Iron Kingdom - The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947 (Christopher Clark, 2006)

(688 pages)

Rather lengthy, but always interesting.  Helpful in thinking about "Germany" (which always gets confusing).

Prussia starting as just one of many smaller states (if one of the larger ones) in what remains of the Holy Roman Empire.  Austria later emerges as single largest force within HRE.  Russia at varying strength over the years but often looming as a dominant force (with Poland in or out of existence as a buffer state).  France to the west; Napoleonic era creates continuous turmoil.

Prussia emerges as a not-quite-major player in 17th century while benefiting from a series of long-serving and quite competent rulers (Frederick William (the Great Elector (reigns 1640-88)); Frederick I; Frederick William I; Frederick II (the Great - reigns 1740-86).  Picks up territory via various devices.  Helps that Prussia is an Elector in the Holy Roman Empire selections.

Author points out how Prussia has been portrayed - primarily in the aftermath of World War I - as a monolithic enterprise - single-mindedly given to efficiency, militarism, ruthlessness; dominated by the eastern Junker aristocracy (deeply conservative); etc.  This author explains that things were much more complicated than this view (which had propaganda uses).

For one thing - there were significant divisions within Prussia, and between Prussia and the balance of Germany.  Prussia included Polish (Catholic) provinces plus western provinces that weren't all that well assimilated.  Bismark's 1860s defeat of Austria - followed by victory over France in 1870 - led to Prussian leadership across a mostly-combined Germany - but it was a very short time period up to 1914 - lots of variation persisted among the German areas.

I also see references that Humboldt's education system was designed to create state-serving drones - this description sounds much different.  Enlightenment concepts took root, all seems quite promising; but fundamental tension between king's control over the military, and the way elections and civil matters were handled - never resolved.

Germany's position as a crossroads didn't help - constant threats from east and west - the two-front concerns of World War I and II had existed for centuries based on real problems.  Keeping a large standing army was helpful for maintaining independence and influence, but downsides.

Recommended.  Gift from PJr/Nedda.

A Forgotten Empire, Vijayanagar - A Contribution to the History of India (Robert Sewell, 1900)

(291 pages)

Gift from Chris and Dharma.

Author was a British civil servant with interest in Indian history; his book pulls together information about a powerful empire in southern India named Vijayanagar which rose and fell from 1316 - 1614 (dates approximate); author also includes information from two Portuguese contemporaries who visited.

I learn that the main ruins are in a town (UNESCO site) named "Hampi" - it looks quite amazing on Google Earth.

Interesting on many levels.  For example - so much of the action is happening right around 1500 - close in time to Columbus, Martin Luther, Charles V - so much dramatic stuff happening simultaneously.

Much conflict between Islamic forces and Hindu forces - Islamic groups pushing down from the north; author speculates that Vijayanagar came together as southern India groups recognized the need to combine forces to fend off the threat from the north.

Also interesting - the Portuguese making their presence felt - while quite significant, I didn't get the impression that they were balance-tippers the way whites tended to operate in say Mexico and Peru.  Probably because the indigenous armies were so huge, or at least reported as such.

As with so many successful empires (or family businesses, for that matter) - dynamic, charismatic, successful leaders in the early going; then things start to slip.

The chroniclers (Islamic and Western both) report huge armies (complete with cavalry and elephants), temples, city walls, festivals - and admit a reader might be skeptical of the reported numbers - I wonder exactly how large these were.  Really large, I'd guess.  Certainly would require incredible organization, tax-collecting capability, wealth - even if numbers are somewhat exaggerated - to muster anywhere near the kind of forces described.  Whatever the facts, it must have been pretty impressive.

So much driven by religious differences - or perhaps just land/power grab by persons of a different religion?  Hard to tell where that line falls.

The quoted Muslim sources, and the English author - both tend to discuss Hindu practice in terms of heathens, idols, etc.  While describing religious practices (temples, fasting, dietary principles, feast-day celebrations, etc.) that in many cases would seem right at home in a Christian setting.

Very focused on kings and battles, also life at court.  A little more daily-life stuff would have been good.  But:  I liked it.

The Blank Slate - The Modern Denial of Human Nature (Steven Pinker, 2002)

(453 pages)

Book club selection (via Lon; session held 1 April 2018).

Pinker currently in the news in relation to a new book on the Enlightenment (which I've not read).  As one might expect, reactions seem to track political leanings.

