Read any good books lately? I have - two of them actually, one fiction and one non-fiction. I'll assume that you're consumed with curiosity and give you a couple of mini reviews!
The first one was "Idiot Proof: Deluded Celebrities, Irrational Power Brokers, Media Morons, and the Erosion of Common Sense" written by Francis Wheen, and published by Public Affairs, New York.The book is sold under the title "How Mumbo-Jumbo COnquered the World" in the UK> The jacket tells the reader that the book is "a masterful depiction of the daftness of our times and a plea that we might just think a little more and believe a little less." Don't read this one unless you pride yourself on an open mind, but if you do, be prepared to be shaken up more than just a little. It seems that almost everyone who has held the public's attention comes in for a scathing rake over the coals, from Nostradamus to Princess Di, the Ayatollah to G. Bush. While it is not so upsetting to read Princess Di being treated with less than the fawning adulation that so many gave and continue to give her, it is most disturbing to read some of the details disclosed about major political figures. I won't even go near Bush. Leave him right now to Michael Moore, because there is no end to that man's narrow-minded stupidity. Let's take a quick peek instead atTony Blair. Hot-to-trot in Bush's footsteps, Blair has sent how many troops to Iraq? Anyway, he is a born-again ... a born-again ... well, exactly what, I am not sure, but be sure to read on page 126/7 about the Mayan rebirth ritual he and his wife underwent , in Mexico, in 2001. Before leaving the rebirth site, the couple were instructed to scream out loud to symbolize the pain of birth. After reading it, think of this character at the helm of political power and see if it doesn't make you want to scream out loud to signify the pain of his being there. His wife's influence has resulted in the government hiring a feng-shui consultant, Renuka Wickmaratne, for advice on such matters as how to improve inner-city council estates. She advised red and orange flowers to reduce crime. You have to wonder, how much was this veritable fount of wisdom paid, from taxpayers' funds, to spout off this misguided mental meandering? Of course, I may be wrong. Maybe it really does work, but again, it raises questions, like why haven't a veritable jungle of red and orange blooms been planted in all the slums and crime hotspots, in all the districts worldwide, where police officers fear to travel alone?
The book ends with 17 pages of endnotes that include sources galore for further reading, if you're up to it after the onslaught of this manuscript. Wheen goes to great lengths to make it clear to his reader that the safety and security of our world is on much shakier ground than they would ever want to imagine. As he says in the last paragraph of the volume, "those who refuse to learn from experience ... are not only condemning themselves to repeat the past. They wish to consign us all to a life in the darkness."
The second book "The Third Witch" is the first novel by author Rebecca Reisert, and published by Washington Square Press. If you like historical fiction, then you're already well on the way to enjoying this read. She writes with such a sense of urgency, that it is damn near impossible to put the book down until you've turned the last page. The witch of the title is the youngest of the three who rise up from the fog, in Shakespeare's play, to confront MacBeth. Reisert constructs a life story for this character out of the richness of an imagination that is, nonetheless, well grounded in the reality of that period. Her descriptions of castle life and the struggle for existence of those who dwell in huts paint pictures rich in detail without ever overburdening the flow of the narrative. The main character, Gilly, comes from a former life of being the pampered daughter of privilege, to the present where she ekes out an existence in the company of the two old women who rescued her when her world fell apart. They rob the dead on the battlefields, and gather whatever bounty the forest offers. Herbs are gathered to exchange for foodstuffs with the good sisters at a nearby convent, but herblore places its possessor in constant danger of being hunted as a witch. In fact, the witch hunters come to play a significant role in Gilly's life. She is consumed with a need for revenge on the man who brought about the first disaster in her life, and pursues that goal with single-minded purpose, against the urgings of her companions, and even of her own heart. There is much sorrow and hardship in wait for the heroine, before her problems finally resolve themselves in a way most unlooked for. At 307 pages, I found the book to be satisfyingly long enough, and disappointingly short, all at the same time. Write another book, Ms. Reisert! I'll be there at Chapters to grab up my copy!
