Chapter 10 - Endurance

Wow!! How time flies! I apologize that it’s been a full two months since my last review. I do want to thank everyone for the great comments on The Screwtape Letters That was my biggest response yet, and it’s no surprise why; it’s really a great book. Hopefully today’s review will also find a responsive audience!

The subject of today’s review is Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. When I first started reading non-fiction books a few years ago, I read this little gem and have been hooked on non-fiction ever since. This is an amazing story of adventure, of overcoming hardships and beating incredible odds in order to survive. This story is all the more amazing because it actually happened.

In 1914, a British expedition led by a man named Ernest Shackleton set sail with the goal of being the first people to journey across Antarctica on foot. Shackleton had been on a few previous exploratory trips to the “White Continent” and had even gotten within about 100 miles of the South Pole. This trip, however, was not to be nearly as successful as previous trips. Before they could reach the point where they would dock their ship and begin their trans-continental trek, the ship became trapped in the drifting pack ice. And there it stayed, stuck, for 9 months until finally the surging ice crushed the ship. Suddenly, the crew was stuck thousands of miles from civilization in a frozen wilderness, without a way to get home. Taking three small boats and whatever supplies they could carry with them, the crew abandoned the wrecked ship and headed out on a trek of a different sort…a trek of survival. What follows is an incredible story of endurance and superb leadership from Shackleton. But if you want to know the rest of this fantastic story, you’ll have to read the book. I will tell you that almost a year after losing their ship, the crew was saved without losing a single life. Truly amazing.

Unlike some other books I’ve reviewed, this one is a quick read (288 pages) and I assure you that it will be well worth your time. So, if you’re looking for adventure, have always wondered how you’d survive the Antarctic wilderness, or want to read a story of incredible determination, effort and leadership, I recommend you Buy the Book!

Chapter 9 - The Screwtape Letters

"My dear Wormwood..." Thus begins every chapter in this delightful little book. It’s more a collection of letters, really. The letters are sent to Wormwood, a young devil, from his "affectionate" uncle Screwtape, a more experienced devil who is training his nephew in all the intricate ways of being a tempter. Like other devils, Wormwood has been assigned a "patient", a human being that he is to spend his time tempting and leading astray. Screwtape has written these letters to Wormwood giving advice on what will or won’t work in this endeavor. The book is called The Screwtape Letters and it’s written by one of the most well known Christian writers, C.S. Lewis. If you haven’t yet read any C.S. Lewis, this is a great place to start. For today’s review, I decided to simply share a few of my favorite quotes from this book. This is only a sampling as this book provides some brilliant insight and analysis on why we do what we do, and how Satan tries to get us to do what he wants. It’s really a fantastic book. I think there is an incredible amount to learn by evaluating these ideas and C.S. Lewis does a marvelous job with this task and makes some wonderful points about human behavior, the gospel, sin and temptation, and the devil's ultimate strategies to keep us from what is good. So, on to some examples (and remember, these are two devils corresponding, so when they say "Enemy" they mean God):

1. Screwtape is telling Wormwood about the ups and downs that all of us humans experience. He calls them "troughs" and "peaks" and explains how theses ups and downs teach us. After explaining to Wormwood how God sends humans His spirit to bless and guide them he says, "But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws…He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs." He continues, "It is during such trough periods, much more than peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles." And then, Screwtape delivers a caution to Wormwood, and for us, on the other side of this story, a beautiful image: "Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s [God’s] will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys." Isn’t that really the ultimate sign of faith and obedience? When all apparent evidence of God is missing, yet we still obey? Nothing must please God (or frustrate the devil) more than when our commitment to God and obedience to his laws is complete and unwavering, even in extremely difficult or trying times. It is easy to understand why Screwtape would issue such a warning to Wormwood.

2. In a lecture on the impact of "large" or "small" sins, Screwtape has this counsel to give: "You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy [God]. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into the nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slop, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." This paragraph reminded me of the scripture that describes how Satan "leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever." We must be careful and cautious to be ever diligent in the "little" things. We often hear people explain that people don’t often trip over boulders. It’s the small stones and pebbles that cause us to trip up. I love that last line from Screwtape..."without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." Wonderful imagery.

3. Later on, Screwtape discusses the nature of ownership, namely who is the owner of our souls. In other words, do we humans own our souls, or do we belong to someone or something else? Screwtape explains, "...the joke is that the word "Mine" in its fully possessive sense cannot be uttered by a human being about anything. In the long run either Our Father [Satan] or the Enemy [God] will say "Mine" of each thing that exists, and specially of each man. They will find out in the end...to whom their time, their souls, and their bodies really belong – certainly not to them, whatever happens." In other words, we are not our own. We are either God’s or Satan’s. They would each like to claim us. Screwtape goes on to explain that while God has proper reason to call us His since He made us, Satan, on the other hand "hopes in the end to say "Mine" of all things on the more realistic and dynamic ground of conquest." Satan and his devils will try to conquer us and gain ownership of us during this battle we call life. They have no rightful claim to us, so they will take what they can by cunning, deceitfulness, and vigilant effort. I am reminded of a talk by D. Todd Christofferson where he says, "Our choice in this life is not whether we will or will not be subject to any power. We will be. Our choice is to which authority will we yield obedience: God's or Satan's?"

