Read a good book lately?

I love to read, which is a good thing because I'm an English teacher. I wanted to share some recent good books I've read.

To Try Men's Souls is a historical fiction written by the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. He has done an excellent job in re-creating a hugely important battle during the American Revolution -- the attack on Trenton. We read current accounts of famous battles but don't appreciate what it was like to actually be there. In this account, we accompany soldiers as they struggle on a night march to attack the feared Hessians, mercenaries hired by England to devastate the rebel Americans. We have a chance to encounter Tom Paine, George Washington, and other famous Americans as they struggle to make the revolution succeed against tremendous odds.

Then there is Japan's Imperial Conspiracy, an in-depth look at Japan's lead up to World War II, the war itself, and its aftermath. The author' s main point is simple -- the Emperor of Japan, Hirohito, was not the innocent puppet of militarists. Instead, he was actively involved in seeking the war, prosecuting the war, and extending it far longer than the Japanese could afford. I have always wanted to look at the war from the Japanese side, and this does an excellent job. One thing that struck me was how many of the Japanese leaders knew that they would lose the war. Somehow, I had believed that Japan was taken over with crazy zealots who had grandiose notions of ultimate victory.

I had heard about Heart Of Darkness being the basis for the movie Apocalypse Now but it was only recently that I had a chance to read it. The book starts in sunny London during the day. At a gathering of several men, one of them relates the story of going to Africa. It is this story which takes up 90% of the book. Once the tale is completed, we go back to the gathering of men, now looking out on dusk as it settles over England. This ending reflects the theme of the entire story -- the darkness in all of us. Evil and ignorance are not located geographically; they are much closer than that. As the narrator travels up a major river in Africa, he finds more and more corruption and horror. This account reminded me of Lord of the Flies, a tale of proper British schoolchildren left alone on an island where they gradually descend into madness and murder. Both of these novels have Christian themes in their hearts -- the sin nature that each of us has.

Ah, then there are the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. I read different ones from time to time, but a new one that I recently completed was called "A Study in Scarlet." The character of Holmes is just as interesting as the cases he solves -- prickly, eccentric, brilliant, aloof, and brave. Of course, we appreciate his unique qualities because he is set up in contrast to the good Dr. Watson, who represents intelligent, rational, and solid middle-class values.

I also read a collection of the year's best science fiction. Now, there are those who think science fiction is a waste of time, so I need to argue for the value of this literature. Someone once said, "I am going to spend the rest of my life in the future, so I need to prepare for it." Science fiction tells us that the future is not what we expect it to be; it focuses on change, which can be difficult for most of us. It is science fiction that is subversive literature, telling us things will not be what we think. In addition, science fiction can challenge us intellectually as we grapple with issues of science and human nature. The big question of science fiction is "what if?" Plus, this genre can be a great roller coaster ride, full of thrills and unexpected surprises. In addition, it is science fiction that can make us see our own times better by contrasting it with a future that may be better (or, more likely, worse). We can use sf to extrapolate: "If we continue down the current path, this may be the result. So, sf can serve as a warning. Maybe in a future blog I will go over some of my favorite science fiction authors. In the meantime, let me know if you have some favorites of yours so we can compare notes.

What do they say? "So little time, so many books." Yeah, that's how I feel. But I'll keep plugging away at my reading and hope that someday I can catch up on my list of books I want to read. Nah, who am I kidding?