Review of
The Significance of the Frontier in
American History, by Frederick Jackson Turner ISBN
0804469199
Five out of five stars
Should be required reading in American history
programs
From the first
tentative footholds on the east coast until the frontier was officially
declared closed by the Census bureau in 1890, the generally westward movement
of settlers largely defined the United States. Neither climate, terrain nor the
opposition of the inhabitants could stop it. If you couldn’t make it in society
for whatever reason, there was always the option to leave and establish
yourself on unoccupied (by the whites) land. It was a compelling lure, even for people that
were living in Europe.
This book by
Turner is considered a milestone in history as he sets down the principles of
what the frontier was and how it evolved from the first whites to stop and
build until the structures of civilization such as schools and civil buildings
were functioning. In 31 pages, the reader is given a primer on one of the foundational
principles of what made the United States what it is. It should be read by all
high school students.
Review of
The Case of the Painted Dragon: A Brains
Benton Mystery, by George Wyatt
Five out of five stars
The high
ranking is given by a man that loved the Hardy Boys series when he was young.
Although he has covered many miles since then, I retain the joy of the juvenile
mystery. This one features Barclay (Brains) Benton and James Carson, together
they make up the Benton and Carson Detective Agency and they solve crimes and
mysteries that often baffle adults.
They have their
own batcave equivalent in the upper level of the Benton garage complete with
many gadgets, some of which remind you of the opening of the old television
show “Get Smart!” They even have codes names that they use when they are on a
case. In other words, they check all the boxes in the adolescent boy’s
sleuthing/spying fantasies.
If you take
your mind back to when you were in your early teens, you will love this book
The phrase “Painted Dragon” refers to an image painted by the deceased by auto accident
father of one of the friends of Brains and James. The son is Mikko and he is of
Japanese descent and there is a gang that is after a string of valuable pearls.
His mother also died in the accident, so Mikko is under guardianship. To the
adult mind, there are several logical flaws in the plot, but to the young one,
it is a very fun book to read. This is the first Brains Benton book that have
read and I wished that I had known of them when I was young.
Review of
Marvel Secret Wars 1872 number 3,
Duggan et. al.
Five out of five stars
When I spotted
this comic in the local used bookstore, the cover snapped my eye to attention.
It contains what looks like an amalgam of Iron Man and an old steam locomotive
as well as a man brandishing a sixgun and another wearing the standard clothing
associated with the American west.
At first it appears to be a fairly standard western
story where the oppressed are going up against the greedy and wealthy barons
that are building a dam on the river. However, characters known for being in other
times and place are present. They are Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Dr. Banner. It
is an interesting twist on a well worn western story and this comic is the third
in the series, so if you have not read the first two, some aspects of the plot
are confusing.
However, I
enjoyed it so much that immediately after finishing, I began ordering the other
comics in this series.
Review of
Youth, by Isaac Asimov
ISBN 9781606644683
Five out of five stars
This short
science fiction story is based on the premise of two young creatures (Slim and
Red) finding strange little animals after hearing thunder sounds. It is quickly
clear that the two animals are in fact space travelers (Explorer and Merchant) and
their ship crashed on the home world of Slim and Red. Their fathers are (Astronomer
and Industrialist) and the narrative passes back and forth between each of the
three groups.
The interaction
between the two in each of the three pairs is the most entertaining aspect of
the story. The Astronomer and Industrialist talk about how their world once
was, and how it has steadily declined over the generations. There is a smooth
road that was built so far back that no one knows how it was done. There is
mention of the use of atomic weapons, but even that is rather vague. The Explorer
and Merchant are the only two survivors of the crash and they both think almost
exclusively along the lines of what their names imply. While Slim and Red put
Explorer and Merchant in a cage, they do nothing cruel and do what they can for
them.
There is a
somewhat unexpected twist at the end, which explains why there are no descriptions
of the normal actions of sentient creatures as they go about their daily lives.
That makes this story a solid example of how short science fiction stories can
pack a great deal of symbolism into a small amount of well chosen words.