I found this earlier book quite useful, quite interesting.  Author describes three beliefs that have taken root - the Blank Slate; the Noble Savage; the Ghost in the Machine.  Goes through the background of each, and how each has been adapted for various ends. I do catch myself relying, explicitly or implicitly, on all or elements of these three beliefs - perhaps the highest value of this kind of book is that it occasionally helps the reader to "catch" oneself when this happening.

Much of it is the "nature vs. nurture" discussion - for various reasons a large number of academics and politicians downplay the "nature" part - genes, heredity, whatever - he theorizes as to why so many cling so fiercely to viewpoints that defy common sense and what I think we can say is human experience.  All is not subjectivity!

I continue to believe that the notion of "original sin" seems basically correct.  Civilization is fragile.  Humans have overcome bad tendencies but those tendencies remain inside everyone, in varying mixtures.  (By "bad" I probably should say "techniques we evolved to deal with then-circumstances.")  It's a short step to regression.  The good news:  on the whole, progress has been impressively positive.

Something that strikes me:  it's very hard to definitively "know" anything (specifics of nature/nurture being one of many examples). We need to be super careful about how much we know or ever can know.  Much "science" is just surveys and group testing, ugh.  Replication failures abound.

We live in a strange era - where influence of genes, gender, etc. is aggressively denied - yet everyone knows it's there.  Denying or hiding data will backfire (may help explain 2016 election, for example) - yet "no-platforming" is spreading.  Oddly, the "party of science" halts discussion of race, gender, climate, etc.

Sometimes I think the oddly excessive feelings on these topics, the no-platforming, the public shaming of heretics, is new.  But then I think of Galileo; reading a Prussian history where 19th century students are behaving similarly; all the religious fighting over the centuries; live-and-let-live seems inexplicably difficult!

Something that is new: surfeit of what one commentator calls "Intellectuals Yet Idiots" - highly educated but nonproductive types - throughout history, societies weren't wealthy enough to maintain all that many IYIs - exceptions would be royal siblings, folks in monasteries - and it was hard for them to reach an audience in any event.  Now IYIs are everywhere; two main effects that will sustain the madness:

1. Colleges, and now governments and corporations - filled with Diversity Coordinators, and Rape Counselors, and Whatevers - their jobs depend upon emphasizing group differences and injustices.  (Of course there are plenty of historical and current injustices, but there also is an increasing cure-is-worse-than-the-disease problem.)

2. Folks needing to write a "new" thesis for PhD or whatever - a broken system, too many of them, often trying to stand out, no one ever has or will read these papers - but they are embedded in the academy.

Be gentle and of good cheer and keep conversing!

The Transylvanian Trilogy - Vol. II - They Were Found Wanting; Vol. III - They Were Divided (Miklos Banffy, 1934)

(830 pages)

I had read Volume I of this trilogy back in 2016; liked the final two volumes even a bit better.  My summary for Volume I actually work quite well for purposes of Volumes II and III; however, the action (certainly the political stakes) pick up as World War I nears.  

The story lines of course take place in the geographies where the incidents that kicked off the war occurred, so there's the run-up for that.  More discussion of Franz Ferdinand as heir apparent; he is presented as a conniver, quite unflattering.

The scenes taking place in Transylvania and Hungary are consistently interesting; the author also certainly must had a great feel for the era's politics.

The book is a great companion to the second of Patrick Leigh Fermor's books - he was visiting much the same geography, only in the 1930s.

Balint; his mother Roza; Adrienne; Pal Uzdy; Laszlo; many more.

Recommended

The White Nile (Alan Moorehead, 1983)

(307 pages)

The author makes all this come to life - I enjoyed this every bit as much as my initial read about 20 years ago. 

The book focuses on events along the upper Nile in the mid-19th century.  Many famous names are involved here, starting with Burton and Speke.  Later comes David Livingstone (biography here), Henry Morton Stanley (biography here), Samuel and Elizabeth Baker (story here), Charles Gordon (and the fall of Khartoum to the Mahdi); even Herbert Kitchener and Winston Churchill show up toward the end of the story (Omdurman, etc.)

Amazing that the interior of Africa remain largely unmapped well into the 19th century.  The search for the source of the Nile dated back to Herodotus and beyond.  These Victorian explorers finally solved the puzzle.

