Books: Colonel Roosevelt

Roosevelt Riding A Moose

If your looking for a literary biography of Theodore Roosevelt, pick up the last in the series of three volumes by Edmond Morris entitled, Colonel Roosevelt. The previous two volumes, Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex were magnificent and Colonel Roosevelt is a fitting completion of a series of books that has fascinated me for years. Actually I have always been fascinated with Teddy Roosevelt, and have read several biographies, but I think Morris does the best job, at least in terms of comprehensiveness, literary quality and prose style. In reading anyone of these volumes you get the sense that you are in the hands of a master biographer, one who really understands his subject, as well as the period in which the subject lived. This is a biography that is packed with more adventure, drama and tragedy than most novels. It covers the last 10 years of Roosevelt’s life and is sad toward the end. But most of Roosevelt’s life wasn’t about sadness; it was about overcoming and inspiring others to overcome. In terms of sheer excitement not many presidents have lived a life like T.R. Let’s see… which president spoke multiple languages, wrote 40 books, hunted lions, and explored the Amazon River avoiding a cannibalistic tribe that stalked him. (see: Candice Millard’s book, The River of Doubt). And along the way he managed to read a book a day and answer all his correspondence by himself. He also took a .38 caliber slug from an assassin’s gun announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose” He then gave a 90 minute speech as blood stained his waistcoat. Quite a character!! I recommend reading all three of Morris’ books. Start from the beginning. It’s well worth the time and Morris is up to the task.

A Gratuitous Picture Of A Ferrari...

The Librarian spotted again out and about around town.

Books: Matterhorn

There have been good novels written about the Vietnam War, but Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes is the first great one__literally, this is a great book. It’s like being dropped into a steaming jungle and ordered to storm a hilltop fortification, not once, not twice, but three times. You won’t be able to stop turning the pages and you will be sorry when it ends. Your guide is a novice lieutenant named Mellas. Your mission is to take one of the countless nameless hills near the Laotian border. Matterhorn as its called. Your purpose none, just senseless fighting__ purposeless futility. Bravo Company is ordered to take Matterhorn with great sacrifice and builds bunkers at the top, then the company is ordered to abandon their hilltop fortifications only to be ordered to take it again with even greater sacrifice and finally they ordered to abandon it again. Marlantes presents this absurdity with a stark reality that stings the reader with a vicarious sense of futility. There is a lot of gut wrenching brutal combat in this book, but it shows you what it was like, especially for those of us too young to remember. But there is more to Marlantes book than combat. Every aspect of the war is covered from the politics and the bureaucracy of the military to the nobility of camaraderie and brotherhood. Every character trait is on display, loyalty, disloyalty, love, hate, bravery, cowardice, intelligence and stupidity. But what actually makes this such a good book? Authenticity. It’s what it was like. If you are interested this is the book to read. Coming away from it you will appreciate those who sacrificed their lives here.

How Many Times Must I Tell You Grasshopper...

Cool Houses..

The Ferrari is parked in the back.

Cool Faces...

Perhaps...

Publishing Note: Errol Flynn: The True Adventures

For those interested in the very interesting life of Errol Flynn, a much anticipated biography, Errol Flynn: The True Adventures of a Real Life Rogue, by the late Lincoln Douglas Hurst, will be released shortly, perhaps in a few days.. What makes this one note-worthy is the breadth of knowledge about Flynn that Hurst brings to the table. Many books have been written about Flynn, including his own slanted autobiography, but few have actually analyzed Flynn’s complex personality carefully. It appears from early reports about the book that Flynn’s public persona of rogue did not always match his personal life. Hurst book promises to sort the fact from fiction. After I read it, I’ll will review.

