Larry’s Comments (group member since Nov 23, 2020)

Larry’s comments from the Nonfiction Reading - Only the Best group.

Clicking on the GoodReads link takes you to some comments about the content of the book, including this, "the efforts, by Churchill in particular, to prevent post-war publication of the captured German documents which detailed the Duke's Nazi intrigues." I imagine that Churchill feared for the backlash against the whole House of Windsor, and concern that the British public reaction might not be able to be contained to one that focused on Edward alone.

And John, that price will cause me to hold off for now also. I do see that Scribd has the audiobook available.

John wrote: "Only from what I could glean from the book and some other items over the years, he strikes me as a pathetic individual. When you look at things written and said by those who knew him, you cannot find a word of praise...."

Pathetic indeed.

Carol, my DIL had been training but she will be with three friends, and the four have opted for the plan where a tour bus drives them up to the entrance of the site.

John, I only learned about the van Doren book after I read how Thomas Merton came to encounter him by accidentally stepping into his class at Columbia. Merton was transfixed by Van Doren’s lecturing … and stayed. So about a year ago, I bought that Shakespeare book in its NYTB trade paperback format as a used book … but it was one of those lucky occurrences when it really is a new book being resold as a used book. Just magical writing and really revelatory in telling about what sometimes doesn’t work well in Shakespeare, e.g. some of the poetry.

Carol wrote: "I had never heard of Lionel Trilling so looked him up. I see he is described as Columbia's most famous literary critic; also mentioned was Mark Van Doren, described as Columbia's most famous author..."


Carol, in my posting on the best books on Shakespeare, I had this: "Mark Van Doren's Shakespeare … My favorite book on Shakespeare’s plays, and I only found it in the last year. From 1948. Odd language in some of the essays, and I love it for that. You could argue that it’s the academese of the late 1940s, and that’s probably part of it. But I think it’s mainly Mark Van Doren carefully choosing exactly what he wants to say in his own particular way. The book covers all of his plays and has one essay on his poetry."

That posting is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Carol, we had a most American July 4 celebration yesterday. I cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken on the grill to go along with potato chips, salad, and apple cake. We ate early at 4:00pm because my daughter-in-law was leaving for Peru this morning at 5:00am to do Machu Picchu later this week.

John, we have one of Trilling’s books somewhere in our basement. My wife used it in one of her classes for her masters in English at University if Virginia in 1971-72.

Carol wrote: "If it wasn't for the Sherpas I don't think any of these people would make it to the summit! Not enough credit is given to them, but at least it gives them an income escorting foreigners up their mountains..."

I totally agree with that about the Sherpas. I think that finally they are beginning to get paid more for their work with climbers.

Carol wrote: "Many famous people of Welsh descent in the US, including Jefferson, John Adams and Daniel Morgan. Jefferson evidently said his father came from the foothills of Snowdon and he spoke and wrote Welsh..."

Carol, fascinating comments about Welsh. Some of the words are so long and so complex.

John wrote: "Although I have Goodbye to all That on my Kindle app and can read on my iPad, I am enjoying reading it via my trade paperback."

John, I am reading the trade paperback also ... and marking it up extensively. These days, I think that 95 percent of the books that I read are ebooks, mainly Kindle but some on the Scribd app also.

And Carol, I also appreciate your comments about the Welsh. He mentions at the beginning of the war, his Royal Welch Fusiliers regiment only had about one Welsh speaker for every 50 men.

John, I am starting Ch.11 also. Some comments about the previous two chapters: A great discussion about George Mallory, one of the world's top mountain climbers. He was not liked at Charterhouse, either by the boys because he didn't share their love of sports or by the the headmasters because he was too friendly with the boys. But Graves greatly enjoyed his climbing experiences with Mallory.

Ch.10 -- he finishes at Charterhouse, England declared war on Germany. He immediately enlists. A few months later he talks with a number of officer friends, all of whom have a German parent. He is detached to serve at an internment camp for Germans in the UK. He explains to done of the prisoners that they are safer inside the camp than outside. Even boys were interned.

