A Little Common Sense

I am taking a momentary break from The Iliad to knock a short book off my bucket list.

I’m reading “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine and I’m lovin’ it. It is very timely also since the midterm elections are happening in a few weeks. I went into this book not knowing much of anything about it. I am now about half way through and it is giving me an interesting glimpse of the early days of our country. There was once a time when the biggest political issue was the fact that we were ruled by a King from an island across an ocean. Now we have politicians spending millions of dollars to attack other politicians over phony statistics and exacerbated facts. $100 million spent on a campaign platform of “bringing back American jobs” would do a better job of putting people back to work if it was just handed to a couple thousand citizens.

The complex political issues of today don’t really compare to 225 years ago, but atleast back then the majority of the American “politicians” were able to focus on a common goal. John Stewart’s “March for Sanity” may be a few steps in the right direction. I think American politics may need a little common sense.

There is one omen

I still am reading The Iliad. I can’t decide if I’m happy about it or not. The story is good but here is the part that sucks… because the translation is a bit flowery, at the beginning of each chapter there is a 1 paragraph summary of what happens in the chapter. So after reading that it almost makes it ridiculous to force myself through the the chapter. Regardless, I seem to keep doing it.

Want an update? The Trojans pushed the Greeks back to the shore, then the Greeks built a wall. Then the Trojans smashed through it, then the Greeks pushed them back outside the wall. All of the back and forth is largely because Gods are messing with the whole thing… Zeus, Poseiden, Hera…. the whole group of them. It makes you wonder who the story is actually about. Do the lives of the men matter or is it the chess game of the Gods that should be more interesting?

Regardless, there is a quote that I bookmarked a few chapters back. Hector says to Polydamas, “There is one omen, and one only —that a man should fight for his country.”

-Now there’s something patriotic for a change.

The Red Badge of Courage Review

It Begins: “The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.”

And it Ends with: “Over the river a golden ray of sun came through the hosts of leaden rain clouds.”

It was 142 pages and took me 18 days.

I would recommend this book to all guys. It is a great story of one young Union soldier’s part in a civil war battle. The story itself focuses on the thoughts and feelings of the young man from the beginning of his enlistment through victory in a outnumbered charge.

What I got out of this book is a deeper consideration for the mental fluctuations through soldiers’ minds throughout their first battle. Of course this story is fictional but on many occasions I’ve wondered how I would react in certain situations, much like Fleming, the main character. He discovers this by being stuck right into a battle. The battle brings out his vulnerability and fear which lead to him being ashamed and finally to bravery and courage.

Crane does a great job of giving the soldiers interesting and authentic personalities. This makes it very difficult for the reader to refuse to put themselves in the main character’s shoes.

I liked the way this book was written.  I liked the fact that it was set in the American civil war. I liked the simple theme of overcoming your fears. I liked the characters and their personalities. And I liked the fact that Fleming’s painful badge of courage came from a friendly soldier.

This American classic is appropriately on the list of 100 books for men.

1984 Review

It Begins: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

And it Ends with: “It was chiefly in order to allow time for the preliminary work of translation that the final adoption of Newspeak had been fixed for so late a date as 2050.”

It was 312 pages and took me 10 days.

I would recommend this book to every American high school aged and above.  I loved this book.

What I got out of this book is an eerie awareness of where are world may be headed… and I don’t mean back in time. It also, FINALLY, has brought me to the point where I will understand references to ’1984′ or ‘Orwellian’ or ‘Newspeak’ or ‘Big Brother’. And that fact alone makes me happy that I read the book.

Going into this book I had absolutely no idea what it was about. Orwell depicts a society of ultimate negativity and governmental control, where people are merely labor unless they are in the party at the top. There is no privacy, governmental buildings are named oppositely of their purposes, and history is literally erased and rewritten when Big Brother wishes it to be changed. Lastly, it is written in such a way that makes you want to finish the book, you want to see if today’s notion of  justice will prevail.

Had Orwell’s book been titled “2084,” its impact on me would not have been as strong. It was published in 1949 and its title suggests that 35 years of post-WWII mindset and technology could very well have turn into the utopia described in the book. While it hasn’t happened… it could. Recent policies of the US government along with the widespread use of the GPS are lead-ins to 1984. And everyone’s opinions are plastered all over the internet. That should make the Thought Police’s job much easier.

The Return of Depression Economics Review

It Begins: “Most economist, to the extent that they think about the subject at all, regard the Great Depression of the 1930′s as a gratuitous, unnecessary tragedy.”

And it Ends with: “Some people say that our economic problems are structural, with no quick cure available; but I believe that the only important structural obstacles to world prosperity are the obsolete doctrines that clutter the minds of men.”

It was 191 pages and took me 12 days.

I would recommend this book to people that are not economists but want to understand what the hell happened to cause The Great Recession of 2008. This book is written in a manner that caters to non economists and uses simple analogies to get the concepts across.

What I got out of this book is a much better sense of economic fluctuation both past and present. He started with explaining how a recession can happen; which is something that has baffled me up to this point.  To align with the title, he explains the causes and effects of the American banking system which led to the Great Depression. Krugman then uses a whole bunch of recessions and downturns from a variety of countries as examples; Japan, Argentina, Taiwan,and  Mexico. He describes a bit of the policies that lead to these recessions, which taught me that I should actually give a crap about who is making major financial decisions in the government.

