Book Review – Decision Points by George W. Bush

You can tell my life has been busy. It took me 3+ months to finish a book I got for Christmas! However, that should not reflect on the quality of the book. Decision Points by former US president George W. Bush is considered his memoirs. The book recounts President Bush’s early political career, but focuses on the major decisions (i.e. decision points) throughout his eight years in the White House.


Regardless of how you feel politically about George W. Bush (and he was certainly an unpopular president at the end of his second term), Decision Points gives a fascinating look into how decisions are made by a US president. It seems every presidency is somewhat of an adventure. No 4-year span can pass in American history without significant incidents that must be addressed by the President. Decision Points was especially insightful because of the magnitude of events that occurred during the two-term presidency of George W. Bush. Decision Points gives the most inside view of the disputed election with Al Gore, 9-11-2001, Katrina, the fiscal crisis, and several other key happenings during President Bush’s presidency. It also recounts President Bush’s pre-presidential life. I found it refreshing that President Bush was able to discuss his now-famous early life issues (drinking, partying, etc.). Throughout the book Bush was also able to point out mistakes made during his time in office. One common criticism that the left through at President Bush while in office was that he never admitted mistakes. In this book he admits them, as well as explains why he would never admit mistakes while in office!

Even though I may not have agreed with every decision that President Bush made, while reading I found myself respecting the thought process he went through to come to his decisions. The book clears up some of his decisions by providing inside information that was not available to the public at the time.

President Bush will be a president that will have to be judged by history. I believe time will vindicate many of the actions President Bush took as president. Note that as I write this Syria is in the middle of a public uprising in the name of liberty. Libya is involved in a fight for freedom from a despot. Egypt similarly erupted before that. Don’t think it’s a coincidence that these events occurred next door to a free Iraq. The story is yet to be written, but history may shine upon the liberation of Iraq as a turning point in the quest for freedom and stability in the Middle East. Time will tell, but I have to believe that the conviction of George W. Bush had a hand in the current events in the Middle East.

I’ve read President Obama’s books. I will read his 3rd book which he will certainly write at the conclusion of his presidency. People with an open mind will likely find the memoirs of both men worthwhile. My only hope is that President Obama’s memoirs are released in 2013 rather than 2017.

Book Review: Developing Executive Skills by John R. Hook

Developing Executive Skills: Managing Yourself, Others and Organizations. (Agile Manager Gold)


Occasionally I stray from the political theme are read books on other subjects. I have often thought that if I spent as much time reading books about my actual profession as I do books about political philosophy I might be much better off. Liberty Alert is generally devoted to ideas regarding liberty. However, I also use Liberty Alert as a chronicle of books I have read, even if they are not political in nature. Since it’s my blog, I have that prerogative! Additionally, discussing books on different subjects changes it up a bit; helps to keep things interesting.


With that in mind, I have recently completed reading the book Developing Executive Skills: Managing Yourself, Others, and Organizations by John R. Hook. As the title suggests, this is a business management book. I decided to read this book after meeting the author. He happens to be the grandfather of someone who works in my office.

As a management book, I thought it was a little on the simplistic side. At 191 pages, the book provides mostly an overview of upper-level management topics. It does provide a good starting point to lead an interested researcher in the right direction for further study. I’m not sure how much of the book I will retain. Many of the concepts seemed to make sense, but were not particularly unique or memorable. There was one particularly thought-provoking section in the book. The most memorable discussion had to do with leadership. I dog-eared this page and later made a photocopy so I could hang it in my office. The author quotes the military historian S. L. A. Marshall regarding leadership:

“Quiet resolution. The hardihood to accept risk. A willingness to share rewards with subordinates. An equal willingness to take full blame when things go wrong. The nerve to survive storm and disappointment and to face each new day with the score sheet whipped clean, neither dwelling on one’s success, nor accepting discouragement from one’s failures. This is the essence of leadership. For these are the things that have enabled one man to draw others to him in any age.”

I thought this was a good, simple, straight-forward list of good leadership traits.