These are a few tidbits just to whet your appetite. This is a short book that you can read quickly, but will think about for much longer. There are some great quotes, thoughts and insights in this wonderful book. So, if you haven't read it already, I encourage you to Buy the Book!...you’re certain to enjoy it! (There is also a great boxed set of C.S. Lewis' religious books that you can check out here).

Chapter 8 - Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Remember that Shel Silverstein poem about the little girl who ate the whale? Everyone told Melinda Mae she was too small to eat a whale, but “she took little bites and she chewed very slow, just like a little girl should.” The poem ends by saying, “...and in eighty-nine years she ate that whale, because she said she would!!!”

Well, the book I want to review today is a whale of a book. But, if you take it in small bites and chew slowly, you’ll find that not only will you be able to finish this book, but you’ll be licking your chops for more when you finish. The book is “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by William Shirer and was recommended to me by one of you (thanks, Tom!). My paperback copy came in at 1486 pages, not including the notes, bibliography, acknowledgments and index. So, it’s fair to say that it’s a very long book. But, boy, what a fantastic read! William Shirer was an American journalist living in Germany during the early years of the Third Reich. He was an eyewitness to Hitler’s rise to power and the complete spell he and his fellow Nazis cast over the German people. He gives some unique insights into the ideas and emotions that were swirling around Germany during the 1920’s and 1930’s which I think help us to understand how a country could be taken by Hitler and his ideas. The book starts with Hitler’s youth and follows him up through his remarkable rise to power. As the “Fuehrer”, he eventually takes control of virtually every aspect of the government, one piece at a time. For as egotistical and wacky as he was, Hitler was also an incredible orator and would captivate crowds and persuade nearly everyone who heard him speak to believe in him and his dreams for Germany. He had a remarkable vision of what he wanted to accomplish, and for many years, he was successful in all he set out to do. In 1938, the Germans took over Austria and Czechoslovakia without firing a shot. Later, the war began as they attacked Poland, then Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium, France, etc. One by one the countries fell in combat. Before reading this book, all the books I had read about WWII related stories of battles in the Pacific arena of the war and discussed battles that happened post-Pearl Harbor, once the U.S. was officially engaged in the war. I didn’t fully appreciate or realize how much the war had completely engulfed Europe before December 1941 and how close Germany came to controlling all of Europe. It really is remarkable how much, how far, and how fast Germany was able to conquer Europe. They employed a brand new form of warfare with their tank divisions and their blitzkrieg bombing raids. They were certainly a force to be reckoned with. Thankfully, England chose to hang in and fight, even against great odds. They were eventually greatly helped in the east by the Russians, after the Germans turned on their one-time-allies. Of course, we know about D-Day and the U.S. troops that came later to drive the Germans back and defeat them with a whole coalition of troops.

Okay, okay, but enough about the war. There are plenty of WWII books out there that tell the story of the war. The fascinating aspect of this book is that it is told from the German perspective. Shirer grants us a front row seat to see the workings of the Nazi government before and during the war. We become very familiar with Hitler’s right hand men including Goering (Reichstag president and head of air force), Himmler (chief of S.S. and chief of police), Goebbels (propaganda minister) and Ribbentrop (foreign minister), just to name a few of the closest co-conspirators. While Himmler may have been the cruelest and most cold-blooded of the bunch, Goebbels seemed the most deceitful and outright creepy to me (see picture at right). We meet hundreds of other participants in the marvel and terror that was the Third Reich. Overall the story is fascinating and gripping. I had worried at the outset that I was likely to become bored or lost somewhere among the almost 1500 pages. But, the way that Shirer brings the reader into the story kept me interested and curious throughout the entire book. There’s a lot more to this book including: descriptions of the political and military agreements between Germany and Italy, Russia and Japan, the extermination camps and mass murder crews (Einsatzgruppe) that were part of the “final solution” for the Jews, concentration camps and labor prisoner programs that led millions of Russians and Slavs to their graves, the heroic efforts of the Norwegians, English, Americans and underground resistance groups to slow and stop the Third Reich, and several interesting stories about Hitler including incredible fits of rage, several attempts at assassination and the women in his life. This book is a riveting tale of one driven, determined, fanatical man, his near success in conquering an entire continent, and his collapse and destruction, along with which his political party also ceased to exist. So, for anyone interested in Hitler, the Nazi party, WWII, European history, or any other aspect I have mentioned, I highly recommend that you Buy The Book !!! And remember, the only way to eat a whale is a bite at a time…just go from one bite to the next and before you know it this fantastic book will be over. Oh, and I promise this book won’t take 89 years to read.

Chapter 7 - Cheap Books!!!

