I grew up in Korea, and when I was a child, I didn't see any pet dogs in my neighborhood. However, there was a scary guard dog in our neighborhood, and it became a daily trial to walk in front of the doors of that house. I would tip-toe to the house, then run across as fast as I could because I was so scared of the dog's loud and menacing bark.
This was the extent of my exposure to dogs until I met my husband to be. Now, we are a family of dog lovers. My favorite quote about dogs - Not everyone knows how to love a dog, but every dog knows how to love a person.
But this book shows the width and the depth of love and devotion one man feels for the dog that not only saves his life and the lives of others on patrol with him, but gives him a reason to live. The extraordinary lengths Fletcher will go to save Jack's life is crazy, stupid, and incredibly inspiring.
~Spoiler Alert~
Fletcher Carson enlists for the Vietnam War for all the wrong reasons. He had recently lost his wife and daughter, and he didn't want to go on living. At 29, he enlists, and a friend asks him why.
"Our soldiers are being massacred in Vietnam. Most of them are still kids. They've got their whole lives ahead of them. It makes sense that people like me enlist."
He enlists, but it doesn't mean he has a death wish. He merely goes through motions of doing what he needs to do, but he's not fully engaged in fighting or trying to stay alive until he meets Jack, a yellow Lab. A yellow Lab emerges from the trees already injured, but the soldiers are weary of such encounters. They already heard enough stories of rigged injured animals being blown up as the American soldiers tried to help them. So, immediately, their leader orders Fletcher to "take him out." When Fletcher refuses, another soldier is ordered, and he shoots the dog. The dog is gravely injured, but Fletcher carries the dog back to the base.
At the base, Jack recovers from his injuries and goes out on patrols with Fletcher's group. Many times, Jack saves the lives of Fletcher's group, and eventually the war ends with both Fletcher and Jack surviving the ordeal, even though several from his group had died in battle. By the war's end, Fletcher is convinced that Jack was sent by his dead daughter to let him know that she and her mother, Fletcher's wife are doing OK. BUT the end was anything but what Fletcher had imagined. The dogs that kept so many of the soldiers alive were considered "surplus military equipment," and the plan was to abandon them in Vietnam.
This is not an acceptable solution to Fletcher, and he tries to find a way to take Jack back home with him. But there is no other way but one. Fletcher jumps from a helicopter as it lifts off, and stay on with Jack. Now, he and Jack must find their way out of Vietnam by land (Vietnam to Laos to Thailand). It is a harrowing journey strewn with extreme dangers, both natural and man-made, but together, they overcome them all. In the end, they make it to Thailand, and finally, they are able to come to America together. He even bring out others who have helped him survive his nightmarish ordeal.
I love to learn something new from a book, and though I don't feel that I've learned anything new from this book, it was an enjoyable read. The only complaint I have about this books is that over and over, right people with right equipment came just in nick of time to rescue Fletcher and Jack, especially at the end on their journey out of Vietnam.
I'd recommend this book to any dog lover, but anyone who is interested in an enjoyable read.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Monday, December 1, 2014
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
One of the teachers I work with at my daughter's elementary school introduced me to this book, and I absolutely loved it. Let me tell you why.
I immigrated to the US when I was ten-years-old from South Korea. Though, at the time, I found consolation in my false impressions that my father spoke English, but I soon found out how little English he actually spoke at the time. Due to lack of English language skills, my brothers and I were teased quite often, but more than anything, our weird names painted big, fat target on our backs.
My Korean name is Ryoung Ah. This is enunciated with the silent R, usually, but the correct enunciation rolls the R in front of the y. But how could the kids in my 4th grade have known? They had to make do with a jumble of letters that you just don't see in American names very often. So, my name got butchered from Rye-young-gah to R-youn-gah, to any number of unwieldy sounds. But I didn't have the courage to correct any of them. One of my brother's name is Dong Hwan, but it got changed to Ding Dong. Dong Dong, etc. The other brother's name is Kyung Tai, but it got changed to Kee-young-tie, etc.
Needless to say, changing Korean names to American names sounded like a good idea, and we did. But even in this, my path to finding an American name of my own wasn't smooth. I liked Christine. Christine Kim had a nice ring to it. So, the next day, I went to school and told another Korean girl that beginning next Monday, I was going to everyone to call me Christine. Well, that "friend" had told everyone to call her Christine after the first recess, and I was left out in the cold. I had to start my search for an American name all over again. Finally, by the end of next week, I settled on Jennifer. I don't even remember if I particularly liked the name, but I chose it because I knew no one else named Jennifer.
With all these stories behind how I ended up with my name, I enjoyed this wonderful book and loved the choice she made. I think it was the right choice for her, but I also realize that I made the right choice for me.
I am Jennifer Ryoung Ah Kim.
P.S. I thought I should add this funny story. When we first got here, my brothers and I were desperate to make friends, and wondered why it was so hard to make friends.... Well, before we started school, my Korean-American uncle taught us a phrase that supposed to keep us out of trouble.
The phrase was... I can't speak English. Please, leave me alone.
What?!? I know.
Even now, I have a hard time believing that my uncle actually taught us the phrase thinking it would solve all kinds of problems. And here we were, wondering why we couldn't make any friends.
I immigrated to the US when I was ten-years-old from South Korea. Though, at the time, I found consolation in my false impressions that my father spoke English, but I soon found out how little English he actually spoke at the time. Due to lack of English language skills, my brothers and I were teased quite often, but more than anything, our weird names painted big, fat target on our backs.
My Korean name is Ryoung Ah. This is enunciated with the silent R, usually, but the correct enunciation rolls the R in front of the y. But how could the kids in my 4th grade have known? They had to make do with a jumble of letters that you just don't see in American names very often. So, my name got butchered from Rye-young-gah to R-youn-gah, to any number of unwieldy sounds. But I didn't have the courage to correct any of them. One of my brother's name is Dong Hwan, but it got changed to Ding Dong. Dong Dong, etc. The other brother's name is Kyung Tai, but it got changed to Kee-young-tie, etc.
Needless to say, changing Korean names to American names sounded like a good idea, and we did. But even in this, my path to finding an American name of my own wasn't smooth. I liked Christine. Christine Kim had a nice ring to it. So, the next day, I went to school and told another Korean girl that beginning next Monday, I was going to everyone to call me Christine. Well, that "friend" had told everyone to call her Christine after the first recess, and I was left out in the cold. I had to start my search for an American name all over again. Finally, by the end of next week, I settled on Jennifer. I don't even remember if I particularly liked the name, but I chose it because I knew no one else named Jennifer.
With all these stories behind how I ended up with my name, I enjoyed this wonderful book and loved the choice she made. I think it was the right choice for her, but I also realize that I made the right choice for me.
I am Jennifer Ryoung Ah Kim.
P.S. I thought I should add this funny story. When we first got here, my brothers and I were desperate to make friends, and wondered why it was so hard to make friends.... Well, before we started school, my Korean-American uncle taught us a phrase that supposed to keep us out of trouble.
The phrase was... I can't speak English. Please, leave me alone.
What?!? I know.
Even now, I have a hard time believing that my uncle actually taught us the phrase thinking it would solve all kinds of problems. And here we were, wondering why we couldn't make any friends.
A free book giveaway on Amazon
Hello everyone. I guess it makes sense that I should love my own book, but this one is particularly personal in regards that it's based on a dream.
I'm running a promotion on Amazon. You can download my latest book, Last Chance Lane by Jennifer R. Kim, for free on 12/3.
I'll tell you about how things are going in my next blog.
Enjoy!
I'm running a promotion on Amazon. You can download my latest book, Last Chance Lane by Jennifer R. Kim, for free on 12/3.
I'll tell you about how things are going in my next blog.
Enjoy!
Saturday, November 15, 2014
The Lady and the Poet by Maeve Haran
John Donne. Anne Donne. Undone.
I remember reading these lines in high school English class and wondered what would induce John Donne to pen such words. These simple words intrigued me far more than any of his poems (maybe I just don't have a poetic soul, but such is the case), but I didn't do anything to find out what he wrote such words. Then a couple of weeks ago, at a library book sale, I picked up this book because I still remembered these words. And now, after having read this book, I want to read his poems.
