Thunderstruck

About a week and a half ago I finished 'Thunderstruck' by Erik Larson. It's the story of Marconi's invention of radio telegraphy and a story about the "murder of the century" right around 1900. The book is well written and it is an interesting look at how science was done at the end of the Victorian age - nobody knew enough about how electromagnetism worked to have any real theoretical basis for Marconi's work! He basically guessed how he thought it should work and then kept trying until he got the result he was looking for. The book implies that he didn't consider the idea of polarization until long after the episodes portrayed. This is like someone figuring out how to build a bridge without really understanding physics - sure you can do it, but it's also a bit of a surprise when it works.

There was also some frame story about a murder, designed to show off how telegraphy - particularly at sea - changed how criminals were pursued and caught. While this is true, I thought the parts about Marconi were much more interesting and better written. I found myself slogging through the murder mystery parts.

Interesting book about an interesting time. There are probably better biographies of Marconi, but if you are looking for something to evoke the end of the Victorian era, this is a good atmospheric look at two important events of the time.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

About two weeks ago, I finished the audiobook version of "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy", by Eric Metaxas.  This was fantastic, and since I've done nothing but talk about it (apparently), I won't write much of a review.

Basically, if you thought the Nazis were bad, you should read/listen to this book.  The Nazis were horrible.  In particular, their deception and abuse of the Christian church in Germany teaches an important lesson the church needs to learn -- be serious and coherent about your theology!  Many pastors and congregations in Germany were led astray because they didn't listen carefully to what the Nazis were saying, and didn't know the Bible well enough to respond.  A lazy church is a weak church, and the Nazis exploited it as long as it served their purposes.

Anyway, this was a fascinating book, and I am even more interested to read some of Bonhoeffer's original works.  Highly recommended!

Unbroken

I just finished a wonderful biography about the life of Louis Zamperini called Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I know that Alex, Max and Cindy have read this book but I think they read it last year before we started this blog. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good read and fascinating story. Hillenbrand is the author of Seabiscuit and has done a wonderful job telling the life story of Zamperini.

Without giving anything away I was captivated by the life of this man who was a terror to his town and parents when he was a kid, but soon became the town's hero when he almost broke the 4 minute mile and ran in the Berlin Olympics. He then became a lieutenant and bombardier in the air force during WWII. His plane was downed in the Pacific. He and two other men survived on a raft no bigger than a bath tube in shark infested waters while being shot at by a Japanese plane. He then washed up in Japanese territory and endured some of the most inhumane treatment that was routine in Japanese POW camps during WWII. As incredible a story that is the book still has many more chapters after the end of WWII.

I don't think I would have read this book (I don't read many biography's) except that Alex read parts of it to me and intrigued me. That and the fact that I just read Lit by Rienke and have been challenged to read a larger variety of books. I think now I am hooked on bio's and would welcome any suggestions. :) (Yes Alex, I DO intend to listen to the Bonhoeffer bio...how could I not after all you have told me ;) Anyway its a good read and we have it if anyone wants to borrow it.

The 19th Wife

I have finally finished reading The 19^th Wife by David Ebershoff and overall enjoyed the read.  This style and subject of book is not something that usually interests me but I gave it a try based on a recommendation from Michael’s sister.  The book intertwines two stories; a murder mystery set in today’s time and a historical fiction of Ann Eliza Young.  Ann Eliza was one of the wives of Brigham Young and this book tells the story of her separation from him and her fight to ban polygamy in the United States in the late 1800’s.  It is interesting to learn some of the background of the Mormon church and also to gain insight to the thoughts and opinions of someone who grew up in a polygamist family. The other story twisted in is that of a murder in a present day Utah polygamist community.  The story is told from the point of view from a young man who was thrown out of the church and abandoned by his family as an early teenager who now searches for the truth of the murder that his mother is being accused of committing.

                Although I did not always enjoy the switching back and forth between stories it did the job of keeping me wanting to read more.  I would recommend this book for others to read but probably not pay full price for it.  I am glad that I found it at Goodwill for $0.75.  With that being said, if anyone would like to borrow it just let me know and I will send it your way!

If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor

Well, I finished Bruce Campbell's memoirs, "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor".  I think I'll stick with my initial assessment: it's interesting, and a neat look at how independent movies are made, but it's not a very good memoir.  There's some funny parts, and it's really neat to hear how the classic "Evil Dead" was made, but overall, I thought the memoir portion was pretty weak.  It's a quick read, at least.

Patrick Henry First Among Patriots

I finished this fine history book written by Thomas Kidd. It is not for everyone as it is pretty thick history. Very interesting as it has some unique features to books about the founding fathers. I have read several. While this guy is no McCullough or Goodwin he writes well.

The book delves into George Washington more than most books of this nature. Henry and W (the first one) were born the same year and died 4 months apart They both cut their teath politically together in the House of Burgeses. The book writes plenty about W corresondence for which he was not known for.

Henry is most famous for his give me librty speech. He was a great orator and many of his contmporaries said he should stop at the oratory as his politcal skills were limited.

He was Govenor of Virginia 5 times (one year terms). He would serve a year and have to go back and run his business because he was not wealthy enough to serve the government. My how times have changed. I guess he was not a very good politician if he could not figure out how to get rich while serving. They have figured that out in Washington now.

He started out a s shopkeeper and failed, he was a bartender at his father's pub in the Virginia capital and became friends with Jefferson. Decided to change jobs and went and tested for the bar and became a lawyer. He was self educated as he only attended primary school- very well read in the classics. His first case was defending the state sponsored church against a bunch of priests suing for back wages. Preachrs were paid with tobaco and they petitioned the King to be paid in cash and won. A drouth came by and the price of tobacco skyrocketed and they petitioned the King;s court to revert back to tobaco payment and they did. They then sued the Virginia government for back wages. Henry who was a prominant Anglican defened the Church and won based on his arguement against English control of Virginia taxes and business. He won and spent the rest of his life on the same theme. It went downhill from there and you know the rest of the story.

He stood for religious freedom and state funding for all churchs or none at all. He proposed (or maybe just supported) a tax that would be sent to the churches and if you did not attend church you would not pay the tax. Sounds like the wrong incentives to me. It failed

He was at the front of supporting the revolution and going by the details of the book it is a wonder that the revolution succeeded. It was nip and tuck all of the way. He helped prevent a coup to remove Washington as head of the Continental Army in the dark days of Valley Forge. Washington was very grateful until the end.

Henry opposed the ratification of the Constitution. He was afraid a strong central government would only replace the King's tyrany. His was and others were so vocal and had such strong concerns that it resulted in the Bill of Rights which was written to restrict the powers of the Federal Government. He voted against ratification but after passage fell in line and stood against susession which was not out of the question for Virginia at the time.

He was a slave owner and like his contemporaries did not see the irony of freedom in a land of slavery. They sowed the seeds of the civil war but it would not be a union if slavery was outlawed as part of the formation of the nation.

The book is very detailed and not for everyone but it is a great book to show the not so pretty underbelly of the revolutionary process. Henry is not a first among patriots but he was an important and influencial figure in Virginia's role. Erin is decendent of the Henry family. Soemthing to be proud of.

My next book is on Mao the untold story. 800 pages so it will be a while until my next post

Max