I grew up in New Jersey and we often drove through the "Jersey Pines" on the way to the shore for a day at the ocean beaches. However, I never heard the term "Pine Barrens" until I encountered this gem of a book.
Among other topics, McPhee details the industry which utilized "bog iron" to provide military equipment such as cannons and cannonballs during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. He tells us of the origins of the New Jersey Devil, sort of an East coast version of Sasquatch in spirit if not in detail.
Among other topics, McPhee details the industry which utilized "bog iron" to provide military equipment such as cannons and cannonballs during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. He tells us of the origins of the New Jersey Devil, sort of an East coast version of Sasquatch in spirit if not in detail.
This is a remarkable book. Lawrence by turns reveals contempt, condescension, sympathy and admiration for America. And the book is as much about America and the American Mind (whatever that may be) as it is strictly about American Literature. The literature acts as a lens which Lawrence uses to focus his considerable and intense mental energy on the American psyche and character.
You never quite know if he likes us or loathes us or is merely amused by us. That among other things is what makes this book special and highly entertaining. That and Lawrence's pointed characterizations and observations.
About Benjamin Franklin:
"He was a little model, was Benjamin. Doctor Franklin. Snuff-colored little man!"
James Fennimore Cooper:
"... Best stick to National Grouch. The great American grouch.
Cooper had it, gentleman as he was."
A very curious observation in the chapter on Edgar Allan Poe:
"It is love that causes the neuroticism of the day. It is love that is the prime cause of tuberculosis."
On Nathaniel Hawthorne:
"The absolute duplicity of that blue-eyed Wunderkind of a Nathaniel. The American wonder child, with his magical allegorical insight."
In the chapter on Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast" (which makes me want to read that book):
"This is what Dana wanted: a naked fighting experience with the sea."
...
"And his own soul is as the soul of the albatross.
It is a storm-bird. And so is Dana."
...
"So Dana sits and Hamletizes by the Pacific--chief actor in the play of his own show more existence."
Finally, Lawrence brings up dualism more than once in his commentary and then exemplifies it himself in his own attitudes and judgments. Speaking of "Moby Dick" he says:
"It is a great book." Then immediately after that:
"At first you are put off by the style. It reads like journalism. It seems spurious. You feel Melville is trying to put something over you. It won't do."
All in all, a brilliant piece of commentary that bears re-reading. It took me 46 years to get around to my second reading - I suspect I'll read it the third time before that long a time elapses again. show less
You never quite know if he likes us or loathes us or is merely amused by us. That among other things is what makes this book special and highly entertaining. That and Lawrence's pointed characterizations and observations.
About Benjamin Franklin:
"He was a little model, was Benjamin. Doctor Franklin. Snuff-colored little man!"
James Fennimore Cooper:
"... Best stick to National Grouch. The great American grouch.
Cooper had it, gentleman as he was."
A very curious observation in the chapter on Edgar Allan Poe:
"It is love that causes the neuroticism of the day. It is love that is the prime cause of tuberculosis."
On Nathaniel Hawthorne:
"The absolute duplicity of that blue-eyed Wunderkind of a Nathaniel. The American wonder child, with his magical allegorical insight."
In the chapter on Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast" (which makes me want to read that book):
"This is what Dana wanted: a naked fighting experience with the sea."
...
"And his own soul is as the soul of the albatross.
It is a storm-bird. And so is Dana."
...
"So Dana sits and Hamletizes by the Pacific--chief actor in the play of his own show more existence."
Finally, Lawrence brings up dualism more than once in his commentary and then exemplifies it himself in his own attitudes and judgments. Speaking of "Moby Dick" he says:
"It is a great book." Then immediately after that:
"At first you are put off by the style. It reads like journalism. It seems spurious. You feel Melville is trying to put something over you. It won't do."
All in all, a brilliant piece of commentary that bears re-reading. It took me 46 years to get around to my second reading - I suspect I'll read it the third time before that long a time elapses again. show less
This review is after a rereading of the novel - first read on Aug. 1, 2002.
This is the first in a remarkable series of 6 novels, written about one per year from 1999 to 2005. They feature the transplanted Welshman Abel Jones who begins the series as a Captain in the Union Army but is promoted to Major by Abraham Lincoln himself at the end of this novel.
