Stbalbach's reviews from LibraryThing

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:43:46 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "The most interesting thing about this novel is the language, it's a short book but the sentences are carefully crafted and have a great classic feel to them. The next thing to consider is the theme, which explores the amorality of children (it's Lord of the Flies written by J. M. Barrie). The idea of amorality in children's literature originated 40 years prior, in Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883), as seen in the character of Long John Silver. Before Stevenson, pirates were black and white evil that had to die in the end, but Silver was both good and bad, and lived on. Treasure Island was one of the first books written for children that had an amoral character and Hughes paid tribute to Stevenson by writing an anti-Treasure Island, reversing the roles by making the pirates good and the children the amoral ones. Stepping back further, he was really making a statement about the crumbling righteous morality of the Victorian/Edwardian era. In further historical context, this kind of reversal and flipping of the known world into uncharted waters was characteristic of the inter-war period which saw society undergoing the radical changes of modernity, including modernism in literature, enough to make one seasick. Although it's easy to see why the book is widely praised I wasn't too enamored with it, an evil clown seemed to have written it, I much prefer Treasure Island and Lord of the Flies. I respect it though because it was attempting to break molds, move literature forward, and the language in places is beautifully done."
CSA 2011

The Real Heroes of Telemark by Ray Mears

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:56:19 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "The Real Heroes of Telemark sets out to correct the mythology created in the 1965 war film The Heroes of Telemark, which was about an actual <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage">Norwegian sabotage mission</a> during World War II, considered to be one of the most audacious, and successful, special operations raids of the war. The book is a companion to a 2.5 hour BBC documentary from 2003 of the same name. The book and documentary are very different so it's best to watch the show first then read the book. The book is a more traditional narrative history while the video is a present-day re-enactment of the raid. I actually was able to follow the basic events easier in the documentary, while the book has a lot more detail. The neat thing about the documentary is it includes footage of the actual people involved, now in their 80s and 90s, as well as the locations which have not changed at all. This is an exciting story, but also a very important one since it stopped the Nazi ambitions to build an atomic bomb. Given current events in Iran with assassinations of nuclear scientists, it's also very topical, though the geography between Iran and Norway couldn't be more different (nor are Iran = Nazis). I did learn a lot about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardangervidda">Hardangervidda</a>, a geographic region in southern Norway characterized by alpine tundra, and how to best live in Arctic conditions, so there is a lot these works have to offer, a fun trip to a place and events I never knew about."
Coronet (2004), Paperback, 288 pages

Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II: The First Complete One-Volume History by Robert Leckie

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:17:43 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "Having lived with this book almost daily for a month it has been a long dramatic reading experience. I first learned about it in a recent <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204190704577024492528567130.html">survey of single-volume WWII histories</a>. This one was supposedly "the first"; it's not, see for example <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/1873828">The War</a> (1960) or <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/62093">History of The Second World War</a> (1966). The book is both fascinating and flawed. The writing is energetic, never boring and full of interesting anecdote. It presents an unapologetically biased view by an American patriot, which is useful to have since more recent books build or diverge from this perspective. Leckie was a US Marine who fought in the war and thus it has the feel of the times by someone who lived it. Leckie makes no pretense about being politically correct or trying to show the belligerents as anything but "evil", incompetent, black and white. In a work of this type the author has only 1000 pages and thus what he chooses to fill the pages with says a lot. The book is strongest in the American Pacific campaign, not surprisingly this is where Leckie had direct experience. The Eastern Front gets poor coverage given its size. The North African campaign is complicated but he spends enough time on it to give a sense of the back and forth. The 1939 and 1940 battles go by too quickly, the Battle of Britain gets 5 pages compared to Guadalcanal which gets 50 pages. Strategic bombing of Germany is barely detailed. The Italian campaign is not well covered after Cassino. The U-boat war gets 2 pages. Certain things get no mention such as the sinking of the great Bismark, but we get detail about minor Japanese ships. Thus the complaints are too much coverage here in exchange for not enough there - subjective to be sure. Yet there was never a page I didn't enjoy and learn something new."
Harper Perennial (1988), Edition: First Edition, Paperback, 1024 pages

Quartered Safe Out Here: A Harrowing Tale of World War II by George MacDonald Fraser

