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Okay, so I spent all of June - July your time - reading Fantasy novels. Good thing I'm not back in high school or I'd be really late on all those annoying assigned reading books. The problem is they never let you learn what you wanted to learn or have it presented in a way that would make you want to learn it. So to rectify this, I present to you now summer reading they should have given you in school, if most of these books had existed back then. I'm going to try to cover every possible class- unless you have the world's strictest Phys Ed teacher.
First period: History
- The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell:
Vowell has a hard sell with this one. Try to get me to read about religious fanatics who steal land, pick fights with each other and kill thousands of people. However- her portrayal of the Puritans and their influence on the cultural development of America was very well thought out. There was plenty in there, particularly about the Pequot Wars, that was left out of my high school history class. I didn't want to know about it but I'm glad I do. Anne Hutchinson was left out of history class as well. I vaguely remember reading a little bit about Roger Williams but our history books portrayed him as an old coot- sort of a colonial version of the homeless guy on the street with a "Jesus is coming soon" sign who somehow got a colony. Here- a much more interesting picture emerges. I find it oddly coincidental to finish reading this book during the Fourth of July weekend. There is no better way to celebrate where America is than to look at just how far we've come in terms of tolerance than by taking a good, hard and yet often very funny look at where we came from.
Second Period: Philosophy
- Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living- A Handbook for The Damned Human Race edited by Salino, Fischer and Frank:
I first discovered Mark Twain when I was 12 and the teacher made me read Tom Sawyer. He's been my favorite author ever since. I've often joked that Samuel L. Clemens already said anything you could ever possibly have any need to say, with more eloquence and humor to the words than you could ever possibly hope to find. That however hasn't gotten to me shut up even if this book just about proves me right. Here he talks about everything from fashion, the evolution of table manners, to human behavior, religion, watermelon, love, enjoying the cooking and art of other cultures and patriotism; everything. Clemens's work is immortal for one simple reason; he was both the poet and conscience of the American soul. Now, I have to admit I cheated a bit on this book. Sort of. Anytime it said "excerpt from Twain book that I have already read", I skipped it. Anytime it came from autobiographical sketches, I skipped it. (The former because many of them I have already read it- many, many times. The latter because The Autobiography of Mark Twain will either be book 52 or 53 depending on my schedule.) There were still quite a few very worthwhile sketches, segments, essays and speeches. In fact, it has convinced me to track down "A Tramp Abroad" and "In Erruption" which I have somehow never been able to find.
Third Period: Biology
- 100 Breaths by Jeff Corwin:
Jeff Corwin's TV persona is that of a very knowledgeable, yet often childlike, explorer of nature. As true credit to his herpetologist nature, the happy go lucky attitude is shed, revealing just how much love he has for all members of the animal kingdom. 100 Breaths refers to a species of animals who have 100 members of their species left. Not all the animals mentioned in the book are there but if things keep going like they are now- they might be in decades or even years. Somehow, Corwin's childlike awe is still there- it shows when he writes of the black rhino, the orangutan, the Tasmanian Devil, the Mountain Gorilla, the Asian Elephant and dozens of other animals. The book is also filled with a degree of sadness: The po'ouli, the passenger pigeon, the Tasmanian Tiger, the Gastric-brooding frog, the heath hen, all victims in some way or another of man's short sightedness. The book informs the reader of what mankind has done to many animals and offers hope of what is and can still be done to protect the animals that remain. There are plenty of success stories that show many conservation techniques can work on even things that aren't cute and cuddly- like the American Alligator. Especially inspiring is tale of the Grey Wolf of Yellowstone.
A sidebar for a moment. I've already been thoroughly educated this month and I'm only on July 10th. That's three books in ten days. I'm fast, but I'm not usually this fast. I also don't read stuff this depressing. Genocide, humans cruelty to his fellow man, declining table manners, and mass extinction. Hopefully there will be some how in . . .
Fourth Period: Physics
- Black Holes and Baby Universe and Other Essays by Stephen Hawking:
This book can rightfully be broken up into three sections. The first section is what science means, not only to Hawking on a personal level but as a whole. While this isn't exactly the type of thing they teach in science class but it should be. Knowing science's purpose in the world is an essential building block of creating the next generation of people who are interested in science. The second section is a clarification of some of the more brain twisting ideas from "A Brief History of Time." This includes the idea of imaginary time- or as science fiction authors tend to call them alternate realities. It also explains Hawking's theory that Black Holes can evaporate and the idea of a baby universe. This book fails on one level- often when scientists write essays they'll use the exact same phrasing for something almost verbatim from one essay to the next because they don't think a reader will read everything they write. This book uses the same exact words describing black hole deflation in three places and explains "right angled imaginary time" in four places. It's a worthwhile and educational book but it lacks the grandiose scope of "A Brief History of Time." Plus, there are places where Hawking has obviously changed his mind between this book and his recent interviews: ideas like time travel, reality travel and the existence of God. (His early two books show signs of Agnosticism so he didn't have far to go.)
Nope, the idea that I could be one of many Jess Willeys out there and the almost certainty that if there are an infinite or near infinite number of mes out there one of them is probably happier than I am has done nothing to get me out of this slump. Maybe our next book can help... English class is usually one of two classes I could go to when I was in need of escape.
