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| 0593243854
| 9780593243855
| 0593243854
| 3.48
| 762
| Jul 02, 2024
| Jul 02, 2024
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really liked it
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A tale of the not so Gilded Age in New York City. This book amazed and delighted me with its fresh approach to life in Gotham. I love this genre; yet
A tale of the not so Gilded Age in New York City. This book amazed and delighted me with its fresh approach to life in Gotham. I love this genre; yet this story is a little different, it is a story about a young America growing up by leaps and bounds. It is an America where millionaires are made from hard work, guile and yet they become robber barons. Where a John J. Rockefeller sits in an office and has a friend ask him for a loan. Rockefeller asks what the loan is for, and the friend says oil has been discovered in Pennsylvania and I want to go there and look for oil. Rockefeller says well let’s go to Pa. as partners; and now we have ExxonMobil. Or a boy goes to his mother and borrows $100 to buy a boat. He uses the boat to ferry people from Stanton Island to Manhattan Island, that boy, Cornelius Vanderbilt, paid his mother back the $100 and went on to build a shipping and rail empire. This is also a story about a poor immigrant girl who comes to America and lives her youth as a poor refugee in the slums of the Lower Eastside of Manhatton, she is a Jewish mother of four, a gracious society hostess, a beloved member of her community—and the first widely renowned crime boss in America. Our author paints a picture that does not contrast these two worlds but illustrates their similarities during a gilded age of 1870 to 1900. It was a rough and tumble time where the antics of the rich and famous robber barons were no different than Mrs. Mandelbaum’s life of crime. Neither of these citizens of New York is admired, yet Mrs. Mandelbaum has a more sympathetic story. She was a sort of Robin Hood, she took care of her own people, she was admired and respected and even the cops looked the other way, with of course an outstretched hand. What is missing in this narrative is the beginning. My perspective is that we have a poor Jewish girl in the slums of the lower East side of Manhattan Island in an area called Kleindentschland. It was a poor section of Manhatton, it was Jewish and German, you could say it was where her roots were! and Mrs. Mandelbaum never left it until she was chased out of the Country. Because of her poverty and need to find a source of money, she begins a criminal endeavor, you could say, out of desperation. So, how does she begin? How does she begin to fence stolen property? It reminds me of the definition of a Jew from the movie and book, “The Pawnbroker” by Edward Lewis Wallant. The author explains, “A Jew buys a piece of cloth for ten cents, he cuts the cloth in half and sells each half for ten cents. You do this repeatedly, and that is the definition of a Jew”. Mrs. Mandelbaum must have done the same thing. She had to have started off very slow with small jobs fencing stolen merchandise, yet she obviously had a gift because she got rich and took care of everyone including the cops. In early New York particularly this kind of no victim crime was ignored by the police, the courts and the political organization Tammany Hall. Mrs. Mandelbaum ensured they did by having these people on her payroll. Things changed in New York as the city grew, corruption in the police department was addressed, this is when things began to go south for Mrs. Mandelbaum. At this point in the author’s narrative the Pinkerton agency was introduced. Fox did a good job of casting this agency in the right light. It was an effective investigative agency, yet some of the things they did were suspect. It was the Pinkerton’s who finally caught Mrs. Mandelbaum and presented a case where she would be found guilty. To avoid jail, she escapes to Canada with the help of the police Department of New York. There was too much corruption in the police Department and the judicial system, and a trial would expose it, so they helped her escape. Our heroine had a law firm “Howe & Hummel”, and they were as corrupt as everyone else, but they worked hard to keep her out of jail. This trial and all the interaction with the law was one of the highlights of this book. Margalit’s research was excellent and her narrative regarding the trial and escape was captivating. My one complaint about this book was the footnotes. They were a distraction and could have easily been included in the narrative. Every page had its share of footnotes, and it slowed down the reading. Other than that, small complaint, I enjoyed this book and despite Mrs. Mandelbaum’s criminal life, I liked her because she was a survivor, who as the author illustrated was no different than the corrupt police, judges, and robber barons in nineteenth century New York. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 07, 2024
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Sep 15, 2024
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Sep 07, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 1250283329
| 9781250283320
| 1250283329
| 3.67
| 10,779
| Sep 26, 2023
| Sep 26, 2023
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it was ok
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What an interesting title, “killing the Witches” this title is what attracted my attention. The author O’Reilly was also of interest because I am awar
What an interesting title, “killing the Witches” this title is what attracted my attention. The author O’Reilly was also of interest because I am aware of his life as a media personality. If this story were fiction, it would be too violent to accept, but it’s not, it is a true story. The story of the journey of the Mayflower was quite riveting in its horrific descriptions of life in the hole of that little boat. I once had the good fortune to cross the Atlantic in the QEII and I did not like that experience despite the tasty food and comfortable cabin. The huge ship was tossed and turned in an angry North Atlantic Ocean, yes, I suffered from seasickness! These poor pilgrims were packed into the dark and wet hole of a boat that was not seaworthy; I just can’t imagine the suffering. Standing up straight was not possible in the cramped quarters. And of course, food worthy of eating did not exist, occasionally they were fed sloop. You must ask what motivates people to take such a voyage? The suffering and lack of sanitation and personal hygiene had to be horrific. O’Reilly description unfortunately put me right there with these poor souls. Once ashore these poor people continued to starve and freeze in the North American winters. Most leadership was appointed by the King of England and therefore their loyalty was to the sponsors of the trips and the King. The clergy stepped into the void of leadership and invoked an extremely strict puritan lifestyle on the poor survivors of the voyage. They continued to suffer from the ravages of climate, disease, and hostile natives. These so-called religious puritan preachers were motivated by self-interest and resembled the politicians of today, as they manipulated their congregations. O’Reilly clearly illustrated the insanity of the Salem witch hysteria. He tells the stories of the murdered, horrible stories of being burned while alive at the stake. Anyone could be singled out as a witch. It was easy to accuse and harder to disprove. To this reader it appeared like the communist hysteria of 1950’s America. Simply say, you are a communist and now the accused had to defend their innocence’ so the simple accusations destroyed lives. People for reasons of jealousy, corruption or envy called you a witch and now you were in trouble. The puritan clergy and primarily Rev. Increase Mather and his son Rev. Cotton Mather are the principal villains in this story; but there were others. A few young girls acted out when in the presence of the accused and these dramatic portrayals just sealed the accused fate. Finaly, the Governor of the State had enough, and he began to shut these trials down and finally the hysteria passed. But, in the meantime many died or fled because of the stupidity of man. The witch hysteria and killing was centered in Salem Massachusetts, yet it did spread to other area, O’Reilly did his research and described this terrible time in our history quite well. His main point in this witch story is that a state religion like the requirement to adhere to strict rules for living by a governing body is extremely dangerous; and it obviously got out of control in Salem. To this readers surprise O’Reilly used a chance encounter between a young Benjamin Franklin and Cotton Mather as a segway into a biographical sketch of Benjamin Franklin. The short life of Franklin was a welcomed treat and while Franklins life story has been told many times, I felt there were a few nuances to O’Reilly’s tale that were enlightening. The reason for O’Reilly bringing our founding fathers into this tale of witches became clear when the discussion centered on the issue of Church and State. Franklin, Jefferson, and Madison were successful in eliminating the idea of a government sanctioned religion from our Constitution. The point made is the need to separate religion and governance to have freedom of choice in religion and speech. So here O’Reilly tied the fight by the founding fathers for freedom of choice and contrasted the issue with the puritan control of Salem causing the witch hunts. O’Reilly moves on to a gripping story of Ronald Hunkeler’s in 1949. The demons/the devil had taken over the body of this boy! The story is real, and O’Reilly presents the facts backed by newspapers and Catholic Church historical records. The demon possession is witnessed by doctors, parents, clergy, psychiatrist. Heavy furniture is thrown around the room, the boy speaks in tongues, and he levitates, screams and fights possessing incredible strength. These things are witnessed and are so horrible and unbelievable, but they cannot be dismissed. The Catholic Church conducts exorcisms and finally saves this boy from demon possession. This story was eventually made into a movie titled “The Exorcist”. There is no denying that this event took place and O’Reilly describes it well for the reader, it left this reviewer with many questions about faith and demons that will never be answered. O’Reilly tried again to tie Salem and the freedom of choice to this amazing and horrifying event. This readers belief is that the demon possession is an undeniable event, it is a stretch to tie it to the lie of witches in Salem and the founding fathers crusade for freedom of choice. O’Reilly concludes this book with a further discussion about the lives lost and people ruined by what he calls the “cancel culture”. Cancel culture is a cultural phenomenon in which an individual deemed to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner is ostracized, boycotted, shunned, fired, or assaulted, often aided by social media. Our author tells the story of people falsely accused today, such as, a teacher accused of abuse whose life is ruined while being innocent but subject to the hysteria of the moment. Again, O’Reilly points back to Salem and the witch trials. Here O’Reilly has firm footing because that is what Salem was all about, false witness. This was a tale well told, I don’t agree with the author on all points, but I acknowledge that there is evil in this world and most of the evil is man's inhumanity to man. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 21, 2024
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Jul 27, 2024
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Jul 21, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 0688103863
| 9780688103866
| 0688103863
| 3.95
| 4,739
| 1989
| Feb 20, 1991
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really liked it
