Category: Book of the Day

We Return: Book of the Day

As you’re all busy, for sure, with new activities in a new year, I’m sure we haven’t been too awfully missed.  But! we are back, and the first Book of the Day for 2009 is: After the Taliban: Nation-Building in Afghanistan by James F. Dobbins, a former ambassador for the USA to the European Union.

I don’t think its much of a secret that the United States isn’t all that popular in a lot of places due to the last 8 years and decisions the government has made in regards to war in other nations.  Dobbins discusses his role in re-establishing a government once the Taliban was taken out of power in Afghanistan.  Why is the opinion of Dobbins important?  He’s a guy who has helped rebuild Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo, and he’s not afraid to tell you how the U.S. War cabinet shot itself in the foot (figuratively, not like Plaxico Burress) and broke down over Afghan issues. It is a straight forward account of a man doing his job.  It just so happens that his job affects at least two nations and all of their members.

Michael Phelps and His Book Won’t Help You Swim Fast

I used to give atheletes a lot of flack for seemingly always needing a co-writer for their memoirs.  But hey, if you’re that freakishly good at one thing, you’ve got a good shot at being not that great at a few things.  It might as well be a permission slip, being that freakishly good:  free pass on 2 social skills and 1 basic talent.  I’d say writing a book is probably a heavier weight than any of the given passes, so I’ll let it go.

So what do we know about Michael Phelps?  He swims fast.  He eats a lot of food.  His book, No Limits: The Will to Succeed, co-written with Alan Abrahamson, discusses how he’s set himself up with the desire to push himself that much harder, as well as the relentless training he puts himself through.  This book just made it to our McNaughton Collection, so it is advisable to check it out sooner than later.

A Sobering Book of the Day

The mass killings carried out by the Nazi party and their allies during World War II are horrific.  The impact certainly overshadowed other mass killings carried out by regimes in the 20th Century, but Benjamin A. Valentino is out to make sure these tragedies and their lessons do not go unnoticed.  His book, Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the 20th Century, looks at all of the different places where, by his definition, at least 50,000 people are killed in a 5 year period. A brief list of mass killings:

  • Soviet Union
  • China
  • Cambodia
  • Nazi Germany
  • Armenia
  • Rwanda
  • Soviet occupation of Afghanistan
  • Guatemala

And there are probably more.  This book provides a new look at the brutality of the 20th Century, but contains lessons one should remember.

Book of the Day from Andrea Kempf

Andrea Kempf is a Professor/Librarian at JCCC.  She’s also really smart.  Here’s a book + review she passed along to me a few days ago, which I’m finally posting.

Smile as they Bow by Nu Nu Yi. In the first contemporary novel from Burma, published since a dictatorial regime has virtually closed the country, Nu Nu Yi writes about a festival where spirit mediums (called Natkadaws who are usually transvestites) are paid to pray for solutions to people’s problems for steep payments. The main character is an aging medium whose young lover has become interested in a beggar girl. The novel not only explores gay life in Burma but is also a window on a little known part of the world.

Torture and the Military Profession

I’m reading this article in the Washington Post (if they make you sign up, it is a free account) about foreign perceptions on our torture policies.  It goes on to say that one of the biggest selling points for non-Iraqi opponents who fight US troops in Iraq was that they all believe that we torture prisoners, and that recent policies which may condone torture led them to believe they’d be severely tortured.  From the article:

It’s no exaggeration to say that at least half of our losses and casualties in that country have come at the hands of foreigners who joined the fray because of our program of detainee abuse. The number of U.S. soldiers who have died because of our torture policy will never be definitively known, but it is fair to say that it is close to the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

That’s a pretty bold statement, and also where today’s book comes in:  Torture and the Military Profession by Jessica Wolfendale.  Wolfendale presents the point of view that torture done by a military, sanctioned or not, may be a direct result of military training methods.  She also calls for a dramatic change in how military troops are cultivated to have less of a psychological impact that could cause these behaviors. While I’m not sure I agree with all of her points, it is an interesting take on how some recent events may have come about.

Down to the (Under)wire

I’m not going to pretend to understand the world of women’s undergarments.  Pantyhose seems to be the most useless clothing item aside from possibly the necktie or the marching band plume.

