I have been reading a number of books concurrently and finished two at nearly the same time. Perhaps is was coincidental, perhaps not, but this thesis of American Politics hit on so many themes that were present in the biography of Thomas Jefferson I was simultaneously reading, it felt a little preordained.
I like Ron Paul. I didn't know enough about him before to know why I liked him. Now I can say I like and respect him. The way his laid out his philosophies in this book was brilliant. Problem, reason, solution, consequence. Pretty clear cut and makes reading a delight. Chapters are, for the most part, independent and stand alone. I already know I will pick this book up again in the future to look back at his philosophy in health care, or America as a world empire. Although I am happy that Barack Obama was elected president, I would have voted differently if I had read this book pre-election. Such a competent, laid out plan, with a real understanding of economics and what our founding fathers knew so plainly.
I recommend this book to anyone who has problems with our government and, even more so, to those who are content with it.
Monday, October 11, 2010
American Sphinx by Joseph Ellis
This is a National Book Award winner. Was it worthy? Probably. Did I like it? Not so much.
American Sphinx gives us a journey through Thomas Jefferson's life. We skip past the childhood and really get into his life around the time he first becomes political. In a truer sense, this book is an analysis of the service Jefferson gave to this country and how, although remarkable, some of his actions and points of view were less socially responsible than we remember.
To start off I want to say that I knew very little about Jefferson before reading this book. I now have a breadth of knowledge as to his actions, consequences and, arguably, his sentiments.
On the flip side of the coin, I don't like the way this book is written. It did not bother me so much in the first chapters but once I figured out what was irking me about the writing style I could not overlook it. It felt like I was ready the research project of a college sophomore, complete with all the swagger only such a writer can muster when attempting to pull the rug out on centuries of historians with minimal references to justify their doing so. Ellis does seem to have done his reading in hundreds of personal correspondence to and from this founder of our nation but, even so, many of his arguments feel forced and unsubstantiated. We are all human and we may all write things at one time or another that are not representative of our true feelings, or even if they are accurate at the moment, may be contrary to what we have felt or will feel in the future.
In this book I would have liked to see less arrogance in 'discoveries' and more of a sense of alluding to possibilities.
American Sphinx gives us a journey through Thomas Jefferson's life. We skip past the childhood and really get into his life around the time he first becomes political. In a truer sense, this book is an analysis of the service Jefferson gave to this country and how, although remarkable, some of his actions and points of view were less socially responsible than we remember.
To start off I want to say that I knew very little about Jefferson before reading this book. I now have a breadth of knowledge as to his actions, consequences and, arguably, his sentiments.
On the flip side of the coin, I don't like the way this book is written. It did not bother me so much in the first chapters but once I figured out what was irking me about the writing style I could not overlook it. It felt like I was ready the research project of a college sophomore, complete with all the swagger only such a writer can muster when attempting to pull the rug out on centuries of historians with minimal references to justify their doing so. Ellis does seem to have done his reading in hundreds of personal correspondence to and from this founder of our nation but, even so, many of his arguments feel forced and unsubstantiated. We are all human and we may all write things at one time or another that are not representative of our true feelings, or even if they are accurate at the moment, may be contrary to what we have felt or will feel in the future.
In this book I would have liked to see less arrogance in 'discoveries' and more of a sense of alluding to possibilities.
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