What are you reading?

[JBG]

I just finished reading Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery by Theodore H. Schwartz. I picked up the book and my synagogue with the author spoke back in September or October. I have basically the same gripes about both the book and his speech; they were long on content and short on organization. Bluntly, about 1/3 of the book should have been the subject of its own surgery.

The content is fascinating. The author manages to discuss, just write every prominent shooting and brain surgery, and then some not so prominent. We’ve learned, for example, that neither Kennedy would have been likely to survive their assassination attempts. We also learned that with the benefit of modern medicine, Abraham Lincoln may well have survived. Would I have read the book had I known of his shortcomings? Yes. The book is definitely worthwhile.

 

[frigidweirdo]

John Gwynne - Book Series In Order

Complete order of John Gwynne books in Publication Order and Chronological Order.

www.bookseriesinorder.com

I'm reading the last in a trilogy by John Gwynne, A Time of Courage.

It's fantasy and pretty traditional fantasy. It's okay, a good read, sometimes the battles take way too long and too many. He doesn't seem to be that well known, and it's not surprising why, you can find this kind of stuff all over the place, but it's still done well.

 

[JBG]

But where we have given of our love and respect not from habit but of our own free will, where we have been disciples and friends out of our inmost hearts, it is a bitter and horrible moment when we suddenly recognize that the current within us wants to pull us away from what ls dearest to us. Then every thought that rejects the friend and mentor turns in our own hearts like a poisoned barb, then each blow struck in defense flies back into one's own face, the words "disloyalty" and "ingratitude" strike the person who feels he was morally sound like catcalls and stigma, and the frightened heart flees timidly back to the charmed valleys of childhood virtues, unable to believe that this break, too, must be made, this bond also broken.

I finished reading Demian by Hermann Hesse about a month and a half ago. I felt some trepidation before reading this book. Back in the summer of 1973, I was on a teen tour called Trails West. one of my friends there, Jonathan, was a stunningly brilliant, straight-A Honor Student. I learned this book from his discussions with other people on the trip. I was sure that the book was above my intellectual level. I bought the book during approximately summer of 1980, but did not touch it until now. When I was randomly searching for my next book, I put my hands on it and decided “why not." I am rather pleased with myself that I did. Most “reviewers” on Goodreads classify this book as young adult. I find it to be deeply philosophical, and can be read at many levels. There are discussions of goodwill. The author seems to land quite solidly on both sides of the fence on whether or not people have free will.

The parts that I related to most, however, concerned relationships with peer or near-peer mentors. While out of pride most people resist accepting mentorship, I have always gravitated there. And during my student days, not always to people in my own or older years. My view is that learning is less important than pride. The narrator of the book, Sinclair, except various mentors through the course of the book. And discarded some. I believe that the book takes a deep punch into mentorship, free will, and religion.It was a very worthwhile read, albeit 51 years after I was recommended it.

 

[JBG]

I finished reading Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery by Theodore H. Schwartz about a month ago. I picked up the book and my synagogue with the author spoke back in September or October. I have basically the same gripes about both the book and his speech; they were long on content and short on organization. Bluntly, about 1/3 of the book should have been the subject of its own surgery.

 

[JustAGuy1]

Currently, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

[ame=[URL="http://www.amazon.com/Lost-City-Deadly-Obsession-Amazon/dp/0385513534]The?tag=usmb-20"]Amazon.com[/URL] Lost City of Z[/ame]


From Publishers Weekly:



John Grisham's review for Amazon.com:



I'm about halfway through it and I must say it is quite interesting and very well written.

String Theory for Dummies.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading reading The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. All I can say is "wow." The author managed to interweave the sunny, uniquely American story of Joseph Rantz, his fellow crew members and the builder of the winning boat The Husky Clipper, George Yeoman Pocock with the gathering clouds in Nazi Germany. The story is built around the miraculous U.S. crew victory, achieved by the underdog University of Washington team but it is so much more. Abandoned by his father as a child in favor of his new wife, he more or less raises himself. Essentially, this story is an "only in America" tale where someone who is dirt poor can then ride the top of the world, earning a highly marketable engineering degree in the process.

