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KRESSEL'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2017
JANUARY1.
by
Frank McCourtFinish date: January 7, 2017
Genre: Memoir
Rating: A
Review: This is the second of Frank McCourt’s trilogy of memoirs, but I read them out of order, so it’s the last for me. It has some of the childhood reminiscences of the first and even more of the teaching remembrances of the last, but mostly it’s about Frank’s journey from blue collar autodidact to college-educated professional. There’s also a bit about how he repeated his father’s mistakes and destroyed his marriage by drinking too much. For those parts, I was thinking, “No, Frank, no!” so I can only imagine how painful it must have been for him to write about. But because of those sections, I didn’t like this book as much as the other two. Even still, Frank McCourt’s voice is so poignant and funny, I can’t give him anything less than 5 stars.
Above all, his message is that of an encouraging teacher. What a privilege it must have been to be in his class! Clearly, he lived and breathed literature, but he is saying more than that. Everyone has a story to tell. No matter who you are, no matter how humble your background, if go back to your personal roots, you’ll find something valuable to say and possibly give solace to someone else.
If you loved his Pulitzer prize winner, read the next two books. Frank McCourt is awesome no matter what he writes.
2.
by
William UryFinish date: January 10, 2017
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: B+
Review: I recently heard William Ury discuss his approach to conflict resolution on the TED Radio Hour, and I was so impressed, I got hold of the most intriguing of his titles available at my local library. Inspired as I am by his overall message, this particular book wasn’t quite what I was looking for. It’s a series of transcriptions of speeches given at a symposium on conflict resolution, so William Ury is not the only contributor. The first two relied heavily on primate and anthropological studies to make their point, and I’m much more interested in reading about achieving peace amidst more modern challenges. William Ury’s explanation of “the third side” – the peace-seeking side of any conflict – was definitely the best part. So while the book encouraged me that there’s hope for finding the third side in my own conflict-ridden town, I definitely feel I need to read more on the subject. On to an inter-library loan of one of his other books.
3.
by
William J. LedererFinish date: January 16, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B
Review: As a work of literature, I didn’t find this book all that compelling, but it had historical impact, and that’s why I wanted to read it. It is written as fiction and set in the imaginary country of Sarkhan, but really it is a critique of American policy in Vietnam. It was published in 1958 when the French imperialists were leaving, the Communists were making inroads, and the U.S. was positioning itself for containment. American involvement was more diplomatic than military at that point, but author William Lederer was military brass with experience in Asia, and he had plenty of mistakes to call out. The main theme, which gets hammered home in chapter after chapter, is that the best way for the U.S. to aid Asia would be to send mechanically skilled people who were willing to work alongside the natives on the problems at hand. Hobnobbing within the elite diplomatic class was only making the natives resentful and giving the Communists the upper hand.
The book was a bestseller in its time, and it so impressed JFK that he distributed it to his fellow senators. Then, when he became president in 1960, he took the book’s recommendations and established the Peace Corps. Now that’s historical impact!
Unfortunately, the book didn’t have enough of an impact to actually prevent the Vietnam War. Ironically, then Vice President Nixon is quoted in the factual epilogue of the book, agreeing with the thesis and calling for more work on the ground. Somehow he forgot that when he got to the presidency. The only “on the ground” work he did was carpet bombing.
The authors note in the factual epilogue that the characters in the book are based on real people. I suppose the reason they opted for fiction was that it would have caused trouble for people if they had named actual names. But I think the book would have worked better as non-fiction, either as a journalistic exposé or even a personal memoir. Fiction should take you on a soul-searching journey with the protagonist, but this book didn’t stick with any one character long enough to achieve that. Instead, it’s a series of anecdotes demonstrating both the effective and wrong-headed approaches to diplomacy in Asia. Its point is as true now as it was then, and the impact of inspiring the Peace Corps is the sort of achievement authors dream of, but if you’re looking for a literary aesthetic, you won’t find it here. Read it for its historic value. It’s certainly got plenty of that.
Mod
4.
by
Malachy McCourtFinish date: January 24, 2017
Genre: Memoir/Humor
Rating: B+
Review: Poor Malachy McCourt. When his book came out, the reviewers said, “He’s not Frank.” Goodreads reviewers echoed the same sentiment. But I don’t think there was much rivalry between them. They shared their fame the same way they pooled money to bring their younger brothers and mother over to the States. Their first writing project was a collaboration - a two-man play I haven’t read yet. And then came the books, which include some interesting overlaps. Malachy depicts Frank as a real gentleman, which comes across in Frank’s own books and the interviews available on Youtube. Frank depicts the child Malachy as a “dote” who could charm any roomful of people and the life of every party in adulthood. That outgoingness definitely comes across in this book, and also, in any interview with Malachy you might want to catch on Youtube.
