Walden; Or, Life In The Woods, by Henry David Thoreau

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Henry David Thoreau was a transcendentalist who is best known for his book, Walden, Life in the Woods. Published in 1854, the book focuses on his experiences over two years, two months and two days in a cabin that he built near Walden Pond and the surrounding area. He was supposed to have, during this time, been so submerged in nature, living off the land and self-sufficient, that his transcendentalist philosophy was validated by this experience.

With the organized religions and political parties of the day behind him he was free to focus on nature. This time became a source of metaphorical and poetic insight into life. The plants and animals were part of a natural balance, personal declaration of independence, and self-reliance that connects him with the universe.

He said of this experience: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”

It was his friend Emerson that owned the land and even told him when it was time to come back. The cabin was built within sight if a road. His was indeed a Spartan-like approach, but it seems likely that the "meanness of life", he said he wanted to feel, may not have been as deep as he assumed.

Quotes by Henry David Thoreau

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”

 “Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.” 

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”

 “Things do not change; we change.”

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live"

Walden

By Henry David Thoreau

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Hamlet, by William Shakespeare →

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This post has been moved forward, from May 5th, where it originally was reviewed. See the review of  "Shakespeare The Invention of the Human, by Harold Bloom" which is yesterdays post. Also she the "Literary Favorites" Tab for the current post on Shakespeare, or the Past Reviews for other reviews.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, usually just referred to as Hamlet takes place in Denmark. Claudius has murdered his brother, the King, and married his widow to take over the Kingdom. The Ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to Hamlet and the play focuses on Prince Hamlet’s revenge.

Hamlet is one of if not the most performed plays of Shakespeare and is his longest play. William Shakespeare is considered the master of the human condition. That must mean all that a life encounters but here one of those conditions is death.

In Hamlet Act 3 the conditions of prayer, repentance, and perhaps murder is considered. Claudius wants to kill the King, who is watching a play, and so he waits for a chance to do so. After the play Claudius goes to do his deed and overhears him praying. He hesitates and waits. He fears that being killed in the act of prayer, may be like confession to God, would enable the person to go directly to heaven. Claudius leaves and Hamlet finishes his prayer and says these words:

"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

Is it just that prayer is often insincere? Is it that insincerity is judged by a God as He hears the words, or is it that the person knows as he prays that he doesn't mean it? He knows he didn't put much thought into?

What about words with thoughts? What does that really mean? How does that work? Is it enough, to have deep thoughts before speaking, to make what you say sincere? Does it take a lot of thought or is a certain amount of time required?

Maybe the human condition, as far as getting your words "up" and heard, is just one of intent? Are prayers offered to get gain and forgiveness, or to express sorrow or is it none of these?

These questions bring substance to the expression: "words fly up". Shakespeare seems to know that praying is something that needs some pondering

Quotes by William Shakespeare

There is nothing good or bad, only thinking makes it so.- Hamlet

Hell is empty and the devils are here.- William Shakespeare

Though this be madness yet their is method in it.- William Shakespeare

Hamlet

By William Shakespeare

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Shakespeare The Invention of the Human, by Harold Bloom

See Harold Bloom's recommended list of books.

Harold Bloom is a well-known American literary critic, and Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University.   He has written over 40 books and often it is his opinions that  are most interesting and overshadow the book itself. It is clear, from all that he has written, that Shakespeare has a special almost scared place in his own literary hierarchy.

Bloom in the book gives analysis and overview of each of Shakespeare's 38 plays. Shakespeare’s characters in these plays reveal what it is to be human, because you see how life affects them. You see their growth and change with events.  “Shakespeare’s eminence was in a diversity of persons he presented. No one, before or since has had so many separate selves.”  Both Bloom and Shakespeare see literature as just an imitation of human character.

Bloom often says in his writings, that Shakespeare did not write Shakespeare, but what he means is that the plays were written by the “social, political, and economic energies of his age”.  An interesting way to say listen to your characters and they will tell you what to write. This isn’t complicated. The same could be said about everything else. Bloom said in this book that “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” could just as soon be called “The Book of Reality”.

