October was one of those months in which I finished more books than I started. I was continuing to read in a stack of library books I picked up at East Library in Colorado Springs. In fact, as of today's writing (November 15), I'm still working on that stack of books.
Listed in the order in which I started reading them during the month, here are the books of October.
Marcel Proust, A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Published in 1919. I read only a little of this work in this time period, taking in a couple of pages on October 1.
Antonella Ansani, Complete Italian: The Basics. Edited by Suzanne McQuade. Between October first and twenty-first, I finished working my way through Complete Italian, including the accompanying discs. Del primo ottobre al venti-primo, ho letto Complete Italian.
Michael Alexander and John Walkenbach, Excel Dashboards and Reports. I finished up this excellent guide to the construction of reports in Microsoft Office Excel on the second and third of October.
David Gilmour, The Pursuit of Italy. This is one of two histories of the Italian peninsula I've been reading, and both of them cast doubt on the degree to which Italy can be treated as a nation-state, given the importance of regional differences. It's interesting to me that the Italian "reunification," which was not a reunification at all, was occurring at the same time as the American Civil War and the unification of Germany. Of these three attempts to establish the supremacy of the centralizing state over diverse regions, the Italian seems to have been the least successful.
George W. Bush, Decision Points. Since reading this book, I like Mr. Bush, and I respect his thinking, more than I ever did while he was President. This is immediate history worth reading. Seeing what the Republican Party has been coming to, many of us will be looking back with nostalgia to the days of "W."
Bruce Feiler, Walking the Bible. There are some ludicrous errors in this book - a "Toyota Land Rover," for one example. The big problem is that Feiler can't decide where he stands, and his process of "discovery" doesn't seem likely to lead to any resolution of his questions. Is the Bible true? Did the Israelites escape slavery in Egypt? Can Jews and Arabs live in peace? Big questions, but I don't think Bruce Feiler is up to finding believable answers.
Joseph Schmuller, Ph.D., Statistical Analysis with Excel for Dummies. Either you like statistics, or you don't. More Americans are as allergic to statistical analysis as they are to economics. And you either like Microsoft Office Excel, or you don't. I like Excel, and I use it a lot at work. For some unfathomable reason, I also enjoy statistics. I found this book readable, informative, and pleasurable. Not everyone shares my tastes.
Daniel Silva, The Fallen Angel. This is the only book on this month's list that I both started and completed during October. It is also the only work of fiction on the current list. I'm still not sure why I like Daniel Silva's books when his "hero" is an Israeli assassin who cooperates with the Vatican. Even so, these are fast-paced and enjoyable thrillers.
Keith Heyer Meldahl, Hard Road West. If the many, many settlers who set out from St. Joseph, Missouri, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, back in the 1840s and 1850s had been able to read Meldahl's excellent merger of science and history, some of them would have gone back to Ohio or Indiana to live out their lives without experiencing the Snake River Canyon, the Forty-Mile Desert, or Donner Pass. But what would life be if everyone could the safe and sane path. Recommended for readers of the Roadside Geology books, aficionados of the westward migration, and anyone who liked John McPhee's Annals of the Former World.
Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny. This is the other history of Italy to which I referred earlier. You know, Napoleon Bonaparte has a lot to answer for, not only in Egypt, Russia, Germany, France, and Louisiana, but in Italy. Bonaparte's invasion of northern Italy in 1796 to fight the Austrians set off a chain of events that led to Benito Mussolini and Silvio Berlusconi. The mind boggles. Very well written, but you do have to be able to keep track of Italian names and place names.
David Abulafia, The Great Sea. This may actually be the best book on this month's list. It's a long book (783 pages), it is technical in places, and its focus is on the surface and immediate littoral of the Mediterranean Sea. Just one of the virtues of this book is that it has inspired me to re-read a number of classic books set on and around the wine-dark sea, from Homer and Aeschylus to Shakespeare and Gibbon. Whether I'll actually do all that reading remains to be seen.
Glenn A Knight
In my study
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Reading List: September 2012
In September, 2012, I continued to read some books that I had started some time earlier, as well as some newly begun works.
Joseph Schmuller, Ph.D., Statistical Analysis with Excel for Dummies, second edition (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2009.) xx + 480 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-470-45406-0. $29.99. I started this work-related book on August 23.
Michael Alexander and John Walkenbach, Excel Dashboards and Reports (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2010.) xviii + 434 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-470-62012-0. $35.99. Read 9 August - 3 October 2012.
Emile Zola, Germinal (Paris: Bookking International, 1993 [1885].) 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-415-X. Read 1 July 2004 - 28 September 2012.
Antonella Ansani, Complete Italian: The Basics. Edited by Suzanne McQuade. (New York: Living Language, 2008.) xxviii + 308 pages. Italian in action. Supplemental vocabulary. Internet resources. Summary of Italian grammar. Verb charts. ISBN 978-1-4000-2415-5. $10.95. Read 12 July - 21 October 2012.
Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012.) 641 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ISBN 978-1-4391-2770-4. $32.50. Read 28 July - 3 September 2012.
Marcel Proust, A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs (Paris: Gallimard, 1988 [1919].) xxviii + 568 pages. Bibliographie. Notes. Resume.
Lee Child, Tripwire (New York: Berkeley Books, 1999.) 401 pages. ISBN 978-0-425-20622-5. Read 6 - 9 September 2012.
Bruce Feiler, Walking the Bible (New York: Harper Perennial, 2001). 451 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-06-083863-8. $14.99. I started reading this book on September 7. As of October 21, I was at page 148.
Keith Heyer Meldahl, Hard Road West (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2007.) xxi + 329 pages. Epilogue. Acknowledgments. Notes. Glossary. Bibliography. Figure Credits. Index. ISBN 978-0-226-51960-9. $25.00. I began reading Hard Road West on September 15. As of October 16, I was on page 51.
Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy since 1796 (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.) xxiii + 653 pages. References. Index. ISBN 978-0-618-35367-5. $30.00. I started reading the book on September 15. On October 16, I was at page 60.
George W. Bush, Decision Points (New York: Crown, 2010.) xii + 497 pages. Epilogue. Acknowledgments. Index. ISBN 978-0-307-59061-9. $35.00. Read 15 September to 19 October 2012.
David Abulafia, The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.) xxxi + 783 pages. Further Reading. Notes. Index. ISBN 978-0-19-532334-4. $34.95. I began reading this history on September 30.
Joseph Schmuller, Ph.D., Statistical Analysis with Excel for Dummies, second edition (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2009.) xx + 480 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-470-45406-0. $29.99. I started this work-related book on August 23.
Michael Alexander and John Walkenbach, Excel Dashboards and Reports (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2010.) xviii + 434 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-470-62012-0. $35.99. Read 9 August - 3 October 2012.
Emile Zola, Germinal (Paris: Bookking International, 1993 [1885].) 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-415-X. Read 1 July 2004 - 28 September 2012.
Antonella Ansani, Complete Italian: The Basics. Edited by Suzanne McQuade. (New York: Living Language, 2008.) xxviii + 308 pages. Italian in action. Supplemental vocabulary. Internet resources. Summary of Italian grammar. Verb charts. ISBN 978-1-4000-2415-5. $10.95. Read 12 July - 21 October 2012.
Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012.) 641 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ISBN 978-1-4391-2770-4. $32.50. Read 28 July - 3 September 2012.
Marcel Proust, A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs (Paris: Gallimard, 1988 [1919].) xxviii + 568 pages. Bibliographie. Notes. Resume.
Lee Child, Tripwire (New York: Berkeley Books, 1999.) 401 pages. ISBN 978-0-425-20622-5. Read 6 - 9 September 2012.
Bruce Feiler, Walking the Bible (New York: Harper Perennial, 2001). 451 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-06-083863-8. $14.99. I started reading this book on September 7. As of October 21, I was at page 148.
Keith Heyer Meldahl, Hard Road West (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2007.) xxi + 329 pages. Epilogue. Acknowledgments. Notes. Glossary. Bibliography. Figure Credits. Index. ISBN 978-0-226-51960-9. $25.00. I began reading Hard Road West on September 15. As of October 16, I was on page 51.
Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy since 1796 (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.) xxiii + 653 pages. References. Index. ISBN 978-0-618-35367-5. $30.00. I started reading the book on September 15. On October 16, I was at page 60.
George W. Bush, Decision Points (New York: Crown, 2010.) xii + 497 pages. Epilogue. Acknowledgments. Index. ISBN 978-0-307-59061-9. $35.00. Read 15 September to 19 October 2012.
David Abulafia, The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.) xxxi + 783 pages. Further Reading. Notes. Index. ISBN 978-0-19-532334-4. $34.95. I began reading this history on September 30.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Reading List: August 2012
I was reading the following books during August, 2012.
Alexander, Michael, and John Walkenbach. Excel Dashboards and Reports. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2010. xviii + 434 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-470-62012-0. $35.99. Read 9 August - 3 October 2012.
For those of us who use Microsoft Office Excel every day at work, this book is essential. If you just want to produce some nice looking reports with cool graphs and interesting analytic features, it would be a joy.
Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. xiv + 320 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Index. ISBN 1-4000-4031-0. Read July 29 - August 20, 2012.
This is a very good short biography of Washington, based largely on the release of a new edition of his letters. I found particularly interesting Washington's struggles with the economics of slavery at Mount Vernon and his other farms.
