Category Archives: history

BOOKS: “American Intellectual History: A Very Short Introduction” by Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen

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American Intellectual History: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)American Intellectual History: A Very Short Introduction by Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen


Publisher Site – OUP

This is a brief guide to the philosophies and major developments in United States’ academia from pre-colonial times to the 1990’s. But both of those end points require a bit of clarification. The discussion of pre-colonial scholarly history is largely a mea culpa for beginning with colonial history because Native American tribes weren’t big on recording their philosophical and other scholastic ideas in writing. There is an appendix that discusses America scholarship in the era of globalization (and beyond.) My point is that if you’re hoping for discussion of what’s happened in the last couple decades, you won’t find it herein. (There are a few bibliographic references from the 2010’s, but that’s it.) It is a history book, but some readers may be curious because there’s been a lot of talk of late about issues related to scholarship in America.

Overall, I believe the book covered the topic solidly. There is considerable discussion of the debates triggered by the ideas of Charles Darwin arriving on American shores. As one would expect, there is also quite a bit of discussion of Transcendentalism and Pragmatism, two philosophies closely associated with America. The author covered a wide swath of ground including both progressive and conservative thinkers and viewpoints. One conspicuous absence was any mention of Objectivism / Ayn Rand. I know that isn’t a popular topic in academic circles and is widely dismissed with contempt, but on the grounds of: a.) Objectivism’s considerable influence (e.g. we had a Federal Reserve Chairman – Alan Greenspan – who served almost 20 years under both Republican and Democratic Presidents who was from that school of thought,) b.) its distinctive Americanness, I’m shocked that it didn’t merit at least a sentence or any mention of a book in the bibliography.

All in all, it’s an interesting book that offers unique insight into the history of the United States.

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DAILY PHOTO: Mysore Palace

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DAILY PHOTO: Ship Displays from Melaka Museums

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Cheng Ho Cultural Museum (A museum dedicated to the famous Chinese Admiral Zheng He)
Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
Maritime Museum of Melaka (Flor de la Mar)

BOOK: “Mad About the Mekong” by John Keay

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Mad About The Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East AsiaMad About The Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia by John Keay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

This book is largely, but not exclusively, an accounting of the Mekong Exploration Commission’s two-year (1866-1868) expedition of the Mekong River. The French undertook this expedition in the expectation that the Mekong, like other of the world’s major rivers, would allow ocean-going ships to traverse deep inland — possibly even up into Yunnan, China. The explorers were quickly disabused of this notion, but they relentlessly kept going – despite suffering from disease and the exhaustion of a trip that involved a lot more portaging and other intense physical activities than they’d hoped for.

As I mentioned, Keay doesn’t stick purely to description of the activities of these nineteenth century explorers. Along the way he also brings in fascinating stories from other periods as well as discussion of what the river is like (e.g. its ecology, infrastructure, role in geopolitics, etc.) these days. So, while it would be excessive to call the book a history of the Mekong, it is in some regards — albeit the highlights reel. Some of the diversions were among my favorite parts of the book. Perhaps my favorite was the story of Tony Poe, whose story is said to be the model for Col. Kurtz of Apocalypse Now. I’d long heard that that movie was based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and it is (the name “Kurtz” is clearly from Conrad’s novella, though Poe’s occupation more closely mirrors the Col. Kurtz character played by Marlon Brando.)

While the book sometimes shines the light more broadly than he Mekong Exploration Commission Expedition, it also narrows its focus much of the way, putting the expedition’s most colorful character, Francis Garnier, front and center. Garnier was not only the most intriguing member of the leadership, he also led the group to what was the end of the line for the expedition, deep in China, when the Captain, Ernest Doudart de Lagree, became incapacitated by disease.

If you’re interested in history, travel, or exploration, I’d recommend this book.

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DAILY PHOTO: Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum (or Crazy Rich Asians — 19th Century)

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DAILY PHOTO: St. John’s Fort, Malacca

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St. John’s Fort (or Kota St. John) is a preserved Dutch fort built upon existing Portuguese fortifications. This fort is built facing landward to protect against overland attacks by the Acehnese and Bugis (rather than toward the sea to protect from maritime competitors.)

BOOKS: “Writers’ Journeys That Shaped Our World” by Travis Elborough

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The Writer's Journey: In the Footsteps of the Literary Greats (Journeys of Note, 1)The Writer’s Journey: In the Footsteps of the Literary Greats by Travis Elborough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Website

This book discusses important travel events in the lives of thirty-five prominent writers and poets. Some of these were long international travels and some entirely domestic, some aborted and others completed. All of these trips in some way influenced the subsequent works produced by these writers. In some cases, it was just for a scene, as with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s use of Reichenbach Falls to kill off his widely beloved (but personally soul-sucking) character, Sherlock Holmes. In others, the trip became the basis of a book, as with Joseph Conrad’s travels on the Congo River. And in yet others, the trip would become the basis of multiple works, such as Jack London’s travels in the Klondike. Of course, there were some travels that had more indirect influence on the writers’ works by way of shifts in worldview and life experience.

The graphics for this book are excellent and include a simple route map for each trip as well as photos from key locations, as well as a few relevant historic artworks. The maps and pictures help to give one a feel for the appeal of these places, and — in some cases — to better understand literary works once read.

If you are a traveler, are interested in literary history, or are both, this book is well worth investigating.

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DAILY PHOTO: Flor de La Mar

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The Flor de La Mar was a Portuguese ship laden with loot stolen from Malacca when it sunk. This scale replica is a museum (Muzium Sumadera) in Malacca.

DAILY PHOTO: Church of St. Paul, Malacca

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Said to be the oldest European building east of India, these hollowed out ruins represent one of the oldest Christian Churches in Southeast Asia.
This statue of St. Francis Xavier stands in front of St. Paul’s Church. Francis Xavier did have his right hand amputated posthumously, and many like to tell the story that the statue’s hand was sheared off by lightning in an act of divine reckoning (though more likely the movers dropped the statue and the hand broke off. At any rate, that’s why they never got around to having it fixed.)

BOOKS: “Southeast Asia: A Very Short Introduction” by James R. Rush

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Southeast Asia: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)Southeast Asia: A Very Short Introduction by James R. Rush
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site

I’ve been to most of the eleven countries of Southeast Asia, but still my questions are many. This short guide answered some of them. The book takes a largely historical approach, breaking the timeline into periods during which these countries were pre-nation-state kingdoms, then colonies, and then independent countries. While the guide is written by a historian and is organized by governance (i.e. who won the wars,) it does not solely address politics and regimes.

The guide also explores subjects such as religion. This was fortunate for me because a lot of my questions involve this topic. Why is the northern part of the region mostly Buddhist while the southern part is mostly Muslim? Why did Hinduism and other Indian religions (not inclusive of Buddhism, which virtually died out within India) almost entirely give way to other religions in this area, except for spotty exceptions (most notably Bali?) Incidentally, the former question is answered more than the latter, which makes sense as this is small book for a relatively large area, but more importantly for a long history. Southeast Asia has been a strategically and economically important place for centuries.

As a traveler, I found this book well worth reading as a way to gain insight into the region. It doesn’t dive deep into cultural questions (except a bit into religion,) and so there is much more to learn from other books. It does explore who governed these countries and how, and the last chapter brings the question up to date — reflecting on the political and economic changes in the last couple decades. If you’re curious to know more about Southeast Asia, in a way that doesn’t get too deep in the minutiae, this book is worth checking out.


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