One Summer

One Summer by Bill Bryson was my blizzard book for 2014. It kept me amused, entertained and informed through a winter like we haven't had in a long time. I don't often look to nonfiction and especially a historical treatment of 528 pages for my reading material. I've enjoyed parts of his previous books so I thought I would try this one as it was available to download from the public library. I wasn't bored, but it was a bit slow in places. I enjoyed his sense of humor about the historical characters and how they influenced history. I will never again think about his cast of people in the same way.

After reading the book, I read a number of reviews of the work from Amazon, New York Times, Boston Herald, Barnes and Noble and others. I was interested to see how professional book reviewers reacted to the book. I wanted to get a reading on how One Summer would stack up as a "classic." To refresh my memory from my literature classes of fifty years ago, the web makes research extremely easy. I found some interesting discussions of the requirements of a "classic".


What is a Classic?

"A classic usually expresses some artistic quality--an expression of life, truth, and beauty.

--A classic stands the test of time. The work is usually considered to be a representation of the period in which it was written; and the work merits lasting recognition. In other words, if the book was published in the recent past, the work is not a classic.

--A classic has a certain universal appeal. Great works of literature touch us to our very core beings--partly because they integrate themes that are understood by readers from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of experience. Themes of love, hate, death, life, and faith touch upon some of our most basic emotional responses.

--A classic makes connections. You can study a classic and discover influences from other writers and other great works of literature. Of course, this is partly related to the universal appeal of a classic. But, the classic also is informed by the history of ideas and literature--whether unconsciously or specifically worked into the plot of the text."

It is my personal opinion that a "classic" provides inspiration or is a springboard to further interest in a topic. It inspires and is thought provoking. It allows us to learn something new about ourselves. One Summer certainly influenced my previously held impressions and assumptions on a variety of subjects. My notions about certain people in the America of the 1920 years were permanently altered. I suspect if high school students took the opportunity to view history through reading One Summer, they would find American History far more interesting.

As a retired research librarian, I can appreciate his bibliography spanning 119 pages. A lot of work went into One Summer. The importance of quality of sources is a major requirement of any respectable book of this genre. The resulting flow of information in his discussion seemed more than adequately objective to me. Even so, some reviewers disputed some of his statements. I haven't vetted every one of his sources, but it occurs to me that he consulted numerous primary source materials printed with copyright dates like 1917, 1920, 1925, 1931. I read through his list and the primary sources would have been the older materials rather than works with recent copyright dates. I was impressed with the number of respectable reference books he mentioned throughout the book. I have visions of him rolling through decades of the New York Times archives of microfiche. I hope he used the National Digital Newspaper Program archival materials from the Library of Congress for first hand accounts of events and interviews of witnesses to history as they occurred in the news. He has a discussion at the end of the book about visiting the Smithsonian Museum--National Air and Space Museum to look at The Spirit of St. Louis and his interview with the curator. His list of sources are available on his web site.

Even though One Summer (October 1, 2013) has not stood the test of time, I think it more than meets the other requirements of a "classic."

One Summer was a very exciting account of that historical summer of 1927 along with the historical background and followed by a "what happened to..." section. I enjoyed it so much, I am considering buying a copy and reviewing parts of it again. When reading the digital version, I missed all the pictures which are also documented and footnoted. Reading One Summer was more restful than shoveling snow.

Kill Shot

In the fictional war on terror, some protagonists stand out like superheroes. At the top of the list is CIA agent Mitch Rapp, created by novelist Vince Flynn. In his latest "American Assassin Thriller",  character Mitch Rapp again takes on the terrorists, traitors, double agents and selfish, shortsighted bureaucrats.

Continuing the story of the early life and beginnings of a newbie CIA agent first covered in American Assassin, Kill Shot finds Mitch Rapp proceeding to work his way down a list of terrorists, or sponsors of terrorists that the CIA has identified for assassination. Only four people knew the names of the people on the list and three had photographic memories, so a paper list was unnecessary.

