Great Books
| (Ordered so I don't offend snooty people who think Fox In Socks doesn't belong here. Otherwise, it's based on what book I pulled down from the shelf first.) |
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley  |
Dune, by Frank Herbert |
Flatland, by Edwin Abbott |
The Pocket Book of Ogden Nash, by Ogden Nash |
| Last and First Men and Star Maker, by Olaf Stapledon |
The Cookoo's Egg, by Cliff Stoll |
| Getting Even, by Woody Allen |
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson |
| The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury |
Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos |
| Fox In Socks, by Dr. Seuss |
The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov |
| Doublespeak, by William Lutz |
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkein |
| Night, by Elie Wiesel |
If Not Now, When?, by Primo Levi |
| Hey! B.C., by Johnny Hart |
Flatland, by Edwin Abbott
Flatland expanded my horizon of possibility. It taught me to accept the notion of more
than three physical dimensions in a "gut-feel" way. The story is about two-dimensional
creatures (Flatlanders) who live in their two dimensional world (Flatland), and how
they live and survive. That in itself is worth reading for the geometry lesson.
In addition, the Flatlanders believe (no, they know) there can't be a world with
three dimensions (don't be silly!) The book uses that point to painlessly open
your own mind to the possibility of our world existing in four or more dimensions I'm
a convert.
I also used the ideas in the book to impress the hell out my friend Jack about the
concepts of multidimensionality while he was completely stoned. (What if Greek gods were
multi-dimensional creatures who just got bored of us?)
Flatland turned out to be a bit sexist, but look past it. Sphereland attempts to
make up for it, but it's not even written by the same author. It's still a good book if
you want to learn about curved space.
Last and First Men and Star Maker, by Olaf Stapledon
"Whenever I read a great book, I stop and thank my teacher. That is, until she changed her number."
My college English professor spoke about Last and First Men several times through my Science Fiction class. I
read it a couple of months after graduation, and I wasn't let down. Both Last and First Men and
Star Maker came in the same book, which is why they stayed together in this review. Between these two books,
you can find almost every topic covered in Science Fiction to date.
The first book, Last and First Men is the story of the two-million year history of Mankind, through its various
stages. Though each generation is physically dissimilar, they are all linked by their ancestry. The struggles
Mankind faces are as varied as their characteristics. Star Maker is a sequel of
sorts, in that it outlines history on a cosmic scale. Last and First Men turns
into a footnote's footnote in Star Maker's time-scale. The narrator joins sentient creatures on a conscious level
discovering different races. These races join the collective consciousness until a greater self forms, capable of
discovering life on an even greater level, within stars and galaxies, all for a humble glimpse of the Star Maker, the creator
of the entire cosmos. A word of caution; bring a dictionary to this event. My copy has definitions scrawled
all over the place.
A theme underlying both novels is the beauty of the impulsive need to grow, learn and extend as far
possible, because and regardless of its futility.
The Cookoo's Egg, by Cliff Stoll
Before the Internet was the Information Superhighway, Cliff Stoll uncovered an
international espionage ring that travelled right through his university computer system.
He takes you through the steps he used to track them down without raising the
intruder's suspicions and without any support from the skeptical U.S. government.
He explains the Internet patiently and completely. Technical people will be entertained
by the content, and non-technical people will easily understand it. (My mommie did!)
The technology is almost secondary. At its heart, this is an spy game sprinkled with episodes of Cliff's own life.
Yes, this is a true story, and yes, this is the same Cliff Stoll from MSNBC. At least, I'm pretty sure it's the same Cliff Stoll. Cliff?
Getting Even, by Woody Allen
Perhaps I'm just biased. (Do you know why?) Doesn't matter. Getting Even is only one of the three Woody Allen books
I own. Getting Even
is the funniest collection of the three. The collection contains stories such as:
Death Knocks: A one-act play in which a dress manufacturer takes on Death in a game of Gin.
"Death: ... Listen - can I sit down? I nearly broke my neck."
Count Dracula: Woody Allen in a black cape and fangs. Favorite Line:
"Or did you come by to watch the eclipse with us?"
Yes, But Can the Steam Engine Do This? A short biography of the Earl of Sandwich in the style of a
misunderstood artist. "1751: Journeys to France, where the dramatist-philosopher (ed: Voltaire) has achieved some
interesting results with bread and mayonnaise. The two men become friendly and begin a correspondence that is to end
abruptly when Voltaire runs out of stamps."
Notes from the Overfed (After reading Dostoevski and the new "Weight Watchers" magazine on the same plane
trip) "I am fat. I am disgustingly fat. I am the fattest human I know. I have nothing but excess poundage all over my body. My fingers are fat.
My wrists are fat. My eyes are fat. (Can you imagine fat eyes?)"
Hee Hee!
