In 1936, James Agee was sent to Alabama by Fortune magazine to write a story about the plight of tenant farmers during the Great Depression. His frienIn 1936, James Agee was sent to Alabama by Fortune magazine to write a story about the plight of tenant farmers during the Great Depression. His friend, photographer Walker Evans, traveled with him to photograph three families of impoverished tenant farmers in a rural area. The magazine article was not published, but the material was turned into a book in 1941.
"Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" opens with sixty-two of Evan's stark black and white photographs in unnumbered pages. Evans documents their gaunt, weary faces, their ragged clothing, and their rundown shelters. There is a feeling of strength and resilience in the eyes of the tenant families who are portrayed with dignity.
James Agee, who was also a poet, wrote the text of the book in several styles. There are beautiful lyrical passages, journalistic descriptions, and stream of consciousness chapters where he often goes off topic. Agee was quite experimental and creative in his presentation with some parts of the book working better than others.
In addition to writing about the tenant farmers, Agee also wrote about how the experience was making him feel. He struggled with the fact that he and Evans were spying on and possibly exploiting these tenant families for their own personal gain. It may have been good journalism, but Agee was revealing the intimate details of their lives to the general public.
The tenant farmer has no land, no house, and sometimes lacks a mule and farming implements. The landlord gives him these in return for his share of cotton and corn. The tenant farmer will also owe the landlord for seed, fertilizer, and ration money that was advanced during the four months of March through June. The ration money usually runs out before the new crops are harvested so they go through some lean, hungry times unless they can find supplemental work at the sawmill or other employment. "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" is an important work documenting both the 1930s and the struggle of the tenant families. ...more
After the Medici family was expelled from Florence, Italy in 1494, the Republic of Florence was instituted. In 1498 Niccolo Machiavelli was named the After the Medici family was expelled from Florence, Italy in 1494, the Republic of Florence was instituted. In 1498 Niccolo Machiavelli was named the Secretary of the republic. He was an experienced politician and diplomat who met the most important political leaders and studied their various political institutions. Italy was divided into states, and was not unified at that time. France, Spain, and the Church ruled over parts of Italy.
Spanish and papal troops, working with the Medici in exile, brought Florence's republican government to an end. A new government was set up by the Medici, Machiavelli lost his position as Secretary in 1513, and he began writing "The Prince."
In "The Prince," Machiavelli writes about the issues faced by a government similar to the new Medici regime coming into power. His observations as a diplomat and a student of history gave him a good idea of how to gain and maintain control, defend a territory, be respected by the nobles, and be a friend to the common people. Machiavelli was not advocating for principalities, an autocratic type of government, but just giving advice about how to keep a new state secure. (Although I have not read it, he also wrote the "Discourses on Livy" about instituting a successful republic which he considered a more superior form of government.) Many of the "princes" he describes in this book resemble politicians and rulers now, although warfare has drastically changed. I read the Oxford World Classic edition which had an excellent introduction....more
Sarah Bakewell mixes biography, 16th Century French history, philosophy, and translation/publishing history in her book about Michel de Montaigne. He'Sarah Bakewell mixes biography, 16th Century French history, philosophy, and translation/publishing history in her book about Michel de Montaigne. He's a fascinating man, and "How to Live" is an enticement to read Montaigne's "The Complete Essays."
Christopher Robbin's travelogue about Kazakhstan is an engaging look at the large former Soviet state bordering the powerful countries of Russia and CChristopher Robbin's travelogue about Kazakhstan is an engaging look at the large former Soviet state bordering the powerful countries of Russia and China. The population is composed of the formerly nomadic Kazakhs, Russians, Chechens, Germans, and others. Robbins tells us about famous people being exiled and imprisoned in remote Kazakhstan--Trotsky, Dostoevsky, and Solzhenitsyn--as he describes the various regions of the country. He also notes the extreme weather of hot summers and dangerously frigid winters.
The author was fortunate to have access to Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazabayev who offered comments about the country under Soviet control, and the independent nation it became. They traveled to the Aral Sea which has shrunk into a small salty sea after its waters were used for an irrigation project by the Soviets. Nazarbayev also took Robbins to visit the toxic area where nuclear bombs were tested by the Soviets. Kazakhstan has great stores of oil and minerals, and President Nazarbayev helped bring modern industry to the country. Kazakhstan is putting up modern buildings, but old Soviet-style construction is still present in many cities. While the information provided by President Nazarbayev was interesting and offered some rare opportunities to the author, the reader should be aware that the politician has been accused of corruption.
As the title suggests, Kazakhstan is the birthplace of apples and the author visited orchards growing the native variety which is no longer popular. Robbins loved the beautiful open spaces, the mountains, and the resilient spirit of the Kazakhs. The book combines humorous incidents with solid research and serious topics to form a fascinating travel book....more
Author Rebecca Solnit shows us how George Orwell loved nature and the environment. Orwell was a writer"In the spring of 1936, a writer planted roses."