So it’s true that this book does not have the literary grace of Frank’s books, but my gosh, it’s funny! It’s also a bit ribald; Malachy tells you all about “sampling the fleshpots” in his travels from India to Europe. For that reason, I should probably put it on my “Regrettable Reads” shelf, but I can’t regret anything that made me laugh that hard. Frank’s books also made me laugh hard, but not as much as this. The man who drives me to work wondered, “What are you reading back there?” So I’m definitely looking forward to the resolution of Malachy’s story with his next memoir: how he got sober and lived happily ever after.
Mod
5.
by
Mary KarrFinish date: January 31, 2017
Genre: Memoir
Rating: C
Review: As part of my McCourt Brothers binge, I found a video in which Frank McCourt participates in a panel discussion of the art of the memoir with three other writers. Mary Karr was the only woman among them, so I was drawn to her book first. I skipped over her best-seller to this one because I wanted to learn how an accomplished female writer tackles that all-important milestone of everyone’s life: losing one’s cherry.
Like with many women, there were lots of drugs involved. The book is as much about drug use as it is about sex, and it’s also about being an intellectual misfit in a small town. But while I’ve read books with all these themes before, this book disturbed me more than most because there’s no redemptive ending. Even the self-actualization she is supposed to have achieved doesn’t seem all that revelatory. So this one goes on my “Regrettable Reads” shelf. And though I won’t rule it out entirely, I’m not particularly inclined to read anything by Mary Karr ever again.
FEBRUARY6.
by
David PogueFinish date: February 12, 2017
Genre: Personal Finance
Rating: B+
Review: This is a how-to book full of money-saving tips covering everything from coupon “clipping” websites to how to sign up for a paid clinical drug trial. It’s more of a reference book you’d want around the house than a cover-to-cover read to borrow from the library, but the latter is the way I read it anyhow. It was informative, and the tone was light enough to make it readable, but I’m glad to be done with it. I took notes, so who knows? Perhaps some of these tips might add up to some savings.
Mod
7.
by Deborah Solomon (no photo)Finish date: February 18, 2017
Genre: Biography
Rating: A
Review: I’ve never been a particularly big fan of Norman Rockwell, but because of this book, I’m sold on him now! What prompted me to read it was a comment on the call-in show “Indivisible Radio,” which aims to get Americans of diverse points of view to understand each other in these divided times. The comment was made on the show focusing on the urban/rural divide, and the caller said that she thinks that people who liked the slogan “Make America Great Again” were wishing for America to look like a Norman Rockwell painting. Knowing as I do that art is often born of the artist’s unfulfilled wishes and becomes popular when the public shares those same wishes, I was not at all surprised to learn that, as Chapter Two puts it, Norman Rockwell’s was not “a Norman Rockwell childhood.” But what did surprise me was how much the 1960’s liberalized him. His life and work are a microcosm of America in the 20th century, and this book shows his evolution in thorough detail.
The first stop in the story is the Armory Show of 1913, which introduced abstract expressionism to the American art world. Rockwell was a young art student at that time, but he remained true to the classic teachings of realistic painting. That meant he wasn’t taken seriously as an artist even though he was a master craftsman. The book compares his famous “Doctor and Doll” to the work of Rembrandt. As I’m no judge of artistic technique, I take the author’s word on it.
The book then goes into his personal life: his conflicted marriages and the possibility that he had homosexual tendencies. Other Goodreaders contend that the author didn’t provide sufficient evidence for the latter, but as she had access to his personal writings and quoted from them, I say she did. You’ll have to read the book to decide for yourselves.
Alongside his personal journey, the book chronicles his most famous paintings, whether from the Boy Scout calendar, the Saturday Evening Post, or his later stuff in Look magazine. It would take too long for me to go through all these, but I do want to highlight his most political paintings because they were completely new to me.
The first is actually a series of four called “The Four Freedoms.” They were published during World War Two and symbolized the freedoms America was fighting to protect: “Freedom of Speech,” “Freedom of Worship,” “Freedom from Want,” and “Freedom from Fear.” Note that the latter two aren’t constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, but they’re certainly at the heart of current debate. In this age of automation and displaced workers, does every American citizen have a right to a guaranteed income? Is health care also a right? And how do we protect ourselves from future acts of terror?
