We've just passed the centenary of the Fatima apparitions, so I wanted to learn more about them. This book makes an excellent one stop shop about the apparitions. Everything you could possibly want to know about them is in here. Fr. Apostoli relates the content of what the three children saw, the historical context in which they happened, biographical information about the children and their families, and about the history of their town and of Portugal, how the Fatima apparitions were determined to be reliable, how they meshed with other preceding and contemporaneous apparitions given to other visionaries, the Church's interpretation of the visions, how successfully the Church has followed the instructions of our Lady, and how the predictions came to pass. There is also practical information in the book about how to do the devotions properly, as well as the prayers taught to the three children.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Tortured for Christ, by Richard Wurmbrand
In his 1978 Harvard commencement speech, Solzhenitsyn said:
Through intense suffering, our country has now achieved a spiritual development of such intensity that the Western system in its present state of spiritual exhaustion does not look attractive...A fact that cannot be disputed is the weakening of human beings in the West while in the East they are becoming firmer and stronger. 68 years for our people, and 30 years for the people of Eastern Europe: during that time we have been through a spiritual training far in advance of Western experience.
If you were to become curious about the nature of the spiritual training Solzhenitsyn means, Richard Wurmbrand's life provides a good example. Wurmbrand was a Romanian who grew up in a secular Jewish family, converted to Christianity as a young man, and became a Lutheran pastor. When the Soviets took control of Romania after driving out the Nazis, they established a Communist totalitarian government that drove the genuine churches underground. For standing up to them, Wurmbrand and his wife were both sentenced to lengthy terms in what can only be described as a torture camp. Despite the horrific conditions, this is an inspiring story of hope, endurance, and the great consolation of faith in God.
Through intense suffering, our country has now achieved a spiritual development of such intensity that the Western system in its present state of spiritual exhaustion does not look attractive...A fact that cannot be disputed is the weakening of human beings in the West while in the East they are becoming firmer and stronger. 68 years for our people, and 30 years for the people of Eastern Europe: during that time we have been through a spiritual training far in advance of Western experience.
If you were to become curious about the nature of the spiritual training Solzhenitsyn means, Richard Wurmbrand's life provides a good example. Wurmbrand was a Romanian who grew up in a secular Jewish family, converted to Christianity as a young man, and became a Lutheran pastor. When the Soviets took control of Romania after driving out the Nazis, they established a Communist totalitarian government that drove the genuine churches underground. For standing up to them, Wurmbrand and his wife were both sentenced to lengthy terms in what can only be described as a torture camp. Despite the horrific conditions, this is an inspiring story of hope, endurance, and the great consolation of faith in God.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
The Origin of Russian Communism, by Nicolas Berdyaev
Excellent book on the various influences in Russian history, culture, and religion that helped shape how Communism was implemented in the Soviet Union.
Berdyaev cites the Muscovite period and the reign of Peter the Great as particularly influential, because that was when the governments were most absolutist and repressive, using methods to control the population and the church that prefigured those used by the Bolsheviks.
He cites the messianic cast of mind of the Russian Orthodox Church, which thought of Moscow as the Third Rome (after the fall of the Roman and Byzantine Empires) and believed that it had a great mission to fulfill in the world. Similarly, Soviet Russia took upon itself a special mission: it was the means by which communism was to be spread throughout the world.
Berdyaev also discusses how the Russian Orthodox peasantry, unlike their Western Christian counterparts, never developed a strong concept of private property. They saw the land and its resources as belonging to God, and anyone who works them ought to be able to make a living off them. They had a feeling that the gentry were wrong to have such large estates, so that when the Bolsheviks began confiscating the estates and turning them into collective farms, the peasants were easily sold on the idea.
Berdyaev himself was a disenchanted Marxist who converted back to the Russian Orthodox Church. He was among the exiles in the “philosophers’ ships” of the 1920’s, when Lenin threw out much of Russia’s dissident intelligentsia. Unfortunately, despite his disappointment with Marxism, Berdyaev did retain (at least at the time he wrote this book—I don’t know about later in life) the same mistake to which some Christians are prone: the view that socialism is a more moral economic system than the free market, and that there must be some way to make it work without resorting to evil means or evil results.
Berdyaev cites the Muscovite period and the reign of Peter the Great as particularly influential, because that was when the governments were most absolutist and repressive, using methods to control the population and the church that prefigured those used by the Bolsheviks.
He cites the messianic cast of mind of the Russian Orthodox Church, which thought of Moscow as the Third Rome (after the fall of the Roman and Byzantine Empires) and believed that it had a great mission to fulfill in the world. Similarly, Soviet Russia took upon itself a special mission: it was the means by which communism was to be spread throughout the world.
Berdyaev also discusses how the Russian Orthodox peasantry, unlike their Western Christian counterparts, never developed a strong concept of private property. They saw the land and its resources as belonging to God, and anyone who works them ought to be able to make a living off them. They had a feeling that the gentry were wrong to have such large estates, so that when the Bolsheviks began confiscating the estates and turning them into collective farms, the peasants were easily sold on the idea.
Berdyaev himself was a disenchanted Marxist who converted back to the Russian Orthodox Church. He was among the exiles in the “philosophers’ ships” of the 1920’s, when Lenin threw out much of Russia’s dissident intelligentsia. Unfortunately, despite his disappointment with Marxism, Berdyaev did retain (at least at the time he wrote this book—I don’t know about later in life) the same mistake to which some Christians are prone: the view that socialism is a more moral economic system than the free market, and that there must be some way to make it work without resorting to evil means or evil results.
Mr. Reginald Peacock's Day, by Katherine Mansfield
Amusing story about a typical day in the life of a man (a singing teacher) who has a quite high opinion of himself. He condescends to tolerate the foibles and shortcomings of those around him, of course not recognizing that he has any of his own.
A Shropshire Lad, by A. E. Housman
Evocative collection of poems on various themes such as youth, love, early death, the beauty of nature, looking back on one's life, and the passage of time. Some are joyful and even comic, but most have a melancholy atmosphere. The rhythm and rhyme of the words are so natural, nothing forced.
I found it a very enjoyable read. The haunting quote from poem #35, On the idle hill of summer at the beginning of Winston Churchill's account of World War I, introduced me to this book.
I found it a very enjoyable read. The haunting quote from poem #35, On the idle hill of summer at the beginning of Winston Churchill's account of World War I, introduced me to this book.
A Match for Mary Bennet, by Eucharista Ward
The premise is interesting but I found the book much too slowly paced and without the nuanced, sometimes wry observations of Austen on her characters and their society. It seemed like the author spent too much time trying to develop detailed plot lines and not enough on making the characters seem real or bringing out insightful commentary about their thoughts and situations. I lost interest and bailed out about halfway through. Not surprised, though. Jane Austen is a hard act to follow.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
One Word of Truth- Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Nobel Lecture
This speech is just as good as A World Split Apart, and that's really saying something. He describes the existential gulf between people living under oppressive governments and those in free countries. There is a disconnect between the two, and the latter group very often cannot understand where the former is coming from. As a representative of the former group transplanted into the world of the latter, Solzhenitsyn cites art as the means by which the gap can be bridged.
It is the means by which one can enter into another person's experience.
He also talks about the "spirit of Munich" and how it has dominated the 20th century (inclination of the free world to appease and tolerate unjust violence elsewhere provided it left the West alone) and how violence inevitably requires lies to maintain its position of power-- to deceive people about its true nature and give itself legitimacy.
The task of the artist above all is to remain honest in the face of violence and lies.
"Let the lie come into the world, even dominate the world, but not through me."
The Solzhenitsyn Center has released a video made with an excellent (English) reading of this speech, which is available to view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ITbFdTaB_E.
It is the means by which one can enter into another person's experience.
He also talks about the "spirit of Munich" and how it has dominated the 20th century (inclination of the free world to appease and tolerate unjust violence elsewhere provided it left the West alone) and how violence inevitably requires lies to maintain its position of power-- to deceive people about its true nature and give itself legitimacy.
The task of the artist above all is to remain honest in the face of violence and lies.
"Let the lie come into the world, even dominate the world, but not through me."
The Solzhenitsyn Center has released a video made with an excellent (English) reading of this speech, which is available to view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ITbFdTaB_E.
Understanding Europe, by Christopher Dawson
This is an outstanding analysis of Europe and Western civilization. The book is divided in two parts.
In the first part, Dawson describes what Europe is: a society of peoples whose culture was shaped both by Christianity and the Greco-Roman heritage. Through comparisons, he explains what differentiates it from Asia, describes the special case of Russia, and discusses the regional differences among the different peoples. These were produced by the splintering of Christianity during the Reformation and the different styles of government in the different regions, contrasting the parliamentary governments that sprung up in Western Europe with the large military empires that developed in Central and Eastern Europe. He also devotes two chapters to Europe's overseas colonies: the dual nature of European colonialism and how each nation's colonial effort differed in character from one another.
