Saturday, March 18, 2023

Review of Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Book Club Event = Book List (11/04/2023)
Intriguing Connections = 1) Get To Know The Peoples Of The World (Greece), 



Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“The Greeks did not believe that the gods created the universe.  It was the other way about: the universe created the gods.  Before there were gods heaven and earth had been formed.  They were the first parents.  The Titans were their children, and the gods their grandchildren.” – Edith Hamilton, Chapter 1: The Gods, Page 24

“For the most part the immortal gods were of little use to human beings and often they were quite the reverse of useful: Zeus a dangerous lover for mortal maidens and completely incalculable in his use of the terrible thunderbolt; Ares the maker of war and a general pest; Hera with no idea of justice when she was jealous as she perpetually was; Athena also a war maker, and wielding the lightning’s sharp lance quite as irresponsibly as Zeus did; Aphrodite using her power chiefly to ensnare and betray.  They were beautiful, radiant company to be sure, and their adventures made excellent stories; but when they were not positively harmful, they were capricious and undependable and in general mortals got on best without them.” – Edith Hamilton, Chapter 2: The Two Great Gods of Earth, Page 47

“But why Zeus changed his mind and whether Prometheus revealed the secret when he was freed, we do not know.  One thing, however, is certain: in whatever way the two were reconciled, it was not Prometheus who yielded.  His name has stood through all the centuries, from Greek days to our own, as that of the great rebel against injustice and the authority of power.” – Edith Hamilton, Chapter 3: How The World And Mankind Were Created, Page 73


Review

Overview:

These myths were meant to explain reality, a primordial science.  Stories that were meant to provide a lesson on how to behave.  To provide warnings against making some choices.  The later authors of these myths did not think much of the priests to the gods temples.  For it was the poet who had a connection with the gods.  With the rise of rationality and reason, the gods were made in the image of the people rather than beings with no resemblance of reality.  There were monsters which took on no real shape, as these monsters were meant to provide the challenge for the heroes to overcome. 

Although the gods were radiant and immortal, they were not omnipotent.  Their behavior was not righteous.  Their behavior was unscrupulous.  A lack of understanding between right and wrong.  They were fickle with their favor, and used their power arbitrarily.  Few were generally friends of human kind, for they were generally harmful or undependable.  Better for humans to make do without them.  Heroes themselves were generally the offspring of the gods, who had more power than normal humans, but also their own more powerful flaws. 

The stories are usually told about the interactions between the heroes and the gods.  But it was not the gods that created the universe.  The first parents were heaven and earth.  Their children were the Titans.  The gods were the children of the Titans. 

The myths provided are shortened versions of the long stories provided.  The author put in a lot of effort going through various ancient sources, to construct a more consistent version of the stories.

 

Caveats?

The myths are primarily Greek.  As the author notes, the Roman’s lacked their own, and were influenced by Greek culture.  Romans took on the Greek gods into their own pantheon, and changed their names to Roman equivalents.  Romans did add some myths, and also favored different gods than the Greeks. 

There is also very little on Norse mythology, which stands in contrast to the Greek mythology.  As the author claims, not much has survived of the Norse texts.  


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•Which myths, gods, or heroes interested you?
•What are myths?
•What was the purpose of the myths?
•o the myths serve a religion purpose?
•What changes to the gods did the Greeks make?
•What were the Roman gods?
•How did the gods behave? 
•How did the heroes behave? 
•What are themes of the Greek and Roman myths?
•What are themes of the North myths?
•How to choose between the gods? 
•How did people share the myths to others?
•How did the gods come to be?

Book Details
Publisher:             Little, Brown & Company
Edition ISBN:      0451623754
Pages to read:       310
Publication:          1969
1st Edition:           1940
Format:                 Paperback

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    4
Content          2
Overall          3






Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Review of The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Genre = Novel
Book Club Event = Book List (05/14/2023)

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“I have read so many books… And yet, like most autodidacts, I am never quite sure what I have gained from them.  There are days when I feel I have been able to grasp all there is to know in one single gaze, as if invisible branches suddenly spring out of nowhere, weaving together all the disparate strands of my reading – and then suddenly the meaning escapes, the essence evaporates, and no matter how often I reread the same lines, they seem to flee ever further with each subsequent reading, and I see myself as some mad old fool who thinks her stomach is full because she’s been attentively reading the menu.” – Muriel Barbery, Chapter 4: Refusing the Fight, Page 43