Gibbs, Nancy, and Michael Duffy. The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012. 641 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ISBN 978-1-4391-2770-4. $32.50. Read 28 July - 3 September 2012.
Someone did a biography of Woodrow Wilson entitled When the Cheering Stopped. This is an interesting and entertaining book about life after leaving the White House, and how ex-presidents can help out the current occupant. Sometimes it seems as if Richard Nixon had his coffin in the White House basement, where the bowling alley used to be, and he rose up out of it at night to give advice to the current occupant.
Living Language. Complete Italian: The Basics. New York: Living Language, 2008. xxviii + 308 pages. ISBN 978-1-4000-2415-5. $10.95. Started on 12 July 2012. As if 20 August at page 131.
Language instruction with compact disks.
Nesbo, Jo. The Snowman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 384 pages. ISBN 978-0-307-59586-7. $25.95. Read 19-31 August 2012.
Norwegian author pens another crime novel starring Harry Hole of the Oslo police. Suspenseful, thrilling, with a fair share of hairpin turns in the plot.
Proust, Marcel. A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Paris: Gallimard, 1988 [1919]. xxviii + 568 pages. Started on 1 July 2004. As of 13 July 2012 I was on page 174.
This is the second volume of A la recherche des temps perdu, known in English as Remembrance of Things Past.
Schmuller, Joseph, Ph.D. Statistical Analysis with Excel for Dummies, second edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2009. xx + 480 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-470-45406-0. $29.99. Begun on 23 August, 2012. As of 27 August 2012 I was at page 30.
Sjowall, Maj, and Per Wahloo. The Fire Engine that Disappeared. New York: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2007 [1969]. x + 213 pages. ISBN 978-0-307-39092-9. $14.00. Read 3 - 12 August 2012.
Another gem in the remarkable Swedish crime novel series.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
I probably made my life unnecessarily difficult by choosing to read Germinal in French, but it's been an interesting experience.
Alexander, Michael, and John Walkenbach. Excel Dashboards and Reports. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2010. xviii + 434 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-470-62012-0. $35.99. Read 9 August - 3 October 2012.
For those of us who use Microsoft Office Excel every day at work, this book is essential. If you just want to produce some nice looking reports with cool graphs and interesting analytic features, it would be a joy.
Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. xiv + 320 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Index. ISBN 1-4000-4031-0. Read July 29 - August 20, 2012.
This is a very good short biography of Washington, based largely on the release of a new edition of his letters. I found particularly interesting Washington's struggles with the economics of slavery at Mount Vernon and his other farms.
Gibbs, Nancy, and Michael Duffy. The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012. 641 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ISBN 978-1-4391-2770-4. $32.50. Read 28 July - 3 September 2012.
Someone did a biography of Woodrow Wilson entitled When the Cheering Stopped. This is an interesting and entertaining book about life after leaving the White House, and how ex-presidents can help out the current occupant. Sometimes it seems as if Richard Nixon had his coffin in the White House basement, where the bowling alley used to be, and he rose up out of it at night to give advice to the current occupant.
Living Language. Complete Italian: The Basics. New York: Living Language, 2008. xxviii + 308 pages. ISBN 978-1-4000-2415-5. $10.95. Started on 12 July 2012. As if 20 August at page 131.
Language instruction with compact disks.
Nesbo, Jo. The Snowman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 384 pages. ISBN 978-0-307-59586-7. $25.95. Read 19-31 August 2012.
Norwegian author pens another crime novel starring Harry Hole of the Oslo police. Suspenseful, thrilling, with a fair share of hairpin turns in the plot.
Proust, Marcel. A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Paris: Gallimard, 1988 [1919]. xxviii + 568 pages. Started on 1 July 2004. As of 13 July 2012 I was on page 174.
This is the second volume of A la recherche des temps perdu, known in English as Remembrance of Things Past.
Schmuller, Joseph, Ph.D. Statistical Analysis with Excel for Dummies, second edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2009. xx + 480 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-470-45406-0. $29.99. Begun on 23 August, 2012. As of 27 August 2012 I was at page 30.
Sjowall, Maj, and Per Wahloo. The Fire Engine that Disappeared. New York: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2007 [1969]. x + 213 pages. ISBN 978-0-307-39092-9. $14.00. Read 3 - 12 August 2012.
Another gem in the remarkable Swedish crime novel series.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
I probably made my life unnecessarily difficult by choosing to read Germinal in French, but it's been an interesting experience.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Unemployment and Education: A Note
This is a preliminary look at the problem of unemployment
in the United States, focusing on the role of education, or the lack thereof,
in determining an individual's employment prospects.
It is apparent that we have a number of problems in the
employment area. Unemployment has been over 8% for many months, record numbers
of people have been out of work for more than a year, many people have become
so discouraged that they have exited the labor force. One fact stands out for
me in this sea of gloomy numbers: Not everyone has the same risk of being
unemployed.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
announcement of September 7, 2012, included the following
statement, "The unemployment rate edged down in August to 8.1
percent. Since the beginning of this year, the rate has held in a narrow range
of 8.1 to 8.3 percent. The number of unemployed persons, at 12.5
million, was little changed in August."
But the BLS also stated, "Among
the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.6
percent), adult women (7.3 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent), whites (7.2
percent), blacks (14.1 percent), and Hispanics (10.2 percent) showed little or
no change in August. The jobless rate for Asians was 5.9 percent (not seasonally
adjusted), little changed from a year earlier."
Is there good news in that? Since it
might as well be impossible to change one's gender, one's race, or one's
linguistic identity, it doesn't appear that there's much hope for blacks or
Hispanics in the fact that whites have a lower rate, and Asians a lower rate
still. It may be hopeful for teenagers that their 24.6% unemployment rate may
fall as they get older, but there's a long wait involved, and there may be
hazards along the way.
But here's another set of figures from
the August 2012 BLS report: Total unemployment for those 25 years of age and
over was 6.8%, but for those with less than a high school diploma, the rate was
12.0%. For those high school graduates with no college experience, the rate was
8.8%. Those with some college or an associate's degree had an unemployment rate
of 6.6%, and those with a bachelor's degree and higher had a rate of only 4.1%.
While race and gender may be
immutable, and age is uncontrollable, education is clearly something about
which an individual can take action. I am not suggesting that everyone with
less than a high school diploma should enroll in a four-year college and seek a
bachelor's degree, and I'm certainly not suggesting that, if everyone in the
United States had a bachelor's degree, the unemployment rate for college
graduates would necessarily continue to be around 4%. What I am suggesting is
that a lot of people could definitely enhance their prospects of gaining
full-time employment by entering into a program of post-secondary education.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Reading List: July 2012
During the month of July, 2012, the books I was reading included the
following.
Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. xiv + 320 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Index. ISBN 1-4000-4031-0. Read July 29 - August 20, 2012.
This is a very good short biography of Washington, based largely on the release of a new edition of his letters. I found particularly interesting Washington's struggles with the economics of slavery at Mount Vernon and his other farms.
Furst, Alan. Dark Star. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002. [1995]. 446 pages. ISBN 978-0-375-75999.4. $14.95. Read 13 - 24 July 2012.
If you liked Eric Ambler, say, or if you're interested in the German-occupied areas of Europe during World War II, or if you just like terrific, atmospheric reads, there's Alan Furst.
Gibbs, Nancy, and Michael Duffy. The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012. 641 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ISBN 978-1-4391-2770-4. $32.50. Read 28 July - 3 September 2012.
Someone did a biography of Woodrow Wilson entitled When the Cheering Stopped. This is an interesting and entertaining book about life after leaving the White House, and how ex-presidents can help out the current occupant. Sometimes it seems as if Richard Nixon had his coffin in the White House basement, where the bowling alley used to be, and he rose up out of it at night to give advice to the current occupant.
Living Language. Complete Italian: The Basics. New York: Living Language, 2008. xxviii + 308 pages. ISBN 978-1-4000-2415-5. $10.95. Started on 12 July 2012. As if 28 July at page 61.
Language instruction with compact disks.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Apparatus Criticus by Peter Laslett. Revised edition. New York and Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, 1963. A Mentor Book. xiv + 576 pages. Bibliography. Index. $1.95. Started 30 March and finished 6 July 2012.
One of the great books of the Western World, and a must read as an antidote to the nonsense said about the ideas upon which the United States was founded. Yes, "was founded," not "were founded."
Proust, Marcel. A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Paris: Gallimard, 1988 [1919]. xxviii + 568 pages. Started on 1 July 2004. As of 8 June 2012 I was on page 172.
This is the second volume of A la recherche des temps perdu, known in English as Remembrance of Things Past.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
I probably made my life unnecessarily difficult by choosing to read Germinal in French, but it's been an interesting experience.
Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. xiv + 320 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Index. ISBN 1-4000-4031-0. Read July 29 - August 20, 2012.
This is a very good short biography of Washington, based largely on the release of a new edition of his letters. I found particularly interesting Washington's struggles with the economics of slavery at Mount Vernon and his other farms.
Furst, Alan. Dark Star. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002. [1995]. 446 pages. ISBN 978-0-375-75999.4. $14.95. Read 13 - 24 July 2012.
If you liked Eric Ambler, say, or if you're interested in the German-occupied areas of Europe during World War II, or if you just like terrific, atmospheric reads, there's Alan Furst.
