To continue on the reviewer-ish roll from yesterday. I understand the word "contemporary" in the headline to exclude any books that are primarily concerned with any events prior to the contested presidential election of 2000. And I will keep the chief focus here on U.S. politics, though I hasten to add that the concern is not insularity. At least three of them are focused on the contentious relationship of the United States to the rest of the globe. Without further ado: 1) Woodword, STATE OF DENIAL (2006). Woodward writes a fair amount of dross, but this is one of his better efforts IMHO, looking at how the Bush administration managed to persuade itself that the cause of peace required a U.S. occupation of Iraq. 2) Isikoff & Corn, HUBRIS (2006). Much the same focus as the first book. But where Woodward is concerned with showing Bush's self-delusion, this book focuses on the efforts of the group around Bush to delude the rest of us. 3) Woolen, DONALD TRUMP (2009). N...
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One of my Christmas gifts this year was SHE AND ALLAN, a late-life novel by the classic fantasy-adventure writer, H. Rider Haggard, first published in 1921. The problem (and I only confide this because I am confident that the friend who gifted this volume to me doesn't read blogs!), is that I no longer read this sort of book. There was a time in my life when I would have found it delightful. Haggard has a wonderfully vigorous way of telling a story and his imagination stands up in comparison with Tolkien's. Haggard's imagination didn't lead him to world-creation on the Tolkienesque level -- his stories were set in Africa amidst the scrambling of rival empires, and in one classic case he set a tale in Tibet -- but it did lead him to marvels. His character, Allan Quartermain, became the inspiration for Spielberg's "Indiana Jones," and Allan is of course one of the two title characters of this novel, which presumably brings Allan together with the mysterio...
Restating yesterday's list: The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt, 1951. Mere Christianity , C.S. Lewis, 1952. Philosophical Investigations , Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1953. The Doors of Perception, Aldous Huxley, 1954 Eros and Civilization , Herbert Marcuse, 1955 The White Negro, Norman Mailer, 1956 Anatomy of Criticism , Northrop Frye, 1957 Verbal Behavior, BF Skinner, 1958 Some Notes on H.P. Lovecraft , August Derleth, 1959 The Lotus and the Robot, Arthur Koestler, 1960. A Study of History, Arnold Toynbee; 1961; The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn, 1962 Can we break these down at all in thematic classification? There are three that don't help much with classification. They don't fit with each other or any of the other nine: that is, they constitute a natural "other" group. The "other" is usually listed last,. Here, in a transgressive spirit, I list it first. These three are: a work of Christian ...
I was dining in a restaurant recently that seemed to have a mid-century ambience. Abstract expressionism on the walls, reminding me of the pre-Warhol New York art scene, and '50s jazz coming from the speakers. So through the forward chugging of my train of associations I ended up asking myself: who were the most prominent philosophers of the period? For purposes of precision let's define the period at issue by pop-culture landmarks that themselves seem self-evident: Catcher in the Rye (1951) and the Beatles's first hit single, "Love me do" (1962). The first names that occurred to me, while still eating that fine dinner, were: Skinner, Marcuse, Toynbee. But wasn't Skinner a psychologist? Well, I'm a Jamesian, so the distinction between psychology and philosophy isn't one I'm programmed to process. Was Toynbee a historian or a philosopher of history? Hmmm. When I got home I asked for help at a couple of websites and I've expanded t...
The September issue of Harper's included a collective review of two books and one recent documentary film about sneakers, under the headline, "Joint Ventures: How sneakers became high fashion." The reviewer, Charles Bock, is described as the author of a forthcoming novel called Alice & Oliver. The three works are as follows: Where'd You Get Those? New York City's Sneaker Culture 1960 - 1987. Tenth Anniversary Edition, by Bobbito Garcia; Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture , by Elizabeth Semmelback. Sneakerheadz 70 min. Directed by David T. Friendly and Mick Partridge. I'll just offer one brief quote from the review here: Nobody could know, of course, what was coming. In the Eighties, Reebok was the reigning sneaker king, thanks to a focus on women's aerobics. In 1984, Nike's stock was dropping -- the Oregon-based company had recently closed one of its New England facilities. Ten million dollars hadbeem cit from the company...