The second part of the book is about the decline of Western culture and the revolt, starting in the eighteenth century, against the ideas and norms that used to unify Europe. He describes the rise of the large totalitarian and authoritarian states, how the ideas behind this style of government originated in Hegelian philosophy, and how the two world wars came about.
For a relatively short (230 page) book, he covers a lot of ground, and it's definitely a book that you have to read more than once in order to properly digest the material. It's best to have a reasonably good general knowledge of the history of the various European countries in order to appreciate this book properly.
In the first part, Dawson describes what Europe is: a society of peoples whose culture was shaped both by Christianity and the Greco-Roman heritage. Through comparisons, he explains what differentiates it from Asia, describes the special case of Russia, and discusses the regional differences among the different peoples. These were produced by the splintering of Christianity during the Reformation and the different styles of government in the different regions, contrasting the parliamentary governments that sprung up in Western Europe with the large military empires that developed in Central and Eastern Europe. He also devotes two chapters to Europe's overseas colonies: the dual nature of European colonialism and how each nation's colonial effort differed in character from one another.
The second part of the book is about the decline of Western culture and the revolt, starting in the eighteenth century, against the ideas and norms that used to unify Europe. He describes the rise of the large totalitarian and authoritarian states, how the ideas behind this style of government originated in Hegelian philosophy, and how the two world wars came about.
For a relatively short (230 page) book, he covers a lot of ground, and it's definitely a book that you have to read more than once in order to properly digest the material. It's best to have a reasonably good general knowledge of the history of the various European countries in order to appreciate this book properly.
Divorce à Buda, by Sandor Marai
This book has many similarities to Embers in that it's also the story of a love triangle with two men in love with the same woman, and the story is told in the form of a conversation between the two men, old friends, after the woman has died. While it lacks the theatrical setting and characters of Embers its storyline has an otherworldly side to it in the idea of a divine pattern thwarted by chance and the long term effects of decisions that seemed inconsequential at the time they were made.
I think Embers is better, but this was pretty good too.
I think Embers is better, but this was pretty good too.
Friday, August 11, 2017
A World Split Apart- Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Harvard Commencement Address, 1978
I think this is one of the best speeches ever written. On anything. Alexander Solzhenitsyn turns his keen powers of observation and understanding, sharpened by long years of oppression under a totalitarian regime, on the West and diagnoses the cause of its ills: a decline in moral courage. Despite having been written 40 years ago, it's even more relevant now than it was then.
Even better than reading this is hearing the man himself deliver it at Harvard in 1978-- the video of the complete speech, with a simultaneous translator translating it into English is available on Youtube. Awesome stuff.
And if you can, listen also to Dr. Peter Kreeft's excellent commentary on it and the impression it made on him as a member of that audience in 1978--also available on Youtube.
Even better than reading this is hearing the man himself deliver it at Harvard in 1978-- the video of the complete speech, with a simultaneous translator translating it into English is available on Youtube. Awesome stuff.
And if you can, listen also to Dr. Peter Kreeft's excellent commentary on it and the impression it made on him as a member of that audience in 1978--also available on Youtube.
The Guns of August, by Barbara Tuchman
Back in 2014, the first of the World War I centenary years, I decided to get informed about World War I since I knew so little about it and it is frequently cited as the cause of various negative developments in the modern world (not the least of which was World War II). But I'm a procrastinator so it took three years to get my rear in gear.
This book served as a great start. It's a military history covering the first month of the war on the Western front, including the frantic diplomacy and negotiation on the few days before the outbreak of the war, particularly in Belgium. It ends on the eve of the battle of the Marne. Tuchman only dedicates two chapters on Eastern front battles (Gumbinnen and Tannenberg), and one on the pursuit of the German light cruiser Goeben in the Mediterranean which resulted in the Turkish alliance with Germany, so if you're looking for a history of the Eastern front and an account of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife this is not it.
Tuchman is a skilled storyteller and includes just enough maps and technical information about military strategy and the technology of that time so a layman can understand the ramifications of the decisions made by the many generals, diplomats, monarchs, and politicians to whom he will be introduced. I had no problem following the progress of the war and learned a lot about the military thinking of the time. She also includes enough detail about the situations and people to draw the reader into the world of 1914. No mean feat.
This book served as a great start. It's a military history covering the first month of the war on the Western front, including the frantic diplomacy and negotiation on the few days before the outbreak of the war, particularly in Belgium. It ends on the eve of the battle of the Marne. Tuchman only dedicates two chapters on Eastern front battles (Gumbinnen and Tannenberg), and one on the pursuit of the German light cruiser Goeben in the Mediterranean which resulted in the Turkish alliance with Germany, so if you're looking for a history of the Eastern front and an account of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife this is not it.
Tuchman is a skilled storyteller and includes just enough maps and technical information about military strategy and the technology of that time so a layman can understand the ramifications of the decisions made by the many generals, diplomats, monarchs, and politicians to whom he will be introduced. I had no problem following the progress of the war and learned a lot about the military thinking of the time. She also includes enough detail about the situations and people to draw the reader into the world of 1914. No mean feat.
Friday, August 4, 2017
The Professor's House, by Willa Cather
Willa Cather displays her talent for storytelling, and creating believable characters and situations in this novel. It is set up a bit differently from other books of hers I have read, as we have the main story line about the professor, his family, and his impending retirement, and a second one told in flashback about Tom Outland, his most celebrated student (and his daughter's fiance)--an inventor and adventurer whose promising life was cut short in World War I.
The two storylines invite comparison, as the first one features the professor's quiet, comfortable everyday life, preoccupied with moving into a new house, and the second one is prompted by the professor's coming across Tom's diary among the things in his study while preparing for the move, and reading through it.
Tom's life before coming to the university was everything the professor's isn't--chaotic, impoverished, adventurous, with lots of time spent exploring the ruins of the pueblo Indians' cave dwellings in New Mexico. The professor, having completed and been recognized for his masterwork on Spanish history, feels that there is nothing left in life to look forward to. His daughters are both married and on their own; they don't seem to need him as much as they used to. The elder especially, who has inherited Tom's estate, is developing some personality traits he doesn't care for. The new house is more his wife's project than his. There is no place in it comparable to his old attic study, where so much of his work was done and which holds many memories. He stays in it long after the rest of the house has been vacated, to the point of renting the old house for some extra months.
It's the perfect picture of a man who is reluctant to move on to a new phase of life (which looks drab and uninteresting from his present point of view), and tries to hang on to the old life for as long as possible.
The two storylines invite comparison, as the first one features the professor's quiet, comfortable everyday life, preoccupied with moving into a new house, and the second one is prompted by the professor's coming across Tom's diary among the things in his study while preparing for the move, and reading through it.
Tom's life before coming to the university was everything the professor's isn't--chaotic, impoverished, adventurous, with lots of time spent exploring the ruins of the pueblo Indians' cave dwellings in New Mexico. The professor, having completed and been recognized for his masterwork on Spanish history, feels that there is nothing left in life to look forward to. His daughters are both married and on their own; they don't seem to need him as much as they used to. The elder especially, who has inherited Tom's estate, is developing some personality traits he doesn't care for. The new house is more his wife's project than his. There is no place in it comparable to his old attic study, where so much of his work was done and which holds many memories. He stays in it long after the rest of the house has been vacated, to the point of renting the old house for some extra months.
It's the perfect picture of a man who is reluctant to move on to a new phase of life (which looks drab and uninteresting from his present point of view), and tries to hang on to the old life for as long as possible.
Nos pluralistes, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Alexander Solzhenitsyn criticizes the moral emptiness of pluralism and its impotence when faced with the evils of socialism. He also criticizes the work of some of his fellow Soviet exiles, who blame the failures of socialism on the defects of the Russian people and their culture, rather than on the nature of socialism itself.
This book is an excerpt from a longer work, The Oak and the Calf, and I did find parts of it difficult to follow because I am not familiar with the work of the people Solzhenitsyn cites, but it was a worthwhile read nonetheless. Maybe reading it as part of The Oak and the Calf would provide more context.
This book is an excerpt from a longer work, The Oak and the Calf, and I did find parts of it difficult to follow because I am not familiar with the work of the people Solzhenitsyn cites, but it was a worthwhile read nonetheless. Maybe reading it as part of The Oak and the Calf would provide more context.