So, today is a bit of a departure from my normal posting where I review a particular book or discuss an author. Today, I want to discuss some great AFFORDABLE ways to buy good books. I have been thinking about this topic for sometime (I guess for about as long as I’ve been a poor student…meaning, a long time), but it is especially relevant due to what my family and I attended last Saturday: the Radnor Library Book Sale. I first heard of library book sales from Scott and Joy Wilson last year (Thanks Wilsons!). They bought some books from our local library here in Upper Darby, including a paperback copy of Elie Wiesel’s “Night” for me. I assumed that the books the library was selling were old books that were not getting checked out much. Therefore, I also assumed that there wouldn’t be a very good selection of books to buy. Nevertheless, I decided to try to catch the next book sale at my library. Over the past year I ended up going to two library book sales at different libraries. One was really weak and I only found one Stephen Sears book. The other was better and I found 3-4 good books, a couple of which I had already read. Then, last week I happened to check my county library website where I saw an announcement for the Radnor Library Book Sale in Wayne, PA. For those of you not familiar with PA, Wayne is an affluent city on the Main Line. The website also mentioned that the books the library sells are books that are donated by local residents throughout the year. So, I realized that a library in a more affluent area would probably have a better book sale. Kathy agreed to go, so we went Saturday afternoon. There were four rooms filled with books, including a wall full of history and biography. I went through most of the non-fiction section and came away with a fantastic stack of books. For those who might care, they are (if you don’t care, skip the following list):

1. Stilwell and the American Experience in China 1911-45 - Barbara Tuchman. Probably best known for her book about the start of WWI “The Guns of August”, this book also won the Pulitzer Prize. Interesting side note…Tuchman also happens to be one of David McCullough’s favorite authors.
2. Nothing Like It In The World - Stephen Ambrose. Many of you have probably read Ambrose (Undaunted Courage, Band of Brothers, D-Day, etc). This one is about the building of the transcontinental railroad that met up, of course, at Promontory Point, Utah.
3. The Army of the Potomac - Bruce Catton. Probably my best find of the day. I’ve been looking for this for a while. This is a three-volume set about the eastern arm of the Union Army during the Civil War. The last volume in the set, “A Stillness at Appomattox” won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1954. The set I got is in great condition.
4. The Lexus and the Olive Tree - Thomas Friedman. Most of you probably know Friedman, but he is a foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times. His latest book is “The World is Flat”, but he is well known for his first book “From Beirut to Jerusalem” which was a fantastic book. This one is supposed to be great too.
5. Miracle at Philadelphia - Catherine Bowen. The story of the creation of the constitution. I don’t know much about the author, but have heard great things about the book.
6. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Edmund Morris. One of a few books to win both the Pulitzer and the National Book Award, this book is the first in a (planned) trilogy about the former president. The second book in the series, “Theodore Rex”, came out 20 years after this one. Morris plans on a third volume, but hopefully it takes less than 20 years to finish!
7. Our Vietnam - A.J. Langguth. I haven’t yet read anything by Langguth, but I have one other book of his called “Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution” that is supposed to be fantastic. I also haven’t yet read anything about Vietnam, so I look forward to this one.
8. The Bounty: True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty - Caroline Alexander. This book has been on my “to read” list for a long time. I’m drawn to these sea adventure books like “In the Heart of the Sea” and “Mutiny on the Globe.” These early sailors where a tough bunch and there are some great mutiny/survival stories out there.
9. Lindbergh - A. Scott Berg. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book looks very good and it seems that Lindbergh is a complex, interesting guy. Should be a great read.
10. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: Home Front in WWII - Doris Goodwin. You may have seen or read her new multi-biography of Lincoln and others called “Team of Rivals.” This earlier book won the Pulitzer in History in 1995.
11. Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years - Carl Sandburg. The poet Carl Sandburg wrote a 2-volume biography of early Lincoln called “The Prairie Years” and followed that with a massive four-volume biography of Lincoln’s presidency called “The War Years.” This is a one-volume abridged version of the entire six volumes. Not only did Sandburg win a Pulitzer for “The War Years”, but he also won a Pulitzer in Poetry for his book of collected poems. Pretty talented guy! I recently finished reading an abridged version of “The War Years” and loved it. I will likely review it in the future for the blog.

So, you may ask…how much did all these books cost you? I got these 13 books (counting the 3 volume set by Catton) for a grand total of $13.50. Yes, that’s right. Each book was $1 with the Sandburg book costing $1.50. What a steal! Months of reading pleasure for the cost of one regularly-priced book! Throughout the sale, most hardcover books were $1 and paperbacks were fifty cents to $1. So, I would highly recommend that you check your local library to see if they do book sales. And if they do, be sure to go the next time they do. For those of you in the Philadelphia region, here is the website for the Delaware County Library calendar of events. And also, I’ll let you know that the next sale at the Radnor Library is November 3^rd, and you better get there early if you want to beat me. Another great thing about these book sales, is that not only do you get cheap books, but your money goes to support your local library. Two birds with one stone!

There are a couple of other ways to find cheap books. One is to use the World Wide Web. (Do you know what that is?) There are some great websites that do searches for you to find the best price for a particular book. Check out BestBookBuys and School Soup (which was programmed by my brother Brandon…way to go, Morace!). For some older USED books, you can sometimes find them for as cheap as one cent on websites like Amazon.com and Half.com, where you then just have to pay the $3 or so for shipping. So, that’s a pretty cheap option. Finally, I have had mixed success at the Borders Outlet store. It’s definitely hit and miss, but I have found a few great books for $3-$5 (most recently “Undaunted Courage” by Ambrose). Used bookstores are one other option, and a lot of them have a great selection of books, but I’ve found that you can almost always beat their prices online.

