Lol Well I finished it last night. One would assume since I finished it in 3 days that I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but I have to ask a man first if I did or not. Kidding. I didn't mind it, I just thought it was going to be different. Less drama and romance. I have a book someone gave to me titled "Postmistress"by Sarah Blake and it has taken me a year to get through. I just checked, halfway through.
At the Edge of Time: Exploring the Mysteries of Our Universe’s First Seconds by Dan Hooper Hooper explores modern cosmology through the lense of the big bang and the seconds that followed, particularly the first fraction of a second. He hits most of the key topics in modern cosmology - dark matter, dark energy, cosmic inflation, quantum gravity and so forth. Underlining the lack of progress in the field, the general message is that we have have some of the jigsaw correct, but there are significant parts that stubbornly won't fit - and all that seems to be happening is that our best ideas for resolving this are being ruled out one by one. I found it just alright. It doesn't get too technical but perhaps as a result it often quite laboured in its descriptions.
"STET" - Sarah Gailey Writing a textbook for a future generation of self-driving car engineers. "The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly" - Alix E. Harrow Looks like "Red Chief but faerie" but it's more than that.
The Castlecourt Diamond Case - Geraldine Bonner 1905. Not a detective story as we would think of it, but many of the trappings of one without much mystery. The tale of a set of stolen diamonds is told transparently by each participant in turn, with one of the culprits going second. Twists are laid out chronologically as they happen, but there's a decent twist or two to bring out characterization, so it was a worthwhile read. A little fun period slang. Brownie points for referring to Chicago as a beastly hole. But not an author I'm likely to revisit. New words: soubrette, slavy, feazed, Ice-House Laugh.
Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death - James Runcie Runcie is a TV writer. And, in fact, aside from the internal monologues, these scenes, slow-boil romantic interests, minor interpersonal frictions, and gradual accumulation of background characters feel very much like a British series PBS would import. If getting picked up for a telly series was Runcie's goal, well, IMDB says he got his wish within a couple of years. Six detective stories, although two or three are very light on the detective part. The others are good puzzles. The star is Canon Sidney Chambers, a new vicar in 1950s Cambridge (which explains the absence of the Oxford comma amirite) who likes jazz and playing Thursday backgammon with his inspector friend at a local pub. He dislikes feeling inadequate at his job, feeling resented for being granted a plum position out of order, and being accused of dodging the war. He quickly accumulates his own Betty and Veronica as he navigates crime, suspicion of crime, surprise dogs, and writing parish newsletters. It's quite enjoyable, and I would be willing to pick up another volume. I recognized a reference to Ruffles thanks to that "gaslight crime" collection I read a while back. New words: Harpic, skiffle, Zuleika Dobson, spiv, several bits of jazz slang.
Guerilla Days in Ireland by Tom Barry This is a first-person account of the Irish War of Independence from the leader of the West Cork IRA, arguably the most successful unit against the British during the conflict. It covers important incidents such as the Kilmichael Ambush and the Crossbarry Ambush, and life in the guerilla 'flying column' as they evade and attack the much more well-resourced British forces arrayed against them. The writing is highly evocative and its influence can be seen on later representations. As expected, Barry rails strongly against the brutality of the British, describing their burnings and lynchings. But I was surprised that it's not only the Black and Tans or the Auxilliaries who bear the brunt of this but the Essex Regiment who are singled out for criticism. In contrast, others like the Liverpool Regiment are commended for their integrity. It's full of nationalist exaltation, with both his comrades and the national leadership (who he tells interesting stories of having met) receiving effusive praise. In one sense, this is warranted by what was an extraordinary achievement. But it also seems that writing years later, he was doing his bit to heal divisions created by the subsequent civil war. The Civil War is not addressed here, but Tom Barry fought on the losing side. As far as can be told from this, I think he may have overestimated the potential of the Irish forces to fight on against the British, particularly were the latter to become even more ruthless as they had threatened. His subsequent politics is also questionable. But his account here is vital for anyone interested in this history, albeit not an ideal starting point.
