Atlas Shrugged - Part III

Part three of the trilogy debuts in one week. Watch for it in a theater near you.

Absurdism at its finest...

One hundred years ago today one of the finest writers ever to walk the face of the earth was born in French Algeria. I am speaking of Albert Camus, whose novel The Stranger is one of the most remarkable pieces of writing I have ever read. Happy birthday Mr. Camus, your contributions to the annals of literature will forever stand tall among the great outputs mankind has produced.

Maurice Sendak dead

The author of the signal children's book Where The Wild Things Are is dead at 83. The book has received much critical acclaim and its author was indeed prolific (writing and illustrating more than 50 children's books throughout his career), but the book itself never moved me as much as it seemed to do for so many others, neither in the past as a child or now as a parent. I somewhat enjoyed it as a child, but I liked many other books much more and to this day I just don't see what all the hype was about as it won the Caldecott Medal, the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize for children's books. In an interview once he said that the monsters he drew resembled his extended family. Rest in peace Maurice Sendak.

The Big Miss

Now that Tiger has finally won again, the WSJ has a short review of Hank Haney's book The Big Miss.

Happy Birthday Bacardi

Happy birthday Bacardi. The company turns 150 today. It has a remarkable history and I have been fortunate to see and live parts of that story up close. You can see the highlights of that history here. You can also see my review of Tom Gjelten's book, Bacardi and the long fight for Cuba: A biography of a Cause here.

A Beautiful Song

As an audiophile I must say I really enjoyed this book. It is an engaging read which takes you on a wonderfully crafted journey through a boy's life, his love of music, and the joys and tribulations he reaps due to his dedication to his craft. Stu, a typical suburban boy grows up to be an atypical rock star, Dylan, and along the way deals with all the ins and outs of becoming successful in the music business with his band The Overture. I found myself continuing to read as I eagerly wanted to know what each new chapter in Stu's multifaceted life would bring, including the eventual waning of his fame and career as the music industry changed around him and how he would handle it. This is a wonderful book which sucks you in and leaves you feeling satisfied at the end, having read about a life well lived with purpose and grace.

Andre Agassi and his contribution to the field of education

I recently read Andre Agassi's autobiography Open and it was a highly interesting and entertaining read. From his demanding father, to his marriage and divorce from Brooke Shields, his tennis accomplishments and his ultimate marriage to Steffi Graf, what I found most admirable about him is the very brief mention at the end of his founding of Agassi Prep.

Through his efforts there is a K-12 school in Nevada which during its short existence (they have had 3 graduating classes so far) has sent every single graduating child on to a university. He is now stepping up his already significant efforts to improve the quality of education in his home state and outside of it as well. Here is an interview with Agassi where he is asked about, among other things, his contributions to the education of our youth.

You might be a zombie

And other bad news. I just finished reading this book from the editors of Cracked.com and not only is it hilarious, but it is chock full of shocking but utterly true facts. Some examples:

Did you know that Barry Manilow did not write I write the songs? In fact he wasn't even the first person to cover it.

Did you know that Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb? Hmmm.

Did you know that even though John F, Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize for Profiles in Courage he didn't really write it?

Did you know that President Andrew Jackson spent a lot of time dueling? Depending on the sources consulted Jackson participated in anywhere from thirteen to hundreds of duels and was actually shot during one of them. The bullet remained in Jackson's body for nineteen more years.

This book is funny, informative and a light, entertaining read. Full title, You might be a zombie and other bad news.

The Lost City of Z

Before I picked up this book by David Grann I had never heard of Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett, who according to Grann was not really a full colonel but rather a lieutenant colonel who used the colonel title because he believed it helped his fund-raising efforts. This detail notwithstanding, Fawcett was an incredibly colorful character who vanished during an expedition into the Amazon in search of a magical city he simply dubbed Z.

An indomitable explorer and surveyor, Fawcett made numerous trips into the Amazon at the behest of Britain's Royal Geographical Society, always returning in record time and with unsurpassed results. He was an intrepid man with a strong constitution (a requisite trait for explorers at the time who were constantly exposed to infection and illness) and resolute conviction in what he was doing. He served with distinction during World War I, sired three children and was friends with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Over 100 people are estimated to have died trying to find out what happened to Fawcett on his last, ill-fated expedition. Grann, a writer for The New Yorker, decided to give it a go as well. The result is this book, based on extensive research and a trip into the Amazon. With his writing Grann puts you right in the middle of all of Fawcett's expeditions and the privations he and his parties routinely suffered. After reading this book I kept asking myself one question, "Why would anyone undertake such arduous agony?" The answer is complex and lies in Fawcett's driven nature and Grann gives very good glimpses into this larger than life man and his reasons for doing what he did.

