombarded regularly.

Sea of Faith - Islam and Christianity in the Medieval Mediterranean World (Stephen O'Shea, 2006)

This was a very helpful follow-up to related books described here and here and here and here.

O'Shea builds the story around seven key battles involving Christianity and Islam around the Mediterranean during the middle ages.

Poiters in 732 (only 110 years after the hejira).

Baghdad was a new city in 762 - supplanting Damascus.

Spain is really complex - interaction between Islam, Christianity, Jews; always a bit geographically removed.

"Horns of Hattin" - effectively ending Crusader states in 1187.

And Constantinople "falls" in 1453.

Plain Tales from the Hills (Rudyard Kipling, 1888)

As with The Light That Failed, I read this as a result of working through Kipling's biography.

This book includes a series of short stories that were published in some British newspaper that served the expat community in the 1880s. Kipling was widely praised for his originality; had a good feel for the interaction between the communities based on residing there as a child.

Entertaining. But I didn't find this terribly interesting either. Quit about a quarter of the way through.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Light That Failed (Rudyard Kipling, 1890)

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

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

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

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

A History of Histories (John Burrow, 2007)

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Man Who Would Be King - The First American in Afghanistan (Ben Macintyre, 2004)

This book seemed interesting as backdrop to the continuing adventures of the U.S. in Afghanistan, and fit into other books about the region I've been reading.

Some American named Josiah Harlan headed for Central Asia in 1822 or thereabouts. After knocking around in a few British outposts, he somehow had the idea of emulating Alexander the Great, or at least finding wealth, fame and perhaps a kingdom in the area of Afghanistan. Somehow he made it work, all the way to being named a prince of an area known as Ghor.

This was in the early days of adventuring in the region; the British were developing interests in the area, and developing concerns with Russian intervention (this contest later to be known as the "Great Game").

Somehow Harlan gained trust and familiarity with key figures; was involved in rebellion; easily switched sides; mixed with leading figures in Kabul; eventually was eased out of the country by the British.

The book recounts the British disaster in 1842; they underestimated the Afghans. But then again Alexander the Great and the Soviets had troubles in this area also. The painting at bottom shows the remainder of the British army returning to Jalalabad.

The British would have been better served with Harlan's philosophy: gain some trust, or at least heavily bribe, the local chieftains.

Rudyard Kipling wrote a famous novel based on Harlan, named "The Man Who Would Be King." I hadn't known that Sean Connery starred in the movie version.

Harlan himself came back to the U.S.; (tried to) fight in the Civil War; (tried to) introduce camels into the southwest U.S. Interesting fellow.

Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackery, 1848)

After reading (a bit over half of) The Pilgrim's Progress, it seemed likely that Vanity Fair was going to be more interesting. And it was.

I wasn't sure what to make of this book, but I certainly enjoyed reading it. Could have been compressed without losing much, I think (700 pages). But I was in no particular hurry, and like a long movie, it permits more acquaintance with the characters and more development of the plot. Definitely reminded of Balzac and Dickens. Like so many of the novelists, he sees us and is able to describe us.

Like Dickens (and others), this was published in serial form. This one from 1847-1848. So it was an interesting period in history, with revolution across Europe.

Becky Sharp is a very original character. The first few pages - where she leaves the finishing school - are very well done. She says that she could have been an honest woman for 5000 (pounds, I suppose) a year - which is a pretty perceptive comment. And it builds from there. Amelia is a bit of a twit; Dobbins is a fine character; Jos Sedley is a dork; Rawley Crawdon and the entire Crawdon clan; the dashing George Osborn; chasing the aunt's inheritance; O'Dowd and the regiment; the principality of Pumpernickel (Thackery spent some time in Weimar with Goethe); on and on it goes. Thackeray famously describes this as a novel without a hero, but I don't know that I entirely agree.

Edith Wharton must have had Becky Sharp in mind when writing about Undine Spragg (Custom of the Country).

Thackery's take on Waterloo was interesting. His drawings added a lot.

The Ottoman Centuries (Lord Kinross, 1977)

Trying to get better acquainted with this part of the world, and this book was helpful. And most interesting throughout.

Seljuks were supplanted by Ottomans - around 1300. The Muslim conquering waves - starting from Arabia around 700 and working up into Spain, east into Persia, etc. The Arab wave then slowing and consolidating; Ottoman wave coming on. Mehmed the Conqueror; Suleiman the Magnificent.

The story reminds of the Roman Empire in some ways - hardy military types with tolerant government that works very well in expansion mode. Osman's descendants figured out how to settle down and govern. Strangling rival brothers seemed to add stability. The Janissary corps was quite an idea - rely on highly trained Christian slaves, prevent local nobles from building competing constituencies.

Finally took down Constantinople in 1453. Took control over much of what we refer to as the Middle East, much of the Mediterranean. Seems like the Persians could maintain quite a bit of autonomy, benefitting from distance.

It's interesting to think that the Balkan populations and Eastern Europe were bouncing back and forth - Roman, Eastern Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Muslim. The Ottomans were regularly pushing up through Hungary, fighting folks like Vlad the Impaler (a model for Dracula). Ottomans controlled Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Hungry, etc. for a long time. Ottomans pushed up to Vienna as late as 1683 (Poland's Jan Sobieski was a hero; and Vienna had coffee shops for the first time as the Ottomans left huge stores behind as they fled).

