Tag Archives: history

BOOK: “Better Than Sex” by Hunter S. Thompson

Posted on by
Reply
Better Than SexBetter Than Sex by Hunter S. Thompson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — Penguin

This is a collection of gonzo writings about American Politics in the 1990’s, and particularly about the 1992 election in which incumbent George H.W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton. The title comes from a quote about politics that, by the book’s end, Thompson makes clear he finds utterly discredited. It is a tale of dissatisfaction with US political leadership. Thompson’s discontentment with the Bush 41 administration (going back to the Reagan years) leads him through a brief period favoring Ross Perot (a rare third-party candidate to garner a modicum of attention or support) and ultimately on to Bill Clinton, who is always presented as the lesser of two evils and about whom Thompson has nothing particularly charitable to say about beyond, Well, at least he’s not Bush. If there’s one overarching theme that can be applied to the many disparate articles and missives, herein, it’s that if this is the best we can do as a country, we are once and truly fucked. (Little did Thompson know, American politics could – indeed – become more deeply mired in the cesspool.)

A final chapter was added when Nixon died, and it consists primarily of a harsh obituary. I imagine Thompson’s impression of Trump would be similar to that of Nixon — i.e. that he is an absolutely vile and cretinous individual, but worthy of some begrudging respect for being an evil dimwit in such an upfront manner. At least one sees something like this in his comparison between Nixon and Clinton — i.e. the idea that Clinton may not be as reprehensible, overall, but there’s something unsettling in the way Clinton masks the truth.

This is a worthwhile read because it taps into America’s perennial disgruntlement with our inability – despite a large population and many resources – to find a decent human being to run the country, but it puts all that broadly felt sentiment into funny and clever words. I’d highly recommend this book for lovers of Gonzo journalism and / or (haters of) American politics.

View all my reviews

PROMPT: Historical Event

Posted on by
2
Daily writing prompt
If you could go back and witness any historical event, which one would you pick?
View all responses

I’d like to go back to see the death of Julius Caesar to learn if his final words were truly, “Et tu, Brute” or the more likely, “Oww! Stop stabbing me already!” (Vah! Noli me amplius vulnerare.)

PROMPT: History

Posted on by
Reply
Daily writing prompt
If you could erase one event from history, what would it be?
View all responses

The Teapot Dome Scandal. Because of the way History is taught (or was in my day) I have this name indelibly etched in my brain (taking up valuable — i.e. limited — real estate) that has no significance because I have no idea what said event was. Was it about teapots? Was it about domes? Was it about both? If so, what’s a “teapot dome?” The curved part at the top? How big of a teapot related scandal could there be, really.

BOOK: “The Lifetime Reading Plan” by Clifton Fadiman

Posted on by
Reply
The Lifetime Reading PlanThe Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Google Books Page

By the standard of most people (even most readers,) my reading life is insane, both in terms of the volume that I read and the variety of kinds of writing I consume. But – still – whenever someone comes out with one of these “100 must-read books” lists, there’re always many titles that I haven’t read. This has led me to reflect on what constitutes “essential reading,” (if such a thing exists) and what more systematic readers would consider the crucial texts to read to be a well-read person. And that lead me to this book, which is one man’s attempt to assemble such a syllabus of readings.

Fadiman arranges his 103 recommendations into seven sections: 1.) The Beginning (writings from the ancient world;) 2.) The Middle Ages; 3.) Plays; 4.) Narratives; 5.) Philosophy, Psychology, Politics, and Essays; 6.) Poetry; and 7.) History, Biography, and Autobiography. He also provides an annex of six recommendations to give a rudimentary overview of subjects not addressed in the listed works (e.g. art, mathematics, science, World History, American History, and how to read a book.) Note: When I refer to Fadiman’s ‘103 recommendations,” I’m not talking about 103 books. In many cases, Fadiman recommends one read all (or at least multiple instances of) a given author’s writings. I wouldn’t want to give the impression that one could knock out the whole syllabus in 111 books (inclusive of the annex recommendations;) it is a “lifetime” reading plan – after all.

The first edition of this book came out in 1960 and the third (and – as far as I know – final) edition came out in 1988. Fadiman’s selection is far less diverse than one might expect of such a book today. The author freely admits the book is Western-centric, but that’s not the whole story. While Fadiman’s selection is completely Western, it’s also highly Anglo-American (Anglo / American, if you prefer) with a few French, German, Russian, and Latin American authors scattered into the mix. Furthermore, the feminine voice is all but absent with only four females among the recommendations (including George Eliot who famously took a man’s name to be able to publish the work she probably couldn’t have as Mary Ann Evans [her birth name.])