I'm looking (not for any good reason) at THE BLOCK ISLAND TIMES for July 18th, 2015. Block Island, as many of my readers surely know, is a summer tourist haven off the southern coast of Rhode Island, with wonderful beaches and fishing, and some fascinating Native history/archaeology. Because I'm feeling lazy, I'll let you know what events there were advertised in the newspaper above referenced. A four week discussion series is underway there of a new theological work entitled DID GOD KILL JESUS? SEARCHING FOR LOVE IN HISTORY'S MOIST FAMOUS EXECUTION by Tony Jones. The book is to be discussed every Thursday beginning with July 18th at Harbor Church. Also, there was an opening reception at the Spring Street Gallery showing the work of Kate Bird. I've included a photo of that artist here. There is a summer concert series underway, featuring such musicians as Martin Soderberg, vocalist Megan Bisceglia, singer/songwriter Kevin Briody, and pianist/cellist Jonath...
Newly received book: HOW POLICY SHAPES POLITICS: RIGHTS, COURTS, LITIGATION, AND THE STRUGGLE OVER INJURY COMPENSATION. Authors: Jeb Barnes and Thomas F. Burke. Barnes is an associate professor of political science at USC, with a focus on the politics of health policy. Burke is a professor of political science at Wellesley. The title of this book is embarrassingly generic. Of course policy shapes politics. A former poli sci professor of mine used to characterize policy as the "output" of the political system, but with the understanding that of course there is a "feedback loop," with the results of the output continuing to the next day's political debates. That was at Marist College, not USC or Wellesley, but I doubt the title here means much more than is implied in that observation. The subtitle, though, states in a more sensible manner what this book is about.
I'm guessing that post headline will serve as click-bait. Welcome, new readers. This is my first mention of the famous/notorious Chevron/Ecuador controversy in this blog. And I mention it simply to refer to a new book on the subject, Crude Awakening, Information here, The author is Michael Goldhaber, an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University. Vent your spleen (at either side in the controversy) in the comments section. Thanks.
The September issue of HARPER's included a review by David Quammen of three recent books on the subject of the Neanderthals. What caught my attention, and made me want to commonplace a bit of this, was Quammen's digression onto the two different sorts of biology in general. There are biologists who look at their field as a batter of applied chemistry -- molecules interacting and compounding. There are also biologists who look at life on the level of the organism, or on the still broader level of the whole populations or ecosystems. Reductionists versus holists, if you will, although those words are judgment freighted. Quammen speaks of organismic versus molecular biology. Here's a passage, without further comment. You may have missed this argument, unless you work in the field or are somehow involved with the allocation of university budgets and buildings. It has been quiet and internecine but bitter, and traceable back to the late 1950s and early 60s, when Edward O...
Meyer, the author of this book, now lives in England and seems to have no academic post, though he used to teach in the US -- apparently at three different colleges -- and has his MA from the University of Minnesota. The Borgias is aimed at a broad audience and is not particularly academic in form. It has a thin set of endnotes and (given the subject) a very thin bibliography. I say that as a matter of transparency, not that I would hold that against him. My last book had neither of those. One enthusiastic reviewer has called Meyer's book "an incredibly interesting and quite frankly brilliant read, and one I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone interested in learning about the history of this fascinating family." I won't review the book, I'll just quote the following passage, which concerns the relation between the Borgia family (especially Cesare) and the philosopher Machiavelli. "Like everyone associated with Florence's post-Medici repu...
HANDBOOK OF RESEARCH on IPOs, ed. Mario Levis, 512 pp. Catalog says that this book "provides a comprehensive review of all the emerging trends and directions in the global IPO markets." Another research collection just out is: GOVERNANCE AND FAMILY FIRMS ed. Julio Pindado and Ignacio Requejo, both of the Universidad de Salamanca, in Spain. Catalog quotes Lloyd Steier, of the University of Alberta, "The compilation of articles in this book offer some of the most rigorous and relevant research relative to governance conducted in the pas decade." Something more abstract/theoretical: WHY IS THERE MONEY?: Walrasian General Equilibrium Foundations of Monetary Theory, by Ross M. Starr, University of California, San Diego. Walras' work is generally thought to have been superceded by the Arrow-Debreu model. This author begs to differ. I'll give a final item, on a trade policy question: THE US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE Facts, Figures and Myths, by Imad Moosam ...