The other painting I want to discuss is the most famous painting of the Civil Rights movement, “The Problem We All Live With.” It’s a point of my ignorance that I didn’t know of it until now, and ironically, it was while I was reading this book that a parody of it garnered some Internet rage. Someone did a painting that replaces Betsy Devos for the African American schoolgirl, Ruby Bridges. I don’t quite get the point, but I can understand why people were angry about it.
It was this painting that sold me on Norman Rockwell and made me think of him more kindly after having learned what an inattentive husband he was. The Saturday Evening Post covers were all of white people in idyllic small town scenes, but Rockwell didn’t dream of an all-white world. He was pro-integration, anti-Vietnam, and became friends with Arlo Guthrie, though he was many decades older. I especially loved reading about this because we are living in times very similar to the sixties, except now, the youth protesters of the sixties are themselves in their sixties, but they’re out there alongside the millennials and middle-aged Gen Xers, and all of us are getting inspiration from 74-year-old Bernie Sanders.
So, did Norman Rockwell want America to look like a Norman Rockwell painting? It’s not so simple. He may have loved small town life, but he was flexible enough to understand that the Four Freedoms are for everybody.
Good review of this book. I will put it on my TRB.
Helga wrote: "Good review of this book. I will put it on my TRB."So nice to know that someone other than Bentley is actually reading this thread.
Mod
Loved that review, Kressel, and I'm going to have to add that book to my list. Thank you! :-)
Sorry to be part of the invisible crowd, Kressel. Your reviews are always little gems surrounding the books, like Asimov's autobio introductions to his short stories, but I rarely tag the books...so no comment, either.
Mod
Thanks so much for all your compliments!
MARCH8.
by
Michael LewisFinish date: March 3, 2017
Genre: Biography
Rating: A
Review: I’m a big fan of Michael Lewis, so when his new book was announced, I put myself on the waiting list for it at my public library. I probably would have read anything he published, even another sports business book (I haven’t read any of those yet), but since it was about a pair of Israeli psychologists, I was especially intrigued. Of course, I’d heard of their work before, but I’d never read them. I got my background from other books authors they influenced, namely Richard Thaler and Dan Ariely. Since Michael Lewis was the author of this, I expected to be informed about something complex in a clear and accessible way. What I did not anticipate was that the book would touch me emotionally.
As many of you are probably aware, Kahneman and Tversky were the two psychologists whose work became the foundation of behavioral economics. Traditional economics is predicated on the belief that human beings always act in their own self-interest and make rational choices as to what would best promote that interest. Kahneman and Tversky upended that view by proving that people make irrational decisions all the time. Now, that may seem obvious to anyone who knows human beings, but once you see all the common errors they broke down, you’ll start doubting every decision you’ve ever made in your entire life.
For me, though, even more affecting was learning about the “undoing” process that gave the book its name. The book states that the most common way for people to add to their own unhappiness is by going over their lives and thinking, “If only.” Again, this may seem obvious, but I’ll bet you’re like me and you underestimate just how much you do it. I have gone so far as to begin a whole memoir to undo my bad decisions. On my very first page, I express my wish for a time machine, and I allude to a few perfect entry points in my life where I might use it. Later in the memoir, I go into more detail. But now that I’ve read this book, I’m questioning whether it’s worthwhile for me to even continue the memoir. Yes, I want to undo and redo my life, but so does everyone else, so how interesting to others can that be?
But aside from all the self-questioning the book has gotten me to do, I really grew to like Danny and Amos. I identified more with Danny, who was the less aggressive of the two. Amos was a Sabra, a native Israeli, and a hero of the Six Day War. Danny had been a victim; the Nazis killed his father, and he escaped to Israel with his mother and sister. The two different life experiences made Danny a doubter and Amos a fighter, but they complemented one another, which is what made them such an effective team.
A few warnings to my Jewish friends: Danny and Amos were not religious, and there are some anti-Zionist statements throughout the book. I can look past that, but not everyone can.
I’ll also say one thing about the ending without giving anything away. It made me tear up. And that’s a first for me and a Michael Lewis book.
9.
by
James JoyceFinish date: March 4, 2017
Genre: Short Stories
Rating: A-
Review: I read this book as part of the Ireland Challenge here in the History Book Club, and since it’s a collection of short stories and we were reading at the pace of two stories per week, I was tandem reading it with other books. As I’ve said in other reviews, you kind of lose the feel of the book that way, though it is easier with a collection of short stories.
Perhaps I’m just not that wild about short stories in general. My mother used to say that she found them unsatisfying. As soon as you get to know and care about the character, the story is over. I agree with her in that, although some of the stories ended more vaguely or abruptly than others.
