Reviews – Page 6 – The Book Blog

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

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To take up a Pulitzer prize-winning book that has consistently sold in the millions, and appear to take it apart, may seem like an act of iconoclasm. I shall therefore begin by saying that it is one very enjoyable read. Neither did the film version ( Angela’s Ashes [DVD] [2000]) disappoint me, at least, it is one of those rarest of experiences when you sit and watch an adaptation of a book and are forced by the end to acknowledge the makers did a better job than you might have done, despite “two and a half hours of rain”..

The book quote on the back neatly summarises the contents: “When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood”.. You can see why this quote was chosen over any other to sell the book, it combines the comfortable certainty of a publisher with another abused child story on the desk, with the skeptical but human reaction, ‘I bet it wasn’t really as bad as all that.. was it?’

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Wildlife of Scotland

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Wildlife of Scotland (1979) Fred Holliday (ed)

In this 1979 198 page book, commissioned by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, eleven writers have presented a comprehensive, yet personal survey of the wildlife inhabiting Scotland’s rich and varied landscape. Man’s influence upon the land and the animals, past and present, has been given special attention, and inevitably sounds a warning for the future.

People are not now so directly dependent upon the land, communications are vastly improved, wildlife is increasingly accepted as a source of pleasure and deserving of protection, and hence there is reason for optimism. However, it is certainly reasonable in return to collectively and individually conserve the habitats of native wildlife, to minimise or eliminate the loss of plant and animal species regardless of how aesthetically pleasing or useful on a practical level..

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The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528) by William Tyndale

This is a Guest blog by Mr Roy Elliot. My thanks to him for permission to reproduce it here.

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The Obedience of a Christian Man (Penguin Classics)

Influential remarkable book written almost 500 years ago

This remarkable book needs to be set in context. It was written almost 500 years ago, during the brutal persecution of those who believed the simple Gospel and in the absolute authority of “Scripture alone”.

William Tyndale, a gifted scholar educated at Oxford and ordained a priest, saw at first hand the widespread corruption within the Roman Catholic Church.

Rome believed that it could not err and it held ultimate power even over the king and government. A core belief was, and still is, that “Church Tradition” holds equal, or even more authority than the Bible. The Church went to extreme lengths to prevent the ordinary folk from having any independent understanding of the Bible, particularly in what it said regarding purgatory, confessing sins to a priest, the selling of indulgences, praying to Mary, praying to Saints, salvation by works and money payments, etc…

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Cast Away- 2001 DVD

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Cast Away (2 Disc Set) [DVD] [2001],

One might describe the character of Chuck Noland, played convincingly by Tom Hanks, as the latest reincarnation of Robinson Crusoe.

FedEx employee Chuck Noland ( C No-land?), an inveterate trouble-shooter, workaholic and clock watcher, finds himself alone on the shores of a tropical island following a horrific plane crash.

The plane crash sequence for me at least, appeared so terrifying I imagine the in-flight movie market for this film was severely affected. Reminds me of watching ‘Titanic’ on a cross-channel ferry once..

He is the sole survivor. First, frustration at the predicament gets to him and then, as hopes of rescue fade, it dawns on him that his chances of getting back home are slim.. Four years go by; and Chuck has learned how to survive on his own, with only the natural resources of the island and several Fed-Ex package contents that he uses. He vows to himself to deliver one someday, and leaves it unopened..

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Wild Wales (1862) by George Borrow

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Wild Wales (1862) by George Borrow, The people, language and scenery, Chapter XCIX (99)

It has been said you will likely learn more about George Borrow than about Wales when reading this book. It is well worth reading, but the sub-title is very misleading! Borrow was a

Norfolk man, with a passion for all things Welsh, and proud of the knowledge of Welsh he acquired from books. One of his many eccentricities was a habit of correcting the Welsh of his tolerant listeners! I hope by quoting the following encounter at an inn at ‘Gutter Vawr’ (Goitre Fawr), a sense of his enthusiastic style and attitude may be discerned. This was after all, the era of Stanley and Livingstone ( “Dr Livingstone, I presume?“), and before the English went forth empire building, they practiced nearer home. Borrow was never slow to air an opinion, or hide a well-honed prejudice, such that it is worth remembering that those readers familiar with his writings, discern a generosity of spirit at variance with a casual encounter. We should of course not forget the attitude of his contemporaries, when most men of his standing would consider it beneath their dignity to even acknowledge the presence of the people Borrow happily converses with. What a contrast to today’s hectic pace, was Borrows’ casual scheme to leisurely walk the length of Wales!