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Will money make you happy? This story says no! Cornelius Vanderbilt (The Commodore) borrowed $100 dollars from his mother in 1862. He bought a small b Will money make you happy? This story says no! Cornelius Vanderbilt (The Commodore) borrowed $100 dollars from his mother in 1862. He bought a small boat with the money, and he ferried people from Staten Island to New York City. The venture was quite successful, so he bought another boat and then another, he built a fleet and gained exclusive rights to this prosperous route in the busy New York City harbor . He paid his mother back and continued to expand his business, eventually using steam to power his boats. Eventually his success and his growing wealth afforded him the opportunity to invest in the emerging railroad industry. He bought rights from NY to destinations all the way to Buffalo. Again, his skill as a businessman brought enormous wealth, maybe the richest man in the Country. At his death, his son William Henry Vanderbilt took over the leadership of his vast holdings and was maybe even more successful than his father by continuing the rail expansion. The vast fortune earned by these two men over time was divided among the children, grandchildren and children of these children and this is where the story really begins. On a certain level this is a funny story about the children of wealth who did not earned the money and therefore foolishly squandered their unearned inheritance. Our author, Arthur Vanderbilt II (AVII) obviously a person with an insiders view of events. Begins his story with Alva Vanderbilt probably she was the most accomplished spender. Alva was married to Willie Vanderbilt, and he was the son of William Henry Vanderbilt. Alva was an aggressive, intelligent, and charming southern belle. She charmed the Old Commodore, her husbands grandfather and dominated poor Willie, her husband. It was said that she was a born dictator! Alva did not waste a moment after she had won a Vanderbilt, her first trophy. She had a brownstone at 5 East Forty-fourth St.; it was a wedding present from Willies father. Now her desire was a country house for the early summer and autumn months, an escape from the heat of the city, all of the other rich families had such a property, so why shouldn't she? But it must be bigger and better than everyone else! Less than a year after the marriage Willie purchased for her an 800 acres of peace and solitude in Long Island on Great South Bay. Even as work was in progress at their new and grand country estate, Alva needed more, she convinced Willie to build a new, bigger and better town house in the city and what Alva wanted she always got; Willie was incapable of saying no to her. Three years and 3 million dollars later the Vanderbilt house at 660 Fifth Ave. was completed. But Alva was still unhappy; New York City society was not beating a path to her door. The city’s social scene was led by another lioness named Mary Astor and she saw Alva as an interloper, the Vanderbilts were people with no background who had gotten rich too quickly, they were people who thought that their money could buy everything including class. Alva was excluded from the gathering of the rich socialites; but Alva knew how to play hard ball, too! She planned a grand ball and formally invited twelve hundred of the “nobs and swells” of New York society, poor Mary Astor's ball room could only hold 400! Alva enlisted the help of Ward McAllister, a well-known social insider and friend of Mary Astor who had worked with and liked The Commodore. With the aid of his social contacts, Alva spent $250,000 on this one night and the next day newspapers proclaimed it as the social event of the decade. The attendees were astonished by the wealth represented in the fabulous interior at 660 Fifth Ave. Alva, using her almost limitless wealth she check mated Mary Astor and gained acceptance into New York society. Before the ball, the Vanderbilt family was unheard of in New York society. But after the ball, no social function in New York was complete without Alva and Willie. Alva was not done, Willie again gave in to her wish for a boat, but not just a boat but the biggest and best boat. They commissioned a Delaware shipyard to build a three masted schooner with steam boilers and a coal capacity of three hundred tons. It was a $500,000 yacht with the name of Alva. J.P Morgan had a 165 feet long ship called the Corsair, William Astor had a new boat named Nourmahal and it measured 233 feet long, jay Gould’s Atlanta was 250 feet long, but Alva topped them all at 285 feet, the largest private yacht ever built! Alva soon tired of cruising the world in her boat and turned her attention to her next project. It just wasn’t fair; she pouted to Willie, all her friends had cottages in Newport. So, on her thirty-fifth birthday, Willie gave Alva a special present, he commissioned a house to be built in Newport on four acres of land next to Mrs. Astor's summer cottage. No little summer cottage for Alva, she had built a temple of white marble. Willie reasoned – whatever the cost-it was worth it. She was occupied, she was happy! Alva’s birthday present was named Marble House, I wonder why? It would be used for no more than seven or eight weeks a year and it cost Willie $2 million, but that was just the exterior. The interior decoration of Alva’s fantasy cost Willie $9 million for a total cost of $11 million. And even this did not satisfy Alva for long. After her frenzy to build Marble House at whatever the cost, she focused attention on her daughter, Consuelo. She and Consuelo were close, yet Consuelo had her sights on a man that Alva considered unworthy. Alva wanted an English title for Consuelo, and this made Alva very unhappy but Alva thought Consuelo was too young to make a major decision about the rest of her life, so she pursued the title for her. The Duke of Marlborough was in America seeking to marry money; so, it was a perfect fit, Consuela got a title, The Duchess of Marlborough and the Duke got Vanderbilt money. During this period in our history, American mothers sought to gain a title for their daughters. While European aristocracy came to America seeking to marry money to save their castes and great estates. Alva destroyed her daughter’s life by insisting on this marriage. She pursued this project like all others with no expense to great. The marriage was the biggest social event in New York with all the papers reporting and great crowds gathered to witness the spectacle. After scandalizing society by divorcing Willie, she focused her incredible energy on women’s suffrage and became prominent in this fight for women’s rights. This woman’s story goes beyond this book and deserves a biography all her own. This woman is one of the central characters of this book. She was intelligent, aggressive and a person who got whatever she wanted by stealth and determination; I liked her, as long as she would never have access to my check book! Alva was a prolific spender and hers is a great story but she was not the exception when it came to spending the Commodore’s great fortune. The generations that followed from the builder of wealth indulged themselves with no fear that the gravy train would end. AVII does a exception job of describing their wild and frenzied spending habits. While The Commodore never let his spending rise above his earnings but the generations that followed did not understand the value of money and did not follow his example. These inheritors had amazing chateaus on Fifth Ave. They had squads of liveried footmen, yachts, summer palaces, private railroad cars, rivers of pearls and diamonds, tapestries, old masters, and fleets of maroon Rolls Royce’s…and then it was gone. None of the new generation thought for a minute to conserve or invest, it was a deep well so they drew from it because it would last forever… but it didn’t. I enjoyed the story of Alva, she was quite a character, yet there were other characters that add spice to this story told by an insider. Yes, the story is about the Vanderbilts but it is also about the times, about New York City during the Gilded age; the center of the universe. There were the interesting European tours; they used international luxury sailing like we use taxi cabs. There are stories about the jet set migration of these snowbirds flocking to the warmer climates escaping the heat of the summer. Spending eventually caught up with them; and so did the tax man. The gigantic palaces built in an age of low or no tax became albatrosses around the neck, they were not utilized for a full year but the cost of maintaining them grew every day. The gilded age was ending and these huge empty mansions were sold off at bargain prices. They had been built in another age; to build and furnish them cost tens of millions but they were sold for a tenth of the original cost. The gilded age was an interesting time but only for the few, the rest of us could not imagine that kind of money, most of us just muddle along trying to make ends meet. This is an important point for me because I think to myself, if only I had a million, I could make it last a lifetime, but could I? Certainly they couldn't! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 17, 2024
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Apr 02, 2024
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Mar 17, 2024
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Paperback
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| 0670597554
| 9780670597550
| 0670597554
| 3.83
| 6
| Dec 04, 1972
| Dec 04, 1972
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liked it
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There are two reasons why I selected this book, first is the writing skill of Lous Auchincloss and second, I recently read a book concerning “The Thir
There are two reasons why I selected this book, first is the writing skill of Lous Auchincloss and second, I recently read a book concerning “The Thirty-Year War” where Richelieu was a major antagonist in the conflict. This book is not an in-depth narrative, it is an abbreviated narrative with excellent pictures and of course the remarkable writing style of Auchincloss. It is biographical and a summary of the events that the First minister of France influenced. Richelieu is called the father of modern France because he united this Country under King Louis x111 The French court of this period provides all the political intrigue you would expect of a current day soap opera and yet Richelieu governed France from 1624-1642, he met each challenge and was usually two steps ahead of his antagonist. One of the hallmarks of Auchincloss’ writing is the depth of research surrounding his subject, not just Richelieu but also Marie de' Medici and the boy king x111 and many lesser characters. Maria de’ Medici was the mother of King Louis x111, and she created an environment of physical and mental stress for this young man that ruined him but possible saved France because his weakness allowed Richelieu to do what needed to be done. She acted as regent for the future king and brutalized him physically and mentally to the point that he was a very flawed human being. This weak King allowed Cardinal Richelieu to assume the real power of governance, he directed France with consistent internal and external policies. Among his major achievements was that he united the country, On the international level, he was an antagonist who by diplomacy, by conspiracy, by bribes, by subsidies and finally outright war, he undermined and defeated his adversaries in Vienna, Madrid, Sweden, and the German Federations, he kept the pot of the Thirty-Year war always boiling, and always to Frances’s advantage. It is said about him that in an age of violent emotion, he was always dispassionate. In a time of muddy thinking, he was always clear, his goal was always the triumph of French culture. He practiced what today we call the art of real politick. As previously stated, this book was a studio book, yet it provides a wealth of illustrations. Portraits, documents, drawings, and photographs of places associated with the life of Richelieu. I did not need six hundred pages of minutia about Richelieu, this book provided the proper depth to gain an understanding of this amazing man. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 25, 2024
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Mar 04, 2024
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Feb 25, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 0547636458
| 9780547636450
| 0547636458
| 4.11
| 9,899
| Apr 30, 2013
| Apr 28, 2013
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liked it
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My granddaughter’s son is autistic, and I want to understand what autism means and, on some levels, how do we, the family, support this child, and thi