“The Dead,” which is the last story in the collection, is a 5 star story, but it’s almost a novella, so it can give that depth of character. It’s one of the best depictions of a long-standing marriage that I’ve ever read. Many of the other stories were really good, too, but some of them were just all right.
I completely understand why James Joyce is the pride of Ireland. But personally, when it comes to capturing the "voice of Ireland," I think Frank McCourt has surpassed him.
Kressel wrote: "MARCH8.
by Michael Lewis"If only.." you’ll start doubting every decision you’ve ever made in your entire life.
Not sure if I should read this, it would ruin even the best of days. Good review, though.
Mod
James Joyce
Frank McCourt
10.
by James Traub (no photo)Finish date: March 18, 2017
Genre: History
Rating: B+
Review: I read this as research for a historical fiction contest I hoped to enter, but I didn’t get very far before I realized that I wasn’t going to finish the book, much less my story, before the deadline. That put a real damper on my enthusiasm for the book, but I regained it in the second half. As has happened before with books that cover a broad swath of history, the closer the book got to my lifetime, the more I appreciated it.
The book is about the history of Times Square and 42nd Street, which were marketed as separate entities when 42nd Street turned into New York City’s center for porn, peep shows, and prostitution. The book begins with the birth of Broadway as a theatre district, but even in its golden age, Broadway always had elements just skirting the edge of conventional morality. Ziegfeld’s Follies were the first to push the envelope, and the heart of “legitimate” theatre remained Greenwich Village for a long time. It took a while for a Eugene O’Neil play to be produced on Broadway, but when it was, it was a sign that Broadway was no longer just for low and middle-brow musical extravaganzas.
The decline of theatre began in the 1950’s with the advent of television. Why pay Broadway prices when you could be entertained at home for free? The peep shows filled the commercial gap of that empty real estate, which attracted the lowest elements of society. The Beat poets loved hanging out there precisely for that reason. To those expatriates of suburbia, the seamer side of life was the only authenticity. The Beatnik connection was complete news to me; I always thought they preferred the Village.
With the urban decline of the 1970’s, the porn district of 42nd Street was so out of control, it might even have shocked the Beatniks. I grew up in New York in the 70’s and 80’s, and I remember knowing as a teenager that West 42nd Street was a place to be avoided. In my college years, I couldn’t avoid Port Authority because I’d travel to and from school over there, and so I got to see 42nd Street for myself. It was as disgusting as I’d always been told. I’d also been warned that pimps prey upon young naïve women at Port Authority. Nothing like that ever happened to me, but I did prove my naiveté by getting conned out of my last few dollars over there one time.
And then came the cleanup, though plans for it were under way for decades. Mayor Koch rejected the Disneyfication plan, saying New York would lose too much of its unique character. But Mayor Giuliani embraced the plan, legislating that porn shops could only operate at a certain distance from one another, which ended the concentration that made the neighborhood so distasteful. Now the Disneyfication of Times Square is complete. The Beatniks would probably vomit at what it looks like now, but as far as this New Yorker is concerned, it’s a much safer place to stand outside waiting for a bus.
If you like theatre history, you might like this book. Ditto if you have any interest in the development of New York. The research is thorough and the writing is mostly engaging, though the chapters bored me. (Interestingly, Donald Trump gets three mentions in the book: once in comparison to a media hound of early Broadway, once for gaudy architecture, and once as a statue at Madame Tussaud’s. The book was published in 2004; the author, as well of the rest of us, never could have dreamed that he would ever become president.) As for my own attempt at historical fiction, I think I might have done better with two of the books the author cited in his acknowledgements. Oh well. I certainly learned a lot.
11.
by
Pearl S. BuckFinish date: March 28, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Pearl S. Buck is most famous for her books on China, but when I learned that she wrote one about Korea, I just had to get hold of it. North Korea is regarded as one of the world’s biggest threats to stability, safety, and peace, so it seemed imperative to learn more Korean history. Almost everything I knew until now came from watching reruns of M*A*S*H.
As it turns out, Korea has a history that a Jew can appreciate. It’s an ancient culture with its own language and customs, but rarely has it had control over its own land. Japan, in its quest for empire, has periodically occupied it, and in such times, Korea has been forced to turn to China for protection, which of course comes at a political cost. Korea has been a pawn between these two great Asian powers for centuries.
