6. Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World



I think Ms. MacMillan's a bit biased. After all, the author is the great-granddaughter of David Lloyd George, one of the three major players in this book about the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Lloyd George was Prime Minister of the UK and an architect of what would become the tangled mess of new nations and divided peoples in the wake of World War I.

MacMillan's book is a WWI history-buff's treasure, full of details not just about the major powers but all the lesser squabbles (that later in the century took center stage. Balkans, I'm looking at you) and their players. Lloyd George is one of many major players, along with US President Woodrow Wilson (pushing his League of Nations) and the irascible French PM Georges Clemenceau, who pepper this book with personality.

Those three also come off less harshly than other historians might claim.

The prose is crisp as a fall leaf...and sometimes as dry. On the balance, I was engaged. I don't know about you, but non-fiction for me is just as fascinating and enthralling as fiction, with the added bonus of having happened. The only downside, especially with a topic as ranging and complex as the fallout from World War I, is the volume of data that must be conveyed to understand the good stuff.

What I knew about the peace talks was informed by the few world and European history classes I'd taken over my academic career. The conference produced the Treaty of Versailles, and quite directly, World War II. That would've been my one-line description of all that took place in the City of Lights during 1919.

According to MacMillan, I am half right. Yes, that ubiquitous treaty was produced by the victors and Germany signed it, but MacMillan argues that the treaty did not have to lead to another world war. It's an important conclusion of the book, one I'm not sure she - or other histories - support. Here too is where the Big 3, and many other Allied diplomats, get off with a slap on the wrist: they are seen as punishing Germany within its means, not realizing the destabilizing influence of the treaty or the extremists (left and right) who were waiting for just such an opening to forge a new nation.

But the fate of Germany, how bad the war reparations really were (or could be, or weren't) and the rise of extreme nationalism are supplemental topics left for closing paragraphs and epilogues. She concerns herself more with the whole of the conference, the road from Armistice Day through the end of 1919.

(The 1920 treaties are mentioned as well, but for all intents, this book tracks the first six months of 1919 ending in Versailles as the main "story," with the other four or five major treaties the [much-needed] secondary narratives.)

I enjoyed it, though it took me a while. In fact, I had this book on my shelf for nearly two years (and it was borrowed from a co-worker who, when I read it, had been gone for over a year himself!) before deciding it was time to get it out of the way. I'm glad I did, as it rounded my perspective on this important year in world history.

What I most took away is how screwed up the Balkan and Eastern European delegations were and how their rabid nationalism and racism was a poison that slowly took control of everything between Russia and Germany and on down to the Mediterranean. And today, the same prejudices aren't far out of mind in the fragile, post-Communist countries.

Few realize that much of the international woes we face now started, in large part, in the apartments of Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau...with a little help from delegations large and small, European and not, totalitarian, democratic, socialist and theocratic. The divvying up of Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe and to a lesser extent Asia: these major acts have led to countless deaths, small wars and what we perceive as "terrorism."

Solutions to these problems require an understanding of their origins. And this is as good a book as any to get the ball rolling.


-Erik

5. & 7. Along Came a Spider; Kiss the Girls



Along Came A Spider; Kiss the Girls
by James Patterson


Until these two, I hadn't read a James Patterson book (though I frequently had the half-hour required to down one...). These are his first Alex Cross mysteries, introducing the Washington, D.C.-based detective and his supporting cast. You might've seen the big screen adaptations featuring Morgan Freeman as Cross.

Please read these books if you even remotely enjoyed this movies. They are so much better, and a fine example of the mystery-detective genre. Cross also is more Denzel Washington (in both age, personality and build) than the ageing gentleman Freeman.


5. Along Came A Spider - long/short, two kids are kidnapped from their elite DC elementary school by a teacher obsessed with the Lindberg baby, and Cross gets backed into the case against his wishes. Of course, there are twists and turns as befits the genre, a love interest in the form a female Secret Service agent and an ending that is both satisfying and bleak.



7. Kiss the Girls - oooo, a serial killer. All the craze since Hannibal Lecter warmed our hearts (in the oven), serial killer stories give us a glimpse at a black patch of humanity that we can't not stare at. Cross here investigates the disappearance of his (early 20s) niece and discovers she's not the only one who hasn't shown up for class. To top it off, there appears to be a killer operating with a similar MO on the West Coast. What's the connection, and can Cross solve it before it's his niece they're finding mutilated in the woods?





Technically speaking, Patterson shows improvement as a writer in this book. He brings in another woman to work with Cross (the only woman to escape the East Coast Casanova killer), but she's not the same as the Secret Service agent or a slightly different Clarice Starling. A satisfying addition.

These books are both in their second decade, and it's easy to pick them up and call them cliched. After all, Patterson has many imitators and these two were some of his best. But when you head to the beach this summer, or have a rainy weekend, crack them open and put aside your preconceived notions about the author who'll have ten books published this calendar year with his name on the cover.

He might be a thriller factory now, but he started out as a good writer.


-Erik

4. The Last Templar




 The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury


Father-in-law Bud loaned this one to me, insisting I read it. As I've pawned off books on him, turnabout is fair play.

This is the second "Knights Templar"-craze book I've read (the first being The DaVinci Code), and it's easily the better. While the characterizations are Big Screen Action stock, and the plot isn't entirely original (but what is in this field?), the brisk clip of the narrative and healthy doses of action keep your fingers flipping pages throughout the night to see what The Secret Item really is that may - or may not - have made it out of the sack of Jerusalem so many centuries ago.

And that's the story: mystery item is sought by "evil" parties, comes into possession of a hero and later heroine (who, strangely, is so rampantly selfish as to be refreshing) and thus there is conflict. It spans the globe, has a Crusades-era sidestory, the deaths aren't overly gruesome, lots of chases and derring-do, and the romance isn't too forced or saccharine.