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:47:28 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "This World War II memoir, published long afterwards in 1992, is most interesting for the English accents and mannerisms from the north border region (Cumberland), in particular the back and forth banter among the working class front line soldiers, often very funny. And that's about it really, the war scenes in Burma are interesting but not particularly dramatic. It seems honest though, he tries hard to present the 1940s as they existed (for him). The audiobook version helped with the accents, though I often had trouble understanding what was being said."
Skyhorse Publishing (2007), Edition: 3RD PBK, Paperback, 358 pages

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:50:56 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "Chris and I have a lot in common. We graduated high school the same year, grew up in a DC suburb, sons of affluent parents, with a Brady Bunch mixed family; we're both Aquarius, educated, intellectually stubborn for better and worse. We both took trips out west alone, in summer 1991 I was just out of college, tramping alone across country living out of my car with no clear plans, perhaps even passing Chris nearby. Now that I'm older and look back at myself through the lens of Chris, I see the risks in a new light. The cold reality of what happens when dreamers die and the family identify and pick up the body was difficult to read. This doesn't mean we should stop dreaming and exploring, but remember the ties and responsibilities to others and keep them in our dreams, too. These invisible links are a safety belt from going too far. Chris realized this in the end when he decided to return and live among society, but a few accidents in a row conspired against him. It's easy to be critical of Chris, he was a young punk kid too cocksure for his own good, but he also was brave, strong and visionary. One might call Chris' death sacrificial. Using a war analogy, in which war is a sacrificial act, Chris was fighting against civilization and embracing nature in a classic Rousseauian tradition. This sacrifice will be controversial, some will see Chris as foolish or suicidal. Others will make him into a hero. Krakauer's book probably leans to the later sentiment, but retains a healthy dose of reality. And that's what makes it interesting, depending where your politics lay you can take from the story whatever you think is the right message."

I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:40:08 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "I'd never heard of Dr. Abuelaish, a Palestinian, he recently became well known in Israel after his daughters were killed by Israeli forces. He has a heroic temperament and life story, seemingly able to forgive and accept no matter what abuse comes his way, something the Middle East needs more of. It's outrageous to read of how Palestinians are treated by the Israelis, yet these things can go both ways. Abuelaish message is simple and classic, to just get along because we are all people, brothers, sisters and so on. The book gets a little caught up in politics and preaching a message of peace, but the story of his youth and rise out of the Gaza Strip ghetto is interesting."
Walker & Company (2011), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 256 pages

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:47:36 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "Belongs among the "tramp literature" genre which started around the turn of the century with <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/8942572">Bart Kennedy</a> and others who pioneered the idea of tramping and writing about it. Popular tramp authors were Jack London, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp by W. H. Davies and of course Orwell. I personally found Orwell's account to be somewhat distant, in that he is rarely the central actor and just a presence reporting on others. It's also a bit politicized, though some consider it a classic. Probably the aspect I will remember most are the descriptions of the Parisian kitchens: the food garbage on the floor, cleaning plates with a sleeve, 110 degree temps, standing for 18 hours in steam and putrid food while a large French woman hurls insults."
Audio

To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:25:19 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "Very interesting history of WWI opposition. A broad canvas history of the war sets the stage for the moral battles over whether to fight or not. It feels like a mirror of our current era's culture wars, the details are different but the struggles between liberalism and conservationism remain. No heroes or villains, nuanced and well told, but diffuse and scattered style. I seemed more interested in the background details of the war itself than the intended focus on the dissenters. Because the biographical stories are told in such a mixed and braided fashion I don't have a clear memory that will stick with me, rather flashes of events here and there. Audiobook: I love audiobooks, but not all books convert well, such as this one. The narrator is excellent but the book is meant to be read, reasons include: Paragraph breaks are significant to the style but invisible in the audio; large cast of names with constant moving back and forth between stories creates a sense of vertigo, perhaps an intentional aesthetic to mirror the era, but is magnified to the point of confusion by the machine-pace of the audiobook; certain thoughts and transition points demand pausing for reflection, but they are not clear until the moment is past and the narrator has marched on."
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2011), Edition: First American Edition, Hardcover, 480 pages

Rat Island: Predators in Paradise and the World's Greatest Wildlife Rescue by William Stolzenburg