On his last expedition Fawcett set out with only two other companions, one of his sons and his son's best friend. They subsequently disappeared, never to be heard from again. I can only imagine what Fawcett must have felt when the party's demise ultimately came and he knew he was responsible for the death of his son. Wikipedia notes that only recently in the uncharted jungles of Brazil such a city as the one that became Fawcett's obsessive quest has recently been found at the latitude, longitude coordinates (-8.843889°,-67.253056°).

Pirate Latitudes

I have always liked Michael Crichton as an author. I have read all of his books and each one has held my attention from beginning to end. I also liked that each novel was so different from his previous offering. Anyway, I was walking through Barnes and Noble and did a double take the other day because there in hardback was another novel by him on display. Knowing he had passed back in 2008 I went back and picked up the book to see its date of publication. It was published in 2009 and on the back inside dust jacket the last sentence reads like this.

"Pirate Latitudes was discovered as a complete manuscript in his files after his death in 2008."

I broke my rule of never buying a hard back and purchased it. The book is 312 pages long and I devoured it in two sittings. It keeps your attention throughout and is a swashbuckling good read. The book starts in the Jamaican town of Port Royale and it is privateers against the Spaniards in wonderful prose from there on out, complete with a motley but efficient crew and the required damsel in distress rescue. Seldom have ship battles on the Spanish lake that is the Caribbean been this wonderfully penned and I guarantee that this book will eventually be churned out as movie by Hollywood. It's that good.

Jockey / Author Dick Francis dead

Dick Francis, the jockey who took up writing after hanging up his saddle, has died of "old age." He was 89 years old. His novels were easy, entertaining, escapist reads. I have never been into horse-racing or even ridden a horse for that matter, but his books were so much fun to read that I learned a lot about the racing world through his stories. These were formulaic mysteries typically set against some form of horse-racing backdrop. Considering he began writing later in life he was quite prolific. All in all, he produced 42 novels and I have read each and every one. So much so, that since I don't read hardbacks sometimes I would be waiting for months for his next novel to come out in paperback. I'll miss his output.

Motivation for the new year

Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind is interviewed here by Barbara Chai of the WSJ about his new book Drive, which explores the concept of human motivation and what he calls "the surprising truth" about what motivates us.

Who really is the writer?

A closer look at "ghost" writers and their world. This WSJ article looks at what the role is of the often overlooked "aide" who helps shape, write or even birth a celebrity book or memoir. How much involvement do they really have and how much money or credit do they get? I can assure you, there is no ghost writer on this blog even though sometimes it feels a little haunted and I get very little credit and even less money

The Blind Side

Since the movie is out, here is a review of Michael Lewis's book . The review is written by George F. Will for the NYT. I am in the process of reading the book right now and the first 80 pages have me hooked. The author is the same guy who wrote Liar's Poker.

The Prisoner's Dilemma and U.S. Foreign Policy

Bill Whittle examines U.S. foreign policy through the lens of Game Theory and specifically the Prisoner's Dilemma. He also makes mention of David Axelrod's book, The Evolution of Cooperation, which I have read. It is good reading.

A new biography of Ayn Rand

The WSJ interviews Anne C. Heller, an author who has written a new biography of Ayn Rand, who seems to be in vogue these days with all that is going on in our economy.

An alternate view on Gladwell's work

I have written about Malcolm Gladwell before on this blog, reviewing his book Outliers: The Story of Success here. Overall I liked the book and thought it had something to say. From The Nation, here is another view on Gladwell's body of work, entitled Gladwell for Dummies. As you might infer from the title, the article is not so enamored of Gladwell's copious literary output.

SuperFreaking out over SuperFreakonomics

Remember this post where I mentioned that the chapter in SuperFreakonomics on Global Warming or Climate Change, whichever way you want to look at it, was already creating quite a ruckus? Well, here is a commentary on the flap by Ronald Bailey (Science Editor at Reason Magazine) over at Reason.com. It is pretty interesting. The last line in his commentary sums it up very nicely.

"Although flawed, in SuperFreakonomics, Levitt and Dubner have done citizens and policymakers a real service by breaking the taboo on discussing the feasibility and risks of climate engineering in public."

SuperFreakonomics is out

The book is already near number one on Amazon here in the U.S. Here is an excerpt on "altruism" from chapter three. These guys write pretty well and the way they treat topics can be controversial to say the least. I will be picking up my copy soon. Apparently the chapter on Global Warming has already created quite a ruckus.

A rare admission from Sandy Weill

Sandy Weill comes extremely close to admitting he made a huge mistake firing Jamie Dimon from Citigroup after the merger. When it happened there was a lot of speculation about what led to this momentous event. In the second of a two-part excerpt from journalist Duff McDonald's new book, Last Man Standing, he documents in detail what happened during the fateful get-together at The Greenbrier, the luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia which eventually led to Dimon's downfall. Today Dimon is heading up a very healthy JPMorgan Chase as its CEO and Chairman while Citi continues to flounder.

The money quote from Weill is as follows, "I think I made a very bad decision on succession."