Now reading...

[Dave James]

Dave, is THE FALL OF BERLIN written by the same author who did STALINGRAD a few years back? That was a grim read...

Ghost;

Yes, Fall of Berlin is written by Antony Beevor, the same guy who wrote Stalingrad. I've not read that one, but I can only imagine, as you say, how grim a read it is. Don't think "Berlin" is going to wind up matching it in those terms, but it has its own allure. For some inexplicable reason, I'm fascinated by Hitler's Germany and, in particular, the end of the war in the European theater. Go figure.

Up over and out.

Edited June 25, 2003 by Dave James

[ghost of miles]

For some inexplicable reason, I'm fascinated by Hitler's Germany and, in particular, the end of the war in the European theater. Go figure.

It is an interesting period, what with the Americans and the Soviets racing to divvy up Europe, allies who were already viewing each other as future Cold War enemies. That's one of the reasons why I'll probably give THE FALL OF BERLIN a read.

[Guest Mnytime]

Just to keep everything in an orderly fashion and make it easier for Conn to find this thread, these are the books I have read since my last post:

Pretender to the Throne: The Further Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin-Vladimir Voinovich

The Heart of a Dog-Mikhail Bulgakov

The Complete Prose Tales of Alexandr Sergeyevitch Pushkin

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich-Alexandre Isaevich Solzhenitsyn

The Foundation Pit-Andrey Platonov

At the moment I am reading for the first time:

Moscow to the End of the Line-Venedikt Erofeev

Edited July 5, 2003 by Mnytime

[DrJ]

THE REAL ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS - Jack M. Hollander. Nice, rational, evidence-based (when possible), and refreshingly un-hysterical look at the salient points and trouble spots in the often crazed debate about man's impact on Mother Earth.

My wife and I have recently also worked through a whole slew of birth and baby preparedness books...quite an amazing industry, considering these things happen whether one reads about it or not, and have of course been happening in most parts of the world without books since the dawn of time!

We've also been reading a lot of things to the baby (due any day) in the evenings - fun for dad to feel him first start moving at the sound of my voice and then fall asleep. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (Maurice Sendak of course!), MY DADDY AND ME (Jerry Spinelli), and the first 1/4 or so of the latest Harry Potter tome are the most recent.

Ghost of Miles: I read THE QUIET AMERICAN last year, before the movie (which I still haven't seen) and agree it's pretty gripping.

Edited July 5, 2003 by DrJ

[connoisseur series500]

Mny, the problem I have discovered in reading some of the lesser known Russian masterpieces lies with inconsistent translations. The Complete prose tales of Pushkin could be badly done depending on the translator.

I learned in school to avoid Constance Garnett translations. My Russian lit teacher even claimed that she didn't know Russian, but depended upon a non-literary Russian speaker to translate for her. I find that one a bit farfetched, but that's what he claimed.

Obviously, Tolstoy, Checkov, and Dostoyevesky are so well known that you can easily find good translations. Maude is an excellent translator for Tolstoy's work.

That Complete Pushkin Tales could be the Modern Library version. Might not be the best translation.

I generally like most of the Russian literature that I've read, and I've read much.

Solzhenitsyn is wonderful. I particularly like "First Circle."

Of course, Mny, knowing your education and drive, I wouldn't be surprised if you're not reading this stuff in its original Russian!

[Guest Mnytime]

Of course, Mny, knowing your education and drive, I wouldn't be surprised if you're not reading this stuff in its original Russian! 

Ummm, I am taking the 5th.

Though I agree with your post about Translations but it is not limited to Russian.

Pushkin though is a special situation. He is not anyone you could call minor in anyway, but he prose style of writing make it close to impossible to get a proper English translation. I have yet to come across a decent translation of Yevgeni Onegin . That includes Vladimir Nabokov's translation.

Edited July 6, 2003 by Mnytime

[connoisseur series500]

I read Nabokov's translation of "Onegin" along with another one, which I've forgotten. No, Pushkin is far from minor, but he is not known for his prose.