THE old woman who confronted me in the passage of the inn turned out to be the landlady. On learning that I intended to pass the night at her house, she conducted me into a small room on the right-hand side of the passage, which proved to be the parlour. It was cold and comfortless, for there was no fire in the grate. She told me, however, that one should be lighted, and going out, presently returned with a couple of buxom wenches, who I soon found were her daughters. The good lady had little or no English; the girls, however, had plenty, and of a good kind too. They soon lighted a fire, and then the mother inquired if I wished for any supper.

“Certainly,” said I, “for I have not eaten anything since I left Llandovery. What can I have?”

“We have veal and bacon,” said she.

“That will do,” said I; “fry me some veal and bacon, and I shan’t complain. But pray tell what prodigious noise is that which I hear on the other side of the passage?”

“It is only the miners and the carters in the kitchen making merry,” said one of the girls.

“Is there a good fire there?” said I.

“Oh yes,” said the girl, “we have always a good fire in the kitchen….”

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And They Blessed Rebecca, by Pat Molloy

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And They Blessed Rebecca: An Account of the Welsh Toll Gate Riots, 1839-1844 (1983) by Pat Molloy

Sometimes with popular heroes, historical or recent, the Robin Hoods or the Che’ Guevaras, hard facts can detract from the legend. An in-depth look at the popular uprisings in Wales a century and a half ago, known as the Rebecca Riots, does not detract from the excitement and genuine feelings of a people who took hope from expressing their disgust at extortion and injustice.
The Rebecca Riots have become a powerful and emotive part of Welsh folklore, conveying through the years the spirit of a long and continuing resistance to English domination and exploitation, for attacks on the toll gates in the dead of night, by men with blackened faces, and disguised as women, were only part of the story. Discontentment in rural Wales ran far deeper than mere annoyance with having to pay the excessive and arbitrary road tolls at legal, and worse, illegally erected gates, and that discontent took many forms.

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Lincoln the Unknown by Dale Carnegie

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Lincoln the Unknown, by Dale Carnegie

What do you really know about Abraham Lincoln? Before reading this book, first published way back in 1932, my knowledge could have been summed up like this: He was the president of the American Civil War. He was the president who made a famous speech after Gettysburg and emancipated the slaves. He was hated enough by some, that he was assassinated. Today he is revered as a protector of American democracy, and has a famous memorial in Washington D.C. Carnegie wrote this book after realizing he too, only knew the bare facts. There is so much more..

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The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power

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For those who hold to the view of the world comprising Politics, Religion and Commerce, this subject needs no introduction. For those concerned about current news items such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill (see footnote) this work is also illuminating. For those who think a change in political administration will solve the problem, think again.

Joel Bakan, Canadian professor of law and author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power examines corporate misdeeds that have gone largely unpunished, and the consequences, some of which are simply shocking. Take the “externalisation” of costs, well-illustrated by the example of a corporation using cheap labour in a country where people are desperate, near starvation, but moving on elsewhere when the people are no longer so poor, or better equipped to defend themselves. Come to think of it, is this why work once done in Britain is now done in India or Eastern Europe? As the west faces competition from the emerging Asian economies, it is clear that even social costs are being externalised in the pursuit of profit and greed. (Externalization is the effects on third parties who ordinarily play no role in the initial transaction. I would draw a parallel to military-speak for civilian deaths during conflict: ‘collateral damage’ ) The pattern may also be seen by the Japanese economy now, say, compared with thirty years ago.

This book and the film ( The Corporation [DVD] [2006]) sounds a valid warning, an accessible introduction to the problematic nature of large corporations who seemingly have symptoms of psychopathy, compared, for example, with a callous disregard for the feelings of other people, the incapacity to maintain human relationships, a reckless disregard for the safety of others, deceitfulness (continual lying to protect profits), the incapacity to experience remorse or guilt, and the failure to conform to social norms and respect for the law.

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