Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton

Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton

The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science fiction movie based on Michael Crichton's 1969 novel. It was the beginning my enjoyment of the genre and Crichton. For some strange reason he has included inaccurate portrayal of Mormons in several of his books and does so here. That would not bother me as much but for the fact that he researches his science and is known for having his facts in order. Not so the case with Mormonism.

Michael Crichton is dead, it surprised me to see a new book authored by him on the NYT top list. But there is was: Dragon Teeth. The book imagines the fossil-hunting expeditions of Edward Cope and the rivalry he had with Othniel Marsh. Come to find out they were real people and the events records are mainly true as part of the Bone Wars: The Cope-Marsh rivalry which dominated American science during the second half of the 19th century. They were the founding fathers of American paleontology and dinosaurs.

The book is a quickly paced, engaging historic mishmash of decades of events condensed into a year’s story, inconsequential read. Does not take long to read and wouldn't merit the time if required. Nonetheless an enjoyable digression.

The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau

The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau

I dove into the pond without sounding before hand.  The Tapestry is last of the Joanna Stafford trilogy  situated in the heart of the 16th century Tudor court.  Bilyeau recaps the previous books subtly such that I didn't feel I missed a thing by jumping into the third, other than the enjoyment she provides in the reading. In a world of political intrigue, shifting and conflicting religious values and Tower Hill executions, Joanna is propelled into the future,trying to answer the question as to which future will it be: nun or wife, spy or subject, rebel or courtier, alive or assassinated.Discovering the answers in the context of historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and Bilyeau delivers. The story moves right along and more than once I found my self doing a google fact check to see if the circumstances could bee that bizarre and the story so like unto today. But it was and it is.  it should have been a quick read but for some reason it wasn't. you will delight in the character of Joanna  'the devout former novice who, in spite of her desire for a quiet, contemplative life, always finds herself amid the storms of the controversies of the day' and her integration into the times, particularly if you enjoy historic fiction. 

Word by Word the secret life of dictionaries by Kory Stamper

Words have always been part of our family's life, conjoined with books, being abundant and omnipresent. Regular bookstore and library trips were necessities of life. Clear memory begins no later than as a teen forward of the dictionary preeminence in the kitchen. Appropriate usage and clear understanding were expected in table conversation. And my father clearly delighted in obfuscating meaning by using words and expressions uncharted by me and hence, his need for me to search the dictionary so that I would understand him. Ridiculous indeed!

Paradigms are made to shift and so mine did one Saturday when I was 16. I was preparing eggs for breakfast and was made to realize that I must keep my fork parallel to the pan’s bottom, using the word 'tine' heretofore unknown by me, as in the tines of a fork. I dutifully found the word, pronunciation and demonstrative sentence in the foreboding OED.

After breakfast I drove to the high school to take my SAT test and lo-and-behold what was the first word in the vocabulary section but 'tine'. I knew it! I owned the test from that point forward. Also I never begrudged my father compelling me to search a definition.

Word by Word the secret life of dictionaries by Kory stamper

I feel I have a reasonable grasp of words, grammar, and language, that is until I read a book like Word by Word; then I realize what an amateur and unlearned person I am. Kory is a lexicographer with Merriam -Webster in this book she pulls back the internal process curtain; and flaunts a word usage or two.

Dictionaries are prescriptive not descriptive. As such they record and categorize word usage they don't canonize and provide the definitive answer. Its been along time since I’ve studied the basics of grammar which they abide by: Person place thing – nouns; Describes action – verbs; Modifies nouns – adjectives; Answer the ‘w’ questions – adverb; Joins words together – conjunction; Things we say when you're happy, surprised, angry – interjection. The necessity of grammar " it is with reason expected of every person of a liberal education, and it is indispensably required of everyone who takes to inform or entertain the public, that he should be able to express himself with propriety and accuracy" Lowth - 1762

Oft she uses words I have no idea what they mean and must look up e.g. Cromulent -uncertain, possibly "acceptable," or "fine" ... but search further and "it is safe to say that The Simpsons has contributed a great deal to the English language. One famous example is cromulent, which was coined specifically for the 1996 episode “Lisa the Iconoclast." In reference to one character’s questioning of the use of embiggen, another says “it’s a perfectly cromulent word.” Despite being a complete fabrication, the word caught on, and seems to be made for the internet". An example of how the dictionary records language evolution not prescribing rigorous adherence to formulaic prescription. An interesting online etymology of 'mansplain' - (of a man) explain (something) to someone, typically a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing. Ouroboros - a circular symbol depicting a snake, or less commonly a dragon, swallowing its tail, as an emblem of wholeness or infinity.

A few interesting process words:

Inclusionist - would include clued every word ever uttered or ever used in the dictionary

Etymology fallacy - is the worst sort of pedantry: a meaningless personal opinion trying to dress itself up as concern for preserving historical principles.

Sprachgefühl - an intuitive sense of what is linguistically appropriate, combines two German nouns, Sprache, meaning "language, speech," and Gefühl, meaning "feeling." (Nouns are capitalized in German

Anecdata - combination of an anecdote and refers to personal experiences or anecdotes that are treated like objectively collected and analyzed data

Conclusion - it is human nature to want to justify your own opinions by appealing to an external authority thus one tends to use the dictionary to bolster an opinion that was already held rather than confirming the objective meaning of the word. An appeal to the dictionary in scrabble or quiddler - has no merit in that the dictionary just describes what is not what should be in terms of the English language. So the appeal should be based on if the person can use it in a reasonable sentence where both parties understand the meaning – no, the acknowledgment of its existence is what it does - meaning has no merit.

