Reading List Update

21. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
My mother read this book several years ago, but as strange as it is to say, this Irish-American only read Angela’s Ashes for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I think what was great about this story was that it was both about the unique Irish experience and the universal struggle against poverty. McCourt’s book also offers a powerful indictment of the forces that conspire to keep people in poverty, even more potent because he does it without hitting you over the head. He does not point out the corrupt government workers who demean those who come to ask for charity or the cruel priests who refuse to admit into their school the those that need it the most. Rather, McCourt simply tells his story and allows the reader to see how often the forces of the church and the state often join forces to oppress the very people they are supposed to be helping. Ultimately however, it is a story of great courage, of what is possible if you are willing to go for it, and perhaps to those of us that are more fortunate, the question of why have we not done more?

22. Dreams From My Father by Barak Obama
23. The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama
I read these two books pretty much back to back, and while many people have said that his second book, the Audacity of Hope, is better due to Obama’s maturation as a both a statesman and a writer, I think that I actually like the first book more. Everyone has tried to understand their parents are, not just in relation to ourselves but also as individuals, though this is undoubtedly more difficult when the parent is not there. This search for knowledge and connection with another part of his family mirrored Obama’s more personal search for a fulfilling life and career.
Still, even if I liked Dreams of My Father a little bit more, Audacity of Hope was still and excellent book. The book is a powerful political treatise about what needs to be done n our country and how Obama intends to accomplish these goals. His political opponents may claim that he is inexperienced or naïve, but then I guess so am I as well as the several million other people who have found in his rhetoric a clear path to change and a better America.

24. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Things They Carried is an interesting book that is both a collection of short stories and a memoir. The meaning of the title is two-fold. First, it refers to those objects, both mundane and significant, that O’Brien and his fellow soldiers carried with them during their service in Vietnam, and secondly it refers to the emotional and psychological damage that O’Brien and the other survivors carry with them. My favorite story was the one about O’Brien came to the army. He talks about he was set against the war and seriously considered going to Canada when he was drafted, but in the end he decided to serve anyway because he was more afraid of shaming himself and his family than losing his life for a cause he did not support or understand. Our country is now engaged in a similar military debacle, although at least service in this one is voluntary. Still, reading O’Brien’s book is great for not only getting a clearer picture of the Forgotten Generation, but also for gaining understanding about what members of my own generation are experiencing during their wartime service.

25. The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell

26. Oil by Upton Sinclair
Not many books written on such a specific subject retain their timelessness and authority. For example, The Jungle, another of Sinclair’s works, no longer packs quite the punch that it used to thanks to the efforts of the FDA. Oil however, remains just as interesting and relevant today as it did when it was first published. Unfortunately, this timelessness is due as much to the lack of progress in the Oil/Energy Industry as Sinclair’s writing. The book starts off a little slow, mostly because the main character, Bunny, is so milquetoast and wishy-washy, but eventually he does get a backbone when faced with financial and physical costs of his father’s work and the mind-blowing fact that in certain cases more money was spent on the drilling than the oil was worth. What was great about the book however, was that Sinclair did not focus solely on the industry, he also examined the complicity of those that lived off the earnings. Sinclair shows just how far into politics and society the oil man can reach, and why it will prove so difficult to remove him from our system so that we can make progress on alternative energy sources.

27. Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekara
28. Apples Are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins
In one of the most interesting travel guides I’ve ever read, Robbins goes all over Kazakhstan to see some of its most important sites and examine Kazakshtan’s lost past, its present, and its uncertain future. Most of the book is a very clear and rational examination of the country and its people, but after he begins to travel with the president he clearly loses some objectivity in regards to the political and education systems of Kazakhstan. For example, he praises the country’s nearly 99% literacy and high number of students who complete secondary school, but he declines to mention that cheating in school is widespread or that bribes on big exams or for diplomas are still fairly common. Still, the picture he draws of Kazakhstan as the birthplace of apples and legendary horsemen is fascinating and makes me want to explore my new home even more.