Mysteries of the Middle Ages, The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Thomas Cahill, 2006

I found this book to be very dissatisfying.  I bought the book with high expectations that it would provide me with insights into various developments in the Middle Ages.  Instead, the author seemed to want to show me what he knows about selected topics.  I seemed to feel less enlightened after reading the book than before I started.

Cahill uses a very conversational tone in his prose but then throws in words from time to time from his large vocabulary that don’t seem to fit very well.  His depictions of various art sites are reminiscent of a tour guide as he goes from one piece of artwork to another.

The book is gorgeously printed with ornamental Old English type and many beautiful illustrations.  It’s too bad that the content doesn’t do justice to the appearance. 2 1/2 stars

Eat, Pray, Love

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Elizabeth Gilbert, 2006

This book is all about a very emotional young woman and her attempts to find peace and happiness in her life.  I found myself wondering why she was so off the chart in her approach to life until a few chapters into the book she revealed that she was on medication and in therapy for her psychological problems.  I think that explained a lot.

As I read further, I found her story to not be all that interesting, but for some reason, it held my attention and the book overall was a pretty good read.  As she progressed on her journies, she seemed to calm down considerably and regained a lot of the balance she had been seeking.  I think it was the progress she made and the process she was using that caused me to continue reading.  After finishing the book, I felt that it was worthwhile and I was not disappointed.  3 1/2 stars

Water for Elephants

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Sara Gruen, 2006

This book is the real deal!  The author, a female, has managed to get inside the head of her main character, Jacob, and capture his innermost feelings and thoughts when he was a young man in the circus and also when he was over ninety years old in a nursing home.  In addition to accomplishing this feat, she weaves an interesting story into circus life in the midst of the Great Depression.  The book is also a joy to read as her prose just about leaps out of the page.  As I look at the list of books I have read over the last couple of years and the number of them that I struggled through, this book restores my regard for contemporary American literature. 5 stars

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Khalid Housseini, 2007

This book is well worth reading, although it drags a bit during the first part of the book and it does not read quite as well as The Kite Runner.  The book provides the reader with a compelling story of individuals that is integrated with a view of the culture and history of Afghanistan.  I continue to be amazed by the author’s command of the English language and the readibility of his prose.

Atonement

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Ian McEwan, 2003

I found this book to have much that I liked.  In particular, I liked the primary theme, which is how does one make up for a terrible mistake that was committed early in one’s life.  The book also, however, has some shortcomings.  The prose seemed a bit hard to follow and the characters did not seem to capture all my attention at times.

In spite of its shortcomings it was worthwhile read, but perhaps not a memorable book. 3 1/2 stars

Flashman

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by George MacDonald Fraser, 1969

This book is a very interesting account of the adventures of a scoundrel in the British army who ends up participating in many fascinating historical events.  This is the first of the series and it starts with Flashman at a boarding school and explains how he subsequently joins the army and is shipped off to India and Afghanistan as an officer.  The predicaments he gets into and, just as entertaining, how he gets out of them, are the basis of the story.

The book’s historical backdrop is probably its most redeeming value.  Flashman is so decadent, however, that I found myself glad that my children didn’t read it when they were growing up and I hope my grandchildren don’t ever get their hands on it.  He is definately not a role model for young people to emulate.

The book is not politically correct in terms of today’s standards.  His view of women as objects to be defiled and the books use of the “n” word to refer to Afghan natives are definately not to be admired, even though one might argue that these practices are both accurate from an historic perspective.

The book is well-written and entertaining; I think I may come back and read other books in the series at some future date.  three stars

Mayflower

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Nathaniel Philbrick, 2006

I enjoyed reading this book very much as it is well-written and very informative as to what happened in New England after the Pilgrims landed.  The book is very detailed regarding the encounters between the natives and the English and highlights many successful events and relationships and also many that failed.