“And unfortunately right thinking definitely does not lead to write usage and right usage is not a hallmark of right thinking as has been the case in times past. Or at least that's what marketing had let us to believe.”

If you like words and the history of words its a worthwhile read, not quite as compelling as The Professor and the Madman but worth the time.

Churchill and Orwell by Thomas E. Ricks

Churchill and Orwell by Thomas E. Ricks

Two-fer, you only check out one book from the library but are delivered two biographies; both chosen for having the vision and courage to campaign tirelessly, in words and in deeds, against the totalitarian threat from both the left and the right. In a crucial moment, they responded first by seeking the facts, working through the lies and obfuscations, and then they acted on their beliefs and kept actively pursuing change. They both cherished individual privacy and freedom of speech. Philosophies yet valued today.

Observations:

- Of WWII: "This is no war for domination or imperial aggrandizement or material gain; no war to shut any country out of its sunlight and means of progress. It is a war viewed in it's inherent quality to establish on impregnable rocks the rights of the individual and is a war to establish and revive the stature of man"

- ‘that (in war) technological innovation is close to useless without carefully constructed organizational support’

-‘To see clearly that the issue was human freedom—that whatever its coloration, a government that denied its people basic freedoms was a totalitarian menace and had to be resisted. Whether it formed from the right or left they both may act evil’

-John Stuart Mill, "and then at the very core of liberty is the domain of the individual, the inward domain of consciousness - liberty of conscience - liberty of thought and feeling"

-‘Orwell like most about England - all the culture, most truly native centers around things which are communal. He would've been most alienated by America's determined self-centered individualism.’

-"It is clear that his (or Wells) works have instructed many people in how to be wary of the numbing rhetoric of government pronouncements, of pervasive official surveillance, and most of all of state intrusion into the realm of the private individual"

-'Work diligently to discern the facts of the matter and use your principles to respond. instead of shaping facts with your opinion, let the facts change your opinion.'

I like that in the closing part of the book bridges the gap between the history of these two historic figures and today thru Martin Luther King:

-"any law that degrades human personality is unjust"

-"Right defeated us stronger than evil triumphant"

-MLK outlines four steps to follow:

1- Collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive

2-negotiation

3- self purification

4- Direct action

'Those in power often want to divert people from the hard facts of a given matter .The struggle to see things as they are is perhaps the fundamental driver of western civilization. It is the agreement that objective reality exists, that people of goodwill can perceive it , and that other people will change their views when presented with the facts of the matter.'

Let's hope that the author stated common aspiration is indeed true today. Read this book.

The Compleat Angler by Izaac Walton

The Compleat Angler 

or the Contemplative Man's Recreation                                               by Izaac Walton

I saw a reference to The Compleat Angler in a NYT book review; and was intrigued on its relevancy some 300 years post publication . Written circ. 1653 it celebrates the joys of fishing: to catch, eat and  delight in, as well as provide timeless advice and instruction. Discussion persists on Walton's true intent but his style and language seem to position the Angler as a philosophical text rather than a narrowly focused, historical one; "it also celebrates the English countryside and a quiet, peaceful pasttime that is conducive to communing with God."

All in all an enjoyable good read, in a dialogue format (which is uncommon in most books I read) between Piscator, Venator, and Auceps,  "as meandering as a quiet brook." 

Interesting side commentary on 'modern day miracles' : "... the nightingale... breathes such sweet loud music out of her little instrumental throat, that it might make mankind to think miracles are not ceased". 1600's is clearly 'pre' restoration.

Walton joins in the discussion of the happiness of men in this world whether it consists more in contemplation or in action. Was Mary or Martha more virtuous in their pursuit of the Lord. The author would have one believe that 'both these meet together and do most properly belong to the most honest ingenious, and harmless art of angling.'  I enjoy the discussion of Christ endorsing fishing and calling multiple fishermen as his disciples as one of its evidences. 

"When God intended to reveal any future events or high notions to the prophets he then carried them to the dessert or  the seashore; and having so separated them from amidst the press of people and business and cares of the world might settle their mind in a quiet repose, and there make them fit for revelation." So fishing is making time and space to contemplate and be receptive to the promptings of the Spirit. 

I've never pondered why people want the Common Book Of Prayer - common prayer beyond the sacrament prayers just didn't make any sense to me but here he quotes Ch. Harvie that made me see the proposition in a different light - that makes sense to me.

"They that in private by themselves alone 

Do pray, may take what liberty they please,

in choosing of the ways 

Wherein  to make 

their souls most intimate affections known 

To him that sees in secret, when

Th'are most concealed from other men 

but he that unto others leads the way 

in public prayer 

should do it so 

as all that hear may know 

they need not fear 

to turn their hearts unto his tongue and say 

amen ! not doubt they were betrayed to blaspheme when they meant to have prayed."

"You will find angling to be like the virtue of humility, which has a calmness of spirit and a world of other blessings attending upon it."

"I love such mirth as does not make friends ashamed to look upon one another next morning." - if only every teenager could abide such counsel

"No man can lose what he never had."

"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries: "Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did"; and so, if I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

"Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God, and value it next to a good conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of; a blessing that money cannot buy."

Health ,competence and clear conscience were his prescriptions to a good and meaningful life. He doesn't condemn riches but warns that  they come with a cost and aren't always accompanied by happiness. Content will never dwell but in a meek and quiet soul. 

I Thessalonians 4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

Then my favorite quote which embraces the life of evan - They who God takes care of are in safe protection -"Ce que dieu garde est bien gardé "

All said and done the reading makes me want to go to the lake, fish, and ponder!