The Well-Educated Mind Books - 88%

139/158 = 19 to go!

It was a lovely read. I will write more later next week. Really enjoyed the story of the conversion of C.S. Lewis. 




















MEDIEVAL (400 – 1599)

1580 Essays of Montaigne (6/8/10)

EARLY MODERN (1600 – 1850)

1754 History of England, V.5 Hume

1776 Decline & Fall Roman Empire Gibbon

1792 Vindication Rights Women Wollstonecraft (6/17/10)
1835 Democracy in America Tocqueville

1848 The Communist Manifesto Marx & Engel (6/17/10)

MODERN (1850 – present)

1860 Civilization of Renaissance Burckhardt

1904 Protestant Ethic/Spirit of Capitalism Weber
1908 Ecce Homo Nietzsche Autobio (6/14/10)

1925 Mein Kampf Hitler Autobio

1929 The Story of My Experiments w/Truth Gandhi

1937 The Road to Wigan Pier Orwell
1938 The New England Mind Miller

1948 Seven Story Mountain Merton

1955 The Great Crash Galbraith
1955 Surprised by Joy C.S. Lewis (6/28/10)

1959 The Longest Day Ryan (started 6/5/10)

1965 The Autobiography of + Malcolm X

1973 Journal of a Solitude Sarton (6/5/10)
1973 Gulag Archipelago Solzhenitsyn
1974 Roll, Jordan, Roll Genovese

1978 Distant Mirror Tuchman
1987 All the President's Men Woodward & Bernstein

1990 A Midwife's Tale Ballard
1992 The End of History & the Last Man Fukuyama

Knowing You

"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased" ( The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis, p. 1-2).


 


Knowing You Jesus
Knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all
You're the best
You're my joy 
My righteousness
And I love You Lord

Good Decisions

I have had some really good days this week.

Monday - concentrated prayer morning going through the Amazing Grace book in the am and Bible Book Club posts in the afternoon. All because my wonderful husband took the boys out and picked them up from their Engineering Academy at LBCC!

Tuesday - Prep for and study in the story of Noah with Noha in the am and piano, walk, visit with Amanda in the afternoon. Then, a great discussion with Samira, Fereshte, Shelly, and Kirsten about Galatians 3 in the early evening followed by Yogurt Extreme with Kirsten and Shelly until late at night.

Wednesday - Soaking in Galatians 3 at Sunnyside Up in the am. Delivering books and shopping in the pm. Dinner and discipleship with Jennifer and Jesus Community with the "guys" in the evening.

Thursday - Walking to Coffee Culture while Valentina and Pieter cleaned my whole house (the splurge because of my back problems) and soaking in Galatians 4 for hours. Coming home and soaking more in Galatians 5 & 6. Now, I am going to ride my bike over to campus to walk with Michele for about an hour.

This week has been very good.

The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur

rThe Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur

I led a book club discussion on this book today. It got a 7.6. I liked it better the second time around reading it. It is one man's attempt to inform the world about the tragedies in Darfur. He is a "man of peace" in a place of strife. 

Four Crazy Germans

So I read Nietzsche, and I wanted to read a happier book like Surprised by Joy, but I thought it might be interesting to read a book by another German, Adolph Hitler. Then, as I was reading Hitler, he went off on a tirade about the Social Democratic Party. So, I decided to stop and read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.  What was it with the Germans from 1848 - 1945?   They were crazy!! (By the way, I started reading Hitler's Mein Kampf on D-Day. I thought that a fitting day to honor our fallen heroes).


I still have many pages to go on Hitler (I am reading selections suggested by Susan Wise-Bauer in The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had, but her selections still total 335 pages), and I am finding it fascinating. He was against communism. So, he got that right, but I just read the part about how he came to be anti-semitic in Vienna, Austria, and it makes me so sad. I see why he was so charismatic though: he was a very good writer. Good writers have changed the world: some for the better but some for the worst.


