Sunday, March 28, 2021

Book Review: The New Emperors by Harrison E. Salisbury

The New Emperors: China in the Era of Mao and DengThe New Emperors: China in the Era of Mao and Deng by Harrison E. Salisbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The establishment of the People’s Republic on October 1, 1949 brought a new dynasty to the forefront of Chinese political life but one with a Communist vocabulary while still relying on the Mandate of Heaven. The New Emperors: China in the Era of Mao and Deng by Harrison E. Salisbury follows the history of the first 40 years of the PRC through the lives of its first two leaders through to 1991 and the official end of the Cold War.

Harrison from the outset establishes how Mao’s decision to make Beijing the capital of the People’s Republic and his use of the Forbidden City as his residence along with that of his inner circle setting the new Communist regime in the mold of previous dynasties established by peasants. In fact, Mao’s study of the court histories of previous dynasties appeared to influence his governance more than Karl Marx, especially his admiration of Qin Shi Huang the first Emperor of the first dynasty of Imperial China. This admiration would result in his callous disregard of the lives of Chinese peasants during the Great Leap Forward and later the Cultural Revolution that stunted the entire nation for a decade as well as taking out numerous potential rivals for power, including the multiple demotions of Deng who persevered until Marshal Ye installed him in leadership through a military coup. Instead of following Deng’s reign leading up to Tiananmen Square, Harrison looked back from 1991 to how then-current China had developed under Deng before 1989 protests that momentarily undermined Deng’s control in the Party as well as the leadership not understanding the power of television when the Western nations began sanctioning them.

With three decades since the publishing of this book might have aged Salisbury’s thoughts on how China’s leadership would move towards 2000 poorly, however the historical content about Mao overall and the role the Cultural Revolution played into the response to Tiananmen are top notch. How Mao and later the Party have structured their hold on power by combining the Mandate of Heaven and Communist thought was interesting and provided context in understanding how events unfolded. Salisbury’s analysis of how the leadership that survived the beatings and tortures of the student Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution viewed the student protests of 1989 in that vein and wanted to suppress it at all costs. However, it is sobering to realized that the students of the Cultural Revolution are the leaders of China right now.

The New Emperors reveals that even as some regimes say they are a break from the past, they heavily rely upon it. Harrison E. Salisbury book might be 30 years, however it’s history of the rise of Mao and how Deng “saved” the Revolution is important to understanding the course of 21st Chinese history.

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Sunday, March 21, 2021

Book Review: Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler

Trojan Odyssey (Dirk Pitt, #17)Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A diabolical plot to change the climate of the Northern Hemisphere is intertwined with an historically significant discovery with one man finding himself in the middle of it. Trojan Odyssey is the seventeenth book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series which sees the titular hero, his best friend, and his two grown children take on a multinational corporation in the Caribbean and Central America.

The book opens with a fictional historical overview of Homer's Odyssey as told by Odysseus, who withhold details. In the present day, Dirk Pitt, his son Dirk Pitt, Jr., his daughter Summer Pitt, and friend Al Giordino are involved in the search for the source of a brownish contamination around the waters of the Caribbean. While searching off the coast of the Dominican Republic, the Pitt twins find bronze Celtic items leading to the finding of a burial of an important druidess resulting in NUMA concluding that Iman Wilkes’ theory of the Trojan War occurring in England and Odysseus’ journey occurring in the Atlantic is correct. Meanwhile Dirk and Al search around the coast, rivers, and lakes of Nicaragua leading to them finding out about a diabolical plot by the multinational corporation Odyssey and China to divert the Gulf Steam through four tunnels to the Pacific and freeze North America and Europe while selling them newly created fuel cells at massive profits. Dirk and Al foil the plot then rescue the twins when Odyssey’s leadership captures them and attempt to sacrifice them in a neo-druidic ritual, afterwards they decide they are too old to continue saving the world. Al plans to transfer to another NUMA department or quit depending on Admiral Sandecker’s response, however Sandecker tells Dirk he will be nominated for Vice President and has set things in motion to make Dirk the new Director of NUMA. Finally, Dirk and Congresswoman Loren Smith get married.

Utilizing the theory presented in Iman Jacob Wilkens’ Where Troy Once Stood, Cussler creates two mysteries that intertwine but are relatively independent from one another. Dividing the ancient and the modern mysteries between the Pitt twins and the team of Dirk and Al brought a better narrative flow as well as allowing Cussler to develop the newly introduced twins that will carry the series going forward. While the Gulf Stream diversion plot is unique, it was easy for it to be foiled given that one of the interconnected tunnels runs right next to a volcano that is set off by a bomb. Odyssey’s leader mysterious lead who happens to be the druidic high priestess who disguises herself as a overweight man was pretty underwhelming. Cussler attempted to put back the retcon genie he unleashed in the previous installment, but unfortunately created another when he resurrected Loren’s father for the wedding. Through there really is not an antagonist and Cussler focused on developing the Pitt twins, this book read a whole lot better than the previous installment though again not up to the quality he achieved a few books ago.

