No comments about We Lost Our Baby: One Couple's Story of Miscarriage and Its Aftermath.

2 comments about Lorenzo Da Ponte: The Life and Times of Mozart¿s Librettist.

1. This work by Sheila Hodges is a biography of the man who was the librettist for three of Mozart's most famous operas: Le Nozzi di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi Fan Tutte.
   
   The book traces Lorenzo Da Ponte's life from birth in Ceneda, Italy in 1749 to his death in America in 1838. The material used in this biography include Da Ponte's own memoirs and various others letters and text that documented his life in Europe and America. In the back, the book list chronologically dates that of were of importance to Da Ponte, dates of his writings (poems, letters etc.) and finally dates of his libretti. There is also an extensive bibliography and a complete index of the names of people in the book who were part of his life.
   
   The book deals extensively with all sections of Da Ponte's life including his growing up, his work in Vienna, (where he met Mozart and worked for Emperor Joseph), his life in London, and finally his last years in America. Among these segments we see a young man who could not resist the fairer sex; a gullible soul who repeatedly lent money to people and rogues that could not or would not repay him, thus leaving him in an almost constant state of poverty throughout his entire lifetime. As that saying goes "he was his own worse enemy".
   
   Personally, I had hoped to gain some insight into the working relationship between himself and Mozart but there is apparently little record of their actual association. What did come out, that is intriguing, is the apparent sway Da Ponte's skill with the libretti had in determining the music that Mozart eventually wrote for the three operas mentioned above. This ability seemed to arise from his upbringing and his education as a young man, where eventually he developed his talent to write these fabulous Italian libretti: libretti that were not only used by Mozart, but by many other composers of the day, including Salieri and Martin Y Soler, just to mention a few. It appears plausable, that without Da Ponte's influence on Mozart, that these three masterpieces would be substantially different than what we know today.
   
   The book is well written, generally easy to read and will be appreciated by anyone interested in Da Ponte, Italian opera or the political intrigues of life in 18th century Vienna. Certainly a special interest book, but one that is an fascinating read.



2. DaPonte was a bon-vivant; a scholar, a poet, a gentleman-rogue who was always disappointed that the world did not revere him for all the effort he put into Italian culture internationally. As librettist to Mozart (and Salieri and others), he initiated a brilliant new style of opera; as a book-publisher and friend of Casanova he lived life large, in Italy (where he was thrown out for his amorous adventures), in Vienna (where he had to leave because of court intrigue), in Trieste(where he had to leave because he was starving), in London (where he left because of theatrical machinations), in New York (where he left because of a lack of business), in Philadelphia (where he ran a grocery and book store)--he was eternally optimistic, eternally misused and misunderstood, but always the happy warrior. HIs autobiography, from which Hodges quotes extensively (and is a merciful editor to his prolix style), is sometimes a catena of complaints against his "enemies" -who were everywhere, apparently. A most interesting book. Anyone with an interest in theater or opera at the end of the 18th century will love it.

1 comments about Jean Monnet: The First Statesman of Interdependence.

1. 
   The book consists of two parts, part one describes how the European Union developed with a supranational dimension and the role of Monnet in its establishment. It becomes very clear that without the supranational dimension the Union would never have been established and World War III would already have taken place. This first part reads like a novel. In the second part, "The Legacy" the ideas and methods are described that Jean Monnet used to achieve a successful European Union. This review concentrates on the second part.
   It is only possible to present to few of the ideas and methods. The title of the book is interesting, " The First Statesman of Interdependence". Interdependence refers to the fact that significant change in the actions of government can only be achieved by understanding the interdependency between, the prime minister, the other ministers, the bureaucracies of the ministers, the political parties, businessmen, the financial and business community and sometimes trade unions, not of one country but of several countries. Developing a solution requires the participation of these organisations. Monnet describes many different organisation structures for this purpose. All projects had a direct line to the president or prime minister. Monnet always saw to it that a single ministry never took over responsibility as rhat was the "kiss of death" for his type of project. Yet, he recognised that unless you brought the ministries and their bureaucracies along you would fail too.
   Another key factor was the choice of the core team working directly with him. He spent a lot of his time finding the right members of the core team and did not hesitate to reject recommendations of the prime minister and of other ministers.
   One of the methods Monnet used repeatedly was the "balance sheet". The balance sheet was a summary of all the resources material and immaterial necessary to solve a problem. These balance sheets were prepared involving all the persons with power and influence on implementing a solution. The "balance sheet" has the advantage that all organisations involved have to share information. The cabinet can only make an informed decision about priorities and an action plan based on a complete and holistic picture.
   Another important concept was the need of having a powerful central "actionable" idea that appeared self-evident and obvious when presented to persons in power. Monnet spent weeks in talk-shops with a group of extremely bright and argumentative people saying nothing and only listening in the first phase, inserting a few words in the second phase, and directing the discussion in the third and final phase. The formulation of an idea could easily require 30 drafts before presentation. Monnet went never to a meeting without having a draft of what he was proposing in front of him.
   One of the ideas he pursued was that war in Europe could only be avoided by creating a European organisation to which nations operationally delegated a part of their authority. This European organisation has as a consequence a supranational dimension. This led to the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1952 with Jean Monnet at its head. That organisation was the pioneering organisation that led to the European Economic Community or EEC (called Common Market in the UK) in 1956, leading to the European Union (EU) in 1993. I interviewed Jean Monnet in 1954 as a student, very inspiring!
   Monnet believed that the cause of war is that governments pursue policies that they believe are in the national interest without considering the interests of other governments. He considered that people are born with strong egocentric tendencies that lead to nationalistic behaviour of governments. This problem can therefore only be solved by creating an institution that can reconcile conflicts between nations, with sufficient power delegated to it for making decisions that the "sovereign" nations involved accept. Emmanuel Kant was the first one to forcefully formulate this truth in his essay "Perpetual Peace" (1891). This book presents a clear picture how incredibly difficult it is to get nations to delegate some of their authority to an independent supranational organisation.
   The view in Buddhism of human nature is less pessimistic. Buddhists believe that people are born with egocentric and altruistic tendencies and that the ego-centred tendencies can be mastered by training the mind. As a matter of interest, interdependence is also a central concept in Buddhism.
   This book is of great interest to people working in politics, government and for interested NGOs and management consultants. It is also of interest to businessmen that want to understand how a government functions and/or that are looking for ideas for making radical changes in the character of their companies.