Back to The Communist Manifesto. It is a quick read, and you can read it for online or download it on a Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation) or other eReader, all for free. I recommend everyone read it. It really helped me to understand why the U.S. was so paranoid about communism! Marx and Engels wrote this document when they were 29 and 27 years old, respectively. How idealistic. How dumb. I wonder how they would feel if they could see how their theory played out? Not so good. Communism is a confirmed failure. It may have been a nice neat theory, but it assumes that the "rising proletariat," who are confiscating the property for the common good will be sinless, selfless creatures, but this was not the case.  They robbed from the bourgeoisie (middle class) and became rich themselves! Also, lack of private ownership doesn't motivate one to work!   Communism has been a failure, and why did people let two idealistic 20-somethings change the course of history for the worst?!  So sad! With all the failures of capitalism, it does work. It isn't perfect, but it works much better than communism.


Here is a great overview from Wikipedia:

10 point program of Communism - Or "How to be a Thief" (alternative title by me)

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. 
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with acommon plan.
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.^[8]

According to the Communist Manifesto, all these were prior conditions for a transition from capitalism to communism, but Marx and Engels later expressed a desire to modernize this passage.^[9]

Continued Peace

Well-Adjusted Heart


Today was an extraordinarily good day for me. I think I am growing in my ability to move on from tough situations and to trust that God will work it all out. 

When there are many words, 

transgression is unavoidable, 

But he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 10:19 (NASB95)

Thus, the peace has been maintained in my heart and life. Sometimes you just have to stop the insanity, and it was definitely heading that way. I don't think a face-to-face meeting would have been productive. Wisdom says to stop the words and move on. That is what we did, and it did die down. I am not responsible for the emotional filter of another person, and Ginny strongly encouraged me to not take criticism for things I am not guilty of. I am responsible with how I handle it from now on. If I continue to not be sensitive to the filter, then I have a problem because I am not responding to what I now know.  I had hoped for an extension of grace this one time, but the attacks were pretty strong for a twenty-four hour period. I do think I learned some valuable lessons, and I won't make the same mistake twice. 

I really am at peace. There is no doubt, and I look forward to a good summer of more low-key things going on: Iranian women's study on Monday night, Noha on Tuesday morning, Jesus Community on Tuesday night, Dial-a-Book and piano every other Wednesday, Salma the Saudi on Thursday afternoons, and hopefully starting up with Nourieh in the book of John again. . Those are my only set commitments.  I decided I won't go to the Iranian Study on the nights I have a meeting with the elder's wives. I need that time with older ladies, and it doesn't work for me to come after the study.  


Well-Educated Mind


I will continue with the Well-Educated Mind reading, but I am thinking of not setting myself up for stress by trying to complete all 22 remaining books this summer. I could definitely do it, but why?  I don't have to. There is no deadline, and I would rather do it at a slower pace and enjoy more time being outdoors and enjoying good family and friends. So, I will just go at a slow pace and see where I end up at the end of the summer.  I am also going to read Adler's How to Read A Book and watch The Art of Reading DVD series too. That will be really good. 


Well-Watered Soul


The Bible Book Club continues to be such a blessing to me. The middle of next week will mark 30,000 visits to the site since January of 2008. I love the discipline of everyday synthesis of the Scriptures. Becky and Katrina have really lifted the load too, and I am thankful for their trustworthy posts. 


One thing I had hoped to do this summer is the updated Theophostic Training, but I don't think I can with my others commitments and a desire to be more low-key. So, I am going to pass on that this summer.


Well-tuned Body


The last few days have been really good workout-wise. I haven't had back pain from them. I still can't go 100%, and I am definitely not going to do Pilates for a while. I like the elliptical/walks/weights routine and will stick with that through the summer. I need to be wise.

Eating is much better too. I am on the road to dropping the 15 I gained after my surgery due to the inactivity. So, I am feeling very good about that.


Now I am going to finish up my BBC post and get to bed. 


Oh, Michael got an "A" in both his college classes this term!

A Very Satisfying Day

My day was sweet. I had time with God in the morning. Then I spent a couple of hours preparing for my time with Noha at 11 a.m. She didn't get the baby down until 12:30, but I had fun and "goofed off" while I waited. We spent from 12:30 to 3:00 pm looking at the story of Adam in both the Quran and the Bible. It was stimulating conversation, and she knows her stuff!

I walked home from her house so happy. So filled with the wonder and presence of God. George was working at home, and we debriefed on my time and also talked about painting the house. I looks like his cousin, Jim, and his friend are going to paint the house and even redo the front door. It will be so nice to have them working here this summer. They are fine and upstanding men, and we can even let them stay here if they want. Since they are coming from Oregon City.

