J's Pages

by Jerome T. Burke

Some books are written to tell a great story, others are written to share a specific idea. The story in the latter case is merely a vehicle to showcase the information the author wishes to share. In the case of Black Point, Mr. Burke wanted to share his love and knowledge of Geneva Lake in Wisconsin, the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the Pullman labor dispute.  To carry these nuggets of knowledge, he wrote a tale of a modern day lawyer who through some unexplained method is transported back in time to 1895. There he meets and falls for a woman who happened o be involved in the Pullman strike and, before then, happened to be a guide at the 1893 fair. All in all, it's not a bad book. It's certainly good waiting room material. The characters are likable and while the story is not compelling, it did manage to keep my interest. The weakest points of the book were typical time travel clichés: the traveler not only manages to meet famous people, but he also is fortunate to be befriended by people who are a bit "ahead of their time" in their thinking. I think an actual time traveler would probably be stuck amongst historic nobodies who would avoid him because he was so weird. But for the "lake" people who live or vacation around Geneva Lake, I'm sure such shortcomings will be readily forgiven.

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Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial

by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

Up 'til now, the Left Behind series was something I've only experienced indirectly. I've read articles about the series. I paged through a couple of the comic book adaptions. And most recently I've been following Fred Clark's thorough dissecting of the book at Slacktivist. It was the latter that made me want to experience this first book of the series for myself. Mr. Clark is highly critical of the book and the comments for each of his posts are even more so. While I generally trusted Mr. Clark's assessment, I felt guilty of not seeking out a dissenting voice or, better yet, reading the book for myself. So when I saw the book at Poplar Creek library's free paperback exchange, I--despite Noodle's rolling eyes--picked it up. To my mild surprise, it wasn't as bad as I had heard. It was akin to a mediocre Star Trek novel. You're sympathetic to the story because you like the characters (or in this case, you like Christians), but the only reason you read it through is because the story keeps you curious enough to see how it ends. Once it does end, however, you have no desire to ever reread the book again. Left Behind is just that, a mediocre novel and bad speculative fiction to boot. Part of the problem is trying to write a story based on the Biblical book of Revelation. Revelation--be it a concrete prediction of the future or a collection of metaphors--makes for a lousy story. There are no real characters, no background story and no starightforward plot. If you want to read the Bible as a storybook, read the book of Acts. That's a great tale. Revelation, though, is just too durn confusing. And there's also the problem of tying Revelation into today's world. Revelation speaks of Babylon, Ethiopia, and other countries which either don't exist under those names or aren't major players in modern global affairs. Trying to shoehorn the modern world into a literal interpretation of Revelation is just too durn awkward. Or if there is a believable way to work it out, Mssers. LaHaye and Jenkins haven't figured it out. Since I'm an amilleniest and believe the pre-tribulation rapture to be as much a fiction as the rest of the novel, I'm tempted to dunk their book. But since it does tell the reader that Jesus died to pay for their sins--it's redeeming value, if you'll pardon the pun--I will rate it as waiting room material.

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Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial

by Ben Bova

This is a book I've been meaning to reread for five years now. I've had it on my shelf since my high school days. It's set in December of 1999... as envisioned in the mid-seventies. The world is going to hell in a handbasket. Energy is scarce, pollution is running rampant, and the United States and the Soviet Union are both racing to gain the tactical high ground as they both endeavor to complete their orbital anti-ballistic missile defense systems. Colonel Chet Kinsman, commander of the American Moonbase, is sick of it. Moonbase is a lunar colony existing side by side with the Soviet station Lunagrad. The stations were built years earlier, when a brief spirit of co-operation existed between the two superpowers. That spirit still exists amongst the lunar colonists, fueled by the necessity of interdependence to survive the dangerous environment. As the threat of war grows closer, Kinsman tries to insure that the inhabitants of the Moon will retain their peaceful lifestyle despite events on Earth. Of course, such independence is a complex thing and Kinsman's efforts have repercussions that go far beyond his plans. It's an interesting tale about what might have been. In one sense, I'm glad I put off rereading this book so long. I think the book with its elements of environmental troubles, patriotism, and looming world war would have seemed more anachronistic in 1999 than it does in 2004. Anyway, as a book of speculative future that has become alternate history, Millennium has aged well.

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Labels: OnMyShelf

by Virginia Moore

I couldn't find anything titled "James Madison: A Life", so for my next presidential biography I read this tome. Man, was it weird! It starts out with the birth and childhood of Madison's wife, Dolley. When "Jemmy" finally arrives on the scene, Ms. Moore then tells his history in flashback. The book then progresses as a biography of them both, but ends with Madison's burial, with nary a word as to how Dolley's life fared after that. I just don't get it. The style was also weird. The president's actions were recounted intertwined with Mrs. Madison's feelings, all of which apparently have documentary support. All in all it was very much a "hero" tale--the few shortcomings mentioned of the Madisons are quickly refuted or forgiven. I personally would have preferred something more balanced (assuming that the Madisons aren't as perfect and noble as presented here). But it was an interesting read. It didn't kill me to learn about Washington's social scene during Madison's presidency, and who knows how such matters might have affected the country. Anyway, James Madison's life covered such a broad section of this country's early history--from the Revolution through the War of 1812 and the arrival of Jacksonian democracy--it's definitely worth checking out, even if you don't care what Dolley Madison happened to be wearing from year to year. 

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Labels: CheckItOut, PresidentialBioReadingList