The Wordy Shipmates

I hated this book. Hated.  I rarely hate a book.  Often I don't like them, or they bore me, or I just don't care.  I hated this.

The book is billed as a history of the Puritans -- the group that led by John Winthrop who settled Charleston and Boston (not the Pilgrims, who landed on Plymouth Rock).  What it is, actually, is a snarky, patronizing, self-righteous diatribe lambasting the Puritans (and pretty much every other white person from the 17th century) for not being born in the 20th.  We are presented with "Jesus freaks," "religious fanatics," fools who actually believe in God, patronizing English who believe they need to help the Indians, and, generally, a bunch of stooges running around New England.

Yes, Sarah Vowell has discovered that religious Christians from the 17th Century did not live up to the morals and ethics of the early 21st Century.  Thank you.  They believed that the were superior to other races.  They preached Christian charity and kindness, yet punished transgressions severely, with beatings, banishment, and cutting off ears.  Vowell notes with disdain the motto on the Massachusetts Bay Colony's official seal, which pictures an Indian in a loincloth saying the words "Come over and help us."  Imagine that. The Puritans actually believed that they would be helping the Indians by bring them Christianity.  I'm shocked to read this.

Did I mention that I hated it?  I don't mind criticizing people, even those who lived four hundred years ago.  Although I do think it's unfair not to realize that we are all, to some extent, a function on the time we live in.  But what I don't like is the arrogant, flippant tone throughout the entire book.  This isn't so much a history as it is some kind of sophomoric rant by someone who apparently just realized that people had different moral compasses back then.*

*And I can't help but notice how much of the book seems to be an indictment of "white men."  Surely, in the 1600s, peace and love reigned over the rest of the planet, unspoiled by male Christianity.  Vowell notes at length Roger Williams's description of civility among the indians:  "If any stranger com in, they presently give him to eat of what they have;"  "fewer scandalous sins than Europe, [one] never hear[s] of robberies, rapes, murders;" and "their wars are far less bloody, and devouring than the cruel wars of Europe; and seldom twenty slain in the pitch field."  A few pages later, she glosses over an incident wherein "[t]he Dutch in Connecticut, meanwhile, have been trading with the Pequot, but with other Indians, too.  How do the Pequot feel about this?  They murder a handful of Indians, probably Narragansett, on their way home from trading with the Dutch."  No doubt the Pequot were spoiled by their contact with the Dutch.

In short, if you're looking for a history of the Puritans, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.  Although I don't know what else might be out there.  If you want to feel very good about yourself by reading about those backwards stooges who settled Massachusetts, this is a good book for you.

The Coffee Trader

I don't remember why I have this book.  I don't recall buying it; it might have been a gift.  I haven't read the author's earlier book (A Conspiracy of Paper) or his subsequent ones.  Apparently, he has a knack for historical fiction.  I didn't really see it here.  But I do love historical fiction.  And while this book wasn't great, it was a good, middle of the road read.

It's the story of Miguel Lienzo, a Portuguese Jew living in Amsterdam in the 17th Century.  America seems to have forgotten that Amsterdam was one of the first truly cosmopolitan cities, where the modern ideas of the Enlightenment, libertarianism, and freedom of religion flourished.  One of the first states to throw off the yoke of colonial masters (the Dutch kicked out the Spanish well before the Americans kicked out the British -- though it was a very different relationship), I believe the Dutch were the first to truly accept religious freedom.  Therefore, may Jews fleeing the wrath of the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal ended up here.  Amsterdam also compensated for its lack of natural resources and its proximity to the water to develop a substantial trading culture, and a market.

 The Coffee Trader attempts to deal with all of these.  Lienzo, a refugee who fled from Portugal, is a trader.  He speculates in the market for goods from all over the world.  The book tries to explain the trades -- futures, calls, puts -- in a way that makes it exciting.  Which it can be.  But in the end it falls flat.  (For a better historical novel dealing with similar issues, I'd suggest Clavell's Noble House, or his earlier Tai Pan.)  And it gives some life to the insular Jewish community, living separately but in plan sight with the Dutch.  They are portrayed as overly pious, suspicious and ruled by powerful Ma'amad, a council that is charged with "protecting" the community by keeping it in line.  It does this through a network of spies and informants, turning in Jews for transgressions such as trading with non-Jews, eating unclean foods, etc.


But the center of the story is coffee.  At the, the drink is barely known and used mostly for medicinal purposes.  A dutch widow and bar owner brings coffee to her friend, Lienzo, and tells him that this is the time for coffee to burst onto the European scene.  Lienzo, and pretty much anyone else who tries the coffee, is instantly hooked and fairly addicted, as if their coffee had heroin.  But Lienzo then goes about trying to devise his "trade," to monopolize coffee and bring it to Europe, becoming magnificently wealthy in the process.  Standing in his way are his cruel, jealous brother, Daniel; a dishonest vengeful member of the Ma'amad, Solomon Parido, and, unbeknownst to him, an excommunicated Jewish money-lender and ne'er-do-well, Alonzo Alferonda.

The plots and conspiracies grow, and they're interesting, but far short of Dan Brown or a Grisham novel.  I will say that the ending twists were quite surprising -- not for the twists themselves but where the chips ultimately fall.

It's worth a read, but don't get too excited.

