Review of "The Lady or the Tiger," by Frank Stockton

 Review of

 The Lady or the Tiger, by Frank Stockton ISBN 9781540351227

Five out of five stars

Arguably the best short story ever written

 I clearly remember reading the title story of this collection in my eighth-grade language arts class. A few of the girls hated it because they didn’t know the ending and were not shy about expressing their opinions. Explanations as to that being the point of the story did not change their opinions at all. Finally, with a gleam in her eye, the teacher announced that we would read “The Discourager of Hesitancy: A Continuation of ‘The Lady of the Tiger’.” The class, as we all wanted to know what had happened, eagerly received that announcement. There was great disappointment in all of us when we realized that there was to be no resolution and the situation was made worse by the second unresolved ending.

 To make things a little better, the teacher then had each of us write our own ending to both stories. To date, this remains the most interesting writing assignment I have ever received, the level of interest and energy in the class for this assignment was the highest I have ever seen.

 Stockton was a masterful storyteller, he takes what would otherwise be slightly absurd circumstances and turns them into stories that grab and hold your attention. The only downside, and it is a slight one, is that you need to know a little about the social mores of the time the stories were written. Stockton wrote them right before the start of the twentieth century, so his descriptions of the interactions between single men and single women are proper for the time but seem strange to the modern reader.

 The stories in this collection are:

 

*) The Lady of the Tiger?

*) The Griffin and the Minor Canon

*) Love Before Breakfast

*) “His Wife’s Deceased Sister”

*) Our Story

*) Mr. Tolman

*) Our Archery Club

*) The Discourager of Hesitancy

 

each and every one of them is a gem.

Review of "The Red Scarf," by Richard Mason

 Review of

The Red Scarf, by Richard Mason ISBN 0874838509

Five out of five stars

Deeply moving story involving segregation

 It is an extremely rare occasion when the printed word can generate moisture in my eyes. However, I grew misty at the description of two boys spending their money for eyeglasses that are a Christmas present for their “Uncle” Hugh. A little historical context is needed to appreciate the significance. The setting is southern Arkansas in the early 1940’s, the two boys (Richard and John Clayton) are white and their “Uncle” Hugh is an elderly black man. When Richard finds a dead mink on the side of the road he is relatively wealthy and can buy Christmas presents for his entire family as well as a beautiful scarf for Rosalie, the girl he wants to woo. However, when he is shopping, he remembers how badly Hugh needs reading glasses so that he can continue to read his bible and this leads him to give up the presents and buy the glasses for Hugh.

 There is a great deal of love between the boys and Hugh, he tells them wild stories that keep them spellbound. Hugh lives alone in what amounts to a shack some distance from the small town and is a railroad pensioner. The boys look after him, getting his groceries twice a week and the other members of the community understand and appreciate what they do, sometimes seeing that Hugh gets a little extra.

  There is not the slightest hint of racial prejudice in the story, although “colored”, the polite term of the time is regularly used. When the boys tell the optometrist that they are buying the glasses for an elderly colored man that is a friend of theirs, he reduces the price for them. Furthermore, they are also able to buy a Christmas goose for Hugh when the seller reduces the price. In the end, Richard’s good deeds are rewarded and he even gets a kiss from Rosalie.

 Some of the other very memorial characters are Bubba, a cook at the local diner, Peg, a one-legged saloonkeeper and Wing, a one-armed police officer with a wicked swing with a blackjack. Richard and John Clayton have a wonderful childhood full of (mis)adventures as they are constantly scheming to make money. There is a sad ending with a plot device that one would not expect from a story positioned in the segregated south of the 1940’s.

Review of "Meet Babe Ruth," VHS tape

 Review of

 Meet Babe Ruth, VHS tape

 Five out of five stars

 Babe sitting and recalling his deeds

  No other figure has ever changed their sport more than Babe Ruth changed baseball. Furthermore, no one else even comes close. Before he reached the major leagues, baseball was a “station-to-station” game, where the offensive mentality was to hit the ball and then stop at the next base. Before Ruth entered the majors, the home run was a rarity, never considered a fundamental offensive weapon. However, once he began hitting them, the game changed forever.