Parry (a pen name for Ralph Peters) writes vividly. Indeed, who couldn't like a novel that starts with the sentence: "A sentry with troubled bowels discovered the body." Abel Jones is quite a character and the novel is narrated in his voice. He is fussy, precise, moralistic and persistent but likable in the extreme. He is no longer on active duty after having been almost fatally wounded at the first battle of Bull's Run (Manassas). He now walks with a severe limp, requires a cane and has been relegated to the quartermaster corps as a clerk.
In the novel, Jones is called upon by General George McClellan to investigate the murder signaled by the opening sentence. Jones stumbles, both literally and figuratively, more than once in the process of this investigation but eventually uncovers the unlikely truth. The upshot is an ending that leads to Jones' introduction to Lincoln and his promotion to Major.
The action of the novel wanders from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia to Pottstown, Pennsylvania as well as India and Wales by way of flashback. It introduces us to an astonishing variety of incidents and characters always show more entertaining.
Highly recommended. show less
This is the first in a remarkable series of 6 novels, written about one per year from 1999 to 2005. They feature the transplanted Welshman Abel Jones who begins the series as a Captain in the Union Army but is promoted to Major by Abraham Lincoln himself at the end of this novel.
Parry (a pen name for Ralph Peters) writes vividly. Indeed, who couldn't like a novel that starts with the sentence: "A sentry with troubled bowels discovered the body." Abel Jones is quite a character and the novel is narrated in his voice. He is fussy, precise, moralistic and persistent but likable in the extreme. He is no longer on active duty after having been almost fatally wounded at the first battle of Bull's Run (Manassas). He now walks with a severe limp, requires a cane and has been relegated to the quartermaster corps as a clerk.
In the novel, Jones is called upon by General George McClellan to investigate the murder signaled by the opening sentence. Jones stumbles, both literally and figuratively, more than once in the process of this investigation but eventually uncovers the unlikely truth. The upshot is an ending that leads to Jones' introduction to Lincoln and his promotion to Major.
The action of the novel wanders from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia to Pottstown, Pennsylvania as well as India and Wales by way of flashback. It introduces us to an astonishing variety of incidents and characters always show more entertaining.
Highly recommended. show less
The first novel I read by Bernard Cornwell was "Sharpe's Rifles" and what impressed me the most was the way he never let you have a moment's rest. The action was non-stop, you were afraid to keep reading and you were afraid to stop. It was the kind of writing that copy-writers glibly refer to as "pulse pounding action."
Since then I've read 18 more Sharpe novels as well as 12 others by Cornwell, the current one included. This is the third in the series collectively known as the Saxon Tales and it bids to equal the Sharpe novels in quality and perhaps in quantity as well if Cornwell keeps at it long enough. The series, as did the Sharpe series, features a first person protagonist. The narrator is Uhtred, born a Briton but raised by Ragnar a Dane, after Ragnar kills Uhtred's father in battle and is impressed by the boy Uhtred's spunk when he tried to kill Ragnar in turn. Uhtred comes to love Ragnar and is schooled in the arts of the Warrior, eventually himself becoming one.
"Lords of the North" is the third in the series, and while it starts out a bit slow and a bit confusing (maybe because I waited such a long time after reading the first two to read this one), but peaks in a long and literally pulse-pounding climax. I had a roommate in graduate school who described the novels of another writer, Alistair MacLean by saying that "the lead changes hands at least three more times than you expect it to." Fits the current novel to a T, and if anything understates the case.
The show more series in general is instructive as well as enjoyable. Herein we learn about English history pre A.D. 1000 including the Vikings, the Danes, the Britons, the Saxons, et. al. We gain insight into the Northerners' raids on the British Isles and their ambitions to conquer and enslave the entire realm. We learn about the warfare of the time including axes and swords, of course, but also the grand concept of "the Shield wall." Cornwell's depictions are visceral and graphic. We also encounter and learn about that notorious figure Alfred the Great. Uhtred's fate is inexorably bound to the latter in ways
that Uhtred finds unavoidable.