My granddaughter’s son is autistic, and I want to understand what autism means and, on some levels, how do we, the family, support this child, and this book just caught my eye. It is reassuring and surprising that Temple Grandin, the author of this book, is autistic. She is a fully functioning person with high academic achievements; a PHD. She writes and lectures and is a recognized authority in her field. This book at times is highly technical, yet Temple provides many clear and practical illustrations that compensates for the technical jargon. The science and study of the autistic brain has evolved from abandoning the autistic child to a life in an institution, to numerous studies and successful nurturing of the condition. Attempts have been made to codify the diagnosis of autism. For instance, In the early stages of study nobody knew much about DNA sequencing and while these concepts are known they have not been applied to the study of autism, yet! But progress is being made. I recall a doctor’s comment that if all the money spent on weapons and war was focused on medical research, many diseases mental and physical would be solved. To date, Doctors have only been able to define autism by its symptoms, such as delayed language skills in a child, avoidance of eye contact and hyperactive and repetitive behavior, etc. Temple’s life experiences have involved hundreds of tests on her brain. Because of her personal challenges she can describe the thoughts and behaviors associated with the condition and their location in the brain. Her ability to look at her own brain and compare it to a neurotypical group is interesting not only about autism but about how everyone is wired and deals with life because of their unique wiring. Temple’s successful life is reassuring, and when she states that most of silicon valley’s engineers and scientist at some levels are autistic she is most reassuring. While this is comforting to me personally, I fear for my great grandchild. He will have to weather the rocks and shoals of schooling, namely, Bullies and stupid teachers who don’t have the skill to manage his special needs. That said, others have done it so why can’t he! The book opened my eyes to things other than autism; for instance, I realize based on this and other reading that everyone is unique because of their unique mix of genes, traits, and their individual life experience. Once this fact is understood, it becomes more difficult to be judgmental. The book has even opened me to consider the issue of “free will”, I now believe that we do not have free choices in this world. Our choices are based on genes, traits, and environment. The later portion of the book got most of my attention because it focused on the needs of an individual with autism, Temple says, “my autism is certainly part of who I am, but I won’t allow it to define me” “Some people, of course, will never have their job define them. Their difficulties are too severe for them to cope without constant care, no matter how hard they try. But she says, “what about those who can cope”? She believes it is important to identify the individual strengths and thus to turn the plasticity of the brain to our advantage. Second, it is important to identify the three ways of thinking model. They are picture thinkers, pattern thinkers and word-fact thinkers. Next is education and the problem occurs when schools try to treat kids like they are all the same; each of these are discussed in detail in her narrative. Temple believes that in education a sameness approach is a mistake because the person who is not the same will stand out. Temple points out that in her case one teacher changed her life. He identified her strengths and helped her explore them, for instance he ran a model rocket club, which she loved, and he got her interested in all sorts of electronic experiments where she excelled. After detailed discussions about brain structure, this part of the discussion was the best section of the book because it did provide a path to follow in developing and nurturing the autistic mind. The scary part for this reader is that special programs and special teachers are difficult to find. Funding for education is lacking and good and competent teachers get burned out an leave for better paying jobs. Yet they are so important in a special needs child education. A parent must always be on the lookout for the school bullies, either other students or teachers. Networking is needed to provide need help. It takes a village to raise an autist child. I did benefit from reading this book, yet one book does not answer all the questions, While this was a start further reading is needed for me. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 10, 2024
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Feb 25, 2024
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Feb 10, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 015626224X
| 9780156262248
| 015626224X
| 4.09
| 91,069
| 1933
| Mar 15, 1972
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really liked it
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This author, Orwell needs no introduction because he ranks among the greats in English literature. His resume and his works are extensive and influent
This author, Orwell needs no introduction because he ranks among the greats in English literature. His resume and his works are extensive and influential, and the range is politics, literature, language, and culture. This book, published in 1933, is a tour de force of his politics, literature, language, and culture; and I will also include humor in this list of attributes. One recognizes George Orwell's skill at making a truly awful situation absurd enough to laugh at; we laugh, despite ourselves! I, like many others, have an affection for the City of Lights, the area's most of us are familiar with are beautiful. The café society and the French cuisine rank among the best in the world. A moonlit walk along the river Seine as it winds its way through Paris is both sensuous and serene and these qualities act as a magnet attracting millions of tourists and new residents to the city. Orwell writes of a different Paris and of those who live a precarious existence, always on the verge of actual starvation, a hand to mouth existence, from pawn shop to pawn shop. He tells the story in the first person, as he tells of his own experiences, and of those around him, he eventually lands a job as a dishwasher behind the scenes of a smart hotel restaurant. Vivid, lurid, and unappetizing are the pictures he gives of what goes on behind the scenes, human and otherwise. These are things that we want to turn away from, yet Orwell’s skill won’t let us; we are chained to the sights and sounds of the suffering of the poor by Orwell’s words. Hotel X looks luxurious from the outside, but the food workers enter a "rat-hole" on the side of the building and go down into sweltering, airless rooms in a hellish underground area where they are standing in filth and multitasking 14 hours a day. This story of life in Paris is about abject poverty and constant hunger. His prose is so dramatic that I question whether I can ever dine out again without thinking about what is going on in the kitchen! Down and out in Paris and London depicts a stark contrast to the glamour of these great Cities that are pictured in the magazines. Orwell writes of the dark underbelly; it has hidden dark and narrow lanes and dangerous cul-de-sacs. The narrative recalls for me the work of George Simenon and his Magret detective series where a woman is murdered in the dark of night alone in these forbidden places, in every episode. George finalizes his Paris experience with an excellent presentation, an advanced course, if you will on hotels, how they are run, the responsibilities and the pecking order of the employees that is religiously observed. This piece was entertaining and educational. As a young man of twenty-four, George Orwell made the decision to intentionally live as a vagrant in and around London. He took rooms in Portobello Road, London at the end of 1927, still suffering from the war ended less than a decade, a war that killed a generation of Englishman and left most of England poverty stricken. This social experiment by Orwell of living among the poor eventually form the basis of Down and Out in Paris and London, which was his first full-length book, published in 1933. A friend writes to him in Paris and tells of a respectable job available in London, this brings him to England, where the job is not available, and he does not have money and he becomes a tramp. This sociological study recalls another author, Josiah Flynt's “Tramping with Tramps”, that expose of the English hobo. What must a hungry person endure to get a cup of tea! The welfare systems set up to help the unemployed and penniless, i.e. a tramp, dehumanize more than help them, although you eventually get your cup of tea. You are searched, placed in cramped cells with other dirty and sometimes sick tramps. After the gift of a little food and your cup of tea, you are preached too. Attendance at these so-called religious services is mandatory, a requirement to get your tea. Many go hungry rather than suffer the abuse of this help. Orwell describes the many characters who make up London’s tramp society. There is a hierarchy where thieves are at the top, Dicken’s Fagon fits this mold. Thieves are at the top and the picking order goes down to the bottom rung where the Beggers sit. Orwell’s gift for humor in awkward situations sneaks into the descriptions of these street people, the reader laughs at them but also develops a warm regard for them; it is obvious that Orwell possesses the affection for these lost souls. A poem found in the Canterbury tales makes a point about tramps: O hateful harm, condition of poverty! By thirst, by cold, by hunger so distressed! To ask help thou art ashamed in thy heart. If thou ask for none, thou art so wounded by need That true need reveals all their hidden wounds! Despite all you can do, thou must for indigence Either steal, or beg, or borrow their living expenses! Paris, London, Berlin, New York, Rio, Rome, all these great Cities, also have great poverty and the description in this poem universally applies. Read it, put it down for a time and then pick it up and read it again; its brilliance will always shine through. Orwell felt that the lack of jobs contributed to the misery in the life of a Tramp. Without a job, they lose everything including self-worth. But there is another ingredient and that is mental illness. I live in 2024 and not 1933. 1933 experienced depression and the slow recovery from the First World War. There was little money for social programs the programs were quite rudimentary and in many cases more trouble for the tramp or homeless than they were worth, it was amazing what a person had to go through for a cup of tea. In 2024, in places like San Fransico (a mild climate) and even New York, we have people who are homeless who should be institutionalized, some have been turned out from institutions because of the lack of funding, and yet some are violent to themselves and others. They live a horrible life in a small tent or just wrapped in a blanket, as meager protection from the weather, cold and heat and violence. Our liberally interpreted laws keep the police from removing them from the streets and even that seems wrong because they don’t even have protection from themselves. I say these things because to a degree Orwell is supportive of the people who drop out. He admires how they live by their wits and how with a strength of character they cope and survive. The mental health issue changes this equation. If someone is mentally ill and unable to adequately care for themselves, society has an obligation to care for them and yes institutionalize them, providing medical and mental help, feed them and keep them safe. Isn’t that what Christ would preach? ...more |
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Jan 19, 2024
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Feb 10, 2024
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Jan 19, 2024
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Paperback
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| 0312427808
| 9780312427801
| 0312427808
| 4.05
| 79,810
| Aug 29, 2003
| Feb 03, 2009
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liked it
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The translation took something away from this book. Of course, I don’t really know that because I did not and could not read the book in Japanese, yet