Review of
The Invaders: Alien Missile Threat,
by Paul S. Newman
Four out of five stars
This pocket illustrated
novel by Whitman is a companion to the television series called “The Invaders.”
It ran for two seasons 67-68 and starred Roy Thinnes as architect David
Vincent. Vincent accidently witnessed an alien landing and then made it his mission
in life to thwart their attempt to take control of Earth. In this book, an
alien craft explodes in space, high enough and large enough so that a large
segment of the American population witnesses it.
Needing energy
resources, the aliens are trying to get control of some nuclear power at a government
facility and have infiltrated it. Vincent and some human allies that he manages
to acquire battle with them in the hope to thwart the alien’s nefarious plot. At
the end, David and his comrades in arms defeat the aliens, but in a manner
where all proof of their existence is destroyed. Which was a recurrent theme of
the series, for one of the main premises is that Vincent is very much a lone sentry
standing against the alien control of Earth.
This was a
science fiction series that demonstrated some promise, yet it was constrained by
the seeming necessity of keeping Vincent as an isolated battler against the powerful
alien forces that can assume human form. While he does find a small number of
people that believe his premise, they are rare and isolated. Which points up a weakness in the science
backdrop of the show. The energy requirements of moving from planet to planet
is so large that even the technology of the sixties would have detected it. The
idea that a spaceship could enter the atmosphere and land undetected is too
far-fetched to be believed.
Review of
Cartoons for the John
Five out of five stars
The title is a
bit of a misnomer, this is a book of cartoons about sex. As always in books of
cartoons, there is a wide range in the level of humor, much of which is due to
personal taste. Yet, if you are a fan of such reading material, which is well
suited to the short snippets of attention when on the john, then you will find the book entertaining. The
cartoons are material that you can read over and over again with amusement and
they require little to no concentration.
Review of
Bluecoats: The U. S. Army in the West
1848-1897, by John P. Langellier ISBN 1853672211
Five out of five stars
No question the author is an expert in the subject
While I
personally have little interest in the history of military uniforms, I also
know that there are people that are diligent in their study. Only a few pages
into this book, it is clear that the author is an expert. Photos of soldiers
posed in their military uniforms are given with detailed textual explanations
of what is right and wrong with their clothing and accoutrements. George Custer
appears in at least two of them. Pay was poor for the soldiers on the frontier
and the uniforms were often ill-fitting and uncomfortable. Therefore, the
soldiers often made do with what else they may have, and the author explains
the discrepancies.
If you have any
level of interest in what the American soldiers in the west wore in the last
half of the nineteenth century, this book is one of the first places you should
look.
Review of
America’s Dizzy Dean,
by Curt Smith ISBN 0827200145
Five out of five stars
Dominant as both a player and a showman
Jay Hanna or
Dizzy Dean was a man whose talent for pitching a baseball was exceeded only by
his incredible brashness. Even though he was an essentially uneducated country boy,
he approached the world as if he knew all about it. He won an amazing 121 games
(five complete seasons) before he turned 27 and it seemed likely that he could
have approached 300 for a career if he had not been injured and hurt his
throwing arm.
Dean was given
the nickname “Dizzy” for his wild antics and frequent mental blunders. Some of
it was an act, but few were ever sure as to how far it really went. One of the
best baseball quotes of all time appeared after Dean was hit in the head by a
ball thrown in an attempt to complete a double play. It was , “X-rays of Dizzy
Dean’s head reveal nothing.”
After his career
as a player was over, Dean became a broadcaster, famous for his country banner
and butchery of the English language. Yet, he was unapologetic for his speech
patterns. He was very poor as a child, growing up picking cotton for a pittance
and his baseball career spanned the
Depression.
It is easy to
give the man that came to be known as “Ole Diz” a great deal of slack when
describing his life. While Smith gives him some, he does not go too far with
it. Therefore, this is an excellent biography of the man that plausibly could
have gone down as one of the top five pitchers of all time. All accounts are
that he was a joy to listen to when broadcasting a game, he became the first
true star of the baseball airwaves. Even though teachers of English constantly complained
about what he said.