 One of the most amazing statistics one can ever find in sports is the fact that in 1920 Ruth hit more home runs than all other teams in the league except one. This was also at a time when baseball was the national pastime, making Ruth a superstar at a level that has never really been equaled.

 This tape is a collection of video clips of Ruth in action, it is presented in the format of Ruth sitting in a chair with pipe in mouth and turning the pages of a scrapbook. All fans of baseball history will recognize nearly all of the players and will know about the circumstances of the action in the clips. No attempt is made to set a dramatic stage for the video, it is narrated in a monotone manner as if Ruth is talking to a small audience.

 The baseball fan will appreciate this look at the life of Ruth, as impressive as his statistics are, they still don’t give an accurate account of how much he changed baseball. One segment that surprised me was the one that showed Ruth playing golf with Ty Cobb. Given Cobb’s reputation for being vicious on the field and being hated by his fellow players, it seemed unlikely that anyone would associate with him off of it.

 

Review of "Endless War," by Ralph Peters

 Review of

Endless War, by Ralph Peters, ISBN 9780811705509

Five out of five stars

Cynical, realistic treatise on wars

 When I was working as a software developer and we were having meetings there were times when very imaginative statements were made regarding the features to be added and the time it would take to implement them. I would often raise questions as to whether the plan was realistic and my concerns would sometimes be received by the comment, “Charlie, you are so cynical.” My response was often, “I prefer the term ‘experienced’.”

 In this series of essays, Peters expresses opinions that are both cynical and experienced. He uses the events of history to convincingly argue that war and conflict is a fundamental component of the human condition. He takes a hard view concerning religious strife arguing that religious conflict is based on emotion, so it foolish to think that such conflicts can be reasoned to conclusion.

 Using history all the way back to the ancient Greeks, Peters points out that where conflict is possible, it will generally happen. Wars end when both sides are exhausted or when one side overwhelms the other. Peters cites many examples of what the main thesis of the book is: when you go to war, do so with maximum force with a clear objective. Killing as many of your adversaries as quickly as possible is the way to minimize casualties over the long term.

 Peters is contemptuous of most of what is now the national security apparatus in the United States. From the halls of academia to the halls of a Congress that are largely purchased to the military officers that toe the line to the defense contractors that make massive amounts of money producing military equipment. He sees most of it as counter-productive in the goals of U. S. national security.

 This book is one of the most interesting that I have read. The points are strong and backed up by history. Peters spares no one in his criticisms of how America had been fighting wars over the last ten years. I was particularly impressed with his statements about Afghanistan and the absurd notion that it will ever be a cohesive nation or even if it will ever come close to being a country that has risen out of a feudal state. Those of us that know the history of that region and the cynical actions of the Pakistani security forces knew very early that the United States would someday be leaving in a hurry and with the conservative forces back in power. Peters in essence predicted the result of the U. S. presence in Afghanistan.

Review of "Threshold of Empire and The Battle for Manila 1898-1899," by James H. Nelson

 Review of

Threshold of Empire and The Battle for Manila 1898-1899, by James H. Nelson, ISBN 1884570712

Five out of five

Account of a much understudied event

 There have been many significant and trajectory changing events in the history of the United States and they are generally covered in the K-12 history curriculum. One event that is generally not given the historical attention that it is due is the war between the United States and Spain in 1898 to 1899.

 It was a very short and hugely successful war in the sense that the Spanish forces were quickly and totally defeated. The American victory over the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay was arguably one of the most one-sided naval victory in the history of naval warfare. The Spanish had 9 vessels sunk with only one American ship damaged. There were nine American wounded compared to 77 Spanish dead and 271 wounded. Spanish power in Asia was destroyed forever.

 However, the key outcome of the war was the fact that America became a colonial and global power. The Spanish islands in the Caribbean were taken over, which was a logical, nearshoring  extension of American power. However, the acquisition of the Philippines, thousands of miles from the American west coast and a gateway to Asia, was something unexpected. Before the war, very few Americans could have located the Philippines on a globe. Once the decision was made to make the Philippines an American possession, the United States became a major player in Asian affairs. It can be argued that it was the initial event spawning the rivalry between the United States and Japan.

