Sep 30 2011

A Little Short of Boats by James A. Morgan III

A Little Short of Boats: The Civil War Battles of Ball’s Bluff and Edwards Ferry, October 21 – 22, 1861 by James Morgan III is an excellent analysis and description of two of the war’s earliest battles – the Battles of Ball’s Bluff and Edwards Ferry. The book’s latest edition is revised with some updated information from Morgan’s further study of the Battle.

The Battle of Ball’s Bluff (more action took place there than at Edwards Ferry) grew out of an order for Union General Charles P. Stone to make a “demonstration” in front of Confederate positions near Ball’s Bluff. This demonstration turned into a twelve-hour battle where hundreds of men were killed and wounded, a prominent friend of President Lincoln’s (Col. Edward D. Baker) was killed, and the promising career of Stone was ruined (Morgan succinctly and clearly explains how Stone was pointed out as a scapegoat by his detractors). As Morgan shows, if anyone was to blame, it was Baker for his lack of leadership and control of the battle.

Although Ball’s Bluff did not seem to have any tactical or strategic consequences, but it did have political repercussions way beyond the Battle. As a result of the Union’s bungling of this battle and the First Battle of Bull Run, Congress created the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War – which proved to be a major hindrance for Lincoln throughout the war.

Morgan clearly lays out how the battle progressed and the different units that participated on both sides. He equally criticizes and praises both sides. The Confederates were generally better led (overall command was under Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Evans) and organized than the Union – there was total confusion prior to Baker’s entrance on the battlefield. Morgan supports most of his arguments with diaries and official reports. However, when his opinion is not based on either source, he bases it on sound reason.

Scattered throughout the text, Morgan includes numerous maps and photographs of the participants. The maps are helpful in following the action depicted in the text. The reader gets a better understanding of the tactical situation as well.

Finally, Morgan includes seven appendices on various aspects surrounding the battles. The topics covered include the details surrounding Baker’s death and an interesting discussion on why the Battle of Ball’s Bluff even occurred.

This book is an excellent short, concise history of the Battle of Ball’s Bluff.

By Jeff Grim • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Sep 29 2011

Tonoharu: Part One by Lars Martinson

For some reason no matter how many books I have in the TBR pile I always seem to grab a book when I visit the library. Just can’t go without checking something out.

Yesterday while visiting the library with my family, the graphic novel Tonoharu caught my eye and so I checked it out. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed it once I got the hang of reading a graphic novel – not something I do a lot of.  The art work, which drew me to the book in the first place, is clean and elegant while still having the element of a comic about it.

And once I got going I found the story line – about a assistant English teacher in Japan struggling with assimilation, language barriers, loneliness, etc. – well done. The panels balance the need to tell the story with both words and the art.  The incredible challenge of going to a foreign country and trying meet new people, start a new job and establish some sort of routine or life is communicated through the interactions and the surroundings.  All with a dry sense of humor.

Only one small problem: the libraries in town only seem to have part one in this planned four part series.  Part one ends rather abruptly and so I feel like I am just hanging on the edge with no ability to find out what happened. A frustrating introduction to the artists work.

I guess I will just have to track down part two on own (and then wait patiently for parts three and four).

For those of you, like me, who are unfamiliar with the world of the graphic novel and Lars work in particular you can check out his website and the below video for more information

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Sep 28 2011

Is James Madison an under-appreciated founding father?

This week’s Coffee & Markets tackles this subject and more with one of my favorite writers, Richard Brookhiser.  Pejman Yousefzadeh and I discuss Brookhiser’s new biography of James Madison, Madison’s battle with Hamilton, his break with Washington, and the last years of his life, when he foresaw the secession of states from the Union.

Listen below.

By Kevin Holtsberry • Interviews • 0 • Tags: , , , , , ,

Sep 28 2011

No Place Like Holmes by Jason Lethcoe

No Place Like Holmes is another book I picked up at a discounted rate for Kindle ($1.99 at the time). I had read You Wish (The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff, #1) and was intrigued by the spiritual angle to this new story and series.  Looking for some light reading recently I decided to give this a try.  It turned out be a creative and well done young adult mystery adventure with a subtle spiritual element.

Here is the publishers synopsis:

The new resident in 221A Baker Street is about to give Sherlock Holmes a run for his magnifying glass!

When Griffin is sent to stay with his detective uncle at 221A Baker Street for the summer, he is certain that his uncle must be the great Sherlock Holmes! But Griffin is disappointed to discover that Holmes lives at 221B Baker Street and his uncle lives unit 221A. His uncle is a detective, just not a very good one. But when Griffin meets a woman with a case that Holmes has turned away for being too ridiculous, he and his uncle team up to help her. Along the way, Griffin shows his uncle just what it means to have true faith in God, even when the case challenges that. The woman claims that her husband was eaten by the Loch Ness Monster, but monsters aren’t real-or are they?