The translation took something away from this book. Of course, I don’t really know that because I did not and could not read the book in Japanese, yet I guess that the Japanese version would have brought out more of the subtlety that is uniquely Japanese. I am not sure what makes this book tick, the author illustrates that many aspects of life can be viewed as mathematical, and I say so what! The mathematics that is front and center in this book really has truly little value to me. The relationship between the housekeeper, her son and the professor have more interest, yet it seems contrived by our author; The author is the housekeeper and narrator. Her qualities are compassion, love, and strength in adversity. She is a survivor and that is demonstrated by a surprise pregnancy, the abandonment of the father and the strength to go on with life. I am not sure that this character was fully developed to my satisfaction. The professor’s aliment namely only eighty minutes of short-term memory is difficult to comprehend, so it must be accepted as just a tool in the narrative. There are situations where the ailment seems to be ignored. For instance, the housekeeper and her son take the professor to a ball game. This trip involved public transportation to and from and at least 3 hours in the ballpark, but the eighty-minute ailment is not mentioned. So, it is ignored to make a point about their relationship full of love. The tie to baseball is also a love affair, I too love the game and had baseball cards as a kid. I also had a strong attachment to my grandfather because we spent so much time at the ballpark. The author's use of “the love of the game” resonated with me. Love is the theme of this book, the housekeeper, her son, and the professor, when he is aware, share a love for each other. The author in a subtle way has the widow sister-in-law of the professor as a love interest. The author gives her a cameo role in the hiring scene, and she appears again when she spies on the housekeeper and reports her for staying overnight. when the housekeeper finds a note written by the professor, the sister-in-law is identified as a lover of the professor The author disappointed me by not developing the topic, in classic Japanese fashion, it is just intimated, my preference would have the love affair explained, I think that would have added to the love story our author tried to convey. In all the references to math in this book, there was one quotation that I did not understand. The professor tells the housekeeper: “Math has proven the existence of God because it is absolute and without contradiction: but the devil must exist as well, because we cannot prove it". This is something to ponder and I would like to know where or in what context the author found this quotation because it speaks to more than just math. This was an interesting story with a touch of melodrama. To this reader the story left a lot unsaid, but that is the Japanese way. ...more |
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1
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Aug 21, 2024
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Aug 22, 2024
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Dec 01, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0593183088
| 9780593183083
| 0593183088
| 4.28
| 1,354
| Sep 07, 2021
| Sep 07, 2021
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it was ok
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The taking of Paris by Germany in World War II is a story that has been told before but still resonates with history buffs like me. Anyone who has vi
The taking of Paris by Germany in World War II is a story that has been told before but still resonates with history buffs like me. Anyone who has visited Paris is in love with the city, its history and beauty. Dugard begins his story with the German blitzkrieg through the low country, Belgium and the Netherlands. The Blitz caught all the attacked Countries off guard, it is the often-repeated story that Countries rely of the technology and officer Corp that fought in a previous war; and therefore, the response was with antiquated tactics and equipment. Our author points out that Belgium and France fought on horseback against tanks! Dugard has a writing style that does not tell history well. The evacuation of Dunkirk is an excellent example. Other historians describe this evacuation with nuance. The French fought gallantly, they put themselves between the English and the Germans saving the English forces. The fight on the beach was heroic and the evacuation was a miracle. Rudyard Kipling described this evacuation as follows: “out of the streams and rivers of England came the fathers and grandfathers of those trapped troops. They went across the channel in anything that would float and took their sons off that beach”. This narrative gives me goose bumps! Unfortunately, Dugard gives us none of these details, and his narrative has no references to the considerable research on this important event. He describes the crisis in Paris well, from indifference to panic. There were many heroic acts, at their own risk people saved as much of their history as possible. Efforts were made to save this historic city, and a total capitulation was made to keep it from being ruined in bombing raids; Paris became an open city. Any reading of this capitulation of Paris to the Nazis is sad. The Nazis rolled into the capital of France and placed the Nazi flag on the city’s historic buildings. An old newsreel of this event has French citizens watching this event and openly crying, it was an emotional time. Dugard’s flair for the dramatic works well here! Dugard’s tale does not qualify as history but it’s a good story about historical events. This reader has a few questions about the accuracy of statements made by Dugard. Maybe just small items yet demonstrate a lazy approach. I have had an interest in Virginia Hall and have read biographies about her exploits. She is from Maryland and lived in a suburb of Baltimore, Dugard refers to her as Canadian! Dugard tells a tale of Patton coming in front of Eisenhower where Patton cries and Eisenhower laughs. In Dugard’s version, Eisenhower shows Patton a message from Marshall to send Patton back to the States because of a speech he made that offended the Russian allies. Then another message from Eisenhower to Marshall saying if Patton goes home Eisenhower will also go home. I have not found any historical record of this alleged meeting and reprimand. In another commentary Dugard states that Roosevelt planned on the US and England to occupy France after the war. This was somewhat shocking because I have never heard of these encounters and my research does not support them. Dugard’s lack of footnotes frustrates the reading of this book. We have historical events told in melodramatic terms with questionable accuracy and no footnotes. If a reader wants a pleasant review of the liberation of Paris and other stories of World War II it is worthy, but it is not in the pantheon of novels on this subject. ...more |
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1
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Jul 27, 2024
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Aug 02, 2024
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Nov 30, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 0385720300
| 9780385720304
| 0385720300
| 3.86
| 481
| 1999
| May 15, 2001
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liked it
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Browsing in a Library for just anything that will catch your eye can be laborious and time consuming experience. Yet, that is how I came across this b
Browsing in a Library for just anything that will catch your eye can be laborious and time consuming experience. Yet, that is how I came across this book. The title included the word Baltimore, my hometown. The cover included a picture of a small harbor, and this provided more interest. I left the library with this book under my arm. What I discovered after a more thorough examination was a memoir written by an author unknown to me yet, someone with considerable skill as a writer. The book was not about my hometown, rather it was about Newfoundland, a country I knew nothing about. Most authors, even when writing fiction, write about what they have experienced. Johnson is no exception he writes about experiences from his earliest recollections of his family and the Country he loved. His stories about his grandfather and father are witty, well done and these stories describe a Newfoundland that had to be experienced to understand. He presents humorous memories of his father’s frustration with the confederation that ended Newfoundland’s independence and its realignment as a Province of Canada. His father is always ready to defend the old independence of Newfoundland and his nostalgia for the old ways. These emotions overflowed during a rail trip that Johnson made with his father. His father had a debate with a fellow passenger on the trip across Newfoundland and Johnson just sat in wonder as the angry words were exchanged. Looking out of a window, a passenger bus could be seen whizzing by the slow-moving train, bickering began between his father and a passenger sitting in the seat directly in front of him regarding the changes being experienced in Newfoundland because of rapid modernization and the new association with Canada. The person in front does not even look back so they parry back and forth without looking at each other. After this confrontation is over, Johnson asks his father if he was going to fight with this other passenger, his father just laughs the episode off and changes the subject. While Johnson loves his father and enjoys their time together, the fact that his father is quick to anger particularly on the point of confederation puzzles him and he senses some secret past that his father is avoiding. We find at the end of this book that the secret sadness is the same debate between his father and his grandfather from many years past. The angry outburst created a gulf between father and son and this great sadness was the reason his father reacted so aggressively to even the mention of Confederation. A picture of Newfoundland emerges from these memories and this reader has found them to be informative and interesting tales of life in this Canadian province. A most compelling memory of life in this vast and wild land involves an age-old custom that Johnson’s father and grandfather performed collecting ice to be used to store food over the summer. This story provided the author with an opportunity to describe how Newfoundlander’s cut ice out of the bogs and lakes in the winter for use all year long. After this ice cutting tutorial, we accompanied the pair on their way home in the evening after working all day cutting and lifting huge blocks of ice. They were moving through an unknown part of an icy cold and dark forest. The ice sled was being pulled by two young and unreliable horses over the icy forest floor. A catastrophe happened when the sled slid on the ice and the father, and a horse went over a ravine. After a struggle, the father gets back to the forest path, but he has sustained painful injuries. Now both men must rely on one skittish horse to take them home because the other horse is missing and presumed dead. They hold on to the frightened horse for dear life because only this animal can sense a way out of this forest. An intense snowstorm begins, and both men are faced with the possibility of death. Johnson’s gripping description of the struggle to get home is dramatic. It ends when the grandfather looks up from the blinding ice storm and recognizes a familiar intersecting path in the forest. The reader is not told the outcome of the struggle but is able to form their own image of the successful outcome, Johnson employs a left unsaid interesting literary technique quite well in this story. This story ends when the Johnson family moves from Newfoundland to mainland Canada. The ending chapters explore the emotions being felt by this move. There are strong emotions involved, grief and a certain finality exists along with a sense of adventure about the future. These final chapters bring a finality to the story that satisfies the readers. The saying goes "even a blind squirrel will find an acorn occasionally" and so I made a lucky find at the library that day. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 23, 2023
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Nov 28, 2023
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Nov 23, 2023
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Paperback
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| 1400033888
| 9781400033881
| B0075L25AK
| 3.82
| 20,703
| 2003
| Jul 11, 2006
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it was ok