This was a fun
book to read, it describes the first professional baseball player that was as
much an entertainer on the field as he was dominant when on the mound.
Review of
Deliverance,
DVD version
Four out of five stars
Male bonding adventure gone very awry
This movie
opens up with a very basic premise, four businessmen from Atlanta are about to take
a canoe trip down a very rough river in the most rural of areas in the
mountains of Georgia. A dam has been constructed that will create a lake out of
most of the river, so this is their last chance to experience this adventure.
In one of the best
scenes ever in a movie, early on one of the men plays the instrumental song “Dueling
Banjoes” with a local boy. All of the local men are portrayed as mentally weak
and backward and treated as such by the four men from the city. The boy on the
banjo is portrayed as an idiot savant in the area of music.
What seems to
be a pending duel between man and nature quickly becomes a battle between the
four men, nature and two very rough men of the mountains. When the two teams of
two are separated, one of the teams encounters two local men that are portrayed
as being slightly above animals. One of the businessmen is sexually assaulted
and when the two locals start planning to sexually assault the other, he is
shot dead by a hunting arrow.
This increases the
tension as the four men debate what to do with the body. They eventually decide
and continue on their trip. However, all is not well within the group, and when
one appears to passively just fall out of the boat and drown, they believe that
he was shot, even though no one heard the sound of a gun.
After one
receives a serious injury, the three remaining men finally make it back to
civilization and tell their made up story to local law enforcement. While there
is no hard evidence that they are lying, the deputies do not believe them.
This movie was
groundbreaking in the sense that it portrays some types of sexual content that
was generally taboo in the mainstream movies. It is an action/adventure movie
that is harsh and unpredictable. One most significant fact about the movie is
that the four male actors did their own stunts, when the canoes are going over
the rapids, it is the actors that are riding the waves.
Review of
Forgotten No More: The Korean War Veterans
Memorial Story, by Carol M. Highsmith and Ted Landphair
ISBN 9780962087734
Five out of five stars
The war that did most to defeat communism
The Korean War
was a war that did not affect the home front like World War II did. Other than
the loss of young men, people in the United States were not asked to sacrifice
to support the people fighting it. At the time, television was on track to
become the universal form of entertainment that it is now. One of the most
telling stories I have heard is when a fighting man returned from Korea, when
he arrived home, his family members were more interested in watching the
network show they loved than engaging in a true welcome home.
Yet, over
50,000 Americans died in the Korean War with millions of people of other nationalities
also losing their lives. It was the first war of the nuclear age, so the best
that the United States could hope for was a return to the status quo and the
avoidance of the use of nuclear weapons. Which is what was achieved.
This book is a
brief history of the Korean War along with the movement to create a memorial to
the U. S. men and women that fought in it. There is mention of the brutal
weather that the people endured on the Korean peninsula and how the Chinese used
human wave tactics to wear down and overwhelm the UN forces.
The Korean Veterans
Memorial is a very moving structure, for the statues depict men in a war zone,
wary, frightened, and determined. All characteristics that were needed through
the dramatic action up and down the Korean peninsula. Rapid offenses followed
by desperate retreats, often under appalling weather conditions.
Review of
Giant Days: Volume 1,
by John Allision, ISBN 9781608867899
Five out of five stars
A summary of a
major life transition
A woman I know
once told me that her menstrual cycle has been disturbed only three times in
her life, during her two pregnancies and when she went off to college. For many,
if not most young people, moving away from home to go to school and live in a
dorm is the most traumatic event in their young lives. Suddenly placed in a new
environment with people around them, adjustment and adaptation are the major
requirements.
This graphic
novel features three young women of vastly different backgrounds and
appearances. Daisy was home schooled and is naïve, Esther is extremely pale and
is a catalyst for drama while Susan is logical and studious. They quickly
become friends and navigate their new social scene, which includes old male
flames, hints of same-sex relationships, occasional study and exploring the
good-times social scene.
All events in
their lives are of course exaggerated, but still are grounded in the reality
that girls experience when they go off to college. Cliques of their old school
are vaporized; they are forced to (con)form to new social circles and take the first
steps in what will be for most of them the true transition to adulthood. It is
a fun book to read for people of all ages and genders.
