1 comments about Happy Days: Mencken's Autobiography: 1880-1892 (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf).

1. H.L. Mencken temporarily resigned from his job as a newspaper columnist before the Second World War, deeming his political opinions too controversial for print. In the ensuing interregnal period, he focused his attention on writing a series of memoirs, which later turned into a three volume autobiography, of which Happy Days is the first part. In its pages, he relates his early fascination with police officers, food, literature and pedagogues, subjects that forever interested him. He also, astonishingly, recounts successful athletic exploits (astonishing because he grew into a rotund and stumpy man, who considered sports "nonsensical"). Readers familiar with Mencken's caustic columns will enjoy learning how his strong opinions were formed. Readers unfamiliar with him should still find this book highly palatable, for it is colorfully written, interfusing "the language of the free lunch counter" with latin phrases and searing adjectives. This memoir is as well-written as later newspaper columnist Russell Baker's "Growing Up," but is a hell of a lot funnier.

1 comments about The Man Who Died Twice: The Life and Adventures of Morrison of Peking.

1. Who is this guy? Why is he important? George Ernest Morrison is best known as the Peking correspondent for the Times of London during the fast changing early years of the 20th Century.
   
   From an historical perspective, perhaps the most useful part of this book is the section that describes the relationship between Morrison and Yuan Shikai after Morrison became a consultant to the Chinese government, which basically made him a special assistant to Yuan.
   
   But the writers of this book are not historians. History is not their strong point. They are journalists, so their strength, really, is in telling stories. Sometimes, though, the stories exist in isolation, because the authors do not have a good grasp of the historical context. For example, they talk about how the missionaries preached a message that was antithetical to Chinese culture (God sending his only Son to be killed), and quote Morrison on the futility of the missionaries' efforts:
   
   "Poor thing, it made me sad to talk to her. In England she lived in a bright and happy home with brothers and sisters in a charming climate. She was always well and full of life and vigor, surrounded by all that can make life worth living. In China she is never well; she is anemic and apprehensive; she has nervous headaches and neuralgia; her only relaxation is taking her temperature; her only diversion a prayer meeting...Her lover, a refined English gentleman who is also in the mission, lives a week's journey away in Chungking. In England he was full of strength and vigor, fond of boating and a good lawn tennis player. In China he is always ill, anemic, wasted and dyspeptic. But more agonizing than his bad health is the horrible reality of the unavailing sacrifice he is making--no converts but 'outcasts subsidized to forsake their family altars.' No man with a healthy brain can discern 'blessing' in the work of these two missionaries."
   
   For Morrison, a man who was not particularly religious, to conclude that the work of the missionaries was futile, is at least understandable. But the authors should have the benefit of history (or would if they knew it). David Aikman, former Beijing bureau chief for Time Magazine, estimates the number of Christians to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 million. Official government estimates are lower, because they only tabulate members of government approved churches, but most Christians in China meet informally in "family churches." Christianity is literally exploding in China, growing significantly faster than in the West. Clearly, the short term sacrifice endured by 19 Century missionaries produced a long term gain beyond what even they could have imagined. Morrison perhaps lived too close to the time to see it, but the authors of the book have no such excuse. This is not to take away from their skill as reporters. They are good story tellers, but the sloppiness of their history is distracting. These guys have obviously read a lot of books about Morrison, but they don't know that much about China.
   
   Nevertheless, as mentioned previously, the end of the book does provide some insight into the relationship between Morrison and Yuan Shikai, which means that we learn something of the personal life and foibles of Yuan, who was the pivotal figure in the transition from monarchy to republic--a transition of which he was the all too reluctant and conflicted facilitator.
   
   Yuan Shikai had been a general officer under the Empress dowager, but went along with the 1911 revolution presumably because he believed in the reform it promised, but possibly because he saw it as means for realizing his own power ambitions. Although Sun Yat-sen is often referred to as the first president of China, his service was never more than provisional (which is probably a good thing). His provisional term of office (three months) was prescribed an agreed to before he ever took office.
   
   But the strongest indication that Yuan Shikai was not a true reformer was that he himself actually tried to restore the empire with himself as emperor. It lasted for 83 days, and so disgusted the people, that it proved to be the last desperate self-destructive act of a man destined for oblivion. His ill-fated attempt is exemplified by the arrangement of himself and his concubines on the thrones of empire. Morrison describes the pathetic scene:
   
   "Yuan sitting with his crown; three crowns at his side for the first, second and third wives on descending levels. First wife came in arrayed; kowtowed; took her proper seat. Long delay and second wife (the Korean wife) failed to come. Send for peremptorily. She came in but refused to take her seat saying Yuan has promised her a throne on the same level as the Number One. Hearing this, Number One jumped down from the throne and went for Number Two with her fingers. The Master of Ceremonies, Wang Kan-nien was supervising the Enthronement but he could not lay impious hands on the struggling Empresses, whereupon Yuan waddled down from the throne and tried to separate the two combatants. Order was finally restored but the rehearsal was postponed."
   
   As this book is limited in scope, it could be somewhat confusing if you have never read anything about the Minguo period. But if you are somewhat familiar with the time and events, the book does add insight into the character of Yuan, and to a lesser extent, Sun Yat-sen, and the way they were viewed by their contemporaries.

2 comments about Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography.

1. Anthony Boucher has been a hero of mine since I first "met" him through his mystery reviews in the New York Times.
   After that I've read most of his mystery novels and short stories. I discovered with Mr. Mark's book, that there is more to read.
   Boucher was a true Renaissance man who could have produced more had it not been for his poor health.
   He was certainly a man to admire. The largest of the mystery cons, Bouchercon, was named in his honor.
   I learned more about this extraordinary man, the history of mystery writing in the 20th century and much about Boucher's reviewing standards and ethics.
   Jeff Marks has done the mystery community a great favor and done it well.
   Recommended for the true mystery aficionado.