No comments about Medieval Saints in Late Nineteenth Century French Culture: Eight Essays.

2 comments about The Highland Lady in Ireland: Journals 1840-50 (Canongate Classics, No. 41).

1. I don't think Elizabeth Grant ever intended this diary for other people to read - unlike her Memoirs, specifically written for her grandchildren. I think it was used to let off her frustration and anger during what must have been a stressful time. She was born into a wealthy and influential family, which through its own financial mismanagement lost all its own money and more. She, her asthmatic husband and her teenage family had to live off a run-down estate (her husband's brother had nearly ruined it) and an army invalid pension during the Famine, and they decided to stay and try to alleviate the ills of the Famine for their own tenants and the rest of their district too. It's hardly surprising that irritation and exasperation show up in spades - this diary must have been her only safe outlet. Anyone with huge, necessary investments to make and no money to do it with will understand her troubles. It's hardly surprising that any sort of mismanagement irritated her.

   If anyone wants to know about her father and brother, they should find out what they'd done by reading the footnotes, the Memoirs, and also : Rothiemurchus : nature and people on a Highland estate 1500-2000 / T.C. Smout & R.A. Lambert. Dalkeith : Scottish Cultural Press, 1999.

   Meanwhile she lists what the family was reading; what she was writing - earnings from her writing, not the estate's income, kept two local schools open and her daughters clothed - and the book ends with a real mother's angle on the first wedding among her children, including a complete list of the trousseau and wedding presents.

   Readers cannot help but learn something about the period from what she describes. Anyone who was critical of members of the Irish establishment and the activities of the British government during the Famine can hardly be faulted.




2. This book is an amazing piece of literature. It rings true, for the social and political issues of that particular time in Ireland/England/Scotland. It's rare that we get such a peek into the personal life of a person and the lives around her. She was a compassionate person, one who chose to stay and try to relieve the lives of her tenants. It is easy to shake our fingers at some of her pronouncements, especially about the Irish peasantry and culture around her, and the class bias is broad. However, she stayed (mostly) and is correct in her observations of the idle rich (the Milltowns, etc) and the opposite ends with the peasantry. Stupidity abounds in both reaches.
   
   I found her candor refreshing and some of what we would now consider 'politically incorrect', to ring true. There is stupidity in all classes, and the two extremes that she writes about sounds truthful even today.
   
   This is a very good book to read, not especially for what was happening politically or historically in that part of Ireland, but in the social behaviors of this class and culture. It is a special insight into a world that has so many of the same issues and challenges that we have today. Our response to issues might go in and out of fashion, but humanity doesn't really change.
   
   I would have loved to read her writings here before family members got ahold and fed to the fire.

No comments about In and Out of the Forest.

1 comments about The Shadows of Elisa Lynch: How a Nineteenth Century Irish Courtesan Became the Most Powerful Woman in Paraguay.

1. The ingredients of a great tragic opera are all there. Elisa Lynch, a mid-nineteenth's century Irish beauty escapes Algerian boredom to become a courtesan in Paris. She charms the dashing young son of Paraguay's founder of the nation and follows him to Asuncion. As the country modernises, the economy blossoms and expands, she rides the crest to become the country's richest and most powerful - if hardly the most loved or respected - woman. Her lover, now the Mariscal Presidente - gets himself involved in a war with Brazil. He loses as he must, and with his teen age son is killed on his retreat into the mountain wilderness of the interior. Elisa, who has steadied him in the battlefield while plundering the city and grabbing lands the size of Belgium, follows him to the end and buries and reburies them after drunken soldiers have violated the grave, then vanishes slowly in post-Napoleonic France.

   Was she a woman so cold that she could please anyone? Was it greed, ambition, circumstances - or simply all-overriding love? Hillary Clinton might know - but she would not tell.