When one of the targets on the list is taken out, and Rapp is attacked, he realizes he has been compromised in his mission. He barely escapes with his life and is wounded. It becomes obvious that the names on the list have been leaked to their enemies by an informant within their own ranks.Surviving and identifying who can and who cannot be trusted takes over as Rapp's primary objective. 

Vince Flynn has done an admirable job in creating a character that can qualify as a hero because he is very skilled in all the qualities required of a spy, and he has the appropriate rage of injustice to fuel his motivation to do a very dirty job. "Boots on the ground" takes on a whole new meaning and gives the reader an insight into the dangerous, gritty assignments that are taken on by the groups like the Seal Team Six in an effort to protect citizens from aggressors that would like nothing better than to destroy the quality of life that civilized societies aspire to achieve.

Flynn has shown in his character, Mitch Rapp, a respect for the lives of innocents and his values in requiring surgical strikes in his assignments to avoid killing innocent bystanders. Mitch Rapp is a character with courage and resolve in removing the despots of the world with great skill and finesse. When the reader finds that Mitch Rapp has successfully removed the terrorists and traitors with no redeeming qualities and those who have no conscience in creating misery for other people, it is a particularly satisfying read.

As I read some of the reviews found online, many were very critical of the book and I couldn't disagree more. I have read every book written by Vince Flynn and he remains true to the character he has created and especially to the theme that there are evil forces walking the earth. The twelve Mitch Rapp books point out that we need people who are capable and willing to confront and eliminate those evil forces. Those of us who sleep in clean, soft beds and sleep an untroubled night with no bombs interrupting our sleep, owe those courageous agents a great debt and should honor their work. Yes, it is fiction, but this series began before 9/11 and when it happened, I wondered if Vince Flynn was psychic. It serves as a necessary reminder that Joe/Sally Citizen can go about their daily lives because many other citizens have sacrificed with untold efforts which made that peaceful existence possible. Peace is not free.

Bel-Air Dead

In Stuart Wood's Bel-Air Dead, there is something comforting in finding what you're looking for. It is liking putting on a comfortable slipper to slide into the head of lawyer, Stone Barrington, beginning with a Knob Creek bourbon and schmoozing with the regulars in Elaine's Restaurant (with a dedication to the late Elaine Kaufman, who loved writers and famous people) in New York City.  Naturally, there's murder involved, new private jets, people with lots of money buying new stuff and spending lots of their money. Escapism works for me--I can't relate to any of that stuff. I am vicariously rich.

He solves the murders, gets a new partnership, and lots more money. What more could a reader want in 300 pages? Stone Barrington has more unsafe sex and we try to overlook their disregard for the obvious. So why do I keep reading this pulp fiction? I know what to expect and I don't have to worry about some vulnerable creature getting offed in a frightening way or a twisted mind torturing someone. It's plain, old-fashioned greed and lust for power. I need to know how the rich and famous spend their lives so I can know what to avoid when I win the lottery. I can deal with that.

It's a business/legal drama, minus the courtroom. Stone isn't really a courtroom lawyer, he's a deal maker.  His buddy and cop friend, Dino Bacchetti comes along for the ride to Bel-Air so Stone has someone to talk to and to advance the plot. Stone needs someone else with a gun too, so they can do double dates and solve murders with fellow cops in faraway places. It makes gathering information so much cozier when there is a friend on a police force across the country who can provide just the clues needed to solve murders and unravel suspicious connections. Other old acquaintances from past books pop in to update the reader on the current state of their lives or to suggest plots for their next editions. I don't think this will be the last of the Stone Barrington, et all, adventures.

The buying and selling of houses, properties, jets, companies and throwing around of vast sums of money at a dizzying pace keeps the reader moving so fast that it is a quick read. It's really  great stuff for a beach read between dips in the water and the afternoon nap. Stuart Woods can keep 'em coming 'cause I'm not tired of them yet.

Buried Prey

In Buried Prey, this latest John Sandford drama features his favorite main character, policeman "hunter" of bad guys, Lucas Davenport, who revisits a cold case from his past. Victims of a case he had worked on early in his career are discovered and reinforces his guilt of having mishandled the case due to his inexperience. He had to leave the case unsolved. He feels a lot of responsibility to hunt down criminals to prevent additional victims. He seems haunted by the additional victims of the perpetrator from the cold case. Lucas is a smart guy who writes computer simulations on the side and likes puzzles. So he sees his job as a "hunt" to find killers to protect the public.