Bloom is the personification of the idea that in life our friends are the authors and characters we read about. In his own words he admits this saying; “I am naïve enough to read incessantly because I cannot, on my own, get to know enough people, profoundly enough”.

Of all the plays presented, Sir John Falstaff of Henry IV, parts of V, and Hamlet, are the two favorites of Bloom. The key characters in each are ones Bloom knows well and even imagines them interacting with each other because of their very different natures. In a book about Falstaff, Bloom has Falstaff, Hamlet and Socrates sitting at a pub, having an intense discussion, so this seems to be a special way he has of his own to show the true nature of the characters. 

Falstaff is a character representing self-satisfaction, a happy guy.  He mocks faith, can be lewd, funny and reckless. 

Hamlet is self-loathing, and not a happy guy. Nietzsche said of Hamlet that he is “not a man who thinks too much, but rather a man who thinks too well”. Bloom says of Hamlet that he is an experimental thinker. 

See Review of "Falstaff Give Me My Life, by Harold Bloom" Click here to link

The claim by some scholars that Shakespeare didn’t write Hamlet is dissected and Bloom clearly shows why the final Hamlet had to be Shakespeare’s.

This is a big book that covers a lot, but Blooms thoughts are what make it so interesting

Quotes by Shakespeare and Harold Bloom

I am naive enough to read incessantly because I cannot, on my own, get to know enough people, profoundly enough” - Harold Bloom

There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.                             -William Shakespeare  

Hell is empty and all the devils are here.- William Shakespeare

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.-William Shakespeare
 

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Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human

By Harold Bloom

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Genius of Place the Life of Frederick Law Olmsted by Justin Martin

Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted by Justin Martin

Justin Martin said, “Frederick Law Olmsted is arguably the most important historical figure that the average American knows the least about. Best remembered for his landscape architecture, from New York's Central Park to Boston's Emerald Necklace to Stanford University's campus”

He was born in 1822, and his 81-year life had more than a normal share of personal challenges and tragedy. A strained marriage, untimely deaths of children, close relations and close friends.  He suffered psychological torment, physical ailments and depression.

During the civil war he was put in charge of the United States Sanitary Commission which was created by federal legislation in 1861 to help support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army. The commission was the forerunner of the American Red Cross. What seems remarkable with his diverse interests and background is that he would finish his career considered the father of American landscape architecture.

He was asked by the New York Daily Times to go to the American South and Texas and research the land and the issue of slavery from 1852 to 1857 before the civil war broke out. He submitted the conclusions of his work in three volumes in which he presented his thoughts his on the effect of slavery on the economy and social conditions of the southern states.

He said that slavery had made the slave states inefficient and said it took 4 times s long to do the same work as was done in the North without slaves. He said that the economic benefits were not true. He claimed that the natural resources of the land were not maximized and were somewhat wasted and that the culture of slavery was not efficient. 

When the competition was announced to present a plan for the design of Central Park in New York, Olmsted worked with Calvert Vaux, an English born architect on the contest. They won the competition and then later went on to design and build the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

The author didn’t just focus on Olmsted’s projects, but has let us see who he was and what motivated him as a man. You can’t help but see the genius of this man and his insight. He was an early conservationist and environmentalist with a different philosophy about how the land and people should mix.  

Olmsted is presented as a social reformer whose passion for work found its most complete expression in the creation of public spaces intended for the enjoyment of all. Martin’s goal was to “restore Olmsted to his rightful pace on the pantheon of great Americans.”

Quotes by Frederick Law Olmsted

"The possession of arbitrary power has always, the world over, tended irresistibly to destroy humane sensibility, magnanimity, and truth." 

"The design should take advantage of unique characteristics of the site, even its disadvantages. The design should be developed and refined with intimate knowledge of the site." 

"Olmsted believed the goal wasn’t to make viewers see his work. It was to make them unaware of it. To him, the art was to conceal art. And the way to do this was to remove distractions and demands on the conscious mind. Viewers weren’t supposed to examine or analyze parts of the scene. They were supposed to be unaware of everything that was working."

Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (A Merloyd Lawrence Book)

By Justin Martin

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Camino Island, by John Grishman

A small gang of thieves hatch a plan to steal five priceless manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s from the Princeton University library. Of course, they are insured but the insurance company brings the FBI’s Rare Asset Recovery Unit in to the crime. The insurance is just a starting point of 25 million, since the manuscripts are priceless. The theft part of the story itself is everything you would expect from Grisham, but it is what happens after the theft that becomes the core of this novel. 

The gang is really made up of 5 small time amateurs who scatter after the robbery. By the time the FBI has captured some of them, the manuscripts have been sold for a fraction of their worth.  The FBI knows that it will take a sophisticated book dealer to know the worth, to have an interest, and to have the needed connections, so they narrow those who could be that person, to a few individuals.

Bruce Cable is the sophisticated, handsome owner of a bookstore that specializes in rare books which is located on Camino Island.  Mercer Mann is a young university instructor and aspiring novelist whose teaching contract has run out, and who has a mountain of student debt of her own. Elaine Shelby who is working with the insurance company and the FBI meets with Mann and offers to clear her student loan and give her a substantial amount of cash to help.  Mann is young and pretty, a literature teacher, and she spent lots of time on Camino Island when she was growing up. She agrees to the plan to find out if Cable has the stolen manuscripts and she understands that it likely will involve getting intimately close to Cable. He is a smooth experienced operator not just in books but with young pretty women and their time together is a big part of this book.

This is Grisham’s 30th novel and is a departure from the legal script we usually encounter with him.

This was reviewed last September by myself at another site. I wanted to have it included here. Grishman's non legal scripts are rare. His books are always relaxing and for me a break from the normal. 

A thought and question about Amazon for you. I hope you will read and consider. Is having a Amazon link of value to the reader? If a book occurs to you all you have to do is click on the link. When you do you are then working one on one with Amazon. The site gets a small credit. It doesn't cost you anything and Amazon's prices are very competitive.  If you have a book here or anything you thinking of buying from Amazon the "come on" click the link and order.

Camino Island: A Novel

By John Grisham

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The Great Stone Face, by Nathanial Hawthorne

As a boy, Ernest had wondered about the Stone Face that was formed by the rocks far up on the side of the mountain near his home. He often sat with his mother talking about the face. Once he asked if she thought they would ever see such a man with such a face and she shared what her mother had told her. Some day it was destined that a great one, who was noble and kind, would come and he would have that face. 

Ernest spent years studying the face each day looking up. He saw deep love in the face and he learned to recognize that in others. Ernest hoped to see the man who would come and he waited for him throughout his life. As he grew older many came and many brought some nobility even being felt by the people to be the one at first but never was the right one found. 

Often the people would shout saying, at last he has come, and what Ernest never understood is how they were so deceived. Eventually the people would come to know they had been wrong. 

Near the end of Ernest's years a poet came and spoke to the people. Ernest stood and added his own thoughts to the poets strong words. He spoke from his heart and mind and his words had power and depth, because they harmonized with the life he had always lived. The poet, seeing Ernest's face as he spoke, saw the grandeur it had assumed and shouted, "Behold!" Ernest is the likeness of the Great Stone Face."

The people saw it was true and they all felt  that the prophecy was fulfilled. When Ernest was finished he took the poet's arm and walked home, still hoping himself that some wiser and better man than himself would come eventually, bearing a resemblance to the GREAT STONE FACE.

Thomas Monson, the last President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was a lover of literature. He said of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic account,"The Great Stone Face, we adopt the mannerisms, the attitudes, even the conduct of those whom we admire — and they are usually our friends."

Some more thoughts on "Who do we Admire" and "The Great Stone Face" in the Daily Comment section in this blog.

The Great Stone Face

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute

Jean Paget is a young woman living in England after WWII who is left a great deal of money by a distant relative. She wants to use the money to build a well in a village in Malaysia that was so important to her during the war. She tells her solicitor, who is the trustee, why she wants to do this, and this forms the first part of the book as her life as a prisoner of war. 