My Russian lit teacher also told me this:

If you ask a Russian who was greater, Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky? He will reply, Pushkin!!

[ghost of miles]

Getting ready to take a crack at John Dos Passos' U.S.A. trilogy, which I've been meaning to read for years. The Library of America is bringing out more of his work this fall--his early novels and his travel writings/political essays from 1916-1941.

[Guest Mnytime]

I read Nabokov's translation of "Onegin" along with another one, which I've forgotten.  No, Pushkin is far from minor, but he is not known for his prose. 

My Russian lit teacher also told me this:

If you ask a Russian who was greater, Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky?  He will reply, Pushkin!! 

Don't limit it to just those two if you ask a Russian who is the greatest writer they will say Pushkin!!

Not only did Nabokov's translation of Yevgeni Onegin leave out the verse style but also he was way too literal in his translation. Pushkin's style just doesn't translate well.

I am not sure what you mean by he was not known for his prose? He was the first Russian writer to use prose in his poetry.

The way Pushkin died and who killed him helps his standing in Russian eyes as well. I recall reading figures of 10,000-20,000 people coming to pay respects after he died from the injuries of the duel.

Edited July 6, 2003 by Mnytime

[ghost of miles]

Started last night on U.S.A. and also re-started one that would make the Red Menace himself blush with pride: THE COMMUNISTS IN HARLEM DURING THE DEPRESSION.

[Guest Mnytime]

Started last night on U.S.A. and also re-started one that would make the Red Menace himself blush with pride: THE COMMUNISTS IN HARLEM DURING THE DEPRESSION.

Most people read books one at a time. Show off!

[ghost of miles]

Most people read books one at a time. Show off!

And you don't? My friend, I think you're the most voluminous reader on this board! I, at least, stand in awe of your literary intake... My problem is that I get interested in too many titles & topics at once. I forced myself not to start LIGHT IN AUGUST because I was starting these other volumes as well (God help me, I will never call a book a "tome" again, and you know the reason why). I'm trying to restrict myself right now to books that I need to read for literary and radio projects.

[ghost of miles]

God help me, Mny, I took up another last night and am more than halfway through it, as I set aside U.S.A. and the Harlem book for the weekend. I've had a 1970's Modern Library edition of this book for a long time, but some recent discussion on the board concerning McCarthyism inspired me to pull it out, and I ended up being completely engrossed: E.L. Doctorow, THE BOOK OF DANIEL. It's a fictionalized account of the Rosenbergs, told by a fictional son.

(Note to jazz fans, a Mnytime-factoid, if you will: the actual Rosenberg children were adopted by Abel Meerepol, who, under the nom de plume "Lewis Allen," wrote the lyrics to "Strange Fruit.")

[pryan]

About a week ago I finished reading a book called Guns, Germs, and Steel, a book about the human world history of the last 13000 years. It won the Pulitzer Prize a few years back and is quite readable even for those who aren't history buffs. It seeks mainly to discredit racist historical theories surrounding colonization, conquer, and why certain societies are more "advanced" than others. The title of the book certainly points to the most of the major factors, but suprisingly, a lot of how people live has to do with geographic location and topography. A most interesting read and is highly recommended.

I just started a book entitled, A Short History of Africa because I was intrigued by the last chapter of the other book (Guns, etc), which dealt with African history, and I hardly know anything about the continent. Hopefully it's a good starting point.

[ghost of miles]

With my interest roused by the Doctorow novel, I went on to read THE ROSENBERG FILE, a non-fictional investigation of the case by Ron Radosh and Joyce Milton, published in 1983. Radosh was a leftist who began by presuming the Rosenbergs innocent. However, when the Rosenbergs' two sons successfully won a lengthy court battle to make public the FBI files about the case, the evidence seemed to overwhelmingly indicate that Julius did indeed run spies in the U.S., and that Ethel may have helped him. After reading the book it's almost impossible to believe that they weren't involved in espionage. But the book also details the highly dubious maneuverings of the judge who delivered the death penalty (which the authors believe was unjust, and mostly due to the political climate of 1950-53), as well as the bizarrely incompetent defense work of the Rosenbergs' lawyer. The book does come pretty close to delivering an objective history of it all. FWIW, Radosh has apparently degenerated into a rabid right-wing convert of the David Horowitz stripe--but his historical scholarship in the case of the Rosenbergs is still solid.