Spoiler Alert~
Anne Donne (formerly Anne More) came from wealth and privilege. Her unusual grandfather educated her far beyond what would have been acceptable as a young woman, and she had spirit and fire to match her keen intelligence. It was decided that Anne should come to London and stay with her aunt. She was destined to become on of Queen Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting, resulting in an advantageous marriage. At her aunt's house, she meets John Donne; he was her uncle's secretary.
When they first met, she's thirteen years old, but John Donne mistook her for a servant and propositioned her at their first meeting. At a later meeting, she corrected his error and put him in his place. This was the start of their attraction to one another; however, there were several, almost insurmountable obstacles.
Compared to Anne's esteemed background, John was merely a servant in her uncle's household. Anne's highly status conscious father would never want someone like John, who could offer nothing to him, as his son-in-law. When they met, he was a man of 25 who wrote bawdy poems and had a string of women (both high-born and low-born) at his beck-and-call. She was an innocent girl of 13 who was at the cusp of her womanhood. There was a chance he might be thrown into prison. In the time of Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I reign, he was a Catholic, and she was raised Protestant. This alone could have led to great strife. Most importantly, they knew they would most likely be completely ostracized by all those who knew them and might face financial ruin if they act on their love and affection for one another. Even as they faced all these consequences, they married one another in secret when she was 17 years old.
When John Donne revealed their secret marriage to Anne's father a year later, he's thrown in prison, and Anne's father proceeded to dispute the validity of the marriage. However, their marriage was upheld by the courts. Anne's father refused to pay her dowry, and John lost his position. Now, they were forced to live off the charity of Anne's cousin in the country. Though constantly under financial pressures (Anne's father was rather vindictive and slow in paying out her dowry), John and Anne lived happily.
Anne died at the age of 33, after delivering a stillborn child, her 12th child. John never recovered for Anne's death and lived the rest of his life (another 14 years) alone.
This wonderful book brought forth some very interesting points about John and Anne Donne.
John Donne was a worldly man compared to Anne, with bawdy verses, mistresses and what seems like a great appreciation for the good life. So, what induced him to give up all that for Anne? Anne must have been one remarkable young woman, to intrigue, to attract, and to hold his attention for the rest of her life.
Anne's cousin, who supported her and her family for a long time, must be a very generous man who had an understanding wife (is this too modern way of thinking?). It must cost a lot of money to provide housing as well as some level of necessities for the family (especially when Anne and John had many children). Remember, she died after her 12th baby was stillborn? I'm more used to very demanding and judgmental English upper-crust families (from literature) to cut themselves completely off from a wayward family member. Good thing John Donne and Anne Donne weren't completely Undone.
John must have loved Anne dearly. He became a priest after Anne's death. It must have been hellish for him to wake up and know that he must face another day without her (especially in the beginning). Maybe he did find consolation in God.
Very little is known about Anne Donne. I wish there were more of her from historical sources. She would have been a very interesting person, I bet.
Though I had never been interested in John Donne before, I am eager to get my hands on a volume of poetry.
I remember reading these lines in high school English class and wondered what would induce John Donne to pen such words. These simple words intrigued me far more than any of his poems (maybe I just don't have a poetic soul, but such is the case), but I didn't do anything to find out what he wrote such words. Then a couple of weeks ago, at a library book sale, I picked up this book because I still remembered these words. And now, after having read this book, I want to read his poems.
Spoiler Alert~
Anne Donne (formerly Anne More) came from wealth and privilege. Her unusual grandfather educated her far beyond what would have been acceptable as a young woman, and she had spirit and fire to match her keen intelligence. It was decided that Anne should come to London and stay with her aunt. She was destined to become on of Queen Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting, resulting in an advantageous marriage. At her aunt's house, she meets John Donne; he was her uncle's secretary.
When they first met, she's thirteen years old, but John Donne mistook her for a servant and propositioned her at their first meeting. At a later meeting, she corrected his error and put him in his place. This was the start of their attraction to one another; however, there were several, almost insurmountable obstacles.
Compared to Anne's esteemed background, John was merely a servant in her uncle's household. Anne's highly status conscious father would never want someone like John, who could offer nothing to him, as his son-in-law. When they met, he was a man of 25 who wrote bawdy poems and had a string of women (both high-born and low-born) at his beck-and-call. She was an innocent girl of 13 who was at the cusp of her womanhood. There was a chance he might be thrown into prison. In the time of Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I reign, he was a Catholic, and she was raised Protestant. This alone could have led to great strife. Most importantly, they knew they would most likely be completely ostracized by all those who knew them and might face financial ruin if they act on their love and affection for one another. Even as they faced all these consequences, they married one another in secret when she was 17 years old.
When John Donne revealed their secret marriage to Anne's father a year later, he's thrown in prison, and Anne's father proceeded to dispute the validity of the marriage. However, their marriage was upheld by the courts. Anne's father refused to pay her dowry, and John lost his position. Now, they were forced to live off the charity of Anne's cousin in the country. Though constantly under financial pressures (Anne's father was rather vindictive and slow in paying out her dowry), John and Anne lived happily.
Anne died at the age of 33, after delivering a stillborn child, her 12th child. John never recovered for Anne's death and lived the rest of his life (another 14 years) alone.
This wonderful book brought forth some very interesting points about John and Anne Donne.
John Donne was a worldly man compared to Anne, with bawdy verses, mistresses and what seems like a great appreciation for the good life. So, what induced him to give up all that for Anne? Anne must have been one remarkable young woman, to intrigue, to attract, and to hold his attention for the rest of her life.
Anne's cousin, who supported her and her family for a long time, must be a very generous man who had an understanding wife (is this too modern way of thinking?). It must cost a lot of money to provide housing as well as some level of necessities for the family (especially when Anne and John had many children). Remember, she died after her 12th baby was stillborn? I'm more used to very demanding and judgmental English upper-crust families (from literature) to cut themselves completely off from a wayward family member. Good thing John Donne and Anne Donne weren't completely Undone.
John must have loved Anne dearly. He became a priest after Anne's death. It must have been hellish for him to wake up and know that he must face another day without her (especially in the beginning). Maybe he did find consolation in God.
Very little is known about Anne Donne. I wish there were more of her from historical sources. She would have been a very interesting person, I bet.
Though I had never been interested in John Donne before, I am eager to get my hands on a volume of poetry.
1356 by Bernard Cornwell
I have always loved action adventures. In fact, action adventure books (The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Black Night, Ivanhoe, Quo Vadis?, Arsene Lupin books, Sherlock Holmes books, etc.) have kept me sane in the first couple of years of immigration when I felt so alone and lost. These books were my friends, and they helped me keep my spirits up. They taught me never to give up and keep on fighting for what I believed in.
These are some of the most-treasured books I own (especially since they were from a 100 Masterpiece in the World young adult collection in Korean that my parents brought with us when we immigrated to the United States). Some of my favorite modern action adventure writers are Clive Cussler, Micheal Crichton, Daniel Silva, Sharon Kay Penman, etc. And now, I have another to add to the list - Bernard Cornwell.
What I love about these books is that for a short span of time, they take me on a fantastic adventure. I'm so busy keeping my wits about me that I forget to worry about such mundane things as learning English and finishing my Language Arts homework.
Now, on to the review - I love the books I love in this genre for the same reason. They take me to a very exciting place and give me a great roller coaster ride. However, I have yet to write a review about any of the books I love reading on this blog because at the end of the day, they don't linger in my head, making me think about it for a long time, until this book.
I loved the details of medieval life in this book. I can feel the damp chill in the crypt. I can smell the acrid smoke wafting up to the sky. I can feel the blood pounding in my veins with every sword thrust and axe swing. I can share the profound grief in losing love ones so needlessly. All this is wonderful enough, but in the heart of this story is a man driven by his own moral code in the time when a sense of righteousness and moral authority was hijacked by the nobility and Catholic Church and used for their gain rather than for God's justice and mercy.
~Spoiler Alert~
In the time of relic collecting, when a notable relic not only made or broke the church that housed it, but the whole region, Sword of Saint Peter was one of the most sought after relic. Saint Peter purportedly used the sword to slice one of the soldier's ear when they came to take Jesus away to Pontius Pilate. This sword was believed to have mystical powers, and it supposedly granted certain victory to whoever possessed it. With another war between the English and the French looming ahead, the race was on from all sides to find it at all cost.
