November 23, 2001
From the desk of Jane Galt:WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK
WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK
World War II Nostalgia
The Corps series, by WEB Griffin. The books are somewhat cartoonish (does every Marine meet good looking women who fall into bed with them five hours after they meet?), but very amusing and offer interesting historical tidbits. For those of us who find the present a little frightening, it's a pleasant escape, especially since it makes you realize that it wasn't a very sure thing that we would win the war, way back then.
Could This Be Another Great Depression?
Once in Golconda by John Brooks. It's not quite up to the incomparable The Great Crash by John Kenneth Galbraith, but it's an interesting picture of the period between 1920-1940, and is blissfully free of Galbraith's obvious (if sometimes accurate) editorial bias.
How Should the Nation React to a New Security Threat
The Rosenberg File by Ronald Radosh. Yes, indeed, they were communist spies. The book is thorough, but lacks direction -- there is a mountain of evidence, but the straight chronological recount, without the framework of conclusions that could or should be drawn from it, makes it feel rather meandering. If all you want is the facts, its a useful compendium -- but since I was born in 1973, I wanted a little more context.
Where's the Light at the End of the Tunnel
When God Doesn't Make Sense by James Dobson. Yes, the Family Research Council. It was given to me free by the Salvation Army (funny, I never thought about the Salvation component until I got down here -- where they are doing a superb job, by the way), and takes about two hours to read. While I have a little trouble with the author's biblical literalism (I just can't believe that there are demons hovering around trying to do me in) it has some surprisingly insightful, and incisive, things to say about the anger one feels when things don't go according to plan.
Just for Fun
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. I'm afraid that for me, nothing he writes has ever lived up to The Chosen and The Promise. But still excellent by any other standards.