And Pocock's story, also woven in, is no less inspirational. At some point I'll pick up one of several bios of that gentleman. The ogres are Adolph Hitler (who staged the Olympics to fool the world about him) and to a lesser extent his stepmother. Enough spoilers; read the book which I am giving a "five!"

 

[Zavulon]

Just got the nice book "From Deterrence to Intimidation. Nuclear weapons, geopolitics, coalition strategy." by Dmitry Trenin, Sergey Avakyance, Sergey Karaganov from one of the popular think tanks - "Institute of World's military Economy and Strategy" of The High School of Economy.

The books is pretty interesting, based on some actual reports. They created the new term (at least I didn't read it before) - "strategic parasitism" to describe the behaviour of the modern European elites. Authors suggest the new, shorter, "ladder of escalation", recommended active usage of nuclear weapons to defeat NATO in year or two, suggest some new approaches to nuclear intimidation in the dimension of coalition strategies.

 

[JoeMoma]

I am reading USMB.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading The Revenge Of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate by Robert D. Kaplan.

This book is a tour d-force of information concerning world geography and its impact on politics, systems of government and economic advancement. The information is unobjectionable; I dispute some of the conclusions. By way of example, he states, I believe correctly, that the lack of natural boundaries has led to Russia's more or less continual state of war and the prevalence of authoritarian conditions over the centuries. He dismisses, in either a footnote or sentence, the fact that the U.S. and Canada share similar characteristics with very different results. Another quibble: he gives insufficient weight to the importance of ideas. He says, about the Jewish people: "And above all, of course, there is the history of the Jews, which goes against the entire logic of the geographical continuity of major religions (particularly of Hinduism and Buddhism), and which therefore takes pains to include: the utter destruction of the Jewish community in Judea, the consequence of the crushing of first- and second-century A.D. revolts by the Romans, did not end Judaism, which went on improbably to evolve and flourish in scattered cities of the western Diaspora, a two-thousand-year-old story averse to the dictates of geography, which shows once again how ideas and human agency matter as much as physical terrain." Despite this acknowledgement this is about his only obeisance to the important of ideas.

Additionally, he seems to believe, similar to many thinkers on the liberal side of the spectrum (spoiler alert, he writes for Atlantic Magazine) that the U.S. and Israel must, in one way or another surrender or modify their demography because of the presence of less advanced societies on their border. To my mind this borders on silly. Other than a deliberate, suicidal decision on the part of societies to abandon their advanced status, there is no reason that I can fathom not to use military force, if need be, to preserve life style.

Nevertheless, it is important that people read a map before forming political or historical conclusions.

 

[bluzman61]

I'm currently reading "My Effin' Life", the autobiography by Geddy Lee, longtime bassist/singer and keyboardist of the Canadian rock group Rush. It's an entertaining and informative read so far.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Unmasked: Big Media's War Against Trump by L. Brent Bozell and Tim Graham. The book is great at listing and describing the "low points" of an obviously decrepit, biased and sometimes treasonous mass media. No serious person can say now that the press is useful other than as a source of ideological arguments. The book is basically an enlarged pamphlet, which could have put the 220+ pages into 100-125 pages. Quality, not page count make for good reading. This tome; not terrible but not great.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Goyhood (Hardcover) by Reuven Fenton. I give it a 3 1/2. The concept of the novel is promising; two twin children in Georgia whose mother and by extension the children, with the help of a Rabbi, more or less declare themselves Jewish. One of the twins moves to Brooklyn to an ultra-Orthodox life. His spiritual mentor sets him up for an arranged marriage, into a moneyed family. His mother's tragic death brings to their attention that they are not Jewish.