Well, this has gone on long enough. If you still can’t find the book you want cheap (and you’re poor like me), checking out books from the library is still a great option. If you are more established financially and can afford to buy books full price from your local bookstore, more power to you. But then again, you’re not likely to find “Army of the Potomac” at Barnes and Noble or Borders.

If you know of other ways to get cheap books, or have had success with the ideas I’ve mentioned, please share with the rest of us! We’re all interested in building our libraries, one book at a time!

Chapter 6 – The Mayflower

First off, I want to thank those of you who posted comments on my blog! It warms my little heart every time I check for comments and find a new one. Keep it up! And, thanks for those who always email me back with comments and feedback. That’s what makes this fun. I also want to let you know that I will be inviting special “guest reviewers” to post a review of one of their favorite books or latest reads here on the blog. Look for the first guest review to appear shortly. And don’t be surprised if I ask you to write a review as well. Also, if I haven’t yet asked you to be a guest reviewer, but you have a book you are really wanting to share with others, let me know and we’ll get it posted on the blog!

I wanted to point out to those of you who caught the PBS special "The Mormons" last week, that you saw our friend Richard Bushman, the author of the Joseph Smith biography Rough Stone Rolling, which was featured in my last book review. Also interviewed (among many other people) was Terry Givens who wrote an interesting book about the Book of Mormon that I enjoyed and hope to review for the blog in the future. Alright, enough intro stuff...on to the review...

Since my last posting, the 2007 Pulitzer Prizes were announced. I’m happy to report that the subject of my Chapter 2 review, The Looming Tower, was awarded the prize for General Nonfiction. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed that fantastic book! Be sure to check out it out if you haven’t yet. In addition, one of the finalists in the History category was “Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War" by Nathaniel Philbrick. This was another new book that I read last year when it came out, and it was a wonderful book. I decided to review it today.

(As a quick side note, Nathaniel Philbrick, who lives near Plymouth in Nantucket, has two other well known books: In the Heart of the Sea which tells the tragic story of the whaleship Essex and which won the National Book Award, and Sea of Glory about the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842. I really loved the first of these and will hopefully review it in the future. The second of these books is currently sitting on my bookshelf begging to be read. If any of you have read it, I would love to hear from you about what you thought.)

If you are anything like me, you grew up with romantic visions of the pilgrims and Native Americans sitting together at the first thanksgiving. You may have imagined a group of people seated at a large rectangular table out in the warm afternoon autumn sun, with buckle-shoed Pilgrim John asking his Indian neighbor to “Pass the yams, please.” Maybe you pictured the Pilgrims dressing up a large turkey or the Indians bringing in a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables. Perhaps you can imagine the children running off to play in the woods after dinner while the adults gather around to watch the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions play. Okay, maybe you pictured everything except the football game. Football started shortly after the pilgrims…right? Anyway, it turns out, not too surprisingly, that our image of life in Plymouth Colony is a little bit off. In fact, for many of us it is way off. In this great book Nathanial Philbrick describes how the members of Plymouth colony came to the New World, what life was like there, and what happened in the subsequent half century or so. It is a fascinating look at the early life of Europeans on North American soil.

The pilgrims were a group of devout English Christians who were seeking religious freedom. They fled from England to Holland, but then decided to get even further away from persecution and oppression. In 1620, they took a ten week journey across the Atlantic, arriving on the coast of present day Massachusetts. En route, they drafted the Mayflower Compact, a remarkable document which set up a system of government for their new settlement. Times were tough in Plymouth Colony…very tough. They arrived in November with little food and were quite unprepared for the winter ahead. Over half of the settlers died in the first six months and the others likely would have too, if not for some help from local Indian tribes. While some sort of thanksgiving celebration did occur the following year, it was much different from what we have all imagined throughout our childhood. Philbrick gives a more accurate description of this celebration and other events that transpired early on in Plymouth Colony. What followed was a relatively peaceful, although often difficult and many times stressful, coexistence for the next half century.

In 1675, war erupted. The war was called King Philips War (King Philip was an Indian chief at the center of the conflict) and was the culmination of building tension between the colonists and some of the Indian tribes, as well as the eruption of centuries-old disputes and disagreements between some of the many different Indian tribes. The war was gruesome, lasted over one year, and took several thousand lives, including a large percentage of Plymouth Colony. Philbrick recounts how this war started, brings to life the principal participants and depicts its ultimate conclusion.

This book provides an excellent description of the rough, trying circumstances that the pilgrims endured upon settling in the New World, the courage they demonstrated as well as some the short-sighted decisions they made in their interactions with the local Indian tribes and leaders. While the title of this book is deceiving since it covers much more than the voyage of the Mayflower, the story of life in Plymouth Colony is as interesting, and probably more so, than the story of how the pilgrims got there in the first place. This book has been described as “a fifty-five-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.”

