Book Review: The New Emperors by Harrison E. Salisbury

The 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of this book might have aged Salisbury’s thoughts on how China’s leadership would move towards 2000 poorly, however the historical content about Mao overall and the role the Cultural Revolution played into the response to Tiananmen are top notch.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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Book Review: Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler

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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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.

Book Review: Unique America by Jeff Bahr

Unique America strange, unusual, and just plain fun: A trip through America by Jeff Bahr
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Covering all 50 states, the book highlights roughly 300 attractions and events that are as the title of the book says “strange, unusual, and just plain fun.” Each chapter covers a different region of the country with each page dedicated to a destination—sometimes two if a location has a lot to show—beginning in one state of the region and then systematically going through each state until getting to the other end of the region. Whether looking for interesting destinations to sightsee or stay at, or just taking a trip through reading and using your own imagination, this is a nice resource to reference.

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Book Review: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In our digital age we might not think anyone is invisible but if we open our eyes, we will see those that have fallen through the cracks, now think about how it was 70 years ago for those who knew they were second class citizens. Invisible Man is the only novel that Ralph Ellison published in his lifetime, but upon its publication was hailed as a masterpiece.

The narrator, an unnamed black man who lives in an underground room stealing power from the city's electric grid, reflects on the various ways in which he has experienced social invisibility during his life beginning in his teenage years in the South. Graduating from high school, he wins a scholarship to an all-black college but to receive it, he must first take part in a brutal, humiliating battle royal for the entertainment of the town's rich white dignitaries. After years later during his junior year, he chauffeurs a visiting rich white trustee for the afternoon but goes beyond the campus resulting with horrifying encounters for the trustee upon seeing the underside of black life beyond the campus. Dr. Bledsoe, the college president, excoriates the narrator and expels him through giving him false hope of re-enrolling by giving him recommendation letters to trustees in New York. After learning this, the narrator attempts to get a job at a paint factory but finds everyone suspicious of him which leads to him getting injured. While hospitalized, he is given shock therapy based on misinformation that he purposely caused the accident that injured him. After leaving the hospital, the narrator faints on the streets of Harlem and is taken in by a kindly old-fashioned woman. He later happens across the eviction of an elderly black couple and makes an impassioned speech that incites the crowd to attack the law enforcement officials in charge of the proceedings. After the narrator escapes, he is confronted by Brother Jack, the leader of a group known as "the Brotherhood" that professes its commitment to bettering conditions in Harlem and the rest of the world. At Jack's urging, the narrator agrees to join and speak at rallies to spread the word among the black community. The narrator is successful but is then called before a meeting of the Brotherhood and accused of putting his own ambitions ahead of the group, resulting in him being reassigned to another part of the city to address issues concerning women. Eventually he is told to return since his replacement has disappeared and to find him, which he does only to find him disillusioned then shot by a police officer. At the funeral, he gives a rousing speech that rallies the crowd but upsets the Brotherhood leaders due to them not having an interest in the black community’s problems. Without the narrator to help focus the community, other’s take advantage causing a riot. Getting caught up with looters, the narrator navigates the neighborhoods until he falls into an underground coal bin that he is eventually sealed in which allows him to contemplate the racism he has experienced. In the epilogue, the narrator decides to return to the world and that he is telling his story to help people see past his own invisibility and provided a voice for those with a similar plight.

I will be honest I will have to reread this book in a few years because I feel that early in the book, I was not connecting well with the narrative but that later changed especially as the narrator arrived in New York. The ‘trials and travails’ of the narrator while attempt to work at the paint factory and his treatment with the faux-Communists were eye opening given my current employment and some of the political events and or trends over the years. Ellison’s critical look at the African American societal and cultural divides in the South and the same in the North with prejudices in full display was eye opening and a reminder that to look at groups monolithically is a mistake both today and looking back at history. If I took away anything from this reading of the book, it is that.

Invisible Man is a book that needs to be read period. Ralph Ellison’s masterpiece, while I did not rate it “great” this time, is a book that I need to reread to full grasp everything going on in the narrative and appreciate its impact.

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Book Review: From Manassas to Appomattox by James Longstreet

From Manassas to Appomattox by James Longstreet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After spending years on campaign to win your new nation’s independence, after the war unsuccessful conclusion your former comrades bury you after you decided to support the victors. From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America was James Longstreet’s answer to the post-war criticisms leveled by those who created the Lost Cause myth.

Longstreet gives a quick overview of his early life, his time in West Point, and his service in the Mexican War before going into his resignation from the US Army and journey from New Mexico to Virginia to join the Confederate Army. As the title of the memoir indicates, Longstreet was a participant of the first major battle of the war at First Manassas and he described his own actions throughout the battle as well as the overall course of the confrontation. Longstreet would continue this throughout the book, but also added in his interactions with Lee, Jackson, A.P. Hill, and various Confederate government officials including President Jefferson Davis especially when defending his actions around Gettysburg which Lost Cause proponents claimed cost Lee and thus the South victory. Longstreet also talked about his strategic view of the war as the conflict progressed and viewed the situation in the West where the war could be changed for the better of the Confederates but found his superiors neither supportive before Gettysburg nor once allowed to help in the West undermining the efforts of Confederate forces. Longstreet’s detailed account of the end of the war in early 1865 brought the desperate fight in full view until the surrender before acknowledging that his friendship with General Grant started up again right after the surrender that helped him going forward in his life.