Moscou sans voiles, by Joseph Douillet
The author, Joseph Douillet, is a Belgian citizen who spent thirty five years living in Russia—first as Belgian consul when the tsar was still in power, then with humanitarian organizations that set up in the USSR to help alleviate the effects of the economic problems and famine caused by increasing nationalization of the factories and farms after the October Revolution. The timing of his career, the positions he held, his fluency and familiarity with the Russian language and culture put him in a perfect position to observe the transition from tsarist to Soviet Russia and to draw comparisons between the two. If there was any historical event that proved that not all change is for the better (to put it mildly), this is it.
It is a very well organized book that details the effects Communism had on different aspects of life. He starts off with how the USSR presents itself to foreigners, which is like a type of theater. Then he moves on to discussing Communism’s effects on the working and living conditions of peasants and factory workers: the level of their earnings, prices and availability of necessities, use of taxes to disadvantage disfavored groups, the educational system, the disintegration of marriage and family, illegitimacy, crime rates, treatment of people at the beginning and at the end of life, treatment of religious people, confiscation of church property, and the omnipresent surveillance of the secret police, whose power surpassed even that of the Politburo. He even spent 9 months in KGB custody at the Loubianka prison in Moscow prior to being deported to Latvia in 1925, so the later chapters are about his experiences in that jail, the effects of torture and interrogations on fellow inmates, their various fates--often deportation to gulags in Siberia or Solovetzky Island, or execution in the prison compound itself. The last chapter is about the Comintern, the Party’s foreign outreach and propaganda arm, whose aim was to spread the movement in Europe.
My edition is dated 1928, so this was written soon after being expelled from the USSR. There does not seem to be an English translation, so this book is only accessible to French speakers. Great read for those interested in Russian and Cold War history. I’m surprised at how early this book appeared (just 11 years after the October Revolution), as I had the impression that information about the real conditions inside the USSR took longer to become known in the West.
It is a very well organized book that details the effects Communism had on different aspects of life. He starts off with how the USSR presents itself to foreigners, which is like a type of theater. Then he moves on to discussing Communism’s effects on the working and living conditions of peasants and factory workers: the level of their earnings, prices and availability of necessities, use of taxes to disadvantage disfavored groups, the educational system, the disintegration of marriage and family, illegitimacy, crime rates, treatment of people at the beginning and at the end of life, treatment of religious people, confiscation of church property, and the omnipresent surveillance of the secret police, whose power surpassed even that of the Politburo. He even spent 9 months in KGB custody at the Loubianka prison in Moscow prior to being deported to Latvia in 1925, so the later chapters are about his experiences in that jail, the effects of torture and interrogations on fellow inmates, their various fates--often deportation to gulags in Siberia or Solovetzky Island, or execution in the prison compound itself. The last chapter is about the Comintern, the Party’s foreign outreach and propaganda arm, whose aim was to spread the movement in Europe.
My edition is dated 1928, so this was written soon after being expelled from the USSR. There does not seem to be an English translation, so this book is only accessible to French speakers. Great read for those interested in Russian and Cold War history. I’m surprised at how early this book appeared (just 11 years after the October Revolution), as I had the impression that information about the real conditions inside the USSR took longer to become known in the West.
Thérèse Raquin, by Honoré de Balzac
This book reminds me of why I decided to avoid Zola years ago, after reading Germinal. Basically, his characters are born…and their lives go downhill from there. There are some similarities to Thomas Hardy, but at least Hardy’s characters have a more hopeful outlook in the early part of the story and strong redeeming qualities even if fate does get them in the end.
**spoiler alert!**
Therese Raquin is the story of a sordid love triangle in a depressing working class neighborhood. Therese was adopted permanently by her aunt after her parents died, and she married her cousin Camille, a sickly boy with whom she was raised, and whom she married only because she was expected to and for lack of other prospects. After they move to Paris, Therese starts an affair with Camille’s best friend Laurent (big healthy meathead type), and together they plot to kill Camille so that they can marry and inherit her elderly aunt’s property after her death. Their consciences, however, prove impossible to appease after the murder, and they become subject to Macbeth-like psychotic delusions, seeing their victim around or sensing his presence, especially when they are alone together. Everything comes to a tragic end.
There was only one character in this book that I liked, and that was the Raquins’ tabby cat Francois. Even he was very cruelly murdered.
Don’t pick up this book unless you are in the mood for a major downer.
**spoiler alert!**
Therese Raquin is the story of a sordid love triangle in a depressing working class neighborhood. Therese was adopted permanently by her aunt after her parents died, and she married her cousin Camille, a sickly boy with whom she was raised, and whom she married only because she was expected to and for lack of other prospects. After they move to Paris, Therese starts an affair with Camille’s best friend Laurent (big healthy meathead type), and together they plot to kill Camille so that they can marry and inherit her elderly aunt’s property after her death. Their consciences, however, prove impossible to appease after the murder, and they become subject to Macbeth-like psychotic delusions, seeing their victim around or sensing his presence, especially when they are alone together. Everything comes to a tragic end.
There was only one character in this book that I liked, and that was the Raquins’ tabby cat Francois. Even he was very cruelly murdered.
Don’t pick up this book unless you are in the mood for a major downer.
Esther's Inheritance, by Sandor Marai
This was an interesting story, albeit not as good as Embers, as far as characters and storyline go. Like Embers, it is a story told through the memories of people who lived through the events long ago. In this case, the protagonist is Esther, a woman in her forties, who was betrayed twenty years ago by Lajos, the man she loved, and her sister Vilma. Lajos is basically a charlatan who is used to getting his way by telling people what they want to hear and talking them out of their money and property while pretending to care nothing about material things at all. And after twenty years, two children, Vilma’s death, and having to skip town because he talked his father in law into losing most of his assets in fraudulent investments, Lajos is coming back—to take from Esther what little property she has left (the family house and land), which is all she has to live on.
The Roads to Modernity: The British, French, and American Enlightenments, by Gertrude Himmelfarb
This book does a great job comparing and contrasting the differences of the Enlightenment as experienced in Britain, the U.S., and France. It's like an introductory, comparative survey course of the various Enlightenment thinkers in the three countries, so do not expect in-depth or detailed analysis on any particular person. This book is more to give you a general picture of the intellectual climate of those times. The treatment of the American Enlightenment is the briefest of the three, which was fine with me because I am more familiar with the American founding fathers and the thinkers that influenced them than I am with French or British Enlightenment figures.
Caution: Your to-read list will grow as a result of reading this book.
Caution: Your to-read list will grow as a result of reading this book.
Chess Story, by Stefan Zweig
This is now one of my favorite of Stefan Zweig's stories. It's set on a transatlantic ocean liner. A couple of passengers, the narrator and a competitive Scottish businessman (who is also a chess aficionado), while away the time with a game of chess. After the narrator loses, he good naturedly tells the businessman that Czentovic, the top chess grand master is on board ship. Unable to resist a good game, the businessman organizes a match between Czentovic and all the other passengers. A mysterious stranger shows up who seems to be a chess genius, giving the passengers' side a realistic chance of winning. We learn Czentovic's life story, as well as that of the mysterious stranger, who are just about as opposite to one another as it is possible to be, and the chess game becomes something of a duel between the two men and all each stands for.
This was one of Zweig's last stories, and it was published posthumously, after he and his wife committed suicide in Brazil. One can't help but regret how deep his despair must have been, and how much additional good work he could have done if he hadn't succumbed to it.
This was one of Zweig's last stories, and it was published posthumously, after he and his wife committed suicide in Brazil. One can't help but regret how deep his despair must have been, and how much additional good work he could have done if he hadn't succumbed to it.
Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages: The Layman's Quick Guide to Thomism, by Dr. Taylor Marshall
| If you are looking for a clear, concise introduction to the life and work of St. Thomas Aquinas, and you have little to no background in philosophy or theology, this book does the job well. Dr. Marshall sketches out St. Thomas's life story, and explains the fundamental ideas of Thomist philosophy and the intellectual climate of St. Thomas's time in a simple, straightforward way. |
Karl Marx As a Religious Type: His Relation to the Religion of Anthropotheism of L. Feuerbach, by Sergei Bulgakov
Since this is the centenary year of the Russian Revolution, I've been trying to read more about the history of that time and the people who were involved or contributed to it in some way. Karl Marx, as the originator of Marxism, was definitely an intellectual contributor to it.
