Power by Bertrand Russell

Here is another from the philosophy section.

I can't really call it philosophy but more like thoughts on power. And the power is sliced from all the possible angles.

This is really good to give you some food for thoughts as this talks about the wide range of powers that are exercised in the society. Some are good but most of them are unproductive or bad when left untamed. Also, the idea here is to identify when the power is pseudo. It may not be the power but an idea of a person or thought being projected as powerful.

However, the power is a very local or you can say a relative thing. Different things, ideas or people gain power in relative terms. Which means that they are not powerful in isolation but in comparison. And this comparison actually drives how the power is going to used and pursued.

Charlie Chaplin's quote can be added to bring another dimension to power "You need Power, only when you want to do something harmful otherwise Love is enough to get everything done" but we're free to choose what we accept it to be as long as we don't forget that its always relative.

Peace

The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis

 I don't know why this one was picked.

First thing, this is super old (2003) so most of the information is outdated or verifiably available through other sources.

Secondly, the title is so wrong.

The book talks about how the current (in 2003) terrorist activities came it to be what it was. It tries to explore the historical events but fails miserably in bringing anything new. Most of it is rhetorical, and some of it will sound absurd if you've read some of the recent books on similar topics.

Not worth the time.

Peace

Pyrrhonism: How the Ancient Greeks Reinvented Buddhism by Adrian Kuzminski

Philosophy needs training similar to any other subject out there.

This one was picked to see how much I understand, and I'll say that this was a difficult read. It did took a lot of time to understand what was said, specially when it goes into the abstract thoughts (they are abstract of a first timer but may be coming easily for a trained student).

Anyways, this is a comparative work of philosophy which compares Buddhism with Pyrrhonism (You'll not get the definition here :)

The prime object is to establish the point that Pyrrho visited India with Anaxarchus, and during his visit he interacted with some of the thinkers/practitioners of Buddhism who influenced his philosophical ideas which led to the birth of Pyrrhonism. The philosophy which largely differs from the other branches because it offers a lifestyle and thought process but not really an argumentative kind of philosophy which proves to a particular point.

The idea was to suspend the judgement on anything, and avoid any mental perturbations that these judgements, if made, can possibly produce. This is a difficult thought to understand but the explanation comes from the perception of everything around us, and how it comes to be what it is.

Not the place for such a discussion but if you've recently been disturbed by any thought that doesn't go away than this is going to help.

Peace

Ataraxia

Origins: How Earth's History Shaped Human History by Lewis Dartnell

I picked this one out of curiosity. And, yes it was a good pick.

This talks about how Earth's evolution over a billion years shaped the existence of life (human life) on the planet. How over the years the Earth went through various transformations creating the things/elements which will eventually support the human sustenance. Of course, humans were responsible to identify the use of each of these elements and exploit it.

One thing which is also a central point is that cooling comes more naturally to Earth as compared to heat. Human activities in the last 200 years (largely after the industrial revolution) has been responsible for the heating of Earth (global warming) disproportionately. But cool is more natural (that's why the Ice Ages, and yes that is plural) so one fine day its going to be unbearably cold but not in a lifetime.

Larger point is that human life has always been looked down upon as a speck at the astronomical levels. And that's more than true. Even after all the scientific developments the existence of life as we know can be wiped in a moment, and the cycle of life starts again from null.

So, next time you're worried about something than think about it at a tectonic level :)

Peace

Childhood, Boyhood, Youth by Leo Tolstoy

 Nothing beats Tolstoy.

This one is an autobiography where he has written about the three stages of his early life as Childhood, Boyhood and Youth.

All the three stages have a same detailed exploration of people and situation of his life which he is famous for. One thing which may pose a question is about remembering all this so clearly after such a long time but a close look and you can see that most of the stories are woven around the people which most of us remember from our lives. We may not remember a lot of situations  but we do remember the people (specially the teachers, friends, family etc).

Tolstoy intended to write another part for the Youth but he couldn't do it. What a miss for us!

Well, its a must for fans but for others as well who can initiate in his writing.

Love!

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I knew Maya always from her quotes. I came across a lot of them specially around struggle of woman, African Americans, repression, rape etc. 

But I never read any of her work, and this is the first one I read. And this is her first autobiography. Yes, there are seven of them so this is not the end.

This is an amazing read. The power of the book is how it can help you to relate with the characters even if you don't know anything about them, and this does a pretty good job. You will immediately feel how that Store would have been like or how that god fearing Grandma would have treated you. Of course, she was brilliant and successful that she could tell her story because I was thinking of all the kids who were not that brilliant academically or got a scholarship. Their story would have been more frightening.

It doesn't make sense to narrate an autobiography but if you jump into it you will come out wiser or more empathatic.

