1 comments about Living Biographies of Great Philosophers: Library Edition.

1. One of the best introductions to Western Philosophy that I have come across.

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5 comments about Titanic: A Survivor's Story.

1. Two of the most poignant survivor accounts of the Titanic sinking. Mr. Gracie, an elderly man with many social ties to others on the ship and Mr. Thayer, the 17 year old son of a prominent businessman were both first class passengers. Both nearly drowned as the Titanic plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic; but found refuge on the upside down collapsible lifeboat B. Mr. Gracie lost his best friend and Mr. Thayer lost his father. The grief each feels still calls out to us.

   The style of each narrative is interesting to compare. Gracie, when describing his own experience or his impressions of the significance of the sinking, uses the flowing purple prose of the late 19th century (his style is more straightforward in his compilations of accounts of other passengers and he has even used their actual statements). Thayer, writing in 1940 about his own experience, is terser; but his reflection that the world seemed calm and his place in it assured before that night is poetic. Archibald Gracie died soon after he wrote his narrative. I'm unsure; but I believe Jack Thayer did not live long after he wrote his story. Since Mr. Thayer's account is not generally available in other sources, and Mr. Gracie was so thorough about who was in (or, in his case, on) each lifeboat, this book will be appreciated by any Titanic buff.




2. Originally published in 1913 as The Truth About the Titanic, Titanic: A Survivor's Story was the first book by an actual Titanic survivor to appear in print. Colonel Archibald Gracie, a military historian who is treated really brutally by James Cameron in his film, was not only a brave man but an indefatigable historian of the disaster. In the months remaining to him after the sinking (Colonel Gracie died in December 1912, possibly of aftereffects from his harrowing escape), Gracie tracked down other survivors and was the first to make an attempt at putting each survivor into the boat he or she escaped from. Written with period charm, this is an important book about the disaster and will dispell any remaining images of Cameron's doofy "Archie."



3. Colonel Archibald Gracie is one of the few people who actually went down with the Titanic and lived to tell about it. First published in 1913, "Titanic" is his detailed account of the last day he spent aboard ship, the evacuation of passengers on the port side of the ship, and of his incredible survival on an overturned lifeboat after being plunged into the frigid ocean when the Titanic finally completely submerged. The first 113 pages of the book are dedicated to Colonel Gracie's firsthand account. In the remaining approximately 200 pages, Col. Gracie has compiled testimony from as many other eyewitnesses as he could find. These firsthand accounts of passengers and crew are taken from the official inquiries in the United States and Great Britain, personal correspondence and interviews with Col. Gracie, and occasionally from firsthand accounts that were published in books and magazines of the day. Taken together, they render a very detailed picture of what went on that fateful night and why more people were not saved. Colonel Gracie died 8 months after the Titanic sank, of illness possibly related to the prolonged exposure to cold that he endured the night the Titanic went down.

   This is one of the most comprehensive and precise accounts of the Titanic disaster that you will find. Colonel Gracie is an engaging storyteller. I like his decision to organize the eyewitness accounts by lifeboat. The book also provides some interesting insights into the manners and social attitudes of the time.




4. Colonel Archibald Gracie was on board the Titanic when it sank. He was one of the lucky men who was able to cling to a capsized boat for survival. He details his account of the crossing, both before and after the iceberg. He mentions many people that he spoke with on the voyage, hoping to bring comfort to any families whose loved ones he encountered. The book seems to have been a form of therapy for the man and also an attempt to help those with questions after the sinking.
   
   The book is written in 1912 language, but it is still very readable and easy to understand. It is really an excellent resource for specific information; Gracie examines each lifeboat individually with passenger's names (except for the 3rd class) and relays incidents from each compiled from testimony from those in each boat. He uses official documents like the court trial transcripts for his book, making it very credible.
   
   Also included is a short account of John Thayer from the 40s. He was only 17 when the ship sank and lost his father of the same name in the tragedy. Thayer was another of the men clinging to the capsized boat that saved Gracie's life. His testimony enforces many of the things said by Gracie.



5. I have read Archibald Gracie's account of the sinking and while the tales of his survival and the aftermath are at times very interesting and useful, I feel that they pale in comparison to that of fellow Titanic passenger, Lawrence Beesley, a teacher by profession and a fine writer. Beesely's accounts are so well written and vividly drawn that you feel as if you are on the ship with him before and during the sinking, as well as in the lifeboats and later upon the Carpathia, heading for New York. His account of the entire Titanic tragedy is so complete that nearly 100 years later much of what he has written remains one of the most fact filled testimonies ever recorded. He writes with sensitivity and a gentileness; and he is masterful at describing visually what he and others saw and felt during that fateful night in April, 1912.
   
   But whether you prefer Gracie or Beesely, you can get both in the book "The Story of the Titanic As Told by Its Survivors". A great read which offers the writings of other Titanic survivors as well, all in one volume.