Gibbs, Nancy, and Michael Duffy. The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012. 641 pages. Acknowledgments. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ISBN 978-1-4391-2770-4. $32.50. Read 28 July - 3 September 2012.
Someone did a biography of Woodrow Wilson entitled When the Cheering Stopped. This is an interesting and entertaining book about life after leaving the White House, and how ex-presidents can help out the current occupant. Sometimes it seems as if Richard Nixon had his coffin in the White House basement, where the bowling alley used to be, and he rose up out of it at night to give advice to the current occupant.
Living Language. Complete Italian: The Basics. New York: Living Language, 2008. xxviii + 308 pages. ISBN 978-1-4000-2415-5. $10.95. Started on 12 July 2012. As if 28 July at page 61.
Language instruction with compact disks.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Apparatus Criticus by Peter Laslett. Revised edition. New York and Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, 1963. A Mentor Book. xiv + 576 pages. Bibliography. Index. $1.95. Started 30 March and finished 6 July 2012.
One of the great books of the Western World, and a must read as an antidote to the nonsense said about the ideas upon which the United States was founded. Yes, "was founded," not "were founded."
Proust, Marcel. A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Paris: Gallimard, 1988 [1919]. xxviii + 568 pages. Started on 1 July 2004. As of 8 June 2012 I was on page 172.
This is the second volume of A la recherche des temps perdu, known in English as Remembrance of Things Past.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
I probably made my life unnecessarily difficult by choosing to read Germinal in French, but it's been an interesting experience.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Reading List: June 2012
During the month of June, 2012,
the books I was reading included the following.
Caputo, Philip. Acts of Faith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. 669 pages. ISBN 0-375-41166-6. $26.95. Started on 4 June 2011 and completed on 11 June 2012.
I took a big hiatus in the middle of this book, but it is a marvelous, engaging novel about the strife in southern Sudan.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Apparatus Criticus by Peter Laslett. Revised edition. New York and Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, 1963. A Mentor Book. xiv + 576 pages. Bibliography. Index. $1.95. Started 30 March and finished 6 July 2012.
One of the great books of the Western World, and a must read as an antidote to the nonsense said about the ideas upon which the United States was founded. Yes, "was founded," not "were founded."
Prose, Francine. Blue Angel. New York: Harper Collins, 2000. 314 pages. ISBN 0-06-019541-X. $25.00. Read 4 March - 20 June 2012.
Francine Prose is a marvelous writer. In Blue Angel, she gives away the plot in the title, but she brings her penetrating observation and sardonic humor to bear on late twentieth-century ideas of political correctness.
Proust, Marcel. A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Paris: Gallimard, 1988 [1919]. xxviii + 568 pages. Started on 1 July 2004. As of 8 June 2012 I was on page 172.
This is the second volume of A la recherche des temps perdu, known in English as Remembrance of Things Past.
Russo, Richard. Mohawk. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1986. 418 pages. ISBN 978-0-679-75382-7. $15.00. Started on 3 February and completed on 26 June 2012.
A really terrific first novel from the (future) author of Nobody's Fool and Empire Falls. Growing up in a dying small town in Upstate New York.
Smiley, Jane. Good Faith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. 417 pages. ISBN 0-375-41217-4. $26.00. Started on 18 May and completed on 14 June 2012.
Like Independence Day, a novel about a real estate agent in the Northeastern United States in the 1980s. But not like Independence Day, in that her protagonist is notable for his lack of angst. A very good read.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
I probably made my life unnecessarily difficult by choosing to read Germinal in French, but it's been an interesting experience.
Caputo, Philip. Acts of Faith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. 669 pages. ISBN 0-375-41166-6. $26.95. Started on 4 June 2011 and completed on 11 June 2012.
I took a big hiatus in the middle of this book, but it is a marvelous, engaging novel about the strife in southern Sudan.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Apparatus Criticus by Peter Laslett. Revised edition. New York and Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, 1963. A Mentor Book. xiv + 576 pages. Bibliography. Index. $1.95. Started 30 March and finished 6 July 2012.
One of the great books of the Western World, and a must read as an antidote to the nonsense said about the ideas upon which the United States was founded. Yes, "was founded," not "were founded."
Prose, Francine. Blue Angel. New York: Harper Collins, 2000. 314 pages. ISBN 0-06-019541-X. $25.00. Read 4 March - 20 June 2012.
Francine Prose is a marvelous writer. In Blue Angel, she gives away the plot in the title, but she brings her penetrating observation and sardonic humor to bear on late twentieth-century ideas of political correctness.
Proust, Marcel. A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Paris: Gallimard, 1988 [1919]. xxviii + 568 pages. Started on 1 July 2004. As of 8 June 2012 I was on page 172.
This is the second volume of A la recherche des temps perdu, known in English as Remembrance of Things Past.
Russo, Richard. Mohawk. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1986. 418 pages. ISBN 978-0-679-75382-7. $15.00. Started on 3 February and completed on 26 June 2012.
A really terrific first novel from the (future) author of Nobody's Fool and Empire Falls. Growing up in a dying small town in Upstate New York.
Smiley, Jane. Good Faith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. 417 pages. ISBN 0-375-41217-4. $26.00. Started on 18 May and completed on 14 June 2012.
Like Independence Day, a novel about a real estate agent in the Northeastern United States in the 1980s. But not like Independence Day, in that her protagonist is notable for his lack of angst. A very good read.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
I probably made my life unnecessarily difficult by choosing to read Germinal in French, but it's been an interesting experience.
Don't Turn Your Back on Egypt
Robert Kagan published a very good column on the situation in Egypt on September 13.
The suggestion that we cut off aid to Egypt and, in essence, disengage from the largest country in the Arab Middle East is part of the dysfunctional American tendency to withdraw from contacts we fear might contaminate us. This is the first democratically-elected government in the history of Egypt - that's 8,000 years of history, folks. We should be celebrating that fact, and then assisting the Egyptians to deal with the challenges to come. There are certainly aspects of the Morsi government that raise serious concerns, the first being that Morsi represents the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun). But the correct response, as Kagan indicates, is to work with the Egyptian government to encourage them to move toward positions we would see as improvements. Abandoning Egypt at a moment when it has finally done what we long urged it to do is not a productive stance.
I might note that there is a business slogan: Work Smarter, Not Harder. One interpretation of this motto is that one should work with an existing process, application, or tool, and make incremental improvements to it, rather than discarding the existing system and starting from scratch. Trust me, I've seen both approaches at work, and I am fully convinced that making improvements to one's existing processes is the right course.
The suggestion that we cut off aid to Egypt and, in essence, disengage from the largest country in the Arab Middle East is part of the dysfunctional American tendency to withdraw from contacts we fear might contaminate us. This is the first democratically-elected government in the history of Egypt - that's 8,000 years of history, folks. We should be celebrating that fact, and then assisting the Egyptians to deal with the challenges to come. There are certainly aspects of the Morsi government that raise serious concerns, the first being that Morsi represents the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun). But the correct response, as Kagan indicates, is to work with the Egyptian government to encourage them to move toward positions we would see as improvements. Abandoning Egypt at a moment when it has finally done what we long urged it to do is not a productive stance.
I might note that there is a business slogan: Work Smarter, Not Harder. One interpretation of this motto is that one should work with an existing process, application, or tool, and make incremental improvements to it, rather than discarding the existing system and starting from scratch. Trust me, I've seen both approaches at work, and I am fully convinced that making improvements to one's existing processes is the right course.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
As of Today ...
I finished reading Germinal on Friday. For those who are not familiar with this work, Germinal is a novel written in 1885 by Emile Zola. One reason that it took me so long (years, literally) to read this book is that I chose to read it in French, in a copy I picked up on a business trip to Ottawa, Ontario, in 1997. So, Germinal runs to 473 pages in French, divided into seven parts, each of which has a number (usually about six) chapters or sections.
The subject of Germinal is a coalminer's strike in the north of France, the soggy area near the Belgian border which became famous during World War I. Zola paints a grim and detailed picture of the lives of the miners and their families, and he obviously sympathizes with them, rather than with the mine owners. At the same time, it is not entirely clear that Zola agrees with his hero Etienne's decision to become a socialist revolutionary in the orbit of the Socialist International.
Lest you think that Germinal is merely a political tract, Zola also creates a really lovely star-crossed relationship between Etienne and Catherine, the adolescent daughter of the Maheu family, in whose home Etienne lodges.
The books I have in progress at this time, and the number of pages left to read in each, are listed below.
Complete Italian: The Basics........................................107
Excel Dashboards and Reports.....................................158
Hard Road West............................................................307
Statistical Analysis with Excel for Dummies.................328
Walking the Bible..........................................................382
A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs..............................391
Decision Points..............................................................438
The Force of Destiny......................................................616
Total............................................................................2,727
The subject of Germinal is a coalminer's strike in the north of France, the soggy area near the Belgian border which became famous during World War I. Zola paints a grim and detailed picture of the lives of the miners and their families, and he obviously sympathizes with them, rather than with the mine owners. At the same time, it is not entirely clear that Zola agrees with his hero Etienne's decision to become a socialist revolutionary in the orbit of the Socialist International.
Lest you think that Germinal is merely a political tract, Zola also creates a really lovely star-crossed relationship between Etienne and Catherine, the adolescent daughter of the Maheu family, in whose home Etienne lodges.
The books I have in progress at this time, and the number of pages left to read in each, are listed below.
