2019 Books in Review

This year's collection of books is eclectic and varied. I didn't really have a theme for 2019, aside from trying to understand the historical moment this country finds itself in.

Most of the texts around the issues of race and slavery came earlier in the year. In the fall  I took off on a Venice jag (probably foreshadowing an eminent visit) but now I've wound my way back to history, race and slavery with the recently begun Hegel, Haiti, and Universal History by Susan Buck-Morss.

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Fawcett Crest, 1985.

• I read this book over 30 years ago, when it first came out. It's grim forecast for society in the U.S. repelled me, despite Atwood's amazingly spare writing. In just a few words, she is able to build vivid images, leading the reader into the despairing world of Gilead. Now, in the age of trumpism, I've returned to read it again. This time around, what was a grim forecast is now suggestive of our cruel present.

Auslander, Mark. The Accidental Slaveowner: Revisiting a Myth of Race and Finding an American Family. University of Georgia Press, 2011.

• This is a poignant true story about an enslaved woman in Georgia. Along the way toward researching and writing this book, Auslander uncovered myths and history. If you are interested in genealogy, African American families, US history and the formation of myths in society then this is the book for you.

Blackmon, Douglas A. Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. Anchor Books, 2008.

• A grim but well-sourced accounting of neo-slavery in the South. This text traces individuals and their families in an intimate and respectful journey, which leads the reader to a thoughtful understanding of the implications of forced labor in African American families.

Brodsky, Joseph. Watermark: An Essay on Venice. Penguin Books, 1992.

• This may be one of the best books I have ever read. The writing is amazing; sentences with alliteration, paragraphs of meaning. It's a love story Brodsky writes, not for a person but for a city. And all with reason. "For this" Brodsky claims, "is the city of the eye; your other faculties play a faint second fiddle" (27). There are history lessons here, and the faint contours of romantic tragedy, but mostly it's just an ode to a city which "beautifies the future"(134). 

Buck-Morss, Susan. Hegel, Haiti, and Universal History. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009.

• This is a sprawling book that wanders across several disciplines including history, philosophy, linguistics and race studies. It explores the origins of zombies, the social context for Hegelian dialectics and the role of the 1791 Haitian Revolution in world history. I loved this book for its profound ideas, but I really wish that Buck-Morss had been a bit more organized in it. The chapters wander almost as much as the topics, often returning to repeat information in unnecessary ways. It's a good book with important implications for us today, but it does require a dedicated reader to get through it.

Christenson, Allen J. Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Maya. University of Oklahoma Press, 2003.

• Often funny, profound and ever entertaining, the sacred text of the Quiche Maya of Guatemala is a must read for understanding their culture and spiritual ideology. Christenson's translation is excellent, and includes a moving introduction.

Diehl, Gregory V. Travel as Transformation: Conquer the Limits of Culture to Discover Your Own Identity. Identity Publications, 2016.

• A simple yet occasionally profound primer on the virtues of travel for understanding the self.

Goodell, Jeff. The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World. Back Bay Books, 2017.

• Grim and well researched, Goodell takes the reader from Venice to Miami and points in between to chronicle the impact of climate change and rising sea levels on communities around the world. If you weren't prepared to think about eight feet of sea level rise by the end of the century, Goodell's work may do it for you. Read it and weep. Then get busy raising awareness. We still have a small window to stop the floods. Who will join the effort?

Grande, Reyna. The Distance Between Us: A Memoir. Washington Square Press, 2012.

• Immigration traumatizes individuals and families. That's one of the underlying ideas woven into the fabric of this touching true story about the Grande-Rodriguez family in their search to escape the poverty of Mexico. This book will make you laugh, and it will make you cry. It also shows the motivations and ambitions of people who were simply born on the wrong side of a political boundary, and the traumas they experience to change their fates.

Grandin, Greg. The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America. Metropolitan Books, 2019.

• Grandin writes an eloquent and savage criticism of U.S. border psychology. Both compelling and insightful, this text articulates American escapism through frontier fantasy. You should read it.

Hawley, Jack. The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners. New World Library, 2001.

• Classic. Epic. Enlightening. Hawley's translation of this ancient Hindu text is easy to read and invigorating. The spiritual truths Krishna shares with Arjuna are enduring and relate-able, making Arjuna a kind of Everyman for the soul. 

Holmes, Seth. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States. University of California Press, 2013.

• Holmes integrates medical training with anthropology to produce an insightful and poignant look at migrant farm workers and the toll their labor takes on their bodies. It's part academic research and part personal narrative of lived experiences that Holmes delivers. By the time you read the last page, this book will also cause you to question the origin of the food you eat. It may be fresh fruit, but it rides on the backs of broken bodies.

Jacoby, Karl. The Strange Career of William Ellis: The Texas Slave Who Became a Mexican Millionaire. W.W. Norton and Co., 2016.

• This is a well-researched and well-written biography about William Ellis, which also analyzes racism and the phenomena of passing in late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Justice, Daniel Heath. Why Indigenous Literatures Matter. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2018.

• Part lit review, part Indigenous history, part family genealogy: this slim volume packs a lot of spirituality and wisdom into just a few pages. Among other things, Justice provides us with a call to remember "Our relations to each other, our prayers whispered across generations to our relatives" in acts of storytelling that weave the past, present and future together. 

Lewis, Michael. The Fifth Risk. W.W. Norton and Co., 2018.

• When discussing the consequences of Donald Trump's presidency, the last sentence and the title explain it all: "It's what you fail to imagine that kills you."

Mackrell, Judith. The Unfinished Palazzo: Life, Love and Art in Venice. Thames & Hudson, 2017.

• The biography of one house and three different women who lived in it. Mackrell captures the loves and losses of a series of women and one Venetian palace. Along the way, the reader is swept up in the winds of 20th century history, including the vicissitudes of war and the rise of fascism. A compelling, if melancholic, read.

Netz, Reviel and William Noel. The Archimedes Codex: How a Medieval Prayer Book is Revealing the True Genius of Antiquity's Greatest Scientist. Da Capo Press, 2007.

• This book is a love letter to history. It's also an astonishing tour de force using the tools of mathematics and science to provide a 21st century understanding of a 3rd century BC natural philosopher.

Olson, Steve. Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins. First Mariner Books, 2003.

• I first read this book about ten years ago and really liked it. It has bits of science, linguistics, history and social commentary all wrapped up in an easy to read and interesting format. One of my favorite take away facts from reading it this time: that about 81 billion (with a B) people have lived on earth since humans became modern around 150,000 years ago. And, remarkably, we are all cousins. 

Owens, Delia. Where the Crawdads Sing. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2018.

• One of my writing teachers once said "Writers are people who write." It's a simple slogan with a lot of truth to it. But it's worth acknowledging that writers are also people who read. If you are looking for a book from which to learn the craft of writing, this is it. This book is arguably one of the best novels I have ever read that both entertains and instructs. It contains richly developed characters and a wonderful narrative arc. The ending is a surprise, and once it's over you will want to start again. 

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet: CliffsComplete. Cliffs Notes, 2000.

• Shakespeare's masterpiece contains to enthrall me, even after reading it several times every year for the past quarter century. Is Hamlet an actor? Will Hamlet ever act? These perennial questions still bare much fruit in our quest to understand the fateful events of a troubled young prince. You should read it, if you haven't already. And you should read it again, if you already have.

Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Speigel & Grau, 2014.

• A moving story about the creation of the Equal Justice Initiative and the peoples' lives who are impacted by unjust trial conditions and sentencing. Stevenson is a great storyteller, and an amazing lawyer. This book will make you cry, and then it will make you want to become a lawyer.