In this short book, Russian Orthodox priest and philosopher Sergei Bulgakov analyzes the personality and background of Karl Marx based on his writings and the writings of Marx's contemporaries, and Marx's impact on the socialist movement. Bulgakov was a contemporary of Lenin rather than Marx; he was himself a Marxist in his youth and later returned to and was ordained in his faith. Bulgakov points out how important atheism, the materialist worldview, and the elimination of religion were to Marx (i.e. it was the main feature, not a side show). Marx saw socialism as a means to eliminate religion, rather than elimination of religion being a side effect of socialism eliminating poverty. Among other topics, Bulgakov also cites evidence of Marx's dictatorial and vindictive personality as observed by writings of his contemporaries and his treatment of them, his greater affinity for the ideas of Feuerbach rather than Hegel, and his attitude towards his own ancestral people, the Jews.
This book is available online here.
In this short book, Russian Orthodox priest and philosopher Sergei Bulgakov analyzes the personality and background of Karl Marx based on his writings and the writings of Marx's contemporaries, and Marx's impact on the socialist movement. Bulgakov was a contemporary of Lenin rather than Marx; he was himself a Marxist in his youth and later returned to and was ordained in his faith. Bulgakov points out how important atheism, the materialist worldview, and the elimination of religion were to Marx (i.e. it was the main feature, not a side show). Marx saw socialism as a means to eliminate religion, rather than elimination of religion being a side effect of socialism eliminating poverty. Among other topics, Bulgakov also cites evidence of Marx's dictatorial and vindictive personality as observed by writings of his contemporaries and his treatment of them, his greater affinity for the ideas of Feuerbach rather than Hegel, and his attitude towards his own ancestral people, the Jews.
This book is available online here.
Embers, by Sandor Marai
Love triangles have got to be among the oldest storylines out there, but this one is very beautifully told. An old aristocratic General living in a remote Hungarian forest receives a visit from a long lost friend, and they reminisce about their childhood, their days at military school and military service... and about the General's long dead wife. The setting and time of the story (interwar Europe) give it a dramatic, almost otherworldly atmosphere, and the story is told obliquely. Situations and emotions are revealed through small details, observations, and remarks in conversation rather than straightforward narrative, which makes it very realistic.
A Tangled Web, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
| I enjoyed this novel, which consists of the various stories about the members of a large extended clan, all of whom are anxious to see who will inherit a prized family heirloom jug from the matriarch of the family. As with her Anne of Green Gables series, L. M. Montgomery shows her knack for storytelling, finding humor in everyday situations, some common, others not so common, and the joys and sorrows of life in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. Good entertaining read. |
The Blue Castle, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
This is a sweet little story that reminded me of the Bette Davis movieNow, Voyager. It's about a timid, quiet woman who is endlessly twitted about her plain looks and unmarried state by her insensitive relatives, all of whom take her for granted and generally see her as a nonentity. When a doctor diagnoses her with a serious illness and tells her she only has a year to live, she decides to go out and make the most of the time she has left, learning to be independent from her family, mastering her fears, and finding love.
If you are looking for great literature with deep characters and psychological insight, this is not for you. It's a fun quick read with a heartwarming message.
If you are looking for great literature with deep characters and psychological insight, this is not for you. It's a fun quick read with a heartwarming message.
Réflexions sur la révolution de Février, par Alexander Solzhenitsyn
In this book, Solzhenitsyn analyzes the toxic mix of conditions that brought about the events and consequences of three fateful days in St. Petersburg, from February 28-March 2, 1917 by the Julian calendar, or March 13-15, 2017 by the Gregorian. Because of an insurrection in St. Petersburg, Czar Nicholas II abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Grand Duke Michael, who was equally disinclined to fulfill the obligations emperor. Solzhenitsyn discusses how conditions, which only affected a small number of people, combined to destroy an enormous country, the majority of whose population were still attached to their traditions, their religion, and their way of life. These include a lack of responsibility and sense of duty on the part of the royal family and government officials, the intelligentsia’s embrace of radical politics and revolutionary ideas, bad management of the military (which led to large numbers of inexperienced new recruits sitting idle in St. Petersburg), and the incompetence of the Kerensky government that replaced the monarchy. Thus the Russian empire fell, not because of tyranny or high-handedness on the part of the Czar, but from weakness and lack of leadership.
Beware of Pity, by Stefan Zweig
| This was a very detailed psychological novel about Lieutenant Hofmiller, a soldier who upsets Edith, a young lame girl by asking her to dance at a ball, as he was unaware of her disability. Unwilling to hurt anyone and wishing to do good, he befriends the family, becomes a regular visitor at their house, and allows them to depend more and more on him until he feels obligated to fulfill their expectations. On the other hand, Edith, used to being the center of attention as the only child of wealthy parents, is unable to accept reality full-time. She swings between elation from living in a fantasy world where her condition is curable and where she can look forward to living life as an able bodied woman, and severe depression when she faces reality and can't accept it. The whole household (and soon, Hofmiller too) has made it their primary concern to keep her as much as possible in her fantasy world. There are two other similar couples in the story with which we can contrast the main couple, both of whom married at least in part due to pity on the part of the husband toward the wife: Edith's parents (her father is a self-made millionaire who made his fortune by taking financial advantage of her mother, whom he then felt obligated to marry) and her doctor and his blind wife. Both made successes of their marriages, as compared to Edith and Hofmiller, whose engagement ends in tragedy on the eve of World War I. |
Friday, July 21, 2017
The Axe, by Sigrid Undset
I'm liking this series as much as <i>Kristin Lavransdatter</i>. Like <i>Kristin</i>, it is the life story of a person in medieval Norway, a man this time, named Olav Audunsson. The book is separated into two parts, the first primarily concerning Olav and his experiences; the second primarily about his fiancee Ingunn. Olav's parents having died early in his childhood, he becomes the foster son of Ingunn's parents and the children grow up with the knowledge that they are betrothed to each other. Their betrothal was not carried out with all the formalities as it ought to have been, leading to problems for the couple and their families. It's set in an earlier time than <i>Kristin</i>, so Norway has become a Christian country, but in the people have still not fully transitioned from their old ways.
Marx and Satan, by Richard Wurmbrand
This is a very convincing book, written by a Romanian victim of Marxism, that brings forward the hypothesis that Karl Marx and some of his most infamous followers may have been strongly influenced by Satanism. Wurmbrand cites excerpts from Marx's books, poetry, and correspondence that point in that direction, such that further research into the possibility is warranted. I also did not realize that a very large portion of Marx's writings have been sitting in Russian vaults and kept from being disseminated, translated, and discussed. Very surprising for a thinker whose work has made such a huge, albeit negative, impact upon the world.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Leo Tolstoy
This is a short story or novella about a man's last days. It realistically portrays how easy it is to get completely preoccupied in the details of day to day life as if they were all-important...and the shock when something reminds you that one day it will end. Ivan Illich is a moderately well-to-do, very ordinary middle aged lawyer employed somewhere in the government bureaucracy. He has a wife, a grown up daughter, and young son, and until he contracts a serious illness, he was concerned with such things as upward mobility, promotions, office politics, his daughter's engagement, and the details of renovating and moving into a bigger, better apartment. Despite reassurances from the doctors, none of whose treatments help, Illich goes into a slow physical decline and experiences the isolation of the end of life, which he is not in the least prepared for, whose approach he can do nothing about, and which none of his worldly family and friends can understand.
Plato's Republic
Any freedom loving person will hate this book if he reads it as a straightforward exposition of how to achieve the ideal state, because the ideal state Socrates describes in the book (the "Republic" of the title) is a terribly tyrannical place. But it doesn't seem to me that Plato intended it to be read that way. It is more like a thought exercise, where Socrates poses questions, and depending on the answers of the person he is speaking with, takes ideas further, step by step. Some of his dialogue partners have real input; others seem more like yes-men--sometimes reluctant yes-men--and Socrates's exchanges with them read like cautionary tales showing the crazy places where lazy thinking or gullibility can take you. And of course, nowhere is lazy thinking more dangerous than in politics, where a lot of harm can result. There is a part where Socrates describes the three different kinds of acceptable government, the three evil kinds (which are the three acceptable ones taken to extremes), and the three different personalities that tend to be produced by each type of government, and also this is the book where Plato describes his famous "Cave" analogy.
All in all, a very rich book--one that deserves to be read multiple times, because you won't get everything it has to offer in one reading. It's definitely a book that is best read at leisure, because there are a lot times when you will have to stop and think about whether you agree with what you just read or how you would have answered Socrates differently from his dialogue partner.
Peter Kreeft did a great series of lectures that serve as an introduction to Plato and his work--very useful if you haven't read any Plato before. I think I'd have gotten more out of this book if I'd heard the lectures before reading it.
All in all, a very rich book--one that deserves to be read multiple times, because you won't get everything it has to offer in one reading. It's definitely a book that is best read at leisure, because there are a lot times when you will have to stop and think about whether you agree with what you just read or how you would have answered Socrates differently from his dialogue partner.