She was working in Malaya at the time the Japanese invaded and was taken prisoner together with a group of women and children. The Japanese marched them from one village to another rather than take responsibility for them. None of the villages would take them. During this time Jean met an Australian soldier, Sergeant Joe Harman, also a prisoner.

Harman steals five chickens from the local Japanese commander to help the women. The thefts are investigated and he takes the blame full blame to save Jean and the rest of the group. He is beaten, crucified, and left to die by the Japanese soldiers. The women are marched away, believing that he is dead. This happened in the very village where Jean, after the war, wanted to go back to to give them a well. 

After her return to the Malaysian village she discovers that Harman had survived his ordeal and returned to Australia. Her trip to Australia takes her to a town she knew Joe had lived before the war called Alice Springs. They eventually find each other and the book ends with their effort to build a special town and place to live.

This book was first reviewed in 2009 by this reviewer. It was first read in 2005. It is a short book and easy to reread and gives a little different message each time. issue of racism. The books characters are English, Australian, Malaysian, Japanese, and Aboriginal. Racism is clearly an issue but not the books message. 

Nevil Shute upper left.  Jean searched for  Harmon when she went to Australia and went to the town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. She was impressed with the town. Picture shows the town and the spring it was named for.  

Quotes by Nevil Shute

“People who spent the war in prison camps have written a lot of books about what a bad time they had, she said quietly, staring into the embers. they don't know what it was like, not being in a camp.” 

“Men' s souls are naturally inclined to covetousness; but if ye be kind towards women and fear to wrong them, God is well acquainted with what ye do.” 

A Town Like Alice

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Falling Leaves, The Memoir of a Unwanted Chinese Daughter, by Adeline Yen Mah

1st Reviewed in 2009

This book is a look at a culture, a country, a family and relationships that just didn't work for any of the children, especially for one young girl, Adeline Yen Mah. She was born in 1937 and grew up in a wealthy Chinese family. Her mother died when she was born and her new mother was Eurasian, with her own children.

Her respect for and commitment and effort to be part of a family, presents an insight into the culture. Her relationships with her siblings as a young girl, and later as a successful women, added a dimension to the cruelty she suffered from both of her parents. 

This Chinese proverb described her life. "When leaves fall down they return to their roots". It was hard to understand why she would have even wanted to return to her roots. It seemed that the real roots in this family was her strength. 

The time setting was in 1949 during the revolution in China. The impact of Mao on society was insightful and interesting. Her father's success under both the old and a new government in Hong Kong suggested that times might get better for the family but it didn't get better for Adeline. She did not find love with either her dad or her stepmother or really with any of her 6 brothers and sisters. An aunt offered her love and encouragement to leave and she did and came to the United States where she was able to have a happy marriage of her own. It was her insights and her successes, seemingly against all odds, that was fascinating. 

A well told story about a young girl and a successful woman who, after it all was completed, the only strength found was in her. 

This book is one that I didn't want to put down. It left me anxious to find out what was coming

Quotes  by Adeline Yen  Mah

“Please believe that one single positive dream is more important than a thousand negative realities"

“I read because I have to. It drives everything else from my mind. It lets me escape to find other world."

“But you can vanquish the demons only when you yourself are convinced of your own worth.” 
 

Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

By Adeline Yen Mah

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Einstein, His Life and Universe, by Walter Isaacson

Some reviewers suggest that Isaacson was pushing the virtues of the founding fathers in this book, since his prior book, about Benjamin Franklin, and all that he had written about those great men were likely on his mind.

Well good news, with America's influence, he did become a supporter of much of what is great in America.

He first visited the United States in 1933. He was Jewish, and Adolf Hitler was coming to power. He could see the problem coming and decided to settle in the United States, where he became a citizen in 1940. He warned in a letter to President Roosevelt about the dangers of the new type of bombs that Germany was experimenting with. 