Books: Day Of The Jackal

A friend asked me to recommend a good spy novel. At first I suggested any of John le Carre’s fine novels, but on second thought and because cause I was being asked to recommend the “best spy novel ever”__only one came to mind, at least to my mind and that would be: Frederick Forsyth’s, Day of the Jackal. Ah__ the”Jackal” the one man with a rifle that could change the course of history. Can any power on earth stop the “Jackal?” Well read the book. However, I can say, without being a spoiler, that Day of the Jackal is one of the most finely crafted and exciting novels, based on a true story, ever written. The Jackal is hired to assassinate Charles De Gaulle the president of France. He is an expert, ruthless, unstoppable and virtually undetectable. As the Jackal moves across Europe to position himself to stalk his prey, a brilliant French detective, Comissaire Lebel, who has almost divined the plot, stalks the killer move for move. The novel is well constructed, and moves from one scene to another with minimum of fuss in a linear line of no confusion. Forsyth’s details are exact, he names real names and he brings up contemporaneous political issues important at the time all the while wrapping it in a travelogue through geography and international politics. What’s brought forth is a harsh essentially is a world of casual calculated political plots. Forsyth makes every word count as the story moves to its climatic conclusion. The novel was also made into an excellent movie in 1973 starring Edward Fox, also a must see. So give yourself a treat__ the novel is the best espionage thriller ever__according to me.

Winter Starts To Brew In Yosemite

via David Craig

Fall Is Here....

via Beauty Hunter

Time Travel: 1940's London

Books: Magical Prague

Golem__to most he is a despicable creature from the Lord of the Rings, but actually Golem came out of the mythology of the ghettos of Prague, a mystical and menacing creature. Which is fitting since Golem like Prague posses a strange historical alchemy, a complexity that’s hard to fathom. A traveler can experience Prague, but to understand it is a different matter. There are not many good books in English about Prague and fewer great books, however one does hit the mark__Angelo Maria Repelino’s 1993 classic, Magical Prague. Repelino’s book goes far beyond being a mundane travel guide. Magical Prague is a blend of history and travelogue, combined with literary and art criticism wrapped in a personal essay. And even in translation from the Italian, it reads well. Repelino extracts from Prague, its mystery and ambiguity. He uses melodrama, ghost stories, facts, fiction and barroom tales to evoke the essence of this Bohemian capital. Prague and Repelino are perfect partners. Prague offers mystery and complexity and Repelino the skilled interpretation. Repelino he takes the reader on a “magical tour”, so to speak. Unfortunately, Magical Prague is out of print, but a used copy can be found on Amazon or in a library. So if you are interested in this part of the world, its history, people and culture, Repelino’s book is worth the read. None better.

Recommended Destination: Prague

Prague's Vinohrady District

Decoration...

Books: Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

So what’s the deal with Steig Larson’s Millennium Trilogy? Why is it so popular? These books are long, slow paced, filled with radical politics and poorly translated from Swedish. Sales for these books have reached 45 million worldwide and three movies have been made. Admittedly I have only read one, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but from what I read the following novels are even longer and much the same. I also must admit I am captivated by this novel, couldn’t put it down and will probably read the next, The Girl Who Played with Fire. Plus I have a hankering to see the movie. “Good Grief.” Well it didn’t take much soul searching to figure it out. It’s the character, Lisbeth Salander. She’s fascinating__ a 20 something enigmatic sexually kinky, tattooed and pierced computer hacker who also happens to be a mathematical genius. Salander and her partner Mikael Blomkvist a left wing investigative reporter, inhabit an edgy and violent world and set out to undermine the corrupt Swedish system. It’s remarkable how Larson is able to provoke sympathy for this violent anti-hero. She has been abused so much by those around her and Swedish society. It seems only fitting she should lash out. All this pent up anger is acted out in a complex plot that lumbers slowly at times as Larson goes into excruciating detail about a genealogy or a government agency. Corruption in government and business are major themes in this book. But wanting to know what Salander will do next makes you want to read on. This character makes these books work and is why these books are such a phenomenon. Salander is easily the most interesting fictional character in a decade. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a combination intellectual thriller mixed with a touch of goth and gobs of high tech.

Books: The Hard Way Around

Spray, Slocum's Boat.

