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My summer reading is the usual mixed bag, even grab bag - reach for whatever is on top of the pile at the end of the day. Most exciting reading arrived today: scores for part of Messiaen's Catalogue d'Oiseaux, which the fab pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and his colleagues are performing in a site-specific way at 7 a.m. on 3 consecutive mornings in a barn next door to Tanglewood, to be preceded and followed by bird walks with Mass Audubon. I am also working through David Kraft's Birdsong in the Music of Olivier Messiaen.*
"Something rich and strange" - Ron Rash (short stories)
"Last Day on Earth" - Eric Puchner (short stories)
"Dream hoarders : how the American upper middle class is leaving everyone else in the dust, why that is a problem, and what to do about it" by Richard V. Reeves.
My in-box: The Anatomy of a Golf Course by Tom Doak. His other books are too expensive for me.
A bunch of Sci-Fi books by Charles Stross. Excellent author. I've read several of his books, and bought some more.
Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brook. One of my girls bought this for a college course and gave it to me after she finished. A history book based around Vermeer's paintings.
I just finished: Gates of Fire: The Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield. Really well written historical novel.
The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday. This was perhaps the best science textbook explanation of anything that I have ever read (I'm an engineer and like this stuff!
Elon Musk - by Ashlee Vance (finished) Richard Nixon: The Life - by John A. Farrell (about 70% complete) Steve Jobs - by Walter Isaacson (next in line)
Karen Armstrong is brilliant. Former nun. I've read several by her, and there is an astounding depth of knowledge and detail. I've almost learned to jump past some of the material which is simply less interesting to me. Sometimes I manage to do so. She does not insult our intelligence, but her stuff is always quite readable. For me, in spots, it is downright engrossing. "The Case For God."
"Why is it that atheists and theists alike now think and speak about God in a way that veers so profoundly from the thinking of our ancestors?....(S)he makes a powerful, convincing argument for drawing on the insights of the past in order to build a faith that speaks to the needs of our dangerously polarized age. Yet she cautions us that religion was never supposed to provide answers that lie within the competence of human reason...The task of religion is “to help us live creatively, peacefully, and even joyously with realities for which there are no easy explanations...religion will not work automatically. It is, she says, a practical discipline: its insights are derived not from abstract speculation but from “dedicated intellectual endeavor” and a “compassionate lifestyle that enables us to break out of the prism of selfhood.”.”
I just finished "The Immortal Irishman" by Tim Egan. Its the story about the life of Thomas Meagher and what a life it was. He was radicalized by the Potato Famine, exiled to Tasmania, escaped to America, fought in the Civil War and after the war, moved to Montana to try and start a "New Ireland".
I thought Tim Egan was able to have Meagher's life jumping off the pages.
@Bud: Tim Egan is a wonderful, heart-lifting writer! I read his Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, an account of the life of Edward Curtis, photographer of Native Americans, whose work is now highly valued for its cultural and aesthetic dimensions (anthropologists sometimes find it too posed), multiple times.
Egan seems to do very well with the one-person biography as the pathway into a much larger history of place and epoch. I will look for The Immortal Irishman.
My most exciting reading earlier in the summer was Peter Pomerantsev's Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia. The British Pomerantsev went to Russia in the 2000s to make films and put together TV shows for Russian audiences through Ostankino. He met thugs, oligarchs, and young people in from the provinces, all trying out new roles for themselves. One gangster who befriended him decided to leave (sort of) the thug's life and make movies featuring himself and his thug friends. Having no stunt doubles they did their own acts, shot up places and each other with real ammo, burned real cars on the streets.
"Moonglow" by Michael Chabon. At the risk of being repetitive, "A Gentleman in Moscow," by Amor Towles, a former money manager introduced to MFOers by Ed Studzinski, was the novel of the year for me. Wading through the final volume of Proust's "In Search of Lost Time," in the latest translation. Not a taste I would expect others to acquire.
I just finished "The Immortal Irishman" by Tim Egan. Its the story about the life of Thomas Meagher and what a life it was. He was radicalized by the Potato Famine, exiled to Tasmania, escaped to America, fought in the Civil War and after the war, moved to Montana to try and start a "New Ireland".
I thought Tim Egan was able to have Meagher's life jumping off the pages.
Yes, he led The Irish Brigade. (Wiki:) "At the beginning of the American Civil War, Meagher joined the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of brigadier general.[1] He was most notable for recruiting and leading the Irish Brigade, and encouraging support among Irish immigrants for the Union." There were Irish Brigades in both the North and South, and I remember them being featured in "Gods and Generals." (2003.) I went looking, but could not find anyone credited with portraying Meagher in that prequel to "Gettysburg." Sorry.
The Dream of Scipio- by Iain Pears: Three historically intertwined stories sharing some common elements. Can't say that I'd recommend it, though. Full of philosophical conundrums that really don't have any plausible answers, and likely never will.
Toscannini- Musician of Conscience- by Harvey Sachs: I'm very fond of Arturo Toscaninni as a conductor, and this current biography is excellent. Available from Amazon, if you're interested.
The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914 (The Penguin History of Europe) by Richard J. Evans: Excellent discussion of 19th century history. Recommended- also available from Amazon.
To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949 (The Penguin History of Europe) by Ian Kershaw: Another good one from the Penguin series, with especially interesting information covering the period between the two World Wars.
Remember to visit Amazon via the MFO link to help support MFO!
