Editor's Note: We are thrilled that our longtime book reviewer Felix Kloman, who ceased writing for us after he moved away from Lyme, has sent in a guest review for us that we are delighted to publish today. In 2016, I humbly suggested reading of the 21 early 18th century seafaring novels of Patrick O’Brian, beginning with his first, Master and Commander. I admit to being … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? On the Subject of Luck by Patrick O’Brian
Reading Uncertainly
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Troubles’ by J. G. Farrell is a “Compelling Read”
When a world is collapsing all about us, how much are we willing to recognize? J. G. Farrell’s description of a veteran of the World War I trenches going to Ireland to rejoin a young lady he had met only once in London during the War is an allegory on human inertia and lethargy in the face of rapid change. In 1919, Major Brendan Archer travels from London to Kilnalough, … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Troubles’ by J. G. Farrell is a “Compelling Read”
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Seven Brief Lessons on Physics’ by Carlo Rovelli
Is it really possible to describe the mysteries of physics in 81 pages? Richard Feynman tried it in the 140 pages of Six Easy Pieces, published in 1994, but some afterwards described it as “Six Difficult Pieces.” Carlo Rovelli, the Italian theoretical physicist, has raised the ante. His work is a jewel of both brevity and clarity, especially to my curious mind that barely made … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Seven Brief Lessons on Physics’ by Carlo Rovelli
Reading Uncertainly: ‘Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel’ by Carl Safina
What are they thinking? Do we deliberately misunderstand other animals? And what is the result of this “miscomprehended relationship”? Carl Safina, a professor at Stony Brook University in New York and a most curious student of other species, writes a thoroughly loquacious and engaging view of some other sentient creatures whose consciousness may well equal or exceed our … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel’ by Carl Safina
Reading Uncertainly: ‘Table of Contents’ by John McPhee
'Bear' with me: this review is the result of strange circumstances. In mid-April I received an email from some Lyme neighbors, announcing a new resident with a photograph – a black bear strolling unceremoniously along Ely’s Ferry Road. As it happened, I had just started a re-read of one of my favorite authors, John McPhee, and his 1985 series of essays. The very first two … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘Table of Contents’ by John McPhee
Reading Uncertainly? ‘And Yet . . . ‘ by Christopher Hitchens
Here is yet another compendium of literate, acerbic, often hilarious, and thoroughly opinionated essays from Christopher Hitchens, the UK-expatriate who moved to Washington for freedom from monarchy and amusement. He died in 2011 at the youthful age of 62 but these essays will long outlive him. He dissects both people (Che Guevara, Edward Kennedy, George Orwell, Barack … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘And Yet . . . ‘ by Christopher Hitchens
Reading Uncertainly? One Old Man Reads Another — Kloman Reviews Angell’s Latest
What can I say? One old man reading another! Roger Angell, the prolific editor and author from the pages of The New Yorker, begins by calling his latest book “a dog’s breakfast, because that’s what this book is. A mélange, a grab bag, a plate of hors d’oeuvres, a teenager’s closet, a bit of everything. A dog’s breakfast.” Letters, essays from the magazine, the odd haiku, … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? One Old Man Reads Another — Kloman Reviews Angell’s Latest
Reading Uncertainly? ‘American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence’ by Pauline Maier
Have we over-sanctified the American past in the last 50 years? It may well be, argues Pauline Maier, a professor of history at MIT, in her now-classic analysis of the creation of our Declaration of Independence. Three key documents epitomize the start of “these” United States: the Declaration, the Constitution, and its following initial amendments, the Bill of Rights. They … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence’ by Pauline Maier
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Survival of the Bark Canoe’ by John McPhee
John McPhee, the ever-curious observer, listener, and recorder, has written and published some 30 books, exploring almost every facet of human existence. I’ve just re-read one of his earliest, and best, from 1975, an ode to, of all things, the canoe. Attracted to the water at an early age, he confesses “the canoe ... is the most beautifully simple of all vehicles.” So it is … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Survival of the Bark Canoe’ by John McPhee
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science’ by Richard Dawkins
“But I digress ...” Ostensibly a continuation of his autobiography, this engrossing and superbly entertaining ramble by Dr. Dawkins, the noted Oxford zoologist, biologist, and humanist, stretches your knowledge and imagination. Is it possible to read an autobiography that is self-acknowledged as a, “Series of flashbacks, divided into themes, punctuated by digressions and … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science’ by Richard Dawkins
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Humankind: A Hopeful History’ by Rutger Bregman
Ah! In the midst of a global pandemic and toxic political strife almost everywhere, it is a sheer delight to be encouraged by some optimism. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, asks some serious questions: are we humans not basically bad, but innately “good? Do crises actually bring out “the best in people” rather than the reverse? Is “resilience . . . universally human”? He … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Humankind: A Hopeful History’ by Rutger Bregman
Reading Uncertainly? Need a Little Light Reading for These Strange Times? Then Consider ‘Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen’ by P. G. Wodehouse
What can we do when we are besieged by a pandemic, offspring reluctant to visit, political chaos, advancing old age, and weather that no longer permits porch luncheons in a toasty sun? Bertram "Bertie" Wooster, the English gentleman hero of many of P. G. Wodehouse’s novels about life in England many years back, had the answer: Try “the early dinner, the restful spell with a … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? Need a Little Light Reading for These Strange Times? Then Consider ‘Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen’ by P. G. Wodehouse
Reading Uncertainly: “Tales From the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson
Are ants far more important than we humans? Probably! That’s my conclusion after reading the latest from this illustrious Professor Emeritus of Harvard with some 33 books to his credit, many of which relate his life-long interest in these creatures Ants, or the study of myrmecology using the proper scientific terminology, have existed on this earth for some 150 million … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: “Tales From the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security’ by Sarah Chayes
What happens when you see blatant corruption first-hand? Is this the world we now inhabit? Sarah Chayes, a former NPR correspondent, entrepreneur and foreign policy specialist, now with the Carnegie Foundation, has seen it all and has fought it, not always successfully. She describes her personal experiences in Afghanistan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Uzbekistan and … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security’ by Sarah Chayes
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine Watcher’ by Lewis Thomas
There is nothing quite like reading about the advances in medicine in the middle of a pandemic, especially when those advances were first reported to me some 37 years ago. Lewis Thomas wrote his fluid, literate, and candid autobiography back in 1983, when I first read it. It is his personal story of curiosity, experimentation, failures, and successes. He confirms how much we … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine Watcher’ by Lewis Thomas