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 21:59:36 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "Many environmental books have an eat your vegetables feel as they portray humans destroying nature. And, if you read enough of them, it's rare to come across something original, a repetition of bad things leading to a loss of hope for the future. This book is different. It's about a few people who have saved entire species from extinction by removing invasive species from islands. It could be as simple as shooting all the pigs on an island in an afternoon, or a massive helicopter campaign to poison millions of rats over the course of months. It's very rewarding, both the removal of the pests and the aftermath as native species return from the brink of extinction. I also supplemented using Google Maps as a visual geography of some of the wildest islands on the globe. These islands, which I'd never heard of before, are now part of my mental map of the world in picture, name and events. I'd normally read this book in three days but was so enthralled it took only a day and a half. Great story, great writing, educational and cutting edge developments. If I was in college this book would inspire me to take up a new career, globe trotting to remote islands and saving species in one fell swoop. Of course the idea has caught on with others and is gaining momentum by the year. Go humans."
Bloomsbury USA (2011), Hardcover, 288 pages

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter by Mark Seal

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:10:19 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "I can remember the day Christian Gerhartsreiter was apprehended in Baltimore. I live close by and the news seemed incredible, a German man successfully impersonating a Rockefeller? For over a decade? It was the stuff of movies. Little was known at the time but Mark Seal, an accomplished writer of 30+ years and editor at Vanity Fair magazine, has interviewed over 200 people to tell an amazing story that really is made for film (a deal is in the works). The experience of reading this was occasionally disturbing, on the one hand I found myself cheering Gerhartsreiter as he infiltrated America's upper-class social circles, fooling the smartest and richest has a certain comeuppance humor. Even more hilarious, Gerhartsreiter's persona was based on the character Thurston Howell III from the TV show Gilligan's Island! Yet, he is also a criminal psychopath and not someone to be admired. The book does a good job, tangentially, of showing the inside of the wealthiest communities in California, New York and Boston. Apparently, for example, if you want to join an exclusive club, it's not very difficult if you dress and act the part. It's a fascinating book, my second 'serial imposter' story of 2011, the first <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/11220449/book/77856627">Ghost in the Wires</a> has a similar non-stop run of imposter adventures, set in the world of cyberspace. The lesson is you can't fool all the people all the time. Well, the Gerhartsreiter story is far from over, he may fool us all yet again with new found fame from books and movies."
Viking Adult (2011), Hardcover, 336 pages

Great Heart: The History of a Labrador Adventure by James West Davidson

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:28:18 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "Great Heart is well researched, it's neat someone found old diaries and retold the 1903 and 1905 Hubbard/Wallace/Elson expeditions in Labrador, mostly forgotten today but better known in the first half of the 20th century. I recommend this modern retelling but first read the original book that started it all, The Lure of the Labrador Wild (1905), which is the best introduction. In its day it was a best seller that went through 20-some printings, Teddy Roosevelt and Earnest Hemingway were fans. Great Heart has a reverent melancholy feel of history, Lure is more immediate and alive in the first person. The complex relationships between Mina Hubbard, her husband Leonidas, Dillon Wallace and George Elson the Indian half-breed is sort of like a Victorian episode of Survivor with shifting loyalties, betrayals, loves, enemies, friendships. It's an interesting story with human heart that goes beyond the typical exploration book."
Viking

The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:44:47 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "David McCullough is a grand master of narrative nonfiction. The Johnstown Flood is his first book, written in 1968, though you'd might think it was written this year it feels so timeless. The audio performance by Edward Herrmann is equally great. Why did the Johnstown Flood happen? In the end McCullough blames it on man's hubris. Specifically by denuding the hills of trees, thereby making flooding more likely, and bad dam design. Man attained great power over nature, but failed to fully understand the implications, accepting the benefits of technology but ignoring the risks ("that dam will never break"). It is a lesson still relevant today, society is causing industrial-scale disruptions to the atmosphere, earth and oceans. The environment may hold together for many generations, but like the dam breaking above Johnstown, all it takes is one big unexpected natural event to tip things over into a condition no one expected, magnified by mans own doings - nature and man work in concert because they are the same. The Johnstown disaster was not inevitable, it didn't have to happen, it was a man-made conflagration."
Audiobook

New Atlantis by Francis Bacon

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:38:04 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "Published in Latin in 1624, and English in 1627, New Atlantis was Francis Bacon's last (and unfinished) work. In it he describes a fictional utopian society that is governed by benevolent philosophers. They operate a university, Salomon's House, which is a scientific research establishment where teams of scientists work together in diverse fields. In the following sentence Bacon summarizes the purpose of Salomon's House, which has been widely quoted as the significance of Bacon's own life's project: "The end of our foundation is the knowledge of causes, and secret motions of things, and the enlargement of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible." That is, society is dedicated to advancing human understanding and mastery of nature. Bacon in a nutshell. Listened via <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/newatlantis_1111_librivox">LibriVox</a>, narrated by Bill Boerst."
LibriVox 2011