"Suddenly We Didn't Want to Die" Elton E Mackin. Written by a quiet veteran of WW I (yes that is correct) -- published in 1993. Mackin enlisted in the Marines in 1917, a few months after graduating from high school. The book is a collection of writings which he worked on until (probably) sometime in the 1930's, and was later published from his manuscripts by his family. He never attended college and worked at a series of relatively modest -- some humble -- occupations. He died in 1974, and it is not stated whether he ever actually shared any of his writings with mentors or friends, or even family.
The book consists of a series of short writings-- call them essays, narratives, musings -- which vary from a few pages to less than a page, based upon his experiences as a foot-soldier in 1918: personal experience, shared moments, and observations, described, reviewed, and surely revised as he matured during the following 20 years or more. Both the experience as he recalled, pondered, and described it over the years, and the writing style are gripping and unforgettable.
I have read many, many accounts of war -- mainly WW 2, in which my own uncles served -- and these writings contain some of the most stark and intense accounts of the experience of war and combat that I have ever read. You may like it, hate it, or literally be unable to read through it, but I recommend making an acquaintance with it.
Comments
Most exciting reading arrived today: scores for part of Messiaen's Catalogue d'Oiseaux, which the fab pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and his colleagues are performing in a site-specific way at 7 a.m. on 3 consecutive mornings in a barn next door to Tanglewood, to be preceded and followed by bird walks with Mass Audubon. I am also working through David Kraft's Birdsong in the Music of Olivier Messiaen.*
Aimard did a splendid, never-to-be-repeated site-specific performance of Catalogue at last year's Aldeburgh Festival, also the last year he was artistic director. A review with photos:
http://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/catalogue-doiseaux-aimard-aldeburgh-festival
Snape Maltings. Tooting Bec lido. Places to see and enjoy.
Otherwise I have waded through a decent explanation of DSENX on M*. It did not bring joy. Aimard does. Helps keep things in perspective.
*Neglected to say, I will be there.
"Last Day on Earth" - Eric Puchner (short stories)
"Dream hoarders : how the American upper middle class is leaving everyone else in the dust, why that is a problem, and what to do about it" by Richard V. Reeves.
A bunch of Sci-Fi books by Charles Stross. Excellent author. I've read several of his books, and bought some more.
Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brook. One of my girls bought this for a college course and gave it to me after she finished. A history book based around Vermeer's paintings.
I just finished: Gates of Fire: The Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield. Really well written historical novel.
The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday. This was perhaps the best science textbook explanation of anything that I have ever read (I'm an engineer and like this stuff!
Richard Nixon: The Life - by John A. Farrell (about 70% complete)
Steve Jobs - by Walter Isaacson (next in line)
(All audiobooks)
"The Case For God."
"Why is it that atheists and theists alike now think and speak about God in a way that veers so profoundly from the thinking of our ancestors?....(S)he makes a powerful, convincing argument for drawing on the insights of the past in order to build a faith that speaks to the needs of our dangerously polarized age. Yet she cautions us that religion was never supposed to provide answers that lie within the competence of human reason...The task of religion is “to help us live creatively, peacefully, and even joyously with realities for which there are no easy explanations...religion will not work automatically. It is, she says, a practical discipline: its insights are derived not from abstract speculation but from “dedicated intellectual endeavor” and a “compassionate lifestyle that enables us to break out of the prism of selfhood.”.”
I thought Tim Egan was able to have Meagher's life jumping off the pages.
https://edwardcurtis.com/
Egan seems to do very well with the one-person biography as the pathway into a much larger history of place and epoch. I will look for The Immortal Irishman.
My most exciting reading earlier in the summer was Peter Pomerantsev's Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia. The British Pomerantsev went to Russia in the 2000s to make films and put together TV shows for Russian audiences through Ostankino. He met thugs, oligarchs, and young people in from the provinces, all trying out new roles for themselves. One gangster who befriended him decided to leave (sort of) the thug's life and make movies featuring himself and his thug friends. Having no stunt doubles they did their own acts, shot up places and each other with real ammo, burned real cars on the streets.
There were Irish Brigades in both the North and South, and I remember them being featured in "Gods and Generals." (2003.) I went looking, but could not find anyone credited with portraying Meagher in that prequel to "Gettysburg." Sorry.
Toscannini- Musician of Conscience- by Harvey Sachs: I'm very fond of Arturo Toscaninni as a conductor, and this current biography is excellent. Available from Amazon, if you're interested.
The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914 (The Penguin History of Europe) by Richard J. Evans: Excellent discussion of 19th century history. Recommended- also available from Amazon.
To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949 (The Penguin History of Europe) by Ian Kershaw: Another good one from the Penguin series, with especially interesting information covering the period between the two World Wars.
Remember to visit Amazon via the MFO link to help support MFO!
The book consists of a series of short writings-- call them essays, narratives, musings -- which vary from a few pages to less than a page, based upon his experiences as a foot-soldier in 1918: personal experience, shared moments, and observations, described, reviewed, and surely revised as he matured during the following 20 years or more. Both the experience as he recalled, pondered, and described it over the years, and the writing style are gripping and unforgettable.
I have read many, many accounts of war -- mainly WW 2, in which my own uncles served -- and these writings contain some of the most stark and intense accounts of the experience of war and combat that I have ever read. You may like it, hate it, or literally be unable to read through it, but I recommend making an acquaintance with it.