"Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America" by Gary Wills.
--I loved this book. This year (2013) marks the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg battle and subsequent address. Lincoln's interpretation of the role of the Declaration of Independence as it pertained to the Civil War set the tone to how it is interpreted today. While reading this book, I was able to attend a reenactment of a Gettysburg battle and an actor playing Lincoln gave his famous Address. Amazing experience.
Mr. Wills makes several comments about why the Address was effective and also ahead of its time. The most memorable for me were these:
1) The people in general had a culture of looking at rural cemeteries (like the one at Gettysburg) as a rebirth through death.
2) At the time the people praised the Greek eulogies that honored the dead through the life. The living honored the dead by how they chose to live their lives.
3) To have a melancholy air (like Lincoln did) was praised because the melancholic person was assumed to be more in tune with death and therefore life.
4) Lincoln didn't think of the Southern rebels as states that succeeded, because in his mind they could not succeed. The very government he was the President of was based on the states united together. In Lincoln's mind, the Southern states weren't belligerent and were not traitors. The result of this view was that he thought about all of the people, not just the wrongs done to the North. They were all still a part of the same nation that just happened to be disagreeing. It was powerful unifier in the Address.
5) Lincoln was a student of language, emphasis and grammar. Throughout his life he toyed with these elements of communication. "Words were weapons, for him, even though he meant them to be weapons of peace in the midst of war."(p174) In an age where people talked for a long time (many people came to Gettysburg to listen to Everett's 2 hour speech), Lincoln was ahead of his time.
--I loved this book. This year (2013) marks the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg battle and subsequent address. Lincoln's interpretation of the role of the Declaration of Independence as it pertained to the Civil War set the tone to how it is interpreted today. While reading this book, I was able to attend a reenactment of a Gettysburg battle and an actor playing Lincoln gave his famous Address. Amazing experience.
Mr. Wills makes several comments about why the Address was effective and also ahead of its time. The most memorable for me were these:
1) The people in general had a culture of looking at rural cemeteries (like the one at Gettysburg) as a rebirth through death.
2) At the time the people praised the Greek eulogies that honored the dead through the life. The living honored the dead by how they chose to live their lives.
3) To have a melancholy air (like Lincoln did) was praised because the melancholic person was assumed to be more in tune with death and therefore life.
4) Lincoln didn't think of the Southern rebels as states that succeeded, because in his mind they could not succeed. The very government he was the President of was based on the states united together. In Lincoln's mind, the Southern states weren't belligerent and were not traitors. The result of this view was that he thought about all of the people, not just the wrongs done to the North. They were all still a part of the same nation that just happened to be disagreeing. It was powerful unifier in the Address.
5) Lincoln was a student of language, emphasis and grammar. Throughout his life he toyed with these elements of communication. "Words were weapons, for him, even though he meant them to be weapons of peace in the midst of war."(p174) In an age where people talked for a long time (many people came to Gettysburg to listen to Everett's 2 hour speech), Lincoln was ahead of his time.
Of course those weren't the only influences on the Address and on the people's reaction to it, but those were the ones that really opened my eyes. This book really changed how I look at Lincoln, Gettysburg and the role of the Declaration of Independence in my life today. A wonderful read!
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"HHhH" by Laurent Binet
--This book is about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the brains behind the leader of the SS, otherwise known as "the butcher of Prague." He was killed by two brave parachutists, one from Czechoslovakia and one from Slovakia. Though it was designed as a suicide mission, they lived in hiding for two weeks and were betrayed by one of their fellow men in the Resistance. The fact that they took so long to find, led Hitler to overreact and completely annihilate Lidice, which let the world know once and for all that the Nazi regime was no good. So the death of Heydrich indirectly led to the end of WWII.
This history book was a lot different from the other ones I have read. He did not 1) state only fact or 2) only make up details and conversations that were plausible but not necessarily true so that it would read like a novel. Instead, the author did both: he would tell the story and then say that it was made up and tell you what the facts were, or he would just tell facts. The author would say that from his research he would guess that they would have said or did something but was very clear on what was a guess and what was fact. What was made up was well documented as fiction. It was a very honest way of putting the story and making you conscious throughout the book that the people in it were real. History is alive, and the dead can't defend themselves from fictionalization.