The first one was "Idiot Proof: Deluded Celebrities, Irrational Power Brokers, Media Morons, and the Erosion of Common Sense" written by Francis Wheen, and published by Public Affairs, New York.The book is sold under the title "How Mumbo-Jumbo COnquered the World" in the UK> The jacket tells the reader that the book is "a masterful depiction of the daftness of our times and a plea that we might just think a little more and believe a little less." Don't read this one unless you pride yourself on an open mind, but if you do, be prepared to be shaken up more than just a little. It seems that almost everyone who has held the public's attention comes in for a scathing rake over the coals, from Nostradamus to Princess Di, the Ayatollah to G. Bush. While it is not so upsetting to read Princess Di being treated with less than the fawning adulation that so many gave and continue to give her, it is most disturbing to read some of the details disclosed about major political figures. I won't even go near Bush. Leave him right now to Michael Moore, because there is no end to that man's narrow-minded stupidity. Let's take a quick peek instead atTony Blair. Hot-to-trot in Bush's footsteps, Blair has sent how many troops to Iraq? Anyway, he is a born-again ... a born-again ... well, exactly what, I am not sure, but be sure to read on page 126/7 about the Mayan rebirth ritual he and his wife underwent , in Mexico, in 2001. Before leaving the rebirth site, the couple were instructed to scream out loud to symbolize the pain of birth. After reading it, think of this character at the helm of political power and see if it doesn't make you want to scream out loud to signify the pain of his being there. His wife's influence has resulted in the government hiring a feng-shui consultant, Renuka Wickmaratne, for advice on such matters as how to improve inner-city council estates. She advised red and orange flowers to reduce crime. You have to wonder, how much was this veritable fount of wisdom paid, from taxpayers' funds, to spout off this misguided mental meandering? Of course, I may be wrong. Maybe it really does work, but again, it raises questions, like why haven't a veritable jungle of red and orange blooms been planted in all the slums and crime hotspots, in all the districts worldwide, where police officers fear to travel alone?
The book ends with 17 pages of endnotes that include sources galore for further reading, if you're up to it after the onslaught of this manuscript. Wheen goes to great lengths to make it clear to his reader that the safety and security of our world is on much shakier ground than they would ever want to imagine. As he says in the last paragraph of the volume, "those who refuse to learn from experience ... are not only condemning themselves to repeat the past. They wish to consign us all to a life in the darkness."
The second book "The Third Witch" is the first novel by author Rebecca Reisert, and published by Washington Square Press. If you like historical fiction, then you're already well on the way to enjoying this read. She writes with such a sense of urgency, that it is damn near impossible to put the book down until you've turned the last page. The witch of the title is the youngest of the three who rise up from the fog, in Shakespeare's play, to confront MacBeth. Reisert constructs a life story for this character out of the richness of an imagination that is, nonetheless, well grounded in the reality of that period. Her descriptions of castle life and the struggle for existence of those who dwell in huts paint pictures rich in detail without ever overburdening the flow of the narrative. The main character, Gilly, comes from a former life of being the pampered daughter of privilege, to the present where she ekes out an existence in the company of the two old women who rescued her when her world fell apart. They rob the dead on the battlefields, and gather whatever bounty the forest offers. Herbs are gathered to exchange for foodstuffs with the good sisters at a nearby convent, but herblore places its possessor in constant danger of being hunted as a witch. In fact, the witch hunters come to play a significant role in Gilly's life. She is consumed with a need for revenge on the man who brought about the first disaster in her life, and pursues that goal with single-minded purpose, against the urgings of her companions, and even of her own heart. There is much sorrow and hardship in wait for the heroine, before her problems finally resolve themselves in a way most unlooked for. At 307 pages, I found the book to be satisfyingly long enough, and disappointingly short, all at the same time. Write another book, Ms. Reisert! I'll be there at Chapters to grab up my copy!
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