Citizens: A Chronicle Of The French Revolution by Simon Schama

From The Week of December 27, 2009, 2010

Though widely held to be the authoritative history of the French Revolution, I found Mr. Schama's recounting of that terrible time painfully long and oppressively weighed down by trivia. Perhaps this is a work more suited for scholars willing to wade through 976 interminable pages of dry but accurate history. Clearly, I will have to return my membership to the society of history buffs because I was skipping whole pages from about page 100 on. Perhaps it is meant to be a reference guide for those teaching a course on a revolution which, in some sense, lasted nearly 20 years as it chewed through multiple constitutions, parliaments, heads of state, currencies and ethics. In that, there is much for Mr. Schama to cover, but doing it with writing as dry as the Gobi? It could not claim my attention.

For anyone looking for a more digestible version of the French Revolution, I suggest Donald S. Sutherland's Liberty and Its Price, a lecture in the Modern Scholar series. However, if you have some suggestions for me, please feel free to write and pass them along. The violence of the French Revolution, especially when contrasted with the comparatively bloodless American Revolution of a scant ten years earlier, has always fascinated me. I found very little enlightenment here. (1/5 Stars)

Lucia by Andrea Di Robilant

From The Week of December 27, 2009, 2010

Lucia is the author's reconstruction of the life and times of one of his ancestors, Lucia Mocenigo, an 18th century, Venetian noblewoman who lived through some of the most dramatic events in the recent history of Europe. She rented her villa to lord Byron, watched Napoleon transform Italy into an imperial property, and served princesses, all while hardly ever leaving the Boot. Though Mr. Di Robilant has found other sources to flesh out this portrait of a beautiful noblewoman living through extraordinary times, Lucia's letters are the centerpiece of this work. Not only do her words flow like water, there seems no subject on which she is silent as she describes, to her sister, in great detail, her triumphs and her failures.

This is a lens through which to view the 50 or so years between 1780 and 1830, in which the French Revolution allowed for the rise of Napoleon and his many wars, his defeat and the conference at Vienna in 1814 which literally redrew the borders of most of Europe. But though the history brightens the tale, Lucia is definitely the gem, the object of interest. She is merely one woman, a woman who died almost 180 years ago, and yet she is proof that, no matter how much time has past, humanity, from all the ages, hungers for essentially the same things, love, acceptance, and success. (3/5 Stars)

Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin

From The Week of December 27, 2009, 2010

Mr. Aldrin is, here, fascinatingly and charmingly open about his extraordinarily eccentric and dysfunctional life. This is a man who has literally and figuratively reached the pinnacle of what life has to offer any human. And yet, as Mr. Aldrin explains in this admirable memoir, it was the act of achieving so much, so early, that made what came after so difficult for him. Where does one go after, at the age of 29, being only the second human to ever step foot onto the moon? For Aldrin, it was alcoholism, depression, and, it would seem, a succession of women and business schemes, many of which collapsed in the face of his frequent binges. For all the difficulties Mr. Aldrin has suffered, for all the despair and loneliness and displacement that has plagued him, he has fought through, to live on, to grow, to love, and to develop new ideas for colonizing the solar system, ideas, he argues, that should be given much more heed by NASA than they are.

There is no shortage of self-important people writing self-important memoirs and, in some small way, Mr. Aldrin is a contributer to this unpleasant flood. But on the whole, Magnificent Desolation is a wonderful book for one reason, his candor concerning his own missteps which, at times, is almost painfully harsh. It's precisely this critical self-assessment that keeps us, and probably those around Mr. Aldrin, from writing him off. It's a brave thing to make yourself this naked to the world, all your warts and faults. Anyone willing to be so honest in the name of helping others who might be experiencing similar difficulties deserves our respect. (4/5 Stars)

Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds

From The Week of December 27, 2009, 2010

Mr. Reynolds' has never indulged in easy science fiction. His efforts always challenge, for, rather than go for our beliefs, our conventional moralities, he attacks the limits of our imaginations. If long-windedness is Mr. Reynolds' literary sin, then the expansiveness of his creativty is surely his greatest virtue. Century Rain is a turbulent tale alternating between an unrecognizable Paris of the 1950s and a desolate 23rd century Earth. Our characters and their schemes start out compartmentalized, but as the story develops, the individual skeins come together to form a rich tapestry of plots and dangers which culminate in quite the crescendo.

