Books
In this, the Summer of Kabir, I was expecting to see many movies. However, I appear to be stymied by the paucity of decent movies in theaters this summer. Even the pretty-bad-yet-everyone-sees-it-anyway movies, such as Oceans' 13, don't hold any attraction for me. Spiderman 3? The previews looked awful. Besides, I made the mistake of paying to see Pirates 3, which was not worth it at all. That'll be the last sequel I see this summer until Jason Bourne returns to kick some ass. I am intrigued by A Mighty Heart and 1408, and hopefully will get a chance to see both fairly soon.
In the meantime, I have been reading. Requests for in-depth reviews will be gladly granted, but here I will simply give an overview of the three books I have read in the past few weeks.
The Great Influenza, by John Barry
Mr. Barry does a great job with this book, notwithstanding a few minor issues. The topic is fascinating, and one that often gets overshadowed by WW1 in history books that cover the early part of the century. The book represents a synthesis of very strong research and a good storytelling, which makes for an entertaining history lesson. Several ideas of his are intriguing, such as the theory that Woodrow Wilson's battle with the flu in Paris after WW1 contributed directly to his changed attitude towards the peace process. On the downside, Mr. Barry tends to get too involved with tangents, such as the personal lives of the leading medical scientists at the turn of the century. These anecdotes, while interesting, detract from the flow of history and are not presented in a way that allows the reader to easily move back into the main storyline, making the book somewhat more of a ponderous affair. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book.
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Amazing, and almost a masterpiece of literature. McCarthy's descriptive skills are at their peak when describing desolate landscapes and searing visual imagery, and the post-apocalyptic world he creates provides ample room for him to display these talents. As my friend Rob points out, McCarthy does not fall into the trap of explaining the apocalypse and thus moving into a sci-fi setting where he would begin to lose focus. The hallmark of great novels, of those that exhibit staying power through the years, is depicting scenarios that everyone can empathize with, and plumbing the depths of human relationships and behavior in all its complexity. In this McCarthy succeeds brilliantly - and his mastery of the english language is exquisite. At times I felt like I was reading a long poem, instead of a novel. The only downside to this book is its singular focus. There are so many intrigues, situations, and experiences in the book which could have been explored more deeply - McCarthy has shown that he has the ability to do this, as he did effectively in Blood Meridian. However, I readily admit that the simplicity of the storyline is part of its beauty, and so perhaps this is not a true downside at all.
Confessions of an Economic Hitman, by John Perkins
An entertaining read, I find this book insightful and yet annoyingly obtuse and paranoid at the same time. In this non-fiction book, Mr. Perkins recounts his life as an "economic hitman" working for a consulting company (MAIN). In his role as Chief Economist, Mr. Perkins contends that it was his duty to dramatically inflate the growth potential of developing countries. This justified large U.S. and World Bank loans to these countries which he knew they could never pay back, thus creating a system whereby these countries would be forever indebted and obligated to the United States, which then used its influence to install pro-U.S. governments as part of the Cold War. He also contends that this entire scheme was orchestrated by the NSA and CIA, although he never gives any proof of this except fairly vague circumstantial and hearsay evidence. From an economic perspective Mr. Perkins make some great observations: essentially it is the anti-globalization argument made with a firsthand account of how the companies and governments can (and have) exploited globalization trends. However, I find Mr. Perkins' larger conspiracy theory accusations hard to accept without more evidence. The CIA abuses of power in Central and South America are well documented, but a greater economic conspiracy reaching down from the top eschelons of the government, and covering everything from Indonesia to Iran and Columbia, I find hard to believe.
In this, the Summer of Kabir, I was expecting to see many movies. However, I appear to be stymied by the paucity of decent movies in theaters this summer. Even the pretty-bad-yet-everyone-sees-it-anyway movies, such as Oceans' 13, don't hold any attraction for me. Spiderman 3? The previews looked awful. Besides, I made the mistake of paying to see Pirates 3, which was not worth it at all. That'll be the last sequel I see this summer until Jason Bourne returns to kick some ass. I am intrigued by A Mighty Heart and 1408, and hopefully will get a chance to see both fairly soon.
In the meantime, I have been reading. Requests for in-depth reviews will be gladly granted, but here I will simply give an overview of the three books I have read in the past few weeks.
The Great Influenza, by John Barry
Mr. Barry does a great job with this book, notwithstanding a few minor issues. The topic is fascinating, and one that often gets overshadowed by WW1 in history books that cover the early part of the century. The book represents a synthesis of very strong research and a good storytelling, which makes for an entertaining history lesson. Several ideas of his are intriguing, such as the theory that Woodrow Wilson's battle with the flu in Paris after WW1 contributed directly to his changed attitude towards the peace process. On the downside, Mr. Barry tends to get too involved with tangents, such as the personal lives of the leading medical scientists at the turn of the century. These anecdotes, while interesting, detract from the flow of history and are not presented in a way that allows the reader to easily move back into the main storyline, making the book somewhat more of a ponderous affair. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book.
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Amazing, and almost a masterpiece of literature. McCarthy's descriptive skills are at their peak when describing desolate landscapes and searing visual imagery, and the post-apocalyptic world he creates provides ample room for him to display these talents. As my friend Rob points out, McCarthy does not fall into the trap of explaining the apocalypse and thus moving into a sci-fi setting where he would begin to lose focus. The hallmark of great novels, of those that exhibit staying power through the years, is depicting scenarios that everyone can empathize with, and plumbing the depths of human relationships and behavior in all its complexity. In this McCarthy succeeds brilliantly - and his mastery of the english language is exquisite. At times I felt like I was reading a long poem, instead of a novel. The only downside to this book is its singular focus. There are so many intrigues, situations, and experiences in the book which could have been explored more deeply - McCarthy has shown that he has the ability to do this, as he did effectively in Blood Meridian. However, I readily admit that the simplicity of the storyline is part of its beauty, and so perhaps this is not a true downside at all.
Confessions of an Economic Hitman, by John Perkins
An entertaining read, I find this book insightful and yet annoyingly obtuse and paranoid at the same time. In this non-fiction book, Mr. Perkins recounts his life as an "economic hitman" working for a consulting company (MAIN). In his role as Chief Economist, Mr. Perkins contends that it was his duty to dramatically inflate the growth potential of developing countries. This justified large U.S. and World Bank loans to these countries which he knew they could never pay back, thus creating a system whereby these countries would be forever indebted and obligated to the United States, which then used its influence to install pro-U.S. governments as part of the Cold War. He also contends that this entire scheme was orchestrated by the NSA and CIA, although he never gives any proof of this except fairly vague circumstantial and hearsay evidence. From an economic perspective Mr. Perkins make some great observations: essentially it is the anti-globalization argument made with a firsthand account of how the companies and governments can (and have) exploited globalization trends. However, I find Mr. Perkins' larger conspiracy theory accusations hard to accept without more evidence. The CIA abuses of power in Central and South America are well documented, but a greater economic conspiracy reaching down from the top eschelons of the government, and covering everything from Indonesia to Iran and Columbia, I find hard to believe.
Labels: Books/Movies
posted by slithytoves at 11:29 PM
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