The Case for Trump - Victor David Hanson

When it comes to politics, it all boils down to a question of whom to believe, much less trust. It's a complicated subject, and it takes a certain kind of writer, one experienced enough to neatly slice through all the baloney to reveal the truth in concise, understandable prose.  Victor Davis Hanson is that kind of writer.  Hanson is a California professor and military historian who has written a couple of dozen books on everything from the military history of ancient Greece to World War II history (I highly recommend The Second World Wars to anyone interested in the subject).

I've read several recent books on current events and what's going on in Washington D.C., but few of them much impress me because they seem to be little more than a regurgitation of news stories and opinion pieces that anyone paying attention already has seen for himself. Howard Kurtz's Media Madness is particularly bad about that - way too much chronological listing of events with way too little analysis of why it all happened and what it all really means.  In The Case for Trump, Hanson covers all of the same developments, but his insight, analysis, and organizational structure make it all seem fresh.

Victor David Hanson

The author is quick to give Donald Trump credit for the one thing that seems to have escaped his rivals in both parties: his recognition that 2016 was the perfect time to defend the American working people and appeal to them for help in putting him into a position where he could, in turn, repay the favor.  Hanson believes that a politician like Trump comes along only every once in a while (think Harry Truman, for instance) - and that so obviously an outsider will only be successful if the time is exactly right. Hanson goes on to argue that successive presidents in the Trump-mold would probably doom the country in the long run, but that at certain crisis points in her history, the United States cries out for just such a person. In 2016, according to the author, the U.S. found herself at one of those crisis points after a decade long cultural drift to the left that horrified enough voters to make Trump look very much like the potential savior they craved. 

In what is the most compelling chapter in the book, "Trump, the Tragic Hero?," Hanson makes exactly that point:

"Tragic heroes do not necessarily intend to be heroic. Sometimes their motives for confronting dangers or solving crises can just as easily be self-centered or arise from a desire for personal vengeance or fantasies of self-redemption or just an endless need for adulation." - Page 322

[...]

"The real moral question is not whether the gunslinger Trump could or should become civilized (...normalized as 'presidential'). Rather, the key is whether he could be of service at the opportune time and right place for his country, crude as he is."  Pages 341-342

 Interestingly, Hanson says, "The threatened establishment almost seems embarrassed that it had to stoop to find salvation in such anti-establishment methods - especially if they serve as reminders of its own feral and now happily forgotten past, and, far worse, its present inability to deal with the very world it created."

And there you have the "tragic" part of Donald Trump, the human being. No matter what good the man may accomplish in the end, he will remain a Washington outsider for the rest of his years. He will likely be discarded as soon as his usefulness ends. As Hanson puts it, "I doubt that president emeritus Trump will attend many future solemn ceremonial assemblages of ex-presidents."

Bottom Line: This one has a lot to say to those on both sides of the political spectrum if only they are willing to listen because, as usual, the real truth seems to be somewhere toward the middle of both extremes.

Book Number 3,391

Finding Dorothy - Elizabeth Letts

I imagine that most people of a certain age have at least a passing fondness and curiosity about the movie "The Wizard of Oz." That "certain age" spans several decades because the movie was released in 1939 and for many years (through 1980) it was broadcast annually on network television. But despite that interest in the movie, I doubt that many of us who grew up after the 1950s or so actually read the L. Frank Baum book upon which the film is based - or that we know very much at all about the author's personal life.

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts can change that. The book is based on research the author did concerning the shooting of the movie and the life of Baum. Baum's story is an interesting one, and the fact that he chose Maude Gage to be his wife, made it even more interesting. Gage was the daughter of a leading suffragist of the period, and she was raised to be an independent woman of strong will, something that was not particularly common in her day. 

The story is a series of flashbacks from 1939, when the movie was being shot, back to the 1870s and later while Frank Baum and Maude Gage were struggling to make a life together, a struggle that would continue right up until the point that Baum had the inspiration for his most famous book. The 1939 portion of the story sees Maude take the young Judy Garland under her wing while trying to make sure that the film would live up to her husband's beloved book.  Neither task was easy because the young Judy Garland was easy prey for those wanting to take advantage of her youth, and movie executives were not particularly protective of the book's content - after all, they had a movie to make.

