An Ideal Never Reached

 

American Phoenix: John Quincy and Louisa Adams, the War of 1812, and the Exile that Saved American Independence, by Jane Hampton Cook, examines a fascinating couple, who in most ways defied the expectations of early Americans.  Both John Quincy and Louise Adams were well traveled, well read, and spoke fluent French, the language of culture and diplomacy in the early nineteenth century.  Urbane and cosmopolitan – they were true people of the world, but they held American interests as their moral compass.  At this point in the American experience, one can’t help but be nostalgic for this pair.  Public service has decline to bald fascistic bizarre self-interests.  We are far from our ideals.

Those Who Would Not Fight

 

To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918, by Adam Hochschild, is a well researched and entertaining work about the political and civil unrest created by the First World War.  

This is a book less about the battles, although they are here, and more of how people were impacted by four years of carnage.  A special emphasis is placed upon Conscientious Objectors, or COs, who were often religious or socialist in orientation.  They were often imprisoned, and in some cases, drafted into the army so they could be executed for failure to obey orders at the front.  

Far and away, this is the most interesting part of this book, as the story of COs are not told in most histories of World War I.  In this sense, Hochschild’s book is vital.

Let's All Hate Chinese Communism!

 

Beware: The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957, by Frank Dikötter.  I read his book on the cultural revolution and was horrified by the scale of the violence. As I read this book, I began to realize that I was being told a great deal about the destruction wrought by the Chinese revolution.  Large parts of this book are just stories atrocities. After some time, you wonder why you need to read this.  The author barely touches on the equally disastrous reign of the Chinese nationalists. He says one or two things about them and it’s wholly positive. 

I will not read another one of his books. I think China deserves a better government than one run by the communist Chinese party.  I think Communism in China has been a disaster and tragedy.  But if this book is supposed to be history that strives for some sort of objectivity, it fails miserably. This scholar just hates Chinese communism, and page after page is going to impart that to you.

Late Capitalist Zombies

 

In an interview, Ling Ma, the author of the novel Severance, expressed frustration that the Cornell MFA program wanted her to write an “immigrant” novel.  So, she decided to write about the theme of immigration, among other topics, in the context of a Zombie apocalypse.  And why not?  The genre has always been about the Uncanny Other, close to us, but not quite us, and couched in fear of our assimilation into them (and their mindless drive to assimilate us).  This is that here – but Ma’s zombies are like us – stuck in routine, unable to crawl out of the task we must perform to make a paycheck and forced to repeat and repeat actions that take us further away from our desires and dreams.  We are not so different from our shadow sides.

America's Park

 

Before Central Park, by Sara Cedar Miller answers, in great detail, what many people visiting Central Park will ask: what was here before the park?  This book is an impeccably researched work that answers this question in abundance. New York’s natural treasure was by no means destined to be created – and it came with a great cost to those already living in the confines of the park.  This worthy book tells that story.

Why Not Think About Torah??

Thinking about the Torah: A Philosopher Reads the Bible by Kenneth Seeskin is an interesting excursion into reading Torah Jewishly and philosophically.  Seeskin wants us to think deeply about the issue the Torah and he kindly helps us by enlisting some of the great thinkers in the Jewish tradition: Maimonides, Buber, and Levinas, to name a few.  Thinking through Torah has its limitations, and you will see this if you read this book.  But it is a very fruitful limitation: knowing what we can know and what we can’t is a gift few people accept. 

 

Good Writing Carries the Day

 

I actually put down The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War by Paul Hendrickson, wondering if it was worth devoting so much time to McNamara and the damage he did to both America and Vietnam.  I left the book, thinking it was too much, but returned, as something about this work called to me. I’m glad I did; Hendrickson’s book is long, and not for everyone, but how it is written and what it accomplishes is hard to deny.  This is an excellent book because of how it is written, not necessarily what it is about.  This is a testimony to the author’s skill!