As the relic hunters drew close, those who were responsible for keeping it safe were forced to move it, and this movement created more upheaval in times of chaos.In these troubling times, Sir Thomas Hookton is busy sacking a castle for a French Count whose wife ran away with the lord of the castle. Sir Thomas Hookton is a very successful mercenary known as Le Batard, and he leads a troop of archers and men-at-arms to serve whoever pays him the most money. Though he meets his end of the bargain, the Count in question, even after having retrieved his errant wife and exacted gruesome revenge on the lord of the castle, short-changes Le Batard. Before Le Batard could collect his just payment from the Count, he is called back by his British liege lord and sent on an important mission to find the Sword of Saint Peter.
Here are some excerpts -
"Bernard Cornwell does the best battle scenes of any writer I've read, past or present."
- George R. R. Martin (author of Game of Thrones)
"His characters are vividly drawn, betrayals lurk around every corner, the humor is as sharp as swords, and the action is nonstop."
- Sharon Kay Penman (one of my personal favorites)
"Cornwell's cinematically detailed battle pieces are literal tours de force."
- Washington Post
Now, on to why I really loved this book.... As I was reading it, everything seemed so unfair. Those who had rank and money could do anything they wanted to do. And the Catholic Church, with its supposed moral righteousness behind it, did everything it wanted to do. A priest's word was all the society needed to find someone guilty of consorting with the devil or some other crime (by the way, how do you fight such a claim? Where can anyone begin?). Then this person would be executed, in very cruel way for that crime. There was very little anyone could do to save a person who had been label thus (especially in places far away from large towns). When I thought about what it would be like to watch my loved one jailed, tortured, then executed for no crime greater than a crime of expediency for the powerful, the impotence of the situation horrified me.
A couple of night ago, I was laying down with my little daughter who called for me in the early morning. Just as I was holding her, a stream of sunshine fingered into her room and illuminated the side of her face where she has a small mole close to her hairline. That mole sent a chill down my spine as I was transported back to the world of 1356. My daughter could have been wrenched away from my arms for that mole alone, jailed and tortured, and maybe even executed for no other reason than someone accused her of a crime.
How does anyone live with that kind of loss and injustice?
I gleefully think about Le Batard taking revenge on the culprits for us.
I think about committing acts of sheer foolishness that would cement my death as well. Do I want to live without my precious child?
But I think the worst possible answer could be that I just have to live with it. I have no other choice. I have to wake up the next day and live my life as if nothing had changed since there was nothing I can do to change anything. Not even for the next victim.
Even though I didn't know it, this book held me under its spell well after I finished the book. My mind made associations I never realized (I'm not sure if there were moles or consorting with the devil actually in the book) and forced me to put myself in the place of these people who lived so long ago. For that alone, I recommend this book.
These are some of the most-treasured books I own (especially since they were from a 100 Masterpiece in the World young adult collection in Korean that my parents brought with us when we immigrated to the United States). Some of my favorite modern action adventure writers are Clive Cussler, Micheal Crichton, Daniel Silva, Sharon Kay Penman, etc. And now, I have another to add to the list - Bernard Cornwell.
What I love about these books is that for a short span of time, they take me on a fantastic adventure. I'm so busy keeping my wits about me that I forget to worry about such mundane things as learning English and finishing my Language Arts homework.
Now, on to the review - I love the books I love in this genre for the same reason. They take me to a very exciting place and give me a great roller coaster ride. However, I have yet to write a review about any of the books I love reading on this blog because at the end of the day, they don't linger in my head, making me think about it for a long time, until this book.
I loved the details of medieval life in this book. I can feel the damp chill in the crypt. I can smell the acrid smoke wafting up to the sky. I can feel the blood pounding in my veins with every sword thrust and axe swing. I can share the profound grief in losing love ones so needlessly. All this is wonderful enough, but in the heart of this story is a man driven by his own moral code in the time when a sense of righteousness and moral authority was hijacked by the nobility and Catholic Church and used for their gain rather than for God's justice and mercy.
~Spoiler Alert~
In the time of relic collecting, when a notable relic not only made or broke the church that housed it, but the whole region, Sword of Saint Peter was one of the most sought after relic. Saint Peter purportedly used the sword to slice one of the soldier's ear when they came to take Jesus away to Pontius Pilate. This sword was believed to have mystical powers, and it supposedly granted certain victory to whoever possessed it. With another war between the English and the French looming ahead, the race was on from all sides to find it at all cost.
As the relic hunters drew close, those who were responsible for keeping it safe were forced to move it, and this movement created more upheaval in times of chaos.In these troubling times, Sir Thomas Hookton is busy sacking a castle for a French Count whose wife ran away with the lord of the castle. Sir Thomas Hookton is a very successful mercenary known as Le Batard, and he leads a troop of archers and men-at-arms to serve whoever pays him the most money. Though he meets his end of the bargain, the Count in question, even after having retrieved his errant wife and exacted gruesome revenge on the lord of the castle, short-changes Le Batard. Before Le Batard could collect his just payment from the Count, he is called back by his British liege lord and sent on an important mission to find the Sword of Saint Peter.
Here are some excerpts -
"Bernard Cornwell does the best battle scenes of any writer I've read, past or present."
- George R. R. Martin (author of Game of Thrones)
"His characters are vividly drawn, betrayals lurk around every corner, the humor is as sharp as swords, and the action is nonstop."
- Sharon Kay Penman (one of my personal favorites)
"Cornwell's cinematically detailed battle pieces are literal tours de force."
- Washington Post
Now, on to why I really loved this book.... As I was reading it, everything seemed so unfair. Those who had rank and money could do anything they wanted to do. And the Catholic Church, with its supposed moral righteousness behind it, did everything it wanted to do. A priest's word was all the society needed to find someone guilty of consorting with the devil or some other crime (by the way, how do you fight such a claim? Where can anyone begin?). Then this person would be executed, in very cruel way for that crime. There was very little anyone could do to save a person who had been label thus (especially in places far away from large towns). When I thought about what it would be like to watch my loved one jailed, tortured, then executed for no crime greater than a crime of expediency for the powerful, the impotence of the situation horrified me.
A couple of night ago, I was laying down with my little daughter who called for me in the early morning. Just as I was holding her, a stream of sunshine fingered into her room and illuminated the side of her face where she has a small mole close to her hairline. That mole sent a chill down my spine as I was transported back to the world of 1356. My daughter could have been wrenched away from my arms for that mole alone, jailed and tortured, and maybe even executed for no other reason than someone accused her of a crime.
How does anyone live with that kind of loss and injustice?
I gleefully think about Le Batard taking revenge on the culprits for us.
I think about committing acts of sheer foolishness that would cement my death as well. Do I want to live without my precious child?
But I think the worst possible answer could be that I just have to live with it. I have no other choice. I have to wake up the next day and live my life as if nothing had changed since there was nothing I can do to change anything. Not even for the next victim.
Even though I didn't know it, this book held me under its spell well after I finished the book. My mind made associations I never realized (I'm not sure if there were moles or consorting with the devil actually in the book) and forced me to put myself in the place of these people who lived so long ago. For that alone, I recommend this book.
Monday, August 4, 2014
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
I am writing about this book not because I loved it (I liked it enough, but I loved the topic), but because it's an important book. Just like Imperial life in Emerald City, this book should be read by as many people as possible.
This book should be required reading for those in the diplomatic corps. I could serve as a partial roadmap of how to get things done in a very challenging social environment. Often, I get the feeling that when a non-native organization is trying to do good in its own cultural and social context (as in Imperial life in Emerald City), it results in disaster. Kamila Sidiqi accomplished much while adhering to the rule of Taliban. This is the trick we need to learn and teach to help those who are living under most difficult circumstances.
Kamila Sidiqi comes from a family of eleven children. She is the third oldest, with an older sister and brother. Having blessed with an educated father who believed in education for all his children, she had big dreams. She hoped to become a professor in Dari or literature one day. All this suddenly came to an end when Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.