Book Review: A Patriot's History of the United States by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen

A Patriot's History of the United States tells the true story of the USA.  The book tells the story of the USA without the modern bias or political correctness that ravages most modern American history books.  This book should be required reading for every high school student in the USA!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, but be forewarned...this book is long.  It's not for the faint of heart.  It will take some dedication to get through the 829 pages.  However, the chapters are short, so it's the kind of book that can be easily picked up and put down frequently.  Several long plane trips, including one from New York to Singapore gave me my best opportunity to make a big dent in this one, and I was glad I did it.

I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in American history.  I especially recommend parents to try to steer their young adult children to this book.  It would certainly help them in their American history and world history understanding.  The book does an especially fine job of making connections to events in history that seemed unrelated.  Once you read the book, you come to realize that hardly anything of significance in world history happens in a vacuum.  You will learn a lot and enjoy the story.

Book Review: Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford

Shop Class as Soulcraft is an essay-style book that highlights the virtues of physical craftsman work (or work in “the trades”) while discussing some of the shortcomings of work in the “intelligence professions”, i.e. cubicle office work, utilizing philosophies from historical thinkers to bolster the author’s conclusions.


The book is humorous, entertaining, intellectual, and interesting. The author has quite a unique background. He is a former communist. Not to say he is a member of the party, but he was brought up on a commune. He is a classically trained philosopher, boasting a PhD. Yet he is also a licensed electrician. But more importantly, he is also a gear head. He spent his adolescence around speed shops, later transitioning from cars to motorcycles. I have no census data, but I think I can say with some certainty that he is one of the few motorcycle mechanics out there holding a PhD. The wide variety of experiences in the author’s background adds color to the stories throughout the book.

Although I enjoyed reading the book, and found the theories presented compelling, it is difficult to make a decision on how I feel about the author's conclusions. The subtitle of the book is “An Inquiry Into the Value of Work”. I agreed with many points made in the book. I agree with the author’s theories that so-called white-collar work can lack the satisfaction of seeing the direct results of labor that is offered by the so-called blue-collar professions. I also agree that people in the “thinking professions” underestimate the problem solving and mental skill required to skillfully complete trade work. Where the author falls short is in his discussion of the macroeconomics. Although the author shows no serious love for the left as it is defined today in American politics, it seems his communist upbringing comes through a bit when he discusses his view of unfairness of the money supply (the haves and have nots). In these arguments, the author strays from his core competency of understanding, and delves into areas that perhaps were not necessary to complete his book. In short, I liked everything in the book except the final chapter. It was a bit like a great movie with a bad ending.

I recommend Shop Class as Soulcraft. The author's writing style, unique thinking, and whit make it worth while, even if I did not agree with all the conclusions.  Even still, it will make you think in new ways.

Book Review – Conservative Victory by Sean Hannity

National TV and radio host Sean Hannity has released a timely book chronicling the deficiencies of the Obama administration and suggestions for conservative leadership to repair the tyranny that Obama and the Democrats have ushered into America.

Hannity is donating all profits for the book to charity.

As opposed to some other conservative books recently reviewed on this blog, Conservative Victory is not intended to change any minds. A liberal reader of this book will likely not be swayed. The subtitle of the book is “Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda”. Hannity is obviously targeting the conservative majority in the United States with this book. Hannity is an unabashed conservative, so this book is targeting people that politically agree with Hannity’s philosophies.

The book does a find job of summarizing the failures, un-Americanism, and danger of the Obama administration. Hannity then gives some suggestions for Republican conservative leadership.

Most of Hannity’s suggestions are reasonable, yet somewhat unimaginative. Hannity focuses mostly on re-tread ideas like the renewing a Contract with America. Such ideas may be valid, but they are hardly novel.

The book was generally an interesting read, but as an instruction manual for the average person to “defeat Obama’s radical agenda” it came up short. The book was more of a suggestion manual for conservative political leaders rather than an action plan for individual conservative citizens.

Conservative Victory is worth a quick read. Expect a good summary of the issues, but don’t expect Conservative Victory to be life-changing.

