Recent reads:
Worked through all three volumes of Shelby Foote’s Civil War. The book is a narrative that focuses on the battles and just a little on the politics. It was worthwhile, but I suspect I need to go back and read it again a few years from now. As my first book in the Civil War, it was a bit overwhelming. By the way, the total page count is just short of 3,000.
I then turned to McPherson’s Oxford’s History of the Civil War (Battle Cry of Freedom). McPherson is not a military historian, and the war doesn’t even start until you’re one-fourth the way into the book. Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the main turning point of the war, is appropriately halfway in Foote’s book. In McPherson, they’re in the last fourth or fifth. Grant battling Lee takes up very little space. There’s a fair amount academic debate about why the South lost. Parts of the war, such as battles in the west, aren’t even mentioned. If you want to know why there was the war, McPherson is better for that.
I’m happy I read both of these – and it’s the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. I'll also add that someone who says the Civil War wasn't about slavery hasn't looked at the history.
Had one more Civil War book. Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. This is Shaara’s exploration of Gettysburg. Wasn’t impressed. The actual history, to me, is lost in the contrived conversations between the historical characters. And much of what the characters supposedly say and think is geared around the main point of the author. For example, we read constantly about Longstreet’s desire to fight a defensive battle, but Lee saying they need to go up the middle. This is one of the few times where I don’t understand how it gets all the 5 stars on amazon or that it won a Pulitzer.
I moved away from the Civil War and took on a book about the recent financial crisis titled “Fault Lines” by Raghuram Rajan. An excellent book on the financial crisis that covers the systemic elements of the crisis. My only complaint about the book is that it’s a little too tidy, too clean, no lose ends, no messy accidents. Very deterministic view.
I moved to some fiction and read The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly. I’ve read all of his books. His most famous series is about LA Detective Harry Bosch. This is about Bosch’s half brother, a lawyer, Mickey Haller. Connelly’s first book about Haller was recently released as a movie, the Lincoln Lawyer. The book is good and it keeps pulling me along. Interestingly, this book has more 1 star ratings than any other rating – much of it about pricing. The paperback version of the book runs for $18! I got my copy from the library. The book is a lot about legal proceedings. Very different than his Bosch books. I generally don’t read legal or courtroom books (I’ve never read a Grisham. I read the first Turrow). Some people complain the book is boring. There’s sort of a big twist at the end. My biggest problem with the book is what I think he was trying to attempt, for the character to change how feels about a case and a client, didn’t work. So in that sense it was a failure. We should have gotten the feeling that the main character was getting sucked into something. Then the great reversal when the character realized the world he was sucked into was a contrivance for the purpose of manipulation. He’s living a lie.
I’m now in the middle of two books. One is a paperback murder mystery written in the late 1980’s which I’ve owned for a couple of decades. Not worth providing more details about.
The other book is interesting. It’s sociology and is called “Everything is Obvious”. I haven’t gotten deeply into it, but one of the issues is too examine why it’s so hard to make predictions about the collective behavior of individuals and thus is difficult to create policies that solve social problems. It’s starts with a quote from a physicist that says if the great minds of physics, math, and chemistry applied themselves to the area of the social sciences, most of the major problems would be solved in short time. It’s then pointed out that physicists, mathematicians, and chemists did apply themselves to social problems, did a huge amount of research, and the end result is… not much.
More: From the Bardalator
The Help- film version recently released; I haven't seen it yet.
It's a spin on the "Let's do a show!" show- a book about maids about a book about maids. The voices of the maids don't sound quite right, the big gag (literally) is predictable, and the book runs out of steam, but it's still a good read that has its touching moments. Should make a better movie if the screenwriter polishes up the language. Hope the big sight gag is done well. For me, the keys to the film will not be the maids, who I assume will be good, or the lead, who has a straight part, but rather the housewife heavy and her sidekick.
Don't Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan.
Schlock, mostly predictable- the guy should retire. Moves fast is its biggest positive.
From TB about the above: EVERYONE seems to be reading The Help this summer. Raves all around though I understand there’s been some controversy/backlash. As for James Patterson, I can’t read his stuff.