Almost immediately, brutal laws were instituted and enforced. Some of them are as follows:
Initially, Kamila's family didn't have to worry about money. Her father had made wise investments, and they were able to make it. However, as time passed and the adult males of the family (Kamila's father and older brother) were forced to leave their home due to Taliban threats (Kamila's family came from northern Afghanistan associated with a rival faction headed by a charismatic mujahadeen fighter), and the household finances were more and more difficult to meet. As desperation grew, Kamila talked her oldest and married sister, Malika, into teaching her how to sew. Though Malika had a university degree and had been a teacher previously, she was now helping her husband make ends meet with her sewing.
Kamila noticed that even under Taliban rule, some women run businesses did well (such as female doctors treating female patients) as long as they heeded no contact with males rule. Kamila decided that they could start sewing clothes to sell at various markets nearby. The only danger lay in Kamila having to talk to the shopkeepers (mostly men) about her wares. In the beginning, Kamila and her sisters only sold a handful of pieces, but soon, the word spread about her work ethic, craftsmanship, quality of clothes, etc. brought in more and more work. And Kamila's enterprise spread from mouth-to-mouth and more and more desperate women came to Kamila's house to beg for work.
The remarkable thing about Kamila is that she didn't turn anyone away. In fact, she created sewing school to take in as many women and girls as possible and to train them. Her business grew and she was able to give desperate women a chance to contribute and help their desperate families.
Kamila's secret to success was that she knew the dangers and she adhere to most of Taliban's rules. This was a recipe to her success. She dealt with most women. She didn't "educate" the girls, but taught them sewing, which would serve the girls well as adults in helping out their families. Even some Taliban soldiers and commanders sent their daughters to Kamila's sewing school and ordered wedding dresses and others from her. So, she kept the big rules, but she broke what she considered less severe ones - like talking to males not related to her.
Though she minimized the risks of her sisters and those who worked for her, she took great personal risks - she went to the markets to negotiate, sometimes every day, and she later went on to work for a UN agency against her family's wishes. Through it all, she held her family together, she provided livelihood for hundreds of people, and she made a difference in lives of many.
What I've learned from this books is that under the most draconian living conditions, we are resilient enough to find ways to not only to survive, but thrive. If Kamila can do it, I feel like I can do it, too. Then I wondered if there were any Kamila Sidiqi's in North Korea, in Syria, in Gaza, etc. and I wondered if there'd be anyone there to write their stories.
I hope there is.
This book should be required reading for those in the diplomatic corps. I could serve as a partial roadmap of how to get things done in a very challenging social environment. Often, I get the feeling that when a non-native organization is trying to do good in its own cultural and social context (as in Imperial life in Emerald City), it results in disaster. Kamila Sidiqi accomplished much while adhering to the rule of Taliban. This is the trick we need to learn and teach to help those who are living under most difficult circumstances.
Kamila Sidiqi comes from a family of eleven children. She is the third oldest, with an older sister and brother. Having blessed with an educated father who believed in education for all his children, she had big dreams. She hoped to become a professor in Dari or literature one day. All this suddenly came to an end when Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.
Almost immediately, brutal laws were instituted and enforced. Some of them are as follows:
- "Accused thieves had one hand and one foot cut off, and their severed limbs hung from posts on street corners as a warning to others."
- Everything that they consider a distraction from worship was banned - such as music, movies, television, card playing, chess, and kite flying.
- Creating a representation of the human figure was forbidden.
- Wearing western clothing or hair cut was forbidden.
- After a short grace period, the length of men's beard must meet Taliban's requirement of longer than a fist length.
- Shaving was forbidden.
- Modernity or anything associated with it was banned.
- Women will stay at home.
- Women are not permitted to work.
- Women must wear the chadri in public.
- Women must travel with a male family chaperone.
- Women cannot speak to men they are not related to.
- Women were banned from schools, offices, etc.
Initially, Kamila's family didn't have to worry about money. Her father had made wise investments, and they were able to make it. However, as time passed and the adult males of the family (Kamila's father and older brother) were forced to leave their home due to Taliban threats (Kamila's family came from northern Afghanistan associated with a rival faction headed by a charismatic mujahadeen fighter), and the household finances were more and more difficult to meet. As desperation grew, Kamila talked her oldest and married sister, Malika, into teaching her how to sew. Though Malika had a university degree and had been a teacher previously, she was now helping her husband make ends meet with her sewing.
Kamila noticed that even under Taliban rule, some women run businesses did well (such as female doctors treating female patients) as long as they heeded no contact with males rule. Kamila decided that they could start sewing clothes to sell at various markets nearby. The only danger lay in Kamila having to talk to the shopkeepers (mostly men) about her wares. In the beginning, Kamila and her sisters only sold a handful of pieces, but soon, the word spread about her work ethic, craftsmanship, quality of clothes, etc. brought in more and more work. And Kamila's enterprise spread from mouth-to-mouth and more and more desperate women came to Kamila's house to beg for work.
The remarkable thing about Kamila is that she didn't turn anyone away. In fact, she created sewing school to take in as many women and girls as possible and to train them. Her business grew and she was able to give desperate women a chance to contribute and help their desperate families.
Kamila's secret to success was that she knew the dangers and she adhere to most of Taliban's rules. This was a recipe to her success. She dealt with most women. She didn't "educate" the girls, but taught them sewing, which would serve the girls well as adults in helping out their families. Even some Taliban soldiers and commanders sent their daughters to Kamila's sewing school and ordered wedding dresses and others from her. So, she kept the big rules, but she broke what she considered less severe ones - like talking to males not related to her.
Though she minimized the risks of her sisters and those who worked for her, she took great personal risks - she went to the markets to negotiate, sometimes every day, and she later went on to work for a UN agency against her family's wishes. Through it all, she held her family together, she provided livelihood for hundreds of people, and she made a difference in lives of many.
What I've learned from this books is that under the most draconian living conditions, we are resilient enough to find ways to not only to survive, but thrive. If Kamila can do it, I feel like I can do it, too. Then I wondered if there were any Kamila Sidiqi's in North Korea, in Syria, in Gaza, etc. and I wondered if there'd be anyone there to write their stories.
I hope there is.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
The Genesis Mystery by Jeffrey Goodman
I like interesting books. OK. That didn’t come out right.Who likes boring books?
I like books that provoke me to think or look at things
differently and entertain possibilities. A friend described my taste in books
as eclectic, and this book definitely falls under the eclectic, provoking category.
I have had this book for a long time (~1986), and I think I’ve
read it more than five, less than ten times since I purchased it. Sometimes I
read it annually, and other times, I can go a long time before I pick it up,
again. But, I find that every time I read it, I get something new out of it
(actually, this is the case for me for most books).
This book basically says that Homo sapiens sapiens were
“smart from the start,” and that of all the
fossils we’ve found around the world show discrete and separate trend
lines for the cranial capacity (as well as other physical characteristics)
rather than overlapping trend lines (which would confirm the traditional
evolutionary models). This means that a 4 million year old Australopithecus
fossil has almost the same features as a ~2 million year old Australopithecus
fossil. That nothing changed in 2 million years! The same can be said for the
Homo erectus fossils ranging in age from ~1.9 million years old to ~140,000
years ago. The same discrete and separate existence applies to Homo habilis,
Neanderthals, and finally, Homo sapiens sapiens. Listed below are the discrete
timelines for other Homo species from Wikipedia:
Homo habilis:
2.33 – 1.44 million years ago
Neanderthals, early:
600,000 – 350,000 years ago
Neanderthals, true:
250,000 – 25,000 years ago
Homo sapiens:
500,000 - ~200,000 years ago
Homo sapiens sapiens:
200,000 – present
I find it curious that there are no noticeable overlapping
trend lines of fossils in any of these groupings. Supposedly, the fossils stayed the same
over these spans of years.
This book also talks about the “impossible evolutionary reversals.”
“In all the successive species of the genus Homo, the genetically controlled traits
of skull-wall thickness and brow-ridge size have undergone a series of
seemingly impossible reversals.”
Skull wall thickness (species listed chronologically):
Homo erectus – Thick
Homo habilis – thin
Neanderthals – Thick
Homo sapiens sapiens – thin
Size of brow bridges (species listed chronologically):
Homo erectus – “substantial”
Homo habilis – “small”
Neanderthals – “massive”
Homo sapiens sapiens – “practically nonexistent”
Finally, this book touches upon evolutionary anomalies such
as our voice box and the sudden appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens’ “sharp
chin, weak brow, and high valuted forehead…,” as well as spiritual aspect of
Homo sapiens sapiens development.
