Cindy is reading a John LeCarre novel and every night I get a report about what page she is on and how hard it is to get into it. So tonight I said let me see it. I threw it (gently) across the room and pronounced that it probably is not worth being one of her 2,400 books she may be able to read before she assumes room temperature. So I was told that since she had no book I had to read to her so I read her a few pages of my book on Mao. That will have to change.
Sorry Cindy
Max
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
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
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
Monday, February 6, 2012
What are you reading now?
Nobody has posted in a while... what are you currently reading? I've got two books going right now:
- Getting Things Done, by David Allen. Presents a system for getting organized and making sure that all the important stuff gets done. It's very interesting, and there are some guys at work who swear by the method, but I'm having a hard time finding time to read it.
- If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor, by Bruce Campbell. Interesting, but totally fluff. I will write more about this later, but it shows remarkably little introspection -- so far, it's focused almost entirely on getting his movies made. I think he spent three paragraphs talking about his divorce.
Anyway, what are the rest of you reading? How are the books going?
Monday, January 30, 2012
Secret Daughter
Once again I have chosen a piece that was the author's (Shilpi Somaya Gowda) first work - and again my selection has an Indian connection. I liked this book! It was very readable and I suppose another one that is mostly for us girls, but the plot is well developed, the characters are believable and the story is touching. The story moves between Mumbai, India and Northern California and explores international adoption and families with blended backgrounds and cultures. There was a time in India when baby girls were not wanted - sometimes aborted, sometimes killed at birth and in this instance, given to an orphanage when the baby was 3 days old. The tale revolves around two American doctors who are unable to have children and since the husband is Indian, they adopt a child from Mumbai. The chapters move back and forth from California and India following the lives of two cultures and two countries. The ending isn't what I expected and sometimes in these type of stories, that is refreshing! Anyway, the book is engaging, readable and I thought, quite good. (339 pages)
You will be surprised at my next book - loved by most of you and one I have never read!
And my screen is still in Arabic!
You will be surprised at my next book - loved by most of you and one I have never read!
And my screen is still in Arabic!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Clash of Kings
I finished up my first book of 2012 last night, "A Clash of Kings," by George R.R. Martin. It is the second book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. I was introduced to this series through the HBO's adaptation of the first book, "Game of Thrones." That was an excellent book and a pretty faithful TV adaptation.
The book picks up where the first book, "Game of Thrones," left off. Civil war has come to Westeros. There are several would be kings vying for the throne. Those would be royals include: Robb Stark, Joffrey Barahteon, Rennly Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, Daeneryis Targeryan and Balon Greyjoy (does spelling count?). Each are fighting for a different reason. At the surface it's a prototypical swords and castles story but the complexity and the characters make it something worth reading.
I don't want to give too much plot away as I know at least Kristen is planning on watching the next season (airs in April). It would also take a few dozen pages to summarize anyway (the book is nearly 800 pages long, over 1,000 in the paperback). I will say this, I was initially disappointed in the end of the book. I wanted some closure but it's a cliffhanger of sorts. I really want to take a break from this and read some other stuff but I think I'll be on to book 3 within the next couple reads.
Throughout the book there is great suspense as the myriad characters are captured, released, killed, spied upon, spying, politicking and procreating. The plot is intricate, there are dozens of characters. Each chapter follows a particular character's story line. There were a couple long breaks between characters chapters; it was occasionally difficult to remember what the heck they were doing the last time they had a chapter. It's well written, the cadence of the political scenes are gripping, the battles are vivid. The battles are extremely violent (they are, by nature, violent). There is also quite a bit of sex. It turns out whoring isn't such a big deal in Westeros.
I'm excited to read the next one. This series was originally written as a trilogy although it looks like the 7th book is being written now. I'm hoping for some closure in the next installment!
The book picks up where the first book, "Game of Thrones," left off. Civil war has come to Westeros. There are several would be kings vying for the throne. Those would be royals include: Robb Stark, Joffrey Barahteon, Rennly Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, Daeneryis Targeryan and Balon Greyjoy (does spelling count?). Each are fighting for a different reason. At the surface it's a prototypical swords and castles story but the complexity and the characters make it something worth reading.
I don't want to give too much plot away as I know at least Kristen is planning on watching the next season (airs in April). It would also take a few dozen pages to summarize anyway (the book is nearly 800 pages long, over 1,000 in the paperback). I will say this, I was initially disappointed in the end of the book. I wanted some closure but it's a cliffhanger of sorts. I really want to take a break from this and read some other stuff but I think I'll be on to book 3 within the next couple reads.
Throughout the book there is great suspense as the myriad characters are captured, released, killed, spied upon, spying, politicking and procreating. The plot is intricate, there are dozens of characters. Each chapter follows a particular character's story line. There were a couple long breaks between characters chapters; it was occasionally difficult to remember what the heck they were doing the last time they had a chapter. It's well written, the cadence of the political scenes are gripping, the battles are vivid. The battles are extremely violent (they are, by nature, violent). There is also quite a bit of sex. It turns out whoring isn't such a big deal in Westeros.
I'm excited to read the next one. This series was originally written as a trilogy although it looks like the 7th book is being written now. I'm hoping for some closure in the next installment!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Meaning at the Movies
Just finished "Meaning at the Movies: Becoming a Discerning Viewer" by Grant Horner. It's an interesting look at movies from a Christian perspective, in particular, looking at worldviews that movies present. The author is a professor of film studies, so he naturally thinks that movie are the ultimate reflection of our culture, and the most powerful artistic means of expression... Maybe.
Anyway, the point of the book is to encourage you to really engage with what you're watching and consider what the writer, director, cinematographer, and characters want you to think about the world, the nature of man, etc. He sums it up well with a quick question: "Who believes what about what, and why?" Looking at some of the movies I have seen recently, it's an interesting diagnostic question.
After walking through some examples of answers for this question, he breaks down some movies of various genres and talks through some of the ideas that are being presented. This was the most interesting part of the book for me.
I think if you're interested in movies, and especially in thinking about movies, you'd enjoy this book. It's good stuff to think about with any kind of art you interact with - even commercials!
Family Reading?
Would everyone be interested in reading the same book at some point this year? I can't think of a book off the top of my head that would interest everyone but I haven't been thinking for long. Maybe some classic lit? Maybe something non fiction like "The Omnivore's Dilemma?"
I'm about done with my first book of 2012, 92% according to the kindle meter... more on that in a week or less, I hope.
I'm about done with my first book of 2012, 92% according to the kindle meter... more on that in a week or less, I hope.
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