In the epilogue to the book, the author states that “There are two possible responses to a world suddenly gripped by terror and contention.  There is the Mosely way: get mad and get even… There is the Church way.  Instead of loathing the enemy, try to learn as much as possible from him;  instead of kiling him, try to bring him around to your way of thinking.  First and foremost, treat him like a human being.”  Philbrick, in his book, highlights the failures that the first strategy created and details the phenomenal successes that Benjamin Church enjoyed through employment of the latter strategy.  I suspect that, in addition to the historical events of the 17th century, our current situation in Iraq may have influenced the author to include this commentary.

Throughout the book Philbrick relates historical events to modern-day locations, something I appreciated very much as we spend a great deal of our time in Rhode Island and frequent many of the places he mentions.  Also, I have done some genealogy research in these areas and had never related my research to the struggles that my ancestors were going through in the time of King Phillips War.  I will now have additional perspective relating to the struggles they were going through at that time.

My one criticism of the book may be that Philbrick often seems to view the actions of the English in the context of the twenty-first century.  This view seems to create a much more favorable treatment of the actions of the Indians versus the settlers.  Given the level of atrocities committed by the Indians and the fear induced in the English, I suspect that some of the actions and strategies of the English may have been a bit more justified than Philbrick seems to allow.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to clarify his knowledge of early American colonial history, but especially to those who have lived in southern New England for any period of time. four stars

The Reluctant Tuscan, How I Discovered My Inner Italian

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Phil Doran, 2005

When I picked out this book I was in the mood for some fun, light reading and the excerpts from the reviews on the cover caught my eye as they suggested that the book would elicit belly laughs.  It’s about  a former TV sit-com writer in L.A. who moves into an old, delapidated house in Tuscany and gives up his former career.

Funny? Hardly.  I read the book and found a few passages where I found myself smiling a bit, but that was all.  After reading it, I understand why Phil Dorn was being phased out as a sit-com writer; he’s just not that funny.  He is not a bad writer, however, and the real value of reading the book is to look into the struggles of a middle-aged man as he tries to reinvent himself into someone he didn’t think he was.  As he goes through this process, he discovers that there is much more in life than his former job and he is restored in health and happiness.  Despite this obvious transformation, Phil still seems to cling to the idea that he can go back and be successful at what he once was.  By the end of the book, I felt that he had only  made it about 95% of the way there and still needed to get over that last little bump to understand what he really had accomplished.

Dorn’s characters are somewhat enjoyable, but if you are looking for that belly laugh, read Janet Evanovich because his Tuscan friends and acquaintences just don’t make the grade.    Phil should drop any idea that he is really funny and concentrate more on just telling the story.

I think the book is worth reading, however, as it is fairly well-written and the struggle this guy is going through is an interesting story in itself.  It’s just not what it was advertised to be. 3 1/2 stars

Last Train to Paradise

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Les Standiford, 2002

This is a fascinating story about Henry Flagler, man who had the vision to build a railroad to Key West.  I got a bit bogged down with some of the technical descriptions of bridge and railroad construction midway through the book, but the story itself is very interesting and the description of the devastation wrought by the various storms livened it up.

I would recommend the book to anyone with an interest in Florida history and/or environment. 3 1/2 stars

The March: A Novel

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by E.L. Doctorow, 2006

This book disppointed me a great deal.  I looked forward to reading a good historical novel on the Civil War and the subject of Sherman’s march to the sea interested me a great deal.  The characters in the book, however, were not very interesting and seemed to be more like stick characters than real people.  Doctorow did not do a very good job of describing the battles and, after a while, they all began to run together.  There also doesn’t seem to be a very good sense of time so all the action becomes very muddled and confusing.

Doctorow also includes several passages which consist of Sherman’s inner thoughts.  I always seem to have a problem when an author presumes to know a famous person’s innermost thoughts, particularly in the setting of an historical novel.  I beleive that the actions and words (letters, etc.) seem to do a much better job in this setting of capturing the essence of a famous personage.

There are much better historical novels written using the Civil War as a setting, and even actual non-fiction history books seem to be a better read than this.  I would not particualry recommend this book as either enjoyable reading or for its historical content. 2 1/2 stars