This book is a case study in how extraordinary an ordinary man can be. Unlike his predecessor in the White House, Harry Truman was not a brilliant man, but he possessed character and fortitude that ultimately made him a successful president. At times the author seems to revel a little too much in how ordinary …
Category: General
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/02/21/truman-by-david-mccullough/
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/02/15/the-elfish-gene-dungeons-dragons-and-growing-up-strange-by-mark-barrowcliffe/
Jul 14 2009
The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
This was not a long book, but I took my time reading it because the writing was so eloquent. I have never seen such hatred and fury channeled into such eloquent discourse. There isn’t enough space allowed here for me to get into the problems of post-colonialism, but what impresses me most about this work …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/07/14/the-wretched-of-the-earth-by-frantz-fanon/
Jul 11 2009
Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
This is Bukowski’s best novel. An autobiographical novel, it goes a long way toward explaining how he became the bitter, misanthropic, brilliant drunk that he eventually became. Bukowski’s writing really resonates with me for some reason. It’s not uplifting, but it gives the me the courage to face whatever life throws at me. For that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/07/11/ham-on-rye-by-charles-bukowski/
May 13 2009
Literary Theory: An Introduction by Terry Eagleton
This is a marvelous book that explicates modern literary theories in very readable English. The author has a Marxist bent that flavors his discourse throughout, but he does a good job of explaining critical theories like formalism, the New Criticism, phenomenology, structuralism, semiotics, deconstruction, and psychoanalysis. He also asks pertinent and seemingly unanswerable questions, such …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/05/13/literary-theory-an-introduction-by-terry-eagleton/
Apr 20 2009
The Celts by Jean Markale
The author deserves credit for taking on such a difficult and ambitious project…yet it must be said that this book is full of unwarranted assertions and loose interpretations. Most of what we know about the Celts comes either from what their enemies wrote about them or from Celtic mythology, neither of which are very reliable …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/04/20/the-celts-by-jean-markale/
Mar 20 2009
Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection by John Man
The Mongol conquests are certainly impressive, but the Mongols contributed nothing to civilization and in fact destroyed civilization wherever they found it. The author reveals that Europe was spared a Mongol invasion only because the Mongols saw nothing to gain from such a venture, but they did overrun Hungary and Poland to give Europeans a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/03/20/genghis-khan-life-death-and-resurrection-by-john-man/
Mar 14 2009
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
I found this play strangely moving and thought-provoking. The legally enforced sexual morality that the plot hinges on seems incomprehensible to us today, but more interesting was the way in which Shakespeare pushes the issue of justice vs. mercy. Mercy wins in the end, but only after some improbable twists that suggest that justice in …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/03/14/measure-for-measure-by-william-shakespeare/
Jan 13 2009
Death on the Installment Plan by Louis-Ferdinand Celine
Celine has a way of writing about perfectly horrible experiences in a way that makes you laugh out loud. This book is a work of genius, although not quite as good as *Journey to the End of Night*. It’s too bad he didn’t write more. He has an uncanny way of finding humor in all …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/01/13/death-on-the-installment-plan-by-louis-ferdinand-celine/
Nov 14 2008
The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare
When I took Shakespeare in college the professor dismissed this play as silly, but he can’t have been reading the same play. The love story is touching, not just the romantic courtship between the gentlemen and the ladies, but also the friendship between the two gentlemen, and the play is only saved from being a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2008/11/14/the-two-gentlemen-of-verona-by-william-shakespeare/
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