Review of
Cases of Sherlock Holmes, First Collector’s
Issue: The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet comic version by
Renegade Press
Five out of five stars
There are many
famous fictional detectives that have delighted and entertained people for almost
two centuries. The first such detective was C. Auguste Dupin, first introduced
by Edgar Allan Poe in 1841, but the most famous is Sherlock Holmes, created by
Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes first appeared in 1887 and was so popular that there
was a public backlash when Doyle tried to kill off Holmes. He remains the most
popular fictional detective of all time, with many high quality stories and
other productions continuing the character. I have read the complete collection
of the original Doyle stories as well as many in isolation.
This Doyle story
in comic form keeps within the genre of the Holmes character. It is set in crowded
and dirty London of the late nineteenth century and is completely within the
lane of the stratified, class conscious British society. A wealthy financier
rushes to Holmes’ residence with a problem. He granted a loan to a wealthy and
very public man, accepting as collateral a national treasure that would be
described as priceless. While that item was not entirely missing, most of it is
present after some kind of robbery attempt and part of it is gone.
Holmes of
course listens to a complete description of the events and investigates,
tracking down the criminals as well as removing the suspicions of the innocent.
It is a story told using both text and images, which are in black and white. There
are no dialogue balloons. Perhaps the most interesting image is on page 5,
which is an extremely accurate rendition of Prince Charles, currently first in
line to the British throne.
Although it is
short, this story has a natural flow and has a specific conclusion. The last
four pages contain the beginning of a biography of Arthur Conan Doyle. Any
doubts that the great Holmes can properly appear in a comic book were dispelled
by this gem.
Review of
The Worst Call Ever!,
by Kyle Garlett and Patrick O’Neal ISBN 9780061251375
Five out of five stars
Even when meant to be exact, officiating is not
Major league baseball
keeps records of errors players make as it is a fundamental component of all sports.
Some of those mistakes decide games, even those involved in determining
champions. Histories of baseball mention them. For example, there is the famous
“Merkle’s Boner” in baseball that determined the winner of the National League
pennant in 1908.
Being human,
the people that officiate games in the major sports also make errors, most of
which are simply making a bad call. One of the most famous was the safe call by
first base umpire Don Denkinger in game six of the 1985 World Series. It
arguably determined the winner, although the St. Louis Cardinals seemed to
simply give up after that call. More recently, there was the erroneous safe
call made by Jim Joyce in what would have been the last out of a perfect game.
Published in
2007, this book was written after replay review was instituted in the NFL but
before it was first used in major league baseball in 2008. It features bad
calls made by officials in all of the major sports, including golf, auto racing
and even curling. It is an interesting history of what has gone wrong in the
inexact science of arbitrating professional sports.
While the
advent of replay challenges, some of the most egregious errors that have
happened since have been corrected at the time. However, there are still errors
and no-calls that manage to elude the watchful eyes of all aspects of the video
review. There was no event worse than the one now known as the “Fail Mary,” a
bad call that decided the winner of an NFL game. So officiating is still an
exact operation.
Review of
Norman Rockwell Collection 500 PC Jigsaw
Puzzle a Time for Greatness
Three out of five stars
Unnecessarily difficult
While I enjoy
the subject matter and the image, this puzzle is unnecessarily difficult
because the pieces do not interlock very well. There were many times when I had
to reattach sections because of a very minor bump. Even a light nudge to a leg
of the card table could pop pieces out of their sockets. Moving a separate
section from one location to another is almost impossible.
The pieces are
very irregular in shape, which ordinarily does not bother me. In this case it
did, because much of the instability was due to the lack of uniformity in the
pieces.
Review of
Fantastic Voyage,
by Isaac Asimov ISBN 0553271512
Four out of five stars
Too many
cliffhangers
As Asimov
mentions in his autobiographical material, since this was a novelization of a
movie, he was much more limited in what he could write. Therefore, he had to go
with far more cliffhangers than is usually the case and he had to improve on
some of the scientific howlers that appeared in the movie. Within these limitations,
Asimov did an exceptionally good job in creating a book of science fiction out
of an item of entertainment.
