August Booknotes
“There are lessons to be learned from history — but generally those lessons are only known to those who read books, not to those who ban them.” - Brian Dunning
Fiction: Classic, Dystopia, Science Fiction (Banned Book Club)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
No more childbirths… Human beings are cloned in batches… Population is strictly divided into castes… Sexual promiscuity flourishes but love is unknown…
Publisher’s Description: “Brave New World is a dystopian social science fiction novel by English author Aldous Huxley. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society which is challenged by only a single individual: the story's protagonist.”
A drug, soma, is used to maintain social stability, and keep citizens in a state of complacent, euphoric happiness without any bad physical aftereffects. Soma replaces religion, stress, and political unrest with artificial contentment. It provides an artificial mental "holiday" from reality. The government uses soma as a tool of pacification, ensuring nobody questions the totalitarian system.
In the “brave new world”, people are husks, empty and detached, without ever realizing it. Except for John who was born on a New Mexico Reservation which was not in the “new brave world.” Before coming to the “new brave world”, he read a volume of Shakespeare, and it changed his life. He can only think, feel, and view the world through a wide lens. Then, when he is taken to the “new brave world,” he finds only depravity and it becomes too much for him to bear.
Brave New World is both a warning and a thought-provoking work of speculative fiction. Whereas 1984 speculated on a world where people are controlled by inflicting pain, in Brave New World, people are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In 1984 the totalitarian government banned books and censored information. In Brave New World, the totalitarian government drugs people so they lose any desire to read or learn. Too extreme concepts and either could possibly become true. Both novels are classics well worth reading.
Nonfiction: History, Politics, Government
Freak Power - Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff by Daniel Joseph Watkins, Bob Braudis (Foreword), Ajax Phillips (Editor)
Freak Power was written by an Aspen Museum curator, and you can tell!! Using original print materials from the campaign, photographs, and political art, this is an archive and museum exhibit in book form.
Thompson was an American journalist and author who pioneered “gonzo journalism.” Gonzo journalism is characterized by the reporter becoming a central character in the story, immersing themselves in the events to gain firsthand experience. He spent nearly two years living and riding with the infamous Hell’s Angels motorcycle club, and exposed their gritty, rebellious lifestyle to the public in his book Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga.
After the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, Thompson was disgusted yet motivated by what he’d experienced - violently suppressed protests, corrupt politicians, and abusive cops. Thompson decided he had to do something. Back in Aspen, he found that the local police and sheriff’s departments were targeting hippies, charging them with absurd crimes, harassing them on the streets, and trying to push them out of town. Thompson realized change had to be made by people like him. The hippies, intellectuals, and freaks had remained silent long enough. The time had come to organize and capture political power.
Thompson was an “unconventional” politician.
When his political rival kept referring to him as “my long-haired opponent”, Thompson shaved his head.
He partnered with a local artist to create “Wallposters.” These were art posters on one side and his political writings on the other side. (These became collector’s items and are expensive!)
Thompson wanted to decriminalize marijuana. He also wanted to set up a “self-policing committee among the young people so that word is put out that no heroin or speed are to be allowed in the head community… any heroin or speed dealers will be advised by this committee that they must quit or get out of town.”
Freak Power tells the detailed story of Thompson’s plan to become Sheriff and transform Aspen from a conservative mining town into a mecca for artists, nonconformists, and activists. And while he lost his campaign, many of his ideas have taken root in Aspen.
"Hunter's 1970 run for Pitkin County Sheriff began as an anti-establishment campaign where hippies and freaks were pitted against ruling conservatives. The unintended yet fortunate result was the birth of an enlightened brand of law enforcement and a unique philosophy that spans forty-five years and three generations of sheriffs and is still alive in Pitkin County today."– Joey DiSalvo, Pitkin County Sheriff
Nonfiction: Biography, History
An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln by Lois Romano
This is a fascinating biography of America’s most misunderstood First Lady. Romano makes the case that Mary Lincoln was totally overwhelmed by the many deaths of loved ones - her mother when Mary was 5 years old - son, Eddie, to TB at age four – son, Willie, at age 11 of typhoid fever – she was holding her husband’s hand when he was shot in the head at Ford’s Theater - and son, Tad, at age 18 from “respiratory and heart failure.” You would think people would have some empathy for her situation. Wrong! As a widow Mary was vilified, mocked, and shunned at a time when she most needed understanding and care. Even Abraham Lincoln’s law partner denigrated her out of spite ensuring that “history” cast her as a greedy and insane woman.