Book Review – Going Rogue by Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin spends a lot of time setting the record straight in her book Going Rogue. If you followed the campaign in 2008, you will recall that there were times when Palin seemed to be stymied by the fear of saying the wrong thing. Palin owns up to the deficiencies of her campaign performance, and does a fine job explaining the behind-the-scenes reasons why the campaign proceeded as it did. Palin sheds light on some of her mistakes, staff mistakes, as well as reinforces some of the actions she believes were handled well during the campaign.

In a format that’s pretty standard for a memoir, the book starts by recounting Sarah Palin’s early years. She explains the upbringing that contributed so much to her present beliefs. The book then gets into the meat of the story, revisiting the 2008 US presidential campaign. The book concludes with Palin’s vision for the future.

Palin does not present herself as having all the answers. She does not present herself as being always right, nor does she believe that everyone should agree with her. She states her beliefs, the reasons for her beliefs, and lets them stand on their own.

During the campaign, liberals liked to take shots at Palin’s intellect and worldliness. The book demonstrated that Palin is well educated, well informed, well intentioned, and a woman of action. She gets things done. She believes in common sense and integrity over party loyalty.
Regardless of the perceived intellect of any candidate, one does not have to be a genius to be a good leader, or in this case, president. One only needs to have a sound foundation and commitment to the core principles of the founding documents of the United States. As is said in the oath of office, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The recipe has been created by the great leaders of the past. Men like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, and the many other unmentioned founding fathers created the recipe with the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Despite the wishes of the left, these documents are the law of the land. Subsequent leaders have a much less difficult task. The path has been cut. Subsequent leaders don’t have to blaze new trails (in fact, they are legally forbidden to it unless by amendment); they only need to follow the existing path. If someone asked me to create a cake from scratch, I would not be able to do it. However, give me a recipe to follow, and I can make a cake just as well as Betty Crocker. If the public can come to understand that “change” in the United States is limited by to the constraints set in the US Constitution, leaders will fall in line, and freedom will reign. Any deviation from the recipe represents a reduction in freedom. Freedom (not equality, success, fairness, or any other idea) should be the driving principle of any action the government takes. Does anybody remember freedom?

Book Review: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers – The Story of Success is an international best seller. There are scores of articles and reviews by “professional” book reviewers available for this book, but I'll still add my take to the pile of information available on this book.

Outliers explores the role circumstances have in the creating success. The basic thesis is that although talent and hard work are certainly necessary for success, they are a bit over rated when reviewing what creates success. As the thesis goes, circumstances and even luck can have just as important a role in creating great success, or outliers.

Besides what I gleaned from this book, I know little about Malcolm Gladwell. I have not read any of his other best sellers. However, based on what I learned from this book, I would say that Gladwell is a statistician and a sociologist. He uses data to make correlations, then draws conclusions about the cause and effect of these correlations.

Outliers was quite interesting, and somewhat eye opening. It was fascinating to see the pieces that had to all fall in just the right place to create a great success like a Bill Gates or even a Malcolm Gladwell.
The tone of the book was tough to pinpoint. One of the messages of the book was that there are other factors out of your control that determine your success. Regardless of how hard you work, or how talented you are, you will have a difficult time becoming a true success outlier without good fortune. For example, if you are a young kid starting hockey in Canada, even if you have great natural talent, you will likely not get anywhere unless you were born in one of the first 4 months of the year (You’ll have to read the book to see the reason for this.). At the same time, there is some message of hope in the book. Gladwell contends that talent is overrated. He believes that in many cases, people viewed as great talents were really of average talent but through hard work and lucky circumstances, were able to become successful. Therefore, there is some hope in believing that although you may not be born with great talent, you can still become a success outlier. However, I believe this hope message is drowned out by the fact that Gladwell puts such a large emphasis on luck as a key factor. It’s a little disconcerting to become aware of the fact that regardless of your hard word and talent, whether or not you become successful is in large part due to luck. Even if it is likely true to some degree, it’s still a tough message to face into. I think we all internally know that circumstances are a big factor in life, but to have it laid out in black and white with supporting data can be a bit depressing, unless of course you are one of those on the good side of the luck equation (which is all relative)!

