Goethe - Life as a Work of Art (Rudiger Safranski, 2013)

I spent a lot of time on this biography.  Not quite sure what I think of Goethe, or what I learn from this.

I read a Goethe biography in 2006 that did a very good job of outlining his life; this biography is discussed here.  

The author of the current biography had greater access to diaries and letters of Goethe and folks with whom he was in contact.  That was interesting.

Part of the interest is Goethe as a leading figure starting in the 1770s - royalty doing quite well, even the minor royalty in the German principalities. Along comes the French Revolution (with agitation for democracy and nationalism in France), the Napoleonic era (with this agitation spreading along with the French armies and encompassing the substates in Germany), Napoleon's defeat and the conservative if not reactionary governments throughout Europe, with Metternich as a key figure.  Then the revolution in France again in 1830.  Goethe lived through all of this and was personally acquainted with all these leaders.

He started out with an early "Romantic era" book (The Sorrows of Young Werther) that took the literary world by storm - somehow striking just the right chord at just the right moment. (It's what Napoleon wanted to talk about in their meeting decades later.) This success - of course supplemented by later actions - facilitated "famousness" throughout his long life.  His life took a major turn when the grand duke in charge of Weimar persuaded him to settle there - a smallish state, it was a coup to land Goethe; the grand duke put Goethe in charge of all sorts of things even though Goethe had little expertise. It made him a much more practical person, if not a conservative as the decades rolled along.  Very impressed by Napoleon and wore the French Legion of Honor (awarded to him by Napoleon) all too often for the tastes of many Germans.

Went through a genuine scare when French troops occupied Weimar, including his residence.  Contributed to his dislike of disorder, nationalism, public passions, etc.

Seems like he was an incredibly gifted person in terms of social skills, and could apply this to both men and women. Descriptions of his romantic relationships; seems like he took advantage of his skills in some situations where he should have refrained. 

The 2006 biography talks about the famous people he interacted with.

Uncanny ability to compose poetry and write all sorts of kinds of literature. Difficulty finishing longer works.

Migrating away from Sturm und Drang - he took a great interest in minerology, sparked by his position as official in charge of Weimar mines.  Another favorite topic - how humans perceive color.  As the years by he kept writing but felt that pursuits in the natural sciences were more worthy.

By the time he passed away in the early 1830s - time had passed him by.  Not popular with young Germans.  Seems like his reputation has recovered, though I don't know how much his works are read.

Not sure what to make of him. 

To The Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf, 1927)

This book is centered around the Ramsey family - Mrs. Ramsey, Mr. Ramsey, eight children; also their several visitors during a stay at their summer home.

I liked it a lot.

Three segments.  In the first, we meet the characters. They are staying at the summer home (a bit shabby). Very little direct dialogue or action, mostly we're seeing how they interact and feel about each other. Mrs. Ramsey seems to be the primary focus. She tells younger son (James) that they can visit the lighthouse (nearby, offshore) the following day, but Mr. Ramsey says the weather will prevent this. References to this continue. I particularly like the dinner scene - so well done - bouncing around the characters as they see, feel, process; no direct quotes - takes place after we've gotten to know most of the characters quite a bit. Effective.

Second segment - short, there is a passage of ~10 years.  Mrs. Ramsey passes away, two of the children die; WWI happens.

Third segment - after years without visiting, some or all of the surviving Ramseys and guests stay at the summer home.  Lily Briscoe - an artist - works on a painting abandoned during the prior visit, and reflects on Mrs. Ramsey in particular.  James and Cam (a sister) travel with Mr. Ramsey toward the lighthouse.  Both are resentful about their relationship with their father, but are thinking about it.

Victory City (Salman Rushdie, 2023)

A really interesting idea - to do a fictional version of the rise and fall of Vijayanagar (major city in southern India, now amazing ruins (and an increasingly popular tourist site) named as Hampi.  This occurred over a 300-year arc from early 14th century to early 17th century.

Rushdie relied in part on Sewell's book (linked here) - Sewell was a British civil servant who pulled together various sources, including Portuguese chroniclers.    

Central character is Pampa Kampana - a goddess enters her as a result of an early trauma - she essentially founds the city (from seeds) and tracks its rise and fall across various kings.

Whether for storytelling purposes or a nod to current trends, Rushdie uses mostly all females for the central characters (other than the kings).  

Much fantasy, but some elements that track Vijayanagar history - particularly in the last part of the story.  Portuguese traders show up; Portugal gains power along the west coast (though not significant to Vijayanagar's outcome). Author uses Rama Raya's name as final king; Rama Raya sowing discord among Islamic sultanates to the north which defers pressure from that direction, then they figure it out and attack; he uses the name "Talikota" as the decisive battle. 