Trojan Odyssey is the last book of the Dirk Pitt series that Clive Cussler solely by himself, while not his best work it is an improvement over the previous installment. It will be interesting to see if Dirk Cussler will help the overall quality of the series going forward.

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Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Review: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen


Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A quiet, unassuming young woman who knows her place amongst her richer relatives sees more than they do about the true characters of not only themselves but those they interact with. Mansfield Park is Jane Austen’s third published novel and one if it’s most analyzed not in the protagonist Fanny Price but also the economic situations of her family.

Fanny Price, at age ten, is sent from her impoverished home in Portsmouth to live as one of the family at Mansfield Park, the Northamptonshire country estate of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram. There she is mistreated by all but her elder cousin Edmund. Her aunt Norris, the wife of the clergyman at the Mansfield parsonage, makes herself particularly unpleasant which gets worse after she is widowed five years later. When Fanny is sixteen, Sir Thomas leaves to deal with problems on his plantation in Antigua, taking his spendthrift eldest son Tom. While away Mrs. Norris, looking for a husband for Maria, finds Mr. Rushworth, who is rich but weak-willed and considered stupid, and Maria accepts his proposal. The following year, Henry Crawford and his sister, Mary, arrive at the parsonage to stay with their half-sister, the wife of the new incumbent Dr Grant, enlivening life in Mansfield as Edmund and Mary start to show interest in one another. On a visit to Mr Rushworth's estate, Henry flirts with both Maria and Julia. Maria believes Henry is in love with her and so treats Mr Rushworth dismissively, provoking his jealousy, while Julia struggles with jealousy and resentment towards her sister. Mary is disappointed to learn that Edmund will be a clergyman and tries to undermine his vocation making Fanny fear that Mary's charms are blinding Edmund to her flaws. After Tom returns, he encourages the young people to begin rehearsals for an amateur performance of the play Lovers' Vows. The play provides further opportunity for Henry and Maria to flirt, but when Sir Thomas arrives home unexpectedly the play is cancelled, and Henry departs allowing Maria to go ahead with marriage to Mr Rushworth. They then settle in London, taking Julia with them. Sir Thomas sees many improvements in Fanny and Mary Crawford initiates a closer relationship with her. When Henry returns, he decides to entertain himself by making Fanny fall in love with him. Fanny's brother William visits Mansfield Park, and Sir Thomas holds what is effectively a coming-out ball for her. Although Mary dances with Edmund, she tells him it will be the last time as she will never dance with a clergyman leading Edmund to drop his plan to propose. When Henry next returns, he announces to Mary his intention to marry Fanny. To assist his plan, he uses his family connections to help William achieve promotion. However, when Henry proposes marriage, Fanny rejects him, disapproving of his past treatment of women. Sir Thomas is astonished by her continuing refusal, but she does not explain to protect Maria. To help Fanny appreciate Henry's offer, Sir Thomas sends her to visit her parents in Portsmouth, where she is taken aback by the contrast between their chaotic household and the harmonious environment at Mansfield. Henry visits, but although she still refuses him, she begins to appreciate his good features. Later, Fanny learns that Henry and Maria have had an affair that is reported in the newspapers leading to Mr Rushworth sues for divorce right on the heels of Tom falling gravely ill and leads to Julia eloping. Edmund brings Fanny back to Mansfield Park, where she is a healing influence. Sir Thomas acknowledges Fanny was right to reject Henry's proposal and now regards her as a daughter. During a meeting with Mary Crawford, Edmund discovers that Mary only regrets that Henry's adultery was discovered. Devastated, he breaks off the relationship and returns to Mansfield Park, where he confides in Fanny. Eventually the two marry and move to Mansfield parsonage. Meanwhile, those left at Mansfield Park have learned from their mistakes and life becomes pleasanter there.

Unlike the previous protagonists of Austen’s, Fanny is the outsider among her Mansfield relations and a poor to boot. However, this outsider status allows Fanny more freedom to question appearances especially when dealing with the Crawfords, who are basically jerks with barely any redeeming qualities and when a glimmer of hope that they can change present itself they decide to continue being jerks. Of all the busy-body characters in Austen’s novels that I have read, Mrs. Norris is not only the worst but also more annoying than all the others so far. Yet somehow with all this mix of characters, Austen brings out an interesting narrative that sees the poor relation of a family come out looking the best in Regency society.

Mansfield Park is a change up from Jane Austen’s previous two novels, but that does not change the quality of Austen’s writing and the wonderful narrative that highlights this story. However the standout part of this novel is Fanny Price, who so far is the best Austen protagonist that I’ve read.