And according to Dr. Goodman, all these attributes point to
some sort of intervention. Whether this intervention comes from God, aliens
(Anunnaki from Sumerian legends), “hitchhiking spirits,” other, etc.
Dr. Goodman doesn’t say what his conclusion is, but leaves it frustratingly or deliciously open for us to ponder.
Dr. Goodman doesn’t say what his conclusion is, but leaves it frustratingly or deliciously open for us to ponder.
HOWEVER,
I’m writing this review because I finally read two very different
thought-provoking books about the same time and everything sort of clicked to
entertain an outrageous what if scenario….
Recently, I read
The 12thPlanet by Zecharia
Sitchin. It talks of alien intervention in forms of creating a slave population using Homo erectus (for gold
mining in Africa) and alien (Anunnaki) DNA, resulting in
Homo sapiens. And as I was reading this book, the Genesis Mystery, it struck me
as odd that the purported time of first Anunnaki visit ~450,000 years ago, and Homo
sapiens timeline of ~500,000 years ago seemed to coincide fairly close. Hm…. Maybe this is the best thing about this book, that we can have fun thinking about what ifs.....
Monday, July 21, 2014
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Though this book was a Junior Library Guild Selection, this is a great book for any age!
Before I get into the book, I'm curious about one thing. I wonder if it was normal for an orphaned child to be shuffled around from relative to relative like an unwanted burden in the days of old. Anne of Green Gables comes to mind along with The Secret Garden and several others. Was it because resources were scarce and adding one more mouth to feed was indeed a tremendous burden? Or was it because there were more indifferent, if not more cruel relatives abound? Or worse still, the world they lived in placed little value on these orphaned children except for what labor could be gotten from them? It's really heart-breaking.
A 16-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks lived with her Aunt Ivy and Uncle Holt in Arlington, Iowa. She lost her father to a lung disease when she was two, and when she was five, her mother died of pneumonia. Since then, she's been passed from relative to relative, some of them with thin, tenuous claim to any relation.
"I'd stay to help out with this sick person or that until I'd run of folks who needed help and didn't mind an extra mouth to feed to get it."
This had been Hattie's existence until she was thirteen when Aunt Ivy took her in (but it was Uncle Holt who was a distant cousin). But instead of finding love and understanding, Aunt Ivy reminded her every day that she had nothing and no one. Aunt Ivy was on the verge of forcing Hattie to work at a boardinghouse when she received a letter from her dead uncle to come and inherit his homestead claim in eastern Montana. She jumped at he opportunity to escape the dreary existence of maid at a boardinghouse and set out for an adventure in January of 1918.
And boy did she set out for an adventure. Her naive ignorance made her dismiss what the men on the train told her, but she should have listened to some of their comments with some credence. But she didn't. And the reality of winter in eastern Montana alone in a shack with a smart, considerate horse name Plug and a cantankerous cow named Violet almost did her in, except for the kindness of strangers (her closest neighbors) kept her alive and surviving everyday.
Though she quickly learned that "inheriting" a claim was really more like a curse than anything, she was determined to "prove" a claim and keep the 320 acre her uncle left her. However, there were conditions to be met.
1. She must build and fence (set four hundred eighty rods of fence).
2. She must cultivate at least one-eighth of the claim (or 40 acres).
3. All the conditions must be met in three years or the person loses the claim. This gave Hatti ten months to prove her claim.
A school girl from Arlington, Iowa must do all this, almost by herself, in ten months.
Hattie took up the challenge. In the process of trying to prove a claim, she faced unimaginable hardships, both physical and mental, but in her depth of despair and hopelessness, which she shrugged off quite readily, she found her own family, made of strangers who come to love and care for her more than her own relatives.
Ultimately, she failed to prove her claim due to a natural disaster (hail storm) and must relinquish the claim, she had no regrets. She had done her best, and in the process of trying to prove the claim, she had learned that her future might not lie with farming, but writing. Though she worked at the boardinghouse to pay off her (mostly her uncle's) debts, she had hopes for a brighter future. At the end of the book, she's on a train, again, on her way to Seattle where her new family (closest neighbors) and her could-be sweetheart moved.
As I was finishing this book (I finished in 1 1/2 days), I thought, this is what makes America great. Because it's populated mostly by the people or the descendants of the people who desperately wanted to be here and to "make it" here. They were more than willing to work hard to make their dreams come true, whatever that dream might have been.
To these intrepid immigrants, failure was not an option. Hattie worked hard to payoff her debts before she was on the train to Seattle.
The long thread of people who held this country together had the same core values (hard work ethic, the indomitable spirit, and the spirit of independence, etc.) running through them whether they were the English, the Germans, the Norwegians, the Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Mexicans, etc.
We are but a small portion of the thread of greatness that ran from the beginning of our country's history. Hopefully, we could continue the work to make this a great country.
Can you tell I really enjoyed this book? I think you should check it out, too.
Before I get into the book, I'm curious about one thing. I wonder if it was normal for an orphaned child to be shuffled around from relative to relative like an unwanted burden in the days of old. Anne of Green Gables comes to mind along with The Secret Garden and several others. Was it because resources were scarce and adding one more mouth to feed was indeed a tremendous burden? Or was it because there were more indifferent, if not more cruel relatives abound? Or worse still, the world they lived in placed little value on these orphaned children except for what labor could be gotten from them? It's really heart-breaking.
A 16-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks lived with her Aunt Ivy and Uncle Holt in Arlington, Iowa. She lost her father to a lung disease when she was two, and when she was five, her mother died of pneumonia. Since then, she's been passed from relative to relative, some of them with thin, tenuous claim to any relation.
"I'd stay to help out with this sick person or that until I'd run of folks who needed help and didn't mind an extra mouth to feed to get it."
This had been Hattie's existence until she was thirteen when Aunt Ivy took her in (but it was Uncle Holt who was a distant cousin). But instead of finding love and understanding, Aunt Ivy reminded her every day that she had nothing and no one. Aunt Ivy was on the verge of forcing Hattie to work at a boardinghouse when she received a letter from her dead uncle to come and inherit his homestead claim in eastern Montana. She jumped at he opportunity to escape the dreary existence of maid at a boardinghouse and set out for an adventure in January of 1918.
And boy did she set out for an adventure. Her naive ignorance made her dismiss what the men on the train told her, but she should have listened to some of their comments with some credence. But she didn't. And the reality of winter in eastern Montana alone in a shack with a smart, considerate horse name Plug and a cantankerous cow named Violet almost did her in, except for the kindness of strangers (her closest neighbors) kept her alive and surviving everyday.
Though she quickly learned that "inheriting" a claim was really more like a curse than anything, she was determined to "prove" a claim and keep the 320 acre her uncle left her. However, there were conditions to be met.
1. She must build and fence (set four hundred eighty rods of fence).
2. She must cultivate at least one-eighth of the claim (or 40 acres).
3. All the conditions must be met in three years or the person loses the claim. This gave Hatti ten months to prove her claim.
A school girl from Arlington, Iowa must do all this, almost by herself, in ten months.
Hattie took up the challenge. In the process of trying to prove a claim, she faced unimaginable hardships, both physical and mental, but in her depth of despair and hopelessness, which she shrugged off quite readily, she found her own family, made of strangers who come to love and care for her more than her own relatives.
Ultimately, she failed to prove her claim due to a natural disaster (hail storm) and must relinquish the claim, she had no regrets. She had done her best, and in the process of trying to prove the claim, she had learned that her future might not lie with farming, but writing. Though she worked at the boardinghouse to pay off her (mostly her uncle's) debts, she had hopes for a brighter future. At the end of the book, she's on a train, again, on her way to Seattle where her new family (closest neighbors) and her could-be sweetheart moved.
As I was finishing this book (I finished in 1 1/2 days), I thought, this is what makes America great. Because it's populated mostly by the people or the descendants of the people who desperately wanted to be here and to "make it" here. They were more than willing to work hard to make their dreams come true, whatever that dream might have been.
To these intrepid immigrants, failure was not an option. Hattie worked hard to payoff her debts before she was on the train to Seattle.