Mr. Reynolds can be difficult at times. His writing evokes a kind of despairing nihilism born of the fact that his characters are all too often aware of just how little control they have over their worlds. Events are always just a bit too big for them to grasp, much less manipulate to any great degree. This is, like much of Mr. Reynold's writing, intensely realistic, but the futility is both a blessing and a curse.Tiresome and depressing? Sometimes. But fascinating? Assuredly... (3/5 Stars)

First Lord's Fury: Codex Alera 06 by Jim Butcher

The week of December 20, 2009

First Lord's Fury is undoubtedly the concluding chapter in the Codex Alera, an epic fantasy series from Jim Butcher which has spanned six books, following a young man's rise to prominence in a world torn apart by war. Though the Codex Alera has offered many enjoyable moments and even more enjoyable characters, not even the combined charms of both can save this ultimate effort. This series climaxed at the end of book four. Book five was tolerable as an addendum, but this sixth effort, while offering an end to the saga, gives us little by way of unanticipated closure. And what closure there is could have been easily predicted by the attentive reader a few books ago.

As some of you may be reading this prior to reading the summaries of the first five novels, I recommend a journey back to my review of Furies of Calderon for a more detailed description of this Rome-inspired the series. Quality work when taken as a whole, but a marked dropoff in these last two novels leaves a sour taste, a shame given that Alera is a lovely world animated by a quality author. For series as a whole, 4/5 stars. But for First Lord's Fury? (1/5 Stars)

The Devil Came On Horseback by Brian Steidle

From The Week of December 13, 2009

This is a devastating account of the war in Darfur which has been called a genocide perpetrated by the Arab Sudanese north against the non-Arab Sudanese south. Here, the conflict is seen through the eyes of Brian Steidle, a one-time American Marine who agreed to be an unarmed observer of the war for the African Union, a war which has displaced more than five million Darfurians, the strain of which probably triggered a civil war in neighboring Chad.

There are three major threads running through Mr. Steidle's powerful recounting. He details the difficulties of being a war-time observer tasked with capturing evidence of atrocities, all the while knowing that he has no weapon with which to defend himself against combatants who have every interest in keeping the atrocities they commit secret. He relates the subsistence level conditions of many of the Darfurians, men and women who live with so little that Mr. Steidle finds re-adjusting to life in America difficult -- our overabundance of stuff overwhelms him. And finally, he covers the war itself, its origins and it's tragedies. Deeply affected by what he has seen, he attempts to draw international attention to the war, speaking with human rights groups and heads of state in hopes of improving the situation.

Though Mr. Steidle's account is tinged with a certain religiosity, that is about the only flaw I can find in a compelling book about a part of the world unfairly and cruelly bathed in blood. All this ruin over territory, and pride, and racism, and a false sense of superiority. This is an excellent and worthwhile read. (4/5 Stars)

Stiff by Mary Roach

From The Week of December 13, 2009

Stiff is assuredly one of the strangest works of nonfiction you shall ever have the fortune of reading. Delightful, disgusting, jaw-dropping and charmingly concise, this is Ms. Roach's adventures in the world of cadavers: their study, their uses, their numbers, their habits. She watches them used in crash tests and in practice sessions for doctors, all while recounting the history of the cadaver and the invaluable role it has played in the advancement of science and the human anatomy. If you are easily disgusted or offended, this is not the book for you. But anyone else with a curiosity about this most bizarre aspect of medical science, read on. I dare you not to snicker, even once. (3/5 Stars)

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

From The Week of December 13, 2009

Michael Lewis, a writer of nonfiction who has covered topics as wide-ranging as the culture of Wall Street and the art of Moneyball in baseball, here interweaves the evolution of American football with the bizarre life of a young African American boy growing up in Tennessee.

Lawrence Taylor was so feared a linebacker, offenses that played against him, during his stint with the New York Giants in the 1980s, would often be forced to block him with multiple players, greatly diminishing the effectiveness of their plays. This lead to the emphasis on the Left Tackle, now widely held to be the most important position along an offense's line. He must be a player big enough to block a defensive end and fast enough to track down a linebacker and keep him from the quarterback. He is a hybrid of speed and skill bred to combat the Laurence Taylors of the world. Enter Michael Oher, a high school student who is as undereducated a tenth grader as he is a giant of a human being, which is to say he can barely talk and he's nearly 300 pounds. The Blind Side conflates the evolution of the Left Tackle with the rise of Michael Oher, his adoption into a successful Southern family, his remarkable athletic gifts and, finally, his entry into college. Though the book concludes prior to his turning pro, Mr. Oher would eventually be selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft, a meteoric rise for a man who could barely communicate merely seven years earlier.