Complete Italian: The Basics........................................107
Excel Dashboards and Reports.....................................158
Hard Road West............................................................307
Statistical Analysis with Excel for Dummies.................328
Walking the Bible..........................................................382
A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs..............................391
Decision Points..............................................................438
The Force of Destiny......................................................616
Total............................................................................2,727
Reading List: May 2012
You may have noticed that my reading lists have generally been just a list of titles and authors. However, starting with April 2012, I decided to provide a full bibliographic entry for each book.
During the month of May, 2012, the books I was reading included the following.
Caputo, Philip. Acts of Faith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. 669 pages. ISBN 0-375-41166-6. $26.95. Started on 4 June 2011 and completed on 11 June 2012.
I took a big hiatus in the middle of this book, but it is a marvelous, engaging novel about the strife in southern Sudan.
Ford, Richard. Independence Day. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. 451 pages. ISBN 0-679-49265-8. $24.00 Started on 3 February and finished on 21 May 2012.
This is a Pulitzer Prize winner, and a fine novel, but I had some trouble liking the protagonist.
Grafton, Sue. V is for Vengeance. 437 pages. ISBN 978-9-399-15786-8. $27.95. Started on 3 May and completed on 6 May 2012.
Easy read hardly says it.
Larson, Erik. The Garden of Beasts. New York: Crown, 2011. xiv + 448 pages. Notes. Bibliography. Photo Credits. Index. ISBN 978-0-307-40884-6. $26.00. Started 18 April and finished 4 May 2012.
The title is a pun on Tiergarten, a neighborhood in Berlin which was once a royal hunting preserve. Fascinating look at the first year of the Nazi regime in Germany through American eyes.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Apparatus Criticus by Peter Laslett. Revised edition. New York and Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, 1963. A Mentor Book. xiv + 576 pages. Bibliography. Index. $1.95. Started 30 March and finished 6 July 2012.
One of the great books of the Western World, and a must read as an antidote to the nonsense said about the ideas upon which the United States was founded. Yes, "was founded," not "were founded."
Russo, Richard. Mohawk. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1986. 418 pages. ISBN 978-0-679-75382-7. $15.00. Started on 3 February and completed on 26 June 2012.
A really terrific first novel from the (future) author of Nobody's Fool and Empire Falls.
Smiley, Jane. Good Faith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. 417 pages. ISBN 0-375-41217-4. $26.00. Started on 18 May and completed on 14 June 2012.
Like Independence Day, a novel about a real estate agent in the Northeastern United States in the 1980s. But not like Independence Day, in that her protagonist is notable for his lack of angst. A very good read.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
I probably made my life unnecessarily difficult by choosing to read Germinal in French, but it's been an interesting experience.
During the month of May, 2012, the books I was reading included the following.
Caputo, Philip. Acts of Faith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. 669 pages. ISBN 0-375-41166-6. $26.95. Started on 4 June 2011 and completed on 11 June 2012.
I took a big hiatus in the middle of this book, but it is a marvelous, engaging novel about the strife in southern Sudan.
Ford, Richard. Independence Day. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. 451 pages. ISBN 0-679-49265-8. $24.00 Started on 3 February and finished on 21 May 2012.
This is a Pulitzer Prize winner, and a fine novel, but I had some trouble liking the protagonist.
Grafton, Sue. V is for Vengeance. 437 pages. ISBN 978-9-399-15786-8. $27.95. Started on 3 May and completed on 6 May 2012.
Easy read hardly says it.
Larson, Erik. The Garden of Beasts. New York: Crown, 2011. xiv + 448 pages. Notes. Bibliography. Photo Credits. Index. ISBN 978-0-307-40884-6. $26.00. Started 18 April and finished 4 May 2012.
The title is a pun on Tiergarten, a neighborhood in Berlin which was once a royal hunting preserve. Fascinating look at the first year of the Nazi regime in Germany through American eyes.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Apparatus Criticus by Peter Laslett. Revised edition. New York and Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, 1963. A Mentor Book. xiv + 576 pages. Bibliography. Index. $1.95. Started 30 March and finished 6 July 2012.
One of the great books of the Western World, and a must read as an antidote to the nonsense said about the ideas upon which the United States was founded. Yes, "was founded," not "were founded."
Russo, Richard. Mohawk. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1986. 418 pages. ISBN 978-0-679-75382-7. $15.00. Started on 3 February and completed on 26 June 2012.
A really terrific first novel from the (future) author of Nobody's Fool and Empire Falls.
Smiley, Jane. Good Faith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. 417 pages. ISBN 0-375-41217-4. $26.00. Started on 18 May and completed on 14 June 2012.
Like Independence Day, a novel about a real estate agent in the Northeastern United States in the 1980s. But not like Independence Day, in that her protagonist is notable for his lack of angst. A very good read.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
I probably made my life unnecessarily difficult by choosing to read Germinal in French, but it's been an interesting experience.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Reading List: April 2012
During the month of April, 2012, the books I was reading included the following.
Berry, Wendell. That Distant Land. Washington, DC: Shoemaker Hoard, 2004. 440 pages. ISBN 1-59376-027-2. $26.00. Started 4 March and finished 11 April 2012.
Evanovich, Janet. Explosive Eighteen. New York: Bantam Books, 2011. 305 pages. ISBN 978-0-345-52771-4. $28.00. Started 18 April and finished 23 April 2012.
Ford, Richard. Independence Day. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. 451 pages. ISBN 0-679-49265-8. $24.00 Started on 3 February and finished on 21 May 2012.
Larson, Erik. The Garden of Beasts. New York: Crown, 2011. xiv + 448 pages. Notes. Bibliography. Photo Credits. Index. ISBN 978-0-307-40884-6. $26.00. Started 18 April and finished 4 May 2012.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Apparatus Criticus by Peter Laslett. Revised edition. New York and Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, 1963. A Mentor Book. xiv + 576 pages. Bibliography. Index. $1.95. Started 30 March and finished 6 July 2012.
Mankell, Henning. The Man from Beijing. New York, Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 369 pages. Author's Note. ISBN 978-0-307-27186-0. $25.95. Started 3 April and finished 15 April 2012.
Prague, Cary N., Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon. Access 2003 Bible. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2004. lvi + 1401 pages. Index. ISBN 0=7645-3986-8. $54.99. Started 8 December 2011 and finished 20 April 2012.
Sandford, John. Shock Wave. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2011. 388 pages. ISBN 978-0-399-15769-1. $27.95. Started on 6 April and finished on 9 April 2012.
Silva, Daniel. The Secret Servant. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2007. 385 pages. Author's Note. Acknowledgments. ISBN 978-0-399-15422-5. $25.95. Started on 31 March and finished on 7 April 2012.
__________. The Defector. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2009. 469 pages. Author's Note. Acknowledgments. ISBN 978-0-399-15568-0. $26.95. Started on 11 April and finished on 17 April 2012.
__________. Portrait of a Spy. New York: Harper, 2011. 455 pages. Author's Note. Acknowledgments. ISBN 978-0-06-207218-4. $26.99. Started 20 April and finished 28 April 2012.
Tufte, Edward R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Second edition. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 2001. 197 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-9613921-4-7. Started on 16 March and finished on 1 April 2012.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
Berry, Wendell. That Distant Land. Washington, DC: Shoemaker Hoard, 2004. 440 pages. ISBN 1-59376-027-2. $26.00. Started 4 March and finished 11 April 2012.
Evanovich, Janet. Explosive Eighteen. New York: Bantam Books, 2011. 305 pages. ISBN 978-0-345-52771-4. $28.00. Started 18 April and finished 23 April 2012.
Ford, Richard. Independence Day. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. 451 pages. ISBN 0-679-49265-8. $24.00 Started on 3 February and finished on 21 May 2012.
Larson, Erik. The Garden of Beasts. New York: Crown, 2011. xiv + 448 pages. Notes. Bibliography. Photo Credits. Index. ISBN 978-0-307-40884-6. $26.00. Started 18 April and finished 4 May 2012.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Apparatus Criticus by Peter Laslett. Revised edition. New York and Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, 1963. A Mentor Book. xiv + 576 pages. Bibliography. Index. $1.95. Started 30 March and finished 6 July 2012.
Mankell, Henning. The Man from Beijing. New York, Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 369 pages. Author's Note. ISBN 978-0-307-27186-0. $25.95. Started 3 April and finished 15 April 2012.
Prague, Cary N., Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon. Access 2003 Bible. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2004. lvi + 1401 pages. Index. ISBN 0=7645-3986-8. $54.99. Started 8 December 2011 and finished 20 April 2012.
Sandford, John. Shock Wave. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2011. 388 pages. ISBN 978-0-399-15769-1. $27.95. Started on 6 April and finished on 9 April 2012.
Silva, Daniel. The Secret Servant. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2007. 385 pages. Author's Note. Acknowledgments. ISBN 978-0-399-15422-5. $25.95. Started on 31 March and finished on 7 April 2012.
__________. The Defector. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2009. 469 pages. Author's Note. Acknowledgments. ISBN 978-0-399-15568-0. $26.95. Started on 11 April and finished on 17 April 2012.
__________. Portrait of a Spy. New York: Harper, 2011. 455 pages. Author's Note. Acknowledgments. ISBN 978-0-06-207218-4. $26.99. Started 20 April and finished 28 April 2012.
