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.
Glenn A Knight
In my study
Sunday, October 21, 2012
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
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