Who is Joshua Slocum? I asked three friends, none knew. Could be my company? Perhaps, but Mr. Slocum’s exploits happened a while back, 1895 to be precise. Slocum or Captain Slocum as he was known, was the first person to circumvent the globe, live to tell about it and publish a best selling memoir called, Sailing Alone Around the World. (1900). Sailing Alone won him widespread fame throughout the world and he became known as the “American Sinbad”, even though he couldn’t swim. Slocum long forgotten by those not part of the seafaring crowd has now been brought back to life in Geoffrey Wolff’s recently released biography, The Hard Way Around: The Passages of Joshua Slocum. Slocum was a “interesting character” and Wolff does a good job of bringing Slocum’s life into a realistic perspective without losing the sense of adventure that Slocum inspired in his own day. Even though Wolff’s book is a roaring tale of hardship and sea adventure it is also and more importantly a story about the end of the glorious age of sail, and the passing of an era of genuine heroes. Wolff’s book is more though than an adventure story, it is also a literary biography. Something that has also passed out of fashion I think. Slocum’s personality was complex and Wolff handles this well, piecing the events of his life together carefully, but in at a pace fast enough to keep the story moving. Eventually Slocum went mad and was arrested for rape on a reduced to a charge of indecent exposure. He spent 42 days in jail. In 1909 Slocum set sail for the West Indies and was never heard from again? It is presumed he was lost at sea, but that’s not certain. So if you would like to read a true story that is a cross between a Patrick O’Brien novel and Robert Lewis Stevenson novel you have found the book.

Books: Cleopatra: A Life

I’m constantly surprised by the quality of books coming out lately. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff, is a meticulously researched and exciting biography about one of the most mysterious woman in history. Cleo, if I may be so bold, has fascinated and baffled historians for centuries. There has been a lot of guess work and a lot of mythology about Cleopatra. Her life was short less than 40 years, but her influence in her day was great and her reputation in history is mythological. Who better to sort things out than one on the finest biographers writing? And what a job she does. Schiff is magnificent here. She has excavated rare historical facts and has infused them with a particular brand of erudition not often found in modern biographers. Much of historical biography today is often interpreted through a filter of modern day sentiment and ideas. What British historian Herbert Butterfield called, “The Whig Interpretation of History.”

Such a method warps the past in terms of the present. Cleopatra in particular is buried under centuries of lies and it takes someone of Schiff’s caliber to set things straight. In this biography Cleopatra becomes historically real as well as the characters that surrounded her. What emerges is a picture of Cleopatra who combined sexual intrigue with political astuteness to influence her lavish court as well as the era in which she lived. Her subtly of personality and her relationship with Antony helped forge an empire that would ultimately lead to her doom. Cleopatra: A Life may also be read as a general history of the era__an added bonus from a fine writer. It’s refreshing to see a biographer of an ancient figure return to the classical sources. Highly recommended.

Books: Fall Of The Giants

I never could resist a fat book. So when I saw Ken Follett’s 985 page, Fall of the Giants, I couldn’t resist. I was expecting a good long story to get lost in, but what I found was that and even more. Fall of the Giants, is a novel full of historical accuracy and well developed characters. Follett has a unique way of drawing the reader into a very tactile portrait of the past. The story is intimate and detailed yet grand and sweeping at the same time__ quite a unique achievement. The plot follows the lives of five families during WWI and the Russian Revolution. Connections, interconnections, political intrigue, illicit love and conspiracies abound everywhere. This a complex book and as they say, “size doesn’t matter”, but when writing a book this size it does because it can become very unwieldy. Especially in tying plot lines together and moving the narrative forward at least in a way that keeps readers interested. Follett pulls it off well. There are no boring passages, and no political grand standing. Something refreshing in the fiction I have been reading lately. Is this literature? No. Is it a grand and good read? Yes. Be warned this is a sweeping novel that will pull you in and put you into another time and place. And it’s long and takes a lot of time to read. The thing is it’s only the first in a series…