The premise is
that the Cold War between the United States and the Other Side is very active
and tense. A scientist named Benes is on the other side and he has knowledge
that could overturn the delicate balance of power between the two sides. An American
agent named Grant was able to spirit Benes out of the area controlled by the
Other Side, but they are so desperate to keep the knowledge from the Americans
that agents of the Other Side launch an attempt to assassinate Benes. While they
do not succeed, he sustains a head injury and a major blot clot in his brain.
Using new technology to miniaturize large objects down to the size of bacteria,
a submarine containing a small team is injected into Benes’ blood in order to
destroy the clot.
The strength of
this book is Asimov’s detailed descriptions of the microstructures of the human
body. In each instance it is possible for the reader to develop a crisp mental
image of the structure and its function. This makes up for the seeming never-ending
sequence of major problems that must be overcome. After reading this book I now
want to see the movie for the first time.
Review of
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle,
DVD
Four out of five stars
The right blend of stupid when that is what you need
There is no
pretense of intelligence by the creators of this movie. Harold (John Cho) is a
white collar worker in finance that is so low on the corporate ladder that he
feels the need to do extra work in order to get along. He is also very shy with
girls, becoming completely tongue-tied when he is alone in an elevator with a
girl he is attracted to. Kumar (Kal Penn) is a genius fully capable of handling
medical school yet seems to have no ambition to do anything more than smoke
marijuana and annoy the people around him.
After consuming
their last joint, they develop an overpowering craving for White Castle
hamburgers. Unfortunately, this requires a lengthy journey, so an unusual road
trip is on and the tale has begun. There are the seemingly obligatory moronic other
guys their age, a spooky guy right out of the horror genre, cops that couldn’t
whip a light bulb in a spelling bee and bare female breasts. While none of that
is original, some of their methods of transportation are. Their encounter with
the spooky guy is more than a little gross yet has some originality that fits
with how this movie plays out.
Sometimes what
we need most is mindless entertainment to tone us down from the stress of our
lives. In those situations, this movie can be medicinal.
Review of
The Stag At Eve,
ideas by Walter Schmidt
Five out of five stars
Published in
1931, this collection of cartoons ribald for the time is a look back at what
was the limits of material that could be published in polite society. There are
of course none of the harshest of the bad words and only the hints of actual
sex. There are occasional bare female breasts as well as hints of backside
cracks.
The clothing,
even that of the intimate occasions, is very much of the early thirties. Suits,
ties and hats for the men, gowns, and jewelry for the women when they are in
public. With few exceptions, all of the people are of the wealthier class,
making it an outlier for what was really the case in the early years of the
Great Depression.
This is a humor
book that must be seen through the lens of a historical retrospective to set
the context of different times, both societal and economic. These cartoons were
meant to amuse the wealthier people, not those struggling to survive amidst
widespread hardship.
Review of
Little Brown Koko Has Fun,
by Blanche Seale Hunt
Two out of five stars
The only reason
I assign two stars to this work is that it demonstrates what was considered
acceptable racist content at the time of publication, which was 1945. The
author’s work appeared monthly in “Household Magazine” and the hardcopy
versions of her work sold over 600,000 copies. The text is some of the most
blatantly racist material you will ever see in print for the masses. In this
case, it is directed at children.
To understand
the level of racism, I will quote the first paragraph verbatim.
“Little Brown Loko’s nice, big, ole, good, fat, black Mammy
went to town one afternoon and left him at home to keep the chickens scared out
of the flower-beds. But before she left she took one of her big, fat, black
fingers under Little Brown Koko’s little, flat, brown nose and said, ‘An’ mind,
Little Brown Koko! Don’t you-all skeer up no mischief while I’s gone.’”
It is amazing
that such material was once considered quality reading material for young people,
yet it is important to look back and understand some of the more blatant racist
expressions if the world is to move forward and continue to put such material
in the dustbin of history.