Tufte, Edward R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Second edition. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 2001. 197 pages. Index. ISBN 978-0-9613921-4-7. Started on 16 March and finished on 1 April 2012.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. Paris: Bookking International, 2993. Phidal pour le Canada, 1995. Original publication 1885. 473 pages. ISBN 2-89393-465-X. Started 1 July 2004 and finished 28 September 2012.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Reading List: March 2012
Here it is the end of August, and I'm thinking about what I was reading back in March. Perhaps I'll be able to use this weekend to catch up to the present. In the meantime, I was doing a lot of reading, in pretty diverse categories, during the Month of March.
Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes.
Guided Tours of Hell, by Francine Prose.
Lush Life, by Richard Price.
Eternal Frontier, by James H. Schmitz. Edited by Eric Flint and Guy Gordon.
Home, by Marilynne Robinson.
Independence Day, by Richard Ford.
The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields.
Blue Angel, by Francine Prose.
That Distant Land, by Wendell Berry.
Access 2003 Bible, by Cary N. Prague, Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon.
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data, by Stephen Few.
Germinal, par Emile Zola.
The World in 2012, by The Economist.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by Edward R. Tufte.
Buried Prey, by John Sandford.
Whose Body?, by Dorothy Sayers.
Two Treatises of Government, by John Locke.
The Secret Servant, by Daniel Silva.
Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes.
Guided Tours of Hell, by Francine Prose.
Lush Life, by Richard Price.
Eternal Frontier, by James H. Schmitz. Edited by Eric Flint and Guy Gordon.
Home, by Marilynne Robinson.
Independence Day, by Richard Ford.
The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields.
Blue Angel, by Francine Prose.
That Distant Land, by Wendell Berry.
Access 2003 Bible, by Cary N. Prague, Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon.
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data, by Stephen Few.
Germinal, par Emile Zola.
The World in 2012, by The Economist.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by Edward R. Tufte.
Buried Prey, by John Sandford.
Whose Body?, by Dorothy Sayers.
Two Treatises of Government, by John Locke.
The Secret Servant, by Daniel Silva.
A Day Off
August 31 is the anniversary of the date I started work for my current employer. Well, actually, I started work for another company altogether, but, in the fullness of time, and with some intervening mergers and a bankruptcy, I'm still employed, and they count my service from this date twenty years ago. I decided to take the day off, and here I am.
It's going to be another hot, dry day, and I got out around 9:00 am to mow the back yard. It was really getting overgrown. I haven't quite finished the job, but I'll do more after this break.
We just went online and bought tickets to tonight's baseball game. The Sky Sox will be hosting the Las Vegas 51s at Security Service Field. There will be fireworks after the game. And two of the Rockies's star players, Jason Giambi and Troy Tulowitzki, are on rehab assignments with the Sky Sox.
I finished reading a crime novel by Jo Nesbo, the Norwegian author, this morning. The Snowman was apparently published in Norwegian in 2007, and it came out in English translation last year. Nesbo is pretty good, and this was a good book, as thrillers and crime novels go.
After I finished The Snowman I picked up Germinal, and I'll see if I can finish a chapter or two of that today. I have been reading Germinal for a number of years. My French is good enough to understand the novel, and to get the flavor of the events, but I think it's just a little tiring to read very much in a language other than English. So I keep putting the book down and picking it up. I'm rather near the end now; I'm at page 357 of 473.
It's going to be another hot, dry day, and I got out around 9:00 am to mow the back yard. It was really getting overgrown. I haven't quite finished the job, but I'll do more after this break.
We just went online and bought tickets to tonight's baseball game. The Sky Sox will be hosting the Las Vegas 51s at Security Service Field. There will be fireworks after the game. And two of the Rockies's star players, Jason Giambi and Troy Tulowitzki, are on rehab assignments with the Sky Sox.
I finished reading a crime novel by Jo Nesbo, the Norwegian author, this morning. The Snowman was apparently published in Norwegian in 2007, and it came out in English translation last year. Nesbo is pretty good, and this was a good book, as thrillers and crime novels go.
After I finished The Snowman I picked up Germinal, and I'll see if I can finish a chapter or two of that today. I have been reading Germinal for a number of years. My French is good enough to understand the novel, and to get the flavor of the events, but I think it's just a little tiring to read very much in a language other than English. So I keep putting the book down and picking it up. I'm rather near the end now; I'm at page 357 of 473.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Commencement Speeches
Here are links to two original and excellent commencement speeches - a genre in which originality is generally shunned, and excellence is regarded as showing off.
David A. McCullough at Wellesley High School:
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/11903.aspx
Michael Lewis at Princeton University:
http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/michael_lewis_princeton_graduation_speech.html
Enjoy!
David A. McCullough at Wellesley High School:
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/11903.aspx
Michael Lewis at Princeton University:
http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/michael_lewis_princeton_graduation_speech.html
Enjoy!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Reading List: February 2012
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard.
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, by Michael Lewis.
Access 2003 Bible, by Cary N. Prague, Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon.
Lush Life, by Richard Price.
Independence Day, by Richard Ford.
Mohawk, by Richard Russo.
Citizen Vince, by Jess Walter.
Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson.
The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva.
Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, by Thomas Hobbes.
A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs, par Marcel Proust.
Guided Tours of Hell, by Francine Prose.
A World Lost, by Wendell Berry.
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data, by Stephen Few.
Home, by Marilynne Robinson.
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, by Michael Lewis.
Access 2003 Bible, by Cary N. Prague, Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon.
Lush Life, by Richard Price.
Independence Day, by Richard Ford.
Mohawk, by Richard Russo.
Citizen Vince, by Jess Walter.
Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson.
The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva.
Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, by Thomas Hobbes.
A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs, par Marcel Proust.
Guided Tours of Hell, by Francine Prose.
A World Lost, by Wendell Berry.
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data, by Stephen Few.
Home, by Marilynne Robinson.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Reading List: January 2012
In alphabetical order by author:
Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow.
Child, Lee. The Affair.
Drake, David. Out of the Waters.
Harvey, Greg. Excel 2003 for Dummies.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil.
Kaufeld, John. Access 2002 for Dummies.
Lewis, Michael. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine.
Millard, Candice. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President.
Prague, Cary, Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon. Access 2003 Bible.
Price, Richard. Lush Life.
Prose, Francine. My New American Life.
Proust, Marcel. A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs.
Sjowall, Maj, and Per Wahloo. The Laughing Policeman.
Walter, Jess. Citizen Vince.
Zola, Emile. Germinal.
Fifteen books, nine of them novels. Three of them technical works. One work of history, one of journalism, and one of political philosophy.
The earliest of these books was published in the 17th century, the most recent in 2011. Two of them are in French, and one was written in Swedish before being translated into English. (The Laughing Policeman is the only book whose original language was not English ever to win an Edgar Award.)
A number of these books are well-written. Undoubtedly the best-written of them all is Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry, a Kentucky author. The least satisfactory is Lush Life, by Richard Price, a novel I feel did not live up to its advance notices.
Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow.
Child, Lee. The Affair.
Drake, David. Out of the Waters.
Harvey, Greg. Excel 2003 for Dummies.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil.
Kaufeld, John. Access 2002 for Dummies.
Lewis, Michael. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine.
Millard, Candice. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President.
Prague, Cary, Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon. Access 2003 Bible.
Price, Richard. Lush Life.
Prose, Francine. My New American Life.
Proust, Marcel. A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs.
Sjowall, Maj, and Per Wahloo. The Laughing Policeman.
Walter, Jess. Citizen Vince.
Zola, Emile. Germinal.
Fifteen books, nine of them novels. Three of them technical works. One work of history, one of journalism, and one of political philosophy.
The earliest of these books was published in the 17th century, the most recent in 2011. Two of them are in French, and one was written in Swedish before being translated into English. (The Laughing Policeman is the only book whose original language was not English ever to win an Edgar Award.)
A number of these books are well-written. Undoubtedly the best-written of them all is Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry, a Kentucky author. The least satisfactory is Lush Life, by Richard Price, a novel I feel did not live up to its advance notices.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Reading List: December 2011
The New Testament of the Bible ends with a lot of short books, plus the lengthy book of Revelation. I finished both versions of the Bible that I was reading through 2011 by the end of the year.
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood (1966). I finished this on December 2, reading pages 390-431 on the first and second of December. Those pages include the following suras:
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Constance Garnett.
Some Days You Get the Bear, by Lawrence Block.
Access 2002 for Dummies, by John Kaufeld.
Access 2003 Bible, by Cary N. Prague, Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon.
Excel 2003 for Dummies, by Greg Harvey.
My New American Life, by Francine Prose.
Resistance, by Barry Lopez.
Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel.
Germinal, par Emile Zola.
Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry.
The Holy Bible, New International Version
- The New Testament
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Hebrews
- James
- 1 Peter
- 2 Peter
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Jude
- Revelation
- The New Testament
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Hebrews
- James
- 1 Peter
- 2 Peter
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Jude
- Revelation
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood (1966). I finished this on December 2, reading pages 390-431 on the first and second of December. Those pages include the following suras:
- The Unbelievers
- Help
- Pilgrimage
- The Imrans
- Cattle
- Prohibition
- Women
- Divorce
- The Table
- The Unbelievers
- Help
- Pilgrimage
- The Imrans
- Cattle
- Prohibition
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Constance Garnett.