One point that is critical to understanding Outliers is that Gladwell makes generalizations based on data. He does a good job pointing out that he deals in just generalizations, not hard rules. For example, it may be easier to become a hockey star in Canada if you were to be born in February, but not impossible if born in November. One always needs to be careful when making generalizations about people. Gladwell points this out.

One criticism of Gladwell is that he does not discuss any data contradicting his conclusions. This is an understandable criticism, but it’s also understandable why Gladwell leaves most contradictory data out. His intention is to write a book in everyday terms, not create an academic research paper.

There’s a good reason why Outliers is a best seller. I highly recommend this book.

Book Review -- Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

Lone Survivor is the true-life chronicle of a Navy Seal team that was ambushed in the mountains of Afghanistan. The author was the lone survivor of this ordeal.

This book was a national best seller with plans in the works for a movie.

The book focuses on the events in Afghanistan, but it traces Luttrell’s journey from small-town Texas kid to highly skilled soldier. Luttrell was already preparing to become a Navy Seal during his high school years. The book spends a lot of time giving the background of Luttrell’s Seal training. It also explains the events taking place back at Luttrell’s Texas home while he is fighting for his life in Afghanistan. This background sets the stage for the hardships Luttrell and his Seal team battle in Afghanistan.

The story of operation Redwing is a powerful true-life war story. Just the dramatic events that unfolded on the mountains of Afghanistan alone would make a fine book. However, the book sets itself apart by the detail the author spends on the non-battlefield aspects of this story. Though the battlefield adventure is the climax of the book, Luttrell intersperses the themes of honor, valor, love, family, dedication, excellence, and leadership as much with his off-battlefield stories as he does with the actual war story. Luttrell also gives his own matter-of-fact assessment of the battlefield impact of political events back home. He pulls no punches as he explains how the soldiers fighting in hostile lands are handcuffed by the ridiculous rules of engagement thrust upon them by liberal politicians back home. He also discusses the negative impact the liberal-slanted media has on the fighting soldiers. Luttrell explains how tactics that are the absolute right thing to do from a military strategy perspective are second-guessed because of the potential for negative media coverage. Luttrell makes the case that these policies cost actual American lives. To the soldiers, they are not abstract. They are living with the result of policies implemented by Washington Liberal do-gooders.

The book is an interesting look into the mindset of an elite soldier. It’s an action packed, and often gruesome war story. It’s an interesting political commentary. It’s a reassuring story about family, community, and ideals. This book is a recommended read.

Twitter-ization

I read this on a bumper sticker the other day:

"READ BANNED BOOKS"

I agree.

Book Review -- Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin

On this blog I usually try to review books that might not be the first title that comes to mind when you try to identify a book to read. Sometimes I review classics that might be gathering a little dust at the local library, or unique books I discovered by chance. I typically stay away from the best seller lists for two reasons. One is that best sellers typically are not available at the library, so they would require me to purchase the book. I try to utilize the "free" books at the library whenever I can. The second reason is that best sellers already have so many reviews and information available on the Internet, that I often feel my review will not add significant value. However, every once in a while a book comes along that grabs my interest so much that I can't wait for the library version. Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin is such a book. It's been a best seller for a while now, but even though there is a ton of information available regarding this book, the book was so good that I needed to add my review.

Liberty and Tyranny is a non-fiction book. I don't remember the exact price but I believe it was around $20. It's subtitled "A Conservative Manifesto". This book traces back the root of conservative political ideology in the United States of America and breaks it down to the most basic philosophical building blocks. It's clear, concise, and strong in its arguments. It explains the conservative position with examples and logic. It also provides counterpoints to squash the opposing liberal (or "statist" as the book uses) positions.

If you are a liberal, I have my doubts that you will like the book. However, if you are truly open minded (a trait that many liberals profess to posses) I believe you have to at least respect the positions that Mark Levin lays out. You might not agree with them, but based on this book I believe you have to respect their orgin and logic.

If you are a conservative, you will love this book. You will be reading and shaking your head in affirmation throughout. It will help you clear your mind and reaffirm what you've always felt in your gut. It puts reason, logic, and examples behind your beliefs.