After talking with George, I worked on the Bible Book Club post for 2 Corinthians 5. What a discipline this blog has been for me! I love it. This chapter is about our temporary tent and our heavenly dwelling and having a ministry of reconciliation as we wait for our heavenly home. I paid tribute to Helene in the reflection section of the post. I scanned pictures of her and Collette (former roommates). It was lovely.

I took a walk around the block and then the Jesus Community came. We had 11, and that was a perfect number of people. George did an excellent job of leading, and Andrew led worship  and then all shared a "Spiritual Potluck."  People were so open and honest and the prayer was very sweet.

Then, I finished my tribute for Helene and emailed the link to her sister. I woke up this morning to a very nice thank you from her.  That was nice.

Of course I got to bet too late because I was still buzzed from the day. I did exercises and watched a show. Then, I read Hitler.

Fulfilling day all the way. Thank you God.

Peace Like a River

I had a very good weekend. The ickiness of Thursday/Friday led way to a Saturday morning drive in the sunshine to see Ginny and Lorraine for breakfast, sharing, counsel, prayer, and lunch at a new Bistro for Reuben Sandwiches. They gave me such great insight and counsel and prayer for peace for me.  When I got home, George and I shopped together and ran errands and talked. Then we took a nice walk as the sun was going down.

Sunday, I went back to Suburban after a three week absense, and I realize how much I have missed! I love Steve Lee's preaching. He is annointed. I love the love there and the atmosphere of acceptance. I was able to reconnect with many people from the 11 am service, and it was lovely.

After church, we took another walk, I read in the backyard, and Elizabeth came for a Glen Eden walk and dinner in the backyard before the TOAG girls came over for pie, snacks, and NEWSIES! They have been telling me that I need to watch it, and it was very fun to do so. Laura and Stacy stayed talking until 2 am. Love those girls. I love this younger generation of 20-somethings. They are just a great generation. I have such high hopes for the future with many of these men and women we have been privileged to get to know this year.

After they left, I had to finish Nietzche just to be rid of the man forever. ICK! I was going to read C.S. Lewis' autobiography, Surprised by Joy just to go from darkness to light in my reading, but I am crazy and decided to read another crazy German named, Hitler, instead. I am weird, but I just want to get him out of the way and read Lewis while on vacation. :)

I started out writing this to say that I have so much peace after wise counsel from Ginny, Lorraine, Teala, Debbie, Patty, Kim, and of course, George. They were unanimous in their counsel about what to do in my current situation, and I woke up this morning so peaceful. I just need to pray for protection and trust that God will allow things to proceed with much grace and love.

Yesterday/All my troubles were not far away (Amended on June 14)

OUCH! Yesterday started out with great potential, but it had a big thud. I should trust my discernment and move on. I felt uneasy about the direction of my steps on Thursday, and I should have just bailed and prayed. The world is full of Shoulda', Coulda', Woulda's so I can trust I learned some very good things from the situation.

BUT, I did go see Ester, and that was lovely. She is doing so well at the Mennonite Village Rehab Center. I still felt weird about my morning and had gotten a journal at the Book Bin to process when a ZINGER of an email came in.  WOW! Again, I should trust my discernment, God gave it to me for a reason! I have had concerns, but I want to always extend grace and continue to love. While I will continue to do that, I will be more cautious in how I proceed in the future. I was misunderstood and confronted based on the false assumption.  Ginny said, "Do not accept criticism for something you are not guilty of."  I do have a blameless conscience, but I will endeavor to be more sensitive to this person's particular filter and perceptions. I know she has had a hard life and may be projecting. I don't want to assume that though.

George took time off of work to talk and process with me about the situation. Lovely man. I addressed the issues, but they were again misperceived and more accusations followed, and I apologized for coming across that way. I know that I need to be "all things to all people," and with this particular person, I need to be careful with how I communicate, and I will definitely do that from now on. Filters are filters and perception is reality; and while my character and integrity have been called into question through this situation, I have a clear conscience. Nevertheless, I WILL endeaver to persevere in love and be very sensitive. It is a good exercise in adaptation and being fervent in my love.

