There Were Giants in the Land: Episodes in the Life of W. Cleon Skousen

There Were Giants in the Land: Episodes in the Life of W. Cleon Skousen by W. Cleon Skousen, Jo Ann Skousen and Mark Skousen

W. Clean Skousen's family members assembled an autobiography from his journals. Skousen was born in Canada, then served a church mission in Europe and then came to live in the USA. He spent time working for J Edgar Hoover in the FBI. He was later a university professor and a police chief before focussing on his National Center for Constitutional Studies. The organization advocated a conservative focus on the study of the constitution and it's religious basis. In addition to the political writings, he also wrote parenting works and a "thousand years" series of books on the Old Testament. He was very devoted to his organization and his brand of conservative principles. However, he had trouble with others that differed in the way to run things. His anti-communist beliefs were perfect for the cold war mentality and seemed to reach the mainstream peak during the Reagan era. After the end of the cold war, his relevance appeared to wane.

The Big Store: Inside the Crisis and Revolution at Sears

The Big Store: Inside the Crisis and Revolution at Sears by Donald Katz

Sears was the Amazon.com of its time. It started as a mail order company with a giant catalog. It then went into the physical store business. It was a huge business that dominated the retail sector. However, it became stuck in its ways and started to fade as shopping habits changed. It went through various attempts to improve its financial position. Attempts at international expansion fizzled out after showing potential. Acquisitions and non-retail business lines also showed potential. Sears invested heavily in computer systems. The company also realized that they sat on a treasure-trove of data that would allow cross-selling insurance and other financial products. 

The book primarily covers the Telling leadership of the company. He started shortly after the move to the Sears tower and had a "different" style of leadership. The book ends with the choosing of Brennan as the new leader. There are many different personalities involved, with the ups and downs of a company trying to find its way. Seas seemed to be finding its way through the struggles at the end. It is interesting toread about "classic" business practices. However, the book was written in 1987. Since then Lampert acquired the company and fully drove it into ground. Will this be the fate of Amazon? Despite Sears being nearly non-existant, past components like Allstate are still thriving.

Recovery: How We Can Create a Better, Brighter Future After a Crisis

Recovery: How We Can Create a Better, Brighter Future After a Crisis by Andrew Wear

Bad things happen. We can choose how to behave afterwards. In many cases, people have recovered from tragedy to create something much better than existed before. Germany grew to be a power after war devastation. The roaring twenties boomed after the Spanish Flu. There are many cases of cities that had a big growth spurt after the destruction of a fire. The book includes many examples of positive recovery and looks forward to future improvements as society deals with struggle. It has the tone of a grandfather discussing the past.

Is He Nuts?: Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ

Is He Nuts?: Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ by Dennis Schleicher

The author had an interesting childhood. His mother tended to get angry and then later calm down. They at first didn't go to church, then they started attended. Later his family would switch to "born again" church that he was not fond of. His relationship with them was significantly damaged by this experience. He later came out as gay and was beat up for it at school. He ended up telling this story on talk shows. He became a gay rights activist and worked in retail cosmetic related fields. He eventually left to do multi-level marketing sales for some company connected to Utah. He had been feeling the urge to return to a church, especially after his brother died of drug overdose. He did not think the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was accepting to gays. However, he met many members of the church that were fine with him how he was. He joined that church despite seeming contradictions with lgbt culture. He had struggles, but felt the love of the lord. There were some people that do or say things that seemed offensive, but often it was just a case of misunderstanding.

The book has a strong message, but does take a bit to get there. He does work in sales, so there does seem to be a bit sheen shielding what are deep felt feelings and passion. His is not a common or easy path. It does seem to go against common culture norms. However, it is not impossible. Catholic priests have been celibate for centuries. There have been many that have failed, but most strive to keep their vows. Celibacy goes smack in the face of modern culture, but represents an extra commitment. Religion continues to say "you have power over your life". The religious concept of repentance says you can control your behaviors to what you want, even if it is hard and involves many "failures". You could spend forever waiting for society or religion changing to meet your needs. Or you could just have faith and try to follow Christ, treating all changes as bonuses. (He sees some baby steps the LDS church has done to be more LGBT friendly.) Being gay and Mormon is not an easy path. Many on the lgbt side will declare the church homophobic and declare that it is better to seek life with a same-sex partner. In the church, there will be those that will encourage traditional family life and condemn same-sex relationships. It takes great strength and faith to straddle the two and live in a way that does not seem fulfilling by either side. In his story, "coming out as religious" seemed to be even more challenging than "coming out as gay".  It is a challenging path that will probably never be easy.