If you are somewhere in between liberal and conservative, this is a powerful book that I suggest reading. If you are a "lost conservative" i.e. someone who has typically considered themselves right-of-center, but have recently been questioning yourself, this book is more than suggested reading! It should be mandatory! It's like medicine when you have a sickness. It's the cure to your philosophical confusion. So called "moderates" have the most to gain by reading this book. If I were a doctor, I would prescribe this book.

Liberty and Tyranny is the kind of book I hope my family will all read. I hope my children will someday read it. Better yet, I hope I can pass the ideas presented in the book on to my children so they will not have to read it. Liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between, Liberty and Tyranny is a well crafted book that should cause you to think.

Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin

Get this book! I'm only on the third chapter, but so far it's excellent. Look for a full overview once I finish the book.

Book Review – The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises is a semi-autobiographical account of a group of friends that go to see a bull fight.

Yup.

That’s it.

That’s about as exciting as it gets.

Oh, and they spend all their time drinking and eating at restaurants, pubs, cafes, and bars.

As you may have already sensed, I did not find the novel very entertaining. This was mainly because nothing really happens to any of the characters. They drink. They hang out. They go fishing. They drink. They talk. They watch a bull fight. They talk. They drink. In a somewhat pathetic display, all the male characters fawn over one tramp that they allow to tag along on all their adventures mostly because she flirts with all the men, and sleeps with half of them. The main characters are mostly young writers, but they all have enough money in the post-WWI era to travel around Europe drinking all along the way.
I can appreciate the story as an autobiographical re-telling of the group’s trip. However, it lacked excitement as a novel. Critical writings on this novel claim it was an account of the “lost generation” -- the post WWI, pre-WWII generation. However, if this represents this generation, it’s no wonder they were considered lost. The characters more closely resemble a group of hobos rather than the educated, enlightened group of young writers some have tried to make them represent.

Read The Sun Also Rises if you want a good description of a bullfight. Be sure to have a strong cup of coffee nearby to get you through. One saving grace is the novel is short at just over 200 pages. Otherwise, skip it, and look for something else if you want to experience Hemingway.

Book Review – Rabbit, Run by John Updike

Usually I most enjoy reading non-fiction, but every once in a while I like to throw in a novel for variety. I generally let time be my filter, sticking mostly to novels that have stood the test of time. Since my reading opportunities are limited, rather than weeding through questionable contemporary novels, I typically concentrate on novels already identified as classics. John Updike recently passed away. Updike is considered one of the most prolific and skilled American writers of his time. Updike wrote novels, short stories, and poetry. In honor of John Updike’s passing, I decided to tackle probably his most famous novel – Rabbit, Run.

Rabbit, Run is the first novel in what eventually became a four novel series chronicling the life of “every man” Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom. Harry is a former high school basketball standout now in his late 20’s dealing with a seven-year-itch-type crisis in his life and marriage. The story centers on Harry’s struggles finding direction in a suburban family life of mediocrity that seems to have boxed him in. He feels he has few options in a disappointing life, and takes to physically fleeing to escape his troubles. However, Harry finds his life “on the road” provides only a temporary respite, in the end leading to more problems for Harry as well as the people he leaves behind.

John Updike has said that he wrote Rabbit, Run as a response to Jack Kerouac's On the Road. On the Road is considered a seminal 1960's novel that helped usher in the "beat generation". Updike's version of the escapist-adventure novel is considered more pedestrian in literary circles. Updike's character escapes to the next town rather than across the country. To me, Rabbit, Run was more enjoyable. It was more real than On the Road. Kerouac's characters struggle little with their responsibilities. They are consumed with a hedonistic quest, worrying little about other people, or really even themselves. Although he does work some odd jobs from time to time, the main character in On the Road is routinely wired money from an aunt in New Jersey. It's easier be wild and free when you are not bound by responsibilities, and have the life-line of an aunt back in Jersey to bail you out. Harry Angstrom in Rabbit, Run struggles to balance his responsibilities against his need for independence. The tone of his adventures are shaped more by Harry's inner feelings of guilt, misgivings, and carnal needs, rather than having adventures fueled by the synthetic aid of drugs and alcohol. Updike spends more time exploring the people left behind. He goes into detail on the reaction of the parents, wife, children, and even the community to Harry's abscondment.