The opening heist featuring fully armored "Templars" on horseback raiding a museum would be terrific on screen (and it might be, as there was a mini-series earlier in the summer, but I've not watched it).

A note: this story was actually written as a screenplay BEFORE The DaVinci Code every came out, but was never produced. The writer was encouraged to turn it into a novel right around the time Dan Brown put his stamp on worldwide bestseller lists. So don't see this one as trite, a play on the Holy Grail-type story or just cheap paperback fiction.

It's a great beach read (not exactly high art, though), and I hear his subsequent scribblings are also quite good.


-Erik

1-3. The Chronicles of Narnia Books 1-3



The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis


We've all heard of the classic Chronicles of Narnia series by the scholarly atheist-turned-Christian C.S. Lewis. If we didn't read at least the first book in elementary school, the teacher probably tuned us in to a cartoon or mini-series adaptation. Or more recently, we could've seen the live-action, big budget movies of the first two.

I read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe in 3rd grade, and saw a cartoon adaptation. Beyond that, I had little exposure save the two blockbuster movies. Mandy got me a neat, 1970s-era box set of the seven books in the Chronicles, numbered as the author intended - in publication order, not according to internal chronology. And so, I set out to discover if they are as "classic" as I've been lead to believe (and clear the palate after Why We Hate Us).

Well, 2009 started off smashingly, as they might say!



1. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - we know the story of the four Pevensie children who travel to a magical land through a household wardrobe, aiding the talking animals of Narnia against the forces of the (White) Queen. Along the way, they meet Aslan, Christ-metaphor and leader of the Narnians, discover his bravery, their own worth because of it and the meaning of sacrifice. All very well and good. But a monument to (all ages) lit?

I think so, yes. The story is brisk and entertaining, the characters likeable enough (though the writing is quite very English, and a little stiffer than our relaxed variant) and the ideas behind the tale appealing to most. There are some that will be turned off to the religious allegory, but it's also a morality tale, as are many kid's books and classics.
2. Prince Caspian - Not as good as the above. In fact, from what I've read this is the low point. Much of the action takes place with a new slate of human characters, the Telmarines, who have conquered Narnia and subjugated or outlawed the native (animal) Narnians. The military and political maneuverings that might've worked so well in a longer-form fantasy novel here seemed crammed into an adventure story.

While the titular character, Telmarine noble Prince Caspian, is fleeing for his life from his wicked uncle and rallying the Narnians, the four Pevensie children are back again, finding Narnia overgrown and wild, far different from the peaceful kingdom they left. As the two stories link up, the book becomes more engaging overall, but never captures the magic of the first.

3. The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" - looked upon by many as the best Narnia book, I approached with trepidation this completely unknown story. Having the first two theatrical adaptations fresh in my mind, I knew their plots and if I'd be entertained as an adult reading books that are, truthfully, aimed at a younger audience. Glad I gave "Dawn Treader" a shot.
"Dawn Treader" works on a number of levels - as adventure, philosophy, coming-of-age story, treatise on death - and they all succeed as a richer story than either the preceeding two books. There's less Aslan and talking animals; this is a mariner's tale, sailing past the comfort of coastal waters into the unknown and perhaps over the edge of the world.
Two of the four Pevensies are back, Edmund and Lucy, and they've brought their spoiled cousin Eustace (who resembles Edmund as he was characterized in the first book, before he matured). Prince Caspian now leads the Narnian and Telmarine kingdom, and he sets off to find the lost seven lords, discover what the map does not show, if the legends of the open water are true and if long-rumored islands of peril, mystery and riches abound.
I won't spoil the story or its rewards, but I do recommend it. This was a quick & engaging read for me, though it's longer than the other two books. As an adult, you might treasure this reading experience far more than your kids. Moreso than the previous volumes, "Dawn Treader" is an excellent "bedtime" book or rainy day read; the narrative drive moves smoothly between adventures.

-Erik

0. Why We Hate Us





Why We Hate Us by Dick Meyer

Yeah, this one killed me last year.

I started it with only a few days left to reach 52 books, and this would've been it. By all counts, it was a great choice: conversational in tone, slim, a mix of pop culture and politics. After the recent (more/less rewarding) slog through The Inheritance, I wanted to read a lighter book on political theory and thought this would be it. At first glance, I expected sarcasm, humor and some serious talking points.

What I got was diatribe, vitriol and some serious talking points. This didn't really make me want to push to the finish line.

That and, the day after I started it, I found out Mandy was pregnant. News like that will stop any project cold, even at the endgame.

So I didn't get to 52 books last year, and this was the one that slowed me down just enough (we're talking a chapter-length from finishing).

I gave loaned this one to a friend, Matt Griffin, and he didn't make it through. Too mean, too many societal problems without solutions. I feel the same way.

Dick Meyer had a great idea, and the premise - why Americans are induling in a sort of European self-hate when their's is a great, if flawed, country - is sound. Unfortunately, the execution is bogged down in a lot of anger at the problems (and why they exist), wiht the "solutions" chapter a meager offering at best.

If you're a fan of Dick Meyer, and he isn't a bad writer, or want to explore the question behind the title (why do we hate us?), visit your local library before hitting up the bookstore or Amazon.

-Erik

2008: Cover to Cover


"The average American spends three minutes a day reading a book." -Dick Meyer, Why We Hate Us


I took in this sentence while racing against the clock, trying to complete a goal I've been after for a few years now: reading 52 books, cover to cover, in one year. Were Meyer's statistic to mean something to me, it'd be that I need to get out more. As it stands, I defy the average with my love of reading. Read on!