The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
People of all kinds came to Mars to leave their old lives behind. They came to start new lives. They learned, however, that
no matter where you go your past follows.
The Martian Chronicles is an accurate title. The 26 short stories capture a different piece of Mars' history, and
they each capture a different piece of the essense of humanity. Stories vary between:
- The first Martian hot-dog vendor whose plan is dashed by Earth's relentless draw
- A beautifully-crafted revenge against book-banners by capitalizing on their own ignorance
- The final episode, a million-year picnic, which underlines Ray Bradbury's constant reminder to view both success and
failure as hope for the future.
Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos
Taken from Dr. Paulos' web page...
... INNUMERACY is an examination of some of the consequences in everyday life of
mathematical illiteracy. These consequences - confused personal decisions, muddled
governmental policies, even an increased susceptibility to pseudoscience - are not as
visible as are those of illiteracy or general cultural ignorance. Unlike the latter
failings, however, innumeracy often afflicts intelligent, well-educated people, the
kind of people who can understand the most complicated of legal discussions, the most
nuanced of emotional interchanges, but whose eyes glaze over at the mere mention of a
number or a probability. Topics addressed include stock scams, parapsychological
claims, medical testing, insurance frauds, sports records, sex discrimination,
coincidences and chance encounters.)
Doublespeak, by William Lutz
DoubleSpeak talks about the use of the English language to purposefully mislead the
general public. Examples are taken from both the recent and distant past, and come from
arenas such as politics, the military, business, media, advertising and education.
William Lutz explains how doublespeak affects our lives on a regular basis. Here's an
example from Chapter 3: "Virgin Vinyl, Real Counterfit Diamonds, and Genuine Imitation
Leather: With These Words I Can Sell You Anything":
The Rule of Parity
Products such as gasoline, cigarettes, toothpaste, soap, aspirin, cold remedies,
cosmetics, deodorants, cereals, liquor, and others are called parity products. Parity
products are simply products in which most if not all the brands in a class or category
are pretty much the same. Most toothpastes, for example, are made the same way with
pretty much the same formula. There is no essential difference among the dozens of
toothpastes on the market today. Thus, all toothpastes are equal, which is what parity
means. Now comes the interesting part. Follow this closely.
Since all toothpastes are equal, no one brand is superior to any of the others.
Therefore, not only are all parity products "good" products, they are all the "best"
products. Thus, you can advertise your toothpaste, gasoline, deodorant, or other parity
product as the "best" and not have to prove your claim. However, if you claim your
product is "better" than another parity product, you have to prove your claim because
"better" is comparative and a claim of superiority, and only one product can be "better"
than the others in a parity class. Did you get that? In the world of advertising
doublespeak, "better" means "best," but "best" means only "equal to." So the next time
you see a parity product advertised as the best, the ad simply means that the product
is as good as any other in its class. It does not mean the product is better than any
other product in its class.
Ooh! While searching for a William Lutz web page, I came across some more great material.
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkein
I have not provided a summary of this book. Sorry.
Night, by Elie Wiesel
I have not provided a summary of this book. Sorry.
If Not Now, When?, by Primo Levi
Yep, I'm glad I stuck through with this book. I just finished it, and it's something.
The story is about Jewish partisans during WWII who escaped from the German grasp (some
right out of concentration camps) whose only goal is to do as much damage to the Germans
as possible. This is a story (based on true stories told to Dr. Levi) of those people who fought back and survived
cold hungry winters, unsympathetic townspeople, and German retalliation.
This book hit home. The characters seem like men and women in their fourties. They talk
like the lives they've seen are full of experience, and they turn out to be in their early-
to late- twenties. I found myself being the main character several times while reading
this book (being a 27-year old male Jew of Russian and Polish desent.) It made me think:
why am I here, and so many people are dead? Why am I lucky enough to live where I do
when I do? Oh, well.
Unlike Elie Wiesel's Night, this is not a very upsetting story. It's brilliant. I
avoided reading this book for more than two years because I was afraid to react so
strongly. It's fine that I avoided it, but I realize now that it was silly.
I wish I still had the book in my possession, but I loaned it to someone. If I had it,
I'd quote the introduction, which glosses over the importance of people resolving their
natural revulsion of Holocaust-era stories with the need to just.. just know.
It made me proud to be Jewish. That doesn't happen too often. I will read more of his work.
Hey! B.C., by Johnny Hart
Literary Genius? Nope. Funny collection of comic strips that still makes me
laugh? Yep. I love checking out early comic strips where the characters are still
undefined. (As an aside, Broome County, New York has adopted a couple of Johnny Hart's
B.C. characters throughout the county. I kinda miss the B.C. Transit buses and the
awesome dinosaurs on the side.)
Last Update: 7 October 1997
Robert I. Konigsberg - King of the Etherworld