The long thread of people who held this country together had the same core values (hard work ethic, the indomitable spirit, and the spirit of independence, etc.) running through them whether they were the English, the Germans, the Norwegians, the Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Mexicans, etc.
We are but a small portion of the thread of greatness that ran from the beginning of our country's history. Hopefully, we could continue the work to make this a great country.
Can you tell I really enjoyed this book? I think you should check it out, too.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
O, what a fantastic book!
I'm a book lover, especially hardback books. I know I'm going to have to surrender to the digital age and buy an e-book reader or a tablet, but I'm still trying to hold out. However, collecting hardback books get to be a very expensive hobby. So, I frequent nearby thrift stores, dollar stores, and library book sales to get my fill of books. This was a dollar store find (I also teach science at my kids' school as a volunteer, and Dolllar Stores are great for science project supplies).
I never liked Romeo and Juliet. I prefer The Merchant of Venice, The Winter's Tale, Henry V, The Tempest, Macbeth, etc. Romeo and Juliet seemed overly sentimental and stupidly tragic. And Juliet's nurse and Romeo's Friar should have known better than to not only encourage but to aid in the teenage lovers' hair-brained schemes.
Having said that, I loved O, Juliet. If this had been Shakespeare's original play, I would have loved it, too. It added so many layers and texture to the story. Most of the characters felt real and alive, and each had strong motivation in their backstories to explain their own journey to the tragic end.
Spoiler Alert~
Set in the opulent world of Don Cosimo de Medici in Florence, our Juliet is best friends with Don Cosimo's would be daughter-in-law Lucrezia Tornabuoni, who replaces Juliet's nurse as her confidante. Lucrezia's upcoming marriage to Piero casts a pall on Juliet. She, too, has an upcoming marriage, except it's to a man she despises. At Lucrezia's betrothal ball, Juliet meets Romeo, and they fall in love over Dante's love poetry.
Though they are from warring families and their hatred go back for at least two generations, there is hope. The parents on both sides, fathers especially, are more than willing to forgive one another and reconcile. However, Juliet's betrothal, Jacopo Strozzi, will not stand by and watch Juliet fall through his fingers. Though he doesn't love Juliet, he needs the business partnership with Juliet's father for secure his future, and he'll not lose out on that for something as silly and insignificant as love.
Jacopo Strozzi sets the major pieces of Romeo and Juliet in motion and brings about the tragic end to their classic love story.
I can't say enough how much I loved this book. The original pales in comparison with this awesome book.
Whether you pay $1 or $15, this books is well worth the price of the book (can you tell I like to buy books?). Go check it out and enjoy! I'm going to check out other books by the same author. Since I like de Medici's Florence so much, I think I'm going to check out Signora da Vinci, about Leonardo da Vinci's young mother.
I'm a book lover, especially hardback books. I know I'm going to have to surrender to the digital age and buy an e-book reader or a tablet, but I'm still trying to hold out. However, collecting hardback books get to be a very expensive hobby. So, I frequent nearby thrift stores, dollar stores, and library book sales to get my fill of books. This was a dollar store find (I also teach science at my kids' school as a volunteer, and Dolllar Stores are great for science project supplies).
I never liked Romeo and Juliet. I prefer The Merchant of Venice, The Winter's Tale, Henry V, The Tempest, Macbeth, etc. Romeo and Juliet seemed overly sentimental and stupidly tragic. And Juliet's nurse and Romeo's Friar should have known better than to not only encourage but to aid in the teenage lovers' hair-brained schemes.
Having said that, I loved O, Juliet. If this had been Shakespeare's original play, I would have loved it, too. It added so many layers and texture to the story. Most of the characters felt real and alive, and each had strong motivation in their backstories to explain their own journey to the tragic end.
Spoiler Alert~
Set in the opulent world of Don Cosimo de Medici in Florence, our Juliet is best friends with Don Cosimo's would be daughter-in-law Lucrezia Tornabuoni, who replaces Juliet's nurse as her confidante. Lucrezia's upcoming marriage to Piero casts a pall on Juliet. She, too, has an upcoming marriage, except it's to a man she despises. At Lucrezia's betrothal ball, Juliet meets Romeo, and they fall in love over Dante's love poetry.
Though they are from warring families and their hatred go back for at least two generations, there is hope. The parents on both sides, fathers especially, are more than willing to forgive one another and reconcile. However, Juliet's betrothal, Jacopo Strozzi, will not stand by and watch Juliet fall through his fingers. Though he doesn't love Juliet, he needs the business partnership with Juliet's father for secure his future, and he'll not lose out on that for something as silly and insignificant as love.
Jacopo Strozzi sets the major pieces of Romeo and Juliet in motion and brings about the tragic end to their classic love story.
I can't say enough how much I loved this book. The original pales in comparison with this awesome book.
Whether you pay $1 or $15, this books is well worth the price of the book (can you tell I like to buy books?). Go check it out and enjoy! I'm going to check out other books by the same author. Since I like de Medici's Florence so much, I think I'm going to check out Signora da Vinci, about Leonardo da Vinci's young mother.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
War is a Racket by Smedley Darlington Butler
Wow. Wow.
I came across this book by accident. My curiosity got me here, and I don't know what to think. Even if only part of this book is true, this is a very scary world where greed-driven atrocities are dressed up in more palatable words. I'm hoping what he said in this book wasn't true, but I have a sinking feeling that it might.
War is a Racket was copyrighted in early 1930's (based on a speech and pamphlet) by retired US Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Darlington Butler.
He wrote this book based on his military experiences, and it's a scathing indictment on our government's history of war (remember this book was published in early 1930's).
"I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service, and during that period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902 - 1912. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested.
Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
In everything I read, I tell myself that this book probably contains some partial truths, but it's hard to deny "at least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War (he means WWI)." He went on to ask "how many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many f them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried the bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?"
If nothing, this book is thought provoking, just like the Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekara. And just like the Imperial Life in the Emerald City, War is a Racket should be a must read for government officials because they needed to be reminded of who is actually paying the price for their decision to go to war. Mr. Butler makes an interesting proposition - the decision to go to war should not be made by government officials who seldom have any personal stake in the decision they make, but it should reside with the population group that will have to bear arms in case of war - the young and able bodied.
I wonder what he would say about the wars that followed WWI, especially the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. However, as a Korean-American whose father hails from North Korea (he made it down to South Korea during the Korean War), I am profoundly grateful for the American led UN intervention. And to be honest, I don't care if the decision to join the Korean War was based on greed orchestrated by Big Business, Wall Street, whatever entity that might have an ulterior motive.
A couple of years ago, at a 4th of July parade, I met a Korean vet and thanked him for his sacrifice. He was in the engineering corps and later worked for a Japanese company for a while. He visited Korea with his wife later on and was happy that his service meant something.
Although it seems like Iraq is imploding right now, I hope the Iraqi veterans will take heart that it, too, may be on the road to recovery and success like South Korea. You just need to give the country about 25+ years to see the first results.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, conspiracy theories, and war/anti-war materials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler
For more information, check out the link.
I came across this book by accident. My curiosity got me here, and I don't know what to think. Even if only part of this book is true, this is a very scary world where greed-driven atrocities are dressed up in more palatable words. I'm hoping what he said in this book wasn't true, but I have a sinking feeling that it might.
War is a Racket was copyrighted in early 1930's (based on a speech and pamphlet) by retired US Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Darlington Butler.
He wrote this book based on his military experiences, and it's a scathing indictment on our government's history of war (remember this book was published in early 1930's).
"I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service, and during that period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902 - 1912. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested.
Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
In everything I read, I tell myself that this book probably contains some partial truths, but it's hard to deny "at least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War (he means WWI)." He went on to ask "how many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many f them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried the bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?"
If nothing, this book is thought provoking, just like the Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekara. And just like the Imperial Life in the Emerald City, War is a Racket should be a must read for government officials because they needed to be reminded of who is actually paying the price for their decision to go to war. Mr. Butler makes an interesting proposition - the decision to go to war should not be made by government officials who seldom have any personal stake in the decision they make, but it should reside with the population group that will have to bear arms in case of war - the young and able bodied.