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For a boy born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Istanbul was exotic, mysterious and a million miles away, but is it? Pamuk tells us of his early lif For a boy born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Istanbul was exotic, mysterious and a million miles away, but is it? Pamuk tells us of his early life surrounded by parents, grandparents and a million aunts and uncles. This seemed remarkably familiar to me. The exotic and mysterious disappears when the pictures of which there are many depict a middle-class family wearing western style suits. If I weren’t aware that this was Istanbul, it could have been taken in any middle case household in America. Pamuk's early life consisted of running around the big building that housed his entire family. I did the same because my grandmother lived in the rowhouse just next to our house, so in and out I even went to visit and sometimes to escape the wrath of my father. His narrative continues to have similar comparisons to my own early life, while his family had money his winters are spent in the big house in Istanbul and his summers are spent on the Bosphorus in a summer home. My experience was winter in Baltimore and a few weeks of summer in Ocean City, Md. This whole comparison resonates with me and illustrates the point that people all over the world have similar emotions and experiences. Once we see our common humanity all our differences become marginalized. Pamuk loves Istanbul, yet he has a melancholy about it referred to as Huzun, it is a spiritual pain that Pamuk feels all people who love Istanbul feel after the demise of the Ottman Empire and the subjugation of the Turkish people. He experiences the decay and destruction of Turkish architecture and the loss of the great homes that once housed the Pasha and their harems. His descriptions of their beauty illustrated with pictures are well done. He invokes poets and writers who have written about Istanbul to substantiate his claims of Huzun and the remaining beauty of this city. To belabor a point, I have the same emotions about a beautiful Baltimore that has fallen to decay and is no longer what it once was, invoking the same Huzun in this reader. Pamuk is constantly reminiscing about the past, after a while it gets a little tedious. Pamuk includes many pictures of Istanbul and I love these black and white pictures. I have visited this wonderful City, and the presence of the pictures bring back many fond memories. I visited the blue mosque while in Istanbul and was amazed, yet he never mentions the beautiful stature. His best work comes from reminiscing about his life and family. His grandmother is an interesting individual, and he portrays her as an eccentric matriarch of the family. His elementary school experience is interesting and includes the usual sadistic teachers who constantly harass and threaten children. They are quick to employee the switch on children. This reviewer has concluded that these same tactics are employed worldwide. The tales of the English boarding schools rival Pamuk’s experience in Istanbul, isn't it sad? His mother is a beautiful woman, he remarks that she gets quite a few looks when they are out together. He ends this book by engaging in arguments with his mother. He wants to quit school and paint or write. Her very insightful requests that he finish school and then paint and write. Her wise advice is that education will ensure a good life, while painting and writing will not. He disregards her advice; I agree with his mother it was a mistake to quit school. This book gave me some of what I wanted but not enough. His pictures and some of his narrative described some aspects of Istanbul, but what about the many religions that make up the city and what about the multiculturalism that exists in this City. All the great religions are represented in this city and peacefully exist. Istanbul is the intersection of much of the world's commerce and the meeting point of Asia and Europe; yet little is said on these subjects. The book is too biographical and to be frank, Pamuk's psychological problems surface in his frank narrative. For example, his fixation in this book on masturbation is a sickness that this reader did not need to be described. I am not sure what I was searching for, certainly not a travelogue. I wanted information on historical Istanbul and description of its Ottman era and facts and stories about the Bosphorus and how this body of water helped shape the world, and this book did not deliver any of these things. There was some interest generated about how the modern era Turkey reflects many of the western lifestyles, I did see parallels between Pamuk and myself at an early age. This was not enough for me to really enjoy his story, but I loved the pictures. The book becomes convoluted, maybe because it is a translation from Turkish and, he expresses strange views on life make a boring reading experience for me. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 04, 2023
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Nov 12, 2023
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Nov 04, 2023
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0812977688
| 9780812977684
| 0812977688
| 4.04
| 529
| Jan 01, 1967
| Jan 09, 2007
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really liked it
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Oh, if only I had these writing skills. The words flow and the picture he paints comes alive in full color. This is a story of a huge Institution call
Oh, if only I had these writing skills. The words flow and the picture he paints comes alive in full color. This is a story of a huge Institution called the New York Times. Our author, a gifted writer, spent 10 years there as a reporter, so this story resonates with his many experiences at the Times. The Times was purchased by Adolph Och in 1896 and followed his vision of what makes a great newspaper until his death in 1935. The Times remained his paper in many ways after his death. Talese describes the philosophies and styles of each manager that succeeded him, yet Och’s influenced their decisions even from the grave. A tick of Talese that requires a little getting used to involves the discussions of these great newspaper people and how they managed the Times. He gives us an early biographical sketch and then he moves on with his narrative, until the person appears again in the narrative, then he returns to the biography and adds more layers. He describes each department that encompass this newspaper and all the characters who populate it. He describes each department’s function, philosophy, and its leadership since the 1896 purchase. An interesting profile emerges in the narrative, namely that most staff managers have similar characteristics, they attended Ivy league schools and usually have degrees from the Columbia University, school of journalism. So, between family members prolificating in the organization and staff members with similar backgrounds and education, you end up with a strong sense of conformity. When an idea appears that does not match the cultural conformity of the institution many layers of management are involved in reconciling the issue to follow the Company philosophical principles. Yet, even in this bureaucracy that conforms there are real characters who function in an interesting and sometimes neurotic way, and this creates the magic that is unique to the Times. The news staffs were largely populated by products of the lower middle class – by liberal Jews and less liberal Irish Catholics from the North, by progressive Protestants from the South and Midwest; and not unexpectedly, by relatively few Italo-Americans. Negroes were only tokenly represented in the newsroom for many obvious reasons. The chemical formula described by Talese that made the Times a great paper included a multi- ethnic culture of blue blood and an up-and-coming reporter who worked hard for a by-line to satisfy their craving for success. But like all big bureaucracies this chemistry created conflicts and egos to manage. It took a while for this reader to appreciate the Talese sense of humor but once identified the chuckles came often. For instance, Talese describes the pecking order for sitting in the newsroom and that a new employee had to learn this lesson quickly. This room was so vast that managers used binoculars to search out staff, even in the knucks and crannies and behind the numerous poles. The book begins with an idea that had not occurred to me, but I am sure is common knowledge in the industry. The question is: does the News industry report the news or does it create the news? This interesting question arose at the Times because of a decision made by a managing editor regarding information the Times had about an invasion of Cuba in 1961. A tense back and forth ensued between editors about whether the invasion story called the Bay of Pigs should be featured on the front page. After much discussion, the managing editor ordered the story to be toned down, moved to less prominent place on the page and its headline minimized and any reference to the imminence of the invasion eliminated. This manager felt that it was in the national interest to withhold these vital facts from the American people and because of the CIA involvement. While everyone complied with his wishes many subordinate editors strongly disagreed. After the invasion had failed, even President Kennedy conceded that perhaps The Times had been overly protective of American interests. The President stated that if the Times had printed all it knew about the Cuban venture beforehand the disastrous invasion, Kennedy thought that the invasion might have been canceled and the bloody fiasco avoided. This is exactly why the question was asked above. The question points to the moral obligation and responsibility of a newspaper to print truth and yet not be involved in the political intrigue or propaganda that can influence the telling of truth. This point was clear in 1961 but not so today. For instance, recently, the Fox News network, a right leaning organization acknowledged that it lied and printed information that it knew was false information about the election of Joe Biden and the defeat of Donald Trump. Its explanation was that the false information generated sales and profits for the news organization. So, by creating controversy they made the news rather than reporting it. This amazing information is one of the themes of this book and the reason for the title, “The Kingdom and the Power.” Talese provided another interesting observation in his narrative. He stated that “the interests of the New York Times and the Federal government are interrelated. It is neither coincidental nor surprising that the Times would reflect, in miniature, the collective style of the government because the two institutions at the top are shaped by the same forces historically, socially, and economically – what happens to the government inevitably happens to The Times. Should the United States continue as a preeminent power, The Times words will continue to carry weight in the World. Should the United States decline as an international influence, so will The Times”. He points out that the top people in government and the executives of the Times usually participate in the same social circles, and they play together on the same Country Club golf courses. They don’t hesitate to pick up the phones to call each other to discuss the issues of the day and this includes Presidential calls. The view is that both parties have common cause in the preservation of Democracy and the maintenance of the status quo. This very interesting yet strong statement gave me pause, how does this close relationship preclude printing the news outside of the realm of politics? After the in-depth description of the structure of the Times and its management and worldwide staffing, Talese presented a few interesting human interest stories that illustrate the everyday drama of life as a reporter; Daniel Burros is such a story. McCandlish Phillips, a religious man and a staff reporter was handpicked to investigate and write this sensitive story. An allegation received anonymously by the Times alleged that Daniel Burros, a member of the Kul Klux clan and an ult-right agitator was a Jew who had experienced the ritual of Bar Mitzvah. Talese uses the Times article to describe how the reporter dogged Burros and then wrote the article that exposed Burros’ background in a front-page story that resulted in Burros taking his own life. This was a compelling and tragic story about a newspaper making the news rather than just reporting the news. Talese tells another story of a young and gifted correspondent who while on assignment to write a rather forthright article