The Guns of August - Barbara W. Tuchman A Pulitzer Prize winner from 1962 about the opening of WWI. It starts with the funeral of Edward VII and ends on the eve of the Battle of the Marne. The bulk of the book takes place during the actual fighting, but a good deal of consideration is given to the lead-up that laid the ground for a long, destructive war. Germany's Kaiser had a big inferiority complex, admiring other European nations (especially France) while resenting that Germany was not taken seriously. Some examples are also given of Germans (including Thomas Mann) who thought Germany was doing the world a favor by imposing German Kultur on Europe. The Kaiser probably could have had some measure of friendship with England, but he always suspected the English of being up to something in negotiations. Germany was also mad that France had recovered so swiftly from the last time Germany beat them. When the fighting started, Germany expected Belgium would roll over for them. When Belgium fought back even a little, German armies systematically applied terror, burning down towns and killing hundreds of civilian hostages, which mainly turned the world against Germany no matter how often Germany tried to explain that it was all the fault of Belgian leaders for egging on resistance (Belgian leaders were doing the opposite). As mentioned in the book about Cannae I read a few years back, some of the German military leaders were obsessed with the battle of Cannae, and the idea of conducting a modern Cannae influenced their decisions a few times. France was smarting from their previous defeat and coping by putting all their military faith in the French offensive spirit overcoming all obstacles (like wearing bright red pants on the battlefield). It was obvious for many years that if Germany attacked, it would likely take a roundabout route through Belgium. But the French high command always said "the more the merrier over there, it just means less in our way when we counter-attack through Alsace." They realized too late that Germany had a bigger army than expected. Russia was also smarting from defeat in their recent war with Japan and too anxious to prove their mettle to worry about preparing things like supply lines or communications. They were reduced to communicating between armies by unencrypted means that the Germans could listen in on. It also didn't help that banning vodka to prevent drunken problems cut government revenue by a third. But their massive defeat decoyed enough Germans away from the western front that France was able to survive. Britain was hamstrung by its liberal factions wanting peace unless the Germans did something Really Bad, initially only sending a few divisions over to help the French, led by a Sir French who freaked out the moment things got hairy and immediately tried to get his army out of the way of the Germans and preferably off the continent ASAP. He wasn't coordinating with the French armies well anyway. One of the few redeeming actions by the French commander, Joffre, presented in this book is his impassioned speech to Sir French to remain and help in the Battle of the Marne. Britain was also very protective of its fleet, needing it intact to maintain its empire too much to risk losing ships in reducing Germany's navy. But Germany was overprotective of its own navy and didn't take much advantage of this passivity early in the war. America mainly comes in as being huffy about Britain's new ideas about rules of search and seizure of contraband at sea. Britain wanted to be able to seize anything that might even plausibly be headed to Germany. Woodrow Wilson had his heart set on remaining neutral so that America could sweep in from the moral high ground and mediate a peace when the time was right. It all comes off as reminiscent of the American Civil War. Nobody involved expected the war to last very long: the Germans had a very detailed timetable for winning the war by September. Belgium was way behind schedule getting ready for a looming war, Britain had avoided conscription and so had little in the way of army they could spare, and France was too busy believing in winning by elan and pretty uniforms to catch up with "modern" ideas like entrenchment or not getting yourself shot in general. Russia was just incompetent in supporting its troops' advance. There's a sense that it could have been a very short war, but politics and idealism on the Allied side prevented the Germans being slapped down quickly. Anyway, it's a well-written, gripping read. A very nice foreword about the author, written several decades later when a lady author could be described as something other than a housewife and mother. She wrote more books after this and I will keep an eye out for them. New words: shako, espaliered.
That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern The final work of noted Irish writer John McGahern, this one is a departure from the usual dark subject matter (literally 'The Dark') that his other novels, all generally acclaimed, took on. It's the third one I've read personally and it's an extraordinary work, perhaps his best. The setting is rural Ireland in the late 20th century and the characters are ordinary people living beside a lake. Events happen (over the course of a year) but there is no plot, just the rhythms and customs of life in this community. That is, there is marriage, death, socialising, lots of farming, business conducted and friendships developed. In the hands of a lesser writer this kind of thing would grow tedious very quickly. But the characters and the culture in which they exist are are so well-rounded and represented so closely to life that it is a joy to spend time with them and their unremarkable comings and goings. McGahern develops a remarkable pathos and at times their simple rituals are genuinely moving, their words approaching profundity. The misdeeds of these people are not great, but where they occur it's left to the reader to judge them. In general, the writer is forgiving and sympathetic. It's a welcome departure from a lot of the misanthropy that's around and I only wish that this book had been longer.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie Her first published work which is now over 100 years old. A classic murder mystery set during World War I that revolves around who’s going to cash in on the old lady’s will. I found it easy to follow and only had to look up two words. Since it was her first novel it’s definitely not as good as what would come later. I believe she even said there were too many red herrings. There was one character in particular doing suspect things throughout and Hercule Poirot just sort of waved it off at the end. For a first time novel it was good enough.
