#24: Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Tags

100 books, book review, books, Shakespeare

I returned to Shakespeare for my twenty-fourth book with Hamlet.  Despite being his most famous tragedy, I had not read it prior to the past two days.  The play tells the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, following the death of his father and the subsequent marriage of his mother to his uncle.  This makes his uncle, Claudius, the new king.  Hamlet learns from the ghost of his dead father that he was murdered by Claudius, and that the queen, Gertrude, was privy to the plot.  Hamlet vows revenge on his uncle and proceeds to plot the best course of action.  He decides that a feigned madness will cover any suspicions the new king might have regarding his loyalty, and assumes the role of madman.  Tragedy ensues as intentions are misunderstood and innocent lives are taken by mistake.  Hamlet and his entire family are eventually killed, leaving only one friend to relate his sad tale.

As is evident in all of his plays, Shakespeare is an expert at characterization.  In that regard, Hamlet is his masterpiece.  The line between real and feigned madness is blurred as the depths of Hamlet’s rage and grief are explored.  The play poses a number of major questions, including how to distinguish between legitimate revenge and simple murder.  This play is a must for all fans of Shakespeare.  I am glad to no longer be ashamed for not having read it.

The Current Count:

24 Read, 76 To Go

I’m still alive! (And I read #23: Arguing About War by Michael Walzer)

Tags

100 books, book review, books, Libya, philosophy, politics

There has been extensive speculation on the part of the international media regarding my whereabouts over the past eight days.  Rumors that I have been selected to lead coalition operations in Libya are definitely false.  It was discussed in certain circles, but NATO politics are pretty complicated and it was felt that my services can be better utilized operating in a quasi-official capacity as a Special Advisor to the President for International Affairs.  That is the real reason for my lack of posts for the past week.  It certainly wasn’t due to my three-weeks grades being due and reading a boring book. 

I am third from the left

Michael Walzer’s Arguing About War is a well-reasoned examination of just-war theory in the face of modern international politics.  Walzer considers just-war philosophy as it relates to humanitarian interventions, preventive/preemptive war, and the war on terrorism.  Walzer is a tremendously intelligent individual and he presents some very interesting arguments.  That said, I did not like this book.  This book is actually a follow-up to Walzer’s 1977 classic Just and Unjust Wars.  As such, it assumes that the reader is looking for an addendum to the original book.  This book did not explore the philosophical and moral reasoning behind just-war theory, it simply considered what effect modern issues have on the theory.  The arguments presented are thought-provoking but uninspiring.  The absence of the real philosophical discussion that I presume Just and Unjust Wars contains makes Arguing About War seem like a political science research paper rather than a real work of political philosophy.  I was a political science major and reading this book still hurt me.  Unless you are a mental masochist, do not read this book.

The Current Count:

23 Read, 77 To Go

#22: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

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100 books, book review, books, classics, literature, philosophy

There are some books that seek to invent new truths, some books that seek to conceal inconvenient or unpopular truths, and still other books that seek to open our eyes to commonly held but apparently forgotten truths.  The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran falls into the last category.  This short novel is similar to Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra in that they both feature a wise man giving speeches in an effort to share his wisdom with others.  In Zarathustra, the reader gets the sense that Nietzsche is playing some sort of joke on him, offering all of Zarathustra’s rich and evocative speeches only to conclude that they aren’t truly worth hearing.  Gibran is much more clear in The Prophet.  As the titular prophet, Almustafa, prepares to leave the city of Orphalese, the townspeople gather around him and ask him to share some of his wisdom.  They question him on a wide variety of subjects, including friendship, pleasure, marriage, good and evil, religion, and death.  The prophet’s responses contain a philosophy of love and the embracing of life that seem to mirror the thoughts we have all had but were unable to put into words.  This is not an effort to invent a new philosophical system or to deny truths that no longer fit with our society.  Instead, Gibran seeks to remind us of the basic truths that have served humanity well since the dawn of civilization.  These are truths that transcend society and speak to our most basic and intimate selves.  In an age of cynicism and doubt, it is refreshing to read a book so full of love and so fond of life.