During his research, the author relied heavily on the written lists, letters and books to find information. Heydrich's wife, Lina kept a diary with lots of details that helped the author immensely. Feelings, thoughts, how things looked, personal habits etc. How invaluable such a record is to the historian!
If I could sum up the feeling of the book in one quote, it would be the following: "I could stop now, but that's not how it works here. The people who took part in this story are not characters. And if they became characters because of me, I don't wish to treat them like that. With a heavy heart - and without turning it into literature, or at least, without meaning to - I will tell you what became of those who were still alive on June 18, 1942." (p 320).
In sum, the style of the book took awhile to understand, but once there, it was addicting. It wasn't just about the history of Heydrich's assassination, but how history is recorded and brought to life. A good read.
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"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
--I am rather ashamed to admit that until it got the island scene, I thought that this was a true story. But once I got over the disappointment, I liked the message of the book. To me the book has two messages:
1) People have multiple sides and both are strengths in times of need. I believe the second reality that he had to do some things that he would attribute to the tiger and more animal side of him. "For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out" (page 68). This describes the actions of the cook (and some actions the author had to take) perfectly.
2) People can either believe in God, not believe in God or be undecided. To be undecided and in the gray is worse than either choice. I personally believe in God. Not though rationalization, but through feelings/peace that don't come from myself but from a Holy Entity (the Holy Ghost). I agree that you need to make up your mind and act in faith. If you are wrong, you at least learned from your mistake and move forward. If you are undecided you don't move and I think that is the greater crime. Give God a chance to prove you wrong and help you believe.
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"The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime" by Miles Harvey
--To start off, I want to mention that this book was written by a journalist. I think I really like books written by journalists. They have such a way with words!
In 1996 Mr. Harvey was sent on an assignment to cover a story about a map thief, Gilbert Bland. Mr. Bland would go into the special collections sections of libraries and cut out maps from old books. I mean really old books and sometimes the map was the only one left in existence. Then he would sell the maps to collectors and make a big profit. Even if the map was returned, he destroyed a piece of history forever to make his living. Sick. Terrible. Horrible.
Throughout this book, the author tried to understand why Mr. Bland would do this. He could never say for certain, but he made a few guesses. And on the way the author went into the history of making maps, how maps became so collectable, what the mindset of a collector is and what modern cartography is and does today.
He also talked about his own draw to maps. While reading this book, I tried to think if I have a draw to maps. Upon reflection, I think maybe I pay attention to a map a little bit more than a primarily textual page, but they don't speak to me as they do to the author.
Reading this book educated me on the life of cartography. But what really made me sad was the ease and destruction of history. Without history we lose what we have learned and thereby a sense of who we are.
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"Matched", "Crossed", "Reached" by Ally Condie
--Showcased here are three books in a dystopian series about choice and how much choice you need to be happy. Some are content with no choice as long as they can guarantee health and optimum statistical happiness while others, of course, are not. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have my life mate picked for me, matched to make me optimally happy, even if it is an arraigned relationship. If they can guarantee that I am happiest I am ever going to be with my mate, I might give up the freedom of choice. Maybe.
In the book, the Society chose 100 of every cultural achievement to keep and then destroyed the rest. The author showcased poetry and painting. I love that I have access to thousands of poems and paintings anytime I want. I love how much meaning the characters got out of the limited exposure they had, which made me realize that I need to more fully appreciate what I can have so easily. They really made something beautiful a part of themselves. I think that is a gift. I think that is living. On a side note, the author made poetry a part of a dystopian "tough teen" book. How wonderful is that???
The Society also didn't want the people to create anything. The people's creativity was stifled because it was assumed that what they could create would be just like everything the Society had already saved, but not as good. The people insisted on creating though because they wanted an outlet. They wanted to be able to say, "I did this". Makes me think of a talk in General Conference this last weekend (April 2013) by Elder Scott who said something to the affect of, "though you make consider a talent meager, humbly and generously share it and it can bring greatness into someone else's life". I love this as I think that defines my abilities most of the time.
I have been inspired to read Emily Dickinson. I also really like "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas.