Then, I journaled until the wee hours of the morning. Tough stuff. God gave this to me as I was preparing my post for 2 Corinthians 1 that really hit the nail on the head for the situation:

“Misunderstandings among God’s people are often very difficult to untangle, because one misunderstanding often leads to another. Once we start to question the integrity of others or distrust their words, the door is opened to all kinds of problems. But, no matter what his accusers might say, Paul stood firm because he had a clear conscience. What he wrote, what he said, and what he lived were all in agreement.^[1] 2 Corinthians 1

---

^[1]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (2 Co 1:12). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

God is so good. This is the situation to a "T."  They can accuse me all they want of not being humble about receiving confrontation (which was more criticism than a true Biblical confrontation), but I am not going to, as Ginny said, "accept criticism for what I am not guilty of."  (I added this part later because Ginny didn't say this to me until Saturday, but she gave words to what I already was feeling) Confront me on something I did, not on something you ASSUME I meant or did. 


Joy has returned this morning. It is a new day. I can move on. The troubles are far away.


I still don't know about my web browser. It won't open any pages. I am using Geo's dinosaur!  I love the keyboard though. Very nice.

Evil Defeated

I am so glad I stayed up and persevered through the post on Bible Book Club! I couldn't post on it even on the kids' computer, but it worked after I wrote that little post a bit ago here. It was a great 1 hour and 15 minutes with the Lord, and it sure beat time in Nietzche!!!!!

My stuff keeps crashing

I have tried to post on my Bible Book Club blog, and it keeps on crashing. So, I am experimenting to see if it happens on this blog. I am a bit frustrated right now. UGH!

Nietzsche in the Morning

I am reading Nietzsche's autobiography this morning. Better that I put it aside and spend more time in the word. 1 Corinthians 15 seems so much more enjoyable than someone who proclaimed "God is dead." He wrote this autobiography and then he went insane.

It is 9:30 am, and Paul has just come out of the room to say, "Hi."  He is in the bathroom now, and I don't want to spend too long on here because I want to break the fast with him. Such an adorable child. He has peach-fuzz on his face and his voice is fully deep. The change of life from boyhood to manhood. Absolutely revel in talking to him about everything under the sun. Hmm. He will put me in a good mood after Nietzche. Maybe I should just read Nietzche at Noon!


I just told Paul that Nietzsche went insane after writing this book, and he said, "He looks insane!"  


I love that boy who needs milk for  his breakfast. He is a growing boy, afterall.


Just for the record:


GOD IS NOT DEAD!


Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is; Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)

Essays of Montaigne: Repentance

I just had an "aha" moment. I am almost done reading his essays. He just hit upon something about sin and repentance:

"I know no repentance, superficial, half-way, and ceremonious; it must sting me all over before I can call it so, and must prick my bowels as deeply and universally as God sees into me" (p. 917).

Screech says in the footnote:

 "Each man is, in God's sight, sinful (Romans 3:23; 5:12), and God is the scrutator cordium ((n.) One who scrutinizes; a close examiner or inquire), 'He who search all hearts' (1 Chron 28:9); 'He who searcheth the heart and knoweth the mind' (Romans 8:27); 'He that searcheth the reins and the heart" (Revelations 2:23)" (Michel de Montaigne - The Complete Essays (Penguin Classics, p. 917).


I lighted upon these words in the footnote and realized that all of Montaigne's words (and there are 1269 pages of his "thoughts") pale in comparison to just those few words I read of Scripture in this footnote. It was food for my soul, life to my weary mind!  If only Montaigne had retired to a life of studying Scriptures rather than writing down all his "thoughts."  They are RUBBISH compared to the Word of God!


Just sayin'!


So here is a reviewer from Library Thing (He read the "selections" version which is easier to haul around!):

If he had a more manageable name, there should be an equivalent to "Shakespearean" for Michel de Montaigne, and the label to refer to essayists of his level. As with Shakespearean, you have to pay attention lest the dense, meaningful sentences fly past. And frankly, there are times, and moods, when he's too dense for me to appreciate, or I'm too dense and have to put him aside.

Like another wonderful essayist, William Hazlitt, Montaigne often takes a circuitous path, following the associations of his fertile, discursive mind, to touch upon all manner of things before coming back to his point(s) with new, expanded insights. Or to bring up other, entirely unexpected points. Again, he requires an attentive reader, and one not looking for a point, but patiently waiting for the next rewarding chunk of writing to come, as it always does.