Bottom Line: Fans of "The Wizard of Oz" will find this one hard to resist, but Finding Dorothy did leave me wishing that more time had been spent on the movie portion of the book. I learned a lot about both the film and Baum's biography, but I'm left with the feeling that too much meat was left on the bone.  I just have the feeling that this one could have been even better than it is.

63 Ways to Read 100 Books a Year

I've been looking back on some of my favorite posts from prior years tonight, and I thought this one was still kind of fun. It was originally posted in November 2011, and my personal situation has changed a bit: no 40-hour a week job, the grandkids are driving themselves around (the oldest is even a senior at Texas A&M now), things like that. So I have more time to read - but for some reason still read about the same number of books a year that I've always read. Anyway, I thought some of you might enjoy seeing it, and might even have some new tips to add to the end. Let me know, if so.

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My friends tell me I’m weird, that I don’t have a life.  I’m pretty sure they would say that about anyone who averages 125 books read per year, though, so I don’t take it personally.  Consider, too, that 125 books is a relatively low count when compared to the 250, 300, or 1,000 books that are read every year by some people I’ve met on the Internet (I suppose that means some people are just exceptionally weird).  And, honestly, if you push me hard enough, I’ll tell you how weird I think people are who don’t read more than five or six books a year…or (shudder) even read none.

Now let me tell you about my other life – the one that happens when I’m not reading – the one that takes up most of my time.  I work slightly more than forty hours per week on the job that pays for the books on my shelves.  I am an avid sports fan  (Houston Texans season ticket holder) who attends professional sporting events on a regular basis.  I have three very active grandchildren whom I help cart around all over town to their own activities, activities that often have me in the viewing audience: dance classes and recitals, pee wee league football games, little league baseball games, and the like…and I’m still happily married to the woman who loves to help me decide how we are going to spend our spare time.

So how does anyone read a large number of books per year?  Well, it’s pretty easy, actually.  These tips are guaranteed to up your reading count.  Pick the ones you feel comfortable with, and let me know if they work for you or not.  If you want to add to the list, please let me know and I’ll credit you guys with numbers 55 forward.

1. Read during your lunch hour, something especially easy to do if you eat at your desk each day
2. Read the first thing every morning - get up 15 minutes early and begin your day by reading a few pages
3. Turn off the television set - or, better yet, don't turn it on (See number 4, below)
4. Use your DVR to record the television you really want to see - quit channel surfing your evenings away
5. Don't get lost inside Facebook or Twitter for hours and hours of your precious spare time - it's easy to catch up when you log back in
6. Read while brushing your teeth - especially easy if you use an electric toothbrush with a built in timer
7. Read when stuck in lines at banks, government offices, etc.
8. Read while stuck behind long lines of traffic at slow stop lights
9. Listen to recorded books while commuting
10. Stay excited and informed about new books being published
11. Browse bookstores and grab whatever catches your eye - first impressions are important
12. Find two or three authors whose work you love - and read everything they've written
13. Change your reading pattern/rut - alternate fiction with nonfiction, biographies with travel books, etc.
14. Have reading apps on your smart phone - use them when you are trapped in a boring place all alone
15. Set reading goals and speak of them publicly
16. Keep a running list of what you read
17. Join a book club
18. Visit your local library regularly, especially the "new books section"
19. Read the classics from your favorite genre - books by the early masters of scifi, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.
20. Read from a list of winners and nominees: Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Man Booker
21. Read translated novels and painlessly learn what makes other cultures tick
22. Specialize in authors from particular countries or geographical regions
23. Read local authors
24. Re-read books that excited you as a young reader
25. Read the classics - guaranteed to be better than you remember them from high school or college
26. Find a bookstore specializing in what you enjoy reading most
27. Find a reading buddy or two whose taste and recommendations you can trust
28. Be a reading mentor to a child or young adult
29. Use your credit card points to add to your book budget - the Barnes & Noble credit card is perfect for book lovers
30. Read lots of book blogs, both individual and corporately sponsored ones
31. Become aware of your activities that do nothing but pointlessly kill time; pick up a book instead
32. When watching television alone, read during those endless commercial breaks
33. Always have more than one book in progress
34. Always know what your next book is going to be
35. Trade books with friends and family members
36. Buy used books to stretch your book budget
37. Become a book collector specializing in an author, genre, publisher, decade, etc.
38. Attend book signings at local bookstores
39. Attend public readings at local colleges and universities
40. Volunteer to read to struggling readers at local elementary schools
41. Volunteer to read to the elderly with failing eyesight
42. Read books about books - about bookstores, collectors, fakers, mysteries, libraries
43. Attend state book festivals - they draw large numbers of authors to one site
44. Treasure hunt in used book bookstores
45. Watch movies made from books and compare the two versions (books always win)
46. Collect signed books
47. Read debut novels from fresh voices
48. Participate in web-based book exchanges
49. Browse the shelves of friends and relatives; you might learn something new about them and yourself
50. Shop at Friends of the Library book sales
51. Always carry a spare book in your car - you never know when you're going to need it
52. Keep an e-book reader in your coat pocket
53. Take advantage of all the free, or very cheap, e-book offers out there
54. Read on your monitor screen when all else fails
55. Read while your small children are napping (courtesy of Jeanne)
56. Read while nursing your baby (courtesy of Jeanne)
57. Add valuable reading hours to your week by using public transportation for commuting (courtesy of Ted)
58. Download audio books to your iPod and listen to them while working out or doing chores around the house (courtesy of Sally)
59. Keep book of favorite quotes found while reading (courtesy of Susan Sanders)
60. Read while fishing (courtesy of Susan Sanders)
61. Read while monitoring kids in bath (courtesy of Susan Sanders)
62. Read books mentioned in other books you are reading (courtesy of Santosh)
63. Read while fishing - during those downtimes when the fish aren't cooperating (courtesy of Jenclair)