regarding City College student awards added a joke and called it the Brett Award. This story focused this reader on two points regarding the Times. The first, Abe Rosenthal a managing editor noticed the article on page 30, and it was printed in agate type deep within a long list that announced the names of City College students who had received awards; called The Brett Award. It was a joke inserted by a bright and up and coming staffer. The deskmen who had edited and checked the story the night before had overlooked the item, but it was found by the hawkeyed managing editor, and he did not see the humor. Rosenthal felt that the staffers indiscretion violated the Times philosophy of reporting. He called the young man in and fired him yet gave him the opportunity to resign. The second point was how aggressively the managers of the Time protect and uphold the integrity of the paper. The next story illustrated by Talese was the Kennedy- Manchester lawsuit. The interest in this story is obviously the name recognition of both the Kennedy name and that of William Manchester, a nationally regarded writer. Talese allows the reader to follow the reporter through his investigation and interviews with the principals. Beyond the thrill of rubbing the shoulders with the rich and famous, the reporter and the Times organization experience a great deal of stress by breaking events and the need to be aware of the sensitivities and power of the individuals involved. The reporter who received a great deal of recognition for this work resigned after the events out of exhaustion and disappointment in the editing of his work. This was a story that provided an insider’s view that is so dreaded by the high and mighty. Pressure at the Times comes in many forms. Deadlines, peer pressure and the desire to advance. Endemic to the Times is the “EF Hutton” syndrome, in other words, when the Times says it, people listen. The Times influences Books, theatre, film, and food. A Times article, review or editorial can have a significant effect, and this adds to the pressure on reporting. Talese wrote of a great institution. He did it with insight and skill and this book has changed the way I read a newspaper. His focus was the years 1950 through 1960, he explained its leadership and how it covered great events of the period, but one must wonder what is the Times like in 2023? Does it still hold to the principles of it founding father Adolph Och? ...more |
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1
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Oct 16, 2023
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Oct 31, 2023
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Oct 16, 2023
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1101981148
| 9781101981146
| 1101981148
| 3.87
| 1,147
| Sep 05, 2023
| Sep 05, 2023
|
really liked it
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The words, the last politician, have an ominous sound, they point to our Country’s decline, they point to the fact that we have no statesmen visible o
The words, the last politician, have an ominous sound, they point to our Country’s decline, they point to the fact that we have no statesmen visible on the horizon, no Lincolns, no Churchill’s, or Roosevelts who can lead us away from the abyss. We can only trust in the future, with the knowledge that great men have stepped up in the past during our hour of need, yet we fear that the title may be correct. Do we have the right to expect these miracles to continue? This story details the inner workings of the first two years of Joe Biden’s Presidency. Foer describes the triumphs and failures incurred in the fight to save our democracy after the disastrous Presidency of Donald Trump. While there is some partisanship in his narrative, he backs up his statements with facts. Foer’s delightful narrative gives the reader the impression that Foer is in the room when momentous decisions are being debated and implemented. He names the participants, and their secret discussions. Much is done behind the scenes, and I think it is unfortunate. Biden in many ways has saved this Country as well as securing the passage of legislation that has benefitted the middle class in this Country. Unfortunately, he has been attacked by the ult-right and the man he replaced. They interfere with the progress he has made in the areas of covid prevention, climate change and a fair and equitable economy that does benefit only the rich. The opposition party’s constant harping on his age and every mistake valid or perceived, large, or small that his administration has made impacts his ratings. Foer’s book if read by all citizens would change that perception. The two years he has been in office are made extraordinary by the range of issues this administration faced from medical emergencies like the pandemic caused by the virus Covid to an invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We also see a President who makes every effort to improve the lives of the average American citizen while fighting uncontrollable issues. Foer’s view provides an insider’s view of the workings of the Administration. It struck this reader how difficult it is to get consensus on anything and how hard everyone from the President on down his administration works to make changes that will benefit the middle class. It raises the question, why would anyone want to be President? Is the answer the reason we are seeing the last politician? There are powerful people in this administration whom the average observer has never heard of; some are staff members and others are outside advisers. The phrase mentioned in the book is Hacks and Wonks. The first thing that strikes the reader is how powerful these people are, they develop the strategy for passing legislation, they write the specific language into the law, and they work with and cajole everyone from a senate staffer to even Heads of State to get the Administrations proposed laws implemented. These anonymous people fly around the world to consult with and confront other governments on behalf of our Country and the President. Foer makes clear that Joe Biden not only has the final say, but he provides the vision and direction while employing his ministers to sell his ideas our Country and the world. The term last politician refers to Joe Biden, a man with decades of experience in the highest levels of government. He has worked for and advised many Presidents during crisis; he is battle tested. Biden is on a first name basis with most of the current world leaders and does not hesitate to pick up the phone to engage in friendly banter and to discuss the latest crisis. This makes Biden unique because there are no other politicians in either party who has the decades long experience to have made these important contacts. This personal trust built over the years helps to build coalitions and solve worldwide problems. Foer points out that Joe has an intuition and instincts developed from his years of experience and he does not hesitate to govern his administration, based on instinct while sometimes ignoring conventual wisdom. His successes were varied like the harnessing the Defense Production Act to speed free vaccinations and the production of protective equipment was instrumental in the fight to contain covid, the legislation like the American Rescue Plan to deal with climate change that will have a lasting effect on the American people. Biden’s contribution to the well being of the citizens of this Country goes unrecognized and unappreciated by the public because among his idiosyncrasies is a propensity to make a gaffe in a speech or trip while deplaning, these things make him appear old so despite his achievement his ratings are poor. The book covers the entire two years, yet it is most compelling in the discussions regarding his decision to end the US involvement in Afghanistan and the US support for the Ukraine after they are attacked by Russia. Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan can be considered the right thing to do, yet the failure of the military and his administration to effectively extract itself was a colossal disaster and a humiliating mistake that received worldwide negative attention. His support for Ukraine was also the right thing to do and he has worked hard on Ukraine’s behalf to repel the Russian invasion. The book leaves the reader with questions like why anyone would want to be President of the United States? Maybe from Biden’s perspective it is to save democracy and improve the lives of its citizens. Foer looks at the first two years of Joe’s fight to preserve our democracy and to improve the lives of the American people and it is most compelling. This reader wishes that the administration and the media did a better job of acknowledging Joe Biden’s successes despite the constant belligerence of his advisories. I agree with Foer’s point that Joe Biden maybe the last Politician/Statesman that this Country ever produces. God help this Country if this is true! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 06, 2023
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Oct 15, 2023
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Oct 06, 2023
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 1982159189
| 9781982159184
| 1982159189
| 4.16
| 1,621
| unknown
| Jun 27, 2023
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it was ok
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I have read a few books about Jackie Kennedy, and this is the final book on this subject for me. Our author does not have an extensive resume and her w I have read a few books about Jackie Kennedy, and this is the final book on this subject for me. Our author does not have an extensive resume and her writing style mirrors her experience as a magazine staff writer. While I would classify this book as light reading it did have its moments when her story revealed information that was previously unknown to this reader. The first chapter illustrates that Joe Jr. was a town and family bully. He had some serious fights with his younger brother John and a great rivalry existed between them. Storey tells a story regarding John’s heroics on PT 109. She says, at a program to honor John’s feat of saving his crew he received injuries and was hospitalized. A local pastor had at a service recognized John’s heroism and stated how proud everyone was of John. When Joe jr. left this service, he went home and cried out of jealousy. He should have been the hero not john. The next thing learned in this first chapter was that Joe Sr. was cheating on Rose with movie star, Gloria Swanson. To make this treason even more disgusting, Joe brought her to Hyannis Port and flaunted the relationship in front of the silent but knowing Rose. This first chapter sets the stage of a kind of tabloid tell all about the Kennedy clan. When the light is shined in some corners what we see is not a pretty picture. We have two scenarios, The Kennedy family, and Hyannis Port. I personally do not have a lot of respect for the family. Joe, sr. had dubious financial dealings and rumors of mafia ties. His Ambassadorship to Great Britain was somewhat of a disaster. He was a Hitler sympathizer and hated by President Franklin Roosevelt. He was an immoral man who chased every available woman. His children all had addictions and were unfaithful husbands, so there is not a whole lot to like here. Despite the vices, they all were in church on Sunday morning, front row center to demonstrate their Catholic faith. I was disappointed in Storey when she failed to develop the relationship between Joe, Sr, and Jackie. Other biographers tell us that when she began to doubt the wisdom of marring a Kennedy, joe sat her down and explained that Jack would be president and he offered her a million dollars to stay married to him despite his moral weaknesses. One additional thought crossed my mind, Joe was such a prolific womanizer, did he ever approach Jackie? Rose Kennedy is always a mystery. She stoically endures her husband’s betrayals; she endures the losses of her children and the commitment of her daughter to an institution, and she goes to church every morning. I have not read much on Rose, some call her a saint, I question if with all the suffering she had lost her mind. Storey did an adequate job of research. Her presentation was somewhat of hero worship, but on to Hyannis Port. The happy place of my dreams is a place called Hyannis Port. Story’s descriptions make it paradise and maybe even Camelot. The family gathering place for birthdays, holidays and to escape for some peace and serenity. A beautiful sitting on the Atlantic Ocean, a place to play and rest. Anyone with access to this environment must count it as a wonderful blessing. The Kennedy stories have been told forever and the closer one looks the less they are to be admired. But to live on the cape that is my dream and Storey allowed me to indulge that dream through her story about this wonderful place that once was called Camelot. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 28, 2023
