Department of Book Reports: Julian

In the Spring of AD 380, letters are exchanged between two old men, philosophers, one in Athens and the other in Antioch. They squabble over the price of copying and their respective ages. One complains about the aging process while the other brags about his on-going virility. Most importantly, they discuss the existence of a hidden memoir written by the Emperor Julian, their friend, who was killed in 363 while conducting a military campaign in Parthia, modern day Iran.

Gore Vidal's Julian (Vintage $16.00) was first published in 1964, and remains one of the great historical novels. For me, it bears a rereading often as new ideas and details emerge on each reading. The prose is luminous, and the voices of the three narrators, the philosophers Libanius and Priscus, as well as the Emperor Julian, are lively and engaging.

Julian reigned only two years, but the memory of his time remains. He was the nephew of the Emperor Constantine, who built the new Roman capital of Constantinople, as well as adopting Christianity as the preferred state religion. Following the death of Constantine, Julian, reared as Christian, managed to avoid the family fighting among his cousins for the Imperial throne. He fell in love with philosophy, studied in Athens, which he loved, and secretly renounced his Christianity. Ultimately impressed into Imperial duties, first as Caesar in Gaul, where he warred successfully against the threat of the German tribes on the frontier; and then as acclaimed Emperor. As Emperor, he tried much less successfully to reintroduce Paganism to the Empire, resisted at all times by the various Bishops of the Church. Perhaps thinking himself a new Alexander, Julian went on to march against Rome's great Eastern nemesis, Parthia, where he was killed in a skirmish, maybe by a Roman lance.

Gore Vidal is our best historical novelist. Anyone who read his series on American history know how compelling a storyteller he can be. From Burr, to Lincoln, 1876, Empire and Hollywood, he knows (and is related to many) the major actors of the American past. He is one of the last of those great public intellectuals born in the 1920's that included Norman Mailer and is as well-known for his essays on contemporary affairs as well as his novels. He has also written plays like Visit to a Small Planet, as well as mysteries under the name of Edgar Box. In any event, if you enjoy history and historical novels, do yourself a favor and read Julian. Or re-read it.

Julian, and other novels by Gore Vidal, is available at Jackson Street Books and other fine independent bookstores.

Westport Pirates

We decided to venture out and look for pirates today. We got to see a few, but it was the boats we came to see.This is the Lady Washington, originally built 20 years ago to illustrate the local history of Gray's Harbor.


the Hawaiian Chieftain


You can catch the silliness here. I really wanted to see the Pirates Parade, and I did notice the firetruck and another float two blocks away, but I didn't realize we missed the parade. Note to Organizers: if you have a parade; tell people where it is. Oh, and don't leave your floats parked on the street we're not supposed to be looking at.

I hadn't realized alien abductions were such a problem in Westport.
We did go look at the ocean! We waved at RevPaperboy!

Department of Book Reports: Dark Paradise

Faithful readers will know, when I recommend crime fiction, it's the good stuff. Dark Paradise by Lono Waiwaiole (Dennis McMillan, $35) is one of the best of the season. I've been a fan of Lono's since the Wiley series, that were set in Portland, OR. The ending of Wiley's Refrain says "you got to get back to the islands brah". Lono took that to heart and this fast-paced novel is the result of his moving to the big island just as a major meth ring was busted. This dark view of vacation paradise won't be welcomed by the tourist board, but fans of crime noir should rejoice.

Mexican distributors from California have decided to take over the meth trade from the established Japanese, and this has brought the attention of the FBI.

We meet Geronimo Souza, dedicated cop, unfaithful husband and over eager gambler. He knows and is related to many of the local drug dealers. Geronimo wants to minimize collateral damage he knows will come to pass.

Nanali has had to navigate dangerous waters all her life. When her mother was killed by her father, Dominic Rosario, she became the woman of the house at 13. Nanali watches the events and players and believes she is strong enough to step up and take her father's place. Buddy Kai and Sonnyboy Akaka want to keep their share of the action.

Chapters switch between the viewpoints of the characters giving different shifting angles as the battle and retaliations stack up. The Big Island isn't that big where everyone has known each other since grade school.

Lono has a fine ear for the local pidgen and uses it effectively throughout the novel. He has been a high school basketball coach during his teaching years and depicts the teenage scene well here. Well-drawn characters make this a satisfying read, with an ending as sad as the Hawaiian Hymn that closes the book.

Dark Paradise is available from Jackson Street Books and fine indie bookstores everywhere. This beautifully produced volume is a joy to hold.

A Soldier's Peace

When Army journalist Marshall Thompson came home from a tour of duty in Iraq, two things were clear to him – the war is wrong and he needed to do something to stop it. Marshall sets off on foot to walk the entire 500-mile length of his conservative home state of Utah in the hopes of getting people talking about war and peace. All along his 27-day journey, Marshall meets other peace-minded Utahans, as well as those who vehemently oppose the idea of a solider calling for an end to war. No matter what your views are on the War in Iraq, A Soldier’s Peace will leave you with something to think about.

Last weekend, our SLgroup tried to host Marshall Thompson's movie, but it turned out to be the day all things Second Life crashed. The movie didn't get aired, but a very enlightening discussion ensued. You can catch up by going to Marshall's website, or watching the Young Turks tomorrow. Check at 25 minutes past the hour, every three hours. But, you will be a better person if you show up and watch the whole hour.

