If ya don’t read, ya can’t write, and if ya don’t learn, ya can’t teach. Christmas season afforded me some recreational as opposed to work-related reading time for a change…and whaddaya know, I learned some stuff.
I grew up reading the work of Dashiell Hammett, who created the original hard-boiled private eye genre with characters like Sam Spade. I had always heard the author’s first name pronounced “DASH-ee-ell,” or occasionally “DAY-she-ell.” Turns out the man himself pronounced it “da-SHEEL.” Learned it from the superbly researched bio, “The Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett” by Nathan Ward.
Likewise, I was a little kid when I read Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Little kids tend not to pick up subtleties. Reading Shelley Fisher Fishkin’s recently published “Writing America: Literary Landmarks from Walden Pond to Wounded Knee,” I found the following:
“In 1949 in an essay titled ‘Everybody’s Protest Novel,’ James Baldwin wrote that Stowe was ‘not so much a novelist as an impassioned pamphleteer,’ author of ‘a very bad novel’ whose sticky sentimentality gave life to racial stereotypes while denying life and complexity to its black characters; the book, Baldwin believed, promoted rather than challenged prejudice based on color and race: the only black characters in the novel who manifest intelligence, initiative, and independence, he reminds us, do so in direct proportion to the lightness of their skin.”
I totally missed that as a young boy, and am going to have to reread “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
If you folks out there have had any such “Damn—I didn’t know that” moments lately, you’re invited to share them here.
James Baldwin, James Baldwin ??? You kidding me ? A freaking commie deviated prevert ? Were you drinking too much over the holidays ?
Polls and statistics are sometimes misleading and incorrect, and often suffer from political bias, but the American literacy rate has been dreary for decades and appears to be worsening.
When I was in graduate school in the early 2000s it was observed then that only 51% of adult Americans could read at a 4th grade level or higher. Sad and ominous.
For more info on this topic, see http://literacyprojectfoundation.org/community/statistics/.
I didn’t read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” until two years ago. In a preface to the edition I read, it mentioned a lot about the political intent of Stowe as well as her probable opinion of blacks as opposed to slavery. Ironically, my wife (an English teacher) and I were just talking about “Go Set a Watchman” vs. “To Kill a Mockingbird”. I mentioned that several of the ideas in “GSW” were closer to those of my childhood in the early 60’s that those in “TKM”.
@Spencer, When I graduated high school, I was told that newspapers were written at the level of an eighth grader. When I started teaching in the late 90’s , it was down to 5th grade. It is sad that it keeps dropping. I can only hope some of the “non-reader” high school graduates don’t take up reloading and stand next to me at the range.
Does the biography mention that Hammett was for all intents and purposes a Communist? He (and his wife, Lillian Hellman), were open admirers of the USSR and Stalin. Hammett played an important role in the Communist-controlled craft unions blocking production of some anti-Communist movies.
The TV is responsible for that. It could have been the greatest educational tool in history but is squandered on marketing. And mostly bad food at that.
I read recently “If a person does not read, it’s the same as if they can’t read”.
I don’t remember who said it. Someone here can prolly tell who.
Grandpa (me) and Grandma went to the east coast to help out our daughter with a new grandson from a week before Christmas through the 9th of January. We are readers who normally read 2 to 3 books a week, so given two days of coast to coast travel and three weeks of baby imposed down time, I read a lot more than normal.
I’ll break it into five categories, Must Re-Read Older Books, Self Defense Training, Non Fiction, Fiction Enjoyable Good Reads, and Books Important Enough to buy and Ship to my 3 adult children.
1. Must Read /Reread Older Books
Principles of Personal Defense
Jeff Cooper
This was copyrighted in 1972, 1989 and 2006 and is maybe as relevant a philosophy now than in 1972. A great read. He wrote before the latest version that rarely does an author reviews a book written a decade before and found no need to change and update. In 2016 I agree with what Jeff wrote even another decade after he wrote it did not need updating.
The Art of the Rifle
Jeff Cooper
This book is somewhat dated but also chock full of timeless wisdom.
2. Self Defense Training
Tactical Pistol: Advanced Gun fighting Concepts and Techniques
Gabriel Suarez
Intro by Massad Ayoob
The book brought up a lot of different thought provoking tactics, tactical scenarios and solutions.
Question for Mas? – You said you did not agree with some points in the book, what did you not agree with?
Combat Shooting with Massad Ayoob
Massad Ayoob
Good read also good to reread periodically.
Gun Digest’s Concealed Carry Shoulder Holsters
Massad Ayoob
If you use or are thinking of using concealed carry shoulder holsters, this is a must for a discussion of safety issues, training and pros and cons of different types of shoulder holsters.
3. Non Fiction
13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi
Mitchell Zuckoff with the Annex Security Team
It won’t leave you feeling warm and fuzzy about how these people were hung out to dry. You can go to the movie based on the book which came over the weekend. After the book and the making of the movie more information from the court ordered monthly email dumps has surfaced. The Pentagon had assets ready to respond but State and the White House would never answer the phone calls or emails asking for authorization to respond.
4. Fiction Enjoyable Good Reads
WIRED – (Book 1) – sequel Amped (Book 2)
Douglas E. Richards
Futuristic thriller, NY Times best seller, page turner, reminiscent of Michael Creighton’s writing.
Winter of the Wolves
Jackie Clay
Based Mas’s recommendation I read books 1 & 2. This is the 3rd book in Jackie’s series. Enjoyable western
5. I thought enough of bought and gave two books my 3 adult children
Deadly Force
Massad Ayoob
A must read and reread for anyone who owns firearms.
Your Personal Security & Privacy
John Mingles
This book is not about guns for security but just about everything else you need to know to protect yourself and your privacy. This book is more of a gut check on your preparedness and what you need to protect yourself from both physical, and privacy threats. It is inexpensive at about $10- $12 and well worth it.
Armed Citizen Legal Defense Network’s – Book Review Link: http://www.armedcitizensnetwork.org/index.php/feb-2015-book-review
I guess buying this list I gave Mas a few coins towards the Evil Princess’s next trinket.
Mas, I think what you are really talking about is the new things we learn about in areas we thought we knew. There is (of course) many things we do not know, but when you find something unknown in an area you are exceedingly familiar with, then that is a crystal moment. That is like exploring and finding a new lake you didn’t know was there. It is a “Wow, how about that?” moment. I relish those encounters and really enjoy them.
Nevada Vin, thanks for the kind words.
Rich Rostrum, the Hammett book focuses less on his politics than on his background in actual investigations, and how it impacted the plotting of his novels, and on how his severe health issues impacted him and his family.
Excuse me. My name is Rostr_o_m. I can spell Massad Ayoob, or Daniel Rostenkowski, or José Yglesias, or Silvio Berlusconi, or even Balasubramaniam Rabindranath (a chap I met once 40 years ago). People should be able to spell my very simple name, dammit.
This is my sore toe, the one thing I always complain about. Someone may call me a white racist, or a traitor to the white race, or a RINO, or a right-wing nutcase, and I may respond, or just ignore it.
But farble my name, and I WILL RANT! So there. Hmmph.
Rich, my apologies for the errant vowel. I of all people should be sensitive to misspelled names.
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