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"Middlemarch" by George Elliot
--This book was recommended to me by a former visiting teachee. It is a long book and I attempted to start it a few times and almost didn't read it because it is written by a girl (I really wanted a boy's perspective on the 1800s that isn't Charles Dickens). But I finally did read it. Like it says on the cover, it really is just a portrait of life and people. I loved the way she put things, why don't people talk like that anymore? Some of my favorite quotes:
"He went through a great deal of spiritual conflict and inward argument in order to adjust his motives, and make clear to himself what God's glory required." pg 173
" 'Explain!...Explain my preference! I never had a preference for her, any more than I have a preference for breathing. No other woman exists by the side of her.' ", pgs 862-863
"Marriage...is still the beginning of the home epic - the gradual conquest or irremediable loss of that complete union which makes the advancing years a climax and age the harvest of sweet memories in common.
Some set out, like Crusaders of old, with a glorious equipment of home and enthusiasm, and get broken by the way, wanting patience with each other and the world." pg 917
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"Napoleon in Egypt" by Paul Strathern
--This book was recommended in a BYU Alumni magazine (as was "Red Cell"). It has been on my list to read for a very long time because I was intimidated by the subject matter. I have never really learned much about Napoleon and his effect on history. Once I started to read it, I couldn't put it down. This book was intriguing! As much as possible the author used contemporary (to the time) journals and books to tell the story of Napoleon's campaign into Egypt. It talked about the different motivations Napoleon had for the campaign. It described how the campaign influenced the man that Napoleon was to become and made parallels with the future ruling and battles he participated in.
The campaign into Egypt was ultimately a failure, but the French made several discoveries that later influenced European civilization. They uncovered the Rosetta Stone. They invented the field of teratology, which influenced Darwin and the study of genetics. They also mapped the area, which hadn't yet been done.
Napoleon never forgot his failed campaign and I think it may have dragged him down a little bit. I recently read an article that said if you stay true to your core values, the ups and downs of life will not have as much of an effect on you. I think that Napoleon may be an example of not adhering to core values.
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"Red Cell" by Mark Henshaw
--The jacket cover starts off by describing this book as a "Tom Clancy for a New Generation". I have always been intrigued by Clancy but have never read his stuff. The other authors I've read who have an action/government theme usually swear and have inappropriate relations. These things are distracting to me and I never fully enjoy what I read. But this book was different. It was fast paced and you felt like you were in their world, but the author didn't have to use profanity or sex to spice up the story. The acronyms that the government (and therefore this book) used were a little confusing, but the author made it easy to read. This is definitely a book I'd recommend.
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"North and South" by Elizabeth Gaskell
--If you have never read a book by Elizabeth Gaskell and you love Jane Austin, you need to read a book by her. This work felt like a cross between Austin and Dickens. She explored freedom of choice vs. obedience to authority and obedience to the people around you using both the more political story of factory masters and workers and the more common life of the Hale family moving from the south to the north of England. A very good read.
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"Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall
--This book was inspirational. It talked about why people run, how they run and how people are meant to run. Reading it made me want to put on my running shoes, fix my form (which they taught you briefly how to do) and run a 50 mile race. This book was a testament to how much ideology changes how we feel and use our bodies.
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"Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
--I have never been a person to really care about world politics or conditions. I figure that there really isn't anything I can do to influence the world, so why take the time to learn about current conditions/politics? But I read this book and I can see how a little money and a lot of dedication can change the lives of thousands of individuals. This really was an inspiring book. It is about a man who (with a lot of help), built schools so that children in remote areas of Pakistan can get a non-extremist education. I like that at the end of the book it has a list of suggestions of how someone such as myself could help with this project.
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"Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson
--This book is subtitled "The True Adventures of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II", and that is an appropriate description. The story is all true, even the conversations (well, as accurate as memory will allow). The story is about two excellent divers who participated in the discovery of a U-boat off the coast of New Jersey. The U-boat wasn't supposed to be there and history, which tried to account for all of the U-boats, said that it shouldn't be there. But it was.
More people were in on the discovery, but two men made it their mission to discover the identity of the U-boat. Not only did they want to know so they could let the families of the men know, but also needed to know for themselves, to prove to themselves that they weren't quitters. Dive after dive the men tried to uncover some kind of identifying evidence but every spot was eroded. Finally only through a daring move where one of the divers actually took off his tank, they were able to identify the boat.
There was a little bit of language in the beginning of the book, but it was really an excellent, excellent book.