A quality book with a quality tale to tell. Michael Oher is easily the star here. Unfortunately, Mr. Lewis has a tendency to oversell his premise, as noteworthy a flaw in Moneyball as it is here. Annoying, yes. Misleading, possibly. But it does not derail an engrossing read. (3/5 Stars)

Under And Alone by William Queen

From The Week of December 13, 2009

What drives a man to commit 28 months of his life living a lie, to himself, his friends and his family? What aspect of his character, what situation in his life, could compel him to make such a sacrifice? In Under and Alone, Mr. Queen, a veteran of Vietnam and a lifelong member of one branch or another of American law-enforcement, describes his penetration of the Mongols motorcycle gang, his two plus years associating with them, and the 54 arrests which resulted from the evidence of criminal activity he acquired. Mr. Queen is not shy in relating the extent to which this journey taxed him emotionally and psychologically. He also reveals, with seeming candor, the lengths to which he came to identify with some of the men he was trying to put behind bars. His was surely a noble sacrifice, to imprison men and women who had deliberately chosen a life of violent crime, but isn't betrayal still betrayal no matter its ends? Isn't succumbing to betrayal a price to pay in and of itself?

This is a markedly superior effort to No angel, Jay dobyns' account of penetrating the Hells Angels, for Mr. Queen has a keener understanding of the philosophical questions most readers of such books will be asking themselves. And though his answers are not always satisfying, Mr. Queen does just as good a job explaining the psychology of a man undercover as he does in detailing the everyday titillations and uglinesses of life inside an outlaw biker gang. (4/5 Stars)

Frozen by Larry Johnson

From The Week of December 13, 2009

Frozen is an altogether disturbing chronicle of the author's time working at the cryogenic lab in Arizona, where the head of legendary baseball player Ted Williams was first frozen and then stored. Though Frozen is primarily the experiences of one man working at what is surely one of the most dysfunctional companies in America, the Ted Williams tragedy quickly becomes a perfect illustration of Mr. Johnson's criticisms of Alcor, his one-time employer and a company which claims to specialize in life extension while, or so claims Mr. Johnson, hastening the death of certain of its clients.

Though Mr. Johnson's own actions since quitting Alcor open up some doubt as to the legitimacy of his claims against Alcor -- Mr. Johnson, for a time, sold graphic photographs of Ted Williams' frozen head on his website --, the author defends himself by stating that his life has been under threat since he left the cryogenics firm after the Ted Williams incident. His having to keep a low profile while defending himself in the courts has lead to a shortage of funds which he tried to remedy with the photographs. To what extent you believe these claims is up to you, but it cannot be argued that Mr. Johnson has here a compelling log of a company practicing what is, at best, pseudo science without any kind of regulation. No one is clean here, but that's what makes the ride so fascinating. Also includes a detailed review of how Ted Williams came to have his head frozen at the facility and the shadowy circumstances surrounding that unpleasant family affair. (3/5 Stars)

The Argument Of Kings: The First Law 03 by Joe Abercrombie

From The Week of December 06, 2009

Though this final effort in the First Law trilogy is satisfying, it, as many concluding efforts do, fails to live up to the promise of the first two novels. The reader is, in my opinion, as responsible for this phenomenon as the author, for he has spent enough time with the author's characters that he has formed expectations of them. He yearns for those he likes to succeed and imagines the hellish ends of those he does not. And so, when the author inevitably takes a different road, the reader finds himself preferring his version of the story to the author's. But

Even if we take this bias into account, it seems to me that the noise of the slaughters, the schemes, and the madness, have finally grown so loud, they drown out the more refined character elements present in Blade and Hanged. Here, we have more fantastic feats and improbable victories and anger-fuelled miracles than in the first two books combined and it leaves one with the impression that certain key aspects of the story were up in the air until the last minute. A bit too much dues ex machina for my tastes.