Given this was a memoir and a defense of his own actions against the attacks of those who were political motivated to raise up Lee and Jackson as part of the Lost Cause meant they needed someone to actively undermine them and thus caused the South to lose, one must think hard about what Longstreet is writing through this lens. While fighting for his own reputation, Longstreet was not afraid to show the human fallibility of both Lee and Jackson though not at the expense of their accomplishments nor to aggrandize his own except when the reputations of the troops under his command was at stake. Longstreet’s strategic view of the war, especially the West but also in the Gettysburg campaign, were a fascinating read and interesting to think about. If there is one criticism of the edition that I read it was with the battle maps included as they were hard follow given poor shading and small print which did not really distinguish between Union and Confederate forces.

From Manassas to Appomattox is obviously not an unbiased account of the war from the view of a Confederate general, yet James Longstreet unlike some other Confederates aimed to show the flaws of the Confederacy instead of creating a mythos of a Lost Cause.

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Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sometimes first impressions are off the mark which causes all sorts of problems, either causing you are interest in someone who turns out not to be who you thought or missing someone who is your soulmate. Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s second novel as the explores the roundabout courtship of two individuals whose first impressions of each other put them off on the wrong foot.

Just outside the village of Meryton in Hertfordshire during the Regency, bachelor Mr. Bingley arrives in the neighborhood in a rented residence, where he, his family, and friend Mr. Darcy interact with the Bennets at a local ball. Bingley friendly manner earns him popularity and becomes attracted to the eldest Bennet sister, Jane. Meanwhile the richer Darcy’s prideful demeanor is instantly disliked and the second eldest Bennet, Elizabeth, overhears him stating that she is not attractive enough to tempt him makes her prejudice against him. After Jane falls sick during a visit at Bingley’s and Elizabeth cares for her, Darcy changes his view of Elizabeth while Bingley grows fonder of Jane. The Bennets’ cousin and entailed heir Mr. Collins visits one of the Bennet girls, but after Elizabeth rejects him Collins marries her best friend Charlotte. A charming army officer, George Wickham, arrives in Meryton and relates the bad blood between Darcy and himself confirming Elizabeth's dislike of Darcy. Soon after a ball that the Bingleys hold, they depart for London with no plans to return dashing the expectation of Jane marrying Bingley resulting in her visiting the Bennet’s Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in London. Months later Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins in Kent where she meets Darcy’s wealthy aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who expects her nephew to marry her daughter, only for Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, visit Lady Catherine at the same time. Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth how Darcy recently saved a friend, presumably Bingley, from an undesirable match which obviously upsets Elizabeth. Later, Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, declaring his love for her despite her low social connections. She rejects him angrily, stating she could never love a man who caused her sister such unhappiness, Darcy brags about, and further accuses him of treating Wickham unjustly, which Darcy dismisses sarcastically. A day later Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter that explains his disagreements with Wickham that results in his attempt to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, for her considerable dowry. Darcy also writes that he separated Jane and Bingley due to Jane's reserved behavior, sincerely believing her indifferent to Bingley, and because of the other members of their family. Elizabeth is ashamed by her family's behavior and her own lack of better judgement that resulted in blinded prejudice against Darcy. Some months later, Elizabeth accompanies the Gardiners on a tour of Derbyshire during which they visit Darcy’s estate Pemberley after Elizabeth ascertains that Darcy is absent only for him to return unexpectedly. Darcy is exceedingly gracious and later invites Elizabeth and the Gardiners to meet his sister, and Mr. Gardiner to go fishing. Elizabeth is surprised and delighted by their treatment, connecting well with Georgina much to Darcy’s delight. However, Elizabeth receives news that her sister Lydia has run off with Wickham and informs Darcy before she and the Gardiners depart in haste. After an immensely agonizing interim, Wickham agrees to marry Lydia. With some veneer of decency restored, the couple visit the family and Lydia tells Elizabeth that Darcy was at the wedding. Though Darcy had sworn everyone involved to secrecy, Mrs. Gardiner now feels obliged to inform Elizabeth that he secured the match, at great expense and trouble to himself. She hints that he may have had "another motive" for having done so, implying that she believes Darcy to be in love with Elizabeth. Bingley and Darcy Meryton neighborhood. Bingley proposes to Jane, who accepts. Lady Catherine, hearing rumors that Elizabeth intends to marry Darcy visits and demands she promise never to accept Darcy's proposal. Elizabeth refuses and the outraged Lady Catherine leaves. Darcy, heartened by his aunt's indignant relaying of Elizabeth's response, again proposes, and is accepted.

I don’t know why, but this Austen novel connected more than Sense and Sensibility whether it was because of Elizabeth or the overall story I don’t know. Elizabeth Bennet read as a more rounded character than either of the Dashwood sisters with both agency and a willingness to change. The latter is also true of Mr. Darcy, who changes his view and attitudes to Elizabeth’s family as well as doing things at the beginning he would not have done before. With a few exceptions, the rest of the characters in the novel are a tad two-dimensional although well-written individually and narratively, which has a nice progression from event to another.

Pride and Prejudice might be Jane Austen’s most popular novel and after reading it I can tell why, Elizabeth Bennet is an instantly relatable and likeable character that grows throughout the book through a narratively enjoyable progress.