I made five Resolutions last year. I have kept, let us say, 2.5. The resolutions were these: 1. Get my car through December 2012 in good working order. I'm happy to report that the car is doing fine. 2. Make an entrepreneurial investment. Did absolutely nothing in this line. Oops. 3. There was a computer-tech related resolution concerning entry into the 21st century. I'm giving myself half a point for this one. I have gotten Skype and and did get the audio problem resolved, but I'm still not comfortable scanning and can't work the printer due to some software problem. 4. My book did come out early this year, but sales fell far short of where I had resolved they would be, so this one counts as a Fail. 5. Venture outside the borders of the US. Success! I did get to London for the Trading Technology conference. So, counting (1) and (5) as full successes, and (3) as a half success, I get my 2.5 score. Well ... I've had worse years. For the ...
Last week I quoted the philosopher John Dewey on the difference between life and non-living matter. "The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered. While the living thing may easily be crushed by a superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence." A friend asked why I considered that profound. I'll reproduce here my response, with some very slight re-working. _____________________________ One obvious example of what Dewey has in mind is the immune system in humans and in just about all other creatures with blood coursing through veins. There is a wide range of infections which cause various nasty diseases in humans, whence most of those struck can and do recove...
Every once in awhile I receive in the mail a catalog of "bargain books" from the Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller Company in Falls Village, CT. If there ever was a time when I knew how I had gotten onto their mailing list, that time has long since gone. Still, the catalog makes for some downtime browsing. Here are seven randomly chosen entries, by category: ART BOOKS The Mammoth Book of Tattoos. Ed. by Lal Hardy. Brings together 80 leading tattoo artists from the US, UK, and Europe who have made a name in body art. Over 500 photographs of tattoos cover the full range of styles, including new work made possible only by recent advances in the medium. Includes work from George Bone, Tim Kern, Kim Saigh, and others. Full illus in color. 447 pages. Running Press. Paperbound. Pub. at $18., $12.95. Birds & Butterflies: Painter's Quick Reference. By the eds. of North Light Books. This easy to use reference features over 40 step by step demonstrations for paintin...
The latest issue of Harper's has a round-up, by Joshua Cohen, of new books. The one that catches my eye is a comment on a collection of the writings of art critic Jed Perl. I've probably read a good chunk of that book, as I'm a fan of Perl's work as it appears in The New Republic. Unfortunately, Perl's new book, Magicians and Charlatans , looks a little pricey for me. So I'll confine myself to just quoting here what Cohen writes about it: "[T]his miscellany's greatest recommending stretches are its critiques of what is essentially unreal: the art market. Shock, that old weapon of Dada and Surrealism, concussing sensibilities since World War I, has become a marketing manifesto licensing a Christ soaked in human urine (Andres Serrano's Piss Christ ) and a Mary slathered in elephant dung (Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary ) not as expressions of rage but as provocations of PR ....The museum is converted into its architectural double, t...
Fergus M. Bordewich, a journalist and historian, has written America's Great Debate , a book about the sectional compromise of 1850 that preserved the union without bloodshed, for another 11 years, anyway. Describes John Calhoun thus early on: "A nominal Democrat through most of his political career, in 1847 Calhoun proposed the formation of a new southern party founded on four principles: that new territories clearly be declared the common property of all the states; that Congress be clearly denied the right to enact any law, or undertake any act, that would deprive a state of its 'full and equal right' in any United States territory; that any law barring the citizens of any state from carrying their property into any territory was a violation of the Constitution; and 'that people have the unconditional right to adopt the government which they think best calculated to secure their liberty, prosperity, and happiness.' This last was a virtual invitation to se...