“You know, she got a raw deal.” - Bill Clinton commenting on Mary Lincoln
An Inconvenient Widow is an excellent analysis of the raw deal Mary Lincoln received. Yes, she was difficult. But she was also the target of intense 19th century misogyny, including from her last surviving son, Robert Lincoln. He was more worried about what other people thought about him rather than providing care for his mother. Robert, along with other men, had Mary arrested, taken directly to a court, and where men judged her “insane.” Obviously, she had a very difficult relationship with her sole surviving son as he had her committed to an insane asylum. Years later Robert regretted his actions and attempted to burn all letters referring to his behavior towards his suffering mother.
Mary had both good and bad qualities including being a compulsive shopper, but there were people who exploited the bad and ignored the good to create a narrative that exalted her husband (and son) by making her a shrew. She was a loving person who, several times a week, visited Civil War casualties and was instrumental in her husband’s political successes. A complicated and grief-stricken woman, Mary was beaten down by life before the era of any good mental health treatments.
Fiction: Historical Fiction
Mule Boy by Andrew Krivak
On New Year’s Day, 1929, Ondro Prach, the 13-year-old son of Slovak immigrants in Pennsylvania coal country, began a new job in the mine as mule boy. His father died in the mine, so he knew the dangers, but he was proud of his position handling the animal that hauled cartloads of coal from shafts deep within the earth to the surface. Then the “room” he and the men on his work team were working in collapsed and their fate is sealed.
That tragic day led to Ondro’s own collapse - of his spirit, his hopes, and his self-determination. Life became one long prison sentence for him. He carried a burden of guilt and shame, so sure that he failed his fellow workers.
He tried to overcome the tragedy but suffered from addiction, a failed marriage, and imprisonment because he refused to serve in the military during World War II. It seemed there was no hope for happiness, and he lived for decades as a self-imposed hermit.
Then, as an old man, he continued to reflect and ponder on the mine collapse and the men who didn’t survive. Unexpectantly, Ondro was sought out by the children and grandchildren of the miners who didn’t survive. They asked him about the last days and hours of their fathers’ and grandfathers' lives. Finally, he found the strength to share what the men spoke of and prayed for in the pitch black. This was the opportunity for Ondro to see lightness again; for healing to take place.
This is a very poignant novel about a child who witnesses horrors that define his remaining years. It is written in a different style in which the sentences connect continually, strung together by commas. There are no quote marks and few paragraphs. It takes some getting “used to” but it is a beautiful story.
Nonfiction: Archeology, Memoir, Travel
Stone Lands: A Journey of Darkness and Light Through Britain’s Ancient Places by Fiona Robertson
Stone Lands is a blend of two distinct but interrelated narratives. The first is the author’s personal journey as she dealt with the cancer diagnosis and eventual death of her husband, and how visiting megalithic sites helped her come to terms with this life-shattering event; the second is her detailed exploration of the wider history and significance of these sites.
Each chapter is arranged around a specific set of stones. This is coupled with a particular personal connection made by the author. The chapters also include histories of the stones’ decline and/or preservation, as well as the different types of people attracted to them: historians and archaeologists; poets and artists; tourists and sightseers; those seeking spiritual renewal.
This is not a conventional book on prehistory, and it might not be to everyone’s taste, but it is a very good book. Robertson successfully blends her personal life narrative with history and archeology.
Stone Lands also quietly reminds us that our own lives are fragile, subject to “change, decay, and loss.” At any moment, “the illusion of stability can shatter.” Yet the stones endure, even if they too are weathered by time. They can become metaphors for “strength, endurance, and hope,” and perhaps the very best qualities of humankind: the desire to create meaning that lasts beyond us.
Stone Lands, left me feeling inspired to look at the world differently, with more reverence, gratitude, and an awareness of how the world is full of wonder.
Nonfiction: Law, Government, American History
The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader by Melissa Murray
The author is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center, New York University, School of Law.
"It feels like we’re living in a moment where the basic premises of the Constitution–limited government, restraint on government authority, respect for rights, the prospect of citizenship–are being renegotiated in real time. These are important moments–and we all need to be equipped with the tools to engage effectively."
This book is a tool to equip people to engage effectively. It is educational, informative, and incredibly relevant to the times we are living in today. Each section of the Constitution – all seven articles and all twenty-even amendments – are presented in full. Each section includes its origin story followed by a detailed discussion of what the text means, how it has been interpreted throughout history, and why it continues to impact our daily lives.
The annotations, historical context, and real-world examples make the Constitution come alive in a way that was both engaging and easy to follow.
An informed citizen is essential to maintaining the rule of law and balance of power and this book does a good job explaining our Constitution. This would be an excellent textbook for Civics classes – a “class” we should all repeat throughout our lives!