“Antoine Pallières looked at me with the expression of someone who wonders if he has really seen what he thinks he has seen.  But as he has been conditioned to imagine that only what must happen does happen, in the way that rich people convince themselves that their lives run along a heavenly track that the power of money has quite naturally laid for them, Antoine decided to believe me.  I find this a fascinating phenomenon: the ability we have to manipulate ourselves so that the foundation of our beliefs is never shaken.” – Muriel Barbery, Chapter 15: The Rich Man’s Burden, Page 99

“Yes, our eyes may perceive, yet they do not observe; they may believe, yet they do not question; they may receive yet they do not search: they are emptied of desire, with neither hunger not passion.” – Muriel Barbery, Chapter 18: Flowing Water, Page 293


Review

Overview:

Renée is a concierge at the rue de Grenelle.  A building for the affluent.  Paloma is an occupant.  They are from different generations, and different ways of seeing the world.  Both see a path for their life, and death.  Both are forced to change their minds about how they choose to live.  Finding meaning in life.  For this book has a philosophical theme.  As the characters express their thoughts and critiques on philosophy, and various aspects of life.  They see the façades that people put on, and then proceed to describe the people without the façades.  While others might have illusions about their lives and avoid reality, Renée and Paloma want to engage with reality.  That means many of life’s aspirations will be disillusioned.  But they have intellectual aspirations, to enrich their life.   

 

Caveats?

The philosophy can be a bit random.  Some of the philosophical thoughts and critiques might be more for those who already know the philosophy described and can add their own understanding to the ideas.  


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•Who is Renée Michel?
•Who is Paloma Josse?
•Who is Kakuro Ozu?
•Who is Manuela?  
•How do Renée and Paloma become acquainted?  
•What ideas did Renée and Paloma have for their life?
•What are some philosophical thoughts and critiques?
•What façades do people put on?
•Why believe in illusions?
•What are the benefits and consequences of an autodidact? 

Book Details
Translator:            Alison Anderson
Publisher:             Europa Editions
Edition ISBN:      9781609450137
Pages to read:       308
Publication:          2008
1st Edition:           2006
Format:                 eBook 

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    4
Content          2
Overall          2






Friday, March 10, 2023

Review of Black Sea by Neal Ascherson

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Genre = History
Intriguing Connections = 1) The Persecuted and The Persecutors


Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“Peoples who live in communion with other peoples, for a hundred or a thousand years, do not always like them – may, in fact, have always disliked them.  As individuals, ‘the others’ are not strangers but neighbours, often friends.  But my sense of Black Sea life, a sad one, is that latent mistrust between different cultures is immortal.” – Neal Ascherson, Introduction, Page 9

“All knowledge about the Scythians, as it accumulates, has undermined the proposition that the peoples of the Black Sea steppe were primitive and barbarous, and the conclusion that nomadism was a backward form of existence.” – Neal Ascherson, Chapter Two, Page 76

“This is a dilemma as old as the social sciences – which are not very old, but already battle-scarred.  It sounds like a dispute over professional ethics, but it is really an argument about cognition.  One side defends the idea that “facts speak,” and that the scholar must therefore listen to them in impartial silence.  The other side retorts that facts say almost anything the investigator wants, and that what he hears in the silence is no more than the mutter of his own unacknowledged prejudices.” – Neal Ascherson, Chapter Seven, Page 207


Review

Overview:

The Black Sea is not just a composition of various cultures, but has a character of its own.  Although overfished, the Black Sea was abundant in fish, which provided wealth for the communities that used it.  The Black Sea has many rivers draining into it, and with so much fresh water, that the bacterial biochemical process creates a deadly residual gas.  The Black Sea witnessed the rise and fall of many peoples, and empires.  Witnessed how they would treat each other.  How they mistreated each other.  These were diverse people, diverse neighbors.  Saw each other as different.  Saw the differences as inferiorities.  Stories passed down claimed their own superiority over the others.  But as archaeological evidence is gathered, the information threatens the inferiority claims.  For whether the society was deemed civilized or barbarous, settled or nomadic, they were able to develop wealth and military capabilities. 