Five stars is more than deserved. show less
Since then I've read 18 more Sharpe novels as well as 12 others by Cornwell, the current one included. This is the third in the series collectively known as the Saxon Tales and it bids to equal the Sharpe novels in quality and perhaps in quantity as well if Cornwell keeps at it long enough. The series, as did the Sharpe series, features a first person protagonist. The narrator is Uhtred, born a Briton but raised by Ragnar a Dane, after Ragnar kills Uhtred's father in battle and is impressed by the boy Uhtred's spunk when he tried to kill Ragnar in turn. Uhtred comes to love Ragnar and is schooled in the arts of the Warrior, eventually himself becoming one.
"Lords of the North" is the third in the series, and while it starts out a bit slow and a bit confusing (maybe because I waited such a long time after reading the first two to read this one), but peaks in a long and literally pulse-pounding climax. I had a roommate in graduate school who described the novels of another writer, Alistair MacLean by saying that "the lead changes hands at least three more times than you expect it to." Fits the current novel to a T, and if anything understates the case.
The show more series in general is instructive as well as enjoyable. Herein we learn about English history pre A.D. 1000 including the Vikings, the Danes, the Britons, the Saxons, et. al. We gain insight into the Northerners' raids on the British Isles and their ambitions to conquer and enslave the entire realm. We learn about the warfare of the time including axes and swords, of course, but also the grand concept of "the Shield wall." Cornwell's depictions are visceral and graphic. We also encounter and learn about that notorious figure Alfred the Great. Uhtred's fate is inexorably bound to the latter in ways
that Uhtred finds unavoidable.
Five stars is more than deserved. show less
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I have read it 10 times over the years and I still find it rewarding.
Steinbeck adopts a subtle alternate chapter strategy in which first the plot is driven forward and then contemplation and philosophizing intervene.
The characters are truly memorable and the situations earthy and amusing. The gentle irony of Doc's relationships with those around him, especially Mac and "the boys" resonates long after the final page has been turned.
Steinbeck's writing is economical and telling, so I'll shut up and exhort you to read (and re-read) this book.
Steinbeck adopts a subtle alternate chapter strategy in which first the plot is driven forward and then contemplation and philosophizing intervene.
The characters are truly memorable and the situations earthy and amusing. The gentle irony of Doc's relationships with those around him, especially Mac and "the boys" resonates long after the final page has been turned.
Steinbeck's writing is economical and telling, so I'll shut up and exhort you to read (and re-read) this book.
The NeWS Book: An Introduction to the Network/Extensible Window System (Sun Technical Reference Library) by James Gosling
Nobody would read this book as a serious technical source in 2008. However, as a window into history it is fascinating. NeWS was a precursor to the X Windows System from MIT and somehow even though it "should have won," it managed to lose big time. However, NeWS introduced some key technological paradigms which were noticed by others and adopted in other contexts.
The notion of Display PostScript adopted by the NeXT Operating System (uncanny how the capitalization lines up, eh what?) was a direct descendant of the Object Oriented PostScript mentioned in Chapter 6 of the current book. Display PostScript powered the screen graphics of the NeXT machine. When the NeXT hardware went down the tubes, the NeXT STEP development platform lived on, along with Display PostScript.
Ultimately, Display PostScript transmogrified into Display PDF and Next STEP transmogrified into Mac OS X and lo and behold, maybe NeWS didn't lose after all.
The notion of Display PostScript adopted by the NeXT Operating System (uncanny how the capitalization lines up, eh what?) was a direct descendant of the Object Oriented PostScript mentioned in Chapter 6 of the current book. Display PostScript powered the screen graphics of the NeXT machine. When the NeXT hardware went down the tubes, the NeXT STEP development platform lived on, along with Display PostScript.
Ultimately, Display PostScript transmogrified into Display PDF and Next STEP transmogrified into Mac OS X and lo and behold, maybe NeWS didn't lose after all.
An excellent source book for finding new authors and books to read based on what you already know and love. The organization is like a do it yourself adventure novel - or maybe like the latest fad, the Semantic Web.
In the world of words, this is one of my all time favorite books. As a vocabulary builder alone, it contributed over 60 words in its short 220+ pages. And as I recall, English is not Simon's first language!
Very entertaining if you are a hockey fan; especially so if you are (like my son) a Leafs' fan