Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:05:23 +0000 From: spellberg_robert <emailrob@emailrob.com> To: fbsd_chat <freebsd-chat@freebsd.org> Subject: book recommendation [ was: multiple threads ] Message-ID: <474F45B3.1010007@emailrob.com>
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greetings, all ---
wowie zowie !
i thought -chat was dead.
i wake up from a week_long tryptophan_induced slumber to find
four positively ripping rants.
collectively [ pun intended ],
you have restored my faith [ pun intended ]
in -chat.
one of the nice things about the -chat crowd is that
there is a high proportion of book_readers in it.
so, for those of you who have some free time available
[ what else are you going to do this time of year ?
customize malloc(3) ?
],
permit me to suggest some seriously informative reading.
after the war, hannah arendt [ b 1906 ] sought to explain
hitler_ism and stalin_ism to a stunned and weary world.
in 1950, she published her research in book form,
under the title of "the origins of totalitarianism".
she revised this, circa 1958, to
take into account post_stalin [ d 1953 ] developments and
revised it again, circa 1968.
she passed on in 1975.
i had known of the work during my undergraduate days [ class of 1979 ],
but, as an engineering major,
who has the time for a 600_plus page hard_cover
when it isn't in the curriculum ?
none_the_less, as i matured and found time for non_geek reading
[ history, politics, policy; analytical, but, not mathematical ],
the frequency of its citation prompted me to, finally, acquire a copy
upon the occasion [ 2004 ] of its re_publication by schocken books.
this is the 1968 edition.
[ not much here ]
http://www.randomhouse.com/schocken/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780805242256
[ somewhat more here ]
http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Totalitarianism-Introduction-Samantha-Power/dp/0805242252/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196375607&sr=1-3
not counting all of the extras, the work breaks down like this:
a] [ ~ 160 pp, 4 chap ] anti_semitism;
b] [ ~ 230 pp, 5 chap ] imperialism;
c] [ ~ 230 pp, 4 chap ] totalitarianism.
i --finally-- got around to it this past winter and spring.
what a page_turner [ relatively speaking ] !
it took me two solid months of weekends to read it,
because i could only go a few pages before
some historical circumstance reminded me of something contemporaneous.
the shallow will consider this work to be dated,
but of historical interest.
the perspicacious will recognize this as current.
the first part presents the history of the jews in europe
since the rise of the nation_state, out of feudalism.
the author explains how
many jews came to be considered "citizens of the world",
why this was good and why this was bad
for both the jews --and-- the gentiles.
this will explain why, today,
some jews are fervent capitalists and why
some jews are fervent communists.
the second part presents a history of the european economic experience
from circa_1790 through circa_1920.
with this material, even the casual reader will recognize that
the angst_ridden,
plaid_shirt_clad,
curt_cobain_strumming,
designer_coffee_clutching,
anti_"globalization"_kvetching,
bath_needing,
street_marching
teeny_bopper is
"clueless in seattle"
when she shouts "down with amerikan imperialism".
the third part is the meat of the book.
the impatient reader --could-- start here, directly,
but, that reader will miss out on references to the earlier parts.
if you have the time, start at the beginning.
the open_minded will find this part most enlightening.
those with unshakable prejudice will fear to tread.
in this part, the author explains how hitler_ism is,
contrary to popular misunderstanding,
like stalin_ism, left_wing;
just, not quite so --far-- to the left.
didn't you wonder,
when you first learned of the english translation of "nsdap"
[ national socialist german workers party ],
how a "socialist workers" party could be right_wing
[ come on, now; how many right_wing socialists do you know ] ?
the communists proclaimed them so.
the communists don't want political competition
[ they don't want economic competition, either; but, i digress ],
so, everyone who wasn't one of them became a "right_winger".
from their perspective, they were.
we see this today in american mass_media.
the "cnn_types" proclaim "fox news" to be "right_wing".
actually, fox news is "left_wing",
just not as far to the left as the "clinton_news_network".
this is the type of book that will be enjoyed, so_to_speak,
by true intellectuals.
almost every page has a footnote.
it is not unusual to find pages where
the citations and supplemental material
take up more real_estate on the page than the exposition
[ i like citations;
they make me think the author may have done some research
].
it will appeal to the analytical brain.
further, even in hard_cover [ recommended ],
it is remarkably inexpensive at your favorite online retailer.
it is an excellent choice for your solstice_gift list.
in conclusion,
this book should be required_reading for
every secondary_school student;
their sixteenth birthday is about the right time.
for those who want video to go with it,
on dvd, "the world at war", laurence olivier, narrator, 1974,
is still the best;
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071075/
as supplementary dvd,
you want the documentaries of leni riefenstahl
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0726166/
"triumph of the will", 1935, and
"olympia", parts one and two, 1938.
rob
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