There are a couple of interesting hooks in this story. One is that Griffin is a precocious young man with a photographic memory and highly developed sense of deductive reasoning.  Two is that his uncle not only lives next to the great detective Sherlock Holmes, but is obsessed with him; intent on proving himself the better detective.  But rather than deductive reasoning, Rupert Snodgrass uses science and machines to solve his cases (or would if he had any cases).

Lastly, Griffin is the son of a Methodist minister and has an active Christian faith.  This faith is an active part of the story and dialog.  Griffin regularly prays and tries to act out his faith in his interactions with his uncle and other adults that he meets.  All this combines to place Griffin in an exciting but dangerous situation.

The first two hooks make for a creative and entertaining story. Not surprisingly given its length and audience (Ages 9-12), it is not a particularly complex mystery, and the characters are not highly developed, but the story moves at a quick pace and the depth builds as more details are revealed.  There is, however, a well developed sense that there is more to the story than the reader is aware of; that the plot is deeper and wider than it seems.  And, as is usual with these type of chapter books, the complexity is sure to add up as the series continues.

The last hook, the faith element, is also well done.  For those not used to mentions of God and faith in their fiction the inclusion of prayers and spiritual reflections will stand out. I didn’t find them overly preachy, however, and found it refreshing that a character’s faith would be taken seriously.

Given Griffin’s precociousness in other areas, it is not out of character that his faith seems rather mature as well. For example, he chooses to show his uncle love and to pray for him after he is treated poorly and even cruelly.  And this strategy works a little too perfectly.  But perhaps a story of this nature is not the place for spiritual struggles and wrestling with the nature of evil. And, as I said, for the most part I found the “God” aspects well done and refreshing.

Caveats or nitpick aside, this is a creative and entertaining young adult mystery adventure. If you have young readers looking for something different to read, or if you are looking for books that integrate faith into fiction, I recommend this first book in a new series. I think it will be one worth following.

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Sep 25 2011

Quick Take: The Didache & The Teaching of the Twelve

Greek icon of the Twelve Apostles (in the fron...

Image via Wikipedia

One of the coping mechanisms of the book addict with moderate to low income is cheap or free books. This allows you to scratch the “must buy books” itch without going broke.  Sometimes this leads only to an ever burgeoning library, and a lower own-to-read ratio, but sometimes it leads to great finds.  In the case of these two books I hit the triple play: they were cheap (I caught them at reduced prices so both were $.99), they were Kindle versions (and so no space constraints) and they turned out to be insightful reads.

Trolling for books on Amazon by clicking through my recommendations (come on, you know you do it), I stumbled upon The Didache.

What in the world is the Didache you ask?  Just one of the earliest extant Christian documents we have:

The Didache is, in all probability, the oldest surviving extant piece of non-canonical literature. It is not so much a letter as a handbook for new Christian converts, consisting of instructions derived directly from the teachings of Jesus …

The Didache claims to have been authored by the twelve apostles. While this is unlikely, the work could be a direct result of the first Apostolic Council, c.50 C.E. (Acts 15:28) …

Most scholars agree that the work, in its earliest form, may have circulated as early as the 60′s C.E., though additions and modifications may have taken place well into the third century. The work was never officially rejected by the Church, but was excluded from the canon for its lack of literary value.

The complete text of the Didache was discovered in the Codex Hierosolymitanus, though a number of fragments exist, most notably in the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. It was originally composed in Greek, probably within a small community.

Once I stumbled upon it, I was fascinated and had to read it for myself.  The history and debate surrounding this document is interesting in itself, but what is striking about the content of the Didache is its simplicity and focus on practical matters. Written most likely before the Gospel of John, and without an awareness of the style and theology of Paul, it has a simplicity and straightforwardness that is refreshing – or at least was to me.

The focus is on practicing what was at this point an embryonic church and faith; followers of Jesus before church hierarchy and formalism.  The document is focused on living out the command to love God and neighbor as part of a community of faith. And focused on both character and action; on being gentle, humble and kind but also on how to practice generosity, structure the faith community and avoid the temptations of  the world.

My interest in this ancient text, with the help of Amazon again, soon led me to The Teaching of the Twelve: Believing and Practicing the Primitive Christianity of the Ancient Didache Community which includes the Didache itself and commentary and background by Tony Jones.  This handy book takes the text and helps the reader flush out ideas and applications that flow from it.

I found this volume a nice introduction and companion for those, who like me, are just being introduced to the Didache.  I really enjoyed the way Jones presented the material, posed questions and discussed the document’s impact and relevance with a modern (or perhaps post-modern) community in America. It was readable and engaging; inspiring, an at times convicting, without being preachy. It provides both some useful background but also a way to start thinking about how it might impact your life.

If you have any interest in the early church, or are just looking for a different lens with which to approach your faith and engagement, I found both the Didache and Jones’s work interesting and insightful.

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

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