24 January 2011
My Current Reading List and the "Seven Circles of European History"
Hasn't January just flown by? I have been reading a lot, because I am avoiding national politics on the major networks. I should also mention that I received a Kindle for Christmas. I love my Kindle! I especially like the ability to sample books before buying; all three samples resulted in not buying any of them. However, I have two ongoing books on Kindle. The price is right, though not as reasonable as is the Murrieta Public Library.
I find the Kindle to be very handy when taking my car in for service or for waiting room reading at the doctor's office. It is so convenient, especially with a case that has a stand in its cover. It's great for reading at Denny's or another restaurant if eating by myself. It is less noticeable than having a laptop beside your salad plate and it allows me to use both hands for eating. I'm not able to use the iPad to its full advantage plus I hope that its price will come down to an affordable one.
My first book (on Kindle) is a newly published biography of Theodore Roosevelt's life after office: Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. William Howard Taft is President (1910-1914). In 1912, Roosevelt travels through Central Africa then down the Nile through Sudan and Egypt to Cairo. Animal lovers may want to skip that section of the book. Roosevelt was famous for his hunting expertise. From Cairo he travels to Italy with his wife and daughters. This portion is a very interesting glimpse into the high society and politics just prior to the outbreak of World War I. The rest of the book is about Roosevelt, the Republican Party Progressives and his break with the Republican Party for the 1914 Presidential election. This biography, so far, is a reminder that if we forget or do not learn from history, we are bound to repeat it.
The second book is a mystery/thriller by Dan Fesperman, The Arms Maker of Berlin. I have just started it, so no review as yet. It reads well.
The internet technology brings several sources of news and commentary of a myriad of subjects. One, in particular, "the Eurozine" is great for learning what is being written in Europe, from the perspectives of several journals. It has links to full articles of interest, plus it may include a longer article separate from the abstracts. It's free, too.
In its December 20, 2010, edition, there is an excellent treatise on migration, immigration, past sins and memories that affect European countries today: "Seven Circles of European History", an excerpt from the Introduction to Ein Schlachtfeld wird besichtigt. Der Kampf um die europäische Erinnerung [A Battlefield is Surveyed. The Struggle over European Memory], to be published in 2011, by C. H. Beck, Munich.
Mr. Beck's writing is devoid of American perspective, although our country's role is interwoven among his descriptions and analyses of European history. I am not sure why he uses the paradigm of Dante's seven circles of Hell. I think the historians among you will enjoy it as well.
Beck omits one part of European history that we in America experienced with great effect on our nation's development. There is no mention of the millions of Europeans who emigrated to America in the 19th and 20th Centuries. The reduced populations in European countries must have fared very differently than had this huge migration not occurred. The Irish were starving and the English government could not feed them; poverty in other countries caused many to emigrate; and the religious minorities and persecuted religious communities such as German and Russian Anabaptists [Amish, Mennonite, Brethren], separatist sects from major Protestant religions, and those who were persecuted or suffered from not belonging to the state religions in Europe. America and American democracy evolved from including immigrants into the whole of society.
It seems to me that the European democracies are just learning the demographic and political imperative to learn the difference between statehood as cultural and historical, social homogeneity and statehood as inclusive, political and cultural community. This article explains some major hurdles European Union and individual states now face.
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I find the Kindle to be very handy when taking my car in for service or for waiting room reading at the doctor's office. It is so convenient, especially with a case that has a stand in its cover. It's great for reading at Denny's or another restaurant if eating by myself. It is less noticeable than having a laptop beside your salad plate and it allows me to use both hands for eating. I'm not able to use the iPad to its full advantage plus I hope that its price will come down to an affordable one.
My first book (on Kindle) is a newly published biography of Theodore Roosevelt's life after office: Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. William Howard Taft is President (1910-1914). In 1912, Roosevelt travels through Central Africa then down the Nile through Sudan and Egypt to Cairo. Animal lovers may want to skip that section of the book. Roosevelt was famous for his hunting expertise. From Cairo he travels to Italy with his wife and daughters. This portion is a very interesting glimpse into the high society and politics just prior to the outbreak of World War I. The rest of the book is about Roosevelt, the Republican Party Progressives and his break with the Republican Party for the 1914 Presidential election. This biography, so far, is a reminder that if we forget or do not learn from history, we are bound to repeat it.
The second book is a mystery/thriller by Dan Fesperman, The Arms Maker of Berlin. I have just started it, so no review as yet. It reads well.
The internet technology brings several sources of news and commentary of a myriad of subjects. One, in particular, "the Eurozine" is great for learning what is being written in Europe, from the perspectives of several journals. It has links to full articles of interest, plus it may include a longer article separate from the abstracts. It's free, too.
In its December 20, 2010, edition, there is an excellent treatise on migration, immigration, past sins and memories that affect European countries today: "Seven Circles of European History", an excerpt from the Introduction to Ein Schlachtfeld wird besichtigt. Der Kampf um die europäische Erinnerung [A Battlefield is Surveyed. The Struggle over European Memory], to be published in 2011, by C. H. Beck, Munich.
Mr. Beck's writing is devoid of American perspective, although our country's role is interwoven among his descriptions and analyses of European history. I am not sure why he uses the paradigm of Dante's seven circles of Hell. I think the historians among you will enjoy it as well.
Beck omits one part of European history that we in America experienced with great effect on our nation's development. There is no mention of the millions of Europeans who emigrated to America in the 19th and 20th Centuries. The reduced populations in European countries must have fared very differently than had this huge migration not occurred. The Irish were starving and the English government could not feed them; poverty in other countries caused many to emigrate; and the religious minorities and persecuted religious communities such as German and Russian Anabaptists [Amish, Mennonite, Brethren], separatist sects from major Protestant religions, and those who were persecuted or suffered from not belonging to the state religions in Europe. America and American democracy evolved from including immigrants into the whole of society.
It seems to me that the European democracies are just learning the demographic and political imperative to learn the difference between statehood as cultural and historical, social homogeneity and statehood as inclusive, political and cultural community. This article explains some major hurdles European Union and individual states now face.
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