However, though I am critical of this novel, let me be clear. Mr. Abercrombie has delivered a wonderful trilogy of books in three years, three years. That is a remarkable feat for an epic fantasy author. Compare this to the 22 years, give or take, for The Wheel of Time. Compare this to George Martin who will probably never finish a Song of Ice and Fire, even after enticing readers with some of the tightest, intensest fantasy writing anywhere. A timeliness with his delivery, an originality with his plot twists, and an earnestness with his grim but lively characters are all virtues which far outweigh the momentary overabundance of Sly-Stallone-inspired Ramboism with which the trilogy is concluded.

Wonderfully done, Mr. Abercrombie. If the literary awards game werent' so stacked against noir fiction, your mantle would be overflowing with golden statuary praising your name. You've penned a great series in record time, an achievement that has left an impression upon me I will not forget. 4/5 Stars for the series, but for An Argument of Kings... (3/5 Stars))

Before They Are Hanged: The First Law 02 by Joe Abercrombie

From The Week of December 06, 2009

Before They Are Hanged should not only be on the list of top novels from 2007, it surely has to find a place among the best titled novels of all time. Though nothing so dramatic as a mass-hanging occurs in this second instalment of the First Law trilogy -- it may be one of the few torments Mr. Abercrombie forgot to include --, it is evocative, certainly, of the mood of our adventurers who, after being bound together by the schemes of a possibly mad wizard, set out to possibly, maybe, set the world aright by means of fetching a long-lost mystical treasure which will redress the imbalance of power between, well, the dark side and the not so dark side. For, delightfully, there is no light side in Mr. Abercrombie's novels.

Circumspection is necessary as to not spoil this novel, but I will say this one thing more about the plot of Before They Are Hanged. Incredibly refreshing! Epic fantasy is drowning in good versus evil, bloated by legendary quests to save the world. Mr. Abercrombie does not succumb to these tropes. He'd prefer to mock them and show them up for what they are, the sad efforts of uninspired Tolkienists, failing to follow in the footsteps of their master. Here we have a different path. And though the blood and the darkness will turn many away, and will probably deny Mr. Abercrombie well-deserved awards for his work, the main plot of this novel, and what results from it, will be admired by this author for many years to come. (4/5 Stars)

The Blade Itself: The First Law 01 by Joe Abercrombie

From The Week of December 06, 2009

It is very unlikely that you will come across a book of fantasy so dark, so grim, as the offering here from Mr. Abercrombie, whose literary stylings are about as far away from cuddly wizards and flirtatious pixies as it's possible to get. The Blade Itself is a cruel novel, soaked in blood, chilled by the frozen north, and desiccated by the desolation of uninhabitable deserts. Yes, there's magic, but rarely is it turned to a good end and never is it a laughing matter.

Riddled with vivid, gritty characters, The Blade Itself brings together a collection of anti-heroes intent upon a quest that will change their world forever. But it's clear, from the start, that this is by no means a Tolkien-esque adventure to save the world. This is a mission of secrets and self-interest, of darkness and self-discovery. After all, no one in this band, let alone in the world about them, is good. No one has clean hands.

A spectacularly savage tale. Highly recommended to those with strong stomachs. As far as I can tell, this is the antithesis of Harry Potter and the world is better for it. It goes without saying that this is unsuitable for little ones, unless nightmares are the aim of the exercise. (4/5 Stars)

Over The Edge Of The World by Laurence Bergreen

From The Week of December 06, 2009

This is a chronicle of Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the world, from his meager beginnings in Portugal, to his spectacular end in the Philippines. From the kings who empowered him, to the nobles who sought to ruin him, and the mutinies that tried to thwart him, Magellan sails, with Christian-inspired equanimity, through every difficulty in the pursuit of his elusive goal. Did his faith grant him his courage? Mr. Bergreen's vivid description of Magellan's death is a strong argument that it was. But even if his courage was purchased by the consoling promise of something more in Heaven, his bravery is still a remarkable thing. After all, he wasn't the only one with faith in the 16th century and yet he was the one who forged a remarkable mission, a goal, out of fractious crews and greedy and jealous courts.

This is a lengthy but fascinating account of life at sea as seen through the eyes of a nobleman's obsession to see the world, to map its confines, and to earn glory and fortune for himself and his family while doing so. The dangers, superstitions and rivalries he experienced throughout have proven to be quite unforgetable. The bravery, to confront the unknown with such boldness is, to say the least, impressive. And Mr. Bergreen retells it well. (3/5 Stars)