When returned to his regiment, the adjutant decides his uniform is unsatisfactory for being deployed to France. His whole battalion volunteers for service overseas except for one man who eventually is declared medically unfit.

And Carol, it's one of my favorites also. Here's another poem for the day ... just copied from Facebook, from a posting today by Mark Edmundson:

Though Wordsworth is mainly known as a sober, contemplative poet, he can also render beauty with real exuberance. (Being here in the Lake District, we've learned what a big deal it is actually to see the sun.)

From "Resolution and Independence":
All things that love the sun are out of doors;
The sky rejoices in the morning's birth;
The grass is bright with rain-drops;—on the moors
The hare is running races in her mirth;
And with her feet she from the plashy earth
Raises a mist, that, glittering in the sun,
Runs with her all the way, wherever she doth run.

John wrote: "I am at the point where he enlists. I suspect there will be some harrowing trench scenes ahead. The idea and discussion of trenches in that war has always interested me. Artillery weapons got so hu..."

John, I'm right before that point. He makes a very important point (at least for him I think it was important) about how two of his younger brothers actually were at University before him ... because of the delay for him casued by his war service.

Carol wrote: "Rochambeau, the French commander, had experienced 16 sieges."

Carol, the main bridge from Virginia into Washington, DC is the Rochambeau Bridge, although most people in the DC area just call it the 14th Street Bridge. I used to work a few blocks north of it ... in the massive USDA building at 14th Street and C Street. I loved the office that I had there ... I actually had windows I could open on nice days in the Spring and Autumn.

https://www.mapquest.com/us/district-...

Carol wrote: "I think those words are meant to refer to the 'fighting spirit' shown on the Eton playing fields rather than the bullying and abusive behaviour which went on in the school. Eton was founded by Henry VI in 1440. 20 of the 55 British Prime Ministers went to Eton, and 9 then went to Christ Church, Oxford.."

Carol, I think you are exactly right.

Melanie wrote: "You guys sound great but may I be taking off this list? I have changed account settings but for some reason get many posts a day from your group. Happy reading!"

Melanie, I don't think we can control your updates. I think you have to do that yourself. After all my years on GoodReads, I still have problems getting or not getting updates from the various bookclubs myself.

Carol wrote: "Charterhouse is one of the leading public schools. (A public school, is in fact, a private school, not for the public as its name might suggest!). It is only for the wealthy, although sometimes sch..."

I think that Charterhouse was the fifth public school that Graves went to ... and that he stayed there for the last five year of his education before he went off to the war and then came back tot he university. He handled it ab out as well as it could have been handled with a lot of bullying. The fact that he got into boxing probably was one of the things that saved him ... along with the poetry. That bullying is just despicable though. It seem obvious that it came from turning the "running of the school" over to the older boys. I guess one good thing that came from that kind of experience was referenced by the Duke of Wellington when supposedly said “The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton." But apparently he never said that, and Eton was not a particularly good experience for him.

John wrote: "Interestingly enough, the more I reread the poem, the less like Larkin it sounds to me. Strange, because my initial reaction was that it did sound like him.

I suppose it has to do with his sardonic style. It was sardonic and aloof to some degree, and also wise without being pedantic. "

John, you are so right about all of this. But sometimes Larkin doesn't sound like Larkin. He does have that "sardonic style" and it usually comes through strongly ... but not always.

Carol wrote: "It is certainly not dissimilar to Larkin's poetry. AI often terrifies me. Do we know what we are doing? Well, if we don't, I expect AI will soon tell us. It always reminds me of our attempts to tel..."

I suspect that we won't even know when AI achieves sentience/sapience/consciouness but we will know at some point afterwards. The growth in intelligence after that occurs probably won't be measureable. Because of movies like the Terminator series, people probably worry too much about AI controlled weapons and not enough about AI controlled healthcare, etc.