Another Four Books

First were a pair of Stephen King collections: Full Dark No Stars and Different Seasons. These were kind of interesting because in the first one, Full Dark No Stars, King deals almost totally with the “real world” with no supernatural or fantasy elements. These are straight mainstream fiction, albeit very dark. The second collection was notable because three of the four novellas included in it have been made into films; Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, and Stand by Me (from The Body). Anyway both of these were pretty good. Stephen King at his height.

Lost In Transmission?: What We Can Know About the Words of Jesus by Nicholas Perrin was a bit of a disappointment. I thought it would be a book of exegesis about the Gospels which I would find interesting, instead it was a detailed and systematic rebuttal of Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus, which I haven’t read. By the time I figured out that Perrin was so focused on Ehrman I was deep enough into the fairly slim book that I just ploughed on and finished. Because I’m not familiar with Ehrman’s work, I can’t comment on how well Perrin rebuts him.

In God’s Name by David Yallop is supposed to be an expose offering proof that Pope John Paul I was murdered. It too was a disappointment. Yallop spends a great deal of time detailing the chicanery of the Vatican Bank as well as the manifold shortcomings of Cardinals Marcinkus, Cody and Villiot and ascribes the murder of John Paul to one of them without specifying which one, or providing any shred of evidence against any of them or even of the fact of the Pope being murdered. Essentially Yallop’s case boils down to: John Paul I was in excellent health, died suddenly, there was some confusion and misrepresentation about the circumstances of his death, and no autopsy, so he must have been murdered. Since he was going to clean up the Vatican Bank (upsetting Marcinkus), liberalize the Church (offending Villiot) and fire Cody, one of those guys must have been responsible for the murder. What tripe. Avoid it.

68 for the year.

Five More Books

Nineteen Weeks: America, Britain, and the Fateful Summer of 1940 by Norman Moss is a pretty superficial “pop history” of how the fall of France and the survival of Britain affected both American public opinion about getting involved in WWII and American aid to Britain and preparations for the war. The book was just “okay”. It spent an awful lot of time covering the loss of France and not enough on American developments. It is pretty straight narrative without much analysis or insight into why Britain’s plight changed American public opinion. Maybe I was expecting too much.

I Am Spartacus!: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist by Kirk Douglas was an excellent account of the making of the film Sparatacus!. Starting with Douglas optioning Howard Fast’s novel, problems getting the film funded and finding an appropriate screenwriter to handle the script and the difficulty Douglas had in hiring and publically acknowledging black lister Dalton Trumbo as the screenwriter. Included is a concise synopsis of the McCarthy era, the HUAC and blacklists. This is a really well done book

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol was a “blast from the past” that resulted from me seeing one of my favorite series of books when I was a pre-teen reader being sold at a discount for kindle. The book is a collection of short stories, each recounting one case, of the eponymous eleven year old detective. Each case involves a crime, provides the readers with “clues” which they can use to “solve” the case alongside our detective. Answers are given in the back of the book. I had a blast reliving 5th grade!

The Lion and the Eagle: Anglo-German Naval Confrontation in the Imperial Era – 1815-1919 by David Gregory is an excellent book that covers the subject very well indeed. Its greatest strength is in tracing Britain’s transition from antipathy toward France to becoming an ally, which was, in the final analysis driven by German actions, particularly Germany’s naval build up. This book is an excellent adjunct to Massie’s Dreadnought. I recommend it very highly and can’t wait for volume II.

Rapture by Susan Minot is a short little novel about an encounter between two “on again off again” lovers in a NYC apartment. Uniquely, the novel is almost totally told form the perspective of the interior thoughts of the two lovers. It was interesting, but didn’t live up to the recommendation I had been given. You can take a pass on this one.

64 for the year