A review in "The Guardian" quoted Isaacson suggesting, "we should regard Einstein not as an august scientific priest, but 'as a rebel with reverence for the harmony of nature', a scientist who rated imagination far higher than knowledge and an individual whose motto, at least in his early years, was 'Long live impudence! It is my guardian angel." Sounds like an American to me.

Isaacson said of Einstein that we are still living in a universe largely defined by him,“one defined on the macro scale by his theory of relativity and on the micro by a quantum mechanics that has proven durable even as it remains disconcerting to some.”

"Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance your must keep on moving". This is the caption under a picture of Einstein on a bicycle near the front of the book. The book shows clearly a life that indeed just kept on moving.

America should embrace and claim citizen Einstein as one who has taken American Ideals and influenced the world. 

A Few of Einstein Quotes

• "Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas."

• "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot."

• "Not everything that counts can be counted. Not everything that can be counted, counts."

• "Any fool can know. The point is to understand."

• "A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be."

• "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

• "So far as the theories of mathematics are about reality, they are not certain; so far as they are certain, they are not about reality."

• "The only sure way to avoid making mistakes is to have no new ideas."

• "Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them."

• When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge

• "Since the mathematicians have invaded the theory of relativity, I do not understand it myself any more."

•  

• "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

•  

• "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

Einstein: His Life and Universe

By Walter Isaacson

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Obsessive Genius, the Inner world of Marie Curie, by Barbara Goldsmith

The title "Obsessive Genius" refers to many different sides of Marie Curie's life. Some may have considered her story to be somewhat of a feminist message but the title describes the "person", not just the woman behind the research and the life that went with it. 

Marva Salomee Sklodowska, Marie Curie, was born in Poland and a naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity.  She went to Paris and got her degrees at the Sorbonne and then spent most of her life in France. Her singular passion was for her work but that changed when she met Pierre Curie. Her obsessive passion for work, studies, research, and her husband, were complex and present a very interesting woman. Their first Nobel Prize in 1903 was a mutual effort but her second came later in her life and was clearly something that she could not be denied. She was denied the opportunity to co-accept the first award and sit in the audience. She had done much if not most of the work.

Like the book Einstein, by Walter Isaacson, this book lets you see a life through the lens of a particular science. In both cases you learn about both the person and the science. This type of biography lets you see the historical events you thought you knew all about very differently through the lens of a particular person and the science that fills their life. The book is well done and well worth reading.

Quotes By The Author & Marie Curie

"The rare female scientist was depicted as masculine, coarse, ugly, careworn and industrious but making no significant contribution.- Barbara Goldsmith

 

 

”Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas"-Marie Curie 

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less" - Marie Curie  

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." - Marie Curie

Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie (Great Discoveries)

By Barbara Goldsmith

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Lincoln's Greatest Speech, The Second Inaugural, by Ronald C. White Jr.

Lincoln Second Inaugural Address is a stunning example of leadership, and it is indeed an important part of what has made America such an influence for good over so many years. It is obvious that, at any point in time, things are not all in perfect balance in America, and things take time to work through, even the parts of the whole. Lincoln, like today, had two sides both claiming the moral high ground.  He wondered what God's will might have been in allowing the war to come, and why it had assumed the terrible dimensions it had taken. 

He clearly stated that the cause of the war was slavery, and said it constituted a peculiar and powerful interest, yet he did not proclaim that he had God on his side.  Rather than review the book I have just included he short speech, a masterpiece in influence. See the full speech below

Fellow-Countrymen:

At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, a Novel by Mark Haddon

The book portrays the point of view of a 15-year-old autistic boy, Christopher, who sees himself as a mathematician with some behavioral difficulties. He is the narrator of the book and he seemed so matter of fact and sure of his opinions, that I was tempted to rate the book lower, just based on that. 

It leaves you feeling that you might just really understand what autism really is and if you have had much exposure to it you know that it is not easy to define. 

My own experiences suggest that this boy's emotional range and response is just one vantage point of how a autistic young man would approach this plot. I think it is better to just say that this is not a book about Asperger's really but it is a clever story with much to ponder.

