A War the World Ignores

 

The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century, by Thant Myint-U, is an insider view of the contemporary history of Burma. The author was a child when his family left Burma, but when the military rule of the country appear to loosen up a decade ago, he returned.  He acted as an advisor of sorts for the government during this more relaxed time.

Thant Myint-U is a knowledgeable guide of Burma’s post-colonial woes.  This book will give you insights into the challenges the country faces – and faces anew as the military rule of Burma has returned (after the publication of this book).  As of this writing, various rebel factions based  along ethnic identities are fighting the military government for a “federal” system to adequately represent Burma's diversity.

Talking Texts

 

Genres of Rewriting in Second Temple Judaism by Molly M. Zahn is an interesting, somewhat complex, analysis of how biblical and non-biblical books may have been written and re-written in antiquity.  This book is not for the strict novice: not an introductory text, but certainly, if you have some background about the issues involved in the transmission of ancient texts you will get a great deal out of this book.  Zahn’s broad contribution here is to show how modern and artificial the separation of texts from the Second Temple period is; and how canonical and non-canonical texts conversed.

More Problems

 

More: A Memoir of Open Marriage by Molly Roden Winter is a brave memoir to write, and as Winter’s book shows, she and her husband are brave people – of a kind.  I should say that adult couples with equal power relationships (does that even exist?) should communicate together on the parameters of what their union means to them.  That includes sex, of course.  If they decide to have an open relationship, than that is their right.

That said, it is not for me!  Winter and her husband crave emotional and physical relationships with others – but I don’t get any sense that they are any happier than other people with a closed marriage.  In fact, bringing more people into the sexual/emotional scene seems to not only solve little in the way of marital problems, but expands them.

In the end, though, it is their choice, and we have a choice to read about their experience or not.

Fix This Deficiency

 

Journey to Heaven: Exploring Jewish Views of the Afterlife by Leila Leah Bronner, is an excellent overview of this history of Jewish notions of life after death.  There have been very many, spanning across history, and Bronner is a very capable guide.

All too often Jews, and others, know very little about Jewish versions of the afterlife.  Reading Bronner’s book will fix this deficiency.

Broad Interpretations

 

Jewish Concepts of Scripture: A Comparative Introduction by Benjamin D Sommer is an interesting overview of a broad subject: how individual Jews, and sometimes broader categories like Rabbinical Jews or modern Israeli writers, have interpreted the Tanakh.  The answer is, of course, in nearly every way imaginable; this kind of openness of discourse and discussion is fitting for a book that has been around in some form or another for at least 2000 years.  Sommer's work provides a base that will satisfy a broad interest.

The Sociology of Created Worlds

 

The Birthday of the World: And Other Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin is simply a classic by this author.  These short stories, some novella length, deal with her typical fixations in an entertaining and intelligent mode.  I especially enjoy the stories that revolve around gender, race, and the sociology and/or anthropology she creates to study the worlds she generates.