Worked through all three volumes of Shelby Foote’s Civil War. The book is a narrative that focuses on the battles and just a little on the politics. It was worthwhile, but I suspect I need to go back and read it again a few years from now. As my first book in the Civil War, it was a bit overwhelming. By the way, the total page count is just short of 3,000.
I then turned to McPherson’s Oxford’s History of the Civil War (Battle Cry of Freedom). McPherson is not a military historian, and the war doesn’t even start until you’re one-fourth the way into the book. Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the main turning point of the war, is appropriately halfway in Foote’s book. In McPherson, they’re in the last fourth or fifth. Grant battling Lee takes up very little space. There’s a fair amount academic debate about why the South lost. Parts of the war, such as battles in the west, aren’t even mentioned. If you want to know why there was the war, McPherson is better for that.
I’m happy I read both of these – and it’s the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. I'll also add that someone who says the Civil War wasn't about slavery hasn't looked at the history.
Had one more Civil War book. Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. This is Shaara’s exploration of Gettysburg. Wasn’t impressed. The actual history, to me, is lost in the contrived conversations between the historical characters. And much of what the characters supposedly say and think is geared around the main point of the author. For example, we read constantly about Longstreet’s desire to fight a defensive battle, but Lee saying they need to go up the middle. This is one of the few times where I don’t understand how it gets all the 5 stars on amazon or that it won a Pulitzer.
I moved away from the Civil War and took on a book about the recent financial crisis titled “Fault Lines” by Raghuram Rajan. An excellent book on the financial crisis that covers the systemic elements of the crisis. My only complaint about the book is that it’s a little too tidy, too clean, no lose ends, no messy accidents. Very deterministic view.
I moved to some fiction and read The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly. I’ve read all of his books. His most famous series is about LA Detective Harry Bosch. This is about Bosch’s half brother, a lawyer, Mickey Haller. Connelly’s first book about Haller was recently released as a movie, the Lincoln Lawyer. The book is good and it keeps pulling me along. Interestingly, this book has more 1 star ratings than any other rating – much of it about pricing. The paperback version of the book runs for $18! I got my copy from the library. The book is a lot about legal proceedings. Very different than his Bosch books. I generally don’t read legal or courtroom books (I’ve never read a Grisham. I read the first Turrow). Some people complain the book is boring. There’s sort of a big twist at the end. My biggest problem with the book is what I think he was trying to attempt, for the character to change how feels about a case and a client, didn’t work. So in that sense it was a failure. We should have gotten the feeling that the main character was getting sucked into something. Then the great reversal when the character realized the world he was sucked into was a contrivance for the purpose of manipulation. He’s living a lie.
I’m now in the middle of two books. One is a paperback murder mystery written in the late 1980’s which I’ve owned for a couple of decades. Not worth providing more details about.
The other book is interesting. It’s sociology and is called “Everything is Obvious”. I haven’t gotten deeply into it, but one of the issues is too examine why it’s so hard to make predictions about the collective behavior of individuals and thus is difficult to create policies that solve social problems. It’s starts with a quote from a physicist that says if the great minds of physics, math, and chemistry applied themselves to the area of the social sciences, most of the major problems would be solved in short time. It’s then pointed out that physicists, mathematicians, and chemists did apply themselves to social problems, did a huge amount of research, and the end result is… not much.
More: From the Bardalator
The Help- film version recently released; I haven't seen it yet.
It's a spin on the "Let's do a show!" show- a book about maids about a book about maids. The voices of the maids don't sound quite right, the big gag (literally) is predictable, and the book runs out of steam, but it's still a good read that has its touching moments. Should make a better movie if the screenwriter polishes up the language. Hope the big sight gag is done well. For me, the keys to the film will not be the maids, who I assume will be good, or the lead, who has a straight part, but rather the housewife heavy and her sidekick.
Don't Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan.
Schlock, mostly predictable- the guy should retire. Moves fast is its biggest positive.
From TB about the above: EVERYONE seems to be reading The Help this summer. Raves all around though I understand there’s been some controversy/backlash. As for James Patterson, I can’t read his stuff.