Peter Kreeft did a great series of lectures that serve as an introduction to Plato and his work--very useful if you haven't read any Plato before. I think I'd have gotten more out of this book if I'd heard the lectures before reading it.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Coleridge
This poem is impressive in how the wording and the meter are so evocative that the scenes described by the Mariner seem real. It's the story of gratuitous evil: the Mariner kills, for no good reason, a beautiful Albatross who seems to be a benevolent presence around his ship. The horrific events that follow are like a supernatural retribution for his idle deed.
The poem is even better listened to than read. Check out Richard Burton's rendition available on YouTube. It's great!
The poem is even better listened to than read. Check out Richard Burton's rendition available on YouTube. It's great!
The Mortal Danger, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
This book consists of a long essay Solzhenitsyn wrote in 1980 for <i>Foreign Affairs</i> magazine, some reaction letters from readers (mostly university professors) and Solzhenitsyn's rebuttal to the letters. I liked the format because it shows both sides of the issue and you get the back-and-forth of a debate.
The essay addresses an important question, especially for those who think real Communism hasn't been tried yet because it's always been adulterated by the local history and traditions of the countries where it was implemented. Did the mass murders, oppressive policies, and other negative features of the Soviet government have their roots in some evil tendency from Russia's tsarist past which re-emerged under Stalin, or does the evil reside in Communism itself? Solzhenitsyn argues the latter position, pointing out the intellectual roots of Bolshevism and misconceptions about both 19th century Russia, often presented as worse than it really was, and Lenin's government, often presented as the antithesis to Stalin, when Stalin was just continuing the same policies.
The letter-writers cite, among other things, Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and some of the features of Nicholas II's reign as providing precedent for oppression, and Solzhenitsyn shows why their arguments are implausible or based on a mistaken interpretation of historical facts.
Very interesting reading for those interested in the Cold War and for those who are puzzled about how an economic system with an awful track record every place it's been tried still attracts supporters.
The essay addresses an important question, especially for those who think real Communism hasn't been tried yet because it's always been adulterated by the local history and traditions of the countries where it was implemented. Did the mass murders, oppressive policies, and other negative features of the Soviet government have their roots in some evil tendency from Russia's tsarist past which re-emerged under Stalin, or does the evil reside in Communism itself? Solzhenitsyn argues the latter position, pointing out the intellectual roots of Bolshevism and misconceptions about both 19th century Russia, often presented as worse than it really was, and Lenin's government, often presented as the antithesis to Stalin, when Stalin was just continuing the same policies.
The letter-writers cite, among other things, Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and some of the features of Nicholas II's reign as providing precedent for oppression, and Solzhenitsyn shows why their arguments are implausible or based on a mistaken interpretation of historical facts.
Very interesting reading for those interested in the Cold War and for those who are puzzled about how an economic system with an awful track record every place it's been tried still attracts supporters.
Marta Oulie, by Sigrid Undset
** spoiler alert ** This is Sigrid Undset's first novel, published when she was 24. The novel is written as a series of entries in a diary, which outline the thoughts and feelings of Marta Oulie, a woman in her thirties, the wife of Otto, a successful businessman and mother of four children, who allows herself to fall into an affair with Henrik, who is her cousin, her husband's best friend and business partner.
For such a young writer with no similar life experiences, Undset does a very convincing job outlining Marta's thoughts and feelings--her reminiscence of how she and her husband met, the happy early days of their marriage, her dissatisfaction with her role as wife and mother, the creeping (though undeserved) condescension in her attitude towards her husband, and her attraction towards the more sophisticated and educated Henrik. After she has her fourth child, (Henrik's), she comes to her senses and realizes how spoiled and selfish she has been, but her newfound appreciation for her family, husband, and comfortable middle class life comes too late. Otto's TB has been discovered to be terminal, and, like it or not, she's about to lose it all.
This early short novel is obviously not as complex as the historical series she is most famous for, like Kristin Lavransdatter, but it's very realistic and believable. Undset has already started to explore themes that appear in her later work: family relationships, sin, repentance, and redemption.
For such a young writer with no similar life experiences, Undset does a very convincing job outlining Marta's thoughts and feelings--her reminiscence of how she and her husband met, the happy early days of their marriage, her dissatisfaction with her role as wife and mother, the creeping (though undeserved) condescension in her attitude towards her husband, and her attraction towards the more sophisticated and educated Henrik. After she has her fourth child, (Henrik's), she comes to her senses and realizes how spoiled and selfish she has been, but her newfound appreciation for her family, husband, and comfortable middle class life comes too late. Otto's TB has been discovered to be terminal, and, like it or not, she's about to lose it all.
This early short novel is obviously not as complex as the historical series she is most famous for, like Kristin Lavransdatter, but it's very realistic and believable. Undset has already started to explore themes that appear in her later work: family relationships, sin, repentance, and redemption.
The Complete Guide to Fasting, by Dr. Jason Fung & Jimmy Moore
| Excellent book that clearly explains the science behind why fasting works more efficiently and with fewer negative effects than calorie reduction and why it's particularly good for type 2 diabetic s and insulin resistant people. The book also gives practical guidelines on how to implement a fasting regimen in your life and what to expect while you're on it. I bought this because I want 2017 to be the year when I finally lose the weight and improve my health. |
The Lady with the Little Dog, by Anton Chekhov
This is the first Chekhov story I've ever read. He has a spare style--not too much description, dialogue or psychological analysis. The details he does give about the characters and their interactions are suggestive enough so that you can get a really vivid sense of the personalities and what they're thinking out of what he does tell you. This story had an unresolved ending, so it came across as a "slice of life" type sketch rather than a complete story where you know exactly what happened to everyone.
The Judgment of the Nations, by Christopher Dawson
This book is my introduction to British historian Christopher Dawson, and I think it's brilliant. Definitely going to be reading more of his work. He finished this in 1942, so he was working on it when WW2 broke out and in those tense and depressing years leading up to it. His purpose in writing it was to offer some reasons why the countries of the West, whose culture and values were formed by Christianity and the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome ended up fighting two horribly self-destructive world wars.
He discusses the tensions that began to develop between nations as their styles of government diverged (constitutional vs. autocratic monarchies, nation-states vs. multilingual multiethnic empires, fundamentally civilian vs. military states), and as Christianity splintered into multiple denominations. Differences in belief do cause differences in worldview, which have practical ramifications. He also expounds on the Enlightenment, the scientific materialist world view that came with it, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, and of the Socialist movements of all stripes that aspired to bring the rapidly growing economies under state control.
He discusses the tensions that began to develop between nations as their styles of government diverged (constitutional vs. autocratic monarchies, nation-states vs. multilingual multiethnic empires, fundamentally civilian vs. military states), and as Christianity splintered into multiple denominations. Differences in belief do cause differences in worldview, which have practical ramifications. He also expounds on the Enlightenment, the scientific materialist world view that came with it, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, and of the Socialist movements of all stripes that aspired to bring the rapidly growing economies under state control.
Eugénie Grandet, by Honoré de Balzac
This is a tragic story about a young lady living in a French town in the Loire region with her miserly father, patient long suffering mother and faithful servant. Being of a rich family, she is courted by the sons of other well to do families in her town, when one day her handsome young cousin from Paris comes to live with them for a while. Which suitor succeeds in winning her heart, and will he win her hand as well?
Balzac clearly meant the story to criticize the too avid pursuit of wealth, to the point where more precious things are sacrificed for its sake and where even the enjoyment of the wealth (presumably the main why reason one wants it) is forgotten in the desire to possess it.
Balzac clearly meant the story to criticize the too avid pursuit of wealth, to the point where more precious things are sacrificed for its sake and where even the enjoyment of the wealth (presumably the main why reason one wants it) is forgotten in the desire to possess it.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Matryona's House and Other Stories, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
This collection includes 6 short stories and about a dozen prose poems, which are basically short sketches of a character or situation that illustrates an idea. My three favorites among the short stories were <i>Matryona's House</i>, <i>The Right Hand</i>, and <i>An Incident at Krechetovka Station</i>.
<i>Matryona's House</i> is narrated by a schoolteacher who has just arrived to work in the school of a little rural town. Looking around for lodgings, and preferring peace and quiet, he is directed to the house of a poor elderly widow named Matryona. She is a simple peasant woman who has worked hard all her life, lives alone in an old-fashioned decrepit house, and over time, the schoolteacher comes to appreciate her qualities: reliability, endurance, common sense, generosity, loyalty, faith in God, and love of life in its many forms, from the lame cat she has adopted to the fig plants she cultivates in her home. He comes to realize just how rare these qualities are after her death in an accident, when he learns more about her life from how her friends and relatives talk about her--often in ways that showed that they did not understand or appreciate her worth at all.