Some Days You Get the Bear, by Lawrence Block.
Access 2002 for Dummies, by John Kaufeld.
Access 2003 Bible, by Cary N. Prague, Michael R. Irwin, and Jennifer Reardon.
Excel 2003 for Dummies, by Greg Harvey.
My New American Life, by Francine Prose.
Resistance, by Barry Lopez.
Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel.
Germinal, par Emile Zola.
Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Reading List: November 2011
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoesvsky.
The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Germinal, par Emile Zola.
Bad Blood, by John Sandford.
The Brass Verdict, by Michael Connelly.
Moonlight Mile, by Dennis LeHane.
Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel.
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke, by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo.
The Assassins' Gate, by George Packer.
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood (1966).
Some Days You Get the Bear, by Lawrence Block.
The Man on the Balcony, by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo.
Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo were a husband and wife team. She was a poet and he was a journalist, before they wrote ten mystery novels in the 1970s. These novels inspired the Maoist (and otherwise left radical) Scandinavian mystery writers. Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbo, and a number of others have followed the path of using the mystery as a mechanism for exploring the faults of society. Not too far, in some ways, from the path of Dashiell Hammett.
- Luke
- John
- Acts
- Romans
- Luke
- John
- Acts
- Romans
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoesvsky.
The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Germinal, par Emile Zola.
Bad Blood, by John Sandford.
The Brass Verdict, by Michael Connelly.
Moonlight Mile, by Dennis LeHane.
Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel.
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke, by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo.
The Assassins' Gate, by George Packer.
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood (1966).
Some Days You Get the Bear, by Lawrence Block.
The Man on the Balcony, by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo.
Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo were a husband and wife team. She was a poet and he was a journalist, before they wrote ten mystery novels in the 1970s. These novels inspired the Maoist (and otherwise left radical) Scandinavian mystery writers. Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbo, and a number of others have followed the path of using the mystery as a mechanism for exploring the faults of society. Not too far, in some ways, from the path of Dashiell Hammett.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Hesiod's Theogony
Hesiod. Theogony and Works and Days. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by M .L. West. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. World's Classics. Oxford Paperbacks. xxv + 79 pages. Explanatory Notes. ISBN 0-19-281788-4. $4.00.
A great many people are familiar with The Iliad and The Odyssey, and some of them think that those two books are the sources of all the stories of Greek mythology. Hesiod was inspired by the Muses to write Theogony (the origin of the gods). The presentation is more systematic than anything in Homer, providing relationships among the gods and demigods in considerable detail. According to the Introduction, there are some three hundred names listed in the Theogony.
The Theogony is consistent with, and may be said to have founded, the literary tradition of revealed religion. God did not speak to Hesiod, any more than He spoke to St. Paul, Mohammed, or Joseph Smith. He was inspired by the Muses, by his own account, as he tended his sheep. So Iris speaks to Agamemnon, the angel speaks to Israel, and the archangel Gabriel speaks to Mohammed.
The unreliability of revelation comes through in this passage:
And once [the Muses] taught Hesiod fine singing, as he tended his lambs below holy Helicon. this is what the goddesses said to me first, the Olympian Muses, daughters of Zeus the aegis-bearer:
"Shepherds that camp in the wild, disgraces, merest bellies:
we know to tell many lies that sound like truth,
but we know to sing reality, when we will."
If you have not yet read Hesiod, you might well find him of interest. Theogony is interesting in one way, and Works and Days has an entirely different appeal.
A great many people are familiar with The Iliad and The Odyssey, and some of them think that those two books are the sources of all the stories of Greek mythology. Hesiod was inspired by the Muses to write Theogony (the origin of the gods). The presentation is more systematic than anything in Homer, providing relationships among the gods and demigods in considerable detail. According to the Introduction, there are some three hundred names listed in the Theogony.
The Theogony is consistent with, and may be said to have founded, the literary tradition of revealed religion. God did not speak to Hesiod, any more than He spoke to St. Paul, Mohammed, or Joseph Smith. He was inspired by the Muses, by his own account, as he tended his sheep. So Iris speaks to Agamemnon, the angel speaks to Israel, and the archangel Gabriel speaks to Mohammed.
The unreliability of revelation comes through in this passage:
And once [the Muses] taught Hesiod fine singing, as he tended his lambs below holy Helicon. this is what the goddesses said to me first, the Olympian Muses, daughters of Zeus the aegis-bearer:
"Shepherds that camp in the wild, disgraces, merest bellies:
we know to tell many lies that sound like truth,
but we know to sing reality, when we will."
If you have not yet read Hesiod, you might well find him of interest. Theogony is interesting in one way, and Works and Days has an entirely different appeal.
Reading List: October 2011
The Holy Bible, New International Version
Roseanna, by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Darkness at Noon, by Arthur Koestler
The Lost Peace: Leadership in a Time of Horror and Hope, 1945-1953, by Robert Dallek
Germinal, par Emile Zola
Nothing to Lose, by Lee Childl
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood
Follow Me Down, by Shelby Foote
A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs, par Marcel Proust
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
One of these days I should write something about the similarities and differences between the Bible and the Koran. I have a number of the sacred books of various civilizations: The Bible, The Koran, The I Ching, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Theogony, and The Epic of Gilgamesh. I'm not entirely sure that the last book counts as sacred, and I'm not entirely sure that Virgil's Aeneid doesn't. I could easily enough get a copy of The Book of the Dead (the Egyptian one) or some of the Hindu works, such as The Rig Veda or The Bhagavad Gita. The old staple direction to "compare and contrast" is still an excellent starting point for an essay.
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
- Malachi
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
- Malachi
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
Roseanna, by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Darkness at Noon, by Arthur Koestler
The Lost Peace: Leadership in a Time of Horror and Hope, 1945-1953, by Robert Dallek
Germinal, par Emile Zola
Nothing to Lose, by Lee Childl
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood
Follow Me Down, by Shelby Foote
A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs, par Marcel Proust
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
One of these days I should write something about the similarities and differences between the Bible and the Koran. I have a number of the sacred books of various civilizations: The Bible, The Koran, The I Ching, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Theogony, and The Epic of Gilgamesh. I'm not entirely sure that the last book counts as sacred, and I'm not entirely sure that Virgil's Aeneid doesn't. I could easily enough get a copy of The Book of the Dead (the Egyptian one) or some of the Hindu works, such as The Rig Veda or The Bhagavad Gita. The old staple direction to "compare and contrast" is still an excellent starting point for an essay.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Reading List: September 2011
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
Shiloh, by Shelby Foote
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs, par Marcel Proust
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood
The Lost Peace, by Robert Dallek
Sir Dominic Flandry, by Poul Anderson, compiled by Hank Davis
Germinal, par Emile Zola
Darkness at Noon, by Arthur Koestler
The English Assassin, by Daniel Silva
Crossers, by Philip Caputo
The late Shelby Foote was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy The Civil War: A Narrative, partly because he was featured in Ken Burns's documentary television miniseries on the Civil War.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, Shelby Foote wrote a number of novels - five, I believe - and I recently read two of them. Follow Me Down is a story of love and murder set in Mississippi (in Foote's fictional Jordan County), in about 1946. It is beautifully written, and uses very well the narrative technique developed by Foote's fellow Mississippian William Faulkner of moving the point of view from narrator to narrator. Foote uses that same technique in Shiloh, in which he follows a number of people through the fighting around Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. In the course of reading Follow Me Down, I came to the realization that the grandfather to whom one of the characters refers is, in fact, the young boy we have seen in Shiloh. It's kind of nice to know that he lived to be an old man, even if he was missing an arm.
The quality of Foote's writing stems from his choice of subject and his extreme sensitivity to the telling detail. Foote understands how people react in moments of extreme stress.
Robert Dallek doesn't. His rather idealistic work, The Lost Peace, tries to assert that there was an alternative to the Cold War. At least Dallek is an honest scholar; his work reveals that there was no alternative, given the people, their histories, and their interactions. One thing that Dallek shares with a lot of people is the misconception that there are offensive and defensive weapons or forces. Inevitably, forces created with, we may presume, purely defensive motives, will appear to one's opposite numbers as threats. And there are three good reasons for that. First, a rifle fires whether the target is moving or the shooter if moving. I.e., many weapons are more or less equally useful on offense or defense. Second, the felt need to create a substantial defense indicates a level of distrust which will almost immediately meet its doppelganger on the other side. Third, there is the military maxim that the best defense is a good offense. Which is to say, even with motives which may be generally defenses, one may decide that the best way to defends one's own territory is to mount an attack against an opponent.
My reading in September 2011 was also heavy on the prophets. I read Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
Shiloh, by Shelby Foote
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs, par Marcel Proust
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood
The Lost Peace, by Robert Dallek
Sir Dominic Flandry, by Poul Anderson, compiled by Hank Davis
Germinal, par Emile Zola
Darkness at Noon, by Arthur Koestler
The English Assassin, by Daniel Silva
Crossers, by Philip Caputo
The late Shelby Foote was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy The Civil War: A Narrative, partly because he was featured in Ken Burns's documentary television miniseries on the Civil War.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, Shelby Foote wrote a number of novels - five, I believe - and I recently read two of them. Follow Me Down is a story of love and murder set in Mississippi (in Foote's fictional Jordan County), in about 1946. It is beautifully written, and uses very well the narrative technique developed by Foote's fellow Mississippian William Faulkner of moving the point of view from narrator to narrator. Foote uses that same technique in Shiloh, in which he follows a number of people through the fighting around Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. In the course of reading Follow Me Down, I came to the realization that the grandfather to whom one of the characters refers is, in fact, the young boy we have seen in Shiloh. It's kind of nice to know that he lived to be an old man, even if he was missing an arm.