The book opens in 1881 with nobleman Il-han Kim, favorite of the Korean Queen, who advises her to reach out to the Western powers instead of to China. After much political intrigue, both the Queen and Il-han are forced into exile. This political intrigue lasts for the entire Part I, but it is interspersed with domestic scenes with Il-han’s wife and sons. Sunia, Il-han’s wife, is one of my favorite characters in the entire book. She starts off as a stereotypically passive Asian woman, but as the book goes on, she gets bolder and savvier.
The book really picks up in Part II. Il-han’s sons are now young men, and as Western influence is beginning to shape Korea, each follows a different strain of it: one becomes a Christian, and the other a Communist. Japan regains control over Korea as a result of the Russo-Japanese war, and its rule makes for the most brutal scenes in the book. But my favorite scene is also in this section, and it involves none other than President Woodrow Wilson. If the book is historically accurate, and I have no reason to doubt it, then dominated peoples like the Koreans saw Wilson’s Fourteen Points as a great hope for their ultimate liberation and self-determination. Il-han gets an audience with Wilson, and it’s a mostly positive portrayal of the former president, which is quite a contrast to the way he’s seen these days in light of his attitude and treatment of African Americans. So I wondered: did Koreans and Poles and other diverse ethnic groups really attempt to meet and appeal to Wilson? If so, I want to read a non-fiction account of it. (I invite your recommendations.)
Part III is about the third generation and takes place during and immediately after World War II. The book ends with Japan’s defeat, which is when Korea was divided into North and South at the 38th Parallel, the cause of the Korean Conflict and the cause of its problems today. In her afterword, Ms. Buck observes, “The mistakes of history bring relentless reprisals.” Oh, such wisdom! So if you want more insights like that in novel form, I highly recommend this book. You won’t just learn about Korea. You’ll get a picture of the human potential for cruelty set against our potential for kindness and courage.
Sounds like a good read. And I like her books. Thanks for the review and recommend.
APRIL12.
by
Bernie SandersFinish date: April 8, 2017
Genre: Political Memoir
Rating: A
Review: Bernie supporters are bound to love this book, so I’ll address this review mainly to my conservative friends, though I hope my liberal friends will benefit from it also.
The book is divided into two parts: an autobiographical section and a policy section. Bernie supporters will enjoy the autobiography, which traces his childhood all the way to the presidential campaign, but conservatives may want to skip right to the policy section. It details the same message Senator Sanders always gives over, but with more stats and figures, which the longer form of a book allows for more than stump speeches or TV interviews. The Senator makes a convincing case as to how our system is rigged to benefit the rich, and then shows in plain numbers how our tax system can be changed to fix it. I think every American should read this section, but if you’re a conservative, and you just don’t feel like it, then if nothing else, read pages 149 through 152 because those were written just for you. It’s the text of the speech that Bernie gave at Liberty University, the Christian college founded by Jerry Falwell. If you’re a Never Trump type of conservative, you may also be interested to know that Bernie and his team worked with Senator McCain and his team on a bill to benefit veterans. And if you’re a Jewish conservative who suspects that Bernie despises his own Jewish roots, be aware that one of his oldest friends is a Chabadnik who teaches religion at the University of Vermont. (I was so excited to learn that, I wrote the man an email.)
To Bernie supporters, this book is a gem. The autobiographical section gets a little repetitive, but it’s worth it for the little tidbits you’ll learn about Bernie. The policy section is more important, though.
May G-d bless Bernie Sanders. He kept true to his ideals his entire life, and now he’s waking them up across the generations.
13.
by
Masha GessenFinish date: April 15, 2017
Genre: Biography
Rating: A
Review: More than just a biography of Vladimir Putin, this book is a journalistic account of the pro-democracy movement in Russia, and not just today, but when communism first fell. I’ve been wanting to read a book on that subject for years, and I always thought I’d find it in a good biography of Mikhail Gorbachev, but it turns out that the real story lies in the protests by every day folk on the street. Gorbachev never intended to topple the Soviet Union. He opened the door a crack, but it was the people who burst their way through.
The book makes a compelling case that Putin is a thug and a thief who runs Russia like a mob boss. It points to numerous murders he might be responsible for. Whether you believe Trump’s team colluded with him or not, it’s worth reading about him because he’s a genuine threat to world peace and stability.
But for all that, the book gives reason to hope, especially in the epilogue. The world may be run by ruthless oligarchs, but we the people, whether Russian or American, may just be able to rise up, resist, and take back democracy.
14.
by
Susan Wittig AlbertFinish date: April 17, 2017
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B+
Review: The author of this book is my friend on Goodreads, and since she has been nice enough to read my reviews in all this time, when I saw her latest book at my library, I thought it was high time I read some of her work.