I may not be actively looking for her other books but if I come across another one, I'm definitely going to pick that up.

Love

Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom Editor: Ostling Michael

 This is a classic textbook, full of references, and covering a larger range. It consists of essays from different scholars who specialises in knowledge of wide range of cultures, and countries.

Fairies was something which you know from the Disney movies. There are some folklores but they are mostly treated as entertainment, and not really a scholarly discussion. It may not even worth it as well.

Firstly it covers that to show the seriousness the scholars to prove that they exist, they build a whole catalogue. And all these mythical creatures are divided into different categories like somebody defining the flora and fauna of planet earth. There is a catalogue of these creatures who don't exist. What were you thinking.

Secondly, it talks about how the local gods were painted as demons or local minions under the influence of Christianity. To prove it to be the only god, everything else was to either go or marked as demon. Which happened and so went down the history of a whole culture. And, it did later created some tension when people started recalling the values that they have grown with or inherited from the ancestors.

The one thing which was a bit strange was an argument that you can't prove the older thoughts/beliefs wrong in the light of new discoveries (specially scientific ones). Well, if you were so serious about it than those older arguments would have never brought into the discussion. They should have been marked as redundant in the light of new knowledge. However, its unfortunate that they are not only used as a prime argument but put as a self proven truth which no rationality can question.

Complicated to read but maybe worth the efforts if you're into it.

Peace

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers

This is a record of conversation between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers for a documentary, and later Bill Moyers edited those talks to present in a book form. But this is still the record of conversation and not a regular book.

The book format is more like to present the complete talk in a written format so at times it feels like you're listening to two people talking which is a beauty of the presentation.

As far as the narrative is concerned, this was not a good read after Richard Dawkins :) 

This book stands in contrast to what Dawkins says. I've read Joseph's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" and that was a good one as long it talks about myths. However, once you believe those myths to be more than myths than the problem starts. Myths are good to know to understand the cultural nuances as these are the building blocks. These are good for imagination and at times it is a healthy entertainment. It can even build the character to an extent but than we need to toe the line on how far we're going to believe these myths. There are a reasons for calling those literary works as epic but that doesn't dictate the terms in real life.

Myths are good to know, remember, cherish and share. Every era has its own myths, and the best one survives to tell a story. It is good to have healthy myths but more important is to know where you segregate myth from a reality. The path of taking myths for truth is a road down the hills, and it will be a speedy descent.

Peace

Thor: Myth to Marvel by Martin Arnold

 When you say Thor, the most common reaction is the Marvel superhero. Yeah, that one.

But Thor is much more than that. He is a God, and there are multiple aspects of his image, how he came into being, where he sits in the hierarchy, and over a period of time how he evolved from a pagan God to a symbol of national/cultural identity.

I did read the Edda earlier and that was one piece of work but this book puts the whole narrative around Thor and goes deep into how the whole psyche of a God to superhero evolved.

Do read if you want to understand the myth behind the Marvel superhero.

Love

The Weather Machine: A Journey Inside the Forecast by Andrew Blum

 Let's not go into the details but did you ever wonder how this weather get's updated in your phone. Or how you plan of going out to the beach or not based on what you know about the weather today. Well, the most common point is that the weather scientists are never taken seriously until recently when there weather forecasts alerted us about the torrential rains or typhoons.

But after reading the book you will appreciate the way you check weather on your phone. It is a complicated system of data, hardware, software and global cooperation.

It may be a bit boring to read but only complaining about the weather was the most entertaining thing.

Peace

Outgrowing God: A Beginner's Guide by Richard Dawkins

 Well, this was what I expected.

Given that I've already read some of his works previously, this was not giving a new point. But this did give a lot of example that can help you understand the whole idea in a larger set. This actually counters a lot of points which are given in favour of some higher power. Just because we don't understand it yet, can't be an excuse to attribute it to god.

In fact, the positive thought would be to nurture that curiosity, and point in the right direction rather than believing into something that is an easy way out.

Worth read, and yes, a quick one too!

Love

Tales from Russian Folklore by Alexander Afanasyev

 Who doesn't love a good story!

This is a collection of about 200 stories from Russian folklore. Looks like a big project for the collector and bigger for the translator.

The stories are not long, in fact, a lot of them are very short. A lot of them don't make any sense specially which are very small. They are more like a pun rather than a story.

But overall it has that rustic charm of storytelling.

Of course, you can see some common themes which are found in such tales across the cultures like wicked step mothers/sisters, poor family, brothers fighting, marriage, dragon and speaking animals.

The number three is also very important like three days, three years, three sisters, three brothers, three riddles, three tasks, don't know why?

And yes the Baba Yaga. It's funny that to read all the wicked portrayals of Baba Yaga and the famous house on one leg. She is mostly addressed as Granny, and she does provide with food, rest, and bath before expressing her evil intentions.