So, if you’re interested in early American history, want to find out who King Philip really was (I always assumed he was an English king who mistreated American colonists!), or want to hear an amazing story of enduring in the face of difficult circumstances, I recommend that you Buy the Book!!! However, if you’d like to hold onto your childhood images of the Indians and pilgrims feasting on turkey together and living in continual peace and harmony, you may want to skip this one.

Chapter 5 - The Prophet Joseph Smith

I apologize for the month-long break. I have been busy at school/work, but am happy to report that I was successful in completing my thesis proposal on March 28th. Hooray! Next big step will be my thesis defense in 18-24 months or so, if things go as planned.

Today I decided to review some biographies of Joseph Smith that I have read. I think everyone should read at least one biography of the Prophet. He has such a fascinating life and we get so much more appreciation for what he accomplished when we learn about all he went through during his lifetime. He truly was a remarkable man! There are a lot of biographies of Joseph Smith out there, but I would like to mention three that I have read. While all three are quite different in approach and style, I enjoyed each of them in their own way.

Life of Joseph Smith the Prophetby George Q. Cannon was the first of the three that I read. George Q. Cannon was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the age of 33 and was later a counselor to four church presidents – Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow. His biography is unique compared to most others in that he was a contemporary of Joseph Smith, having met the Prophet and known many of the people who were intimately involved in the early history of the church. Cannon’s biography is full of praise and admiration for Joseph Smith, and serves as a testimony-of-sorts to the divine call and work of the Prophet. Of the three biographies, Cannon’s is certainly the most biased, with a pro-church, pro-Joseph Smith stance. This, I should say, is not a bad thing; it’s just the nature of the writing style of the book. I read this book a few years ago and really enjoyed the stories and descriptions in it. It is a wonderful biography of the Prophet of the restoration.

Joseph Smith An American Prophet by John Henry Evans was the next biography I read. I don’t know anything about the author other than that John Henry…he could hammer…he could sing. Oh wait, different John Henry. So, no, I don’t know anything about the author other than that he wrote several books on church-related topics. (If anyone does know more about him, please let me know!). Besides his biography of Joseph Smith, I also have a book of his entitled One Hundred Years of Mormonism. His biography of the Prophet was printed around 1933 (I don’t have my copy with me right now to check) and had a much more ‘scientific’ style to it than Cannon’s. By scientific, I mean it was unbiased, with the facts presented clearly, and interpretation often left to the reader. I really enjoyed the style of this book and felt like I was reconfirming my faith in the prophet throughout the book, but not because of any convincing that Evans did. Rather, he presented the facts in such a way that I drew my own testimony-building conclusions throughout. I’m not sure if the style of this book will be enjoyed as much by everyone, but for me and my scientific mind it was a delight to read.

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman was the last biography of the Prophet that I read. Bushman is an emeritus professor of Columbia University and a patriarch in the church. He wrote one early biography of Joseph Smith called Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism but Rough Stone Rolling is a more complete, full account. This book is fairly new, having come out at the end of 2005. The subtitle of this book is “a cultural biography of Mormonism’s founder,” which is a good description of what the book seeks to accomplish. The book tells all about the life of Joseph Smith but also presents the historical and cultural context in which he lived. By providing a more complete picture of the people, places and ideas that surrounded him, Bushman is better able to help us understand events in the Prophet’s life. I really enjoyed learning more about the cultural environment of the early 1800s and I think it does give significant insight to understanding Joseph Smith and what he did. Another thing I really enjoyed about this book is that no stone is left unturned. Bushman doesn’t hide or shy away from any of the ‘controversial’ or complicated aspects of Joseph Smith or the early Church. Rather, he discusses these topics but then gives his interpretation or understanding, which always seemed to strengthen my view of the topic. I read somewhere that Bushman said he wanted to present Joseph Smith as he was, “warts and all.” But he does so in a very intelligent, positive way. (If you happen to like this book, you should also check out David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Gregory Prince and Robert Wright, a fascinating biography of David O. McKay that I’ll review sometime in the future).

So, in conclusion, there are some great biographies out there on the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I have given a few comments on three of these, all of which were quite different in style, but all very enjoyable to read. I would highly recommend any of these three to anyone. If you’re interested in reading one, I would suggest picking the one that seems to match your style most. Whether you pick one of these three or not, if you haven’t yet read a biography of the Prophet Joseph Smith, I would highly recommend you Buy the book!

At this point, I should mention that I am far from being an expert on Joseph Smith or Church history and many of you are much more knowledgeable than me. I would love to hear feedback or comments from any of you who would like to add to my thoughts on these three biographies. (Especially you Ben Pykles, who worked with Bushman and who’s work is referenced in Rough Stone Rolling!). AND, if any of you have read other biographies of Joseph Smith, please write up a short summary/review that I can post on the blog for others to read. It would be most appreciated and would be really great to have reviews of additional biographies.

(If you are looking for earlier copies of either of the first two books, I recommend Eborn Books or Benchmark Books in SLC.)

