Tagged: Nonfiction

Three Months in the Southern States

Three Months in the Southern States: April-June, 1863 by Lt. Col. Arthur James Lyon Fremantle, 3/5

Fremantle undoubtedly deserves the title “Most Hardcore Tourist” of 1863.  An Englishman living in Gibraltar, he read about the war and thought it sounded like a jolly good time to go explore the South.  During his adventures, on which he met such historical figures as Jeff Davis and Generals Lee and Longstreet, he kept a daily diary.  The result is an interesting, if not convincingly unbiased, glimpse into the world of the Confederacy.  It is remarkable that Fremantle started his journey with a pro-Union attitude, but was quickly won over by the gentlemanly behaviour of the Confederates he met and the apparent contentedness of most of the slaves.  While the account is fascinating, it is no masterpiece of literature; Fremantle’s genius is more social than literary.  Though the writing is somewhat prosaic and the vocabulary limited, it still a valuable work that startlingly humanizes some of our most historic figures and events.

A Respectable Army

A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763-1789 by James Kirby Martin and Mark Edward Lender, 4/5

This book presents an engaging and not overly esoteric overview of George Washington’s army during the American Revolution.  It challenges the popular myth that all of the colonists participated equally, eagerly and selflessly to achieve independence, pointing out that the people who bore the brunt of the conflict were the poor and displaced in society.  I was surprised to learn that the colonists were rabidly anti standing-army, depending on the militia and the idea of the citizen-soldier (a romantic notion that produced lots of short-lived emotion but little dependable action).  Because of this, the Continental Army was looked down upon and abused by both politicians and populace.  War strategy and specific battles were worked tastefully into the text, providing interest without obscuring the bigger picture.  Without presenting any ground-breaking claims or research, this book manages to be very informative, interesting and well-written.

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland: A Book by Patton Oswalt, 2/5

For some reason, I thought this was going to be a novel.  It turned out to be a collection of anecdotes by a stand-up comedian.  My favorite bit was the section containing hilarious descriptions of wines.  Overall, there were some funny and imaginative word choices, but Oswalt’s humor in general struck me as forced, depressing and full of cultural references I didn’t understand (especially about books and music).

The Winding Road

The Winding Road by W. Edmund Hood and Ung Ho Chang, 2/5

I read this tiny, self-published book in one sitting.  It was more compelling than the atrocious cover led me to expect (how are there still people who think cheesy, colored fonts, huge blocks of text and poorly Photoshopped images are ok?).  The book tells the story of Ung Ho Chang, a South-Korean who survived war-torn post-WWII Korea and the Korean war to end up a U.S. citizen.  The idea I found most thought-provoking was the fact that this man, a war refugee, army officer, spy, POW, and fireman got a job as a maintenance worker in a Top Food store in Seattle when he arrived in the U.S.  It just goes to show that one can never know what someone else has gone through and even the most ordinary and unadmirable-appearing people might have a fascinating and impressive history.

How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With

How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With by Clarice Rutherford & David H. Neil, 3/5

There are many similarities between this book and Cesar Millan’s, but this one is shorter and more efficient at communication.  I like Rutherford’s common-sense, straightforward approach to puppy training.

How to Raise the Perfect Dog

How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond by Cesar Millan, 3/5

This is an entertaining and easy read, but not nearly as informative as watching Millan’s TV show.

Stage Fighting

Stage Fighting: A Practical Guide by Jonathan Howell, 4/5

This is an efficient, well-illustrated book.  The most interesting thing I learned is the idea that, in order to create tension, the roles of victim and aggressor are reversed, as far as control of the action is concerned.  For example, in a strangling scene, the aggressor is trying to pull his hands away from the victim’s throat, while the victim is trying to hold the aggressor’s hands in place.

Moneyball

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis, 3/5

This book left me more shocked at the overall inefficiency of the baseball industry than impressed by the Oakland A’s unorthodox success strategies.  Lewis’s account felt lacking in focus and I couldn’t help wondering if the presence of a few logical entities in the baseball world was worth all the hoopla merely because they were surrounded by closed-minded morons.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom

Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence, 4/5

It’s a good thing I like being surprised, because this book first revealed, then blasted all the misconceptions of “Lawrence of Arabia” I’d somehow accumulated, picturing him as an England-hating, obnoxiously gay, stuck-up poser, whose main rebellious achievements were dressing in robes, getting impossibly tanned and prancing around on a camel.  This impression was absolutely wrong and I finished the book with an opposite opinion, inspired by Lawrence’s toughness and unique mixture of confidence and self-deprecation.  Somehow, he managed to live honorably while torn between loyalty to England and determination to keep her lightly-made promises to the Arab people.  He valued intellectualism over all merely physical concerns, but a poetic nature, sense of humor and keen observational insights into humanity made him human and keep the book from being a dry military treatise.  It reads more like an adventure story than anything and I was never bored, pretty amazing for a book about one of the few remaining topics that holds no interest for me – Middle Eastern culture and politics.

Reel Justice

Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies by Paul Bergman and Michael Asimow, 3/5

The authors spend more time recapping movies, making lame puns and giving spoilers than actually analyzing the legal aspects of the films.