<i>The Right Hand</i> is a story told by a man who notices a homeless and obviously very sick old veteran being ignored by passersby on the street. The veteran has traveled a long way in a weakened condition in the hopes of being admitted to a hospital in Tashkent. The narrator is an ex-prisoner who has gotten in trouble in the past for counter-revolutionary activities, while the old veteran served with distinction as a Red revolutionary, and has the papers to prove it. The veteran thinks his proof of loyal service to the Communist cause will help him get admitted for treatment in his time of need, but the joke is that the machine-like bureaucracy of the hospital treats both men in exactly the same way, regardless of past service, political views, or state of health: neither can get any service because the admissions office has stopped taking new patients for the day, and mere human considerations are not allowed to take precedence over that ironclad rule.
<i>An Incident at Krechetovka Station</i> is about an official at a busy railway station in wartime whose job it is to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. One day, a soldier who has somehow got left behind by his transport shows up at the station, and it is up to the official to decide whether or not he is who he says he is and what is to be done with him. It's a story about the conditions of war, the bureaucracy involved in dealing with the complex logistics of moving massive amounts of people and cargo, and how easily an individual can fall through the cracks to either beat the system or be crushed by it.
<i>Matryona's House</i> is narrated by a schoolteacher who has just arrived to work in the school of a little rural town. Looking around for lodgings, and preferring peace and quiet, he is directed to the house of a poor elderly widow named Matryona. She is a simple peasant woman who has worked hard all her life, lives alone in an old-fashioned decrepit house, and over time, the schoolteacher comes to appreciate her qualities: reliability, endurance, common sense, generosity, loyalty, faith in God, and love of life in its many forms, from the lame cat she has adopted to the fig plants she cultivates in her home. He comes to realize just how rare these qualities are after her death in an accident, when he learns more about her life from how her friends and relatives talk about her--often in ways that showed that they did not understand or appreciate her worth at all.
<i>The Right Hand</i> is a story told by a man who notices a homeless and obviously very sick old veteran being ignored by passersby on the street. The veteran has traveled a long way in a weakened condition in the hopes of being admitted to a hospital in Tashkent. The narrator is an ex-prisoner who has gotten in trouble in the past for counter-revolutionary activities, while the old veteran served with distinction as a Red revolutionary, and has the papers to prove it. The veteran thinks his proof of loyal service to the Communist cause will help him get admitted for treatment in his time of need, but the joke is that the machine-like bureaucracy of the hospital treats both men in exactly the same way, regardless of past service, political views, or state of health: neither can get any service because the admissions office has stopped taking new patients for the day, and mere human considerations are not allowed to take precedence over that ironclad rule.
<i>An Incident at Krechetovka Station</i> is about an official at a busy railway station in wartime whose job it is to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. One day, a soldier who has somehow got left behind by his transport shows up at the station, and it is up to the official to decide whether or not he is who he says he is and what is to be done with him. It's a story about the conditions of war, the bureaucracy involved in dealing with the complex logistics of moving massive amounts of people and cargo, and how easily an individual can fall through the cracks to either beat the system or be crushed by it.
Incident on Lake Geneva, by Stefan Zweig
As I see it, An Incident on Lake Geneva is a short story about the increasing incomprehensibility of the modern world, particularly during wartime, and how alien it has become to man’s nature.
One day, during World War II, a fisherman on Lake Geneva picks up a nearly naked man floating about in the water on a homemade raft. The man can’t speak any language that the fisherman knows, so when he gets to shore (causing a sensation because of the man’s unusual appearance) he takes the man to the local authorities and they find a hotel owner who can speak Russian, the only language the fugitive speaks. It turns out the man is a Siberian peasant from the very beautiful, very isolated region of Lake Baikal. He was conscripted into the Red Army, fought in the war, was taken prisoner, then escaped. All he wants is to get home to his wife and children, so he has been slowly making his way back as best he can. Because the war is still going on, the Swiss hotel owner and the authorities offer him lodging at a local inn, saying he can’t go back yet because the war is still on. The man can’t seem to understand why he can’t do something so natural as to go home, and his anxiety over his family’s well-being and despair of ever seeing them again get the better of him.
It's a very short story, so the characters and plot are not as complex as in the other Zweig stories I've read, but it's a moving description of a situation that illustrates a larger truth.
One day, during World War II, a fisherman on Lake Geneva picks up a nearly naked man floating about in the water on a homemade raft. The man can’t speak any language that the fisherman knows, so when he gets to shore (causing a sensation because of the man’s unusual appearance) he takes the man to the local authorities and they find a hotel owner who can speak Russian, the only language the fugitive speaks. It turns out the man is a Siberian peasant from the very beautiful, very isolated region of Lake Baikal. He was conscripted into the Red Army, fought in the war, was taken prisoner, then escaped. All he wants is to get home to his wife and children, so he has been slowly making his way back as best he can. Because the war is still going on, the Swiss hotel owner and the authorities offer him lodging at a local inn, saying he can’t go back yet because the war is still on. The man can’t seem to understand why he can’t do something so natural as to go home, and his anxiety over his family’s well-being and despair of ever seeing them again get the better of him.
It's a very short story, so the characters and plot are not as complex as in the other Zweig stories I've read, but it's a moving description of a situation that illustrates a larger truth.
Journey into the Past, by Stefan Zweig
Zweig again displays his talent for coming up with interesting situations, realistic characters, and psychological insight in this short story about a young man at the start of a promising career who falls in love with his boss's wife, and then is separated from her due to being transferred overseas for much longer than expected because of World War I. Will they be able to pick up where they left off, or not?
Tombeau de la Rouerie, par Michel Mohrt
Ce livre est à la fois une courte introduction à la vie d'Armand Tuffin, Marquis de la Rouerie, et une réflexion sur les parallèles entre sa vie et celle de l’auteur, Michel Mohrt, aussi Breton, soldat français pendant la 2eme guerre mondiale. Le Marquis de la Rouerie n’est pas assez connu aux Etats-Unis pour son service dans l’armée de Washington. C’etait dans les livres et les discours de l’historien et journaliste autrichien, Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, que j’ai appris quelque chose de lui pour la premiere fois. Le marquis était un homme qui aimait la liberté, et comme Edmund Burke, il reconnaissait que la révolution française a ete détourné par un mouvement qui n’avait rien à voir avec les idées libérales de la guerre d’indépendence américaine. Avec le comte de Noyan, il fondait l’association bretonne pour sauvegarder les libertés de sa province, quelle association deviendrait plus tard la Chouannerie dont le but était de renverser le gouvernement révolutionnaire.
American Diplomacy, by George F. Kennan
This book consists of six Walgreen lectures Kennan gave in the 1950's about the major wars the U.S. participated in, including the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II, and his observations about American foreign policy during that time. Also included is the famous "Long Telegram," which he sent to the State Department during his service as an ambassador. It is a concise explanation of the ideology of the Soviet Union, their motivations, and how best to deal with them--apparently given as the answer to the question of why the Soviets were becoming less and less cooperative after World War II.
One of the main ideas behind the book is the warning that moral considerations should not be relied upon too much when determining foreign policy or entering wars. He favors the approach more common in the 19th century and earlier of pursuing national interests because it limits military engagements to the accomplishment of well defined goals, rather than the unconditional surrender and regime change that characterized 20th century wars. He got a (figurative) black eye for this idea from Alexander Solzhenitsyn during the latter's 1978 Harvard Commencement Address. While the narrow pursuit of national interest made sense during the 19th century, when there was a strong moral consensus among the nations, it may be inadequate when dealing with totalitarian regimes whose moral outlook (or lack of one) is very different from one's own and lies at the very root of the war.
One of the main ideas behind the book is the warning that moral considerations should not be relied upon too much when determining foreign policy or entering wars. He favors the approach more common in the 19th century and earlier of pursuing national interests because it limits military engagements to the accomplishment of well defined goals, rather than the unconditional surrender and regime change that characterized 20th century wars. He got a (figurative) black eye for this idea from Alexander Solzhenitsyn during the latter's 1978 Harvard Commencement Address. While the narrow pursuit of national interest made sense during the 19th century, when there was a strong moral consensus among the nations, it may be inadequate when dealing with totalitarian regimes whose moral outlook (or lack of one) is very different from one's own and lies at the very root of the war.
A Train of Powder, by Rebecca West
A group I belong to was doing a challenge throughout the month of October to read books by or about people or places in Ireland. Since Rebecca West, the journalist, travel writer, and novelist was part Irish and she was born in Kerry, this was one of the books I read for it. As is probably obvious from the cover art, <i>A Train of Powder</i> is a collection of six articles she wrote while covering various criminal trials. They read more like short stories than like magazine articles because the author really develops the characters, their background, the circumstances of the crimes, and also her own thoughts on the situations.