East-central Africa grievously affected by Arab slave traders in these days; at this time slavery was being outlawed in Britain and, eventually, the US; but the slave trade had a big impact upon the explorers. Sad stories of the Zanzibar slave markets.

Some effort to convert the natives to Christianity, but the main players seem much more driven by the urge to explore.

An interesting angle:  indirectly this is a story about Britain in the middle of the 19th century - at the peak of its powers - as in India (per discussions here) and elsewhere, not necessarily strategic or even intentional in where it ended up - but high-impact wherever it went in those days.  Many who spent years in foreign outposts ended up unable to stay away.

Britain's influence, or interference, of course not necessarily benign for the natives.

I really like this book, and stories about this topic in general.

The Discovery of France - A Historical Geography from the Revolution to the First World War (Graham Robb, 2007)

(358 pages)

Book club selection (via me; session held 25 February 2018).

Originally read this eight years ago, the summary from back then remains on point.

The book is one of the highest value that I've run across in terms of generating ideas per unit.  It does give lots of interesting - and new - information specific to France.  Moreso, perhaps unintentionally, it gives a glimpse into daily lives of many people in the immediately pre-modern world - most of which would apply in France, or elsewhere. This part utterly fascinates.  Difficult to imagine a non-homogenized world - and so recent.  Where accumulating, and "getting ahead," wasn't even on the agenda for so many.

Also not the author's point - but it drives home how wealthy society has become. 

So much of what I believe or assume on various topics (not only France) is just wrong - this book is a useful reminder!

PJ reprised the cassoulet recipe . . . except it was even better this time around.

The City of Brass (S.A. Chakraborty, 2017)

(526 pages)

Book club selection (via NOC; session held 28 January 2018).

Book one of what's intended to be a trilogy.

Not necessarily my favorite style of book, but this had a lot going for it, and the author is skillful. 

I like that it was set in the Mideast (however defined); built around terms like "djinn" (described as something (or someone!) that an observant/sensitive human might occasionally see out of the corner of his/her eye - nice!); this takes the reader somewhere. 

Very good at drawing characters - avoided the all-good or all-evil trap; most were nicely nuanced.

Not a political novel, at least as far as I can tell - but a pretty sophisticated recounting of the kinds of pressures politicians face (and/or create/encourage!)

Nahri is the lead character - likable. 

Lots of magic - but presented in an interesting way - characters have to learn how to use it; some limits on duration/power; not just an elixir.

Forged Through Fire - War, Peace, and the Democratic Bargain (John Ferejohn and Frances McCall Rosenbluth, 2017)

(316 pages)

This book received really strong reviews and sounded really interesting, but I just didn't find it that compelling.  Not sure why.

The premise:  the more that a state needs to expand the size of its army, the more likely that the state will expand the franchise and otherwise function like a democracy.

Which makes sense - hard enough to whip up suckers recruits to prosecute the state's wars, so offering that sort of carrot might help.

Plenty of counter-examples, however.

The Chaos of Empire - The British Raj and the Conquest of India (Jon Wilson, 2016)

(504 pp)

Another recent book reviewing the history of the Brits in India.  As with this book (but in a different way), the author looks to challenge the view that Britain provided order if not enlightenment to significant benefit for India.  Author instead seeks to show that the British project was "rooted far more in violence than virtue, far more in chaos than in control."

Which seems right . . . but somehow the author seems to strain a bit too hard to make the point, constantly tossing in loaded words.

Still, this was useful in filling in more pieces of the puzzle.

A few things I noted:

1.  I didn't read this for a geography lesson, but the author had a comprehensible way of describing the country's geography and physical features in big-picture terms.  Including why that strip along the southwest coast is so different.

2.  Useful description of the incremental approach by which the British exerted control over various portions of the country.  Opportunistic not planned.  Business concerns not "good governance."  Widely varying structures (fortified ports from the 1600s; Clive's eastern India territories; Mysore/Marathas collaboration; "cantonments" in native states); never brought together effectively.

3.  I liked the discussion of the governance structures that preceded the Brits.  India was a sophisticated place where things worked reasonably well even if Mughals were in decline.  The story line has been that India needed the Brits to oversee the anarchic (backward) locals, but that seems to be mostly a story.  Brits mostly succeeded in breaking the old governance patterns without adequate replacement. 

