Collected Miscellany

Heading into the 4th of July weekend – even though the holiday isn’t until Tuesday – I thought it might be appropriate to recommend a perfect book for your holiday enjoyment.

The ever brilliant Richard Brookhiser’s latest work, What Would the Founders Do?, seems well suited to be read this weekend. In WWFD Brookhiser uses his witty and urbane style to outline what the Founding Fathers might think about a variety of issues confronting us today.

If you need something to read on the beach or on the porch swing but you prefer history to the typical summer fare of thrillers or romance novels, Brookhiser would be a good choice.

The introduction sets the stage and seeks to explain exactly why we look to the Founders for guidance:

In moments of struggle, farce, or disaster, the founders are still with us. We look to them for slogans, cheap shots, inspiration and instruction. We seize on them for sleazy advantage and for moral guidance. We ransack what they said and did for clues to what they would, and what we should, do.

The founders knew they were making history. John Adams believed that the day of independence “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival….It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” Like every other country, we honor our heroes, celebrate our holidays, remember our defeats, and regret our failings. But we do more. We engage the founders in a continuing dialog about the present. It is an imaginary dialog, for the founders are dead. Yet they are not entirely dead, for they live on in our minds. Parades and fireworks commemorate American independence, as Adams predicted. But the New York Times also commemorates it by reprinting the Declaration of Independence. We are not content to remember what the founders did; we must read, or at least see, their explanation of it. Having read it, we feel that we can engage it. The Declaration is a position paper and an action memo that is always in our mail box; we believe we can hit the reply button, for further elaboration.

[. . ]

God blessed the founders, they did not bless themselves. Their specialness comes from being human creators of a human thing, America. We, their successor Americans, feel simultaneously awed by them and like them. They built the country, they wrote the user’s manuals—Declaration, Constitution, Federalist Papers—and they ran it while it could still be returned to the manufacturer. We assume that if anyone knows how the U.S.A. should work, it must be them. In that spirit, we ask WWFD—What Would the Founders Do?

What makes WWFD a good summer read is Brookhiser’s light touch and the book’s epigrammatic style. Using his vast knowledge of the history involved and his insight into the personalities, Brookhiser never gets bogged down in minutia or technicalities.

Instead, he gives what might be called a guided tour of the Founding Fathers’ mental furniture; a inside look at the way they thought and acted. He allows us to see the world through their eyes and thus gain perspective on our own time.

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Those who have read this site for a while will not be surprised to find that I am not one to scream censorship the minute a parent complains about a book or a school changes the reading list. I believe parents and schools have the right – actually the duty – to decide what is best for the children in their charge. Sometimes that includes choices about what books should be read or even available to students. And sometimes the folks involved make decisions I might not agree with, but that doesn’t make it censorship.

I bring this up because the issue has come up again here in Ohio. Here is the story from the Columbus Dispatch (sub. may be required):

Olentangy Liberty High School’s summer reading list was a little too hot for at least one parent and the district superintendent.

Olentangy Superintendent Scott Davis rejected two of four books recommended to students entering Liberty’s 10 th-grade college-prep English class. Reading any of them is voluntary.

Davis deemed the books, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, inappropriate after a complaint from a parent.

[. . .]

Davis defended his decision on two fronts: objectionable content and lack of communication to parents about how and why books were selected.

“Lovely Bones has a very graphic rape scene and, given the millions of books that are out there, there has to be a very strong rationale (for selecting it),” he said. “Curious Incident (was removed) largely for potentially offensive language. And I’m not sure we had a process in place that communicated the nature of the material to parents.”

I have not read Lovely Bones – and frankly don’t plan to – but I have read Curious Incident and enjoyed it. But just because I thought it was a great book doesn’t mean I think the parent was wrong to complain. While it is certainly true that most kids are exposed to violence and vulgarity at an early age these days, that doesn’t make it a good thing. I can certainly sympathize with a parents wish to keep the exposure to a minimum. As the father of a 17-month old daughter I am acutely aware of this issue.

Despite, not having read it I would lean toward concern about Lovely Bones more than the Curious Incident. Violent and/or graphic rape scenes are on a different level, to my mind, than mere profanity. But after some thought it seems to me that tenth graders should be able to handle these books or at least have the option of reading and discussing them. Given that the program is voluntary, and the intent is college prep, I think the superintendent acted to hastily.

Granted, there are some students who might not be ready for this type of material, but certainly I think I was able to handle these type of works when I was that age. I don’t think it should result in lawsuits or anything, I just think maybe he pulled the trigger a little to fast. The good news is that this incident seems to have triggered a policy review:

Davis said he envisions creating a different method next year for developing summer reading lists — one that includes teachers, administrators, board members and parents.

“I think there is a wisdom of crowds,” said Davis, who assumed the Olentangy superintendent’s job in May. “That’s the beauty of public schools. We try to get as much input as possible.”

While reading and thinking about the story I was wondering what I might do as a parent if my child was in the class. I think what I would do is discuss the issue with both the teacher and my child. Knowing what the teacher was looking to accomplish would help me understand why the book was being assigned and to get a sense of the teachers perspective. This would also be a great opportunity to read books with your kids and to discuss the important issues involved. You can impart moral guidance and critical thinking by exploring the perspectives and potential trouble spots these books might involve.

I wish my parents would have done more of this. I grew up in a rather strict household where many things were simply off limits. Instead of always leaning toward prohibition I think you can set limits but also discuss how to deal with the ugliness that is out there in the world and how to make sense of it; and more importantly how not to get caught up in it or changed by it. You shouldn’t seek out exposure to dark and ugly things just for the fun of it, but neither can you hope to avoid dealing with the world as it is in some important way.