Yo-yo swings between religious tolerance and cultural/artistic freedom, or not, in author's description of Victory City's history.

Rushdie describes the ideal state in a way that just sounds like Utopia (unfortunately).

Pampa Kampana's last act is to write down the entire history of her creation in verse.  The power of words.

Overall, I liked this.

The Rural Life (Verlyn Klinkenborg, 2003)

This is a collection of essays that were published elsewhere - broken up into monthly segments.

I liked it well enough, but it turns out that most of the stories are set on the author's farm in upstate New York.  (He grew up in Iowa and has memories there that overlap with mine, but very little of that in this book. Unfortunately.)

Mostly this helps remind one to be attentive to one's surroundings - he does a great job with that.

The Anarchy (William Dalrymple, 2019)

I liked this but it had several annoying aspects, per below.

Faculty-lounge style word choices and denigration of "corporation" and "profit". Then within a few pages he's reciting, apparently entirely un-self-aware, how the corporation started off with tremendous risk, limited resources, and big losses in the early going.

And recites how the Mughals swept into India - but with none of the loaded-negative word choices - apparently that form of conquest or imperialism or "colonialism" was just fine?  If a force structured as an imperial dynasty sweeps in and brutally takes, that's somehow different from a force partially structured in corporate form?

Makes a big deal about "corporate" contributions or bribes to MPs - of course that's bad, but we're talking about an era where large-scale bribery was common across governmental forms (still is!) 

The usual "I hate the west" formula.

Which is not to say the East India Company, or Britain writ large, didn't do plenty of nasty things.  I just get tired of the differing treatment from so many current historians.

But the overall story here is good enough to overlook all this.  Yes the EIC screwed up many things even where intentions weren't terrible, and it was good that Britain took over.  Even if that didn't end the problems.

Useful discussions of key players - Robert Clive; Wellington; Warren Hastings.

Military success was not inevitable.  Somewhat like Mexico or Peru - there were local forces willing to work with the Europeans.  Significant competition from the French.

On Desperate Ground - The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle (Hampton Sides, 2018)

Sides is a very good author - made this highly interesting (it's a great story so didn't need much build).

I don't know much about the Korean war so it's helpful as to the early stages of the conflict.

Douglas MacArthur does not come off well in this telling, and I think that's the consensus of folks who are knowledgeable about this.

Sides introduces various of the key soldiers and officers, describes the incredible bravery under horrible winter conditions.  Sympathetic to Chinese soldiers who quite often were so poorly equipped - both for fighting and for surviving the weather.

The Chinese did have lots of bodies and no qualms about expending them - US soldiers fighting off literal hordes, corpses stack up in the cold.

Also some impressive engineering feats - to get an air strip ready to go in an isolated area, to fix a crossing.  Ingenuity. 

The Anthropocene Reviewed (John Green, 2021)

Book club selection, per Zach.

"Anthropocene" in title gave it a scientific feel with pretty much no relevance to the little stories.

Per the introduction, I also thought he was going to talk a lot about how humans affect the earth but then don't know much how to manage the change they're causing.  That didn't seem to happen much at all.

Apparently the guy is a pretty successful author so I'll assume it's just me who's missing out.  But these stories generally seemed pretty shallow, and weren't saved by the "reviews" at the end of each.

I liked the one about the "three farmers" in the photograph.

He's interested in communicating about his anxieties etc.  Written in Covid era and this comes through way too much.

Discussion of pain was thought-provoking. Viral meningitis.  

I liked the "World's Largest Ball of Paint" story a lot.  I need to see it. A good way to think of our miniscule contributions.

I liked the idea of measuring time in Halleys (comet circuits).

My book appears to be signed!

Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf, 1925)

I liked this quite a bit. 

Novel is set on a single day - Clarissa Dalloway is giving a big party, preparations are ongoing, events in the neighborhood are described, flashbacks are given which help flesh out various characters.

Clarissa Dalloway is the main character; she is married to Raymond Dalloway.  But was pretty much in love with Peter Walsh (it was reciprocated), though she turned him away.

Elizabeth (Clarissa's daughter). Miss Killeen (influences Elizabeth).

Septimius Smith - WWI vet, messed up; married to Lucrezia Smith

Clarissa is aware that she's aging, and there is some interesting musing about that.

Lakota America - A New History of Indigenous Power (Pekka Hamalainen, 2019)

This was a really interesting read - much worthwhile.