Christopher is an outsider, someone who is different and sees the world in a different and interesting way.  The author doesn't say that Christopher has autism or any disorder but the book covers and promotional material do mention Asperger, high-functioning autism, and savant syndrome.

In some cases the incidents that take place in the search for the dog are funny. At the same time the focus on emotion and feelings are so well done that, rather than funny, it might be said that it is chilling.

Quote by Mark Hadden

“I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them” 

“On the fifth day, which was a Sunday, it rained very hard. I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.” 

“All the other children at my school are stupid. Except I'm not meant to call them stupid, even though this is what they are.” 

“I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

By Mark Haddon

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John Adams, by David McCullough

America’s influence is best understood if you know more about the founders. David McCullough brings the life of one of the countries great ones into focus with his book, “John Adams”. In many ways the 2nd President is overlooked, but this novel draws from diaries and letters and shows us much about who John Adams was. 
Adams felt divinely inspired to take so many personal risks as he worked to reach past his home in Massachusetts to bring the colonists into focus with the revolution.

He was devoted not just to the cause of the new country, but to his wife Abigail. Their story is a love story within the story. When the war was over George Washington was the natural leader and Adams was a full supporter and became the 1st Vice President. He helped the new country feel the influence of the New England States in the new government that was very much dominated by Virginians. 

Thomas Jefferson was a challenging Virginian for Adams. He had always been, and would remain, a nemesis. The two were very different in character. They differed in the way they treated the slavery issue and this author showed Jefferson as lazy and always in debt which was very different from Adams. Even so they were also good friends and the book does a lot to explore that. Both men were idealist, loved learning and books, and most interesting they both died on the same day, 50 years to the day, of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

The strong character of Adams is clearly shown in this book. His letters to and from his wife show a genuinely good man. His goodness is what you would expect would lead in forming a great country and Jefferson’s intellectual strength is also clear. Reading this book brings a special light and dignity to the founders and is an amazing book.

John Adams Quotes

"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

 "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." 

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

"Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people."

''A government of laws, and not of and not of men."

John Adams

By David McCullough

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KOREA 3 Books

REGARDING BOOKS: NOTHING TO ENVY BY BARBARA DEMICK & VEGETARIN & HUMAN ACTS BY HAN KANG

These books have been reviewed before but I am listing them together in this post to focus more on Korea. Han Kang is a Korean author that has written several books and is a talented author. I hope to profile more Korean authors and books.

Click on each book separately to take you to the review or use the Past Review Tab

Why Read Moby Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick

Nathaniel Philbrick has read the novel Moby-Dick more than a dozen times, so it seems believable that he says he thinks this is the greatest American Novel ever written. Too bad Melville didn’t get this feedback during his lifetime. Melville admired Nathaniel Hawthorne and dedicated the book to him. Hawthorne and other writers of his day did see the book as masterpiece, but it didn’t outsell even his earlier books.

Philbrick’s book seeks to show why Moby-Dick has been so enduring. There is much that resonates with the world when it was written and even still today.

The civil war was yet to break out, but the books crew was so diverse that the respect for racial diversity stands out. Ahab, Pip, and other characters were inspired by a 7-set volume of Shakespeare’s plays that came into Melville’s possession just before he started writing this book.

Philbrick sees, not just ongoing relevance ,but a level of understanding of human relations. Melville is praised for his skill in getting reality to show up on the page. He explanation of how Ahab takes control of his crew and gets them to buy into his own plan has lots of real world comparisons.

Even though there are ample events that have symbolic relevance it is interesting to have this author bluntly tell us that the white whale is not a symbol. He says it is “as real as you and I. He has a crooked jaw, a humped back, and a wiggle-waggle when he is really moving fast”.

I have read Moby Dick twice but wish I had read this book first. 

Quote by Nathanial Philbrick

“Melville's example demonstrates the wisdom of waiting to read the classics. Coming to a great book on your own after having accumulated essential life experience can make all the difference.” 

Why Read Moby-Dick?

By Nathaniel Philbrick

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