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Oct 06, 2023
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Sep 28, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1633310574
| 9781633310575
| 1633310574
| 4.28
| 5,937
| unknown
| Oct 19, 2021
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did not like it
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I read The Chancellor: The remarkable odyssey of Angelia Merkel, I desired more information and insight into the relationship between Obama and Merkel
I read The Chancellor: The remarkable odyssey of Angelia Merkel, I desired more information and insight into the relationship between Obama and Merkel, I got this book. Like most American voters I have had a great affection for Obama. His communication skills are unmatched in current American politics. His eight years in office were unblemished by scandal, and historians have ranked him quite high in the ranking of former Presidents. Now time marches on and historians have had a chance to look deep into his Administration. Questions are being raised regarding some of his decisions and lack of decisions. I thought the answers might lie with Claudia Clark, but I was wrong. The whole premise of her book is that Merkel and Obama were more than just Leaders of their respective Countries; and what is more? She says a partnership yet can’t the same be said of England and France. What she implies is that there was a chemistry between the two, maybe even a sexual chemistry. She neither says it nor proves it, just implies it! Clark begins with a short biography of each party. The biographical sketch is a shortened version of what can be found in any commentary on these two world leaders. She next attempts to draw some parallels between how each was raised and their respective backgrounds. There are no parallels between a girl raised in East berlin and Obama raised by a single parent in Hawaii. Her attempt is futile and is another illustration of the weakness of this book. Clark tells many stories about the collaboration between these leaders. I have read many of the same words in The Chancellor, A promised Land and Dreams from my father. She provides very little new material in her rendering. This book is a poor attempt to read too much into the interactions between these two world leaders. Like the similar working relationship between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagon, they were allies in the fight to save our world from the anarchist set on world domination, they worked together to avert war and solve the issues facing mankind, that’s all! A book not worth reading. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 15, 2023
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Aug 17, 2023
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Aug 15, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0802714625
| 9780802714626
| 0802714625
| 3.98
| 72,479
| Oct 19, 1995
| Oct 01, 2005
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liked it
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An amazing story of how one man with genius and focus solved the world’s most perplexing navigation problem in the 16th century. Sobel does a masterful An amazing story of how one man with genius and focus solved the world’s most perplexing navigation problem in the 16th century. Sobel does a masterful job of describing the problem experienced by seafarers for centuries. She explains the intricate solution arrived at by the genius John Harrison, yet she acknowledges that this is a story and not a scientific study therefore much of the complexity of the discovery is eliminated from her story. She also brings drama to this tale by telling us of the obstacles that Harrison had to overcome; even from an ungrateful Nation that desperately needed his invention. Like most acts of genius, there are people whose shoulders the genius stands on, yet Harrison almost from sheer force of focus and ingenuity accomplished a feat single handled that puzzled experts for centuries. Sobel describes ships blindly off course crashing into rocks and shoals because without knowing their longitude they didn’t know where they were. This reader did find this interesting, yet what about the Polynesians who found little dots of islands in the vast Pacific? The Vikings traveled all over the world and crossed the treacherous Atlantic on crusades of discovery and conquest. I know that the story is about solving the riddle of Longitude, yet one must wonder why and how other civilizations dealt with travel across vast oceans and repeatedly found their destination and then returned home; were they more advanced than the Western European Empires? After Harrison lit the way, others followed and improved his work and this is how civilization advances, generations building on what was done previously. At the end of her book, Sobel talks about the Maritime Museum at Greenwich. This brought back many pleasant memories for me because once I traveled to this magic place and straddled the prime meridian. Unfortunately, I was not aware that a souvenir could be bought for 1 pound certifying the occasion until I read about it in this book. This book was an enjoyable experience, short and concise, yet full of very interesting information. Thank you, Dana Sobel! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 27, 2023
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May 29, 2023
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May 27, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 000100039X
| 9780001000391
| 000100039X
| 4.23
| 306,230
| 1923
| Apr 13, 2003
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it was ok
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Beautiful writing always matters no matter what the subject of the prose. The first couplet is about a man stranded on an island for many years. He ha
Beautiful writing always matters no matter what the subject of the prose. The first couplet is about a man stranded on an island for many years. He had become part of the fabric of the community that inhabited this island, beloved by all. Yet, he had yearned for the entire stay in his homeland and now that day had come because a ship arrived to take him home; the ship is a metaphor for death and the story is of a life that appears well lived. His emotions became mixed between yearning for his homeland (heaven) and the loss he feels in leaving those he loved. The two best pieces in his dialogue were on love and marriage, both are well-written pieces. He sees in his marriage treaty that marriage does not include ownership. He explains it as allowing everyone to have a life outside of the union. I believe this to be a modern and enlightened approach and is well grounded in modern feminist philosophy. I was surprised that it appears in a book from the nineteenth century. Most of the other pieces in this narrative are too tied up in metaphor to be enjoyed. Even reading over a piece a second or third time did not always explain the writer’s thoughts. I found an interesting comment at the end where our author states,” A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.” This sentence alludes to reincarnation, he will come again into this world. All kinds of thoughts race through the mind at the thought of reincarnation. Does a soul travel through this life many times for what reason? For what purpose? Does the soul grow or regress in each reincarnation? The book did present points to ponder, yet the author was obscure, and the metaphors masked his message in most cases. A quick read but not as much substance as I would have liked. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 29, 2023
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Jun 03, 2023
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May 25, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0743215273
| 9780743215275
| 0743215273
| 3.26
| 140
| Jan 20, 2001
| Jun 04, 2002
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liked it
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There are times when after reading intense and weighty subjects, a person needs to kick back and just enjoy a whimsical and funny book; “Great Preside
There are times when after reading intense and weighty subjects, a person needs to kick back and just enjoy a whimsical and funny book; “Great Presidential Wit” is such a periodical. I lived at one time in our nation’s Capital and loved the experience. Among its many pleasures is the opportunity to rub shoulders with the rich and famous. On a Fourth of July Saturday, my wife and I were at the top of the steps at the Lincoln Memorial. Looking down I saw Bob Dole and his famous wife Elizabeth ascending the steps. No entourage, no secret service, just Mr. and Mrs. Dole coming towards us. You could tell by their facial expression that they were happy to be out and about, and they seemed open to greeting people. So, we approached them, and then I froze up and mumbled some feeble greetings and kept moving while others stopped and talked to these famous people. A beautiful Washington morning and people were friendly and celebrating our nation’s Independence Day, it was so uplifting! This vision has returned to my mind every 4th of July since. Bob, who had a great sense of humor, wrote this book about all our Presidents and their varying degrees of humor. It is funny and yet it presents a time long gone from our politics. Great and important men laughed at themselves while showing their humanity. Some of these men were gifted storytellers but all of them had the ability to insert the stiletto into an adversary, yet it seemed to be part of the political game and many of these men were friends. These jabs at the other party or a rival seemed far less venomous than the politics of 2023 and that is what makes this book enjoyable. I related to the Presidential humor of the era in which I live, best because the events came back to me when reading the remarks of these men made in speeches or debates. I put Ronald Reagan right up at the top of the list. I think his acting background gave him a sense of timing that produced the greatest dramatic effect on his remarks. Yet, I must say that even the most stoic of them had their moments. Added to the pleasure of this book is the fact that I got it at a library sale at a great price, so how could I miss it? If it becomes available, grab it because you will get a chuckle out of it regardless of your party affiliation. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 14, 2023
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May 27, 2023
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May 14, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0899066232
| 9780899066233
| 0899066232
| 3.64
| 11
| Jun 10, 1995
| Jun 10, 1995
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did not like it
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My cousin Mike Tress told me that once helping an Orthodox Jewish family with an insurance claim he was asked if he was related to “The” Mike Tress. W
My cousin Mike Tress told me that once helping an Orthodox Jewish family with an insurance claim he was asked if he was related to “The” Mike Tress. We don’t believe so, yet, the surname resonated with us, so I sought out this book. The first surprise came with the realization that Gershon Tress came from Steppin Ukraine. He immigrated from Steppin to the East side of lower Manhattan, and he was an orthodox Jew. The Tress family I am born into is mostly Catholic or Protestant. I will not spend a lot of time researching how the Tress name appears in western Ukraine, yet the question is quite interesting. The book is for a specific audience, namely an orthodox Jewish audience. You must be from that background to understand the Yiddish terms used; because the writer assumes you do! The book is not well written, it is not literature, nor is it a biography. It is a history of Jewish orthodoxy in America. Mike Tress is praised and idealized on almost every page, yet late into the book we don’t know much about him. This reviewer believes that if the book is about Mike, the writer should have begun with a biography. Based on the quote from my nephew, Mike is well-loved by the Orthodox community even up to the present day, so there is no doubt about his credentials as a hero. For all the reasons stated above, I did not enjoy this book. I did pick up some information about the Orthodox communities in the major cities of America, but these tidbits did not justify reading this book. In the last 100 pages or so, I just skimmed looking for “low-hanging fruit”, but I was disappointed. If a reader is of the Jewish faith, this book may be of far more interest to them than it was to me. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 30, 2023