 

Caveats?

The writing can be a little difficult.  The writing quickly moves between different peoples and eras.  This is a diverse history, representing many different people.  But there is not much on each society.  This is an introduction to many peoples, but to get an understanding of their culture would require more research.


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•What are the characteristics of the Black Sea?
•Who used the Back Sea?
•What peoples and empires used the land around the Black Sea?
•How the did the people see each other’s differences?

Book Details
Edition:                 First American
Publisher:             Hill and Wang {Farrar, Straus and Giroux]
Edition ISBN:      9780809015931
Pages to read:       283
Publication:          1995
1st Edition:           1995
Format:                 Paperback 

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    4
Content          1
Overall          2






Monday, March 6, 2023

Review of October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Intriguing Connections = 1) Why Conflict Occurs And How To Resolve Them?

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“The Duma Committee itself, that semi-reluctant power, was split as to what it wanted.  It included those still aspiring to a constitutional monarchy; those for whom history had removed that possibility, whether it had been once preferable or not; and those who considered a republic not only necessary but desirable.” – China Miéville, Chapter 2: February: Joyful Tears, Page 63

“The middle classes in particular were in a panic – they felt more vulnerable than the rich, who could afford protection, or those in the tight-knit working-class areas, where workers’ militias were more effective than was the city’s own.” – China Miéville, Chapter 5: May: Collaboration, Page 132

“In September, the upward trajectory of the peasant war did not slow.  In growing numbers, villagers sacked more estates, more violently, often with fire, often side by side with soldiers and deserters.” – China Miéville, Chapter 9: September: Compromise and Its Discontents, Page 243


Review

Overview:

Russia’s Tsarist regime mismanaged economic, political, civilian, and military affairs.  Authorities abused their power against peasants, and then workers.  Under pressure, rights were given to the lower classes, but where not enough to compensate for their mistreatment.  The people rioted and rebelled.  Various worker representatives gather and formed a soviet.  Soviet means council.  Culminating in the abdication of the Tsar in 1917.  This is the story of a revolution from the lower classes, during WW1. 

Very quickly, the Provisional Government gained international credibility and support, but did not have as much power as the international community thought.  The Soviet held the power, and decided what the Provisional Government was supposed to do.  Under Soviet pressure, the Provisional Government provided various social and legal rights to the people.  Those who took power, had imperial intentions.  Wanting to export the revolution abroad.  The Provisional Government dismantled many political agencies and enforces, such as the police department.  This led to mob justice, violence, and looting.  A general state of social unrest, with different political powers competing for power.  Military forces were demoralized, and disorganized.  Many were deserting.  Some regions sought sovereignty. 


What Happened Before the Revolution?

From the 1860s, the Tsar gave people rights they did not have, under pressure from peasant actions and exigent circumstances.  The state was under armed threat, while peasants were rioting and rebelling in response to authoritative abuses.  The rights given were enough to stall a revolutionary tide, but not enough to prevent it. 

From the 1890s, the workers gain a movement and momentum, and are dissatisfied with their treatment.  By 1904, Russian leaders believe a war was needed to stem a revolution, but the war they initiated turned into a catastrophe for Russia.  The workers demanded changes to their working life, and political freedoms such as freedom of assembly and the press.  Protestors gathered, and are met with violence, an even that has become known as Bloody Sunday.  An event that accelerated the revolution.  A Duma is formed, more rights were granted, but with so many political violations, the people remain unappeased.  Even with forthcoming Dumas. 

Before and during the revolution, the policies enacted discriminated based on race, sex, and religion.  Seeing others as less then.  Even when the policies that were trying to be inclusive, in practice, they were not.

 

Caveats?

This book is a narrative of what happened during the revolution, following those competing for power.  There is a lack of systematic analysis on the claims made during the revolution.  And a lack of background information on the ideas, policies, and groups that were in competition.  Various details about revolution are expressed, but to understand what they mean would require more research.  


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•Why was there a revolution?
•Who were responsible for the revolution?
•Why did the Tsar abdicate?
•What political power did Lenin have?
•What is Bloody Sunday?
•What were the political and economic conditions before the revolution?  What were they after the revolution?
•What is a Soviet?
•What is a Duma?
•Who are the Cossacks and how were they involved in the revolution?
•How did the Provisional Government handle affairs?
•Which groups were competing for power? 
•How did society react to the revolution?
•What was the military situation?
•For those who took power, what was there intent going forward? 