I do think her earlier novels have a lot more going on (thinking of The Secret of Chimneys especially) than some of the more formulaic novels she put out later. One of the detective books I've been reading within the past year alluded that at the time, it wasn't believed that anyone could write a properly novel-sized detective story and have it turn out well, which she solved by just layering multiple mysteries over the same plot. Styles isn't her very best, but I find it more memorable and engaging on rereads than some of her later, more straightforward mysteries.
Unnatural Causes - P.D. James Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is visiting his birdwatching aunt at her seaside cottage. He needs the holiday, to recover from a nasty case and decide whether to propose to his girlfriend. But he's met with another nasty case: one of the local writers drifts in on the tide with his hands cut off. Who in this intimate community did it? How did he really die? What parts of his less than noble past brought this to pass? Will Dalgliesh survive his friction with the local Inspector Reckless (actual name) in charge of the case? The cast of suspects are a broad range of personalities, and we get inside their heads occasionally. Some effective environmental description that takes advantage of the setting. This being the '60s, we get a few moderately tawdry scenes in London nightclubs as well. A very good mystery with setting, action, clues and misdirections, shocks, and a strong solution. New words: gules, glandular fever, amphigoric, dégagé, terylene, en brosse, armigerous, chi-chi, marram.
Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift Having read Robinson Crusoe in the recent past, I decided to follow up with this - which had been considered by some as a rejoinder or response. Most will be somewhat familiar with the first of Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput but less so with those that follow. It's heavy on satire. The social and political practices of the societies that Gulliver visits are used as a way for him to make fun of contrasting his European contemporaries. Much of this has dated - both the language used and the overall context. Swift's insistence from the start that every word of the outlandish tale is true seems to express disquiet about fictional stories presented as truth, then a novelty. It differs with Crusoe in that while the latter plainly regarded the natives of the lands he visited as savages in need of civilisation, Gulliver finds imperfect yet rich cultures who in some cases have much to teach his. Overall as something written in the early 18th century when the novel was first developing as a form, it's as interesting as a cultural artifact as it is for its own sake.
I enjoyed Gulliver's Travels a lot. Wrote a paper on it in high school about the Horse people. I actually wrote a story not long ago crossing Gulliver over with a Lovecraftian tale like Dagon. It was for an anthology, but the publisher passed on it. I might put it in my own collection some day. I figure if Neil Gaiman can do that with Dr. Who stories, why not me?
Vulcan! - Kathleen Sky Another of those wild early Bantams. Mostly within arm's length of sane. But 1. The Romulan Neutral Zone is defined in terms of the galactic magnetic field, not in terms of what systems each power lays claim to. Cue shockedpikachu Federation when "intense ion storms" distort the local magnetic field enough that a particular star system might slide into the NZ and then into Romulan space. (Or the other way around, thanks Einstein) 2. The plot relevance is that the Enterprise has to go in and see if the locals are intelligent life (the cover artist kindly paints the ant part and not the tarantula part), and if so whether they want the Federation to support their right to self-determination against those evil Romulans, possibly to the point of declaring war to protect them. I can't even see Picard getting this bullheaded in his idealism. Maybe you should have seen this kind of event coming and written "takebacks allowed" into the treaty? What if a star system shifts into Federation space and the Romulans say "no, it's still ours, we want to protect them from your influence"? 3. In the name of the ship's psychological "gestalt", all incoming crewmembers undergo a psych exam where they get sealed into a sensory-controlled pod and pumped full of drugs and the doctor asks them invasive questions, including about their sex life, and the results are freely shared with the captain and first officer. Anyway, the true core of the novel revolves around the beautiful expert brought on board to assist in first contact, who carries her hatred of Vulcans around like a child carrying a safety blanket. McCoy and Spock have to wrangle her. Thus the title is less an exultant naming of the audience's favorite Trek race than a hateful sneer. Overall it's a fine story and, I think, pretty close to the Original Series in dialogue. David Gerrold provides a long, in-groupy introduction in which he says Ms. Sky isn't actually the author (but she is) (but she isn't) and that Stephen Goldin has recently been discovered to be a koala.