The Current Count:

22 Read, 78 To Go

#21: The Godfather by Mario Puzo

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100 books, book review, books, literature, movies, The Godfather

My Spring Break reading binge continues with The Godfather by Mario Puzo.  Although the movie version and its sequel are generally regarded as two of the greatest films of all time, the novel receives little attention.  This is a mistake.  Puzo is an excellent storyteller, building characters and relationships that jump off the page.  It is his story that drives the film version (although the acting and directing certainly make it one of the greatest).  Puzo is not one of the giants of modern fiction.  His books will never be read and studied in university courses outside of his impact on popular culture.  Puzo is, however, a master of pulp fiction.  The Godfather has all of the grit and seediness you would expect from the standard action book.  What makes his book so special is the epic quality Puzo gives to that grittiness.  This is not just another crime book.  This is a sweeping tale of men who refuse to be bound by codes of behavior that require them to submit their will to that of lesser men.  It is a story of greed, envy, violence, crime, and (of course) family.  Puzo’s image of the criminal underworld has become embedded in the popular consciousness.  The Godfather is a story about gangsters before such stories became clichés.  Any fan of the movie needs to read Puzo’s Godfather.  (Insert random mobster quote cliché of your choice)

The Current Count:

21 Read, 79 To Go

#20: Beneath the Wheel by Hermann Hesse

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100 books, book review, books, Hesse, literature

Twenty books down!  Today I read Hermann Hesse’s Beneath the Wheel.  Hesse is one of my favorite authors, and Beneath the Wheel  did not disappoint.  It tells the story of Hans Giebenrath, a gifted student who struggles to find his purpose in life despite his tremendous intellectual ability.  His struggles are exacerbated by the number of people expecting greatness from him, including his father, pastor, principal, and teachers.  Hans cannot handle the pressure and is sent home from his prestigious academy due to mental health issues.  He has no more success finding his way at home, where his first experiences with love and physical labor offer hope but ultimately disappoint.  The ending was not what I expected but was excellent.  Despite being written over a century ago (in 1906), Hesse’s book remains vibrant and fresh.  The characters are endowed with a depth that makes them easily accessible to modern audiences.  As far as coming-of-age stories go, Beneath the Wheel is near the top of my list.  I enjoyed it more than Catcher in the Rye (which borders on blasphemy for an American English teacher).

The Current Count:

20 Read, 80 To Go

#19: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

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100 books, book review, books, literature

Last night I finished one of the most disturbing, upsetting, and ultimately inspiring novels I have ever read.  Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an incredible book.  The movie version is excellent but cannot touch the original novel.  Narrated by the half-Indian Chief Bromden, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest follows the events in a mental institution following the arrival of loudmouth criminal Randle Patrick McMurphy.  McMurphy has schemed his way into the asylum, thinking it will be an easier way to finish the remaining six months of his sentence.  The ward is run by the tyrannical Nurse Ratched, Big Nurse as Bromden calls her.  Ratched uses subtle manipulation and emasculation to keep the men of the ward under her total control.  McMurphy does not fit into her system.  An epic battle of wills follows, with McMurphy fighting for both himself and for the wounded manhood of his fellow patients.  McMurphy is no saint, as he readily admits.  He is brash, violent, and a first-class con man.  He rises above his reputation in an effort to restore his newfound friends to something like a real life. 

I think the mark of a great book is what it can teach you about human nature and society in general.  Kesey’s book points out the little bit of insanity that lives in all of us.  He shows how thin the line between stable and unstable can be, and how easily a perfectly well individual can be driven to the brink of madness by the cruelty to be found in the world.  The picture is not hopeless.  McMurphy inspires the men to reclaim the humanity that the world and Nurse Ratched have taken from them.  Kesey makes clear his view that the weakest man is still a man, and deserves to be treated with the same decency to which every human is entitled.

The Current Count:

19 Read, 81 To Go

#18: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Tags

100 books, book review, books, literature

For number eighteen, I chose a book from my wife’s favorite author, Barbara Kingsolver.  The Lacuna is a fictional memoir about the life of Harrison Shepherd.  The book opens with the fictional Shepherd living in Mexico at age thirteen, having been dragged there by his Mexican mother after leaving his American father.  In the years that follow, Shepherd searches for a place in the world, with his only real comfort coming from the journals that form the eventual memoir.  Along the way, he works as a plaster mixer for Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, a cook for Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo, and a secretary for the exiled Leon Trotsky.  Shepherd ultimately returns to America and becomes a novelist.  Although well-received at first, his thoughts on free speech and past Communist associates earn him the unwanted scrutiny of the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee.  The ending is excellent, and I will not spoil it here.  Kingsolver is easily one of the best American writers of the past fifty years.  She has an ability to capture the spirit of a place in her writing that is nearly unmatched.  I have read two of Kingsolver’s other novels, and this is my favorite.  The blend of history and fiction makes the story even more interesting.  I especially enjoyed the glimpse of Trotsky.  I know very little about him but am now definitely going to read more.  Kingsolver’s novel is a scathing indictment of an era in American history most would rather ignore.  Especially in a world where the label un-American is thrown around to mask religious bigotry and racism, The Lacuna should be required reading for anyone eligible to vote.