Book Details
Publisher:             Verso {New Left Books]
Edition ISBN:      9781784782788
Pages to read:       320
Publication:          2018
1st Edition:           2017
Format:                 Paperback 

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    4
Content          3
Overall          2



Thursday, March 2, 2023

Review of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Book Club Event = Book List (10/21/2023)
Intriguing Connections = 1) Ways To Help Oneself and Life Lessons

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“Death, of course, is not a failure.  Death is normal.  Death may be the enemy, but it is also the natural order of things.” – Atul Gawande, Introduction, Page 8

“Still, there are costs to averting our eyes from the realities.  We put off dealing with the adaptations that we need to make as a society.  And we blind ourselves to the opportunities that exist to change the individual experience of aging for the better.” – Atul Gawande, Chapter 2: Things Fall Apart, Page 35

“The terror of sickness and old age is not merely the terror of the losses one is forced to endure but also the terror of the isolation.  As people become aware of the finitude of their life, they do not ask for much.  They do not seek more riches.  They do not seek more power.  They ask only to be permitted, insofar as possible, to keep shaping the story of their life in the world – to make choices and sustain connections to others according to their own priorities.” – Atul Gawande, Chapter 5: A Better Life, Page 146-47


Review

Overview:

The medical profession is generally trained to resolve problems, to fix problems.  But age is a normal function that continuously makes life more difficult.  Age cannot be fixed.  The medical profession can patch the body, but always temporarily and usually with other consequences.  Even if a person does everything right, they will still accumulates problem and end with death.  Making more correct health choices over a life time can reduce the chances of many age-related symptoms, but death cannot be overcome.  Not thinking about the aging process, prevents individuals from adapting to the differences.  Only by accepting the fragility of life, can an individual change to make the aging experience better. 

The problems of age are a recent human phenomenon.  Historically, old age was rare, as people did not survive to experience the ravages of age.  Medicine made many previously fatal events, not mortally threatening, therefore prolonging life.  Medicine has even slowed down many mortal threats.  Slowed down their progression, but not cure them.  Death is still the final outcome.  There are those who do not fear death, but fear what happens before death.  The loss of function, and friends.  Perspective changes when primed by age.  Perspective that reorients priorities away from vanities, power, and achievements, and towards appreciating everyday pleasures, and connecting with others.

As people age, they become more dependent on others, but they do still want to live at home and be independent.  Nursing homes tend to relieve family members of the burden of taking care of the elderly, not of making life worth living for those people.  There are facilities that enable elders to live as well as they can, by bringing to them things that make life worth living. 

For the elderly, choosing freedom does not mean that health is sacrificed.  Research showed that those who had more independence, had better physical, cognitive, and mental health.  Better outcomes, at lower costs. 

There are people, are can be very active in old age.  But that is a rarity.  Biological luck.  Making everyone else feel like a failure.  Distracting everyone else from adapting to their situations.  For most, the fragile body will continue to weaken. 

 

Caveats?

This is a very emotionally jarring book.  The reader must come prepared emotionally to handle the topic.  Without even much prompting, the book forces the reader to reflect on one’s own life.  One’s own mortality.  One’s own inevitabilities.  This reflection, the acknowledged finite time of one’s life, can make individual’s change the choices that they make.

This book uses many examples to highlight the problems with how the society deals with aging.  Sometimes, the author gets lost in the examples, which distracts from the problem that needs correcting.  


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•How does the medical profession think about age?
•What are the consequences of age?
•How do people think about death?
•How do people adapt to aging?
•Why is age a problem?
•How did the medical profession prolong life?
•What do people fear?
•How do priorities change with age?
•What do people want when they age?
•What are nursing homes / assisted living?
•How does independence effect people’s wellbeing?
•Is it possible to be very active in old age? 
•What is assisted suicide?  
•How did thinking about age change? 

Book Details
Edition:                 First Edition
Publisher:             Metropolitan Books [Henry Holt and Company]
Edition ISBN:      9780805095159
Pages to read:       293
Publication:          2014
1st Edition:           2014
Format:                 Hardcover 

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    5
Content          5
Overall          5