Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--and How We Take It Back by David Sirota. Three Rivers Press: 2007
He comments that this book is an essential and compelling read for any politically active citizen - especially with the Iowa caucus rapidly approaching.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Mickie O'Brien '11 is reading...
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Burling Library has several editions, including a 2000 State Street Press Edition
PR4034 .P7 2000
Burling Library has several editions, including a 2000 State Street Press Edition
PR4034 .P7 2000
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Rebecca Stuhr is reading about Librarians in The Bird Artist
I'm reading Howard Norman's The Bird Artist. I can't remember what review I was reading or who wrote the review. In this forgotten review I read about The Bird Artist and it was recommended as one of the favorite novels of the reviewer. So I made a note to myself to read it. Well, I just got started and it opens with the main character remembering the local town (in Nova Scotia) librarian and library, Mrs. Bath. The library cards had "the silhouette of a woman reading in a bathtub." Mrs. Bath claimed to have read all the books in the library, "which was her own living room, dining room, and sitting room." She was a stickler for the rules, "You either remembered your card or had to fetch it." She was also the young bird artist's greatest supporter (along with his mother). "She often provided me with money out of her own till for pens, pencils, inks, special paper." "Just draw. It's a God-given gift."
Anyway, I haven't gotten very far, but enjoyed reading about Mrs. Bath and her role in the development of the young artist's career. I think he goes on to commit a murder--but Mrs. Bath had died by then. I don't think she has any responsibility for that. Compare this to Penelope Lively's discription of libraries and librarians in her latest book (mentioned further down in the blog), Consequences; not pleasing at all.
Norman, Howard. The Bird Artist. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994.
PR 9199. B57 1994
Lively, Penelope. Consequences. Viking, 2007
Smith Memorial PR6062.I89 C58 2007b
Anyway, I haven't gotten very far, but enjoyed reading about Mrs. Bath and her role in the development of the young artist's career. I think he goes on to commit a murder--but Mrs. Bath had died by then. I don't think she has any responsibility for that. Compare this to Penelope Lively's discription of libraries and librarians in her latest book (mentioned further down in the blog), Consequences; not pleasing at all.
Norman, Howard. The Bird Artist. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994.
PR 9199. B57 1994
Lively, Penelope. Consequences. Viking, 2007
Smith Memorial PR6062.I89 C58 2007b
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston. Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Reviewed by Rebecca Stuhr
Janie is suddenly back in town after having left it to marry a younger man. The community disapproved and now imagines her having been abandoned and left destitute. Janie, however, has another story, and she still has one friend who is willing to hear the truth. Janie's tale is the basis for the rest of Hurston's novel. To set the community straight, Janie starts from the beginning. She explains how she came to marry her first husband and why she left him for the dashing and ambitious Jodie, and then, after Jodie's death, how she was swept off her feet by the younger, romantic, fun loving, and yet still hard working Tea Cake. Janie's story of her life with Tea Cake is one of love and devotion. Hurston's writing is poetic and moving. Her descriptions of life in an all black community, where Janie lives with Jodie, and life on the Everglades, where she lives with Tea Cake, are detailed and colorful. While in many ways a novel about love, Hurston does not hide from issues of race or the difficulties faced by those in close relationships including jealousy and insecurity. Hurston's details of everyday life, her evocative dialog, and carefully developed characters make this a compelling narrative. Her terrifying description of the hurricane that slammed through southern Florida, breaching the dike around Lake Okeechobee, and the ensuing devastation are especially vivid.
The Grinnell College libraries have a 1978 edition published by the University of Illinois Press.
PS 3515 .U789 T43x 1978.
Reviewed by Rebecca Stuhr
Janie is suddenly back in town after having left it to marry a younger man. The community disapproved and now imagines her having been abandoned and left destitute. Janie, however, has another story, and she still has one friend who is willing to hear the truth. Janie's tale is the basis for the rest of Hurston's novel. To set the community straight, Janie starts from the beginning. She explains how she came to marry her first husband and why she left him for the dashing and ambitious Jodie, and then, after Jodie's death, how she was swept off her feet by the younger, romantic, fun loving, and yet still hard working Tea Cake. Janie's story of her life with Tea Cake is one of love and devotion. Hurston's writing is poetic and moving. Her descriptions of life in an all black community, where Janie lives with Jodie, and life on the Everglades, where she lives with Tea Cake, are detailed and colorful. While in many ways a novel about love, Hurston does not hide from issues of race or the difficulties faced by those in close relationships including jealousy and insecurity. Hurston's details of everyday life, her evocative dialog, and carefully developed characters make this a compelling narrative. Her terrifying description of the hurricane that slammed through southern Florida, breaching the dike around Lake Okeechobee, and the ensuing devastation are especially vivid.