I’ve studied a bit of economics in my day but nothing on the scale of phantom banking systems and currency lending. Krugman doesn’t go into boring detail of explaining these but rather tells the story that they were a part of, which makes the book actually enjoyable. What I most enjoyed about this book is how the underlying key was that cause and effect aren’t always so obviously linked. But in the economies of today, an underappreciated cause can lead to some scary effects.

The Iliad takes a back seat

I still am reading The Iliad. Since I’ve started it though, I believe I’ve read 8 other books. I guess that shows how much focus I’ve had.

Right now I’m at the point where the Trojans have pushed the Greeks back to the shore of the battlefield outside Troy… and the chapter ended. As of last night I was two pages into the next chapter and Poseiden was about to somehow get involved. I fell alseep though.

My last school semester as an Undergrad has just begun and I have no room to start my senior slide. I’ve got too many projects, too many meetings, and my dishes haven’t been done in nearly 6 weeks. No joke. I just used my last cup today.

Heart of Darkness Review

It Begins: “The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.”

And it Ends with: “The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky- seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.”

It was 104 pages and took me 15 days.

I would recommend this book to people that like to read between the lines. This is an adventure story where the adventure gets moved to the back seat so the underlying theme and morality can sit shotgun.

What I got out of this book is a frustration at having to think deeper than the words on the page.  I generally enjoy searching for the hidden meanings and motives of the book. However, in the case of this story, I was more hoping it was simply an adventure story. It was positioned perfectly to be one.

I enjoyed the story only for the sake of enjoying the story. Unfortunately, the reason for Marlow to be on the boat searching for Mr. Kurtz was barely compelling enough keep my interest. I really only trudged through the book because I thought that the adventure would erupt as the page numbers rose.  As the end neared I felt like the purpose of the story was really just thrown at the reader.

The darkness Conrad is revealing could be the loneliness and regret of digging yourself too deep into greed and personal want. Or it could be alluding to the deep green and humid atmosphere, the sooty characters, and the gloomy storyline itself. Perhaps it is referring to the shady power that corporate conquest has over its pawns. Regardless, in my opinion the ending was dull.

I’m glad I read the book but I’ll probably retire it to the un-illuminated corner of my shelf.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

I just finished reading “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad. The book itself wasn’t very entertaining and I just realized that it wasn’t even on my list of 100. That’s what I get for hastily choosing my airplane readings for the flight to Seoul.  So, in trying to get ahead, I’ve set myself back.

I shouldn’t be too frustrated because either way it is one more checkmark on my bookshelf. However, I didn’t particularly like the book. I’ll be posting the review today or tomorrow; just wanted to announce my frustration.

Damn.

Much like the Oil Spill

My lack of inactivity is an atrocity.

As the BP oil spill taught me, great failures are never the result of only one cause. For example, my posting seemed to stop right before spring break; during which I took a solo trip to Denver. The end of spring break lead to an increase in school work and work work and soon enough Summer was patting me on the back and spending time on my computer fell off of my todo list. My computer also died… so I’ve been checking my bank statements, planning trips, and poking people on Facebook via the smattering of computer labs around campus. I spent a lot of time oil painting this summer. I took a trip to Korea. I also subscribed to TIME magazine which didn’t stop but slowed my progress on the list of 100 books.

Nevertheless, the reading has not stopped. I have completed a pile of books over the past four months. The two most recent were ‘The Heart of Darkness” and “1984.” You can expect review within the next few days.

In the mean time, I’ll get to work on updating my posts, driven by a false sense that people actually read this blog.

Jake

Mountain Wolf Woman Review

It Begins: “Mother said she had me at our grandfather’s home,- at East Fork River.”

And it Ends with: “This I have written.”

It was 108 pages and took me 7 days.

I would recommend this book to people that would like to get a better view of life as a Winnebago, from a more personal perspective. I would like to say that this autobiography is a small, intimate window into life as a Native American but this may be a gross generalization of Native Americans. Much of what I have read about Native Americans has been through the eyes of an outsider or academic. It is refreshing to read through a real account of someone who lived it.

What I got out of this book is my first real account of another culture, through the words of a person of that culture. I don’t think that I’ve ever read an autobiography of someone that wasn’t American. The story of Mountain Wolf Woman’s life is extremely interesting and it is written in a quick, abbreviated manner. It made me realize the more communal family life of the Winnebago of the time. Mountain Wolf Woman had no quarrels caring for other people’s children and many other women of the story seemed to feel the same. She also spoke a lot about the way of life of her people. How they made a living as well as their cultural traditions. And finally, her spontaneous nature, whether personal or part of the culture, was exciting. Reading the story, it feels as if Mountain Wolf Woman is orating from a rocking chair in the corner of her living room, wearing her hand made clothing.

The book itself was compiled by the great-niece of Mountain Wolf Woman after interviews with her. It is both a translation and a compilation of both English and Winnebago accounts from Mountain Wolf Woman. While this isn’t apparent during the story, Nancy Lurie’s reflects on this in the appendix following the story. She also gives a very good (in my opinion) synopsis of Winnebago cultural norms of the time, which does well to put the story, and Mountain Wolf Woman’s actions in context.

Lastly, the fact that Mountain Wolf Woman is telling this story in her 70′s both produces a satisfying feeling of nostalgia and elicits respect.