The Butterfly Impact: Resilience, Resets, and Ripples

The Butterfly Impact: Resilience, Resets, and Ripples by Mark Brigg

This is a fairly generic business book. I missed the whole butterfly metaphor, even though it was brought up multiple times in the book. It took a turn towards superficial diversity that didn't help. As a whole the book was not bad, but did not really add anything.

Far and Away: A Prize Every Time

Far and Away: A Prize Every Time by Neil Peart

This is similar to Neil Peart's other "travel books". He is primarily travelling around on his motorcycle with a friend between concert tour stops. Most of the experience is in US and Canada. He primarily takes small roads when possible. Sometimes he runs into roads blocked by snow (even in June!) He had other experiences with heavy thunderstorms and other extreme weather.

He did also travel in South America between tour stops. This added the risk of border crossings and less developed environments. He intentionally stayed out of the more urban areas to ride around in rural areas. This had its own challenges. The GPS was not super accurate and the areas were not well labelled. They ended up way over-shooting a bridge that would get them into Uruguay. Luckily they found a remote ferry that eventually helped to get them around.

He takes time to comment on society and conditions. He likes compact mountain towns and prefers small mom-and-pop stores. (Logan Utah seemed to be a good one.) There is various commentary on the history that he observed. He also sought to take on many national parks. (Yellowstone was one of the last ones he covered.) In all these voyages, he still managed to make it to his concerts in time.

Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, Second Edition with a New Preface

Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, Second Edition with a New Preface by Eric Klinenberg

In 1995 Chicago faced a blistering heat wave. Many people across all groups died. However, poor minority men living alone in certain neighborhoods tended to die at higher rates. The book explores the causes of some of the excess deaths. Many of those that died lived alone and valued their independence. However, neighborhood characteristics had significant impacts on survival rates. North Lawndale and Little Village were next to each other, but had very different death rates. Little Village has been growing and has a dense, primarily Hispanic population with many community resources. North Lawndale, on the other hand, has been losing population and had a small fraction of its peak population. There were few community resources and a there had been a significant population shift. Elderly were afraid to open their doors or windows and felt few ties to the community.

In addition to demographics and community, government resources play a role. While there are many public resources available, people, especially those most in need, do not know how to access them. There are public housing facilities for low-income seniors. However, are not enough to go around. There are also problems when these locations are extended to broadly, leading to drug use and crime that discourages elderly to go out. Crime and the perception of crime can be a big problem. In the past heat waves, people would spend time outside - cooling off at the peach, keeping windows open or even sleeping outside. Now with the fear of crime, none of that is done.

Other factors also came into play. Air conditioning can be nice. However, it costs money to run, and many of the poorest can't afford it. Power outages can pose problems for those used to living with air conditioning who no longer have it. Water can also help cool, but if too many hydrants are illegally opened, people may not have water pressure in their houses.

As the country becomes less dependent on their community and more dependent on government, it becomes more challenging to deal with unexpected large-scale issues. How much should we hope our government to protect us from disasters? Chicago had learned and adopted some new policies that resulted in a significantly lower death toll in 1999. While there were plenty of warm nights, there was not nearly as much negative coverage of the heat wave. 

Dream With Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey

Dream With Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey by Ronnie Screwvala

The author started out convincing Indians that they needed toothpaste before branching out into media production. The book is filled with the standard "Here is what I did to succeed in business. You can do it too". There did not seem to be much original about what he wrote. It may be more interesting to those that are familiar with the media empire that he created in India.

The Science of Abolition: How Slaveholders Became the Enemies of Progress

The Science of Abolition: How Slaveholders Became the Enemies of Progress by Eric Herschthal

Science and technology became adopted by abolitionists as they advocated the end of slavery. With technology it would be possible to do more with fewer people. Equality and freedom override ideas of "inferior blacks" that had been used to justify slavery. However, slaveholders still clung to views of inferiority to justify slavery. Eventually the abolitionist science prevailed. Despite appearances of objectivity, science is spun to support an individuals beliefs. Interestingly, there were some black scientific organizations that produced research in isolation of the white establishment. 