The book is a mystery, and the protagonist has her own series, though the book works just fine as a stand-alone. There are actually two mysteries happening in this book: one starring the ex-attorney protagonist and one starring her husband the ex-cop. The book alternates between the two stories, and while one has more action and the other a little romance, both storylines keep the pages turning. It’s not great literature, but it was a fun read in between heavy books about the state of the world. Next time I need a pick-me-up like that, I’ll probably read more from this author.
Mod
Kressel wrote: "APRIL12.
by Bernie SandersFinish date: April 8, 2017
Genre: Political Memoir
Ratin..."
Great review. I'm anxious to read this book. i have it on my shelf and need to find time for it.
Kressel wrote: "APRIL12.
by Bernie SandersFinish date: April 8, 2017
Genre: Political Memoir
Ratin..."
I went to see him speak shortly after the November election when he was starting his book tour. Decidely pro-Bernie crowd (Seattle is a liberal bastion), and I was impressed with his passion and intellect. I don't always agree with his viewpoint and his personal advocacy style doesn't always resonate with me, but I'm interested to read this book.
He doesn't come across as someone who minds an audience who disagrees with him. After all, he went to speak at Liberty University!
It was something of a hero worship crowd!
15.
by
Jane AddamsFinish date: April 25, 2017
Genre: Biography
Rating: A-
Review: I first learned of Jane Addams and Hull House when I read the biography of Frances Perkins (FDR’s Labor Secretary and the first woman to serve on the Cabinet) because she got her start in social work as a Hull House resident. The philosophy of the place was to house and serve the poor, but its founder Jane Addams and residents like Frances Perkins lived there, too, without class distinction. Many of the beneficiaries were immigrants and were therefore educated by the American-born residents, but the American born residents, and certainly Jane Addams, were open to learning from the immigrants, too. It was an egalitarian approach, and Addams wrote eloquently about the problems of class privilege, particularly for young women. They were educated on noble and democratic values and spared from much menial labor, but without it, they were losing touch not just with life for the less privileged but with essential parts of themselves. And if they went on, as Frances Perkins did, to become managers of social services, they had already become accustomed to seeing the problems and their solutions from the bottom up and not the top down.
Another Goodreads reviewer said that he used to be a libertarian, but then he read Addams’ descriptions of working conditions in the days before the child labor laws and the eight-hour workday, and that “slapped him silly” and set him straight. This book will definitely have that effect on you, even if you don’t lean libertarian. You will also be tremendously impressed by Jane Addams for what she accomplished. She was both supremely kind yet completely down-to-earth. In the course of the book, she visits Leo Tolstoy at his collective farm in Russia. He influenced not just her, but Gandhi, the kibbutz movement, and Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker movement, which is a heck of a track record, but he came across as self-righteous when he chastised her for having too much fabric on her shirt sleeves. I can’t imagine Jane Addams ever doing that to anybody.
The one flaw in this book is the stiff prose style. Jane Addams was no Jane Austen. So while this isn’t a very long book, it can be a slow read. This particular edition was especially bad because there were no tabs, so new paragraphs kind of snuck up on me. Call me a nitpicker, but that bogged me down. Even still, I recommend the book just for what Jane Addams accomplished at Hull House. This country, if not the world at large, needs more Hull Houses.
Did you see David Brooks' column in the NYT yesterday? Directly on point!
No, I didn't, but his recent The Road to Character contains a chapter on Dorothy Day and another on Frances Perkins.
by
David Brooks
Alisa wrote: "Did you see David Brooks' column in the NYT yesterday? Directly on point!"Oh my gosh! I just printed it out. Thank you for telling me!
I love Road to Character. Am a fan of his writing and regularly read his column.The Frances Perkins book was really good too. Such an amazing woman. Even after reading the book I still find it hard to imagine the nerves of steel it must have taken for her to be bold!
by
David Brooks
by
Kirstin Downey
17.
by
Robert B. ReichFinish date: May 9, 2017
Genre: Economics
Rating: A
Review: Regular viewers of Robert Reich’s “Resistance Report” will find the arguments in this book very familiar, but it was written before the 2016 election, which only goes to prove how prescient Robert Reich is. He argues that because of the anti-regulatory business environment that has taken hold since the 1980’s, the influence of money in politics, made all the worse by Citizens United, and the automation and disappearance of more and more of our jobs, the American capitalist system has become so top-heavy that it will collapse if we don’t regulate it to share more of the wealth. Luckily, Reich takes the optimistic point of view, showing times in American history when we chose democracy over runaway capitalism, trimming away at the excesses that concentrate wealth into the hands of the few. If that sounds too socialistic for you, consider some of Reich’s more pessimistic statements: 1) there is no unemployment under slavery and 2) in the medieval era, there was no middle class. The entire economy survived for centuries, benefitting only a small wealthy class.