Three Men in a Boat

I'm skipping here.  I read The Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, but I need to give their post a little more thought.  The next book up was Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat:

And I didn't finish it.

I think I bought this after reading a list of the ten funniest books of all time.  Well, I don't think this was all that funny.  It's a narrative of three fellows, J. (the narrator), George and Harris, and their dog, Montmorency, who rent a boat and go for a sail up the Thames.  It's cute, with many funny observations about life.  The narrative is slow, however, with frequent cutaway side stories, as in Family Guy.  I found the cutaways distracting.  You figure out that these are three bumbling guys who will bumble their way through pretty much everything, and then it's not all that interesting.

Tom Sawyer

No surprises here, but some good memories.  Actually, there were a few surprises, such as how much of the story I'd forgotten. And, I think, how the movie with that little red-headed kid differed from the book.  Worth a read, even for adults.  

The next bunch of books on the shelf I've read:

Ok, I didn't finish it.  I liked the movie quite a bit.  The book was good, and I should get back to it.

I first read this in 8th grade, I think, and I've been in love with Japan ever since.  It's a terrific book, loosely based on a Dutch sailor who landed in Japan just before Iyesu Tokugawa consolidated power as Shogun.  I've probably read it five times.  I've also read the rest of the Asian Saga:  Tai Pan, King Rat & Noble House.  (I didn't get to Whirlwind, which was about the Iranian revolution, I think).  King Rat stands out as the most serious of the bunch, but they're all very good.

Another terrific book that I read back in high school (or whenever it came out) and re-read recently. The story of a young homo sapien girl "at the dawn of time" being raised by an earlier humanoid species.  (Apologies for getting the terms wrong.)  It's very interesting if you like some insight into how the early hominids lived, communicated, hunted, made tools, etc.  I understand that Auel did quite a bit of research for accuracy, but who knows how much our understanding of these people has changed in the time since.  I read the next two in the series, Valley of the Horses and The Mammoth Hunters, but they weren't quite as interesting.  There was a big hiatus, I believe because Auel was ill for a number of years, and then the series picked up again.  I haven't read the latter books.  (And, yes, the movie was awful.)

I've read very few science fiction books.  I believe this is the total list:  Ender's Game, it's first sequel, Hive Queen and the Hegemon, Battlefield Earth, Neuromancer (or maybe Mona Lisa Overdrive?).  Ender's Game and Battlefield Earth were each terrific, although I didn't enjoy Ender's Game as much on the re-read.    When it was first given to me, I was warned that I would skip work in order to finish it.  I do think I stayed up all night.  I hear they're finally making a movie.

(Skipping a few travel guides.)

A Dance to the Music of Time is a 12 volume series by Anthony Powell inspired, as I understand it, by the painting by Nichola Poussin:

I read the first book (free on Kindle) and enjoyed it, but, I'm embarrassed to say, I don't really remember it.  Oops.  I'll get to the rest by the end of this project. 

Next up on the shelf:

This will be difficult.  I'm just glad Proust is on a different bookshelf.

God Is Not One:  The Eight Rival Religions That Run The World, Stephen Prothero

I'm fascinated by religion, although not from a religious aspect.  I'm an atheist.  But I read a lot about religion, especially Christian history, because the development of the theories and doctrines is so interesting.

God Is Not One is billed as kind of comparative religion "and Why Their Differences Matter."  The author presents it as a response to those who try to conflate all religions into a few simple concepts (do unto others; thou shalt not kill) so as to argue that all religions are essentially the same:  different paths up the same mountain.

It was ultimately disappointing.  It's little more than a Religion 101 primer on eight religions:  Islam, Christianity,  Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Daoism, and Yoruba.   It was interesting enough, especially since I have very little understanding of Islam, Confucianism, Daoism and Yoruba.  For Hinduism, I'd recommend The Hindus: An Alternative History, by Wendy Doniger.  I can't speak to the "alternative" aspect, and I understand there is some criticism of how she presents Hinduism, but it seems to be a very good explanation of the basic concept.  (And I do recommend reading about Hinduism because it is so different from our Western understanding of religions.)

As for the content of God Is Not One, I, of course, can't quibble with any of the sections, except perhaps, Judaism.  I do feel that I have a pretty good understanding of Judaism, it's basic background and how it is practiced -- at least in America.  I certainly don't claim any great knowledge of the Torah, Talmud, Kabbalah or that I have done any deep study.  However, I thought Prothero's description needed a whole lot more explanation to make it accurate.  Yes, I should explain myself, but I don't have time now.

My biggest complaint was the lack of direct comparisons between the religions.  This is a book about why the differences in the religions matter, but there are no sections expressly identifying and discussing those differences.  Rather, distinctions are identified within the sections on each religion, and often the discussion of the difference is done in a paragraph or just a few sentences.  There are 8 sections to the book, one for each of the religions, but nothing further.  For example, the book contains statements that Islam doesn't concern itself with sin and Buddhism isn't concerned about salvation.  Given Islam's belief in "paradise" and Buddhism's belief that proper thought/living leads to nirvana, I think the book would have benefited greatly from specific discussion of why the goal of "Paradise" in Islam isn't about living a sin-less life; and a better explanation of what Nirvana is and why it differs conceptually from a Christian heaven.

All in all, the book has good information and is worth a read.

Next up:  Tom Sawyer.  (Yeah, yeah, I should have read that 35 year ago.