50 Books Challenge | December
5. The Red and the Black
Author: Stendhal
Genre: Fiction//Classic-Historical
Pages: 523
Rating: 4/5
This book was translated by Horace B. Samuel, and I'm uncertain how many liberties he took with modernizing the speech and idioms. Some sentences seemed out-of-place for 19th century France. That complaint aside, it's a shame this book is not as widely popular in America as it should be. The reader is brought into a corrupt country where poor protagonist Julien Sorel has limited opportunities for advancement by the corrupt aristocracy and church; he is fueled by ambition, and desperately wants to live up to his idol Napoleon, but he simply cannot in his surroundings. He learns the game of the nobility and church, and attempts to beat them at it. He becomes a master of hypocrisy in the process. Unfortunately, no matter how much he tries against it, he is a slave to his passions. He engages in an unhealthy relationship with Madame de Rênal and later with the Marquis de la Mole's daughter, Mathilde. His inability to subdue his passions to his ambitions proves his downfall.
Julien Sorel is an interesting protagonist because he is not a good human being. Complex and sympathetic, but he is not the most moral of characters. Yet, I could not help by feel for him when he reaches so close to his goals, only to have them all pushed from underneath him because of his own failings. But each character in this book - for Julien is far from the most morally apprehensive - seems real, and the story remains dynamic and emotional from beginning to end.
6. What Would the Founders Do? Our Questions, Their Answers
Author: Richard Brookhiser
Genre: Nonfiction//History
Pages: 224
Rating: 3/5
Having read both Founding Father and Alexander Hamilton, American, I can say I'm a fan of Brookhiser's droll sense of humor. Also, this book may have the best nonfiction cover of any book ever written. This book is amusing for any person with even a little interest in history, and I say it's marketed towards those without much information in the subject of the new republic. I give it a lower rating, because people with general knowledge of the Founders will probably not find much use out of it, aside from a few chuckles. Brookhiser tries to impose modern concerns and figure how maybe America's Founders would respond. Would they have supported the War on Drugs? (Washington grew hemp, but not for the purpose most people think of). Would they have supported gun control? (Dueling pistols were banned from use, though that didn't stop them). And so on. This book, as with all books, brings Brookhiser's bias into the picture, and with each answer he focuses mainly on one Founder's opinion rather than presenting two sides to the argument. I'd recommend it to people who are not history majors and want a fun book on the subject of our Founding to pass through a couple of nights. Since our Founders were not one person, you may be surprised what each man stood for.
7. One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Owe
Author: Robert E. Wright
Genre: Nonfiction//Business
Pages: 284
Rating: 4/5
This would be better said to be belong in the economic section. Wright traces our national debt back before the Revolution. Few in America had any concept of economics; even the ones that did could scarce help the situation, for poor Robert Morris ended up in debtors' prison for doing his part in helping fund the war. We had high inflation, high interest rates, low property values, and our credit abroad was laughed at. Fortunately, Treasury Secretary understood macroeconomics. Through his Bank of the United States, a sinking fund was established for the national debt. New bonds, backed by the federal government instead of individual states, were respected at home and abroad; northerners and southerners, men and women alike purchased them. Assumption (collecting of the federal and states' debts) allowed the country to pay off its obligations under a collected rate and kept the separate governments from competing with each other for revenue. The central bank was destroyed on the eve before the War of 1812; President Madison quickly began understanding its importance, and brought it back only for it to be destroyed again under President Jackson, plunging America into the greatest depression it would face until 1929.
We today have the Federal Reserve as a central bank, but are still paying a national debt that can be traced back the Civil War. Because of populist politics, no politicians wants to make necessary moves to get it under control; doing so would surely cost them votes. Wright presents a dim view for America is we don't demand our politicians to begin taking fiscal responsibility again, and allow the Fed to regulate the monetary conditions of this country correctly. We were only able to fully pay off our debt once (after 1812). Secretaries Hamilton and Gallatin knew we didn't have to have it paid off to function (nowadays, it would actually be a bad move), but they knew we couldn't spend more than we took in. Americans either must be willing to pay taxes for their luxuries or demand the expenditures to drop. You cannot have your cake and eat it, too.