What follows is some slapstick comedy, perhaps too much. I won't spoil the ending. The novel is a promising first work by a journalist; editing and organization would have helped. Still I will read this writer's next work. I think he's on to greatness.

 

[odanny]

I just finished reading Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery by Theodore H. Schwartz. I picked up the book and my synagogue with the author spoke back in September or October. I have basically the same gripes about both the book and his speech; they were long on content and short on organization. Bluntly, about 1/3 of the book should have been the subject of its own surgery.

The content is fascinating. The author manages to discuss, just write every prominent shooting and brain surgery, and then some not so prominent. We’ve learned, for example, that neither Kennedy would have been likely to survive their assassination attempts. We also learned that with the benefit of modern medicine, Abraham Lincoln may well have survived. Would I have read the book had I known of his shortcomings? Yes. The book is definitely worthwhile.

I'm reading something along the same lines, The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris, about the man who created some of the revolutionary techniques used today, and what better place to find patients to perform these surgeries than the killing fields of WWI and trench warfare, all kinds of young kids came into see the young, brilliant surgeon, Dr. Gillies, who allowed so many men a chance at normalcy after having noses, jaws, and ears blown off.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie. The book is about the famous author Salman Rushdie, who was knifed and severely injured given a lecture in upstate New York on August 12, 2022. The book is a definite "five star." A short excerpt, bridging two chapters:

The idea came to him [Nietzsche] of what he called "the love of your fate." Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, "This is what I need." ... Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life.

After a while one realizes that what is being said here is a cliche, which probably isn't true. To express it in ordinary English: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But does it? Does it really?

*****
There are no second drafts. ****As I recovered from my wounds, both physical and psychological, I was far from sure that I would emerge from the experience stronger. I was just happy to be emerging from the experience alive. Whether stronger or weaker, it was too soon to tell. What I did know was that, thanks to a combination of luck, the skill of surgeons, and loving care, I had been given a second chance. I was getting what Kundera believed impossible-a second shot at life. I had beaten the odds. So now the question was: When you are given a second opportunity, what do you do with it? How do you use it? What should you do the same way, what might you do differently?

Personally I have had recent occasion for this kind of reflection. In late December I was admitted to Greenwich Hospital for exploratory diagnostic surgery. The admission form said "patient has pancreatic CA" which basically is a death sentence. The first set of biopsies, taken through an endoscope on December 30, 2024 came back benign. My GI didn't totally believe it because of certain symptoms and lab results. On January 29, 2025 a second set of biopsies, also through an endoscope, confirmed. The doctor called me and said "you dodged a bullet."
Since then I feel that I have been a lot more straightforward, and cut out most of my sarcasm. My legal writing has gotten more careful and more thorough. I have noticed other changes in myself. This is not my first near-death experience; when I was ten, on December 2, 1967 I plunged through the ice on a pond in Scarsdale. My head went under a few times. My body temperature dropped below what the thermometer would read. Again, after a few hours in White Plains Hospital I emerged relatively unscathed. I was not, as a ten year old, as philosophical.

Knife is an extraordinary reflection on a near-death experience, and its effects, both physical and mental. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

 

[JBG]

The irony was undeniable; Drugs had helped us to create our group mind and fuse our music together, and now drugs were isolating us from one another and our own feelings, and starting to kill us off."

I just finished Phil Lesh (of the Grateful Dead's) autobiography Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead by Phil Lesh.

This is not my usual reading, and I am not the usual Grateful Dead fan. Still, this autobiography rates a "5" despite some factual nits and picks. The book is a great social history of music and its impact on the 60's through 90's. The author does not avoid the underside. In other words it was not all "peace and love." He sensitively covers the underside of that era as well as its great artistic contributions. He had formal musical training and came from an intact, stable family. He was a person of obvious intelligence.