Biggest takeaway - this tribe, and no doubt others, was a sophisticated player when it came to trade, politics, war, strategy. This author wouldn't agree with the "victim" portrayal, even though eventually the wars (and territories) were lost.

Lakota/Sioux - complicated sifting through the tribes in the early periods (16th and 17th centuries, approximately) - think of Lakota as westernmost of this group?  Sioux too far west to access guns and French trade goods in quantity - at risk from better-armed tribes to the east.  Sioux seek access, try to work diplomacy with French and Indian allies, it doesn't hold long-term.

Idea - early in book - that the "horse frontier" moved west to east starting or accelerating following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 - interesting, I hadn't thought about "where" the horses came from.

"Gun frontier" was moving east to west - having both was transformational.

Lakota use expands ~1700ff - a big change as they shift attention westward - another impetus was losing French support (and trading posts) which made selling beaver difficult or impossible.  Bison herds, horses, westward ho.

1757 - first reference to Lakota using guns while riding horses.  Groups further east lacked horses.  Groups further west lacked guns.

More on horses; buffalo chase and switch to the plains to the west.

Lots of fighting among tribes as Lakota push into their territories. Lakota have numbers, etc.

1820-30s - Lakota strong; continue to invite traders even up to Ft. Laramie - very much wanting the trade goods, esp. guns - apparently not concerned that settlers might follow in their wake.  Interesting; Lakota must have known what happened in multiple territories in east and midwest. 

Civil War is a distraction, but westward push by Americans continues, accelerates.

Eventually the US Army focuses - we get to Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Custer, denouement.  

Lysistrata (Aristophanes, 411 B.C.)

This is the famous play where - tired of the seemingly endless Peloponnesian War - the protagonist calls together women from all across Greece, and convinces them to stay away from their men until peace is agreed upon.

Mostly humorous, I enjoyed reading.  

Some of the speechifying from the men - justifying war - sounded like warmongering rationalizations from current times. 

The Last Hill - The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle that Defined WWII (Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, 2022)

(364 pages)

I liked this.  Kind of a pop history style (as can be told from the overwrought title), but no question that the authors did plenty of research to support the story line.  I also like that it focuses on a small group.

Brits had some success with "commando" (special forces) units early in WWII, and the US decided to do a similar concept though with a different name ("Rangers").  Though the Army didn't have a clear concept of how to use the units, and there were plenty of folks within the Army that didn't like the idea.

The book focuses on the 2nd Ranger Battalion - through intense training (lots of washouts); then onto Omaha beach and up the cliffs to Pont d'Huc; attacking Brest (Brittany - achieving a rather incredible surrender with two Rangers and a grenade in the commandant's crotch); then (after some less intense assignments) into the Hurtgen Forest and Hill 400.

All of these deployments were highly interesting to read about; impressive.  I hadn't known about the Brest surrender before (I assume the description is accurate if unbelievable).  Also hadn't read about Hurtgen Forest - the authors suggest this was not much discussed because (at least in their opinion) so many US lives were wasted repeating attack methods that were proven failures.

A Line in the World - A year on the North Sea Coast (Dorthe Nors, 2021)

Saw a favorable review and gave the book a try - I liked it.

Very much out of my experience geographically - author explores the rugged west coast of Denmark - where she has, or at least had, family ties.  Kind of connected, but kind of not.

EXCEPT - I read this shortly after our visit up to Nome - this made it much, much easier to imagine the coastal ruggedness that the author describes.

And - there is some overlap with the feel of return visits to Iowa over the years.

The Beautiful and Damned (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1922)

Anthony Patch stands to inherit lots and lots and lots of money from his stern grandfather.  

Marries the lovely Gloria Gilbert.

They decide to live as if they don't give a damn; can't stop partying.  Grandfather not pleased.

Litigation trying to claim the inheritance.

Patch goes overseas, has an affair.

Not very cheery.

Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare, early 1590s)

Read this on Kindle without notes; then read Harold Bloom's helpful musings in Shakespeare - The Invention of the Human.  

I much enjoyed reading this (after all these years) but would not say it's my Shakespeare favorite.  The characters tend to get way too fired up; too ready to fight.  

There are some beautiful lines, of course.

Friar Laurence gets way involved.

Nice.  

The Lawrence Durrell Travel Reader (Lawrence Durrell, based on travels in 1930s - 1950s)

I enjoyed The Alexandria Quartet and kept seeing that Durrell was an excellent travel writer - with much of this is centered in Greece.

This compilation was quite good but I didn't really connect with it.  I was looking for "Prospero's Cell" - focused on his time in Corfu - this includes some of that experience, plus other Greek items.