Jan 31 2009
Going to relax by reading Alex…
Going to relax by reading Alex Berenson’s spy thriller The Ghost War (2nd of three John Wells novels): http://tinyurl.com/aph673
Jan 30 2009
The Last of the High Kings by Kate Thompson
When last we saw J.J. Liddy he was trying to put his memory back together after a trip to T’ir na n’Og. He has saved the Land of Eternal Youth by finding the leak that allowed time to trickle into that magical world from our more mundane one. This leak was stealing time from earth and causing T’ir na n’Og to age rather than remain timeless.
In The Last of the High Kings Kate Thompson picks up the story 15 years later. And things haven’t gotten any easier for J.J. As a husband and father he just has a new set of problems:
Why does his daughter Jenny roam barefoot through the wilds, when she should be in school? When did the mysterious white goat begin to patrol the hillside? What is the secret project that J.J.’s son Donal is attempting? And who is the ghost guarding the stone beacon at the top of the mountain—and why has Jenny befriended him?
This sequel to The New Policeman continues Thompson’s creative blending of Irish myth and fairy tale with contemporary Irish life. And she continues to bring a nice blend of wit and suspense to the story while adding in some great new characters. Jenny in particular is an interesting, but in many ways elusive, character; the Puka continues to bring a blend of magic and menace; and there are lots of interesting dynamics that result from being part of a large – and unique – family.
But I found this book not quite as engaging as the first and at times a little too preachy. Keep Reading
Jan 29 2009
Confederate Ironclad Vs. Union Ironclad by Ron Field
To continue my recent spat of readings on the American Civil War, I just read Confederate Ironclad Vs. Union Ironclad by Ron Field. It is an excellent and brief description (76 pages) of the famous naval battle between the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor at Hampton Roads in 1862.
The book traces the design and development of ironclads in the United States Navy and the Confederate Navy (Field also includes a snippet or two about the development of ironclads in Europe as well). The book also describes the personalities behind the designs of the ironclads. For instance, Swedish-American John Ericsson faced opposition from many U.S. naval officers when he unveiled his designs for his ironclad (USS Monitor) because they did not believe that a semi-submerged ironclad warship could float. Keep Reading
Jan 29 2009
The ISI Conservative Library
Those looking to study conservatism could do worse than ordering this collection from ISI.
Jan 28 2009
NRO on Updike
I very much doubt that people turn to CM for links or quotes on the topic du jure. That is just not the kind of content I supply. But have a suspicion that readers of this blog probably don’t read National Review Online’s The Corner quite as much as I do.
So I thought it might be useful to capture some conservative commentary on the passing of John Updike as readers might not have caught these comments on a political blog.
I just learned that one of America’s greatest writers—ever—died this morning at 76. He was a joy to read, and will be much missed. He integrated his religious faith into his work in such a way that he imbued even the most secular subjects with “the motions of grace.” He also loved this country, and found a way to say so that reached even many who were uncomfortable with more conventional displays of patriotism. R.I.P.
In his novels, he was a master of precision and the mot juste, descriptions of ordinary things so vivid that you seemed to see them for the first time. He understood how ordinary life could give way to moments of sudden violence and tragedy and his books often contained a climactic scene of horror that arose out of the quotidian with an inevitability you only understood in the aftermath. One of his latest novels, Terrorist, brought his understanding of American life and the human condition to bear on our current troubles and presented a rich vision of the complexities of both assimilation and redemption. For me personally, I’m sad to see one of the last of the Big Novelists go, a breed that for now at least seems to be dying out forever. He was the lonely WASP among that generation of brilliant post-war Jews and semi-Jews—Mailer, Bellow, and Roth. The passing of their generation leaves us with too many movies, TV shows, and YouTube videos and not enough really good books. When images take precedence over words, I can’t help feeling that both thought and feeling ultimately become more shallow.
