Books read in 2003
"Not Just Trees: The Legacy of a Douglas-Fir Forest" by Jane Claire Dirks-Edmunds (Fall, 2003). Beginning in the 1930s, the author participated in detailed ecological studies of an old growth Douglas fir forest near McMinnville, Oregon. After getting her Ph.D. in zoology in 1941 by studying a Midwest forest, she returned to Oregon to teach at Linfield College. The author continued to make periodic studies and observations of the original study area for over 60 years. The forest was logged conventionally in about 1940 and clear-cut in the late 80s. She studied the regrowth before the clearcutting. The book's approach is pedestrian but engrossing. She devotes chapter after chapter to the myriad creatures in such a forest covering everything from birds to slugs to fungi to beetles. If you like Douglas fir trees, it is difficult to top this book for interest or as a resource. Also available in paperback from WSU Press.
"Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black" by John Feinstein (Summer, 2003). Had I researched this book on-line, I never would have bought it. It is about the organizers and event planners of the U.S. Open in 2002 (the USGA), not about the golfers and the tournament play itself. Why was it written and why did I read it? Not recommended.
"The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown (Summer, 2003). A welcome relief from "Wealth and Democracy," this murder mystery was enjoyable more for its discussions of pagan religious rituals and Mary Magdalene than for the plot. A very enjoyable and easy read.
"Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich" by Kevin Phillips (Summer, 2003). I began this book in the fall of 2002 and consider all the books listed below to be sidetracks. Yes, it was difficult to read but I never considered abandoning it. The subtitle does not do the book justice; this book traces the rise and fall of three earlier economies from world's largest to also rans--Spain, Holland, and Great Britain. The U.S. is following the pattern of all three (the last stage is ruinous and bankrupting war). The author masterfully documents in myriad ways the extent to which the current consolidation of wealth in the U.S. has surpassed all previous peaks; he wrote before the recent Bush tax cuts were enacted. He forecasts that the next two to three decades will severely alter the ownership of wealth in the U.S. The parallel is to Great Britain: in 1911-13, the top 1% owned 69% of England's national wealth; in 1951-55, the top 1% owned 42%. How? Taxation. The author predicts the same for the U.S. and it seems inevitable and overdue. A short paragraph cannot convey this book's value. I feel now that I know what will be the essence of the next quarter century of political change in the U.S. Oddly, the author is a Republican. He suggests no alternative to what seems certain to unfold.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling (Summer, 2003). HP5 used to refer to a laserjet printer. This HP is different from the first four. It is less scary, more talky, and Harry himself is an angst-ridden adolescent. Black and white has given way to grey and void. Harry is sufficiently troubled that even when he triumphs over Voldemort, as he must some day, he will not be expecting life to be a bed of roses. The earlier books probably scared young readers; this one will confuse them. Perhaps this is for the better. Recommended, though it must be said that if this was HP1 instead of HP5, I would not pick up the next in the series. As it is, with so much invested in the characters, finishing out the series is a sure bet to this reader.
"Living History" by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Summer, 2003). I liked this book a lot and recommend it highly. The directness and tone are very similar to Katharine Graham's book. And the author is not afraid to pull punches. She is outspoken (and correct) in her criticism of the conservative judiciary and the abuses of the Kenneth Starr "Whitewater" investigation. Her candor is very refreshing. The author was born fifteen days before me and in important respects we share similar life experiences. She supported Barry Goldwater in 1964, went East to college, and everything changed. Yale Law School liberalized her further as did legal services and political work. After reading this book, my prediction is Hillary will make a serious run for the Presidency (the same analysis that led her to run for the Senate will lead her to run for the Presidency). Based on this book, she deserves very serious consideration.
"The Mind of Wall Street: A Legendary Financier on the Perils of Greed and the Mysteries of the Market" by Leon Levy (Spring, 2003). The author, a very early partner in Oppenheimer & Company, is by nature a student of psychology and economics. He outlines lessons learned in Wall Street from 1948 to 2002 from a non-conventional perspective. Recommended.
"What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response" by Bernard Lewis (Spring, 2003). A short, illuminating description and analysis of interaction between Islamic culture and other cultures, primarily Western European. Almost without exception, the response of the Moslem leaders (and, since there is no separation between church and state) and countries has been to ignore as much as possible non-Islamic influences. The results have been disastrous and there is no reason to expect improvement. Recommended.
"Vagabond Life: The Caucasus Journals of George Kennan" edited and with an Introduction and Afterward by Frith Maier. (Spring, 2003). George Kennan traveled to the Caucasus in 1870 and kept detailed journals. They are compelling reading and reflect what it was like to be a professional traveler a century before it became fashionable. They also capture the state of the Dagestan culture as it was beginning to be incorporated into the imperial Russian empire. Ms. Maier retraced some of Kennan's steps in the late 1990s, making a documentary film of parts of his journey. She discovered that one of the two great-great grandchildren of Kennan's most notable host, Prince Jorjadze of Georgia, is Nana Djordjadze, an Oscar nominated director (in 1997 for Best Foreign Film for "Chef in Love").
"Home Town" by Tracy Kidder. (Spring, 2003). A detailed look at a small town cop, tangential characters, and the town where they all live. By the author of "House" and "Among Schoolchildren," both of which I enjoyed very much. Not quite up to those standards but recommended.
"Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus" by Robert D. Kaplan. (Spring, 2003). The author travels east and south from Budapest covering the areas titled above. He presents a comprehensive history of each locale and, best of all, he has always been there before and can describe the changes. He travels close to the earth and using amazing contacts, he interviews leading government officials and opposition leaders, if any. His prognosis for the region is guarded; the prospects for democracy in most of the areas is very poor. What the people want is stability and food and water. This is a very insightful book, especially for one considering travel to this area of the world. Highly recommended.
"Starving to Death on $200 Million: The Short, Absurd Life of The Industry Standard" by James Ledbetter. (Winter, 2003). For one year during 1999-2000, The Industry Standard, a two year old magazine covering the Internet industry, had more advertising pages than any magazine in American. Less than two years later, it went bankrupt and ceased publication. (I subscribed to this weekly during its "fat year" but never read it. The 200 plus pages of advertisements made it too large to attack on a weekly basis. By the time it slimmed down, the Internet bubble had popped and its contents no longer mattered). Ledbetter was its first New York editor (it was published in San Francisco) and later its European editor (the European edition lasted less than six months). A lightweight as books go but well-written and entertaining. Recommended.
"Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World" by Greg Crister (Winter, 2003). This book invites comparison to "Fast Food Nation" which is high praise. FFN dissects the world of fast food in America, explaining perhaps 10 layers of intertwined ugliness. Fat Land is perhaps five layers deep but the treatment of each is as illuminating as FFN. Discussion of findings of very recent medical testing is especially disconcerting. One comes away convinced that high fructose corn syrup, found in a huge percentage of American foods of all types, is very harmful to one's health. (Unlike sugar, which it replaces, hfcs arrives at the liver intact, without being partially metabolized by other organs). The author focuses on the extremely high rates of obesity in minorities and the young. In the process, he excoriates recent trends allowing children to eat whenever and whatever they want. He also recounts the ill-advised mid-90s relaxation in national physical standards for children, a trend now being reversed based on medical studies. A short book, very highly recommended.
Copyright 2000-04 by nwjournal.com. All rights reserved.