Joseph Sciuto's Blog: A Curious View: A Compilation of Short Stories by Joseph Sciuto, page 37

JANE MAYER’S “DARK MONEY.”

The late Senator John McCain said, “That it is getting to the point in America where the only people who will have the ‘vote’ will be the rich.” In short, Mr. McCain was pointing to the very obvious realization that a very wealthy class of millionaire and billionaire donors to the political parties were controlling the narrative in American politics through the media, universities, and at the grass root levels.

Jane Mayer’s book “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right” is an astonishing, detailed, look at how billionaires, like the Koch Brothers, have for all practical purposes bought many of our politicians and have literally hijacked the political agenda and in so doing have forced their little whores (the politicians) to relax environmental controls, lower taxes, and deregulate safety controls and the health care system.

It is a sad and depressing look at American politics.[image error]

W.P. KINSELLA’S “SHOELESS JOE.”

W. P. Kinsella’s “Shoeless Joe” is a lyrical, magical composition with the game of BASEBALL at its center and like corn stalks in the vast Iowa fields and farms, the game, gives birth and sustenance to the dreams of the young and old, reinvigorates idle minds, and reinforces the importance of family, friends and the meaning of love.


 


Baseball has often been used as a metaphor for America, in films, books, songs, and plays, but seldom has it achieved the radiance and beauty displayed in Mr. Kinsella’s book.


 


The book was the inspiration for the film, “Field of Dreams” which also happens to be one of my favorite movies. The movie, except for a few character changes, follows the plot of the book fairly closely and they perfectly complement each other. They both fully express what I imagine every die hard baseball fan feels inside, the timeless intersection between our everyday lives and the triumphs and failures of the team we root for and root against.[image error]

Agatha Christie’s “THE ABC MURDERS.”

Simply Fantastic! Suspenseful, wonderfully written, with a cast of amazing characters. There is know wonder why Mrs. Christie, in my opinion, has sold over two billion books worldwide… S[image error]he is simply one of a kind, and anyone interested in becoming a writer would be wise to read her books.

JOSEPH ELLIS’ AMERICAN DIALOGUE: THE FOUNDERS AND US

Joseph Ellis’ “American Dialogue: The Founders and Us” is a stimulating, thought provoking book, that provides a dialogue (a debate) between the intentions and ideas of our Founding Fathers (Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison and patriots such as Franklin, John Jay, and Hamilton) and how they relate to our modern day politics and America’s place in the world. The sections of the book dedicated to the conversations (letters) exchanged between Presidents Adams and Jefferson and the part of the book dedicated mostly to President Washington are nothing short of amazing.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are literally dissected in such a way that one could easily come to the conclusion that both documents were written by men deeply flawed, uncertain, biased, and to a large extent racist, yet in the end there is no denying how brilliant both documents are and how disgracefully they have been interpreted and by our modern day politicians and Supreme Court Justices for political, ideological, and greedy purposes. The second amendment, as written by the Founders, was not intended to give all citizens the right to bear arms but only those serving in militias. So for all those gun-ho gun advocates, who skipped serving in Viet Nam because of bone spurs, but take great pleasure in killing unarmed animals you cowardly few, according to the correct reading of the Constitution should not even be allowed to own water pistols.

Joseph Ellis, along with a handful of current historians, have literally re-written American history and to them we owe a great deal of gratitude.[image error]

SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE’S “THE LAWS OF MEDICINE”

“The Laws OF Medicine” by Siddhartha Mukherjee (acclaimed author of “The Emperor of all Maladeries” and “The Gene”) is a short, engrossing, intellectually stimulating discussion that focuses on “medicine” as an uncertain science that despite all the technological advances still needs to rely on a one on one, doctor-patient, relationship to achieve a correct diagnosis and experimental certainty… There are simply too many variables in medicine to rely totally on technology to achieve accurate results. A patient’s history, behavior, environment, and family history are just a few things that are important in treating a patient’s illness and in running experimental trials that give you more perfect and correct result. Medicine, unlike physics, is an uncertain science and in order for it to continue to evolve it needs to look at all possible factors in treating patients and running important trials and not to rely solely on technology.[image error]

THERESA BROWN’S “CRTICAL CARE.”

Theresa Brown, former university English Professor, who decided to change her occupation and become an oncology nurse, is a wonderful and powerful writer. After reading her second book, “The Shift” that chronicled one shift on an oncology floor of a hospital, I just had to read something else by this extraordinary lady. And so, I chose her first book “Critical Care: A new nurse faces death, life, and everything in Between.” Like “The Shift” this book is a powerful, in your face, beautifully str[image error]uctured novel that presents a startling and realistic depiction of the life and death ordeals and trails that these unselfish, dedicated nurses face every day. Amazing and enlightening.

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S “THE MURDER ON THE LINKS.”

It’s Agatha Christie, and it’s wonderful. To anyone who wants to write mysteries, I suggest you read and study the works of Ms. Christie, and “The Murder On the Links” would be a perfect place to start. The plot is wonderful, the characters superbly developed, and the writing sublime.[image error]

Siddhartha Mukherjee’s “The Gene.”

A brilliant and majestic work, beautifully written, informative, and evocative. AMAZING![image error]

IMPEACHMENT: AN AMERICAN HISTORY.

“Impeachment: An American History” is a wonderful examination, unbiased analysis, and historical perspective on the process of impeachment. It is quite a relevant subject at the moment and for anyone seriously interested in the “pros and cons”of impeachment, and why the Founders found it necessary to include it in the Constitution, well, then this is a book for you. [image error]

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN’S, “WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR.”

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Wait Till Next Year” is simply wonderful. Beautiful! It is the book (memoir) that I wish I had the ability to write. The similarities between our childhoods (even though she is two decades ahead of me) are striking: We were both raised Catholic (in the true sense of the religion), the love of baseball ran through our bodies and members of our family like a life force, and the neighborhood and friends we grew up with were seen as extensions of our family. Neighborhoods where everybody knew each other and looked after each other.


 


I doubt I have ever read a book that so parallels my own childhood and took me back to a happy time that is almost impossible emulate, and will forever live in my memory.