I wonder what he would say about the wars that followed WWI, especially the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. However, as a Korean-American whose father hails from North Korea (he made it down to South Korea during the Korean War), I am profoundly grateful for the American led UN intervention. And to be honest, I don't care if the decision to join the Korean War was based on greed orchestrated by Big Business, Wall Street, whatever entity that might have an ulterior motive.
A couple of years ago, at a 4th of July parade, I met a Korean vet and thanked him for his sacrifice. He was in the engineering corps and later worked for a Japanese company for a while. He visited Korea with his wife later on and was happy that his service meant something.
Although it seems like Iraq is imploding right now, I hope the Iraqi veterans will take heart that it, too, may be on the road to recovery and success like South Korea. You just need to give the country about 25+ years to see the first results.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, conspiracy theories, and war/anti-war materials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler
For more information, check out the link.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
I am a Christian, but I haven't attended church in the last year or so. I am struggling with several aspects of Christianity, and I'm trying to find my way back to the kind of faith I had when I was younger. Though I've enjoyed listening to many of Dr. Timothy Keller's sermons, his book has left me feeling flat. So, I wasn't so sure about picking up this book, but it was only at $1 at the local library book sale. So, what do I have to lose? Right?
To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this book. I think the outline of the book appeals to people such as me - scientific and data driven. However, I think Mr. Strobel has squandered an important opportunity by interviewing and sourcing those experts who were already Christians. To me, this book's credibility has been compromised because it seems to lack independent sources.
I know. I might be confusing. Please, allow me to explain.
Mr. Strobel divides the book into different types of evidence. Here is the list of his evidences.
1. The Eyewitness Evidence
2. Testing the Eyewitness Evidence
3. The Documentary Evidence
4. The Corroborating Evidence
5. The Scientific Evidence
6. The Rebuttal Evidence
7. The Identity Evidence
8. The Psychologica Evidence
9. The Profile Evidence
10. The Fingerprint Evidence
11. The Medical Evidence
12. The Evidence of the Missing Body
13. The Evidence of Appearances
14. The Circumstantial Evidence
Of this list of evidences, I found the Corroborating Evidence the most convincing of them all precisely because it is drawn from sources outside of Christian origins. I also found the Eyewitness Evidence fairly strong as well.
Of this list of evidences, I found the Scientific Evidence the weakest and most unreliable of them all precisely because he went to a Christian archaeologist who affirmed Mr. Strobel's Christian beliefs. As a Christian, I am actually angry that Mr. Strobel has taken the easy way out. Could he not find one archaeologist who wasn't a Christian who could have affirmed his findings? At least some possibilities of them? To me, this kind of evidence is tainted evidence. Therefore, a lot of Mr. Strobel's evidences (1 - 10, except for 1 and 4) seemed to have been tainted in the same way. I wish he could have found experts outside of Christianity to validate Christian possibilities. It would have been enough for them to say - we can't rule out that possibility.
BUT this is not to say I wasn't convinced by them. I felt happy and heartened by these expert testimonies affirming what the Bible said happened, but had my faith been stronger, I wouldn't need a book such as this, right?
I fear I'm always going to be a struggling Christian precisely because it means so much to me. What value is my faith if I don't have to overcome any doubts or obstacles? The bottom line is, with its flaws and all, this book has strengthened my faith. So, I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with Christianity and wants a more data-driven book about it. Or someone who is curious about Christianity. It might give you a good start.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this book. I think the outline of the book appeals to people such as me - scientific and data driven. However, I think Mr. Strobel has squandered an important opportunity by interviewing and sourcing those experts who were already Christians. To me, this book's credibility has been compromised because it seems to lack independent sources.
I know. I might be confusing. Please, allow me to explain.
Mr. Strobel divides the book into different types of evidence. Here is the list of his evidences.
1. The Eyewitness Evidence
2. Testing the Eyewitness Evidence
3. The Documentary Evidence
4. The Corroborating Evidence
5. The Scientific Evidence
6. The Rebuttal Evidence
7. The Identity Evidence
8. The Psychologica Evidence
9. The Profile Evidence
10. The Fingerprint Evidence
11. The Medical Evidence
12. The Evidence of the Missing Body
13. The Evidence of Appearances
14. The Circumstantial Evidence
Of this list of evidences, I found the Corroborating Evidence the most convincing of them all precisely because it is drawn from sources outside of Christian origins. I also found the Eyewitness Evidence fairly strong as well.
Of this list of evidences, I found the Scientific Evidence the weakest and most unreliable of them all precisely because he went to a Christian archaeologist who affirmed Mr. Strobel's Christian beliefs. As a Christian, I am actually angry that Mr. Strobel has taken the easy way out. Could he not find one archaeologist who wasn't a Christian who could have affirmed his findings? At least some possibilities of them? To me, this kind of evidence is tainted evidence. Therefore, a lot of Mr. Strobel's evidences (1 - 10, except for 1 and 4) seemed to have been tainted in the same way. I wish he could have found experts outside of Christianity to validate Christian possibilities. It would have been enough for them to say - we can't rule out that possibility.
BUT this is not to say I wasn't convinced by them. I felt happy and heartened by these expert testimonies affirming what the Bible said happened, but had my faith been stronger, I wouldn't need a book such as this, right?
I fear I'm always going to be a struggling Christian precisely because it means so much to me. What value is my faith if I don't have to overcome any doubts or obstacles? The bottom line is, with its flaws and all, this book has strengthened my faith. So, I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with Christianity and wants a more data-driven book about it. Or someone who is curious about Christianity. It might give you a good start.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Longbourn by Jo Baker
What a glorious book! I loved it.
I am a Jane Austen junkie. Anything with Jane Austenish take on it, and I'll read at least 150 pages before I give up and decide it's a waste of time. However, I've learned to revise my rule to the first 100 pages because my time is too precious to waste on a bad book, even if it is a take on Jane Austen's books.
I'm a mom with two kids, and I finished this book in 16 hours! Call me crazy, sleep deprived woman for a day, but it was worth it. This book stayed with me long after I finished it. It gave me so much to think about...such as how a household like the Bennet's ran in Jane Austen's time.
I never gave much thought about who cooked the meals and did household chores when Mrs. Bennet and the girls were busy socializing and attending parties, dinners, and dances. I didn't care to know how labor intensive laundry day could be for those who actually had to do it. I didn't know how unfair their world could be without rank or wealth. I didn't realize how beautiful Jane, Lizzie, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia's clothes were to others who were less fortunate. All in all, this book was a revelation, in so many ways.
SPOILER ALERT~
The characters are finely drawn. I feel as if they are living, breathing members of Bennet's home. Sarah's characterization is a work of art, with her deep thoughts and feelings driving her actions. James, though known to Sarah and seen through her eyes, he is a mysterious stranger with a heart. Each is driven by need for love, acceptance, and following their heart. I love the portrayals of Mr. & Mrs. Hill, Polly, and Ptolemy Bingley, because they are so human and anchored in reality.
On the other hand, I don't like Ms. Baker's portrayal of Mr. Bennet and his involvement or lack thereof with James' life, but I can see how it can true to what might be deemed as "acceptable behavior" of a gentleman of that time. I was never a fan of Mr. Bennet, but in Ms. Baker's book, he could be considered the biggest villain in James' life. Some might argue that that title belongs to Wikham, but I disagree. Had Mr. Bennet taken some responsibility, James might not have fallen as much as he had. Some might argue that he had done what he could, but I'd say not enough. And poor Mrs. Hill.... It must have been hell to have to bear it all because she can do nothing to improve her son's situation. She had done what she could, but not him.
The book is divided into three volumes, and in volume three, I wish there was more of James' life there, instead of Sarah's. There was James' back story in volume three, but I wanted to know more about what he did after he left Longbourn. How did he overcome his disappointment in having to leave an employment that became more like a home, but more importantly, a woman he came to love dearly. I wanted to know the kind of mental strength he had, needed, and used to survive. I was disappointed that Sarah was the one who gave up her nice, comfortable life at Pemberley and go in search of James, with absolutely no assurance of finding him. Truly a case of blind faith and courage.
Sure, I was glad that she found him, and they decided to head back to Longbourn together, but I wish James had more active role in their reunion. However, these are minor complaints. I loved this book. I absolutely loved this book, and I went back to reading it immediately after I finished it, just in case I've missed something important.