The quality of Foote's writing stems from his choice of subject and his extreme sensitivity to the telling detail. Foote understands how people react in moments of extreme stress.
Robert Dallek doesn't. His rather idealistic work, The Lost Peace, tries to assert that there was an alternative to the Cold War. At least Dallek is an honest scholar; his work reveals that there was no alternative, given the people, their histories, and their interactions. One thing that Dallek shares with a lot of people is the misconception that there are offensive and defensive weapons or forces. Inevitably, forces created with, we may presume, purely defensive motives, will appear to one's opposite numbers as threats. And there are three good reasons for that. First, a rifle fires whether the target is moving or the shooter if moving. I.e., many weapons are more or less equally useful on offense or defense. Second, the felt need to create a substantial defense indicates a level of distrust which will almost immediately meet its doppelganger on the other side. Third, there is the military maxim that the best defense is a good offense. Which is to say, even with motives which may be generally defenses, one may decide that the best way to defends one's own territory is to mount an attack against an opponent.
My reading in September 2011 was also heavy on the prophets. I read Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Reading List: August 2011
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
Mystery, by Jonathan Kellerman
The Baburnama
Runaway, by Alice Munro
LinkedIn for Dummies, by Joel Elad
Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child
The Koran, translated by N. J. Dawood
Night Soldiers, by Alan Furst
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Crossers, by Philip Caputo
One of these days I will write a review essay about The Baburnama. At this point, let me just say that this is a unique memoir of a Muslim ruler, written in a form of Turkish, rather than in Persian, the literary language of the day. Among Babur's other accomplishments, before he conquered India and founded the Moghul Empire, he ruled Afghanistan. Ruling Afghanistan was just as much fun then as it is now. Babur's favored approach, one he picked up from family traditions, was to pile a pyramid of skulls outside a village after he suppressed revolt. I'm not sure that really worked, but it certainly showed the locals that he was serious.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
Mystery, by Jonathan Kellerman
The Baburnama
Runaway, by Alice Munro
LinkedIn for Dummies, by Joel Elad
Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child
The Koran, translated by N. J. Dawood
Night Soldiers, by Alan Furst
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Crossers, by Philip Caputo
One of these days I will write a review essay about The Baburnama. At this point, let me just say that this is a unique memoir of a Muslim ruler, written in a form of Turkish, rather than in Persian, the literary language of the day. Among Babur's other accomplishments, before he conquered India and founded the Moghul Empire, he ruled Afghanistan. Ruling Afghanistan was just as much fun then as it is now. Babur's favored approach, one he picked up from family traditions, was to pile a pyramid of skulls outside a village after he suppressed revolt. I'm not sure that really worked, but it certainly showed the locals that he was serious.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Reading List: July 2011
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
The Narrows, by Michael Connelly
Colonel Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris
Worth Dying For, by Lee Child
A Death in Vienna, by Daniel Silva
The World at Night, by Alan Furst
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Koran
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Runaway, by Alice Munro
The Baburnama
The Messenger, by Daniel Silva
Facebook for Dummies, by Carolyn Abram and Leah Pearlman
Mystery, by Jonathan Kellerman
Crossers, by Philip Caputo
Summer reading, some of which I did at the beach. In this case, Holden Beach, down in North Carolina.
Those of you who have read more than one of these notes, you'll see that we've been reading a lot of thrillers, particularly by Daniel Silva, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, and Alan Furst. If you have read and liked Erik Larson's 2011 book, In the Garden of Beasts, I think you'd particularly enjoy Alan Furst's books. Furst sets his books in Europe in the 1930s. His characters are afraid that terrible things are going to happen, but most of them don't know for sure what we all know - the Nazis are coming.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
The Narrows, by Michael Connelly
Colonel Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris
Worth Dying For, by Lee Child
A Death in Vienna, by Daniel Silva
The World at Night, by Alan Furst
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Koran
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Runaway, by Alice Munro
The Baburnama
The Messenger, by Daniel Silva
Facebook for Dummies, by Carolyn Abram and Leah Pearlman
Mystery, by Jonathan Kellerman
Crossers, by Philip Caputo
Summer reading, some of which I did at the beach. In this case, Holden Beach, down in North Carolina.
Those of you who have read more than one of these notes, you'll see that we've been reading a lot of thrillers, particularly by Daniel Silva, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, and Alan Furst. If you have read and liked Erik Larson's 2011 book, In the Garden of Beasts, I think you'd particularly enjoy Alan Furst's books. Furst sets his books in Europe in the 1930s. His characters are afraid that terrible things are going to happen, but most of them don't know for sure what we all know - the Nazis are coming.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Reading List: June 2011
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
The Baburnama
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Colonel Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris
Acts of Faith, Philip Caputo
Follow Me Down, by Shelby Foote
Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel
Runaway, by Alice Munro
Moscow Rules, by Daniel Silva
Facebook for Dummies, by Carolyn Abram and Leah Pearlman
Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child
Reversal, by Michael Connelly
LinkedIn for Dummies, by Joel Elad
The Narrows, by Michael Connelly
61 Hours, by Lee Child
June was a rather busy month, in the reading department. I started nine books during the month, and I finished five. For one thing, following up on various recommendations, I started two books by Michael Connelly (best known for The Lincoln Lawyer) and two by Lee Child.
My reading in the Bible continued, as I finished the book of Job and started Psalms.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
The Baburnama
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Colonel Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris
Acts of Faith, Philip Caputo
Follow Me Down, by Shelby Foote
Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel
Runaway, by Alice Munro
Moscow Rules, by Daniel Silva
Facebook for Dummies, by Carolyn Abram and Leah Pearlman
Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child
Reversal, by Michael Connelly
LinkedIn for Dummies, by Joel Elad
The Narrows, by Michael Connelly
61 Hours, by Lee Child
June was a rather busy month, in the reading department. I started nine books during the month, and I finished five. For one thing, following up on various recommendations, I started two books by Michael Connelly (best known for The Lincoln Lawyer) and two by Lee Child.
My reading in the Bible continued, as I finished the book of Job and started Psalms.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Reading List: May 2011
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
The World in 2011, by The Economist
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
The Baburnama
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Facebook for Dummies, by Carolyn Abram and Leah Pearlman
Spies of the Balkans, by Alan Furst
The Foreign Correspondent, by Alan Furst
LinkedIn for Dummies, by Joel Elad
Colonel Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
That was a pretty good list, I think. There were a couple of pretty heavy-duty books I started last May. The third volume of Edmund Morris's biography of Theodore Roosevelt was very good. It took up in 1909, after Roosevelt had left the White House.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
The World in 2011, by The Economist
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
The Baburnama
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Facebook for Dummies, by Carolyn Abram and Leah Pearlman
Spies of the Balkans, by Alan Furst
The Foreign Correspondent, by Alan Furst
LinkedIn for Dummies, by Joel Elad
Colonel Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
That was a pretty good list, I think. There were a couple of pretty heavy-duty books I started last May. The third volume of Edmund Morris's biography of Theodore Roosevelt was very good. It took up in 1909, after Roosevelt had left the White House.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Measuring Failure and Success
I made the assertion in an earlier post that the United States lost the War of 1812. Agim Zabeli disputed that conclusion, pointing out some of the reasons one might say that the United States won the War of 1812. This difference of opinion actually underlines my original point, which is that it is very difficult to say whether a person, or a country, or an organization, has succeeded or failed in an endeavor, unless one has a clear statement of the objectives they hoped to achieve. In the case of the War of 1812, some of the motives for taking the United States into war with Britain stated before the war, were downplayed after the war, and some different war aims were asserted to have been decisive. If one can move the goalposts at will, one can always claim victory.
One standard for victory in battle is possession of the field. In the American Civil War, there were several battles which might appear to have been a victory for one side or the other, but the palm is usually awarded to the side which stays on the battlefield after the fighting is over. I think it is the Battle of Chickamauga which is particularly troublesome in this regard.
Another standard depends upon a determination of which side was the aggressor. The Battle of Gettysburg, for example, is clearly a victory for the Union forces for two reasons:
First, the Confederates retreated back to Virginia after the battle, leaving the Union in possession of the field;
Second, the Confederate invasion of the North was stopped, and its objectives were not attained.
If, however, one asserts that the objective of General Meade's army was (or should have been) the destruction of General Lee's army, then the Union Army cannot be said to be the clear winner at Gettyburg. Rather, one might say, both sides were frustrated in their objectives.
Whether the United States interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq were successful depends, therefore, upon one's view of what the American government intended to accomplish in those conflicts, as well as upon what has actually been attained.
One standard for victory in battle is possession of the field. In the American Civil War, there were several battles which might appear to have been a victory for one side or the other, but the palm is usually awarded to the side which stays on the battlefield after the fighting is over. I think it is the Battle of Chickamauga which is particularly troublesome in this regard.
Another standard depends upon a determination of which side was the aggressor. The Battle of Gettysburg, for example, is clearly a victory for the Union forces for two reasons:
First, the Confederates retreated back to Virginia after the battle, leaving the Union in possession of the field;
Second, the Confederate invasion of the North was stopped, and its objectives were not attained.