The Grinnell College libraries have a 1978 edition published by the University of Illinois Press.
PS 3515 .U789 T43x 1978.
Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army
Jeremy Scahill. Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. New York: Nation Books, 2007
Reviewed by T. Hatch
What happens when you mix the Christo fascist ideology of the Council for National Policy with the zeal of Donald Rumsfeld’s drive to privatize as much of the Defense Department as possible? The short answer is “private military companies” like Blackwater whose mercenary services are essential to both preserving the occupation of Iraq and corporate profits.
Erik Prince, ex-Navy Seal and founder of Blackwater, sees his company as a necessary and highly profitable adjunct to the US military. Author Jeremy Scahill is not quite as generous in his assessment: “What Blackwater seemingly advocates and envisions is a private army of God-fearing patriots, well paid and devoted to the agenda of U.S. hegemony – supported by far lower paid cannon fodder, foot soldiers from Third World countries, many of which have legacies of brutal U.S.-sponsored regimes or death squads.”
As recent arguments in the US House and Senate demonstrate, there is much squeamishness when the full implications of an operation like Blackwater’s are more closely examined. In addition to the issue of criminal liability, when trigger happy mercenaries are allowed to run amok, there is also the question of immunity from tort liability. Blackwater’s legal team has argued that Blackwater should be immune from civil causes of action in Iraq and elsewhere. By implication the government would foot the bill for contractors killed in war zones and thus privatize profits while making the risk a public liability. It appears as if it pays to be patriotic.
Reviewed by T. Hatch
What happens when you mix the Christo fascist ideology of the Council for National Policy with the zeal of Donald Rumsfeld’s drive to privatize as much of the Defense Department as possible? The short answer is “private military companies” like Blackwater whose mercenary services are essential to both preserving the occupation of Iraq and corporate profits.
Erik Prince, ex-Navy Seal and founder of Blackwater, sees his company as a necessary and highly profitable adjunct to the US military. Author Jeremy Scahill is not quite as generous in his assessment: “What Blackwater seemingly advocates and envisions is a private army of God-fearing patriots, well paid and devoted to the agenda of U.S. hegemony – supported by far lower paid cannon fodder, foot soldiers from Third World countries, many of which have legacies of brutal U.S.-sponsored regimes or death squads.”
As recent arguments in the US House and Senate demonstrate, there is much squeamishness when the full implications of an operation like Blackwater’s are more closely examined. In addition to the issue of criminal liability, when trigger happy mercenaries are allowed to run amok, there is also the question of immunity from tort liability. Blackwater’s legal team has argued that Blackwater should be immune from civil causes of action in Iraq and elsewhere. By implication the government would foot the bill for contractors killed in war zones and thus privatize profits while making the risk a public liability. It appears as if it pays to be patriotic.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Four Reviews from Leslie Madsen-Brooks '97 ..
Leslie Madsen-Brooks is the Coordinator for Faculty and TA Programs at The Teaching Resource Center at U.C. Davis and a Grinnell alumna, class of 1997.
The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian. San Francisco: McSweeney's Books, 2006
Smith Memorial PS3551.D75 C55x 2006
What happens when the entire world floods and all that remains is a specially-equipped, floating children’s hospital with 700 sick children, some of their families, and hospital staff? This book offers one vision of a post-apocalyptic world. It’s a long and quiet read, not a page-turner, but is especially thoughtful on the role of families (and their tragedies) in shaping people’s lives.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007
PS3608.O832 K58 2007
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Not for the faint of heart, this novel begins in 1960s and 1970s Afghanistan and takes us almost through the present day from the perspective of women and children.
Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier. New York: Random House, 2006
Smith Memorial PS3556.R3599 T48 2006
I’m halfway through this one. It’s a pleasure to read. The scope and detail of Frazier’s research is impressive as he tells the tale of a man who has lived long enough to meet John C. Calhoun and complain about cars roaring by on the road in front of his house.