Chapter 4: The Piano Shop on the Left Bank

If you know me at all, you’ll know that two of my favorite things in this world are (1) pianos and (2) Paris, France. Okay, okay. I lied. But only about the second one. I do love the piano and have been playing for almost 20 years. Playing the piano truly is one of my favorite things. But as for Paris, I’ve never been there and have no particular like or dislike for the place. My only connection to the place is that I’ve heard of it (yes, most of us have) and that I think it would be nice to visit there someday. However, if you like either or both of these topics, you’ll absolutely love the book I’m reviewing today. It’s called The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier. This book was recently recommended to me (Thanks, Steph!) and I really enjoyed it. In addition, one of my goals of BytheBook is to introduce books on a variety of topics. That way over time I can hopefully recommend something for everyone. I realize, for example, that maybe not everyone is thrilled about reading Looming Tower or Killing Pablo, so this book represents a nice change of topic. While I’ll probably end up covering mostly biography and history, I’ll also try to throw in some other topics such as current events, science, religion, etc.

The Piano Shop is written by an American man named Thad Carhart and is a memoir of sorts about his experience living in Paris with his family. On his way to take his daughter to school every morning, he would pass by a small piano shop. One day, he stopped in. The owner acted strangely and was careful not to let him see back into the main area of the store. He told Thad that he was a piano repairman and when asked if he knew of anyone who might be selling a piano, the owner said he didn’t know, but would let Thad know if he heard of anything. Eventually, Thad discovers that the shop does indeed sell pianos, but you need a personal referral from a past client just to get into the back room to see the pianos, let alone to buy one. After some time, he secures a referral and thereby enters the enchanted world of Luc, a piano repairman, restorer and lover, and his piano shop, The Atelier. With his frequent visits to Luc at the Atelier, Thad rediscovers his love for pianos. He had played the piano as a child (quick question….by a show of hands, how many of you played the piano when you were younger, but no longer play now? That’s what I thought…most of you). He eventually buys a baby grand for himself and starts taking lessons again. The wonderful part of this story is the vivid descriptions of the pianos he sees at the shop. They almost come to life as their ‘personalities’ are described and the differences between different brands, models, etc. are explained. The book left me wanting to spend some quality time with our old, beat-up, upright piano so that I could become better acquainted. It also made me appreciate the quirky aspects of our piano (that we got for free, by the way) like how half of the keys click when pressed and others don’t sustain even when the pedal is pressed. Our piano definitely has its own personality. The book also gives a glimpse into life in an old, quaint neighborhood of Paris. The people are lively and entertaining and add a lot to the book. The other aspect of the story that is very interesting is the insight into how pianos are built, how piano building has changed over the years, and other interesting historical tidbits on piano construction. There’s even an account of an interesting visit to Italy that the author makes to meet Mr. Fazioli himself, the man behind the world’s most expensive pianos.

All in all this is a wonderful book and a quick, easy read. Like I said, if you like pianos (or would like to like pianos) or if you love Paris, it’s people, and it’s culture, and especially if you like both of those, you’ll love this book. And I would recommend that you….
Buy the Book!!!

I also want to thank Scott Wilson again as he is still the only person to post a comment on my blog. So, to inspire you to add a comment on this or any past posting, I’m offering an all expense paid 4 day, 3 night vacation to Paris, France and a set of ginsu knives to the first person to post a comment on my blog. Okay, okay. I lied again. No free trip. And no free knives. But maybe some of just posted a comment anyway. I thank you in advance. But really, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know if you’ve read the books that I’m reviewing and if so what you thought about the book. Or also please send along recommendations for good books. I’m excited about a book I just bought off of Amazon.com called The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which was a recent recommendation (thanks, Tom!). Until next time!

Chapter 3 - Mark Bowden and Killing Pablo

Chapter 3 is motivated by something I was able to attend this week. Monday afternoon I had the opportunity to go to a lunch and lecture by Mark Bowden here on Penn’s campus. A group of about 30 of us packed into the lounge area of the Kelly Writer’s House, one of the English department buildings, ate some sandwiches, and listened to Mark Bowden talk for about an hour about his career, his books, etc. He shared some entertaining experiences he has had as a reporter/author and talked a lot about his most recent book, Guests of the Ayatollah. But before I get carried away about my lunch on Monday, let me take a step back. Mark Bowden was born in St. Louis and attended college in Baltimore. He later became a writer for the daily paper here in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was a writer for the Inquirer for around 25 years. He started off as a daily reporter for the paper, and eventually moved into writing longer Sunday articles. From there, he started doing magazine articles and later on article series for various magazines. As he continued to write longer and longer pieces, he eventually wrote a full length book called Doctor Dealer. This book tells the story of Larry Lavin, a Penn undergrad and later Penn dental student who ran a cocaine ring in Philadelphia during and after school. His empire eventually made around $60 million annually in cocaine sales. When the drug enforcement figured he and his fellow dealers out, Larry was somehow able to escape while all the others involved were thrown in jail. Larry eventually was caught and spent 22 years in prison, just getting released last year. Needless to say, I don’t think he’s still cleaning teeth. Bowden has since written six other books, most notably Blackhawk Down, Killing Pablo and Guests of the Ayatollah. Each book, it seems, has gotten more complex. Many of you are probably familiar with, or have read, Blackhawk Down. I’ll save a review of this fantastic book for another day. His most recent book, Guests of the Ayatollah, came out last year and covers the 1979 U.S. embassy hostage crisis in Iran. I am planning on reading this book soon, so I won’t say any more about that one. I think it will be an incredible book.

Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlaw was the first book I read by Mark Bowden. During the summer of 2002 I was on a month long trip to Ghana, West Africa. We had a lot of down time and we were all able to read several books during the trip. One book that my brother Jared had there was Killing Pablo. The cover of the book shows some American military members celebrating around a half-naked dead body. My first thought was, “Why would I want to read a book about the military hunting down and killing this guy?” (You may be asking yourself the same question right now). However, once Jared had read it and told me what a great book it was, I went ahead a read it. I wasn’t disappointed. Killing Pablo tells the story of Pablo Escobar, one of the most successful, most powerful, richest, and nastiest of the Colombian cocaine kingpins. While building his incredibly successful drug empire (Forbes once listed him as the 7^th richest person in the world), he used an incredible amount of violence to influence police, politicians, judges and others who would not accept his bribes. His violence peaked when his men planted a bomb on a plane that killed 110 people, including two Americans. As Escobar continually evaded Colombian officials and their attempts to capture him, the U.S. government put its resources into stopping “public enemy number one in the world” and dismantling his drug cartel. Much of the book follows the U.S. involvement in this chase. One very interesting aspect of this story is that many Colombians, especially those from Escobar’s home neighborhood of Medellin, really loved Pablo Escobar. He spent some of his drug money investing back in the community and as a result became very respected and admired by some Colombian citizens, even while committed such violence and terror to others. This is a thrilling story and very interesting look at the Colombian drug business and the main man running the show. The account of the manhunt and eventual murder of Pablo Escobar gives a fascinating insight into U.S. special operations and reads like a novel. If you liked Clear and Present Danger, you’ll love this true story.

Back to Mark Bowden for a minute. He was a very interesting guy and shared some great stories. His motivation for writing Killing Pablo came when he was working on writing Blackhawk Down. In the course of writing that book, he did many interviews with the members of Delta Force who were involved in the siege in Mogadishu. One man he interviewed had the picture I described above, of military personnel celebrating around a half-naked dead body, hanging in his house and was incredibly proud of it. When Bowden asked him about it, he gloated about being part of the hunt to find and kill Pablo Escobar. Bowden said he scribbled down and underlined in his notebook the name Pablo Escobar since he wasn’t familiar with him or his story. It was also members of Delta Force that inspired Bowden to write Guests of the Ayatollah. They wanted him to recount the story of the first operation undertaken by this highly-trained branch of secret operatives, the attempted rescue mission of the Iranian hostages. Bowden didn’t think that that story alone was too interesting since the mission failed miserably, but he did think the larger story of what went on in the U.S. politically and in Iran with the hostages was a fascinating story. And really, he points out, it is very relevant today because it is the first U.S. encounter with militant Islam in modern times. Anyway, like I said, I very much look forward to reading this book.

Bowden also did say that he has sold the film rights to Killing Pablo and Guests of the Ayatollah, so hopefully those will come out before too long. Finally, Bowden told us that his next book will be about the 1958 NFL championship game. Yes, he’s a big sports fan and even has a previous book about the Philadelphia Eagles.

So, I highly recommend checking out Mark Bowden’s books and when it comes to Killing Pablo, I recommend you…Buy the Book!!!

Chapter 2 - The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, which came out last August, is a fantastic look at the history of al-Qaeda and it's key leaders bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri. This book was written by a writer for The New Yorker, Lawrence Wright. He started working on this book just after 9/11. Five years, numerous trips to and from the Middle East, and more than 500 interviews later, he has compiled the facts and his insightful opinions in this wonderful book.

The Looming Tower traces the beginnings of radical Islam and the ideas that inspired and motivated groups such as al-Qaeda. It begins by telling the story of an Egyptian man named Sayyid Qutb who comes to the US in the 1950s to study. He returns to Egypt a few years later, disillusioned by America and the "evils" of the western world. He starts sharing his wild ideas, eventually ending up in prison and later on being executed. A book he wrote while in prison inspires a young Egyptian doctor named Ayman al-Zawahiri, who eventually creates his own radical group called al-Jihad. Their purpose is to overthrow the Egyptian government and establish an Islamic government in its place. Eventually, (and I'm skipping MANY of the details) he meets a rich young Saudi named Osama bin Laden. The book follows their interactions in Afghanistan as they fight the Soviet occupation, and as they eventually merge their two groups to form al-Qaeda. The author gives great insight into the personalities of the these two men and explains how the goal and design of al-Qaeda evolved into a deep hatred for, and a desire to destroy, the United States. (The motivation in a word: modernity.) They come to blame America for all the problems that, in their view, are plaguing Islam.

On our side of the world, The Looming Tower also tells the story of John O'Neill. He is a dedicated, passionate man who for many years worked on the FBI's counter terrorism unit that tracked Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. He was frequently misunderstood and wasn't always able to do what he wanted in tracking bin Laden and his followers. In an incredible twist of irony, O'Neill left the FBI to become the head of security at the World Trade Center a very short time before 9-11, and died in the rubble when the towers collapsed. After years of fighting bin Laden, O'Neill is the one who ends up losing his life in the battle.