8. The Last Day of a Condemned Man
Author: Victor Hugo
Genre: Fiction//Historical
Pages: 82
Rating: 4/5
One of Hugo's lesser-known pieces, this book features an unnamed protagonist from trial to punishment. It was written with a clear agenda in mind, and Hugo does not hide his anti-capital punishment sentiments. But as a pro-death penalty reader, I was moved by the horrors undertaken by the man. Who could not be effected by his dissent into psychological madness, how he finally releases hope only to have it thrown in his face once more, like a carrot on a string? By far, the most heart-wrenching moment comes from reading how he laments his daughter will be moved by his death, only to find upon a visit that she no longer recognizes him. His plights are still fresh and understandable today. While not Hugo's best work, it's a shame it does not have the popularity of his doorstoppers. Dostoevsky called it a masterpiece. I agree.
9. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
Author: Henry Fielding
Genre: Fiction//Classic-Comedy
Pages: 764
Rating: 5/5
There's no better way to say it - I loved this book. I loved everything about it. Fielding embarks us on a journey with Tom Jones, a bastard foundling kicked out of his adopted father Squire Allworthy's estate after his cousin Blifil spreads lies about his conduct. Poor Jones is a lovable character because he recognizes that despite he has plenty of virtues, he also has vices: he has a weakness for wine and women. The latter gets him into trouble with his love Sophia Western, who tries escaping a marriage her aunt and father desire between her and Blifil. Both youths walk the countryside on separate adventures to London; Sophia to flee from her persistent father, and Jones to win back the heart of his love. Along the way, Jones picks up the comically-pathetic Partridge, a man Allworthy considers to be his father. After saving a Mrs. Waters from certain doom, sleeping with her, Jones later discovers he may have bedded with his own mother. Sophia's troubles are no less horrific, as she not only has to avoid a marriage from Blifil, but also a lord who lusts after her beauty.
Fielding's piece is a great satire on 18th century English society, from its hypocrisy to its opportunism. He knows how to keep a reader laughing from page to page with sexual innuendos, double entendres, and dry British humor. To be sure, this is a doorstopper, but it reads remarkably modern. It's executed masterfully, and I cannot recommend it enough to someone who understands 18th century humor and enjoys the classics.
10. A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Fiction//Classic-Seasonal
Pages: 79
Rating: 4/5
What can I possibly add to this that has not been said before?I finished reading this today on Christmas Eve. It has the perfect atmosphere for the holidays. Every so often it does a person good to be reminded how we need to care for the general welfare and remember what's ultimately important in the business of life. Hopefully each person doesn't need a visit from the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come to make themselves a better human not only this time of year, but every day.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.
Author: Stendhal
Genre: Fiction//Classic-Historical
Pages: 523
Rating: 4/5
This book was translated by Horace B. Samuel, and I'm uncertain how many liberties he took with modernizing the speech and idioms. Some sentences seemed out-of-place for 19th century France. That complaint aside, it's a shame this book is not as widely popular in America as it should be. The reader is brought into a corrupt country where poor protagonist Julien Sorel has limited opportunities for advancement by the corrupt aristocracy and church; he is fueled by ambition, and desperately wants to live up to his idol Napoleon, but he simply cannot in his surroundings. He learns the game of the nobility and church, and attempts to beat them at it. He becomes a master of hypocrisy in the process. Unfortunately, no matter how much he tries against it, he is a slave to his passions. He engages in an unhealthy relationship with Madame de Rênal and later with the Marquis de la Mole's daughter, Mathilde. His inability to subdue his passions to his ambitions proves his downfall.
Julien Sorel is an interesting protagonist because he is not a good human being. Complex and sympathetic, but he is not the most moral of characters. Yet, I could not help by feel for him when he reaches so close to his goals, only to have them all pushed from underneath him because of his own failings. But each character in this book - for Julien is far from the most morally apprehensive - seems real, and the story remains dynamic and emotional from beginning to end.
6. What Would the Founders Do? Our Questions, Their Answers
Author: Richard Brookhiser
Genre: Nonfiction//History
Pages: 224
Rating: 3/5
Having read both Founding Father and Alexander Hamilton, American, I can say I'm a fan of Brookhiser's droll sense of humor. Also, this book may have the best nonfiction cover of any book ever written. This book is amusing for any person with even a little interest in history, and I say it's marketed towards those without much information in the subject of the new republic. I give it a lower rating, because people with general knowledge of the Founders will probably not find much use out of it, aside from a few chuckles. Brookhiser tries to impose modern concerns and figure how maybe America's Founders would respond. Would they have supported the War on Drugs? (Washington grew hemp, but not for the purpose most people think of). Would they have supported gun control? (Dueling pistols were banned from use, though that didn't stop them). And so on. This book, as with all books, brings Brookhiser's bias into the picture, and with each answer he focuses mainly on one Founder's opinion rather than presenting two sides to the argument. I'd recommend it to people who are not history majors and want a fun book on the subject of our Founding to pass through a couple of nights. Since our Founders were not one person, you may be surprised what each man stood for.