Pilgrimage to the End of the World: The Road to Santiago de Compostela by Conrad Rudolph

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:21:42 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "The El Camino de Santiago (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James">Way of St. James</a>) is probably the most famous pilgrimage in the world. I first learned of it years ago during my Medieval studies, and recently saw the movie <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_%28film%29">The Way</a>. For some reason the older I get, the more I am drawn to The Way. This short book is a wonderful introduction to the history of the trail, and what it's like to hike it today, including a very practical section on how to approach the 1000 mile 10-week journey. I'm not Catholic, or even religious, but the idea of hiking through such a sparsely populated area of Europe, surrounded by thousands of years of history at every step, would probably be a life changing experience. I'll probably never do it, because of physical limitations, but this book is a wonderful proxy. Rudolph is an art historian with a sense of the spiritual and personal, the book feels authentic and appropriate. Includes many photographs."
University Of Chicago Press (2004), Edition: 1, Paperback, 138 pages

Pulphead: Essays by John Jeremiah Sullivan

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:22:03 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "I'd never heard of Sullivan before, he's been compared to David Foster Wallace so I picked up his anthology of 14 magazine articles. It has a central-Appalachia border-state cultural flavor, in particular Indiana/Kentucky and by osmosis points east and west along that line, neither Yankee or Southern. He might be seen as a regional author, or an author with regional flavor. Sullivan is not the fierce intellectual like Wallace, more subdued, but in his writing has intense flashes with sentences here and there that cause one to stop and marvel at the creativity. He's also a likeable writer, which is a good thing since he's always in his stories. One reason we read is to meet interesting people, Sullivan is an author you don't mind spending time with and getting to know as he mixes his own background in with the story he's covering. My favorite pieces are "Mister Lytle", about his apprenticeship with the 90 year old writer Andrew Nelson Lytle, who one morning was found nibbling Sullivan's ear, and more. "Upon This Rock", about a Christian Youth rock concert in PA and a group of feral West Virginia good ole boys he befriends; this is the funniest piece, sort of like DFW's essay on the state fair. "Michael" is a re-evaluation of the common belief that M. Jackson was a pedophile, I found it pretty convincing that Jackson may have been a pedo in thought, but not deed. "American Grotesque" is an investigation of the mysterious death of a Census worker found hanged in the woods with the words "Fed" inked on his chest. This was headline news for a few days in the red/blue culture wars, this essay investigates. "Unnamed Caves" is a fascinating piece on "pot diggers" in eastern Tennessee, people who dig up old Indian graves, I learned a lot on the subject. "Violence of the Lambs" is very creative, it reminded me of what Edgar Allen Poe used to do in the early 19th century (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Balloon-Hoax">"The Balloon-Hoax"</a>), it's something of a small masterpiece that may end up being among his most enduring essays, once the pop culture stuff fades. Not everyone liked it, the Washington Post said it had "gaseous prose" (perhaps an allusion to Poe's gas-light era?), and some readers were shocked/upset by the surprise ending, but I found it brilliant and brave."
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2011), Paperback, 384 pages

Gypsy Boy: My Life in the Secret World of the Romany Gypsies by Mikey Walsh

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:24:53 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "I almost gave up after the first 30 pages, it was evidently another misery lit book. I tried a second time with the audiobook version which made a big difference. Performed by the author, he injects a lot of emotion through the use of "pregnant pauses" that makes it hard to stop listening. It's interesting in parts, but mostly a depressing litany of illiterate people living in trailers, drinking and drugs, stealing and swearing, wife and child beating, incest. The Romany culture isn't romanticized in this account, and that may be the attraction, a Gypsy tell-all."
Thomas Dunne Books (2012), Hardcover, 288 pages

Lost Colony: The Untold Story of China's First Great Victory over the West by Tonio Andrade