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Apr 06, 2023
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Mar 30, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 0778387119
| 9780778387114
| 0778387119
| 3.48
| 55,658
| Mar 07, 2023
| Mar 07, 2023
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liked it
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Is there a better time to read such a book than Halloween? A book about things that go bump in the night, seances’ and contact with the dead, while in
Is there a better time to read such a book than Halloween? A book about things that go bump in the night, seances’ and contact with the dead, while indoors enveloped in the warmth of a cozy recliner drinking hot chocolate and outside it is a cold dark and windy night. This is the atmosphere that Penner is attempting to create. She also wants to contact the dead to discover the mystery of their death and then solve the crime. Her heroes are woman, and she injects some sexual tension into their relationships. This sexual content is a nice touch, and this spice speaks to a woman’s right to live life in her own way and not be controlled by the norms established by men. Is it a good mystery, I viewed it as weak. A lot of the outcomes are predictable. Her sentences are wordy and anticipated. I give her credit for creating a narrative about the sexual energy between the main characters, but I also believe she works too hard at selling this point by introducing the emotions even while investigating several murders. Penner is not Edgar Alan Poe, yet who is? She complicated the narrative by creating false leads to the murder and by employing voices from the dead and Parapsychology to solve the crimes rather than a good dramatic plot line like we find in the works of Dame Agatha Christie. I know it is unfair to make the comparison of Penner’s work to that of the great literary artist. One interesting ploy that this writer used was to explain how the crimes were committed and who committed them was using the private voice of Mr. Morley, the primary antagonist. Agatha Christie used this same ploy when she had Miss Marple explain whodunit in a final summation at the end of her cases. The technique works for Dame Agatha but not for Penner. Mr. Morley’s journal gives the reader the crimes and the rational for these crimes. It seems irrational that anyone would write down his crimes, thus providing evidence of his guilt. Yet Penner needs this because her narrative does not move the mystery along without this prop. I am too hard on Penner, she made a good attempt at a murder mystery, and she did some good things, yet the weaknesses make this just a run in the mill murder mystery. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 31, 2023
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Nov 04, 2023
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Jan 21, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1781258627
| 9781781258620
| 1781258627
| 3.72
| 28,458
| Jan 01, 2017
| Jan 01, 2017
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liked it
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You get what you ask for in this world; and, I asked for a light, funny escape from life’s trials and tribulations, and I got it in this book. In this You get what you ask for in this world; and, I asked for a light, funny escape from life’s trials and tribulations, and I got it in this book. In this diary, Bythell takes us through his daily routine as the owner of a bookstore in Wigtown, Scotland. His constant lament is why would anyone want to own a bookstore? Yet, what the reader see’s is a man who is free to make his way in this world on his own terms. The more he complains, the more the reader envies his unstressed life. He has quirky employees like Nicky, but he does not care, because they are loyal and care as much about his business as he does. He seems to be a liberal employer who does not overreact to lateness or minor mistakes by employees. He is socially conscious, and employees some handicapped individuals and tolerates their little idiosyncrasies with humor. The kind of guy everyone would love to work for! Why would anyone want to own a bookstore? Well today is sunny and bright, so Bythell goes bike riding or fishing or just gets out and seeks books to buy, who won’t want these options in a lifetime of work? He loves to people watch, and this watching produces funny stories. He is quick to pick up on the strange questions and mannerisms of his customers, some are rude, and some are cheap; yet he never seems to get angry with this behavior. He does get back at misbehavior by occasionally increasing the price of a book on a disrespectful customer and this is humorous. He does complain about the intrusion of big businesses like Amazon into the bookseller business, Amazon both nurtures and imprisons the book business. He acknowledges that he profits from the arrangement but has lost some of the prized autonomy and freedom he had before big business arrived. This fact of life makes a person like me feel guilty because I enjoy the opportunity to purchase from Amazon with its cheap pricing, Like any successful businessman, Bythell must know how to buy low and sell high, he lives by his wits. He goes in search of books hoping to strike gold by finding “the book”, he calls it a treasure hunt! The diary tells us that he gets his books from sources like homes being cleaned out after a death or boxes and bags full of books brought to his shop. He quotes a price and most of the time the seller is disappointed. This is quite a natural reaction because most sellers incorrectly inflate the value of objects they own. This reader wonders how Shaun can calculate his purchase price off the top of his head, in many cases on books sight unseen; is it a fair transaction? who is to know? Certainly, he is entitled to a profit, and he is obviously not getting rich, so a few pounds either way is not important, is it! Shaun is funny in a subtle way, sometimes what he does not say is funnier than what he says. I like the interaction with Nickie, especially the foodie Fridays. It is interesting to see what she brings in on Friday after her dumpster diving. Inspite of her idiosyncrasies, Shaun trusts her to run the shop in his absence. The reader does learn a few things about running a secondhand bookstore. But the book is not an educational opportunity, it is a look at life, the daily interaction of friends and the humor and absurdity of interactions with customers. This book was fun! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 09, 2023
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Jan 14, 2023
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Jan 09, 2023
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Paperback
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my rating |
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| 3.48
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really liked it
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Sep 15, 2024
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Sep 07, 2024
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| 3.67
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it was ok
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Jul 27, 2024
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Jul 21, 2024
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| 3.95
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really liked it
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Apr 02, 2024
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Mar 17, 2024
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| 3.83
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liked it
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Mar 04, 2024
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Feb 25, 2024
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| 4.11
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liked it
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Feb 25, 2024
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Feb 10, 2024
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| 4.09
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really liked it
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Feb 10, 2024
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Jan 19, 2024
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| 4.05
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liked it
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Aug 22, 2024
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Dec 01, 2023
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| 4.28
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it was ok
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Aug 02, 2024
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Nov 30, 2023
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| 3.86
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liked it
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Nov 28, 2023
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Nov 23, 2023
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| 3.82
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it was ok
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Nov 12, 2023
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Nov 04, 2023
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| 4.04
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really liked it
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Oct 31, 2023
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Oct 16, 2023
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| 3.87
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really liked it
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Oct 15, 2023
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Oct 06, 2023
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| 4.16
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it was ok
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Oct 06, 2023
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Sep 28, 2023
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| 4.28
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did not like it
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Aug 17, 2023
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Aug 15, 2023
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| 3.98
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liked it
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May 29, 2023
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May 27, 2023
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| 4.23
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it was ok
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Jun 03, 2023
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May 25, 2023
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| 3.26
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liked it
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May 27, 2023
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May 14, 2023
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| 3.64
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did not like it
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Apr 06, 2023
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Mar 30, 2023
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| 3.48
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liked it
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Nov 04, 2023
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Jan 21, 2023
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| 3.72
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liked it
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Jan 14, 2023
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Jan 09, 2023
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