7. One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Owe
Author: Robert E. Wright
Genre: Nonfiction//Business
Pages: 284
Rating: 4/5
This would be better said to be belong in the economic section. Wright traces our national debt back before the Revolution. Few in America had any concept of economics; even the ones that did could scarce help the situation, for poor Robert Morris ended up in debtors' prison for doing his part in helping fund the war. We had high inflation, high interest rates, low property values, and our credit abroad was laughed at. Fortunately, Treasury Secretary understood macroeconomics. Through his Bank of the United States, a sinking fund was established for the national debt. New bonds, backed by the federal government instead of individual states, were respected at home and abroad; northerners and southerners, men and women alike purchased them. Assumption (collecting of the federal and states' debts) allowed the country to pay off its obligations under a collected rate and kept the separate governments from competing with each other for revenue. The central bank was destroyed on the eve before the War of 1812; President Madison quickly began understanding its importance, and brought it back only for it to be destroyed again under President Jackson, plunging America into the greatest depression it would face until 1929.
We today have the Federal Reserve as a central bank, but are still paying a national debt that can be traced back the Civil War. Because of populist politics, no politicians wants to make necessary moves to get it under control; doing so would surely cost them votes. Wright presents a dim view for America is we don't demand our politicians to begin taking fiscal responsibility again, and allow the Fed to regulate the monetary conditions of this country correctly. We were only able to fully pay off our debt once (after 1812). Secretaries Hamilton and Gallatin knew we didn't have to have it paid off to function (nowadays, it would actually be a bad move), but they knew we couldn't spend more than we took in. Americans either must be willing to pay taxes for their luxuries or demand the expenditures to drop. You cannot have your cake and eat it, too.
8. The Last Day of a Condemned Man
Author: Victor Hugo
Genre: Fiction//Historical
Pages: 82
Rating: 4/5
One of Hugo's lesser-known pieces, this book features an unnamed protagonist from trial to punishment. It was written with a clear agenda in mind, and Hugo does not hide his anti-capital punishment sentiments. But as a pro-death penalty reader, I was moved by the horrors undertaken by the man. Who could not be effected by his dissent into psychological madness, how he finally releases hope only to have it thrown in his face once more, like a carrot on a string? By far, the most heart-wrenching moment comes from reading how he laments his daughter will be moved by his death, only to find upon a visit that she no longer recognizes him. His plights are still fresh and understandable today. While not Hugo's best work, it's a shame it does not have the popularity of his doorstoppers. Dostoevsky called it a masterpiece. I agree.
9. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
Author: Henry Fielding
Genre: Fiction//Classic-Comedy
Pages: 764
Rating: 5/5
There's no better way to say it - I loved this book. I loved everything about it. Fielding embarks us on a journey with Tom Jones, a bastard foundling kicked out of his adopted father Squire Allworthy's estate after his cousin Blifil spreads lies about his conduct. Poor Jones is a lovable character because he recognizes that despite he has plenty of virtues, he also has vices: he has a weakness for wine and women. The latter gets him into trouble with his love Sophia Western, who tries escaping a marriage her aunt and father desire between her and Blifil. Both youths walk the countryside on separate adventures to London; Sophia to flee from her persistent father, and Jones to win back the heart of his love. Along the way, Jones picks up the comically-pathetic Partridge, a man Allworthy considers to be his father. After saving a Mrs. Waters from certain doom, sleeping with her, Jones later discovers he may have bedded with his own mother. Sophia's troubles are no less horrific, as she not only has to avoid a marriage from Blifil, but also a lord who lusts after her beauty.
Fielding's piece is a great satire on 18th century English society, from its hypocrisy to its opportunism. He knows how to keep a reader laughing from page to page with sexual innuendos, double entendres, and dry British humor. To be sure, this is a doorstopper, but it reads remarkably modern. It's executed masterfully, and I cannot recommend it enough to someone who understands 18th century humor and enjoys the classics.
10. A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Fiction//Classic-Seasonal
Pages: 79
Rating: 4/5
What can I possibly add to this that has not been said before?I finished reading this today on Christmas Eve. It has the perfect atmosphere for the holidays. Every so often it does a person good to be reminded how we need to care for the general welfare and remember what's ultimately important in the business of life. Hopefully each person doesn't need a visit from the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come to make themselves a better human not only this time of year, but every day.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.