In a frame of mind to focus and leave the world and its distractions behind, Montaigne is particularly sharp. Take, for example, this (among so many other passages), from the essay "On Cruelty":

"Virtue demands a rough and thorny road: she wants either external difficulties to struggle against ... by means of which Fortune is pleased to break up the directness of her course for her, or else inward difficulties furnished by the disordered passions and imperfections of our condition."

And this, from "On Repenting," capturing his straightforward honesty and self-assurance, without any self-aggrandizing pride:

"I have hardly cause to blame anyone but myself for my failures or misfortunes, for in practice I rarely ask anyone for advice save to honor them formally; the exception is when I need learned instruction or knowledge of the facts. But in matters where only my judgment is involved, the arguments of others rarely serve to deflect me, though they may well support me; I listen to them graciously and courteously--to all of them. But as far as I can recall, I have never yet trusted any but my own." (  )

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Writing at 6:45 on a Sunday Morning

I have written so much in this blog in the past couple of weeks! This is definitely the one that I skip the most. Bible Book Club is my priority, and I do most of my writing there.

I woke up AGAIN with a splitting headache! I do not know what this bug is, but it is weird. It doesn't TOTALLY lay you flat, but you feel pretty crummy, fatigued, achy, and have a headache. I keep thinking it is all in my mind, but it isn't going away.

The good news is that I fell asleep right away last night and didn't wake up until about 5:30 am. The two night previous, I had a headache, so I couldn't go to sleep until drugs kicked in, and then I slept until after 10 am! I don't like starting the day so late. So, this is nice to wake up early this morning, even if it is with a stupid headache.

George is doing the devotional at church today. So, I feel like I should go and listen to him speak! I don't know what to do. I also don't know if I am going to be leading a Spiritual Gifts and Personality workshop today with the Campus Crusade ladies. Oh the anxiety!  NOT! I could do those two seminars in my sleep (practically).

One thing that has slid with this sickness is my Bible Book Club posts. I started strong with this week with a great post on marriage on Wednesday and meat on Thursday. I got up Thursday and found a lovely reflection by one of my spiritual mentors, Kay Arthur. I had every intention to get back to doing the background, and the sickness set in on Thursday toward the end of Buck's parents being here for dinner. I was too sick on Friday to do the Saturday post either.

I have read though, and that has been nice. I wonder if I just pushed myself to hard this week in my Well-Educated Mind studies at the expense of the Well-Watered Soul. I don't know.

Wednesday night was poignant. We had a late night talk after TOAG, and one of the people was so vulnerable and beautiful, and I am praying. So, in that respect, I feel like this week has been more about prayer than about my time in 1 Corinthians. Maybe it is just an application of some of what I have been reading in there. Probably so. All I know is that I care so much about these TOAGers that it hurts!  They are a precious lot of men and women that I feel honored and privileged to know and love. I call them all friends. That is the joy of doing what we do. This has been such a wonderful year for us. I am SO glad we made the move to this versus what we were doing before.

I still love Bible Book Club too. What an adventure this has been for us. It has kept me so on my toes. I have always been pretty diligent about being in the Word, but it has forced me to be in the Word in places I haven't dwelt in very long, especially parts of Daniel and Ezekiel! I will say that the New Testament has been much easier for me, but even then, it is nice to approach if from a chapter by chapter angle versus doing an in-depth, inductive study.

Speaking of in-depth, inductive study. I am so tempted to do the Kay Arthur Greece Study Tour from September 24 to October 4. It is so expensive though, and I am so frugal, but I still have not taken a trip in honor of my mother, and that was one of my goals after my mom's death since she took so many trips after my dad died. The alternative would be to take one with Rich Ross who has started a non-profit tour company. He took a seven cities tour with a group in May this year. We will see.

Well, I have gone on a little adventure looking at pictures of Rich's tour that just got back. It is time for me to decide whether I am going to church today or not. I still don't know if Steph is coming over for the gifts and personality talk. Hmmm??????

A Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton

How appropriate to read the journal of a poet after reading so many poets over the last few weeks!