4.  And many local bonds broke as new land policies etc. were pursued.  Of course that may have happened with or without the Brits.  Interesting idea that religious affiliation may have intensified because so many other bonds broke down; the idea is cited in Bengal/Calcutta breakdowns in the run-up to WWII (and the Partition violence; unaffiliated males migrate and cluster.

5.  Pretty much no discussion of caste.

6.  Discussing the thin overlay of Brit authority; but for many influential Indians the Brits were a source of order (profit) given that other structures were no longer operative, so there were plenty of locals willing to support the Brits.

7.  The dramatic effect of 1857 ("mutiny" or "rebellion" depending on one's perspective).  Delhi pretty much starts over.

8.  Brits managing to avoid socializing with or otherwise getting to know Indians.  Kind of weird.

9.  Robert Clive - perhaps the best opportunist on the scene.

The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon, 2001)

(487 pages)

Book club selection (via NOC; session held 9 December 2017).

Protagonist Daniel - son of a bookseller - is taken by his father to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books - where he takes responsibility for a novel by a certain Julian Carax.  From there the author takes us on a journey around Barcelona (with a stop in Paris) over the course of quite a few years, with the main action taking place in and around the time of the Spanish Civil War.  Involving Julian's school pals, Fermin, three women, etc., etc.

Beautifully written.  Perhaps too many plot twists - made it challenging for the author to tie it all together - but this also kept things moving along.

Bhagavad-Gita (between 5th and 2nd centuries BCE?)

(130 pages)

Wasn't familiar with this until Dharma sent us a link to a TED talk - in which a pretty engaging speaker sought to pull some lessons for current application - the talk was good enough to encourage me to read the entire work.

Which consists of 700 verses in the midst of a very long Hindu epic named Mahabharata.

Prince Arjuna is speaking to his charioteer Lord Krishna - though not recognizing him until later in the discussion.  The conversation takes place just before what is certain to be a major battle - Arjuna recognizes family and friends on the other side - despairs whether fighting is the right thing to do.  Lord Krishna explains why Arjuna should fight; speaks with compassion, insight, patience (and much much more); lets Arjuna make his own decision.

Useful thoughts throughout; many overlap, almost down to the word, with Bible passages.  I liked Krishna's way of advising to focus on what one can control without being overly concerned with the outcome; with doing one's duties well, choosing responsibilities wisely, in part to reciprocate for what's been given.

"See a bit of yourself in everything around you, and a bit of everything in you" - nice.

Some discussion of castes; need to figure out better how this fits in.

Bewilderments - Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, 2015)

(311 pp)

Religion pretty clearly has been crucially important throughout history, and I need to know more about it.  On the Judaeo-Christian side - have pretty well made it through a re-read of the Old Testament (mostly skipping the wisdom literature), including the Pentateuch.  Saw a favorable review on this author's deep dives into the Old Testament; this one focuses on the Book of Numbers.

I didn't love it, and will take a break before picking up more of her work (if I ever do).  I expected to appreciate the deep dive aspect - but often it felt as though the author was straining to find meanings and subtexts, perhaps to fill out a book-length effort (actually a lecture series turned into a book)?  Or perhaps I just don't get it.

I was bewildered, so to speak.

The Book of Numbers takes place after the Jews have been delivered from Egypt; they are rather grumbly and some even express a preference to return.  The Spies check out the Promised Land but suggest great problems overcoming the locals.  God decides that the Jews will wander in the desert for 40 years - ensuring that all of the faithless will be buried in those sands - a new generation will finally reach the Promised Land.

Not including Moses - the 2x rock tap episode gets a lengthy, and quite different, treatment here (including speculation that he was supposed to "speak" to the rock in front of the people).

I learned something about Talmud and midrashic sources, which was interesting.

Miriam - song/dance.  Joshua. 

Swann's Way (Marcel Proust, 1913)

(462 pp)

Re-reading Remembrance of Things Past; this is the first volume.

I dearly love the passages where the author - as a youngster - spends time in Combray.  The descriptions of poor Aunt Leonie are perfect.  The sorrows of the author when sent to bed; the descriptions of the town and the church; Swann's visits at Combray.  Then a lengthy discussion of Swann and Odette (which I don't enjoy as much as the Combray scenes); Swann visiting the Verdurins.  Author meeting Gilberte.

