Book Review: Niccolo Machiavelli by Corrado Vivanti
As Machiavelli is my favourite political theorist, this book was a must buy when I came across it. Vivanti’s biography of Machiavelli provides some good background regarding the Florentine’s thought and works. Vivanti notes the consistency throughout his works - his political writings as well as his plays (such as The Mandrake) - e.g., his belief that adaption was necessary to political success.
Book Review: The Divorce of Henry VIII by Catherine Fletcher
I’ve never been particularly interested in the Tudor period; however, Italy during this period interests me greatly. Fletcher presents an interesting perspective of Henry VIII’s divorce, as well as insight into 16th Century diplomatic relations, through Henry’s Vatican ambassador - Gregorio Casali and his family (representing the English monarch was not an individual affair).
Robert Remini - former House historian - passed away from a stroke on March 28th at age 91. He served as the 3rd historian of the House of Representatives and wrote The House.
See also the obituary from The Washington Post.
Always a lover of Medieval history, I’ve been reading more on the topic recently (taking a break of politics), and just finished David Howarth’s 1066: the Year of the Conquest. As many books as I’ve read over the years, I don’t know why I never read this before, but it was a wonderful overview of the events of that fateful year. However, his perspective of history in the introduction was what really interested me. For Howarth, a modern historian must interpret the truth from contradictory stories, determining which author had more cause to write the truth. He also doesn’t discount what people believed, which he says is as important as what they did. And finally, he writes that it is not fair to judge historical figures by our standards, but only by the judgments of their peers and countrymen. He uses this criteria throughout 1066 to present a fair portrait of Harold, William and their actions.
Mary Margaret Farabee, a co-founder of the Texas Book Festival, passed away March 3rd from cancer. She came up with the idea for the book festival at the Texas Capitol and served on the board for 8 years. The Texas Book Festival is one of my favourite events, so I am taking this moment to thank and recognize Ms Farabee for her contributions for promoting literature, and Texas literature in particular. RIP.
Book Review: Geronimo by Robert Utley
In this biography, Robert Utley sheds new light on Geronimo in a way that is neither celebratory or negative, but attempts to give a true account (as true as the facts will allow) of Geronimo’s life. Although, because of the lack of details about much of Geronimo’s life, this is as much a biography of U.S. policy in Indian relations as it is the Apache warrior.
Related Posts:
Today’s happy hunting is just another in a long line of reasons why I love going to used bookstores. I’ve been reading Robert Utley’s Geronimo, and since I began, I have been looking for other works dealing with the Apaches. While in Cheever Books in San Antonio today, I found An Apache Campaign, which is Capt. John G Bourke’s account of the 1883 pursuit of the Chiricahuas, and Making Peace with Cochise, which is from the 1872 journal of Capt. Joseph Sladen.
Now, if you go into Cheever’s, be prepared to dig and move things around, because there are books everywhere.
Book Review: El Narco Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency by Ioan Grillo
This has been on my wishlist since it came out in 2011, but I just recently purchased it. It is a very good introduction to the drug war in Mexico, providing background on the history and operations of the cartels which have spread across the country.
Having read Martin Booth’s Cannabis and Opium, the history of drug production (farming, etc.) in Mexico is something I have been introduced too (and I do recommend those books), so it was Grillo’s examination of the growth of the cartels which intrigued me more.
With the decline of Columbians as cocaine traffickers, Mexican cartels began to assume greater control of the market, which helped fuel their expansion, and the fall of the PRI from power reduced the tenuous check on rampant corruption and violence (this is not to say the PRI was not corrupt, but there was a system of corruption which the state controlled).
This growth of the cartels has become a threat to the state as they have evolved into paramilitary organizations who have begun to assume more of the government’s past roles, including what it calls taxes (extortion, in other words) on local businesses, including heavy industry, such as mining and oil, for protection - protection that was once provided by the government.
As Grillo notes in his closing chapters, there are no easy solutions to the threat the cartels pose, and the solutions must come from both the U.S. and Mexico if there is even a hope of succeeding.
Sources for the above maps are two articles from Christian Science Monitor:
Mexico drug war an ‘insurgency’? US official’s gaffe sparks US-Mexico row
Mexico drug war casualty: Citizenry suffers post-traumatic stress
Recommended: There are some good articles and reports from Small Wars Journal about Mexico’s criminal insurgency.
Allan Shivers: The Pied Piper of Texas Politics by Sam Kinch, Jr (1/14)
Dan Moody: Crusader for Justice by Ken Anderson (1/15)
Reagan’s Comeback by Gilbert Garcia (1/20)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre (2/6)
A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin (2/23)
The Birth of Modern Politics by Lynn Hudson Parson (2/28)
A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin (3/14)
How to Win an Election by Quintus Tullius Cicero (3/29)
Huey Long by T. Harry Williams (3/31)
Daniel Webster and the Rise of National Conservatism by Richard Current (4/7)
Republicanism by Maurizio Viroli (4/14)
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (4/21)
A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin (5/3)
Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris (5/5)
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (5/17)
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein (6/9)
Foundation by Isaac Asimov (6/27)
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (7/6)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (7/15)
The Scarlet Plague by Jack London (7/19)
Will Rogers: A Political Life by Richard D. White (7/30)
Yeomen Sharecroppers and Socialists by Kyle G. Wilkison (8/12)
Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent by Fred Burton (9/2)
Eisenhower: The White House Years by Jim Newton (9/10)
The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State by Noah Feldman (10/7)
A Moral Alphabet by Hilaire Belloc (11/3)
Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc (11/3)
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (11/18)
The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (11/28)
The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (12/16)
The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis (12/16)
Southern Politics in State and Nation by V. O. Key (12/30)
I was off to a good start this year; however, I slowed down a little through the course of the year and fell well short of my goal, though I still read more than I read last year. I read a lot more fiction than I typically read, which helped to relieve a lot of stress related to work (working in politics there are days when you don’t really want to read anything political).
Random thoughts on eclectic subjects from a political junkie, moviephile, avid reader, Dr. Pepper addict in Austin, TX.