Staying with spies and the Cold War, I'm reading my first John le Carre novel--THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. Just started yesterday and am now two-thirds of the way through, and I keep sneaking in a few pages whenever I can, because I'm really caught up in it.

Edited July 22, 2003 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

Dancin' with myself in the now-reading thread again...

BOOGALOO, by Arthur Kempton. Mixed feelings about this so far and will post more tomorrow night after I've finished it.

ROOSEVELT'S SECRET WAR, by Joseph Persico. Just started this one, which seems to be taking a fairly positive view of FDR & his covert efforts to bring us into WWII.

And delving periodically into the first book of Dos Passos' U.S.A. trilogy.

[pryan]

I just finished reading "But Beautiful". I was mightily impressed by Geoff Dyer's writing; he can convey some pretty deep stuff, but it's not really that tough to follow/understand. Great poetic use of metaphores and similies, as well.

Today I took out Art Pepper's autobiography from one of the local libraries, as Dyer's chapter on Pepper intrigued me a lot. Also, I've totally ignored Pepper's musical output, but will soon acquire his SATURDAY AT THE VANGUARD album.

[J Larsen]

Ted Gioia - West Coast Jazz (just a few pages left)

Tony Morrison - Song of Solomon

And the obligatory science books:

DD Awschalom - Semiconductor Spintronics

S Maekawa - Spin-Dependent Transport in Magnetic Nanostructures

Next on the list: Moneyball and Bros. Karamazov.

Edited August 7, 2003 by J Larsen

[jazzbo]

Reading the Santoro Mingus bio.

Like it.

[ghost of miles]

Well, what better place for my thousandth Organissimo post than my beloved "Now reading" thread?

Jim Sangrey & I simultaneously came across this title one day after I put up a thread looking for books on black radio. I'm about 60 pages into it, and it's exactly what I was looking for--scholarly without being jargonistic or pretentious, a fascinating study of how the struggle for equal rights (cultural as well as political) intertwined with the 20th-century medium of radio. I'm diggin' it!

[Christiern]

I'm curious to learn if Philly stations WHAT and/or WDAS are mentioned.

[ghost of miles]

I'm curious to learn if Philly stations WHAT and/or WDAS are mentioned.

Chris, WDAS has eight listings in the index, and WHAT has six. I haven't gotten to any of the mentions yet, but here's the first one regarding WDAS:

On the East Coast, WDAS in Philadelphia began to broadcast special African American programs on a brokerage basis as early as 1930.  By the end of the decade, the station's most successful black music show was the Negro Swing Parade, hosted by African American disc jockeys who played race records.  The program was profitable enough to sponsor live remote broadcasts from local clubs that showcased black musicians.

The first mention of WHAT refers to Ramon Bruce, a former pro football player who hosted a show called Ravin' With Ramon there.

[jmjk]

Right now, I'm reading Philip Furia's Skylark: The Life and Times of Johnny Mercer, just released last month.

Aside from that, I've been on a noir kick lately.

[Gary]

Im currently reading

Straight Life - Art Pepper

next on the pile

Blue Note the biography - Richard Cook (I've just read Jazzbo's post , I'm not looking forward to it quite as much now)

As Serious As your Life : John Coltrane & beyond - Val Wilmer.

Edited August 8, 2003 by Gary

[pryan]

Im currently reading

Straight Life - Art Pepper

Same here. How are you liking it so far? I've found that I'm flying through it (relatively speaking). He sure doesn't hold anything back. It's good, though, that the book is sprinkled with interviews with other people who knew Art well, as that seems to give the book some alternate viewpoints (obviously).