I would recommend this book to any Jane Austenphile, but to anyone who likes a good read. Stories of Sarah and James, Mrs. Hill and Mr. Bennet have stayed with me long after I finished the book.
I am a Jane Austen junkie. Anything with Jane Austenish take on it, and I'll read at least 150 pages before I give up and decide it's a waste of time. However, I've learned to revise my rule to the first 100 pages because my time is too precious to waste on a bad book, even if it is a take on Jane Austen's books.
I'm a mom with two kids, and I finished this book in 16 hours! Call me crazy, sleep deprived woman for a day, but it was worth it. This book stayed with me long after I finished it. It gave me so much to think about...such as how a household like the Bennet's ran in Jane Austen's time.
I never gave much thought about who cooked the meals and did household chores when Mrs. Bennet and the girls were busy socializing and attending parties, dinners, and dances. I didn't care to know how labor intensive laundry day could be for those who actually had to do it. I didn't know how unfair their world could be without rank or wealth. I didn't realize how beautiful Jane, Lizzie, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia's clothes were to others who were less fortunate. All in all, this book was a revelation, in so many ways.
SPOILER ALERT~
The characters are finely drawn. I feel as if they are living, breathing members of Bennet's home. Sarah's characterization is a work of art, with her deep thoughts and feelings driving her actions. James, though known to Sarah and seen through her eyes, he is a mysterious stranger with a heart. Each is driven by need for love, acceptance, and following their heart. I love the portrayals of Mr. & Mrs. Hill, Polly, and Ptolemy Bingley, because they are so human and anchored in reality.
On the other hand, I don't like Ms. Baker's portrayal of Mr. Bennet and his involvement or lack thereof with James' life, but I can see how it can true to what might be deemed as "acceptable behavior" of a gentleman of that time. I was never a fan of Mr. Bennet, but in Ms. Baker's book, he could be considered the biggest villain in James' life. Some might argue that that title belongs to Wikham, but I disagree. Had Mr. Bennet taken some responsibility, James might not have fallen as much as he had. Some might argue that he had done what he could, but I'd say not enough. And poor Mrs. Hill.... It must have been hell to have to bear it all because she can do nothing to improve her son's situation. She had done what she could, but not him.
The book is divided into three volumes, and in volume three, I wish there was more of James' life there, instead of Sarah's. There was James' back story in volume three, but I wanted to know more about what he did after he left Longbourn. How did he overcome his disappointment in having to leave an employment that became more like a home, but more importantly, a woman he came to love dearly. I wanted to know the kind of mental strength he had, needed, and used to survive. I was disappointed that Sarah was the one who gave up her nice, comfortable life at Pemberley and go in search of James, with absolutely no assurance of finding him. Truly a case of blind faith and courage.
Sure, I was glad that she found him, and they decided to head back to Longbourn together, but I wish James had more active role in their reunion. However, these are minor complaints. I loved this book. I absolutely loved this book, and I went back to reading it immediately after I finished it, just in case I've missed something important.
I would recommend this book to any Jane Austenphile, but to anyone who likes a good read. Stories of Sarah and James, Mrs. Hill and Mr. Bennet have stayed with me long after I finished the book.
Monday, May 19, 2014
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
Where do I start? Stunning, harrowing read.
Visceral and emotionally draining. A must read for anyone who is interested in
learning something new about the most insulated and isolated state in the
world. My heart aches at the thought of millions who still live in that
country.
Before I start, I would like to tell you my North
Korean encounter story.
I know a Korean-American man who visited North
Korea as an American citizen in 1990 (before the great famine of 1995). As an
aspiring writer, I wanted to talk to him about the experience. He said
Pyongyang had the cleanest, emptiest streets he had ever seen. He said none of
the restaurants was open for business. Whenever he asked about a particular
restaurant, his minders (two men) told him that it was closed on that specific
day of the week. His children asked for souvenirs, any souvenirs, but the man came
back with nothing. He said there was simply nothing to buy.
He came from a family of six brothers and three of
his brothers still lived in North Korea, so it was his dearest wish to see them
all. His eldest and second eldest brothers had died, and he was the third
brother. When he went to North Korea, he was able to his fourth and sixth
brother, but couldn’t see his fifth brother. When he went to visit his brothers’
homes, he could smell the fresh wallpaper paste and all the furniture was new.
Everyone associated with his brothers’ families had days off from work, and
they came to see him.
One day, one of his brother’s bosses came to visit,
and he brought something the North Koreans hadn’t eaten for a while, a chicken.
This Korean-American man said that people were going after the chicken before
it was cooked, and they asked why he wasn’t eating the chicken. When this
Korean-American man told them that he could have chicken anytime, and he wanted
them to have it, they all thought he was just repeating the American propaganda
stories. A few believed him, and told him in secret, that it was a living hell.
But private moments were very limited. His two minders slept in the same room
with him, and they wouldn’t leave him alone with anyone. The Korean-American
man said the lack of privacy was quite irritating.
The North Koreans drove the Korean-American man in
a Mercedes, and when Korean-American man begged to see his fifth brother who
was interned in a gulag system by the northern border, one of his minders told
him that he and his family would be sent to the same gulag if he tried to do
anything like that (he told the Korean-American man this when the other minder
wasn’t present). The North Korean minders told the Korean-American man to spend
all the American dollars he took with him, and told him that for $500, a family
of five could buy all the white rice that the family needed for a year.
The children of his fourth and sixth brothers were
not allowed to attend high school or college because they were from a tainted
family whose members chose to escape the communist regime during the Korean War.
The fifth brother was considered a traitor to the state, and maybe he couldn’t
see his brother because his brother had died already. Who knows… The sixth
brother, as if to make up for his family’s lack of communist credentials, was
an ardent communist who sent letter after letter to the Korean-American man,
begging for money yet bad-mouthing everything America supposedly represented.
But he never once told his brother to come back and live with them in North
Korea.
Now, back to the book…. There are so many shocking
episodes, but what’s most startling was the randomness with which the acts of
violence were inflicted upon people. People just disappeared and no one said
anything. The random disappearance was the norm. That was the scariest part. There
was no set of rules that the North Koreans could follow to assure their safety.
It was all about the story that an unfortunate group of people would have to
tell, and they hung their hopes on keeping their story consistent. Whether it
was the truth of not, it didn’t matter.
In the beginning, part 1 and part 2 of the book don’t
seem to go together, especially part 2. It was confusing to figure out how
characters all fit together. Parts of it were jarring, especially with a lot of
point-of-view changes, but in the end, I have to concede that it’s brilliant.
That jarring experience is what the main character experiences. There are many
viscerally shocking scenes (but I have to admit, what I read in this book is
mild compared to some true accounts I read in books written by North Korean
defectors), but what I found even more unbearable was that even family members
couldn’t be trusted to keep each other’s secrets and thereby keep one another
safe.
In a world such as that, I wonder why people even
have children. I wrote somewhere (maybe in the blog for the book The Road) that in a truly hopeless
world, I didn’t think people would have children. If I had to live in North
Korea, I wouldn’t have children, but then I wouldn’t know any better, either, I
suppose. Also, I wondered what the suicide rate is for the country.
When my husband and I had our first child, our
American friends asked if we’d name him after my husband and add junior. My
parents were horrified by such thoughts because for Koreans, each name should
be unique. There’s much thought, science (astrology in some cases), and
aspirations all put in a name. You’d never jinx or burden a child with someone
else’s already lived life associated with that name. So, I found it really
interesting that the main character started off his life, as far as he could
remember in the orphanage, with someone else’s name. He never had his own
identity, and it was his duty to become whoever his country needed him to be.
I found the escape phase of the book to be
something hard to believe, but because it’s hard to believe, I think it might
actually be based on the truth. I intentionally stayed away from talking about the
book more specifically because I want the reader to experience everything
fresh.
I would recommend this book to everyone. It might
be a hard read, but it’s something that we should all read, at least once, sort
of like Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
(however, this book, I wouldn’t recommend to everyone. The pictures are enough
to induce nightmares). Good thing this book didn’t have pictures.
The important question is – what can we do to make
the lives of everyday North Koreans a little better tomorrow?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
That’s the saddest part of this book.
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