Throughout - the author's effort to understand memory - at the end of this volume:  "The places we have known do not belong only to the world of space on which we map them for our own convenience.  None of them was ever more than a thin slice, held between the contiguous impressions that composed our life at that time; the memory of a particular image is but regret for a particular moment; and houses, roads, avenues are as fugitive, alas, as the years."  Curious how that would come across in the original French. (Is "regret" the word here?  Maybe in the sense of "longing for what cannot be regained?")

The very first page refers to the rivalry between Francois I and Charles V, who else talks about this kind of thing.

Haven't decided how quickly I'll proceed, other than "not very."

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win (Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, 2015)

(317 pp)

Book club selection (via POC; session held 29 October 2017).

While traveling with D'backs, POC had gone with a group to visit a Navy SEALs post in San Diego; they recommended this book.  The ex-SEAL authors run a consulting business - they try to translate SEALs training/methods to business clients.  That's what the book is about.

The consulting business stuff was so-so - while the case studies rang true, the too-tidy application of very general principles did not.  (But I'm not a fan of business books in general - typically an individual or an entity experiences some success, then looks back and tries to guesstimate what made the difference; then to monetize the advice.  Not a winning formula.)

The book's value to me was glimpsing a world that is so incredibly different from the lives most of us lead.  Setting aside the politics ("why are we sending soldiers to these countries") - the guys that go execute these misbegotten missions are exposed to dangers I cannot imagine. 

Some of it reminds of what one reads about training of elite athletes - but then you realize the SEALs-types execute their tasks in the face of live ammo sent their direction by entirely unfriendly folks - amazing. 

Unshackling America - How the War of 1812 Truly Ended the American Revolution (Willard Sterne Randall, 2017)

406 pp

Well reviewed; overlapping time periods from a different perspective, so seemed like a good follow-on to this biography of Napoleon and Uglow's study of then-conditions in England.  And it was.  Plus I didn't know much of anything about the War of 1812.  Recommended.

A useful idea: looking at the War of 1812 as a continuation of events commencing in the 1760s and continuing through 1814.  Even though the Revolutionary War had ended in Britain withdrawing, Britain's view of the colonies hadn't changed dramatically.

The pressures of the Napoleonic wars, the Continental System, the British blockades, the importance of navies - all fed into the War of 1812.  Economic pressure as trade is disrupted, with threats of worse.  Impressment remained a huge issue - British soldiers want to escape to American employment; Brit press gangs are so aggressive per Uglow's discussion; Britain needed bodies, and often had a reasonable position since the line between British subject and British-subject-turned-American-citizen was highly fluid.

U.S. not united in war aims; Senate approval is only 19-13.  Deep resentment in northern and eastern states.  "Tories" who had relocated to Canada would have welcomed British success.

Indians allied to British; turns out badly for them.

U.S. seemed in a strong position initially what with Britain preoccupied with Napoleon, and the U.S. far away.  But U.S. forces severely disorganized and its leaders incompetent, in part a result of Jefferson's cutbacks.  U.S. makes no progress in first couple years; burns through available cash; then Napoleon surrenders in 1814 and additional British ships and soldiers start showing up in force.  Many are veterans of the Peninsula campaign - things looking very bad for U.S.

Many interesting elements to the war, including battles on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.  Fort McHenry and the Star-Spangled Banner - actually a compelling story even if the anthem is over-used (and perhaps not the greatest anthem).

Book of course isn't directly about the Revolutionary War, but offered an entirely useful discussion of the lead-up to the Declaration of Independence - some of the taxes, tariffs, miscalculations.

Interesting discussions around Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison; initial divisions into political parties - with the basic fault line so similar to today's.  Truculence in politics is normal!  Adams as effective ambassador to the court of Tsar Alexander, which relationship Britain was required to take into account.

Brits burn down much of DC in 1814 (evoking negative response even in London) - somehow this finally shocked the U.S. into focused action.  Better training and equipment, better morale.  Brits consider sending over Wellington, but things not going so well at Congress of Vienna and France is restive.

So Brits decide to cut a deal for peace - even if U.S. in a weak position - Treaty of Ghent ends up moving the ball pretty much not a whit from where the combatants started.  But a useful discussion of how all this did push along the process of making the U.S. into a more coherent nation.

Also connected to recent reading - John Jacob Astor and Astoria - including the stories of conflicts with the British in the town's early days, as recounted in this book.