Beef, Bible and Bullets: Brazil in the Age of Bolsonaro

Beef, Bible and Bullets: Brazil in the Age of Bolsonaro by Richard Lapper

Bolsonaro was a Brazilian version of Trump. He was adamantly not politically correct. During the campaign, he was the victim of a failed assassination attempt. He gradually lost popularity during his term in office and was criticized for his handling of COVID-19. He was eventually defeated by Lula, a former left wing president who had been convicted of fraud. (The conviction was later overturned and he was allowed to run again.) The bulk of the book covers the background of brazil leading up to the election. Brazil has significant crime. The criminal gangs have active operations within prisons. (and seem more effective than the government in punishing evildoers.) Police play a significant role in society and hold many elected positions. In spite of this, many neighborhoods have vigilantes which also fight crime. (Alas, these can be just as bad as the criminals.) The court system is slow and delayed through multiple appeals. Things seemed to be going well with oil reserves, but the country was not able to benefit. There is a ton of potential, but few results. Big events such as the World Cup and Olympics brought tourists, but also cost huge amounts of money. Meanwhile, there are significant swaths of poverty. Most of the book covers the past and current history and politics of Brazil. This all provides an understanding of how Bolsonaro came to power.

Beyond the Burn Line

Beyond the Burn Line by Paul McAuley

In a far future post-apocylptic world. there is a quest for understanding of the past. There was a bear civilization and a human civilization. Something caused them to stop. A scholar is trying to find answers. What happened? Was there something from afar that destroyed the civilization?  The novel felt like it had some interesting points to explore, but the premise was just a bit too remote to make them well.

Far and Near: On Days Like These

Far and Near: On Days Like These by Neil Peart

Neil Peart rode his motorcycle between venues while touring with Rush. He planned out trips to visit national parks as well as explore various parts of the world. He would seek out the back roads as much as possible. (Sometimes he would even luck out and get people to open gated off logging roads.) GPS may or may not help him. He would always travel with riding buddies and had trucks to carry the bikes in as part of the tour. (He needed to make sure he made it to the concerts.) He had various experiences, both good and bad. Some people recognized him as the drummer for Rush, while many did not. He rarely brought it up on his own. (Though one case where many people bonded together to help, he did go out and offer them tickets.) 

This book primarily has essays regarding his motorcycle tours, though there are a few from other travels and experiences (such as with cars). He uses it to detail his philosophy which sometimes appears directly as some of his songs. The philosophy may not always be externally consistent. (He criticizes the attempts by southern Christians to limit other's rights by limiting abortion, while also criticizing them for not limiting rights by not mandating helmets.) Despite disagreeing with some viewpoints, he takes an open view to the people and situations that occur. He is much more interested in the experience. He loves the streets that nobody goes down unless they live there. He enjoys the small towns and the unique experiences that differ from cookie cutter suburban life. It would be fun to be able to explore areas the way he did. He had both the freedom to go anywhere along with the support to make sure it happened, yet also had time and location constraints that forced moving on. I wonder if somebody has consolidated the locations and roads mentioned for a tour book.

A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities: The Audible Dickens Collection by Charles Dickens

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" is one of the great intros of all time. Beyond that, I was pretty lost. When I had to read Tale of Two Cities in high school, I could not get into it at all. I read the whole book, but nothing stuck. Trying it again now was only marginally better. There was  a lot of anti-immigrant banter. It seemed the French revolution took some detours with "liberty, equality or death". A guy manages to show some mixed English, French ties and hopes to avoid the death part. There is also some romance and other bits in there. This narration was fairly unintelligible at 3.5 speed, but sounded fine around 3.2x. 

The Return of the Native

The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

I remember really liking this book when reading it in high school. It was one of the first "literature" books that really clicked. It gave rise to running home from school and reading a book in a tree.

Alas, I did not seem to get much out of it this time. This is a freely available book from Audible, and it just didn't mean much to me. Maybe this book is best read? There is some tale of escaping small time life, a teacher, some romance that doesn't quite work out. I must have missed the psychological exploration that attracted me before.

The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again

The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison

There are some people that sit around and talk in England. Some things have happened in their lives. There is a land that has sunk. Maybe there are aliens or something. It is billed as science fiction, but I did not get much of a sci-fi vibe. It just seemed to be life of the boring kind. I could not get into the book at all.

Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to My Life and Times

Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to My Life and Times by Neil Peart

Peart motorcycles out to Big Bend National Park from LA. On the way, he reminisces about his life and music that he found interesting. It is a fairly eclectic mix with modern bands like Tragically Hip and Vertical Horizon, Coldplay and Linkin Park and older ones like Frank Sinatra and Buddy Rich. He covers some of his early music experiences and life. He went to some 60s festivals but missed others. He worked in London for a bit. He read books, joined a band and rode his motorcycle and bicycle around. His became a bit different as his band became more popular. He seemed to be fairly introverted, yet public.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude

Anna Karenina is a long book dealing with marriage and affairs in 19th century Russia. Anna does not like her marriage. Anna has an affair with another man. Her husband considers divorce, but due to culture at the time, that would not be easy, and would create difficulty for Anna. Later Anna's paramore feels bad and tries to commit suicide. Things get weird in their lives. Others have different experiences and various relationships. The book kkeeps going on and on with details.

Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days adapted by Jules Verne, adapted by Anna Lea

I had a bit of trouble figuring out what this actually was. It credits an "adaptor", but not a translator. I'm assuming that this was adapted from some English translation of the original French. There were multiple characters and the pace was perfect.

Phileas Fogg is an eccentric British aristocrat. He places a bet that he can get around the world in the unheard time of 80 days. A new assistant, Jean Passepartout, happened to join him just before he makes this bet. They journey together to complete the quest. They have to deal with steamers, trains, and even elephant travel. Fogg is willing to throw vast sums at solutions due to the money that he has at stake. His assistant gets into a bit of trouble (for things such as not taking his shoes off at an Indian temple). They are also chased by police who mistake Fogg for a thief. They have many adventures, including the rescue of a woman from ritual suicide. They make it back in what they think is just a bit too late. Later they realize they forgot to take into account the date change and rush to make it back just in time. It is a fun adventure that has been well adapted to movies and other media.

The Demon Next Door

The Demon Next Door by Bryan Burrough

A teenage Danny Corwin in Temple, Texas committed a couple rapes, including one in 1975 where he kidnapped the girl and stabbed her. However, his family had important connections in the town through the First Presbyterian Church. There were key figures in the school administration as well as media in the congregation. The family was fairly respected and the teenager seemed upstanding and always worked to please adults. Rather than support the girl, the people accused her of being a whore. (The details of her wounds were not well known to the public.) The girl was reluctant to testify for fear of being disparaged. Corwin entered a plea deal and was sentenced to 40 years.

In prison he was a model inmate and was released after 9 years. He got a job, enrolled in Texas A&M and was in a relationship with a girl that had visited him in prison. However, things began to unravel. The girl broke up with him. He flunked out of school (but still pretended to attend classes.) Then he got the rape and murder bug. He killed three women, including a mom who was at the car wash with her young daughter. Despite many tips, he was not traced to any of those murders. Then he carjacked a girl at the Texas A&M parking lot and took her to under-construction Lick Creek park to rape her and slit her throat. She played dead until he left. Then he wandered up to the street where she was found and received medical help. She could not talk, but a police artist was able to create a drawing of Danny by communicating with her. He was then found and linked to the crime via fingerprints and later confessed to the other crimes. He was eventually sentenced to death.

The book is a short audiobook only release that has sufficient details to place things well in the locations. The perpetrator did appear to have mental illness that was well hidden. What would have been the best way to prevent future problems?

The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa

The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa by Neil Peart

Rush drummer Neil Peart went on an "adventure cycling" tour of Cameroon. There were just a small handful of people cycling with him in the rout. One woman lacked the enthusiasm and would cycle very slowly, much to chagrin of the guide. One of the party was a black man from California. Many of the Africans would be amazed that there were black people in America. (At one time, the fact that he was black helped bail them out of trouble with a drunken police officer.) The time in Africa involved many encounters with officials and pseudo-officials, along with regular people. Peart had only rudimentary French, so had challenges communicating. He also observed a difference between poverty and happiness. Many people did not have much, yet there were few homeless or other vagrants you commonly see in western cities. The families seem to help care for them. Infrastructure was a different story. Water or electricity may be cut off at any time if they do exist. There are huge number of "checkpoints". Some actually serve purposes. Others are manned by illiterate officials. And some are "popups" by regular folks trying to extort a few dollars. He also has time to muse on religion, life, happiness and other things. A bike tour through Africa is much different than that through the developed world.