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No comments about Passages from the Diary of Samuel Pepys.

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5 comments about The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.

1. This autobiography resembles a popular life in the American wild west (not what one would expect of an iconic Renaissance sculptor/goldsmith), or so it seemed to me when I read this translation in the early 70's.
   
   It's a rare, remarkable work that remains memorable over the years. The saga of a vibrant genius (and the pleasure of reading this work) still remains.



2. If youre a fan of picaresque autobiography, this book is the best. Crimes and misadventures galore. Benvenuto uses his talent to win the patronage of the pope and king of france and then runs the favoritism into the dirt through paranoia, murderous rage, and a viscious slandering tongue. artists, and writers will find much to love in this book.
   
   this is not a history book. but a book from history. a real historian would know the differance and would appreciate it appropriately.



3. Benvenuto Cellini was a leading figure of the Italian Renaissance. He was close to the Florentine court and participated in royal intrigues. He was a major artist in a period of major artists, creating numerous works of beauty that can still be seen today. (His most famous work is the statue of Perseus holding the head of the Medusa, which stands in the piazza outside the Palazzo Vecchio. His description of the making of this work is one of the highlights of the book.) He had numerous love affairs with titled women and numerous feuds with powerful men. He was also a murderer and an unconscious sadist. And he wrote it all in what is one of the great autobiographies of all time. Parts of the book are chilling, such as when he regrets having beaten his beautiful model, not out of guilt or remorse, but because the beating had left her so swollen and bruised that she was no good to him as a model now. Other parts are disgusting, such as when he describes a parasite he vomited. At other times one wonders if he really thought he could get away with such tall tales as swearing that while under the protection of a necromancer he saw the Colosseum full of dancing devils. Cellini was a complex man and a great artist and a great writer. His autobiography is essential reading if one wishes to understand the Renaissance. I consider Cellini's autobiography to be almost as essential as Homer and Shakespeare. Five stars, of course.



4. It's a bit annoying to listen to Cellini talk about himself for 400 pages in such a manner. He's not a literary genius, so it's a bit hard to get through. But, Cellini's life is anything but boring. I also found him very witty and amusing. You have to be into the Renaissance, or history, to enjoy it.



5. This review is for the audio book version of this amazing autobiography. Cellini is an incredibly arrogant individual, but his story is entertaining and gives a fascinating look at the Renaissance and many of its major characters. Even though he is not the most likable man in the world, there were many things to admire about his strength of character. It is easy to see why he had so many enemies, though I'm not sure he understood why. His descriptions of the courts of Italy, France, and the Church give us priceless information on how they functioned. I noticed that historians like Durant referenced this work a lot in their histories. This also affirms to me that human nature has always been the same.
   
   The reader for this audio book is Robert Whitfield, whose characterization is exactly what I would imagine for Cellini. He had that touch of arrogance in his voice one would expect from a major braggart, but it was not too grating and easy to listen to. The translation by John Addington Symonds was also excellent and very easy for a modern ear to understand.
   
   I highly recommend this audio book for anyone that loves a good story. It has action, adventure, romance, intrigue, and about anything else one would look for in a good book. The audio book is 15 ½ hours long, and the time went by quickly.

5 comments about You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You.

1. I read this book and I can tell you that Stalin would be proud! If you are looking for comic relief you might get it from this liberal fossil, but don't read it looking for any relevant information!



2. Whenever I see a Molly Ivans piece on the op-ed page of my morning paper, a warm feeling of anticipation comes over me. So when I came across this collection of her essays at an airport ``bookstore'' before a long trip home, plunking down the $12 was a no-brainer. I wasn't disappointed.

   The pieces in this book are full of Texas charm, humor, and just plain common sense, but also the facts that so often go unreported in today's news. Her topics are many, but three that come up often in this collection are media ethics (got that? media ethics debated by a journalist!), hypocrisy (Al D'Amato conduct an ethics investigation?), and her favorite, the U.S. campaign financing system (which she refers to as ``legalized bribery'') and its fundamental effects on our society. ``The truth is that there is no political story more important than campaign financing. It's not just the hottest political story---it's the only story. It's the key to the real source of class warfare in this country.'' Not only are these issues and many others addressed intelligently with an eye toward ferreting out the truth, but they are often a laugh riot!

   The introduction to the book was written in January, 1998, just after the Lewinsky scandal broke, and all but one of the pieces were originally published from 1993 to 1997. Some of the events Ivans refers to are thus a bit dated today (early 1999), but her writing still packs a wallop.




3. Molly Ivins is simply a top-notch columnist who documents her opinions with facts that cannot be denied. So, her detractors resort to calling her "liberal" as though that word has the Magical Power to transform sense and reason and humor and documentation into a negative.