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:55:47 -0500

Stbalbach's review: "One of the best books I read in 2011, hugely entertaining, but also serious history. Lost Colony reads like a novel, full of colorful people and exotic places, clashes of East and West in battles at sea and on land over castles, with swords and gunpowder, metal armor and muskets, pirates and rebels, heroes and tyrants. Since the book is about the first major conflict between China and Europe, it offers an opportunity to "test" why Europe came to dominate the world, and not China, one of the great historical questions. Was it because the West had superior military power? This theory has been standard for a long time, but new evidence suggests it's not so black and white. The events of the Sino-Dutch War show why. I was intrigued by Jared Diamond's blurb, and he is spot on, "you can read this as a novel that just happens to be true.. or a window into one of the biggest unsolved questions of world history." It's not often we get both these things in one book, I was sorry when it ended and tried to slow my reading. The book is well illustrated including more maps than it needs (first time ever saw that). Generous footnotes and bibliography. Overall a great production."
Princeton University Press (2011), Hardcover, 456 pages

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:01:39 -0400

Stbalbach's review: "I gave up 75% of the way through. The writing is not very good and I became bored, my mind kept wandering away. Barry under-delivered on promises of drama, and assumed readers understood cellular biology. He could have emphasized and repeated key points, while paring back rambling fact-filled tangents that blunted his narrative underneath a mountain of research. If he had used a braided narrative the pandemic could have started at the beginning of the book instead of frustratingly 1/3 of the way in. The are many bad pandemic histories, for example no one has yet written a good book on the Black Death. It's a difficult topic to do well."
Penguin Books (2005), Edition: Revised, Paperback, 546 pages

Crusoe of Lonesome Lake by Leland Stowe

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:39:10 -0400

Stbalbach's review: "In 1957, American journalist Leland Stowe published a biography of a North Carolina man named <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Edwards_%28homesteader%29">Ralph Edwards</a> (1892-1977) who had settled in the Cascade mountains of British Columbia for over 50 years, from 1913 to 1965. Edwards homesteaded 40 miles from neighbors, living off the land, shooting grizzly, raising a family of three children. Stowe compares him to Robinson Crusoe but Swiss Family Robinson would be better. Stowe's book was popular and made Edwards famous enough to be a guest on the Christmas Day edition of This Is Your Life in 1957. The book and Edwards story has been a cult favorite ever since, best known in British Columbia but appealing to anyone tired of civilization and inspired by the idea of being self-sufficient in the wilderness. Based on later interviews with his children, Edwards was a tough old bird, he ruled his house unconditionally, it was not a soft or forgiving environment to grow up in. Such is the way with brilliant people, paradoxes of good and bad. In his 70s, Edwards abandoned the farm, and his wife, so he could take up commercial ocean fishing. And in 2007 the entire place burned down in a forest fire, back to nature as if it had never existed. In light of this, the pioneer myth created by Stowe begins to weaken, and could be seen as a projection of our own dreams and desires. Edwards didn't do it for the sake of being self-sufficient or famous, he did it because there was no one else to do it for him. He was dirt poor and running from the chaotic world of his youth, parents who were interested in their careers who shuffled him off to schools and relatives. He found a sort of stability in the granite mountains where he could be whatever he wanted through books and the mind cleansing joy of physical labor, protected from winds of constant change yet free to follow his dreams."
Random House (1957), Edition: First Printing, Stated, Unknown Binding

Selected Shorts: American Classics (Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story) by Symphony Space

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:43:13 -0400

Stbalbach's review: "A wonderful collection of short-stories performed by professional actors in front of a live audience. From the NPR series <a href="http://www.selectedshorts.org/">Selected Shorts</a>. My favorite stories in bold. 1. Amy Tan's "Rules of the Game" performed by Freda Foh Shen A strict Chinese mother bedevils her chess prodigy daughter. 2. Donald Barthelme's "Game" performed by David Strathairn Playing cosmic chicken in a nuclear bunker. 3. Eudora Welty's "Why I Live at the P.O." performed by Stockard Channing Story of an independent young woman striking out on her own. 4. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" performed by René Auberjonois Poe’s masterpiece told with new passion. 5. Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" performed by Christine Baranski Creepy tale of a teenage girl’s seduction by a dangerous drifter, like "A Good Man is Hard to Find". 6. John Sayles' "At the Anarchists’ Convention" performed by Jerry Stiller Comedy classic of a geriatric Jewish Anarchist convention. 7. Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" performed by Carmen de Lavallade Siblings disagree about a precious piece of their family heritage. 8. John Cheever's "Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor" performed by Malachy McCourt A high-rise elevator operator discovers holiday generosity."
Symphony Space (2010), Audio CD