I am here alone for the first time in weeks, to take up my "real" like again at last. That is what is strange -- that friends, even passionate love, are not my real life unless there is time alone in which to explore and to discover what is happening or has happened. Without the interruptions, nourishing and maddening, this life would become arid. Yet I taste it fully only when I am alone here and "the house and I resume old conversations."

I read these line as Paul went off to a birthday party, and George and Michael went off to Lisa's graduation party promising me several hours of absolute solitude!

It was an easy read compared to poetry! I was nice to get in her head though. She had some powerful things to say even though she is not a woman of faith. She is searching though. I wonder if she found You in the end, Lord?

She reminded me so much of my grandmother who lived alone for most of her life.  She was somewhat of a feminist too. She was always the artist. I wish I would have been able to really get to know her though. She was always so darn cantankerous though!

The Well-Educated Mind - 84% Done!

I just finished Tennyson's Idylls of the King, and I loved it. Beautiful and long poem. I learned so much about Arthurian legend while reading it too.


Tennyson is a wonderful poet with my values. How can you not like a guy who died reading Shakespeare? 


I reached a major milestone by completing another genre of The Well-Educated Mind:POETRY! I really feel like poetry is the hardest of all of them. So, it is nice to have this done!


25 to go! 133/158
Nine autobiographies and 16 histories to go!

Medieval

1580 Essays+ Montaigne(French) Auto

Early Modern (1600-1850)

1754 History of England, V.5 Hume History

1757 Songs Innocence Experience Blake Poetry DONE March 22

1776 Decline & Fall

of the Roman Empire Gibbon (Brit)Wormsley History

1792 Vindication of the Rights of Women+ Wollstonecraft (Brit)

1770-1850 (1798) Wordsworth (Brit) Poetry May 26, 2010

1772-1834 Coleridge (Brit) Poetry  May 4, 2010

1795-1821 Keats (Brit) Poetry June 2, 2010 1:30 pm

1809-1883 Tennyson (Brit) Poetry June 4, 2010 12:40 pm

1835 Democracy in America* Tocqueville(French) History

1848 The Communist Manifesto+ Marx & Engel (German)History

Modern History (1850 to present)

1830-1894(1862) Rossetti Brit Poetry May 29, 2010 1:30 am!

1844-1889(1918) Hopkins Brit Poetry June 1, 2010 10:30 pm

1860 Civilization of Renaissance Burckhardt(Swiss) History

1865-1939 (1928) Yeats (Irish) Poetry June 2, 2010 12:15 am

1881 Life & Times of Frederick Douglas* (T) Auto (Narrative) May 30, 2010

1904 Protestant Ethic Spirit Capitalism Weber (German) History

1907-1973 (1922) Auden (Brit/American) Poetry June 2, 2010 1:55 am

1908 Ecce Homo Nietzsche(German) Auto

1922-1985 (1955) Larkin (Brit) Poetry June 2, 2010 2:25 am

1925 Mein Kampf Hitler(Germans) Auto

1929 My Experiments with Truth Gandhi (Indian) Auto

1937 Wigan Pier Orwell (Brit)History

1939- Heany (British) Poetry June 2, 2010 3:25 am :)

The New England Mind Miller(Amer) History

Surprised by Joy (1955) C.S. Lewis(Brit) Auto

1948 Seven Story Mountain Merton Auto

1955 The Great Crash Galbraith (Amer)History

1959 The Longest Day Ryan (Amer) History

1965 The Autography of + Malcolm X (Amer) Auto

1973 Journal of Solitude Sarton (Amer) Auto

Gulag Archipelago Solzhenitsyn (Russian) Auto

1974 Roll, Jordan, Roll Genovese History

1978 Distant Mirror Tuchman History

1987 All the President’s Men Woodward & Bernstein History

1990 A Midwife's Tale Ulrich History

1992 End of History Last Man Fukuyama History

William Butler Yeats

Philip Larkin

For the most part, I didn't care for him, but this one was interesting:

To put one brick upon another, 
Add a third and then a forth, 
Leaves no time to wonder whether 
What you do has any worth. 

But to sit with bricks around you 
While the winds of heaven bawl 
Weighing what you should or can do 
Leaves no doubt of it at all.

William Butler Yeats

There is something very old and wise about this Irishman's poetry!

The Coming of Wisdom with Time

Though leaves are many, the root is one;
through all the lying days of my youth
I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun;
Now I may wither into the truth.