Such are my thoughts. What does the peanut gallery think? Is it always wrong to remove books from a reading list? Who should decided what books are read or stocked in the library? What role should parents play in this scenario?

If you don’t feel like commenting on this weighty topic, have a good weekend!

Tiger Force by Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss is a fascinating look at men and war. The story is about an elite U.S. Army unit that went terribly wrong. It is like a train wreck that you don’t want to see, but you look anyway.

Early in the Vietnam War, the Army created an elite fighting unit that became known as the “Tiger Force.” This unit would operate under minimal supervision with extended periods in the field. But, something went terribly awry. As a result of high casualties in May 1967, the unit needed to bring in replacements that were not as well trained as their predecessors – these men were highly impressionable. In addition, some of the veterans in the unit were unstable. The raw recruits and embittered veterans were a deadly combination – in a matter of seven months, hundreds of Vietnamese civilians were killed without provocation.

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The next stop on our summer tour of thrillers is T.L. Hines‘debut novel Waking Lazarus. This “Christian Thriller” comes to me by way of the Christian Fiction Blog Tour.

The central character in Waking Lazarus is Jude Allman. Jude is living in Red Lodge, Montana under the name Ron Gress. He has sheetrocked over his windows, sleeps in a recliner rather than a bed, and arms a complex security system each night before dozing fitfully. What has caused Jude/Ron to act in this paranoid manner? He has been pronounced clinically dead three times and yet come back to life each time. These “near death” experiences forced on Jude an unwanted fame and the constant pressure to give desperate people “the answers.” The pressure soon got to be too much and he has escaped to Montana to avoid facing his past. He has suppressed almost all of the memories of his childhood and avoids thinking about the past. Working as a school janitor, Jude has become so inwardly focused and socially awkward that he barely relates to his son Nathan who lives in the same town with his single mother.

But it seems he can’t hide from the events of his past. A series of child abductions, and an encounter with a stranger who knows Jude’s identity, force him to deal with the past and contemplate his plans for the future. He feels the pull of escape – the ability to just disappear and start fresh somewhere else – but he wants to learn to be a father to his son. There are more questions than answers. Are his “visions” really hallucinations brought on by epileptic seizures? Are you really crazy if you can recognize your own paranoia? Can he trust Rachael (Nathan’s mother) or the mysterious Kristina?

Fast moving events soon force Jude to take action and use his unique gift to save those he loves.

Waking Lazarus is an interesting and suspenseful debut novel. It combines a twisting and turning mystery – including a rather dark subplot – with a spiritual storyline to great effect. The mystery keeps you in suspense and the spiritual aspect never overwhelms the story in a didactic way. For a debut novelist Hines does a great job of providing just enough information to keep the reader interested but withholding enough to keep the reader guessing. As with most good thrillers or mysteries there is a surprising twist at the end. I know some in the Christian fiction community are a little nervous about the sudden popularity of the “Christian Thriller” genre and where it might lead. I really can’t speak to the wider impact, but having read Hines and Kathryn Mackel it appears to me that Christian thriller writers are on par with their secular counterparts in providing suspenseful entertainment. If you like your thrillers a little dark and with a supernatural twist be sure to check out Waking Lazarus. I think you will enjoy it no matter what the label.

For a few further thoughts with minor spoilers click below.

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For some (unintentional) reason I seem to be reading a lot of thrillers this summer. From Christian supernatural thrillers to hitman with a conscience to post-war P.I. stories I seem to be reading a lot of action/suspense type stories.

Why do I bring this up? Well, as you might have guessed, I just finished another one: The Husband by long time and bestselling thriller writer Dean Koontz. Believe it or not this is the first Koontz work I have read. When I was reading a lot of genre type novels I mostly leaned toward espionage. After having read The Husband I can see that Koontz reputation is well deserved. He writes suspenseful and gripping thrillers without failing into the predictable or mundane. He adds plenty of twist and turns while at the same time his writing gives the thriller a thoughtful and almost lyrical quality. The Husband is a quintessential summer read – entertaining, fast paced, and interesting without being too heavy.

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I am seem to be hopelessly behind in my reading these days – as are most book bloggers I would imagine. A while back I received Glad News of the Natural World by T.R. Pearson in the mail. Since this was a follow-up to his “breakout” novel A Short History of a Small Place I thought it would be worthwhile to read that first. I managed to do so, and posted a review in May, but then it took me awhile to get to Glad News. [ Now it has taken even longer to post a review] I am glad I persevered and read it, however, as it turned out to be one of the better books I have read this year. It is sure to bring a smile to your face. I found myself chuckling regularly and my wife kept insisting I read sections out loud so she could share the humor. If you enjoy wry and witty prose, larger than life characters that nevertheless perfectly capture the outrageous nature of life you will want to read T.R. Pearson.

A Short History focused on the fictional town of Neely, North Carolina and is narrated by the thirteen-year-old Louis Benfield. Glad News finds the thirty-four-year-old Louis transplanted to New York City. His retired father has found him a job at this old company Meridian Life and Casualty. The job also comes with a apartment, but it is a rather beat up one bedroom that Louis must share with three rather odd roommates.

Following in the footsteps of his actuarial genius father proves too much for Louis. He simply isn’t cut out for the life of a corporate worker bee. Instead, he manages to hang on at Meridian as a general, yet unofficial, handyman. But soon a woman comes into his life and changes all that. What follows is a rollicking, and even touching, look at finding yourself and your place in the world.

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