My husband and I read this together to discuss on our podcast, and it was a slog for me. I realized I don't actually care about Led Zeppelin in the waMy husband and I read this together to discuss on our podcast, and it was a slog for me. I realized I don't actually care about Led Zeppelin in the way I thought I did, and the purple prose got to me. But we own a copy of this now, so go us? ...more
I read Jill Lepore's article in the New Yorker about the process of writing this book, and I burst into tears on the bus. This was a book that was verI read Jill Lepore's article in the New Yorker about the process of writing this book, and I burst into tears on the bus. This was a book that was very important to her to write. It's a story about mothers, about the everyday sacrifices of women, and the difficulty of telling about an ordinary person who falls in the shadow of a extraordinary person--and yet we are all extraordinary in our own ways.
I am still working my way through the appendices, which are nearly as fascinating as the text of the book....more
An encyclopedia of how creative geniuses (or at least very well known people) have died from their self-destructive tendencies and addictions. The queAn encyclopedia of how creative geniuses (or at least very well known people) have died from their self-destructive tendencies and addictions. The question throughout is to what extent addiction and mental illness informed art or whether creating art makes one more likely to be self-destructive. I read cover to cover and really enjoyed....more
This is the first in depth study of Eva Braun as a person in her own right, with the usual caveats made in the introduction about there being no such This is the first in depth study of Eva Braun as a person in her own right, with the usual caveats made in the introduction about there being no such thing as the individual driving history and so forth. It is translated from German and kind of reads like that occasionally. The problem with Eva Braun is that there aren't that many sources that are remotely trustworthy, nor, when you come right down to it, was she that interesting. She met Hitler when she was 17 at her first job, and basically from that point forward dedicated her life to him, even to the point of attempting suicide twice to get his attention. The question then becomes did she influence him in any way, and did any of the Nazi (interestingly they translate Nazi into English and use the English acronym) wives and girlfriends influence politics? It seems like in general they were kept out of the middle of things, but still clearly did have political discussions and know to some extent what was going on. But again, the sources are so murky it's impossible to say for sure.
Eva Braun was an adept photographer, particularly of casual scenes, and there are a ton of photos of the worst of the Nazis just hanging around on the porch. It is pretty disturbing, but also fascinating. Anyway, I am not sure why I read this but not sorry I did....more
A striking and unforgettable accomplishment of a book. I mostly read it on public transportation in Chicago which was probably the best place to read A striking and unforgettable accomplishment of a book. I mostly read it on public transportation in Chicago which was probably the best place to read it. I had learned a lot of the history covered in this book, but I don't think I ever understood it before. A lot of people's behavior was (and is) shocking and shameful, and it's important to recognize that anyone, anywhere, has the capacity for great ignorance and evil--but also a capacity to do the right thing. If everyone reading this for One Book, One Chicago actually learns something and carries that forward, that would be excellent. The narrative is a little confusing at time and the writing discursive beyond what is always helpful to the focus, but the content more than makes up for that....more
Really interesting combination of Feynman's own words and secondary biographical sources into a graphic novel form. The graphic novel is an ideal way Really interesting combination of Feynman's own words and secondary biographical sources into a graphic novel form. The graphic novel is an ideal way to combine stories with physics, and I think actually a great pedagogical form in general (how I learned a lot of stuff in the past). I found it a little confusing at times since it was combining a lot of material, so I wouldn't recommend this as your first foray into Feynman....more
No question that this is a trashy sort of book, but you are lying if you claim you have no interest in the subject matter. Katie Roiphe's ostensible pNo question that this is a trashy sort of book, but you are lying if you claim you have no interest in the subject matter. Katie Roiphe's ostensible purpose with this book was to discover if the marriages of these forward thinking people just past the Victorian ethos could tell us anything about the nature of marriage today. But the problem is that these people in the book are the sort of romantic intellectuals that are unusual in every age. If you think the world is "moonlight and scented candles" then daily life isn't going to suit you.
And if nothing else, this won't take much longer to read than Cosmo....more
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