If, however, one asserts that the objective of General Meade's army was (or should have been) the destruction of General Lee's army, then the Union Army cannot be said to be the clear winner at Gettyburg. Rather, one might say, both sides were frustrated in their objectives.
Whether the United States interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq were successful depends, therefore, upon one's view of what the American government intended to accomplish in those conflicts, as well as upon what has actually been attained.
Reading List: April 2011
During this month I continued to read the New International Version, and the New King James Version, of the Bible.
Captain Flandry, by Poul Anderson, compiled by Hank Davis.
Excel Dashboards & Reports, by Michael Alexander and John Walkenbach
The Rembrandt Affair, by Daniel Silva
Obama's Wars, by Bob Woodward
Wicked Prey, by John Sandford
The Baburnama
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
The World in 2011, by The Economist
The thing that struck me about Bob Woodward's Obama's Wars, was the degree to which the military refused to be pinned down with regard to either objectives or requirements. They kept putting themselves in a position so that they could say later on, as they now do, that they didn't get what they asked for. At one point, the President drafted up a memorandum of understanding and made everyone sign it.
Captain Flandry, by Poul Anderson, compiled by Hank Davis.
Excel Dashboards & Reports, by Michael Alexander and John Walkenbach
The Rembrandt Affair, by Daniel Silva
Obama's Wars, by Bob Woodward
Wicked Prey, by John Sandford
The Baburnama
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
The World in 2011, by The Economist
The thing that struck me about Bob Woodward's Obama's Wars, was the degree to which the military refused to be pinned down with regard to either objectives or requirements. They kept putting themselves in a position so that they could say later on, as they now do, that they didn't get what they asked for. At one point, the President drafted up a memorandum of understanding and made everyone sign it.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Reading List: March 2011
In the month of March, 2011, I was reading the following books. I might note that I started seven books during the month, and I finished six.
I was reading my two Bibles in parallel, according to a one-year reading plan. In March I finished Deuteronomy; I read Joshua, Judges, and Ruth; and I started 1 Samuel.
Beginning in Archaeology, by Kathleen M. Kenyon
The Night Crew, by John Sandford
Chosen Prey, by John Sandford
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
The View of Castle Rock, by Alice Munro
Farmville for Dummies, by Angela Morales and Kyle Orland
That Old Cape Magic, by Richard Russo
Excel Dashboards & Reports, by Michael Alexander and John Walkenbach
Captain Flandry, by Poul Anderson, compiled by Hank Davis
The Baburnama, translated by Wheeler M. Thackston
The Rembrandt Affair, by Daniel Silva
The World in 2011, by The Economist
Yes, there is a Dummies book for Farmville players. And, by implication, I am a Farmville player.
I was reading my two Bibles in parallel, according to a one-year reading plan. In March I finished Deuteronomy; I read Joshua, Judges, and Ruth; and I started 1 Samuel.
Beginning in Archaeology, by Kathleen M. Kenyon
The Night Crew, by John Sandford
Chosen Prey, by John Sandford
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
The View of Castle Rock, by Alice Munro
Farmville for Dummies, by Angela Morales and Kyle Orland
That Old Cape Magic, by Richard Russo
Excel Dashboards & Reports, by Michael Alexander and John Walkenbach
Captain Flandry, by Poul Anderson, compiled by Hank Davis
The Baburnama, translated by Wheeler M. Thackston
The Rembrandt Affair, by Daniel Silva
The World in 2011, by The Economist
Yes, there is a Dummies book for Farmville players. And, by implication, I am a Farmville player.
Reading List: February 2011
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
Dark Voyage, by Alan Furst
The Koran for Dummies, by Sohaib Sultan
Storm Prey, by John Sandford
Beginning in Archaeology, by Kathleen M. Kenyon
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
Young Flandry, by Poul Anderson. Compiled by Hank Davis.
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
The View from Castle Rock, by Alice Munro
The Night Crew, by John Sandford
There is some good stuff in this group. Alice Munro is one of the best short-story writers around, and this collection contains some prime stuff. Hilary Mantel won the Man Booker prize for Wolf Hall, an historical novel set in the reign of King Henry VIII. Beginning in Archaeology is a classic, aimed at those who want to pursue a career in archaeology, even if it might be an amateur career.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
Dark Voyage, by Alan Furst
The Koran for Dummies, by Sohaib Sultan
Storm Prey, by John Sandford
Beginning in Archaeology, by Kathleen M. Kenyon
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
Young Flandry, by Poul Anderson. Compiled by Hank Davis.
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
The View from Castle Rock, by Alice Munro
The Night Crew, by John Sandford
There is some good stuff in this group. Alice Munro is one of the best short-story writers around, and this collection contains some prime stuff. Hilary Mantel won the Man Booker prize for Wolf Hall, an historical novel set in the reign of King Henry VIII. Beginning in Archaeology is a classic, aimed at those who want to pursue a career in archaeology, even if it might be an amateur career.
Reading List: January 2011
In January, 2011, I was reading the following books:
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
The Vampire Archives, edited by Otto Penzler
The Legions of Fire, by David Drake
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
The Koran for Dummies, by Sohaib Sultan
In the Stormy Red Sky, by David Drake
Dark Voyage, by Alan Furst
Storm Prey, by John Sandford
I note that my so-called Current Reading list includes some books I had finished before December 31, 2010. I will be deleting those books from the list today.
Three of the books listed above were completed in January, 2011, and they will not stay on the Current Reading list for very long. Only until the next update, based on my notes for February, 2011.
For those of you who know my skeptical bent, it may seem odd that I was reading four books centered on religion. In 2011, instead of The NIV Study Bible I'd been reading since 2007, I read two copies of the Bible, one in the New International Version transalation, and one in what is called the New King James Version. The Koran for Dummies is the worst-written Dummies book I've ever read, but it contains a lot of good information on how Muslims read, interpret, and use the Koran. While religion is a key theme in The Poisonwood Bible, it is more about the plight of Americans thrust into strange circumstances in the Third World, than about religious belief per se.
The Holy Bible, New International Version
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
The Vampire Archives, edited by Otto Penzler
The Legions of Fire, by David Drake
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
The Koran for Dummies, by Sohaib Sultan
In the Stormy Red Sky, by David Drake
Dark Voyage, by Alan Furst
Storm Prey, by John Sandford
I note that my so-called Current Reading list includes some books I had finished before December 31, 2010. I will be deleting those books from the list today.
Three of the books listed above were completed in January, 2011, and they will not stay on the Current Reading list for very long. Only until the next update, based on my notes for February, 2011.
For those of you who know my skeptical bent, it may seem odd that I was reading four books centered on religion. In 2011, instead of The NIV Study Bible I'd been reading since 2007, I read two copies of the Bible, one in the New International Version transalation, and one in what is called the New King James Version. The Koran for Dummies is the worst-written Dummies book I've ever read, but it contains a lot of good information on how Muslims read, interpret, and use the Koran. While religion is a key theme in The Poisonwood Bible, it is more about the plight of Americans thrust into strange circumstances in the Third World, than about religious belief per se.
Friday, April 27, 2012
I note that a number of the Republican Presidential candidates have referred to the Obama Administration as a "failed presidency." A fellow blogger alluded to this idea the other day, and I put a comment on his blog - Two Masters - which can be reached via the sidebar to this blog.
An interesting thing about failure, is that so much depends upon what one's goal was in the first place. Back in the dim past, in the 1960s and 1970, there was a lot of talk about not being the first American President to lose a war. This was based on the belief, apparently sincere, that the United States had never previously lost a war. In reality, the first American President to lose a war was James Madison. The United States lost the War of 1812, and quite decisively, too. It is true that General Andy Jackson, with help from Jean Lafitte and a passel of frontiersman, beat the British General Pakenham at New Orleans, on January 8, 1815. Unfortunately, the war was already over by then, and the Battle of New Orleans was irrelevant to the outcome.
How do we know that the War of 1812 was lost? Cross the bridge from Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario, or vice versa, and you're likely to have to produce some evidence of American citizenship. If the United States had won the War of 1812, Ontario (Upper Canada, as then was) would be American territory today. There is also the embarrassing fact that the British invaded the United States and burned the Capitol and the White House. Not many countries who've suffered that sort of treatment are regarded as having won the war in which it occurred.
An interesting thing about failure, is that so much depends upon what one's goal was in the first place. Back in the dim past, in the 1960s and 1970, there was a lot of talk about not being the first American President to lose a war. This was based on the belief, apparently sincere, that the United States had never previously lost a war. In reality, the first American President to lose a war was James Madison. The United States lost the War of 1812, and quite decisively, too. It is true that General Andy Jackson, with help from Jean Lafitte and a passel of frontiersman, beat the British General Pakenham at New Orleans, on January 8, 1815. Unfortunately, the war was already over by then, and the Battle of New Orleans was irrelevant to the outcome.
How do we know that the War of 1812 was lost? Cross the bridge from Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario, or vice versa, and you're likely to have to produce some evidence of American citizenship. If the United States had won the War of 1812, Ontario (Upper Canada, as then was) would be American territory today. There is also the embarrassing fact that the British invaded the United States and burned the Capitol and the White House. Not many countries who've suffered that sort of treatment are regarded as having won the war in which it occurred.
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