Author Rebecca Solnit shows us how George Orwell loved nature and the environment. Orwell was a writer who brought the natural world into his essays and novels. Even in the grim times of his political book "Nineteen Eighty-Four," Winston Smith dreams of a beautiful landscape that he calls the Golden Country.
"Orwell's Roses" is a collection of 27 essays, some about Orwell's life or his writing, while others go off on tangents. For example, when Solnit writes about Orwell's ancestors, she also tells about the sugar plantations in Jamaica where enslaved Africans labored. When Solnit discusses roses, she tells about a trip to Colombia to visit the greenhouses that supply American florists, and the poor working conditions in the "rose factories." Tangents about the Spanish Civil War and the policies of Stalin accompany Solnit's discussions of Orwell's writing.
Solnit visited the cottage in Wallington where Orwell planted roses in 1936. He also planted a garden and fruit trees, raised a few animals, and enjoyed fishing. Plagued by lifelong respiratory problems, it was good for his health to get away from the coal smoke of London. He was also escaping the dangers of the blitz when he moved to the English village.
His last residence was on the remote Scottish island of Jura where he hoped the clean air would help in his fight against tuberculosis. Again, he had a large garden and loved to spend time outdoors fishing. Orwell requested that rose bushes mark his gravesite.
This was an exceptional collection of essays. While it helped to have such an interesting subject as Orwell, Solnit is a brilliant writer who finds unexpected connections in her essays....more
Judith Flanders looked at London in the 19th Century using scenes from Dickens' works to illustrate her research. Dickens loved to walk many miles eacJudith Flanders looked at London in the 19th Century using scenes from Dickens' works to illustrate her research. Dickens loved to walk many miles each day, observing the street life and getting ideas for his literary sketches and novels.
The Victorian era was a time of change in London with the population exploding, and the advent of industrialization, the railroads, and gas lighting. The book shows life on the streets with people walking many miles to work before putting in long hours on the job. Few people had facilities for cooking at home so most of their food was bought from street vendors, eaten at pubs, or baked at cook shops. The streets were noisy places with vendors hawking their wares, street musicians, and other entertainment. The streets were also dirty and dangerous as pedestrians dodged horses and carriages, and had to contend with mud and horse dung. Smoke from coal fires polluted the air, especially during the cold months of the year.
The book describes the markets with their vivid colors, commotion, crowded conditions, and smells. The brutality of the animal markets was one of the most disturbing parts of the book.
Dickens was an advocate for the poor, and the book tells about crowded slums with limited access to water pumps, and deplorable sanitary facilities. Until sewers were built in the latter half of the 19th Century, excrement was present in cellars, the rivers, and the streets. The poor were often hungry, and had to turn to prostitution or spend time in the workhouse. If they were caught stealing, they could be deported to Australia for years of hard labor. People who ran up debts could be sent to debtor's prison, a subject in some of Dickens' novels.
Life could also be fun and entertaining. The book has sections about public squares, the parks, ice skating, picnics, street performances, theater, and friendly gatherings at pubs.
Flanders has described Victorian London in fine detail. The maps, drawings, photographs, and other illustrations were helpful and interesting. There are parts of the book that describe changes in the streets, the tolls, and the rivers in great detail that may be of interest to Londoners, but not to the general reader. There are also some sections where she could have presented a composite view of an idea instead of including so many similar individual instances of research. However, the book was definitely informative, and entertaining and humorous in many sections. It is sure to enhance my reading of the works of Dickens and other authors who wrote during Victorian times. The author has also written books about the Victorian home and other Victorian topics that are not covered in this book....more
"A lunatic asylum is a grand receptacle for all who are troublesome."--a superintendent of a mental hospital.
"The Woman They Could Not Silence" is a r"A lunatic asylum is a grand receptacle for all who are troublesome."--a superintendent of a mental hospital.
"The Woman They Could Not Silence" is a riveting tale about Elizabeth Packard who was committed to the Jaacksonville Insane Asylum in 1860 by her husband. Elizabeth was a wife and mother of six children who upset her pastor husband when she revealed her more liberal religious views during Bible study classes. Theophilus Packard was told to quiet his wife by the conservative trustees in his church. Her controlling husband felt threatened by his intelligent, articulate, and charismatic wife. Female mental illness at that time included having a strong will, unusual zealousness, incessant talking, or expressing disappointment about a situation. Married women had no legal recourse if their husband wanted to commit them.
Elizabeth spent three years locked away in the asylum. She witnessed other sane individuals in the same circumstances. Patients were physically abused by the staff, and lived in filthy surroundings. She wrote about her observations and hid her writings in the linings of her clothes. The doctor at the asylum talked to her to gather information to discredit her, but had no type of treatment plan.
Elizabeth was eventually released, but she had to work to clear her name since her husband later imprisoned her in their home. She went on to campaign tirelessly for the release of other sane patients, for better conditions for the mentally ill, and for women's rights. She lobbied legislators to change the 19th Century laws that were used to unfairly control women. Although it is a nonfiction book, Elizabeth Packard's story reads like a legal thriller in some places as her husband and her doctor tried to silence her. It's both heartbreaking and an inspiration to read about this remarkable woman....more
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