The movie will be re-scheduled so stay tuned!

More on Gitmo Detainee

Gottalaff has part four of her discussion on Gitmo detainee Fayiz al-Kandari up at The Political Carnival. It is not pretty reading. And it is made worse by that these war crimes were made in our name as Americans. That this man can retain any semblance of a sense of humor is truly amazing. I don't think I would have.


(via http://twitter.com/odaraia)

Department of Book Reports: The Invention of Air

Steven Johnson's The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and The Birth of America (Riverhead Books $25.95) centers upon the figure of 18th century intellectual luminary, Joseph Priestley. In an era that included such figures as Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Antoine Lavosier, as well as the French Philosophes, Priestley still remains an intellectual giant. Not only was he the man who discovered oxygen (although he did not get the chemistry of his discovery and Lavosier was the scientist who named the element), he was a political thinker who supported both the American and French revolutions, and minister as well, who founded with Theophilus Lindsey the first official Unitarian denomination in England.

Johnson explores the milieu in which Priestley made his discoveries. He examines both Thomas Kuhn's notion of Scientific revolution, as well as Karl Marx's notion of dialectics, in order to explain how this unlikely man (who also discovered the idea of soda water) could make the discoveries he did, and finds both models incomplete. Johnson examines the London Coffee Club which provided a culture where Priestley could share his ideas with his friends, including Franklin. The group Priestly belonged to was the Honest Whigs; in the 18th century, the notion that one could separate science from religion and politics did not occur to them, and many lively discussions were had. (Johnson rightly notes that science is not ever far removed from politics, reminding us of the issues of global warming and stem cell research.) Johnson also discusses the changing social landscape of England and its contributions to Priestley's thought, with the coal rich and indutrializing northern England, as opposed to the agrarian south.

Priestley suffered for his radical political positions. In the end of his time in England's green and pleasant lands, rioters burned down his home in England, which prompted him to become the first of many men of science who would someday emigrate to the fledgling American republic. Even in the last decade of his life, Priestley could not avoid politics. Only the intervention of his one-time friend, President John Adams, kept him from being prosecuted under the Alien and Sedition Acts.

In his lifetime, he also published a work taking on what he considered the corruptions of the English church, a work that much influenced his other great American friend, Thomas Jefferson's version of the Bible. Whatever the stereotypes of the Church now, to be a Unitarian in the 18th century was to be a heretic. Unitarians denied the concept of the Trinity (hence Unitarian and not Trinitarians) as well as the divinity of Jesus. Unitarians could not hold public office in England. In America, there was no such prohibition.

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Steven Johnson
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Stephen Colbert in Iraq

Johnson has written a superior and fascinating intellectual history, one that will reward any reader. Now, one of these days, I need to read another novel. But as long as books like this get published, it may be a while.

And if I may be indulged a couple of asides. First, my friends over at The Political Carnival, GottaLaff and Paddy, have done some great work on the detainees at Gitmo, which was discussed on David Shuster's show on Friday. Go please take a look.

I also want to reiterate the General's invitation to join us Second Life progressives at tonight's showing of A Soldier's Peace. After the show and the interview, we will have some live music, courtesy of the author of the piece, Zathras Afarensis, and then I will spin some tunes. Please feel free to join us. We have many people who would be happy to mentor new SLers, including my wife, the lovely BookemJackson Streeter.

How to stalk an author

Garth Stein announced a contest this week; download the "lost dog" poster and snap a picture in a cool location. Sure I coulda gone around Hoquiam and posted it, but I thought it'd be fun to take it to Second Life. I spent all afternoon serial Tweeting my search for Enzo. Here's a re-cap:
First I put it up at Cafe Wellstone, where I'm hosting the Album Cafe tonight: Nick Lowe's Jesus of Cool, 30th anniversary edition.
Michele's lovely rooftop garden. Enzo got to drink from the pond.
Enlisting the help of the Tiny Troops at the Tiny Yak. Enzo! don't drink from the toilet! Tinys pee there!
The beach at the Blue Footed Booby. Dances every Thursday after Virtually Speaking.
I didn't tweet this pic of the lovely Luna as it was so hard to see Enzo begging scraps under the table at the Barefoot Lass Tavern.
Night time at the General & Witchy's gazebo. Don't go into the woods, Enzo! There are bears at the Hetstance Ranch!
Back to the Blue Footed Booby Bar to drown my sorrows with flat Jack Sparrow.
Returning home. Hey! There's Enzo waiting on the steps! Isn't that the way it always goes?
Finally a moment to relax. Good boy, Enzo!

Big Thanks to all my Second Life friends who helped with these photos.

I had asked Garth last week to read The Art of Racing in the Rain at the SL bookstore and when he asked "Where/what's SL?" I sent a lengthy essay with links. His reply: "Oh, god, you're a nut. This is too much for me to learn." But the pictures today did the trick! From Twitter: "garthstein@jacksonstbooks Oh, that is quite brilliant. I am definitely doing a reading at SL. As soon as my 13 yr old teaches me how."

My work here is done :)