Book Review: Truman by David McCullough

Truman by David McCullough
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Born in Missouri a generation after it was the western frontier of the young nation, he led an emerging superpower into the atomic age at the end of the largest war in human history. Truman is all-encompassing biography of the 33rd President of the United States by one of the best biographers and historians of the past half century, David McCullough.

McCullough begins by quickly covering the lives of Truman’s grandparents and parents who relocated and lived on the frontier of Missouri beginning 40 years before his birth. McCullough then guides the reader through Truman’s childhood as his father attempt to succeed in various businesses with mild to no success while young Harry went through school and attempt to strike out on his own in nearby Kansas City until finally joining his family when they went working his maternal grandmother’s large farm that he would continue to work until he joined the Army in 1917 where he would see combat as a Captain of the artillery during the Hundred Days Offensive that led to the armistice. After the war, Truman opened a business that started well but failed during the recession of 1921 after which he turned to attention to politics and becoming a part of the Pendergast political machine. Successful in his first campaign to be a county administrative judge, he failed in reelection only to succeed in the next election to becoming the presiding judge which was a position he used to transform Jackson County with numerous public works that eventually gets him noticed by the new Roosevelt administration that eventually got him a position in the New Deal programs in Missouri. After Pendergast rejected Truman for a run for governor or Congress, he selected him a run for Senate in 1934 and Truman’s victory in the primary he was considered the Pendergast Senator not a Missourian. Through hard work during his term, Truman became a respected member of the Senate but when he went to be reelected, the Pendergast machine was in disarray due to various federal criminal trials and the Roosevelt administration didn’t support him, he was in a uphill battle. In a forerunner to his 1948 upset, Truman outworked his opponents and received support from the St. Louis political machine, which had opposed Pendergast’s Kansas City machine for decades, to a slim victory. During his second term, Truman became a national figure with his Select Committee to Investigate Defense Spending that investigated wasteful spending that saved roughly $15 billion that eventually would get him to be selected as Roosevelt’s 1944 Vice Presidential running mate that was essentially a nomination to be Roosevelt’s successor because everyone knew he would not live out his term. Truman’s nearly 8 years in office cover nearly 60% of the book that started off with his decisions and actions for the five months that dealt with challenges that no other President save Lincoln had to deal with. The challenges of a post-war America especially in the economic sphere led to a Republican takeover of Congress that many blamed Truman for, who used the loss to his advantage to stake differences between both parties that would eventually lead to his strategy for the 1948 Presidential campaign that led to him becoming President in his own right. Truman’s second term was dominated by his decision to military intervene in Korea that would lead to a confrontation with General Douglas McArthur that put civilian control of the military at stake, but also would continually lead to charges of Communist subversion of government jobs that reached a fever pitch with Joseph McCarthy. Once out of office, Truman transitioned to a regular citizen and began figuring out how to financially support his family, which eventually lead to Presidential pension laws for Truman and future holders of the office and creating the Presidential Library system that we know today. But after leaving office very unpopular, Truman’s popularity grew over the two decades of his post-Presidency so upon his death he was genuinely mourned by the public.

McCullough’s writing reads like a novel with his subject his main character and every other individual in a supporting character to reflect upon the protagonist. As I noted in my synopsis, most of the book covers Truman’s time in office that McCullough documents with detail and when doing a Presidential biography of the man who essentially had to deal with the end of the largest war in human history and the beginning of the Cold War is to be expected. With documentation of Truman’s early life not a prevalent, McCullough’s decision to turn a spotlight to his grandparents and parents at the beginning of the book and throughout Truman’s life added depth to the man and the also the area where he grew up and shaped him.

Truman brings the humble man from Missouri to life for those that have only seen him in black and white photographs and film, David McCullough’s writing hooks the reader from the beginning and makes you want to see how Harry S. Truman’s life played out in all facets.

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Book Review: Greek Mythology by Liv Albert

Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook: From Aphrodite to Zeus, a Profile of Who's Who in Greek Mythology by Liv Albert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For millennia, the gods and heroes of Greece have entertained numerous people and inspired authors and artists across genres, but not everyone today knows Athena from Artemis or the difference from Theseus and Perseus. Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook by Liv Albert is handy guide to the major figures of the mythos for those interested in knowing who is who.

Albert from the outset does not attempt to tackle every figure in Greek mythology or every myth, focusing on the most important and famous gods and heroes. With this in mind, Albert only focusing one story per entry, though many gods and/or heroes appear in multiple entries given their importance (i.e. Zeus in producing children and Hera going after them or their mothers). Except for individuals and events from The Iliad and The Odyssey, Albert retells the myths in a more balanced way most notably by calling out Zeus as a sexual deviant and Hera for her victim-blaming to name the two most prominent instances throughout multiple entries. Adding depth to the mythological retellings are roughly 25 illustrations by the amazingly talented Sara Richard whose art-deco influenced style gives the gods an ethereal appearance and mortals an unworldly quality.

Greek Mythology is a fantastic introductory book for those interested in the mythos of the ancient Greeks thanks to Liv Albert’s writing and Sara Richard’s art.

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Review: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

My Rating : 1 out of 5 stars

A young woman who believes fiction equals real life suddenly finds out that life is not a book, it’s worse. Northanger Abbey was the first novel completed by Jane Austen, but only published after her death.

Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, one of ten children of a country clergyman, grew up a tomboy but by the age of 17 she is "in training for a heroine" and is excessively fond of reading Gothic novels. She is invited by the Allens, her wealthier neighbors in Fullerton, to accompany them to visit the city of Bath and partake in the winter season of balls, theatre, and other social delights. Soon she is introduced to a clever young gentleman, Henry Tilney, with whom she dances and converses. Through Mrs. Allen’s old schoolfriend Mrs. Thorpe, she meets her daughter Isabella, a vivacious and flirtatious young woman, and the two quickly become friends. Mrs. Thorpe’s son, John is also a friend of Catherine’s older brother, James, at Oxford where they are both students. Yet soon enough the Thorpes become possessive of Catherine as John undermines her attempts to spend time with Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor. Isabella and James become engaged. James’ father approves of the match and offers his son a country parson's living of a modest sum, £400 annually, but they must wait until he can obtain the benefice in two and a half years. Isabella is dissatisfied, but to Catherine, she misrepresents her distress as being caused solely by the delay, and not by the value of the sum. Isabella immediately begins to flirt with Captain Tilney, Henry's older brother. Innocent Catherine cannot understand her friend's behavior, but Henry understands all too well, as he knows his brother's character and habits. The Tilneys invite Catherine to stay with them for a few weeks at their home, Northanger Abbey. Catherine, in accordance with her novel reading, expects the abbey to be exotic and frightening. Henry teases her about this, as it turns out that Northanger Abbey is pleasant and decidedly not Gothic. However, the house includes a mysterious suite of rooms that no one ever enters; Catherine learns that they were the apartments of Mrs. Tilney, who died nine years earlier. As General Tilney no longer appears to be ill-affected by her death, Catherine decides that he may have murdered her or even imprisoned her in her chamber. Catherine discovers that her over-active imagination has led her astray, as nothing is strange or distressing in the apartments and is set straight by Henry. Catherine comes to believe that, though novels may be delightful, their content does not relate to everyday life. Isabella breaks her engagement to James, and its implied she is become engaged to Captain Tilney, which Henry and Eleanor Tilney are skeptical of and they turn out to be correct. Yet Catherine is terribly disappointed, realizing what a dishonest person Isabella is. The General goes off to London and the atmosphere at Northanger Abbey immediately becomes lighter and pleasanter for his absence, until he suddenly returns and forces Catherine to go home early the next morning in a shocking, inhospitable, and unsafe move that forces Catherine to undertake the 70 miles journey alone. Once home, Catherine is listless and unhappy. Henry pays a sudden unexpected visit and explains what happened. General Tilney, on the misinformation of John Thorpe, had believed her to be exceedingly rich as the Allens’ prospective heiress, and therefore a proper match for Henry. In London, General Tilney ran into Thorpe again, who, angry and petty at Catherine's refusal of his half-made proposal of marriage, said instead that she was nearly destitute. Enraged, General Tilney returned home to evict Catherine. When Henry returned to Northanger, his father informed him of what had occurred and forbade him to think of Catherine again. When Henry learns how she had been treated, he breaks with his father and tells Catherine he still wants to marry her despite his father's disapproval. Catherine is delighted, though when Henry seeks her parents’ approval, they tell the young couple that final approval will only happen when General Tilney consents, which he eventually does upon learning the truth.

The quality difference between this first Austen novel and the four that were published preceding it is astonishing, frankly because of how bad it is. Catherine is a coming-of-age young woman and acts like it, which is completely fine, however the overall story she is a part of reads like an Austen rip-off if not for the fact that it was written by Austen. The Thorpes are some of the least interesting characters Austen has written as well being some of the most loathsome though not on the level of Mrs. Norris while making Emma appear not so bad. The General comes off as a fool for believing one person say two opposite things and makes Catherine’s assessment of him as uncaring appears more accurate than Henry tries to countermand in the text.

Northanger Abbey shows some foreshadowing of Jane Austen’s style, but unfortunately it also reads like a bad rip-off novel as well that one can believe is written by the same individual that wrote her four great novels.

Book Review: Broken by Jenny Lawson

Broken by Jenny Lawson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can a book be written that is both humorous as well as serious about mental health? For the third time Jenny Lawson, aka “The Bloggess”, answers yes with Broken (in the best possible way).

As with her previous book Lawson alternates between humor and seriousness, whether dealing with issues with her health or everyday events or just something that inspired her to write about. Always open about the challenges with her physical and mental health, Lawson mixes healthy self-deprecating humor with serious inspirational essays to those who suffer life her while bringing encouragement to all her readers. Essays about her life’s misadventures either on her own or with her family—primarily with her husband Victor—are hilarious and even make you laugh out loud. Other essays include Lawson’s unique ideas for Shark Tank and discussions with her editors about her writing style to name a few, all funny and enjoyable reads in themselves.

Having previously read Lawson’s other two books, I knew what type of book I was going to read and upon completion can say that it is as excellent as them. Lawson knows how to mix humor and serious issues, sometimes in the same essay and sometimes in separate ones, which means that no matter the material covered from reflections on mental health to chronicling medical treatments to her everyday misadventures at home or in the neighborhood or in town everything is written fresh and new from anything previously published. And frankly after the last year we all have had, not only the humorous essays are welcomed but also the encouragement for when we know we feel something wrong with us.

Broken (in the best possible way) shows the unique writing style of Jenny Lawson that has made a favorite of millions of reads on the Internet and on the page. This book can either be an introduction to Lawson for a first-time reader or a reacquaintance to a longtime fan of her books.

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