Three of the articles make up a series called <i> Greenhouse with Cyclamens</i>, where she relates her thoughts during the closing sessions of the Nuremberg Trials and the rebuilding of Germany, including her observations of the personalities of top Nazi leaders like Goering and Hess as they sat in the dock, differences between German and American/British law, growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the other three Allies who shared control of Germany, leading up to the Soviets’ attempt to isolate Berlin from the West and the resulting Berlin Airlift, and the nascent West German government’s insistence on a free market economy despite pressure from the occupying Allies to adopt a more statist model.
<i>Opera in Greenville</i> is about a lynching in Greenville, South Carolina in 1947. A mob of about 30 people, mostly cabdrivers, convinced the prison warden to hand over a young black man named Willie Earle, in jail on suspicion of having killed the disabled white cabdriver who was driving him home. After some days of no results from the local police, the FBI was called in to find the perpetrators. West does a good job of sketching out what life was like in 1940’s Greenville and situating the crime in a society undergoing a transition in its attitudes towards race relations and vigilante justice.
<i>Mr. Setty and Mr. Hume</i> is about a 1949 London murder case. A man who enjoys hunting on weekends goes out in his boat to the marshlands at the mouth of the Thames hoping to bag some duck. Instead, he comes across a bag full of a more grisly type of meat. The remains turn out to be those of Mr. Setty, a shady businessman and member of a well-to-do immigrant family. Mr. Hume is the ex-R.A.F. pilot with a checkered past charged with the murder and disposal of the body.
<i>A Better Mousetrap</i> is the story of an espionage case involving a young British radio telegraph operator employed at the Diplomatic Wireless Service suspected of passing information to a high official in the Soviet embassy.
Three of the articles make up a series called <i> Greenhouse with Cyclamens</i>, where she relates her thoughts during the closing sessions of the Nuremberg Trials and the rebuilding of Germany, including her observations of the personalities of top Nazi leaders like Goering and Hess as they sat in the dock, differences between German and American/British law, growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the other three Allies who shared control of Germany, leading up to the Soviets’ attempt to isolate Berlin from the West and the resulting Berlin Airlift, and the nascent West German government’s insistence on a free market economy despite pressure from the occupying Allies to adopt a more statist model.
<i>Opera in Greenville</i> is about a lynching in Greenville, South Carolina in 1947. A mob of about 30 people, mostly cabdrivers, convinced the prison warden to hand over a young black man named Willie Earle, in jail on suspicion of having killed the disabled white cabdriver who was driving him home. After some days of no results from the local police, the FBI was called in to find the perpetrators. West does a good job of sketching out what life was like in 1940’s Greenville and situating the crime in a society undergoing a transition in its attitudes towards race relations and vigilante justice.
<i>Mr. Setty and Mr. Hume</i> is about a 1949 London murder case. A man who enjoys hunting on weekends goes out in his boat to the marshlands at the mouth of the Thames hoping to bag some duck. Instead, he comes across a bag full of a more grisly type of meat. The remains turn out to be those of Mr. Setty, a shady businessman and member of a well-to-do immigrant family. Mr. Hume is the ex-R.A.F. pilot with a checkered past charged with the murder and disposal of the body.
<i>A Better Mousetrap</i> is the story of an espionage case involving a young British radio telegraph operator employed at the Diplomatic Wireless Service suspected of passing information to a high official in the Soviet embassy.
Sad Cypress, by Agatha Christie
I was motivated to read this book after watching the very well done BBC adaptation as part of their Hercule Poirot TV series with David Suchet (who will always be the definitive Hercule Poirot to me!). One of my favorite episodes so far, although they did change a few things to make the story more dramatic and to give Poirot a bigger role to play.
Basically, here we have a love triangle: Elinor and her fiance Roddy, young sophisticated Londoners with expectations from a wealthy invalid aunt, who so far in their lives have not had much to worry about, and Mary Gerrard, a childhood friend, the daughter of their aunt's gardener, who reenters their lives as a very attractive young woman after finishing her education in Germany. Roddy falls in love with Mary, and shortly after their aunt's death, Mary turns up dead and Elinor is accused of poisoning her out of jealousy. As in the film, it's presented as a courtroom drama, with Elinor in the dock, and flashbacks to tell the reader what happened. The solution to the puzzle is not what you'd expect, and it was an enjoyable quick read. Classic Agatha Christie.
Basically, here we have a love triangle: Elinor and her fiance Roddy, young sophisticated Londoners with expectations from a wealthy invalid aunt, who so far in their lives have not had much to worry about, and Mary Gerrard, a childhood friend, the daughter of their aunt's gardener, who reenters their lives as a very attractive young woman after finishing her education in Germany. Roddy falls in love with Mary, and shortly after their aunt's death, Mary turns up dead and Elinor is accused of poisoning her out of jealousy. As in the film, it's presented as a courtroom drama, with Elinor in the dock, and flashbacks to tell the reader what happened. The solution to the puzzle is not what you'd expect, and it was an enjoyable quick read. Classic Agatha Christie.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
This is one of those books that I always had the impression of having read, but had not, until now. The reason is that movies have been based on it and allusions to it are made in many other books, movies, and articles. My favorite film version is the 1945 one with Hurd Hatfield as Dorian, George Sanders as Lord Henry, and Angela Lansbury as Sibyl Vane. I watched it lots of times on as a child and Lansbury's song <i>Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird</i> was a favorite. And no, it's not in the book!
Oscar Wilde was a great storyteller, and <i>Dorian Gray</i> is a morality tale. Dorian starts out as a very handsome innocent young man who sits for a portrait for his artist friend Basil Hallward while urbane, sophisticated, cynical Lord Henry whiles away the time chatting and introducing subtly corrupting ideas into Dorian's head. Such ideas and his continued friendship with Lord Henry ultimately lead Dorian into a life of hidden vice. Meanwhile, Dorian discovers that by some miracle, he has become mysteriously identified with his portrait. It begins to show signs of each vicious deed he commits, while he remains physically unchanged to the point where he does not even age. The portrait, which might have helped moderate Dorian's lifestyle by serving as a visible conscience, actually helps to accelerate his corruption because it detaches him from the physical consequences of his vices. The problem is that the physical consequences of vice are not the only ones: there is the damage to his reputation, damage to other people's lives, and also damage to his own soul.
I think Wilde may have meant this story to criticize how society places too high a priority on appearance and not enough on substance, and also to show how a growing discrepancy between appearance and substance becomes impossible to keep up in the end.
Oscar Wilde was a great storyteller, and <i>Dorian Gray</i> is a morality tale. Dorian starts out as a very handsome innocent young man who sits for a portrait for his artist friend Basil Hallward while urbane, sophisticated, cynical Lord Henry whiles away the time chatting and introducing subtly corrupting ideas into Dorian's head. Such ideas and his continued friendship with Lord Henry ultimately lead Dorian into a life of hidden vice. Meanwhile, Dorian discovers that by some miracle, he has become mysteriously identified with his portrait. It begins to show signs of each vicious deed he commits, while he remains physically unchanged to the point where he does not even age. The portrait, which might have helped moderate Dorian's lifestyle by serving as a visible conscience, actually helps to accelerate his corruption because it detaches him from the physical consequences of his vices. The problem is that the physical consequences of vice are not the only ones: there is the damage to his reputation, damage to other people's lives, and also damage to his own soul.
I think Wilde may have meant this story to criticize how society places too high a priority on appearance and not enough on substance, and also to show how a growing discrepancy between appearance and substance becomes impossible to keep up in the end.
Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney
I found Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf to be quite easy to read. The story was fast paced and his wording somehow had a terse, majestic style that really helped me to visualize the events in my head. This edition has the original Old Anglo Saxon English text on the left page and the translation on the right, and I did think that since I know English and have some knowledge of German, I would be able to read some of the original, but picking out an occasional word or phrase here and there was all I could manage.
Beowulf is set in a time of small kingdoms that alternately carried out wars of conquest or raids, and formed alliances with one another. Christianity had been well established, but it was still new. The atmosphere kind of reminded me of Sigrid Undset's [book:Gunnar's Daughter|6226] that I read some months ago. Beowulf is a warrior of noble birth who lands with a small army to help the Danish king get rid of the monster Grendel who has been terrorizing the people by carrying out nighttime raids and killing people in gruesome, X-rated ways. Basically, it's the story of his achievements as the protector of the people and teaches the lesson of courage, self sacrifice, and resolve in the face of evil. Let's just say this guy is no vacillating Hamlet, forever deliberating on what to do.