Houston Noir - Various Houston-Associated Writers

Houston Noir is one of the latest books in what has become a favorite series of mine, the Akashic Books noir short story collections.  My quick (and probably inaccurate) count of the titles already published comes to 100, with another dozen on the way. That serves as a reminder that even though I've read at least 15 of the books, I've barely scratched the surface of what the series has to offer fans of dark crime fiction.

In full disclosure, I need to say that I have lived in Houston for almost five decades, so this title is one I've really been looking forward to reading.  The fourteen stories are set in various Houston neighborhoods and suburbs (including the one I live in), and most of the stories do a very good job of capturing the unique atmospheres of each of the locations, something I both appreciated and enjoyed. 

As in most short story collections I've read, a few of the stories are particularly memorable and enjoyable. My personal favorites include "One in the Family" by Adrienne Perry, about a young woman who stalks her college financial aid advisor because of his callous attitude; "Where the Ends Meet" by Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, a story about horrific human trafficking; and "Happy Hunting" by Icess Fernandez Rojas, one about two vigilantes in search of a serial killer.

Houston Noir is fun, and it further confirms my love of the whole series. Give it a look - and you might be hooked, too.

Robin - Dave Itzkoff

Dave itzkoff's "Robin" is a poignant look at the life (and untimely death) of one of the biggest stars in show business history, Robin Williams.  Those who witnessed the sudden emergence of Robin Williams as a full-fledged star of the weird TV sit-com "Mork & Mindy" likely remained fans from that moment on, and were terribly shocked by what seemed to be his inexplicable suicide. We all wondered how such a talented man, one who made others so happy, could have reached the level of despair necessary to create such a tragic final act for himself. Itzkoff tells us how and, more importantly, why it happened.

"Robin" is about more than the tragic death of Robin Williams, however. It is a first-rate biography that delves deeply into Robin's childhood, his parents and grandparents, his marriages, his relationship with his children, his hard work to attain stardom, his close friends, and lastly, the slow transformation into despair and ill health that cost the man his life.

Finally, speaking as a great fan of Robin Williams, "Robin" is one of the saddest books I've ever read

Book Chase Is Back - Are You Still Out There?

This is a testing-of-the-waters post of sorts because I've been away from the world of blogging for almost exactly two years due to health issues. During a period of just over 24 months I was involved in two major car accidents (hit once by a drunk driver and once by a driver who ran through a red light at 50 miles an hour) and in a separate accident during which I fell and broke my left hip. Needless to say, the recovery/recoveries have been a long, slow process, but I'm finally feeling like this might be the time to try my hand at book-blogging again. 

The book cover I show is a bit of a personal, inside joke because it pretty much reflects the last two years of my daily life, a rather dark time that I hope is finally behind me. 

I suspect that I've lost all past readers, and that it will never be quite the same, but I want to see what happens. So it you're still out there, please let me hear from you.

I will begin with an abbreviated book review or two just to see how it goes from there. Thanks.