Worth a read, and since this is a collection you can read piecemeal.

Love!

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

 Picked it up to read something lighter after the recent pounding.

Well, this was pretty light with all the elements of a fun read family, deaths, mystery, action, romance and yes lots of sex.

The title clearly mentioned what a reader was getting into, and it was all on the good side of the fun. I was really amazed at the writer's capability of using euphemism for the words and body parts ;)

~400 pages was a bit of a stretch given the plot but than its always a writer's/editor's call but I'd have preferred it a bit trimmed.

Love

The Final Solution: Origins and Implementation Edited by David Cesarani

 This is a collection of 17 essays by different writers who explore different sides of Holocaust.

Honestly, this is my second on this topic since I read the Anne Frank long back. However, this did come up with a lot of analysis that it intrigues you further to pick up more.

This is a bit difficult read irrespective of what you've read or heard about Holocaust. I'll say this is a bit brief but gives you the larger picture of all the different elements.

One of the points which is emphasised well is that a lot of records/documents were lost/never found. And a lot of the instructions were never really recorded in a formal way. With the opening up of archives of different countries there will be better understanding of many obscure details.

It is not very academic even if there are is a very large notes section for each of the essays. Which simply means that one book can't really help us comprehend the scale of the larger events.

Peace

Empires of the Mind: The Colonial Past and the Politics of the Present by Robert Gildea

 The title comes from Churchill's famous quote in 1943 'The empires of the future would be the empires of the mind'.

This is an amazing book exploring the colonial pasts of Britain and France. This systematically breaks the colonial idea of global peace and harmony expected out of this colonisation. There was so much to hide that all the colonial atrocities were masked under the lame excuse of liberation, and civilisation. The whole narrative of freedom and equality which was mythically created by these powers never saw the light in the their colonies. The colonies only knew the brutalities and exploitation.

I'll not go into the details which are already given in the book as how the two colonial masters kept the colonies (Africa, India, Egypt etc) under their domination by power, manipulation and lie. They not only refused to let go of the colonies but also created new devices to keep the control over them even after the transfer of autonomy.

The narrative extends to the roles of UN, world wars, new financial systems, neo-colonialism (under the garb of supporting and later keeping the national assets under direct control), and even to Brexit and the new superiority theories. This led to massive unrest when the people revolted against the puppet governments, and loss of sovereignty.

The power unfortunately remained among the larger nations who used it to serve their own vested interests. This unnatural distribution of power gave birth to the aggression in the suppressed societies and its population, which in turn generated the sense of exclusion and alienation of masses in native population and immigrants alike who started looking for the meaning in the religion and radicalisation.

This is definitely worth the read.

Peace

The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism by Karen Armstrong

 My choices are getting more and more towards books related to religion and history (mostly around wars and colonisation). Its not good because this narrows down the topics to a very limited subjects, and after a point it looks like that the new books are not adding anything to what you've already read.

About this book, this is absolutely amazing and the only thing anyone could have asked for it an updated version. This one stops at 1999 as this was published in 2000.

It largely covers the changes in the three main monotheistic religions, and tries to paint a picture of how the different sects of practitioners and preachers responded to the immediate circumstances. People were led to believe in alternate truth, and how the acts of change between orthodox model to not so successful attempts of modernisation, and then back to fundamentals.

The larger thought is that religious ideas which were conceived long back couldn't respond to the changing environment. It was not able to answer the questions which came up with the rise of science and reason. A lot of things which were taken for granted by these ideologies were challenged in the light of new scientific findings. The problem was that those ideas were more to do with faith/belief rather than the reason, and eventually they were less accommodating to the reason.

This lead to the conflict between mythos and logos. So, this came down to the point where the fundamentalists (this word has nothing to do with the militant connotations attached to it in the modern lingo) wanted to create a society which was present at the ancient times which was a difficult task. The nostalgia (which was not even a first hand experience for anyone) passed over the generations became a mythical world where everything was great, and moral, and anything which suggests otherwise is treated as something suspicious or enemy.

The other big factor was the politics, ego, misguided understanding and greed of a lot of people who had vested interests in how the things came up. It may not have been the first intention but eventually it became so big that it was out of anybody's control.

There have been many points that have been put to the argument of why this became so but there can't be any one reason that can justify it. It is more of a mix of various reasons, circumstances, and choices which led to it.

This is worth a read for the history even if it is not up to date.

Peace

Faith, Science and Understanding by John C. Polkinghorne

 Don't fall for the title. It sounds so broad but in the first ten pages you can see how narrow this whole book is.

The religion is going downhill, and it is difficult for the preachers (not the practitioners) to keep the people. Finding the new one is relatively easier by casting a wider net but the problem is with the keeping the people who are believed to be the worthy followers(?).