   The far right, filled with paranoia and mistrust, needs to resort to name calling when they deal with this witty, tough, and very well-informed treasure. Why? She's got the goods on them. (She has been a thorn in Bush's side relentlessly cutting through his misdirection to reveal what he does. And, oh, how that annoys those who want to revive the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities -- that wonderful little gang that brought blacklisting and mud-slinging to the halls of congress.)

   Ivins is a patriotic writer -- too in love with her country and its Constitution to sit by quietly while it gets dismantled in the name of "security" by those who use fear as their political cover, and too sharp to allow the politics of destruction to go unpunished.

   Thanks to Molly Ivins, there is something to love about Texas after all!




4. After reading this authors book on George Jr. - Shrub, I was excited to pick this one up. I figured I was going to get non-stop chapters of defense and support of President Clinton. Unfortuantly what I wanted only covered 50% of the book. The other half of the book covered Texas politics and personal columns on people she admired. The book is just a few years of her columns arranged by topic into sections of the book. This did make it easy for me to skip through the areas I was not interested in.

   Overall the book was funny and interesting. I found that when she was writing on national political issues, I tended to be with her step for step. She is not a blind supporter of President Clinton, but takes a more practical approach to her politics. She does not just disagree with all things Republican and agree with all things Democratic. I found that I even liked it when she did give Bill some grief about some of his many missteps. So I really enjoyed half of the book, and given the title was surprised that anything-other then national politics was covered. I just was not that interested in reading about a local Texas Senator working on a road project.




5. 
   I must admit, right off the bat,I've never heard of Molly Ivins;but I sure know who she is now.I loved this book from beginning to end.What this book is,is a collection of her columns from a Texas newspaper 'The Fort Worth Star-Telegram' during the 1990's.She cut her teeth on journalism working for peanuts on a little Texas leftist paper called 'The Texas Observer'.
   She is an avowed left wing liberal and makes no bones about it;and you can't fault anyone for being honest;which more than anything else she is.If you ask me,I would call her down home Texas Redneck.She came from an upper middle class family.Her mother was a lifelong Republican;but as she maintains on page
   118 that "there's nothing you can do about being born a liberal-fish gotta swim and hearts gotta bleed".On page 206,she also talks about a group of people who want Texas to separate,as being "born in a state of high indignation and profound misunderstanding". So it seems that this trait in leftists is inbred;I guess that explains a lot.
   When her columns deal with Republicans,she can see no good and when she deals with Democrats she sees no wrong;and even if there is,it's the devility of the conservatives at work.Hey,I'm not faulting her for that,that's where she comes from,and more power to her.At times I get the impression she is a Texas Redneck and strives hard to be a liberal at the same time;not an easy course to sail.
   She's at her best in writing about Texas politics and comes up with much better lines when on home turf.If she comes up short sometimes ,it's that liberal trait of believing that politicians and government will look after her and all the ills.This is an approach that always leads to disappointment whether one is left or right wing inclined.
   This book was published in 1998,while Clinton was still President and little did she know what disappointments were lying in wait.She was also very surprised that Richards had lost to George W Bush as Governor of Texas.The liberals are great in deluding themselves,and that was just the start of things to come.If someone told her at the time, that GW wound not only win the Governorship of Texas but would go on to win the Presidency--twice;she would have thought them ridiculous.Again,they deluded themselves over Gore and Kerry being unbeatable.Let's not even talk about the Terminator and his Democratic wife in California.
   There is no reason to lose any sleep over why things turned out that way.All she has to do is to call Rush and he will explain it to her.But therein lies the problem,she knows what he would tell her,and since she could never believe him, the libs will continue their worn out tactics.
   Another thing she had no inclination of when she wrote this book is that something even more prepostrous was in the future.Kinky Friedman is now running for Governor of Texas and he says if elected he will put his friend Willie Nelson in charge of ATF(Alcohol,Tobacco &Firearms).Willie has been pretty opposed to Bush,so that must make him a liberal and Kinky is a Jewish boy from the Village in New York come Cowboy and writer and that sounds kinda liberal as well;so we could be in for some interesting times.Hey,Jessy Ventura,The Terminator---and now the dynamic duo of Kinky and Willie.Buy the way, Kinky tells us the Jews and Cowboys have something in common---"we both wear our hats indoors".He also has a idea of replacing the Star of Texas with the Star of David.
   Molly reminds us on page 200:
   "Before you accuse me of hopeless parochialism,consider the
   one great truth that all Texas liberals grasp in their cradles:Things Can Always Get Worse.In fact,they often do.Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to rejoice now,because these will turn out to be the Good Old Days".
   Hey,it ain't over yet.I am going to read another book by Molly published in 2005,"Bushwacked",this should be a humdinger too.And if I'm not mistaken,I think I saw another at the bookstore a couple of days ago.

No comments about The World According to Garp, Volume I (10 Audio Cassette), and Volume II (8 Audio Cassette).