One the one hand, this book did offer insights into many authors and books, including giving a few recommendations I’d never even heard of before. On the other hand, I wouldn’t call it a recipe for being a well-rounded intellect. It’s far too siloed for that purpose. That said, if you’re looking some readings to round out the Western portion of your reading list, I’d recommend you give this book a look. However, as a “lifetime reading plan,” I think it would leave the reader with some pretty broad blind spots.

View all my reviews

PROMPT: Sequel

Posted on by
Reply
Daily writing prompt
What’s a book you think deserves a sequel?
View all responses

I think sequelization is a pox upon the literary world. I would hazard to say that anything good I’ve ever read was a standalone work. Seldom does the “resolution-to-hook” ratio lead to a satisfying, let alone illuminating, reading experience. A popular book series is far more likely to end like the television series Lost than to pull all its outstanding narrative strings together coherently.

Unless you’re talking nonfiction, in which case I would be open to another volume of The Complete History of the World at some point.

BOOK: “Ninja Weapons” by Charles V. Gruzanski

Posted on by
Reply
Ninja Weapons: Chain and ShurikenNinja Weapons: Chain and Shuriken by Charles V. Gruzanski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Online – Internet Archives

The first item to get out of the way is that this book doesn’t have a particularly apt title. The book was originally released with the more accurate (but less sexy) title, “Spike and Chain,” and then this edition came out in early 90’s when fascination with all things ninja was high. An accurate title would be “Masaki-ryu Chain Fighting Basics with Information on Throwing Blades on the Side.” But, of course, that would be a horrible, wordy, and tremendously unsexy title. Still, the bulk of the book is a description of the postures and fundamental techniques of fighting with a short weighted chain (called manriki-gusari [10-power chain] in Masaki-ryu or by the more literal kusari-fundo [chain (w/) weight,] elsewhere) and then there is a section on shuriken (throwing spikes and stars) to pad the book out into a three-digit page count needed to be a proper book back in the day.

I should point out that I don’t mean this all as a criticism. I am much more pleased with a book on Masaki-ryu weighted-chain technique than I would be with one that rambled on speculating about the vast number of weapons associated with the ninja. But it’s important to know what the book is about because if you are looking for a guide to the weapons used by ninja, you would probably find this weak sauce. First, there’s little to no mention of ninja in the text. Second, the story given for the development of the manriki-gusari is that of a gate guarding samurai, Dannoshin Toshimitsu Masaki, who didn’t want to have to sully the Imperial grounds with blood and so took up the chain as an alternative to sword fighting. Finally, while shuriken were said to be used by ninja, they were not exclusively so and the history in this book also cites Edo period samurai with developing the art.

If you are interested in Japanese weighted chain weaponry, and specifically Masaki-ryu, this is an excellent book for you. If you’re interested in throwing blades, you might be a little disappointed with how thin that part is, but it does discuss a lot of the fundamentals in a concise and practical way. If you are looking for a book on all the weapons used by ninja, this is not the one for you.

View all my reviews

BOOK: “Night Lights” by Molnár József & Péter Szilas

Posted on by
Reply
Night lights (Our Budapest)Night lights by Jozsef Molnar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher – Atlantisz

Budapest was a city on the cutting edge in the 19th century. This fact is often lost to people who today see it as a city that’s doing okay getting to its feet in the wake of the Cold War, but it’s worth noting that it was a major world capital before that. This is exemplified by the fact that Budapest had the first subway train (Line No. 1., opened in May of 1896.) It’s also seen in the subject of this book, the development of streetlights and lighting of public spaces.

This pamphlet / book of 56 pages is put out by Budapest’s City Hall and includes a great many color photos of important structures, historic and modern, from around the city (all taken at night to display said lighting.) The text covers the history of Budapest’s public lighting from a 1777 decree by Maria Theresa (ruler of the Hapsburg monarchy, 1740-1780) that set the stage for the first street lighting to the post-World War II floodlighting of major sights (e.g. Parliament and the Vajdahunyad Palace.) So, the book covers the period from gaslighting (and oil lighting) through the modern electrical grid, as well as the transition between.