There is also some larger attempts to dilute the vocabulary and replace the more conventional words to something more obscure like faith. Since, religion can't stand a reasonable argument so it hides behind the idea of god (yes, small g is not a typo) which is projected as something which is not conceivable by human faculties.

There is whole new narrative which is hellbent (choice of word because of hell) to put the religion on top of science and reasoning. Their simple argument is that since science can't give all the answers, religion is the right place to be. They summarily reject the idea of rationality that science never claimed to be the last word unlike religion. Science was always open to scrutiny, challenge, proof, and advancement. While the religious texts were the soul truth for such followers. And yes, science will have to prove everything. Remember, Copernicus waited for 400 years to be accepted.

I never heard of this author, and after reading first ten pages I knew why I didn't. One thing which is very evident from the whole narrative is that the author was trying to nullify the scientific theories, and was actually taking the ammunition from the other scientific discoveries to prove that some didn't stand for long. While he completely overlooked the fact that the science was always open for these changes and challenges. Another thing is how frequently he quotes himself to the man of science. Well, it looked like all the science has put to the efforts of justifying a pointless argument. It all goes down to create new words which look scientific or rational like Theology, Natural theology, Revealed theology. And yes the whole science is well written off as vicissitude. Brilliant!

One interesting thing I saw for the first time is the Templeton Prize. It is GBP 1.1 Million which is awarded for - "Outstanding contributions in affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works". Digest it!

Well, I'll avoid reading anything else from him.

Haunted: On Ghosts, Witches, Vampires, Zombies, and Other Monsters of the Natural and Supernatural Worlds by Leo Braudy

 This is a big title. The title is so big that this should be considered as a chapter, and should be included in content table :)

Joke apart, this is not what I actually thought it to be, and it lies with me for misunderstanding the title. I expected that this will largely based on how the ghosts, and other horror elements came into existence and survived over the time.

However, this is more about how some of the older myths around such entities ended up in the media channels which are largely film, and television.

This does briefly talk about the fear, and the nature of fear but eventually delves more into movies. So, if you're looking for a guide on how ghosts, monsters, zombies etc got into the movies then this is a right reference book.

I was not looking for the above but I still enjoyed it.

Maybe not worth reading 260 pages but can give you a lot to explore further.

Love

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

 Classic again, and no surprises. Amazing from the page one. Special effects with the old english I missed. Thou, thee, orderest and what not :) Sad part is that a lot of obscenities are given as "obscenities" so that it doesn't corrupt your eyes but to your mind. I'd be glad to have these out rather than left for the imagination.

This is the story of love in war. This a story of three days of a mission in Spain where Robert Jordan, an American (addressed as Ingles) is sent to blow a bridge with the help of an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain.

The beauty is that story can be summarised in maybe 5 or so sentences but the narration lasts for about 450 pages. So, largely this is covering the thoughts, dreams, fears, and future plans. Yes, this is full of dialogues also.

It helps you connect with the characters closely. Nothing else is worth adding here because when you read it you will understand it.

Worth a read in the memory of those good old days when the writers were writers.

Love!

The Lost Executioner by Nic Dunlop

 This one I picked after reading the news of death of Duch in September.

I was not aware of such a trial earlier, and when this news came to public I looked for something about him or Cambodia in general, and ended up with this.

I read this, and this left the same impression of anger and despair. This book largely covers the Cambodian situation during Khmer but it is largely focused on the infamous Tuol Sleng prison. 20,000 people entered it, and nobody left alive. The mass graves were found later, and they were found when nobody was looking for them. Like they were having some sort of solitary existence of their own until an outsider disturbed them.

The details of torture and the common condition of prisoners is difficult to go through. It also tries to recreate the situations how the guards, and the people working there handled it. The worst part is how they treated the children just for the sake of saving themselves some trouble.

Duch was always of the opinion that he did wrong but he was merely following the order. This was not surprising as this is the most common line of defence in such cases. The narration always gets shifted from the crime to helplessness of the perpetrators of these crimes. The whole thing is projected as a doing of an organisation where anyone caught is innocent.

Survival is the most basic of the instincts because it is same in animal and human. This is one of the most quoted point to describe animal behaviour from migration, food chain, to be alpha, marking the territory or even monopolising the whole chain of offsprings. However, when it comes to human a lot of these are considered to be off limit. There is a whole cognition in process which defines how we behave. No doubt humans are also genetically designed to have that survival instinct but what separates us from the animals is that cognitive ability to assess the consequences of our actions.

If we're talking about the kind of execution that happened in Tuol Sleng, than you can argue that you were just the cog in the wheel. But unfortunately, you're cog of a wrong wheel and bear the same responsibility as wheel. And, by any definition Duch was not just a cog.

Peace