The Current Count:

18 Read, 82 To Go

#17: Commentaries on the Gallic War by Julius Caesar

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100 books, book review, books, classics, history, Rome

It never ceases to amaze me that individuals who died centuries or millenia ago can still command the attention of a modern audience.  Gaius Julius Caesar is one of those remarkable individuals.  Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War are worth reading both for the insight into their author’s mind and for the image the offer of Rome as it transitioned from powerful republic to world-ruling empire.  The Penguin Classics edition (entitled The Conquest of Gaul) uses the translation of S.A. Handford and is a very enjoyable read.  The Commentaries trace the progress of Caesar’s efforts to subdue Gaul (modern France) from 58 BC to 50 BC.  This is on the eve of the civil war that will eventually lead to Caesar’s assassination and the emergence of his great-nephew Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) as a political force in Rome.  The Commentaries can be confusing at times, as they are full of important people and place names.  It can be difficult to keep the various Roman generals, barbarian tribes, and Gallic strongholds clear in your mind.  This is true of many ancient chronicles and does not present an insurmountable obstacle.  The Commentaries read like bulletins from the front.  They are not encumbered by unnecessary detail, and contain many interesting anecdotes.  For anyone who watched the TV series Rome, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo make their only appearance on the historical record in the fifth book of The Commentaries.  If you have an interest in Rome or Caesar, The Commentaries on the Gallic War are well worth your time.

The Current Count:

17 Read, 83 To Go

#16: The New Concise History of the Crusades by Thomas F. Madden

Tags

100 books, book review, books, history, Middle East, religion

Professor Thomas Madden’s New Concise History of the Crusades is a textbook that reads like a novel.  In an easily digestible fashion, Madden explores the intricacies of European politics and religion that lead to the birth of the Crusading movement, and traces the development of that movement until it disappeared in the wake of the Protestant Reformation.  He follows the course of events in good detail, without drowning his reader in documentary evidence.  Each chapter has suggestions for further reading, with a list of original sources in translation.  Madden stays very focused on his topic and does not stray into discussions of events unrelated to the Crusades.  Some knowledge of the history of the High Middle Ages is helpful in placing Madden’s narrative in context, but is not necessary to enjoy or learn from this book.

Richard the Lionheart

The Crusades are a fascinating episode in world history.  They feature some of the most notable names of the Middle Ages, including Richard the Lionheart of England, Phillip II Augustus of France, Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, Saint Louis of France, and the noble barbarian of Romantic lore, Saladin.  The tales of chivalry and heroism from this period are awe-inspiring.  Anyone with an interest in the Crusades should begin by reading Madden’s book.

With the current unrest in the Middle East and the threat of Islamic terrorism, the Crusades have assumed a tremendous importance in the modern world.  Many writers have sought the source of present conflicts in the events of distant centuries.  Madden does an excellent job explaining the significance of the Crusades to the modern international situation, and dispels many of the myths that have come to be accepted about these endeavors.  He expertly refutes interpretations of the Crusade that attempt to put them in a modern context, and demonstrates the true nature of their genesis.  The final two chapters of the book should be required reading for anyone studying modern foreign relations.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in medieval European history or the modern Middle East. 

The Current Count:

16 Read, 84 To Go

#15: Dialogue on Good, Evil, and the Existence of God by John Perry

Tags

100 books, book review, books, philosophy, religion, theology

As the title suggests, my fifteenth book deals with some pretty big issues.  John Perry’s Dialogue on Good, Evil, and the Existence of God is a relatively short dialogue (70 pages) that features three friends arguing about issues at the heart of Christianity.  Christian minister Sam Miller is challenged by his atheist philosopher friend Gretchen Weirob to prove that belief in an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent creator is not inconsistent with the recognition of a world in which suffering exists.  Miller, Weirob, and their mutual friend Dave Cohen discuss the nature of evil and of suffering, the ramifications of free will, and what it means to say that God is all-powerful and all-knowing.  Perry does an excellent job of exploring these fundamental theological issues in a way that makes sense to readers without a degree in philosophy.  He also offers suggestions for readings that will provide a deeper look at these issues.  Any philosophically minded person, Christian or not, would benefit from reading this book.  It is a great introduction to the works of Augustine in particular. 

The Current Count:

15 Read, 85 To Go