Carrying on my books theme I have decided to conjure up a list of books that I believe have influenced my life. This is an assortment of fiction and non-fiction works. The serious to the fun. And the straight laced to the crazy. Take a gander.
'The Catcher in The Rye' by J D Salinger: I read this book after a bit of friendly coercion from my dearest girlfriend Ms. Fry. This book was made infamous when it was discovered on the person of the man who shot John Lennon. The American media then dully and unjustly made this book an infamous one. On the contrary this is a brilliant book. Told in third person prose the book tells a short tale of angst-full teenager Holden Caufield. His frustrations, dreams and misadventures are laid out, written in 1950's pros (eg. people being dismissed as phoney). This is a very fun and surprisingly addictive book. The book is basically a short teenager's misadventure. There is no massive ending to it, and the misadventure itself doesn't really have a point to it. But it's the journey that is the attraction. Not the destination.
'Dreadnought' by Robert K Massey: This is a massive book in many senses. Accompanying its large physical size of over 900 pages, the scope of the book is massive. This book describes the various sequence of events that lead to Britain and Germany ultimately going to War in 1914. The book looks from the two main angles of the political side and the rivalry in the two navies. Germany is described as an up and coming empire, with a domineering land army, but an at first tiny navy. Then along came Admiral Von Tirpitz who inspired Germany to not only expand the navy but challenge the world's ultimate naval power, Britain. Such a book written by anyone else I am sure would not nearly be as readable. But Massey brings the stirring events and moving characters to life in a way I have not read in any other history book. There are multiple biographies in this one book. From Churchill, to the German diplomat in America who jumped out of a window for a bet. Spinning a true tale of many years Massey shows how war between us and Germany became inevitable, and how decisions made long before dictated how the upcoming naval battles would play out. This book had me gripped from its first few pages.
'For Whom the Bell Tolls' by Ernest Hemingway: Carrying on my history nerd obsession about the Spanish Civil War I decided to take the time to look into this book. I'll say now that this book while is a slow burner, rewards the patient reader. Very little action happens till towards the end. But the suspense is built up to a convincing and gripping pitch. And seemingly uninteresting characters are slowly given more depth through snippets and flashbacks of their past which reveal more than a few dark pasts. In a nutshell the story is about an American volunteer for the Republican side called Robert Jordan, who joins a guerrila band to blow up a nearby bridge. The love story is a bit old fashioned but the backstories and the tension built up with the enemy closing in keeps you reading. Your patience is rewarded at the end with one of the best cliff hangers I have ever read.
'The 60s Unplugged' by Gerard DeGroot: I got this book for Christmas after requesting it long ago. I am not sure what made me ask for it or where I actually heard about it. It was one of those impulse things. But I am very pleased I did as for it. This book is a Stealth Bomber. It looks unassuming and you think you know what it is going to cover before you've read it. Then you start reading it. Some of the usual events you associate with the sixties are there. Woodstock, The Beatles, Hendrix etc. These chapters which could easily have been a monotonous history are told with an unflinchingly frank narrative that exposes the ugly as well as the beautiful aspects of the times, and often with an ironic sense of humour. Woodstock is revealed as an event that nearly didn;t happen, and ended with peace loving hippies being saved by medicals supplies flown in by US Army helicopters similar to those in Vietnam at the time. The Beatles success is recalled, with a keen eye on the darker sides of the band members ambitions. The mass production of transistor radios introduced a young generation to new music, that not played by the stuffy official stations. In less well known events the Stonewall Inn Riots kick off in New York in one of the most important events in Gay rights history in the US. The Sharpeville riot in South Africa intensifies the struggle against apartheid for the ANC, leading them to develop an armed wing in defiance of government oppression. This is the real story of the sixties, in all of its wonderful, bloody and chaotic charm.
'The Revenge of Gaia' by James Lovelock: It was during my revision for my degree about environmentalist movements that I came across the name James Lovelock. I studied his theory of Gaia: the concept of planet Earth as a single living and breathing organism. Far fetched yes, but through this framework James Lovelock reveals some home truths about our world that everyone should hear. Lovelock is remarkably and refreshingly frank: mankind has excacerbated global warming and poses a massive threat to biodiversity the world over. And it is probably too late to patch things up. What we are dealing with now is damage control. What surprised me, and immediately made me take this book seriously was that he didn't just take aim at easy targets ie Climate change deniers. Like an old man who has had enough he bluntly lists the ways in which the environmentalist movement is shooting itself in the foot, namely by mindlessly promoting organic food production (presuming wrongly that it does not cause environmental damage). He clearly and loudly calls for the expansion of nuclear power as a way to produce low carbon producing, consistent and above all SAFE (statistically) power. This is the ultimate anti-beard and sandals brigade book, consequently it is my environmentalist Bible.
'Jurassic Park' by Michael Crichton: Once you have read this, you will be reluctant to go back to the film. This quite simply blows it out of the water. This is how to write a thriller. The plot is fast moving, but gripping. This book has the action of the film mixed with intriguing philosophical debates, such as the issue of playing God and the intricacies of Chaos Theory. This book is brainy and fun at the same time. The characters as well are for the most part convincing, aside from the annoying screamy kids.
'Wiseguys' by Nicolas Pileggi: This is the book that eventually became the film 'Goodfellas'. I admit I have a weakness for gangster flicks. But as a book in itself, it is a fascinating read. The protagonist of the true story is the recently late Henry Hill. As he describes it as a young man growing up with few prospects in Queens, he had few job prospects. Eventually he gets attracted to the prospect of joining the neighbourhood mafia crew which is a part of New York's Lucchesse family. This to Henry opens up a world of infinite possibility. A word without consequences and lots of rewards. Not a full Italian (he is half Irish on his father's side), he can only go so far in the ranks, and is barred from being 'made'. Nevertheless his criminal exploits still escalate over the years to pull in some big returns. Not in the least the famous Lufthansa heist at JFK airport. Eventually Henry is forced to confront the rather large ugly side of the mafia, and eventually ends up on the wrong side of his former bosses and friends. Left with no choice he turns witness and goes into hidding. I am not quite sure what attracts me to this book. Maybe it is the inner anarchist in me that likes it's sticking it to the man undercurrent. We all need guilty pleasures when it comes to reading, this one's mine.
'Fear and Loathing Las Vegas' by Hunter S Thompson: I would not be suprised if this book would appear under the dictionary definition of 'chaos'. The so called 'outlaw journalist' wrote this when he was sent on an assignment to report on an obscure motorcycle race. He sent his bosses this, they were dumbfounded. Straight away it throws you into the action. Raol Duke (Hunter) and Dr Gonzo (his lawyer friend Acosta) are speeding towards Las Vegas out of their mind on drugs, with Hunter driving and seeing huge bats swooping in his face. What follows that is a quick (the book is only a few hundred pages long with frequent breaks) dash of drug frenzied men behaving badly. It doesn't make sense. There isn't really a plot as such, but I guarantee you won't read another book like it.
Stay tuned for part 2.
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