Do you want to go back to slavery or feudalism? A modern version of it may be evolving as the middle class disappears. So to all my libertarian-leaning friends: all this fear of “big government” interfering with the “free market” is unfounded. The people in big business are using government to benefit themselves, and the best thing we can do for democracy is to make government responsive to our needs.
18.
by Bonnie Friedman (no photo)Finish date: May 13, 2017
Genre: Writing
Rating: A-
Review: Whenever I come across a book about writer’s block, I can never resist it. Part of me hopes the book will have The Answer to My Problems, even though I’ve read enough of these books to know that the problem is internal and books can only help in the short term. What I liked about this book is that the author seemed to understand precisely that. She offered no cures or techniques and very little advice. Instead, she related her own experiences as a writer and gives over the insights she’s come to along the way. In that sense, the book was like a memoir: one human being relating her life experience so that other human beings can recognize themselves and gain from it.
The main way I saw myself in this book was in the search for The Answer to My Problems, which isn’t quite the way the author phrases, but she does apply the drive for success to writers’ dreams of writing school and of publication itself. Many of us are dreaming of being “discovered,” but when we finally do get that acceptance letter, and our lives aren’t magically transformed into happily-ever-after, we run the risk of becoming cynical, laughing at our old egoistic ambition, yet secretly harboring it all the while. That’s when writer’s block sets in. Our old dreams get modified by reality, but we lose faith in ourselves with it, or we just lose motivation without all that vainglory driving us. How does a writer get past that point? By writing anyway, not because you’re going to produce a blockbuster, but because you love the writing process.
Now, these aren’t original points. Plenty of other writing books say exactly the same thing. But the book is worth reading for its contemplative tone. I’ve given the book a 4, but there are some 5-star gems of wisdom here. If you’re a writer, you’ll see yourself, and as a reader, you’ll appreciate it.
19.
by Kate Hennessy (no photo)Finish date: May 26, 2017
Genre: Biography
Rating: A
Review: Even though I’m an Orthodox Jew, I have a deep connection to Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker movement. I volunteered at one of her “hospitality centers” a/k/a homeless shelters when I was in high school, and it was there that I was given the name of the man who would eventually become my first rabbi, Reb Shlomo Carlebach. I was also offered the chance to live there as a volunteer, but I did the conventional thing and went to college instead. What a mistake! I might have lived the life of spirituality and service I’d been searching for right away. Instead, I didn’t follow up with Reb Shlomo for another three years, and I never gave the Catholic Worker itself a second thought until very recently. Dorothy Day has been getting more notice lately. The Pope mentioned her in his address to Congress in 2015. Only then did I realize that the offer I’d received back then was part of a greater historic tradition of service. I’ve been both flattered and curious ever since. But to add something beyond my own personal interest, many say that the Pope’s public mention of her is an indication that she’s under consideration for canonization.
Because of all that, I went into this biography expecting to read about a saint, but this book is anything but hagiographic. The author is Dorothy Day’s granddaughter, and she doesn’t shy away from showing her grandmother’s feet of clay. Dorothy’s own daughter, the author’s mother, had a rather harsh life as a result of her mother’s conversion. As a child, she had to share her with the many needy people who came through the Catholic Worker. Then she followed the Catholic prescriptions of marrying young and having lots of kids. She also followed the back-to-the-land prescriptions of Peter Maurin, the movement’s co-founder. While farming may seem romantic to urbanites like Dorothy and me, it’s much harder to actually live it, and this book shows how poorly the farms fared over the years. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but I ended up admiring Tamar (the daughter) much more than Dorothy. It was my impression that Dorothy admired her more, too.
Before I read this book, I identified with Dorothy Day because had a bohemian youth and became religious, and I hoped the book would teach me how to incorporate left-wing values into religious practice. But what I discovered from the book was a different parallel to my life: the pitfalls of religious child-rearing. There’s nobody more gung-ho than a convert or baal teshuva, but in attempting to give over our values to our kids, we often end up causing them to resent those very same values. And yet, both Tamar and Kate (the author) love Dorothy and the Catholic Worker. So I can only conclude that religion is a complex matter. It appeals to the best side of us, but often, we and the others around us don’t measure up. What’s to be done about it? Be like Peter Maurin. Show your fellows forgiveness and patience. Everybody has a yetzer hara, even saints.