The main character is a very likeable creation with laudable motivations who works on overcoming his inner conflicts. He's a strong, "guy's guy" who gets along well with co-workers even when he disagrees with them. The character manages to be loyal to his family, protect them and he tries to find a modicum of normalcy in the middle of the madness of the job he does so very well. His continuing relationship with his adopted daughter, Letty, who was a little "toughie" for whom he developed a soft spot and rescued in a previous novel, is especially endearing.

The preceding twenty "Prey" novels follow the career of Lucas Davenport and show a great progression in character development from one novel to the next. He just gets more and more likeable. I highly recommend reading the whole series from the beginning because the trip is worth the time. John Sandford is at the top of my list of favorite authors and the consummate professional. The plot development and the fictional world he spins together gets and keeps my attention. The other supporting characters are equally interesting and Virgil Flowers is an entertaining co-worker about whom four novels have been written.

John Sandford (John Camp) lives and works in Minnesota, a place I've never visited. I especially enjoy how he sets a scene with descriptions that make me feel I have actually seen the places. I appreciate how he can describe the weather and nature. He comes from the field of journalism and his attention to detail slows me from my usual speed reading to savor his descriptive sentences. I've enjoyed every book I've read by John Sandford.  

The Ghost

After seeing the movie The Ghost Writer, reading the novel, The Ghost, by Robert Harris, was an unexpected pleasure. In my previous post, I tried to make sense of the plot and answer some of the questions I found in the movie, so I read the book. Novels written by British authors are interesting for me because they work with our common language in clever, entertaining sentence structures and word choices that send me to the dictionary. It is very enlightening to read impressions of America through the viewpoint of people from other countries. We aren't always perceived in the light that we view ourselves.

Like the movie, the atmosphere of the novel is gray, gray, and more gray. The January weather on Martha's Vineyard sets the scene appropriate to the sense of events that are out of the control of the characters. The hopelessness is brought to mind by the groundskeeper who keeps cleaning up leaves and storm debris only to find it inevitably, repeatedly returns. His struggle is as pointless as the struggle of the characters to make choices that will lead them to more desirable circumstances.

The world that "the ghost" enters is unfamiliar and he becomes lured into it motivated only by the desire to complete his project. He is so unimportant to the outcome of events that we don't even know his name. As he tries to solve the puzzle that is the manuscript penned by his deceased predecessor, he fears he will fall victim to the same fate. The memoirs of the ex-prime minister is completed and published. In solving the puzzle of the life of his subject, the desire of the narrator/ghost writer to remain in the background is out of his control in the end. He becomes as much a pawn as his subject in global intrigue.

The experiences of the movie and the novel were not boring. I take my entertainment too seriously sometimes, but The Ghost makes one think a lot about the world and the powers that control it. Fiction, yes, but sometimes "truth is stranger than fiction." Not a happy thought, but it's realistic.

The Lion

I readily confess to being partial to macho novels. I admit that reading plots that involve fictional characters who are able to solve some of the world's problems (even in a fictional context)  gives me a certain feeling of control and hope that somehow the problems of our country can be managed. I'm not a person who can hide my head in the sand, and say I don't watch TV or read about the news since I can't do anything about the problems, why do I need to know about them? I can't be that Pollyanna about real issues of the world where I live, and I feel we all have an obligation for collective moral outrage when the oceans have been turned into sludge, jobs are disappearing, people are losing homes, and forces from abroad would like nothing better than our total annihilation. When I see the news, I feel helpless. When I read a book, I feel my control issues are pampered, but I'm not naive and I'm not in denial.