Beowulf is set in a time of small kingdoms that alternately carried out wars of conquest or raids, and formed alliances with one another. Christianity had been well established, but it was still new. The atmosphere kind of reminded me of Sigrid Undset's [book:Gunnar's Daughter|6226] that I read some months ago. Beowulf is a warrior of noble birth who lands with a small army to help the Danish king get rid of the monster Grendel who has been terrorizing the people by carrying out nighttime raids and killing people in gruesome, X-rated ways. Basically, it's the story of his achievements as the protector of the people and teaches the lesson of courage, self sacrifice, and resolve in the face of evil. Let's just say this guy is no vacillating Hamlet, forever deliberating on what to do.
Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis
In <i>Out of the Silent Planet</i>, C.S. Lewis speculated on what visiting a different world (on Mars) might be like, particularly an older, more established, and less corrupt one than our own. This second novel of the space trilogy is C.S. Lewis's idea of what the Genesis story might be like if God chose to create a newer world of living creatures, including persons, on the planet Venus. It is also a speculation of how human beings, with our own sad experience, might help them avoid our mistakes. Lewis's talent for creating believable characters, creatures, and fantasy environments is just as good and as absorbing here as in the <i>The Chronicles of Narnia</i>. As with the first book the main themes of the novel are of course the struggle between good and evil and the great privilege and responsibility of free will. Already looking forward to reading the third book in the trilogy.
The Brothers Karamazov
This big doorstop of a book was one of the longest term residents of my TBR shelf, subjected to endless procrastination, until it became the book of the month for one of the groups I belong to. I'm sorry I waited so long to read it, because it's a very absorbing book. It's like Dostoyevsky crammed a whole world of people, ideas, and situations into it that just draws you in so that you find yourself reading much bigger chunks than you really had time for that day.
The main plot line is of course the family story of the Karamazovs: Fyodor, the vicious, womanizing father who is found murdered in his home one night, and his four sons Dmitri, Ivan, Alyosha, and Smerdyakov, all very different from one another in character and personality, who are suspects. Along the way we also get to learn about their friends and romantic interests, like the saintly priest Father Zosima, the good hearted but calculating courtesan Grushenka, the proud but self-sacrificing lady Katya, the precocious fatherless boy Kolya, garrulous widow Madame Hohlakov, and the impoverished Snegiryov family. Dostoyevsky's famous prose poem, "The Grand Inquisitor" is a chapter in this book--presented as a composition of Ivan's.
This is not a tidy novel where all the plot lines are neatly ended and tied up with a bow at the end. It's a big sprawling thing with a lot of loose ends, like in real life. But I was interested enough in the characters to wish that Dostoyevsky wrote a sequel, to continue some of their stories.
The main plot line is of course the family story of the Karamazovs: Fyodor, the vicious, womanizing father who is found murdered in his home one night, and his four sons Dmitri, Ivan, Alyosha, and Smerdyakov, all very different from one another in character and personality, who are suspects. Along the way we also get to learn about their friends and romantic interests, like the saintly priest Father Zosima, the good hearted but calculating courtesan Grushenka, the proud but self-sacrificing lady Katya, the precocious fatherless boy Kolya, garrulous widow Madame Hohlakov, and the impoverished Snegiryov family. Dostoyevsky's famous prose poem, "The Grand Inquisitor" is a chapter in this book--presented as a composition of Ivan's.
This is not a tidy novel where all the plot lines are neatly ended and tied up with a bow at the end. It's a big sprawling thing with a lot of loose ends, like in real life. But I was interested enough in the characters to wish that Dostoyevsky wrote a sequel, to continue some of their stories.
Black Rednecks, White Liberals, by Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell challenges a lot of popular misconceptions about the real origins of African American ghetto culture, the global history of the slave trade, racism and how it relates to slavery, the role of the West in its colonial period, disparities of accomplishment among different demographic groups, and the reasons why some groups of people achieve more than others even in the face of adverse conditions. It's a well-reasoned, well-researched book, and Sowell supports his arguments with real world examples. Excellent antidote for habitual victims, moral poseurs, the professionally offended, and grievance-mongers of all stripes--if only they would read it.
Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography
Benjamin Franklin's <i>Autobiography</i> only covers up to the time when he was establishing himself as a printer in Philadelphia before his marriage, including a brief mention of his experiments with lightning, so if you are looking for an account of his activities during the War of Independence, Constitutional Convention, or as ambassador to France, this is not the book for you. It's an interesting account of his early years, from his childhood, education, and apprenticeship in Boston, moving to Philadelphia, dealing with rivalry between the printing houses there, then becoming a business owner himself, starting a newspaper, traveling to England to procure printer's equipment, and his start in Philadelphia politics.
Throughout the <i>Autobiography</i>, Franklin emphasizes the lessons he learned along the way, including the high value of the qualities of thrift, resourcefulness, hard work, taking the initiative in one's own education, avoiding debt, refraining from the development of expensive habits, as well as how to get along well with others, especially how to debate in a reasonable and non-arrogant way. These are definitely lessons on which we could all use a refresher course. Despite being a rather vague and non-denominational Christian, Franklin was very interested in moral self-improvement, even developing a list of rules to live by that would be acceptable to any reasonable person of any denomination.
It's a shame he didn't get further along in writing the <i>Autobiography</i> than he did, but as we all know, he was a very busy man!
Throughout the <i>Autobiography</i>, Franklin emphasizes the lessons he learned along the way, including the high value of the qualities of thrift, resourcefulness, hard work, taking the initiative in one's own education, avoiding debt, refraining from the development of expensive habits, as well as how to get along well with others, especially how to debate in a reasonable and non-arrogant way. These are definitely lessons on which we could all use a refresher course. Despite being a rather vague and non-denominational Christian, Franklin was very interested in moral self-improvement, even developing a list of rules to live by that would be acceptable to any reasonable person of any denomination.
It's a shame he didn't get further along in writing the <i>Autobiography</i> than he did, but as we all know, he was a very busy man!
Confusion, by Stefan Zweig
I was in the mood for a mystery story of some kind, and this short novel hit the spot. In it, an elderly literature professor reminisces about his youth--about his upbringing as the son of a schoolmaster in a country town, the initially rocky start to his college career in Berlin, where, like so many students in our days too, he neglects his studies and falls into a dissipated lifestyle, and how he transferred to a university in a smaller town with fewer distractions and met the professor whose passion about Elizabethan literature inspired his own career.
There is a mystery about this professor, whose brilliant lectures about his subject on some days alternate with humdrum, ordinary teaching on others, and his lack of major publications. Then there's his unlikely choice of wife, an athletic woman much younger than himself who shares none of his scholarly interests or habits and whose relationship to her husband seems strangely detached. Add to that a habit of sudden, unexplained absences for days at a time, when even his wife has no idea where he is, and erratic behavior, when he alternates between obvious enjoyment of teaching and working on his book with his student and brusque dismissal, and you can see why the student is confused and becomes determined to figure out what's going on.
There is a mystery about this professor, whose brilliant lectures about his subject on some days alternate with humdrum, ordinary teaching on others, and his lack of major publications. Then there's his unlikely choice of wife, an athletic woman much younger than himself who shares none of his scholarly interests or habits and whose relationship to her husband seems strangely detached. Add to that a habit of sudden, unexplained absences for days at a time, when even his wife has no idea where he is, and erratic behavior, when he alternates between obvious enjoyment of teaching and working on his book with his student and brusque dismissal, and you can see why the student is confused and becomes determined to figure out what's going on.
Fear by Stefan Zweig
Irene is a beautiful, self-centered, spoiled woman, the wife of a wealthy lawyer who takes everything for granted. From childhood, she has lived the kind of life where everything has been handed to her on a silver platter. She decides to indulge in an extramarital affair with a poor musician, which leads to blackmail. It's a new experience for her, as this is a difficulty she must handle all on her own or risk losing everything she has--husband, children, luxurious lifestyle, social standing, all of which she only learns to appreciate when threatened with losing them.
Very entertaining story of a woman who gets her comeuppance with an unexpected twist at the end. As always, Stefan Zweig displays his talent for creating realistic characters and interesting plots.
Apparently there's a Roberto Rossellini movie made in the 1950's based on this novella called <i>La Paura</i> starring Ingrid Bergman, which I'd love to see if I can find it.
Very entertaining story of a woman who gets her comeuppance with an unexpected twist at the end. As always, Stefan Zweig displays his talent for creating realistic characters and interesting plots.
Apparently there's a Roberto Rossellini movie made in the 1950's based on this novella called <i>La Paura</i> starring Ingrid Bergman, which I'd love to see if I can find it.
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