The author was swept into the drug maelstrom and, with great efforts pulled himself out. He went on to form a stable, loving family, along with his Grateful Dead "family." Phil Lesh was a druggie but got off the sauce soon enough to survive to age 87 or 88 with a transplanted liver. Many other members of the Dead were literally "dead." They were by and large intelligent people who died too young and tragically. Add to it the numerous other rock dead, too many to mention.

I went to two Dead concerts, Barton Hall, Cornell in May 1977 and Broome County Arena, Binghamton in May 1979. Another poster even asked "how much acid I dropped" at the concert. The answer was "none"; aside from minor marijuana use, a rare snort of cocaine and use of speed (for academics) I avoided drugs.

 

[JBG]

And it operates on free-market principles, as a laboratory for economic experimentation, providing (theoretically) unbounded opportunity for its inhabitants. New York came into being not organically but through a purposeful act, which involved the stitching together of two cultures and traditions into something new. The Dutch had developed New Amsterdam to be an entrepôt—a port city with pretensions to global trade. Richard Nicolls, as the representative of relatively tolerant and pragmatic factions within England, came to see that rather than crushing New Amsterdam and starting over, it would be in his interest to make a deal with his Dutch nemesis, one that might benefit both of them. The pluralistic and capitalistic features of New York had their origins in the Dutch colony, and both of those elements of the city were reconfigured and invigorated when the Dutch and English strains merged.

As with, say, the light bulb or the computer, the invention of New York rested on earlier ideas. It required a willful steering of forces in a particular direction, as well as a will on the part of the inhabitants to be steered in the new direction. And, as with the light bulb and the computer, nobody who played a role in the invention of New York could comprehend what it might lead to.

I just finished reading Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America by Russell Shorto. This book got an extraordinary sendoff and I put myself on the library list shortly after it was published. It was good, but a three and a half rather than four star read. I previously read the author's The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America and expected more. Basically, his thesis, which I think he overstates, is that remaining Dutch influence, after Great Britain took control of New Amsterdam in 1664, was pervasive. The book did introduce me to a new character, Richard Nicolls, the British leader that actually orchestrated the peaceful takeover. Again, I think that New York was the major center for immigration and many groups had similar influence.

Still, it was a fast (I had no choice since as newly published it was a two-week book) read and stimulating. I would like to debate the author in person at some point.

 

[Zavulon]

Just finished "The Shining" by Stephen King.

Nice book, nice language - not too simple, not too sophisticated. And, as they say, good illustration of typical American fears. They afraid of winter, cold, winter, isolation, death, violence, madness, knowledge and other nice things... And it seems to me, that the book got to be a bit obsolete in 2024-25. At least agenda of American inner propaganda has changed.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Black Elk Speaks

Biography of an Ogala Sioux at the end of the 19th Century.

Just read it!

 

[Zavulon]

Just finished "The Shining" by Stephen King.
View attachment 1099518

Nice book, nice language - not too simple, not too sophisticated. And, as they say, good illustration of typical American fears. They afraid of winter, cold, winter, isolation, death, violence, madness, knowledge and other nice things... And it seems to me, that the book got to be a bit obsolete in 2024-25. At least agenda of American inner propaganda has changed.

A friend of mine just compared "The Shining" with "The Gods Must be Crazy", told as a horror story from the Bushman's point of view. What is quite natural for a city dweller might be pretty horrible from a hunter-gatherer point of view. And vice versa.

And as the Bushman saw the bottle as an "evil thing", Stephen King (and significant part of American people) see Hotel "Overlook" as an "evil place".

 

[Zavulon]

A friend of mine just compared "The Shining" with "The Gods Must be Crazy", told as a horror story from the Bushman's point of view. What is quite natural for a city dweller might be pretty horrible from a hunter-gatherer point of view. And vice versa.

And as the Bushman saw the bottle as an "evil thing", Stephen King (and significant part of American people) see Hotel "Overlook" as an "evil place".

And may be, here are roots of his Russophoby, either. He might even see Russia as some kind of "evil land" and Russians as "evil people".