Review of Book Reviews from 2007 by RayS

Directions: The date at the beginning of each book is the date on which my review was published in this blog. Each review consists of three parts: 1. “Why read it?” 2. Sample ideas from the book, either paraphrased or quoted, and 3. Final, thought-provoking quotes. To locate the review, look at the “Blog Archive” at the right of the blog. Click on the year 2007. Find the month in which the review was published, click on it and go to the date of the review.

Monday, August 27, 2007. Notre Dame of Paris. Allan Temko. Nonfiction. This book re-creates for the reader the world in which Notre Dame Cathedral was built. Construction of the Cathedral occurred because of the extraordinary faith of the people of its time—the world which Henry Adams describes as a unified society built around the Catholic religion and the universal love for the Virgin Mary. To read this book is to engage actively in the construction of one of the world’s great monuments to faith.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007. On Aggression. Konrad Lorenz. Nonfiction. The author claims to have studied aggressive behavior in animals and to have drawn conclusions from their behavior that might help humans to control the aggressive instinct. Suggests that the aggressive instinct in humans be redirected toward the goals of art, science and medicine—beauty, truth and the alleviation of suffering.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007. Only Yesterday. Frederick Lewis Allen. Remember the 1920s? You will while reading this book, even though you did not live in the 1920s. Allen vividly re-creates the time that I think marks the beginning of modern society in the United States. You will recognize many of the practices that originated in the 1920s today in the 21st century. The era of the 1920s, from the end of World War I to the collapse of the stock market in 1929, is one of the most colorful decades in U.S. history.

Thursday, August 30, 2007. On the Road. Jack Kerouac. Novel. In On the Road, the mood is one of “Go!” Stay for any period of time and you will feel the urge to “Go!” Travel back and forth across the U.S. See the different social classes in action. Gather impressions of America in the 1950s. This novel is a “beat” classic, and the tempo of the book carries the reader frenetically through changing moods and experiences in different parts of the country.

Friday, August 31, 2007. On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Second Edition. William Zinsser. A helpful book on all aspects of writing nonfiction, including any type of writing that does not include short stories or novels, from articles to business memos to executive summaries. Zinsser is especially critical of “clutter” in American writing. He discusses audience, the size of paragraphs and usage. Everyone can learn something about how to write better from reading this book. I guarantee it.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007. The Once and Future King. T. H. White. Delightful story of the education for leadership of King Arthur by Merlyn. Part of his training was in learning to live with the animals and gain their perspective. His purpose in founding the Round Table was to channel the natural aggressiveness of men into fighting for good causes.

Thursday, September 6, 2007. The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod. Henry Beston. Like Thoreau at Walden, Beston took up a solitary residence in a cottage on the beach where he could observe the life of the sand and the dunes and the moods of the ocean.

Friday, September 7, 2007. Oxford Book of Aphorisms. John Gross, ed. A collection of aphorisms listed by topics. Perhaps the best advice for reading books of aphorisms is the aphorism on page 2: “The only way to read a book of aphorisms without being bored is to open it at random and having found something that interests you, close the book and meditate.” Prince DeLigne, 1796.

Monday, September 10, 2007. The Ordeal of Mark Twain. Van Wyck Brooks. According to the author, Twain was a writer who could have made a significant contribution to the world’s literature, but became sidetracked by his success and popularity as a humorist. Possibly explains his extreme bitterness in the latter part of his life. He never fulfilled his destiny. Desired wealth and prestige as well as fulfillment of his creative instinct. He couldn’t have both.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007. Out of Chaos. Louis J. Halle. Explains the apparent contradiction between accident in the foundations of matter and order in its developed form, between molecules bouncing from one to another like pinballs and a full-grown human being. The closer our perspective, the more chaotic things appear to be; the wider and broader our perspective, the more ordered things appear to be.