2. One is grateful for the many facts presented in this extensively researched book. I deduct two stars for three reasons. (1) The author is incapable or unwilling to render intelligible the dominant role that Boucher's faith played in his life. (2) The proofreading is abominable. (3) Some of the précis of Boucher's stories contain errors so absurd that one is left in doubt whether Mr. Marks had ever read them.
   
   To take just Boucher's first novel, "The Case of the Seven of Calvary," we are told (p. 32) that Ryder is the Sanskrit translation of Ashwin. The text says the opposite. On the same page we are told that Ashwin exclaimed. "My dear Martin, this isn't a detective novel etc., etc." It was Paul Lennox who did the exclaiming, AND that exclamation is listed by Ashwin as one of the seven (or eight) crucial events that suggest the true solution of the crimes. (Chapter X, p. 247 in the first edition).
   
   Again, Mr. Marks tells us that in the short mystery story "Death of a Patriarch" the accused but innocent victim of the murdered man is kidnapped by communists. Boucher was a thirties and forties liberal for whom the communists were admirable folk. In the real story the young man is kidnapped by ANTI-communists (who are naturally called "fascists")

2 comments about The American Journey of Eric Sevareid.

1. The author's political beliefs frame this narrative. Does a good job of telling Sevareid's life, but Sevareid himself did a much better job in "Not So Wild a Dream." This book talks about Sevareid's womanizing and so on, but really does little to explain his misery. It does recount his rise and fall and is worthwhile because it does include some good quotes from Sevareid's analytical pieces (he detested that they be considered commentaries) on "The CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite." Unfortunately, this book just seems to set up a wall between the author and its subject that is difficult to explain. You get a much better understanding of the man in "Not So Wild a Dream," and the book "Murrow's Boys."



2. This straightforward biography of journalist Eric Sevareid (1912-1992) is worth reading. Author Raymond Schroth details Sevareid's upbringing in rural North Dakota and Minneapolis, his hiring by Ed Murrow, his long career with CBS, and his less than perfect retirement. Readers also learn about Sevareid's adventurous youth, troubled marriages, and bouts with melancholy and emotional insecurity. The book makes a nice companion to Sevareid's superb 1946 autobiography NOT SO WILD A DREAM, but also covers the man's later years. Sevareid moved millions with his sternly eloquent wisdom as he analyzed events for CBS radio and (later) television. The nation lost an important voice when CBS forced him out at age 65 - under a mandatory retirement policy they've since dropped. Sadly, he never wrote much in retirement, nor become a regular contributor to National Public Radio as have aged ex-CBS stalwarts Daniel Schorr, Richard B. Hotellet, and the late Bob Trout.

   The author is a Jesuit instructor of journalism and former boyhood fan of Sevareid's broadcasts. Like THE MURROW BOYS, this is a nice, readable companion to Sevareid's superb autobiography.

1 comments about Mark Twain, A Literary Life.

1. Mark Twain: A Literary Life builds upon earlier writings, exploring the relationships between Twain's life and his literary output. Biographical and literary background probes blend in an excellent survey which draws important links between the events in Twain's life and his literary productivity.

2 comments about I Must Say: Edwin Newman on English, the News, and Other Matters.

1. Hopefully, Mr Newman will read this review. That is, filled with hope, Mr Newman will read and not be disappointed.

   In this work Mr Newman comments on the lack of communication we see daily and the destruction of our language. He comments mostly by example, yet often offers the proper form.

   I had a few problems with the first chapters but was totally entertained for the duration of the book.




2. This is a collection of Mr. Newman's columns, written between 1984 and 1987. In addition to his observations on subjects ranging from smokeless tobacco and celebrity endorsements to British soccer fans and Sylvester Stallone, Newman includes more of his funny-yet-serious complaints about the current sloppiness of the American/English language. Today, in 2002, the problem is even worse. Witness the influx of "like" as in "I was going to go, like, to her house, like, before I went to the, like, beach."

   Let's hope in his next edition he'll include those gems bequeathed to us by TV jocks: "let's spend a moment of time with" and, heaven help us, the all-invasive "up close and personal," which no less than the Federal Government has adopted. To paraphrase the Good Book, the sins of TV announcers will be visited upon the third and fourth generations."

1 comments about Making Love to Typewriters.

1. Theodore Taylor died in late 2006, so his Making Love to Typewriters, in which he shares his life's writing and employment experiences and his deep, deep connection to the craft, is especially meaningful and poignant. Taylor was born to write and he does it extremely well. Reading of his love for writing and his experience feels to this reader as if Taylor is sitting in that upholstered chair across the room from me, speaking from his heart about using the Statesville Public Library as a child, driving to the Outer Banks in the old Chevy truck with his dad, covering major stories as a newspaper journalist, sailing on a geodetic survey ship in the Bikini Atolls - and the ideas for novels and books that evolved from those and other experiences. What wonderful reading! The reader lives Taylor's experiences so clearly, in all their excitement and color. More than worth the purchase price! An experience to last a llifetime.

1 comments about Inside Television's First War: A Saigon Journal.

1. This is a fantasic story of survival, love and a nation changed by war. Steinman takes the reader inside the war, and, even more; inside a culture. With an intimate look at the Vietnamese people, the author touches on emotions and aspects of life in the war-torn country that have been overlooked by so many other works written about this hard time in world history. This is not so much a story about the war, as it is about the people and how the war and the coverage of that war changed everything; for Vietnam and the world. I highly recommend this book.

No comments about Newspaperwoman.

No comments about Close To My Heart: An Autobiography.