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman It's been a few decades since she was active but Barbara Tuchman was responsible for several classics in the popular history genre. This was my first exposure to her. It's an attempt to chart out a thread through history of what Tuchman calls "folly" - a phenomenon where governments act against their own best interests, in the knowledge that they're making things worse and with ready alternatives available. She reviews four examples - the Trojans accepting a horse, the Popes triggering the Reformation, the British losing America and the Americans failing in Vietnam. I'm not sure that the overall argument is that well structured. Of the four cases, one is a semi-mythical event with little or no historical certainty attached. What the author reviews are the various (often conflicting) stories told about the Trojan War. But those are hardly a basis for drawing historical conclusions. I also found some of her political leanings problematic at times both in terms of what she wrote - who could say in 1981 that the Soviet Union was actually controlled by its proletariat? And in terms of what she didn't write - I know enough about the American Revolution and the Vietnam War to say that there are important perspectives excluded here. These comments aside, and taking the four sections as individual histories, it's top notch. Well-sourced, well-written and thorough. I learned a lot about Renaissance Italy, about which I had little grounding. About the dysfunction in British politics in the 18th century - it's incredible that this bunch oversaw the industrial revolution. And how the Vietnam War era really was the start of so many things we take for granted today really hit home. I'm thinking "The Guns of August" will be a followup at some point. It's been done to death of course, but a really detailed and well-written history of the runup to the Great War is definitely appealing.
Well, you look at the people who've been in power during the information revolution . . . some of them more competent than others, but it's still a rule of thumb not to expect the US legislature to understand the Internet. I liked The Guns of August a lot, don't know if you saw/remember my post higher on this page. Most of it covers what happens once the German Army gets moving, but there's a lot of looking at the run-up as you say.
Complicity, Song of Stone, and The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks I had Banks brought to my attention recently, and started with his most famous (or infamous) work, The Wasp Factory. I devoured it, and quickly moved onto Complicity and Song of Stone. I love them. I look forward to reading more soon. I'm always excited to find new (to me) authors I enjoy. Interestingly, while Wasp Factory gets the most attention for its controversial material, I thought Complicity was more unnerving overall. Still, there's something to be said for being first. I've heard he wrote sci-fi as well under Iain M. Banks, but so far I'm far more interested in what he called his "mainstream" works (Which, honestly, may be a misnomer).
Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin I like Edinburgh and I've spent a bit of time there over the last while. I'd always read a lot of Irvine Welsh, but this is the other prominent author from the city and I decided to check his stuff out. This is the first in what has become his long running crime series featuring Detective Rebus, written in the 1980s. Rebus (who is investigating a serial killer to whom he may have a personal connection) is a former British paratrooper and SAS member, and also a committed Christian - things which immediately chellenge my personal perspectives. Beyond that, it's fair to say that it's just unpolished. The main characters aren't entirely believable as Scottish police. They also seem to lack agency within the plot - things just happen to them. And the ending wraps things up way too quickly. For all of that it's still an effective page-turner and the city itself really is a character within the story. One can imagine that if the sequels tightened things up, how that would have led to the popularity the series has enjoyed.
The Israel Lobby and US foreign policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt A topical issue, I believed that it might be worthwhile getting a bit deeper on this given current events - even though this is 15 years old and may have dated somewhat. There are two authors, and one is more well known. John Mearsheimer holds to a theory in international relations called "realism", which sounds interesting but which I've also heard criticised. It's not explored here so I might follow up on that. He's someone who certainly differs from me politically - he is motivated by furthering US foreign policy goals, among which he considers to be promoting democracy and preventing terrorism. His criticism of Israel and its lobby here is that those goals are more often than not obstructed by the current relationship with Israel. First the authors reviews the standard rationale offered for the US backing of Israel - moral and strategic arguments. A review of the history is sufficient to dispense with the moral argument and also acts as a sobering historical instruction. On the strategic argument the view taken is that during the Cold War that Israel had some strategic value to the US but that it was never a justification for the level of support, and that this has diminished since even as support has increased. Next, the authors review the lobby and how it operates. This is eye-watering. Besides all of the media influence exerted and so on, public representatives are essentially corralled into supporting the preferred policies - they are given little choice. Finally, the authors review several examples and demonstrate that American interests in the middle east were damaged by pursuing policies in line with the lobby. I imagine that things are even worse now, and it would take wilful blindness not to see the thesis being demonstrated over and over again. That said, I'm still not sure if I'm in full agreement with the dismissal of the "strategic" arguments. Apart from blaming only the lobby being an exercise in passing the buck on behalf of the American establishment, I feel there is too little consideration given to geostrategic state interests as opposed to the interests of competing lobbies. There are certainly prominent people who would dispute the conclusions reached here and it may be worth my time to review some of their work.