The book also describes the build-up to 9-11, including the US embassy bombings in Africa and the bombing of the USS Cole in the Persian Gulf. The author describes how bin Laden desperately wants to lure the US into a war in Afghanistan, so that he and his fighters can "bleed" America just like the Afghan freedom fighters did to the Soviets in the 1980s. There is also a lot of incriminating evidence about the lack of cooperation between the CIA and FBI. At times, the author asserts, more sharing of information and coordination could have prevented much or all of the 9-11 plot.

There is a lot more in this great book, but I won't write any more at the risk of losing the few of you who are still reading. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone is who interested in the background and motivation for radical Islamist groups and their deep hatred for America. As for The Looming Tower, I would highly recommend that you....
Buy the Book!!!

Chapter 1 - David McCullough and The Great Bridge

I thought it would be appropriate to start off with a short author biography of one of my favorite authors, David McCullough. He may be my favorite author right now, but the jury is still out on that. Either way, he is a fantastic historian and biographer. Most people have heard of "1776" or "John Adams" which were McCullough's two most recent books. You may not have heard about many of his others, which are all very interesting and none of which have anything to do with the American Revolution like the most recent two. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. First, the author...

David McCullough is a fellow Pennsylvanian, having grown up in Pittsburgh. He graduated from Yale with an English degree and later went to work in Washington, D.C. as an editor. While in D.C., he came upon some old pictures of the aftermath of the Johnstown Flood that occurred in the late nineteenth century in a small city called Johnstown that is near Pittsburgh. He became interesting in learning more about this tragedy that he had only learned little about as a child. He began researching and writing a book about this event at night and on the weekends. When the book, "The Johnstown Flood", became an unexpected best-seller in 1968, he quit his job and starting writing full time. The rest, as they say, is history. He has now written 8 books, two of which won the Pulitzer Prize, with two others winning the National Book Award. I love the fact that David McCullough still writes all of his books on an old typewriter (yes, even the 1000+ page "Truman"). Every morning, he leaves his back door and walks down a stone path to his "office" - a white wood garden-shed-type of shack - where he sits at his typewriter and works on his next book. McCullough has a masterful way of telling a story and bringing characters to life. He'll bring you right into the story. His books, in chronological order, are:

The Johnstown Flood
The Great Bridge
The Path Between the Seas
Brave Companions
Mornings on Horseback
Truman
John Adams
1776

(I will definitely review several of these books in future chapters). My favorite of McCullough's books is definitely "The Great Bridge", which was his second book and oddly enough didn't win any awards. (To be fair, I have not yet read "The Path Between the Seas" nor conquered the mammoth "Truman"). This book tells the story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. It is part history (of New York in the late 1800s), part biography (of the builders John and Washington Roebling), and part description of an engineering marvel (yes, I am an engineer at heart). It was a fantastic book and I loved it on all three accounts. During this time period, New York was lively, growing city. Brooklyn was growing a lot and there was a desire from both cities to have a bridge to cross the East River. John Roebling was a cable maker in New Jersey who had built several suspension bridges. He designed the Brooklyn Bridge, but his son Washington had to take over early on in the construction when John died in an accident. Washington himself suffered a lot physically during construction, partly due to Caisson's disease (commonly called "the bends") which he and many of the workers suffered from during the construction and placement of the underwater footings near each bank of the river. The description of how the footings were sunk, and of how the suspension wires were strewn across the river are fascinating. My favorite part of the book is the description of the day that the first person crossed the river via the suspension cable of the bridge. The bridge was still a long ways from being finished, but the first set of cables had been strung across the two stone towers from one shore to the other. Thousands and thousands of people gathered on both sides of the river to watch a lone man propel himself along on a wood swing dangling from the newly hung wire several hundred feet above the river below. When he finally reached the opposite bank, the gathered crowd cheered in excitement and awe. The bridge was the talk of the town during it's construction. It was an amazing accomplishment and has been an inspiration for thousands since its completion. This is but a small sampling, as there is much, much more in this wonderful book.

So, I would encourage you to check out David McCullough and his great histories and biographies if you haven't already. As for "The Great Bridge", I would highly recommend that you...
Buy the Book!!!

Introduction

Hello friends...

This is the first edition of a new email/blog that I will be sending out/posting every so often to share book reviews, author bios and whatever else I find interesting.

The idea for this email came from a friend of mine (Thanks Bart!) who sends out a music-related email every week. I've loved receiving his emails and hearing all that he knows about music/artists/producers/etc. and I thought that I could do a similar thing for what I'm passionate about, books. For the most part, I'll be talking about non-fiction books (sorry all you Harry Potter fans) so I hope that doesn't scare too many of you off. I've found that the most amazing, unbelievable, inspiring stories out there are ones that are true...that's what sometimes makes them so incredible. I've read some fascinating books over the past few years and look forward to sharing some of them with you. The other purpose of this list is to have you share back with me. I'm always looking for good books to add to my "To Read" list, so please feel free to add comments to any (and every) post with your recommendations.

So, without further ado, I introduce to you...
By the Book