 This dramatic change and the fact that American military forces had to defeat an indigenous guerrilla force fighting for independence is something that is not given the examination that it should. American forces engaged in some very ruthless actions in subduing their opponents.

 This book is a significant addition to the history of a watershed event in American history. It is an accurate rendition of the unusual events that led to a Spanish defeat and the rise of a new colonial power that expanded its territory thousands of miles beyond its previous borders.

Review of "The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club," Nick Spark Productions

 Review of

The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club, Nick Spark Productions DVD

Five out of five stars

Great story of what should be an aviation star

 For most people, their knowledge of female aviation pioneers begins and ends with Amelia Earhart. While Earhart accomplished many things, including having an expert public relations group, she was not the best female pilot of her time. There were other women that were better pilots, and even more daring. One of those women went by the name of Pancho Barnes.

 Born Florence Leontine Lowe and into wealth, her adult life began rather traditionally when she married a minister and established a traditional home. However, after a sojourn in Mexico where she passed as a man and became involved with leftist revolutionaries, she adopted the name “Pancho.” It was a fitting choice, for she was quite revolutionary in her breaking of sexist norms.

 Pancho was such an intuitive pilot that she soloed after only six hours of instruction. She was so talented that she became a movie stunt pilot, flying with and among the most daring flyers. The work was dangerous and one of the major contributions she made was the formation of the Associated Motion Picture Pilots union that standardized pay scales and working conditions.

 Pancho broke Amelia Earhart’s speed record and after going broke at the onset of the Depression, she bought land adjacent to Muroc Field, where new planes were being tested. She created the Happy Bottom Riding Club, a dude ranch that catered to the pilots that were flying the planes. Three of the pilots that knew her well were Buzz Aldrin, Chuck Yeager and Jimmy Doolittle. Clips of comments from Aldrin and Yeager appear on this video.

 Her dynamic and revolutionary personality are captured in this video, as well as the conflicts she had with a specific Air Force commander. Her ranch house burned down under mysterious circumstances, and she had to face down trumped up charges that her ranch was a site of organized debauchery.

 Spoken of with reverence by some of the best pilots the United States has ever produced, the sheer dynamism of Pancho Barnes is captured in this video. While this is a documentary, it will be clear to all who view it that her life should be the subject of a feature film. She was a legend in her time and should be a legend for all time in the aviation industry.

Review of "The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence," by Paul Davies

 Review of

The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence, by Paul Davies, ISBN 9780547133249

Five out of five stars

Plausible answers to the basic questions regarding life outside Earth

 Decades ago, I graduated with majors in biology, chemistry and mathematics. Since that time, I have read and understood many books and articles about life and intelligence outside Earth. It is a rare occasion when I encounter anything that presents a previously unencountered perspective on alien life.

 Davies opens with the rather unintuitive thread that the search for alien life should begin on Earth. He is correct in stating that most microscopic species have not been identified and catalogued, so there is a significant possibility that species could be discovered whose metabolic pathways place them outside what is considered the standard zoological tree of Earth based organisms. For example, carbohydrates and proteins with a structure different from the fundamental handedness of terrestrial organisms.

 This is an approach that has real possibilities and that can be done without leaving Earth and is something that I have not seen so logically put forward before. A concerted effort to identify and categorize microorganisms found throughout the Earth will have strong scientific and commercial value, even if no unusual results are discovered.

 Another thread that Davies covers in detail is the reality that carbon-based intelligence may only be a transient phenomenon. There are strong reasons to believe that humans will soon create machines with high intelligence and the ability to expand and reproduce, quickly rendering humans obsolete and uncompetitive. A plausible case can be made for the premise that such machines are the logical end result of natural selection. With the ability to intellectually grow and adapt, have nearly unlimited memory, and the ability to grow replacement parts for every component, such machines could be considered the pinnacle of the evolutionary tree. Furthermore, such societies may exist throughout the galaxy.

 I enjoyed this book immensely. Without having to postulate any technology such as warp speed or matter transporters, Davies develops arguments regarding why societies with large sizes could be created and continue to expand. If these machines could function for tens of thousands of years, then sub-light speeds become less of an obstacle in the management of a civilization. While it is clear that not all of what Davies postulates is true, it is a good bet that some of it either exists or will someday.