   Nor, in the end can Siân Rees. Unlike in The Floating Brothel there is no human story from that time she can follow - just history. Unable to write a novel, she meanders like the Rio Paraguay among the marshes and the banks covered with orange trees and, searching for Elisa' Lynch' shadows, is lost emotionally.

   A great story but not quite the great historical book one would expect from a writer noted for her compassionate love and her ability to portray historical events through contemporary eyes, values, and sensibilities. I suspect that Siân knew it, and tried to hurry the job along. As a result it is too long, and confusingly told. The maps at the beginning are tantalising and they are useless. Between blancos and colorados she cannot quite make out who is who. Nor can the reader.

   But what a plot for a movie. Where are you, Luchino Visconti?

5 comments about An Evil Cradling: The Five-Year Ordeal of a Hostage.

1. I have recently read this book for my English class and I would have dropped it into the waste bin if it hadn't been my homework. Keenan's style is so egotistic and exaggrated you can't stand the book. His inner conflicts and complexes are all around the book. He keeps swapping between slang and his so-called academic language.



2. In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon and pursued the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), who were operating out of Beirut. A Multinational Force, in support of the then government, was set up in an attempt to stabilise the situation by separating the Muslim and Christian communities, however, by February 1984 the risks had become so great that the MNF was obliged to pull out of Lebanon, threatened by the prospects of civil war, and fearful of further terrorist attacks.

   The author of "An Evil Cradling", Brian Keenan, was taken prisoner a couple of years later, in 1986, and in this work he gives a gruelling account of his harsh and lonely imprisonment, enlightened mainly by vitally important snatches of human contact and interaction, largely with John McCarthy, a British journalist also held prisoner at the same time.

   Keenan left Ireland for Beirut in an attempt to flee the interminable, religious troubles of his homeland. It is true that by birth, he should have been less implicated in the religious conflicts of Lebanon, and yet ironically he came to suffer four and a half years of imprisonment, despite being an "outsider" to the difficulties in Beirut. He was an Irishman, not a Brit, an American or a Frenchman. His country had played no role in Lebanon and yet as an Irishman on the run, perhaps mistakenly taken for a Brit, he innocently fell into the very heart of the troubles. What he lived and felt is recounted here in beautifully written poetry and prose. It is a book which I know will remain engrained in my memory, and this being the case, I can only begin to imagine how much the experience will haunt him for the rest of his life.

   In my opinion, the most striking part of this book is the courage Keenan demonstrates in putting this experience on paper and confronting it head on.Rather than running away and hiding, he chooses to draw the most positive conclusions we could hope for with sanity and poise, conclusions which lead him to face the conflicts in Northern Ireland fearlessly. That is not to say that he escaped unscathed, far from it, but at least he tries to learn from what he suffered and attempts to share that learning with those willing to listen, and to try to understand. The intellectual and human strength demonstrated in this writing marked me forever.




3. I have reviewed this already. How come it is not linked?



4. What words describe this book?

   Powerful, disturbing, haunting and yet beautiful, inspirational, darkly humorous, certainly well written. Every emotion is experienced as one is taken into the dark world and life he lived. Every emotion stays alive within you for some time after reading it.

   Although the book describes in detail the horrible events of his hostage ordeal, the overwhelming theme is the absolute need and tremendous importance of human relationships, interdependancy and love. Mr. Keenan shows us the depths possible in friendship and trust. If these can sustain hostages in hell, certainly they can transform any life. He has caused me to re-evaluate my own human condition.

   Equally important in today's post-9/11 world, anyone who is asking what is in a terrorist's mind to drive them to such evil will find answers here. He describes the beliefs, motivations and values of those terrorists who held him - not much removed from those of today. Their world is in every sense foreign to "Westerners."

   It is an honor to have read this book. One is left thinking "God bless Brian and God help the rest of us."




5. This is undoubtedly one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It is not a chronological or day to day catalog of how one man survived an ordeal which most of us could only imagine (being held hostage in Lebanon for five? years because some terrorists mistook him for an Englishman, when he was actually Irish), but rather a look at how his inner resources helped him survive, and helps the reader understand what a resourceful and mentally strong will it takes to do so. This is a cut above, and frankly, a book that has not been far from my thoughts since I finished it...

No comments about In BOD We Trust: Brian O'Driscoll: The Biography of Ireland's Greatest Rugby Hero.

1 comments about Finest Hour:.

1. This quite simply one of the best books I have ever read. Its a fascinating & gripping chronoligical account of May-Dec 1940. May through Sep is covered on a daily basis. It inc. the personal accounts of Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Battle of the Atlantic inc. merchant seamen & evacuees, Blitz and Churchill's fight to stay in the war at the political level. It also inc. the accounts of 2 young US journalists Edward R Murrow and Whitelaw Reid as they change their opinions and consequently US opinion as well. The narrative is gripping & easy to read. The sheer close run thing comes home vividly as does the courage of the ordinary men & women as well as Churchill. I recommend the dvd of the same name from Amazon too. this inc. live interviews with many participnts in this book. Not all protaganists in this book have a happy ending so have tissues handy. A first class must read