John Updike writes in a style of great detail. He is able to describe scenes down to the littlest detail. This writing style can be a bit of an acquired taste. At first you ask yourself if it's really critical to the plot to describe every fold of a curtain, or every brick of a building. However, by the middle of the novel you come to appreciate Updike's attention to detail as an entire world comes together. As I read the novel, I was astonished to think that Updike, who wrote this novel in his twenties, could be such a polished writer at such a young age. You begin to not only see the novel, but hear, smell, taste, and feel the world of Harry Angstrom. Updike takes a rather unremarkable main character, and makes him interesting by painting an entire world around him. But more remarkable than the details of Harry Angstrom's physical world, are the details in which Harry's feelings are presented. Updike is able to explain Harry's emotions in such a way that is relatable. Throughout the novel, as Updike skillfully describes in great detail what Harry is feeling and thinking, one is able to call upon a time when you had similar feelings. Although unremarkable from the outside, this exquisite inner view into Harry's mind and heart makes Harry the "every man" interesting.

The novel ends abruptly, leaving you wanting more. This certainly must have been what Updike was going for considering 3 other novels followed (Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, and Rabbit at Rest) in the Rabbit series.

Book Review -- Guilty by Ann Coulter

Title: Guilty -- Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America

Author: Ann Coulter

Price: $27.95 cover price. Available for less on-line.

Ann Coulter has written 5 best sellers. Guilty is her latest best seller. This was my first Ann Coulter book, and it will certainly not be my last. In fact, I'm upset I waited until best seller #6 to finally read one of Ann Coulter's books. I now have a lot of catching up to do on books 1 through 5.

Ann comes out swinging against liberals. Finally someone has the balls (ironic, huh?) to leave political correctness behind. Ann spews the truth about liberals as she cites numerous examples of liberal hypocrisy, idiocy, and bias. Liberals love victims. They use victims for votes. They thrive on creating more and more victims to stay in power. Selfish liberal power-grabbers even portray themselves as victims with the assistance of a willing main-stream media. Ann gives all the evidence any rational person would need to understand media bias and the absurdity of liberal logic.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. However, I'm a conservative-minded person. I believe liberalism is the single most toxic ideology in the United States today. Liberal venom is the #1 threat to liberty in the United States of America. Therefore, I'm not the most accurate barometer of Ann's book. Beyond the significant entertainment value, I fear that there may not be a point to the book. Ann devotes many pages to showing examples of liberal main-stream media bias. Although I enjoyed reading the examples, I'm not sure who Ann is trying to convince with her arguments because I believe even most liberals would acknowledge a media bias in a rare honest moment. Ann was not telling a conservative person anything they did not already know, and I fear her aggressive style would turn off most limp-wristed, panty wasted liberals to the point that they would not even be able to get through the book. So, if you go with the assumption that liberals would be turned off, and conservatives are already convinced, I guess the arguments of this book could be effective towards moderates. Fortunately, a moderate is something I am not, nor could I even pretend to be. I enjoyed the analysis, aggressive style, and examples in the book, so I can only hope that Ann was able to bring some moderates onto "our side". I have no hope of even the most skilled author being able to convert a true liberal. Logical thinking means less to a liberal than the US Constitution.

Book Review -- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is considered a masterpiece. It won the Nobel prize for literature after being published in 1967. It is the one of the best selling Spanish books of all time.

With all that being said, I did not enjoy the book. To me, the title seemed appropriate because it felt like I needed 100 years of solitude to get through the 450 pages.

The book chronicles the history of several generations of the Buendia family during the rise and fall of the fictional town of Macondo. The Buendia family is the founding and most prominent family in the town.

I can appreciate the unique writing style that Garcia Marquez invented with this book. I can also appreciate the great creativity required to create an intricate and colorful fictional town. However, I just did not find the book that entertaining. There is no real plot, in the traditional sense. The book reads more like a diary of a crazy old aunt recounting family history --filled with exaggerations, superstitions, and folk legend -- rather than an actual novel. The book also combines fantasy with reality. There were descriptions of day-to-day life in the Buendia family, when suddenly some supernatural miracle would occur. For example, one character suddenly floats off to heaven while folding laundry. Other characters live to be 150 years old. In that respect, One Hundred Years of Solitude reminded me of the Old Testament of The Holy Bible.