Fifth Period: English
- The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain:
Part of what makes this book an all but forgotten piece of work by The Great American Author (copyright of The Clemens Family Trust), is that it has layers. The first layer is a comedy of mistaken identity, Siamese Twins, baby switching, blackmail, thievery and murder. These all are somewhat common elements in Twain's fiction. The bottom layer is a morality tale about human equality. Then in the middle is a layer where the line between morality tale and comedy are somewhat blurred. This is where the book is at its most entertaining. Many of Twain's most famous quotes originate here. Two things the reader should know about this book: 1) It is the first, and perhaps only time Twain includes a fully developed female character. 2) The title of the book is somewhat misleading. Pudd'nhead Wilson is not the main character but a lawyer in town who was never given a shot until the second act of the story. Some have speculated that due to Wilson's penchant for eccentricity and amusing quips that he is a stand in for Clemens himself. Some might complain about the books racist language, however I can put forth three really good arguments for it. 1) It is accurate for the time period it was portraying. While it was written in the 1890s, it took place in the pre-Civil War south. The language still would have been accurate for the 1890s. 2) It is satire. One cannot effectively parody racism without using racist language and having characters behave in a racist manner. 3) Twain's story is ultimately sympathetic towards its black characters, all save for Tom. His bias against Tom has nothing to do with race but rather his actions which include thievery, murder and selling his own mother down the river.
And since I always tried to do extra credit for English Class . . .
- Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain:
According to Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson was a mistake. He accidentally created some background characters who in turn took over the story. What he intended to write was a comedic tale of Siamese twins of diametrically opposed morality. The novella is not a sequel to Pudd'nhead Wilson as much as it is a companion. The stories take place simultaneously. In fact it even clears up several plot loose ends found in Wilson. Which is why these two books are often packaged together. (Though I have seen copies of both of them done separately. My copy was a dual copy, mostly for financial reasons.) While much shorter, and lacking of true science of Siamese Twins, it is often a more entertaining story. There are a lots of Twain's patented wacky side in these pages. He's almost, but not quite, back in Calaveras County territory in terms of beats per page. It's really worth the read.
That worked, all back to normal. Now for the class least likely to give you summer reading, but I'm kind of forced into it because I'm running low on educational type books that fit my criteria. Besides, all work and no play makes Jesse something something. Study hall was a class where they didn't really care what you did when you didn't have homework to finish as long as you didn't spend the whole class trying to up the nerve to talk to that girl everyone knew you had a crush on, no matter how much you denied it.
Sixth Period: Study Hall
- The Men Who Stare At Goats by Jon Ronson:
There are several ways to interpret the text of this book about government black ops and remote viewing. First, one can choose to believe every word. In that case the world is a more surreal, bizarre and paranoid place than even Chris Carter could ever possibly dream up. The second way is believe about a third of it, completely throw out the third of it that is obviously complete hooey and leave an open mind to the rest. There is a third option, that Ronson is reporting exactly what people tell him and those people are flat out lying to him. Either way, the conclusions it draws seem rather dubious. It falls into the same trap many conspiracy books get caught in- the government that is smart enough to create psychic spies is also the same government that was unable to predict 9/11 or Katrina. That also means that this book is one of three things: 1) the most completely unbelievably true conspiracy book ever written 2) the greatest sci-novel spoofing black ops exposed books ever written or 3) something else entirely. The sections on MK-Ultra are fairly close to other reading I have done on the subject. Some of the stuff on torture technique used at Gitmo and other sites matches up with more reputable journalists. It was entertaining reading but I think it is better to read it as a road map to the mind of a paranoid delusional rather than the honest to Abe truth.
Now for 7th Period Journalism. The journalists who inspired me most to do what I do were three men who excelled at a certain type of journalism- the amusing editorials and essays. Some people I went to Journalism class with wanted to be like Woodward and Burnstein. I'd rather be like Samuel Clemens, Dave Barry and Art Buchwald. This is educational month so I have to throw around foreign words like deja vu or fancy English words like cyclical if for no other reason than to impress the teacher by showing her/him that I know what those words mean. So in order to prove that, here comes another Sarah Vowell book.
- The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell:
This collection of essays is loads of fun. It's topics range from the Bush Inauguration, the role of the media and its construction of a personal narrative on our politics, what it means to be a patriot, what it means to be a nerd, underground restaurants, the enigma that was Theodore Roosevelt, how many times can a life long liberal defend Bill Clinton, having a twin (evil or otherwise), German cinema, old maps and how to live in a family with different religious or political beliefs from your own. Even some of the higher minded material, Vowell doesn't stray too far from humor. Or maybe so much of her dark stuff is funny because it's true. Her essay on German cinema rung especially true to me. Then again, I have two years of film school under my belt though I've always been more of a fan of the German surrealist film makers of the pre-war era rather than the post War existentialists. Put on Cabinet and Dr. Callagari or Metropolis and I am there. Still, film snobs are film snobs everywhere. Her town went crazy for the German existentialist movement the way lots of the guys in my glass went nuts for the French slapstick movie of the 1890s. You got to love those Lumiere Brothers. The book is one brief look on how to do the humor essay right. For instructions on how to do it wrong, email me. I'll send over some of my old columns.
Next month, yet another Star Trek month. This time with a purpose- to celebrate 45 years of Star Trek. It's so big, it's hijacking my Top Ten column as well. Be there.
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