 

When I read The Lion's Game by Nelson DeMille, ten years ago, I was fascinated by the clever plot published in Oct. 2000. After Sept. 11, 2001, I was really troubled by the issues it raised. It is called fiction, but I feel it is fictionalized non-fiction. The criminal mind on a political, religious, and personal vendetta isn't easy to confront. Fanatics are always dangerous. It is a little like swallowing bitter medicine--it is a real wake-up call. It's not pretty, it's not sweet, but I take my hat off to all those folks involved in the struggle to overcome the kinds of adversaries in this work of fiction that are all too real in the world as we know it today. I am a natural worrier so as I look at the struggles and conflicts in The Lion, I look for the real problems and real solutions to challenges raised. The answers and conclusions I reached are not what I would have thought in 1960. Citizens have to make their peace in their own way with the kind of world we have now. This book continues to raise some important issues that have confronted us in the last ten years. Even so, The Lion is a really fun read.

The Lion's Game has always been on my favorite books list and I wouldn't read the sequel, The Lion, without first reading The Lion's Game. Nelson DeMille has a talent for fast paced drama and a cryptic sense of humor that I needed for comic relief while reading this gut wrenching thriller, The Lion. Plum Island, Nightfall and Wildfire, also had NYPD cop John Corey as a central character who seems to be able to handle chaos with his wisecracking irreverence. I'm a huge fan of the character John Corey and I'll inhale any plot by Nelson DeMille. Highly marketable authors like to leave a cliffhanger to segue to a sequel and Nelson DeMille is no exception. Darn his hide--I hope he doesn't wait ten years for the next one.

Reacher Creature

Another fun beach book just in time for summer, and this Reacher Creature (that's what his fans call themselves) couldn't wait long enough to find a beach to read it. 61 Hours by Lee Child has a main character called Jack Reacher, ex-Army MP and currently a nomad with no home address, so he is living off the grid from day to day wherever he wants to wander. I like his no-baggage approach to life. He never travels with luggage, he buys new clothes when he needs them and throws away the old ones. Works for me--today being laundry day. Reacher always finds trouble no matter where he goes and doesn't seem to mind. We can rest assured that he can handle any situation. By the by, we learn that he, a West Point grad, was kicked out of the Army after attacking a general who was withholding food from the troops on the front lines and selling it for personal profit. Jack Reacher has a clear sense of right and wrong. He becomes even more human and likeable in this book in the way that he relates to several other characters and his efforts to help others who can't help themselves.

This is Reacher's 14th adventure from Lee Child with the sequel due out in October. Amazon has some interesting reviews with complete plot summaries included. I didn't read them until I read the book and visited Lee Child's great website where he blows smoke across the page--great effect on a web page. Everything about this book seems implausible, improbable, and you've gotta be kidding, but it works. It screams "suspended disbelief." The ending really left me ticked off, so naturally, I am frothing at the mouth to get to the sequel. I think anyone who hasn't read the first 13 in this series would really enjoy them, but would also have a different view of 61 Hours. I've been a fan from the first book so I appreciate the development of the character and the series. 

Jack Reacher is a character who is always a leader no matter where he finds himself. A man with "skills," confidence and size is a natural hero. It is unapologetic entertainment with no pretentions to being "great literature" and this English major has suffered through some so called "Great Literature." This is a great page turner. I've tried to figure out my fascination with this bigger-than-life character. Yes, he's big, at six feet, five inches, he's not afraid of anyone. I like that attitude and his application of reasoning skills to know what are his odds in any situation and using facts to figure out how to overcome adversaries. He seems to know a lot about everything necessary for his self defense and solving crimes. I've concluded that I like how the character can take care of himself in any situation and doesn't mind taking on the bad guys because he always knows how to beat them. By the time he gets around to putting down villians who "really needed killing" it seems totally justified, and you wonder what took him so long. He waits until the reader agrees that it is a righteous kill. Hey, it's fiction and, like anyone with control issues, I like to think there are answers to some of life's pesky problems.

The author puts a lot of effort into the details of these adventures and I appreciate that kind of work. Considering that Lee Child has licensed all of the titles for movies, I am eager to see who they will find to play Jack Reacher. It just won't work if he isn't 6' 5" tall. Meanwhile, I always eagerly wait for the next one. Eat your heart out James Bond!  Who needs "shaken, not stirred."