It's not the kind of book i'd care to read, but your review excels at getting the main points across. Now onto Wikipedia for Peter Maurin.
Dimitri wrote: "It's not the kind of book i'd care to read, but your review excels at getting the main points across. Now onto Wikipedia for Peter Maurin."Of all the people I learned about in this book, Peter Maurin was definitely my favorite.
20.
by
Michael R. WeisserFinish date: May 31, 2017
Genre: History
Rating: B
Review: Remember the scene in “The Frisco Kid” when Gene Wilder as a Hasidic Jew sees some Amish people and, thinking they’re Hasidic too, calls to them with the word, “Landsleit!”? That is the plural form of the word “landsman,” which is a Yiddish word for people from the same village (shtetl). If one meets another, he might offer his hand and say, “Landsman,” especially if they’re far away from home at the time. People from the same place are expected to look out for one another. And so, when Jews emigrated to America, they formed “landsmanschaftn,” small organizations of landsleit that kept ties with the old shtetl and helped each other out.
The landsmanschaftn were often the point of first contact for new immigrants to America, and while they did help with jobs and other needs, they also sent money and care packages back to Europe, especially during and after the two world wars. They were never particularly wealthy, and many immigrants left them in favor of the settlement houses and other groups that promoted assimilation, but some of them were still hobbling along in the 1980’s when this book was published.
Though this book would be of interest to people who love Jewish history, it is sort of a niche topic and definitely not a beginner’s book. The stories about the contact between the landsmanschaftn and the shtetlach during and after the war are beautiful and moving, but they’re sandwiched in between detail that would probably bore most people. The author is a secular academic, so not only is his writing style dry, his bias shows. He describes the process of assimilation with absolute accuracy, but his attitude toward the minority who stuck with Orthodoxy and/or the landsmanschaftn is not particularly respectful. For example, when he tells the story of a lens grinder who chose to remain in a Sabbath-observant shop instead of using his skills in a better-paying job, he makes the man’s choice sound almost perverse.
Since my family followed the precise pattern of assimilation he describes, down to the move from the Lower East Side to Queens, I know how spiritually empty I and other Jews of my generation found our Americanized upbringing. I also know that at the time he was writing this book, thousands of young Jews were returning to their roots through the kiruv movement, and yet he seems entirely unaware of it. So to take the long view of Jewish history, we seem to go through a pendulum swing of rebellion and return through the generations. Perhaps, when the rebels and the traditionalists can finally respect one another, we’ll bring in that awaited era of true peace.
Kressel wrote: "19. by Kate Hennessy (no photo)Finish date: May 26, 2017
Genre: Biography
..."
Very good review, Kressel. I was a Catholic schoolgirl for years and learned about Dorothy Day then. She was held up to us as an example of living the faith by an ordinary Catholic and how much good could be done by the lay person, etc., etc. Can't remember that we were ever told about her more adventurous lifestyle. The nuns would have thought that was much too risque for such virginal ears, I'm sure. But Dorothy Day was highly praised. Glad to hear how much you liked it as I have it on my own list, too.
Pamela wrote: "Kressel wrote: "19. by Kate Hennessy (no photo)Finish date: May 26, 2017
G..."
Not only was she a bohemian in her youth, she had an abortion!
JUNE21.
by
Rose Wilder LaneFinish date: June 4, 2017
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: A-
Review: Little House fans who’ve carried their fandom into adulthood already know about Team Laura versus Team Rose. For those not in the know, there are scholars who argue that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, was the real writer of the Little House series. But there are also plenty of Laura defenders who absolutely reject that idea. As is my wont, I took the middle of the road approach and viewed the series as a close collaboration between the two, but his book tilts me more in favor of Rose. Its storytelling style is very similar to Little House, though the subject matter is meant for a more mature audience.
This is Rose’s coming of age story, her transition from country girl to feminist of the early twentieth century. The transition comes mainly, though not exclusively, through a love triangle as Rose navigates the choices between the church-going boy from back home and the city sophisticate she marries and divorces. Feminists may applaud Rose’s ultimate independence, but it should not be overlooked that Rose had a keen nostalgia for domesticity, which of course comes through in the Little House series.
If you’re one of those Laura defenders who can’t view Rose charitably, you probably won’t like this book, but I found it an amazingly relevant story about lost innocence. You don’t have to have been raised on the prairie to appreciate it. If you’ve ever felt like a fish out of water, you’ll relate to Rose’s mistakes.
The History Book Club
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