Everyday eBay: Culture, Collecting, and Desires. Edited by Ken Hillis, Michael Petit, and Nathan Scott Epley. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Fascinating stuff about collectors--their seeking, buying, and communities. Definitely recommended for material culture lovers and anyone who collects, well, anything.
The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian. San Francisco: McSweeney's Books, 2006
Smith Memorial PS3551.D75 C55x 2006
What happens when the entire world floods and all that remains is a specially-equipped, floating children’s hospital with 700 sick children, some of their families, and hospital staff? This book offers one vision of a post-apocalyptic world. It’s a long and quiet read, not a page-turner, but is especially thoughtful on the role of families (and their tragedies) in shaping people’s lives.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007
PS3608.O832 K58 2007
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Not for the faint of heart, this novel begins in 1960s and 1970s Afghanistan and takes us almost through the present day from the perspective of women and children.
Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier. New York: Random House, 2006
Smith Memorial PS3556.R3599 T48 2006
I’m halfway through this one. It’s a pleasure to read. The scope and detail of Frazier’s research is impressive as he tells the tale of a man who has lived long enough to meet John C. Calhoun and complain about cars roaring by on the road in front of his house.
Everyday eBay: Culture, Collecting, and Desires. Edited by Ken Hillis, Michael Petit, and Nathan Scott Epley. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Fascinating stuff about collectors--their seeking, buying, and communities. Definitely recommended for material culture lovers and anyone who collects, well, anything.
Cheryl Neubert is very busy, but when she has time to read she is reading ...
Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005
Smith Memorial HM846 .F74 2005
Smith Memorial HM846 .F74 2005
Raji Pokhrel '08 read Amitav Ghosh over the summer ..
The Circle of Reason. New York: Viking, 1986
PR9499.3.G5346 C57 1986
and
Mistry Rohinton's Fine Balance. New York: Knopf, 1996
PR9199.3.M494 F56 1996
PR9499.3.G5346 C57 1986
and
Mistry Rohinton's Fine Balance. New York: Knopf, 1996
PR9199.3.M494 F56 1996
Hannah Yourd '09 is reading ...
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002
PS3555.U4 M53 2002
Raji Pokhrel '08 also thinks that this is an excellent book.
PS3555.U4 M53 2002
Raji Pokhrel '08 also thinks that this is an excellent book.
Virginia Andersen '10 is reading in her spare time and for her personal enjoyment...
Ellen Lambert '08 is enjoying reading ...
Brian Ladd's The Ghosts of Berlin: Confronting German History in the Urban Landscape. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, c1997
HT169.G32 B4127 1997
Brian Ladd graduated from Grinnell in 1979.
She comments that this book is a great read, captivating, and a page turner. She is reading it for class and wants to be reading whenever she has the chance.
And this summer Ellen read Jesus Land: A Memoir by Julia Sheeres. New York: Counterpoint, 2005.
HT169.G32 B4127 1997
Brian Ladd graduated from Grinnell in 1979.
She comments that this book is a great read, captivating, and a page turner. She is reading it for class and wants to be reading whenever she has the chance.
And this summer Ellen read Jesus Land: A Memoir by Julia Sheeres. New York: Counterpoint, 2005.
Ben Good '10 read presidential biographies over the summer and recommends ...
Grant by Jean Edward Smith. New York: Simon & Schuster, c2001
E672 .S627 2001
and
Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. New York: Simon & Schuster, c1995
E457 .D66 1995
E672 .S627 2001
and
Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. New York: Simon & Schuster, c1995
E457 .D66 1995
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Heather Parker is reading ...
Gabriel García Márquez. Cien años de soledad. Buenos Aires, Editorial Sud-americana, 1967.
PQ 8180,17 .A73 CF
PQ 8180,17 .A73 CF
Lindsey Taggart is enoying reading Civil War Novels
for English 330 with Professor Nestor.
Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty by John William de Forest
Burling has a 1955 edition
PS 1525 .D5 M57x 1955
The Bostonians by Henry James
Burling has a 1976 edition of this work
PS 2116 .B6 1976
and
Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
Burling has a number of editions of this work including a Norton edition
PS 1317 .B4 1980
Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty by John William de Forest
Burling has a 1955 edition
PS 1525 .D5 M57x 1955
The Bostonians by Henry James
Burling has a 1976 edition of this work
PS 2116 .B6 1976
and
Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
Burling has a number of editions of this work including a Norton edition
PS 1317 .B4 1980
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