The downhill slide lasted a long time. The Janissary were like the Streltsky or other palace guards - too much power, too many demands, no Peter the Great to take them out. Sultans spent too much time in harem. An attitude that there was nothing to learn from inferior westerners - an attitude that initially had some basis, but became increasingly inaccurate over time.

Some of the problems sounded so typical - large intractable bureaucracy sucking the producers dry. In later centuries, competing interests from Russia, France, Britain. Interests in maintaining the "sick man of Europe" for balance of power purposes. Armenian genocide. German influence into World War I; Ataturk; some very serious efforts to modernize and reform, one can see the genesis of the secular state (so rare in that part of the world, fragile even now).

The book touched on Lepanto and the cultural progress described in this book.

Rudyard Kipling, A Life (Harry Ricketts, 1999)

This was interesting, a quick read. I didn't really know much about where Kipling fit into things, so it was helpful.

Basically he spent a good chunk of his early life being exposed to India because of his father's job there (along with interludes being educated in England, including an unpleasant stay with what amounted to a foster family). Obvious talent for writing. Took a job with a Brit newspaper in India, and eventually put together a number of stories that brought him celebrity at a young age. Lived in the U.S. for a few years, then back to England.

He never produced a great full-length novel, and apparently it was quite the fashion for the intelligentsia to criticize him after the initial acclaim wore off. Yet he remained very popular with the reading public (which probably explains some of the criticism). Sounds like some of his work was quite good, including a piece that Forster must have had in mind when he wrote A Passage to India.

He became the poet for the (declining) British Empire, though I don't know that he planned for this. His background spanning India and England gave him the right perspective, and he was a true believer. Including the (now in)famous phrase about the "white man's burden." Big admirer of Cecil Rhodes.

His son was killed in WWI, and Kipling devoted lots of energy in support of the war effort. In later years he offered lots of political commentary - much of which sounded quite current as he opposed expansion of the welfare state, emphasized individual reliance, etc. The kind of talk that always decreases one's popularity among the greater portion of the arts community.

So this was an interesting look from a different perspective about the Empire, the Boer War, colonialism, WWI, etc.

I like stories involving intersection between the cultures, and think I shall read some of his works.

Shadows on the Rock (Willa Cather, 1931)

I recently re-read this novel in preparation for our upcoming trip to Montreal and Quebec. It's one of Cather's later works. I just really like her novels.

In this book, Cather describes "the quiet, isolated life of Cecile Auclair and her father, the town apothecary." It is set in the early days of old Quebec. Cecile's father (with wife and young daughter) left France as personal physician (or whatever) to Count Frontenac, the governor of New France. As such, he had special privileges to bring along furniture and what-not; his small house (and attached apothecary shop) felt more like France than most other houses in Quebec. His wife died after a few years, and his daughter (then ~10 years old) took up the task of maintaining the old customs, while building a life, in a new world.

Which she came to love, even though the father had always planned to return to France.

I can't say why I find this story so effective; it's certainly not one of Cather's more famous books. It doesn't have a strong plot line (by design), yet it completely gets my imagination going about what this type of life may have been about. What about the idea of these folks - isolated on a rock in the wilderness - watching the last set of ships head back to France in October - with a wait of eight months for replenishment? The trappers, the old bishop, the townspeople, the missionaries, the feeling of being on the edge of civilization alongside the dark never-ending forest.

I really want to see this area for myself.

Lost Illusions (Honore de Balzac, 1837-1843)

Like Cousin Bette, this is part of the large group of novels in Balzac's The Human Comedy. Lucien Chardon has some talent and wants to make it big in Paris. So he leaves the provinces, with Mme de Bargeton (a leading light in the provincial town), who quickly dumps him. Chardon falls in with a group of hard-working artistic types, but leaves them behind to pursue tabloid journalism.

Chardon's sister (Eve) marries David Sechard, who was always in trouble at the hands of his scheming competitors in the printing business, the Cointet brothers. Funny passages about David's skinflint father.

Balzac see us - and can write about it - so always worthwhile. He was around the printing business and also was an attorney, so gives lots of detail in both fields. He clearly looked down on the journalists. If his version is accurate, there wasn't much of what we think of as "journalistic ethics." (Not that this would distinguish all that much from today's environment.) Interesting to read about how favorable press notices for plays or books were bought and sold.

Lucien Chardon reminded me a bit of Julian Sorel.

The Custom of the Country (Edith Wharton, 1913)

Last of a group of full-length Wharton novels in a "Library of America" compilation. This novel was really quite good, but I didn't like it as much as the other three. Perhaps because the central character (beautiful and vacuous Undine Spragg) and several of the other main characters just weren't very likable. (Which no doubt was the author's intent.)

I was reading this at the gym concurrently with reading Balzac's Lost Illusions at the house, and there were quite a few similarities. Ralph Marvell reminded me of Lucien Chardon in a backwards sort of way. In both books, folks were trying to penetrate societal classes to which they didn't belong. Both stories were quite focused on business dealings, though Wharton could never match Balzac in that arena.