So the idea that there’s some outside motivation controlling why women wear what they wear is not a surprise to me.  From the idealization to unrealistic expectations, I’m sure its men’s fault.  But the motivations and intricacies of these things I will never get is the topic of Jiggle: (Re)Shaping American Women by Wendy Burns-Ardolino.  Part gender study, part cultural study, this book takes on multiple reasons, types, and purposes for ladies’ undergarments to be what they are, from the past to the present.

You won’t, however, discover a practical purpose for the necktie.

Out of the Office, Please Turn Your Monitors Off

This is the last Book of the Day for the week, as we’re off until Monday.

And to make things harder on me, there are only two new books to update from yesterday.  One of them, however, is Green Jobs: Working for People and the Environment.  If the President Elect follows through with one of his campaign promises, a lot of new jobs being created will be created as “Green Jobs”, a lot of which are in the energy insdustry, and all of which will bring an environmental approach to every day tasks and needs while simultaneously minimizing the environmental impact if not actively trying to better it.

This is a big deal.  As these jobs become real, it is important to keep an understanding on what the jobs actually are, and what they will actually do.  So if you’re looking for a change in the job market or just now looking to enter it, it might be worth your time to flip through the book and see the greener future of employment and productivity.

We’ve Found Life in Twilight!

And by that I mean the Book of the Day is Life in Twilight: The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I saw Twilight this weekend, and my favorite part:  there’s a good Radiohead song during the credits.

Not that I have anything against vampire stories (watch True Blood on HBO and read the Sookie Stackhouse books!), but I have my issues with Edward and company (except Alice!).  What does this have to do with Oppenheimer?  Nothing, except maybe that, like a vampire, if Oppenheimer were to walk outside in daylight during his final years, he’d like burst into flames (which is what real vampires should do).  At least for awhile.  See, McCarthy era politics led to the influential scientist to have his security clearance revoked, and spent about a decade in hearings, disgrace, and disrespect.  It wasn’t until years later that John Kennedy, as president, gave Oppenheimer a medal and an “attaboy” to thank him for his contributions to science.

But its more complicated than all that.  There’s the story of a man and his family struggling through the worst of times locked away underneath the political what-have-you, and this book highlights that.  And, its better than Twilight.

My Biggest Complaint About Moving to Kansas: Fred Phelps

While living in Illinois, I’d hoped that Fred Phelps was a myth and that I’d never actually see him.  When I moved to Kansas, I first saw the Westboro Baptist Church in action in downtown Kansas City.  They were across the street from an Obama rally, children and offensive signs in hand. I’ve now seen them protesting twice. [If you’ve somehow been lucky enough to not know who he is, I am warning you:  This is his site, its URL is offensive, and its content is extremely offensive.]

So anyway, I just didn’t know how someone could lead a congregation around so much hate.  I also don’t understand the train of thought one would take to follow the ill-conceived logic.  Not to mention, Phelps, the leader of the church, had previously won awards from the NAACP for excellence in defending Civil Rights of minorities!  What an unfortunate turn-around.

So some KU students made Fall From Grace, a documentary about Phelps and his church, and its won some awards. Its a fairly neutral approach, but it is hard to not have a bias against such a negative attitude and public campaign (unless of course, you were for it, in which case it would still be hard not to have a bias).  Its worth checking out if you can find the stomach for it.  Its heartbreaking to know such hatred exists, but it is something very present in the area, so it is best to be informed.

It’s Happy Hour Somewhere

I love scotch.  And wine, too, particularly Sauternes (particularly 1979 Chateau d’Yquem).  But I’m quite social, and am quite past my ‘get blitzed’ days.  If you’re under 21, I’ll have to take it on good faith that you’re yet to experience either of these phases of life.  But it is entertaining to see your friends go from being associated with a funnel to being associated with a large leather chair, a smoking jacket and a large, dusty book.

But whether it be a 6-pack or maybe 6oz. of liquid, people have been drinking alcohol for millennia, and that brings us to today’s book:  Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol by Iain Gately.  Wow.  Even his name sounds like he’s sitting in a big, leather chair.  Kudos on the name, Sir Gately.

Want to know about Medieval drinking habits?  Gately’s got it.

Want to know about alcohol and the colonization of America? Gately’s got that, too.

Want to know about why Jay-Z boycotted Cristal?  Wow.. Gately even went there…

I recommend this book, even if you don’t enjoy a drink every now and then.  This is just fascinating stuff.