Summers are a great time for catching up on reading. Last summer, I had a great time reading Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution 1863 - 1877 by Eric Foner and The War on the West by Douglas Murray. Reconstruction was a heavy, well-researched read. I was up for the challenge. I learned new tidbits about black political aspirants in New Orleans, a fascinating town. Foner clearly had a bottom up narrative which I found annoying at times. To me, black history at its finest is the striving of the individual against prejudice and adversity. I would have liked more treatment of the inner lives of Reconstruction personalities which Foner clearly knew of. See Freedom’s Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction by Eric Foner. Murray’s read was red meat for my famished soul — no slogan words, no manipulation, no dialectic machinations. Just readable angst about the madness of the herd and delusions of crowds.
I am returning to Hawaii this summer for a much anticipated reading marathon. And what books are on my summer’s reading list?
Yale 1963 at 60 (editor Jonathan C. Rose) — I love to read life stories of the successful and accomplished. In doing so, I add to my knowledge and feed positive narratives into my neural connections. Up to 400 biographies of Yalies from the Class of 1963 await me.
The Tree of Life: A Triology of Life in the Lodz Ghetto — Book Three, The Cattle Cars Are Waiting, 1942 - 1944 by Chava Rosenfarth — A fictional account of life on the precipice of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. The human condition is nuanced and complex even during dystopian times. Fiction is a great way to peer into the human heart for purpose and meaning.
The Narcissist in Your Life by Julie L. Hall — Who are these annoying people around me and in my life? Smile. Perhaps, this book will give me some insights.
Wilson by A. Scott Berg — Due to Covid, I missed this assigned reading in my Book Club. What did I miss? President Woodrow Wilson appears to have been a bit of a player. Who knew? Well, his exploits await me.
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. Trueman — Identity. The Individual. How do the two intersect? I’m curious and want to know more.