I’d recommend this little book for those interested in the development of cities. It’s fascinating considering what the world was like in the absence of infrastructure that we now take for granted.

View all my reviews

BOOK: “The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace” Trans. / Ed. / Introduction by N.E. Sjoman

Posted on by
1
The Yoga Tradition Of The Mysore PalaceThe Yoga Tradition Of The Mysore Palace by N.E. Sjoman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Online

This book consists of a translation of The Śrītattvanidhi, a description of 122 Hatha Yoga postures (asana) that has been attributed to Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (Maharaja of Mysore – b.1794 – d. 1868,) as well as notes and commentary on the postures by the Sanskrit scholar, N.E. Sjoman, notes that serve to map said postures to their present-day counterparts. Sjoman also writes an extensive introduction that explores the evolution of the body of yogasana as we now know them, with discussion of varied sources, his research rooted in archival study in Mysore. A copy of the original The Śrītattvanidhi, (of varied readability) is included in the text.

Because India is top-heavy in terms of population and influence, outside of India yoga practitioners might be forgiven for failing to understand how important Mysore and the patronage of the Wodeyar royalty to T.T. Krishnamacharya was in the development of asana-centric yoga as we know it today. Krishnamacharya taught Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Vinyasa,) B.K.S. Iyengar (prop yoga,) and Indira Devi (Yogini to the stars,) among other prominent 20th century teachers. It is from these teachers onward that yoga practice would be recognizable to the average practitioner of today.

This book links the postures of The Śrītattvanidhi to the names / versions known today (typically linked by the names from B.K.S. Iyengar’s Light on Yoga.) Sjoman also maps these asana to other prominent sources like Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, Krishnamacharya’s Yogamakaranda, Pattabhi Jois’s Yoga Mala, and Yogeshwaranand Parmahansa’s First Steps to Higher Yoga, linking them primarily through a series of indices.

If you’re interested in the evolution of yoga postures over time, I’d highly recommend this book as a quick way to get a basic grasp of the subject.

View all my reviews

BOOK: “Love Thy Stranger” by Bart D. Ehrman

Posted on by
Reply
Love Thy Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience of the WestLove Thy Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience of the West by Bart D. Ehrman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Simon & Schuster

Release Date: March 24, 2026

In this book, Ehrman argues that the development of Christianity started a sea change in the Western world’s approach to charity, altruism, and forgiveness. The idea is that both Greco-Roman philosophies and Judaism (Christianity’s religious precursor) were more tribal. Those systems clearly presented arguments for being charitable and kind, but in the context of those closest to you — your family and immediate neighbors — i.e. your ingroup. However, Ehrman proposes that those systems did not suggest any obligation to be charitable or kind to those who were strangers to one.

This is an intriguing book and provides many thought-provoking ideas and lessons from scripture, philosophy, and history. Ehrman definitely makes a case, but I don’t know that it is as strong as it might seem. In short, I think he did a great job of collecting stories and teachings that supported his point but showed less willingness to consider stories that might refute his thesis. I did appreciate how often Ehrman acknowledged contradictory views even when they conflicted with his own — often (appropriately) in footnotes. That said, I can’t recall seeing anything about the story of the Syrophoenician woman, a tale that seems to negate the book’s argument. In that story, a woman (of Syrophoenician origin) comes seeking Jesus’s help and is at first rebuked and turned away. Jesus says, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Suggesting he neither sees her as the same species nor worthy of assistance. While it is true that Jesus does eventually assist her after she demeans herself (“Even dogs eat the children’s crumbs,) it’s still indication that he was far from advocating one behave lovingly toward all.

The book begins by dealing with broader questions, such as whether altruism actually exists (i.e. has existed) anywhere (i.e. are kind actions always self-serving?) and what the existing thinking was on the subject in Western philosophy and Abrahamic religion in Jesus’s day. I thought these first few chapters were quite beneficial for setting the stage before jumping into the building of the book’s central argument.

For those interested in what Jesus taught and what became of his teachings after his death, I’d recommend this book, or even for anyone interested in the changing shape of Western morality and ethics over time. I think the author conveys many interesting ideas in a readable and approachable way.

View all my reviews

PROMPT: Year You Were Born

Posted on by
Reply
Daily writing prompt
Share what you know about the year you were born.
View all responses

I’m told Nixon was in the White House and the Beatles broke up, but I don’t really know anything about it. (If you want to get epistemological about it.)