One other criticism was that the names of the characters were too similar. Several of the characters had the same first and/or last names (as children were born and named after previous generations). This made it often difficult to keep track of the characters. When I looked up the novel on Wikipedia, there was a family tree. I wish I had such a family tree available to me while reading the novel to help keep all the characters straight.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is highly acclaimed. It has been translated into 27 different languages, and won numerous international awards. It is taught in schools as a classic and propelled the author (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) into the highest echelon of modern authors. So what do I know? Perhaps I just don't "get it" when it comes to this novel, but the bottom line is that I was not entertained by the book. Isn't the point of reading a work of fiction to be entertained (or educated) at some level?

Link to Book Review -- Historic Photos of Connecticut

Below is a link to a book review I published on my other blog, Connecticut Outdoors:

http://connecticutoutdoors.blogspot.com/2008/12/book-review-historic-photos-of.html

Book Review -- Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Note: From time to time this site will include thoughts on a recently read book. My intent will not be to write a complete plot summary or background history of the book or the author. You can go to Google or Wikipedia and get that yourself. My goal will be to give you my impression of the book, i.e. the reaction of a "regular guy". What I mean by "regular guy" is that I'm not a professional book reviewer, a literature professor, a writer, or even a journalist. Most of the books I read are intended to be read for pleasure.

Uncle Tom's Cabin is certainly a well known book. Nearly everyone has heard either of the book, the author, or some of the many terms from the book that have become a part of our language. To my surprise, Uncle Tom's Cabin is believed to have been the best selling book of the 19th century. Although well known for its place in history, how many people today have read this important novel? I decided to get a firsthand account of this book.

A quick theme and plot summary (without giving too much away): The book tells the story of a group of black slaves in the pre-Civil War US South. It focuses on the cruelty of slavery with realistic accounts. The sufferings highlighted are not only to the physical body, but to the soul of an individual.

Having been previously familiar with the theme of the novel, the first thing I noticed was the unexpected elegance of the writing. Being from Connecticut, I have certainly been aware of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who was born and lived in Connecticut. She was a next door neighbor to Mark Twain in Hartford. However, I believe the power of her story in Uncle Tom's Cabin may have overshadowed the expressiveness of her writing. While Twain is considered one of the greatest American writers of all time, Stowe is known more for pulling at the heart strings of the country regarding a heinous issue of the time, rather than producing a quality piece of literature. I think Stowe's writing has not been given its due. I found it to be highly eloquent. (Note: Imagine me having the stones to criticize an author like Harriet Beecher Stowe! Yes, I feel strange about it, but hey; that's what we do on the internet.) Stowe was definitely able to produce the intended emotions in the reader, even centuries later. Her strong characters persist even today.

I can see why this novel is considered an all-time American classic. It was one of the most powerful books I have ever read. This novel should be considered as required reading for every high school literature class across the country. Beyond the obvious cruelty of being forced to labor as a slave, the book focuses on the breakup of the slave family. Accounts of babies being torn from the arms of their mothers are included, and husbands sent "down river" while their wife is left behind. The contrast between the kinder slave owners and the oppressive owners is stark. The writer details the frustration of the kinder slave owner that although against the practice of slavery, feels he is up against a system he can not change. The cruel owners intend to own the soul as well as the body of each slave they possess. It struck me that in the mid-19th century a woman author could have such a strong grasp on the concept of freedom at a time when woman still did not have full rights under the law.

The practice of slavery was the biggest black eye upon the history of the United States. It trumps shameful acts such as the continued legal discrimination of blacks right up though the 1960's, the treatment of Native Americans during the westward settlement of the US, and the imprisonment of Japanese-American citizens during WWII. In all these cases, the US government deviated from the tenets of our founding documents, especially the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. In the case of slavery, it took the death of thousands of citizens during the Civil War, as well as all the strength of a great president to clean up the mess. Abraham Lincoln once commented upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe that she was "the little woman that started this great war!” For the good of the republic, thank God she did.