Thinking about …
I posted ‘best of 2024’ reads, and so, here are the books on the table now:
On the table
Third Millenium Thinking – well, it is the 3rd Mil., right?
‘Boy’ by Roald Dahl – autobiographical, up to the point where he ships off to Africa
Furta Sacra: by Patrick J. Geary I picked up the 1990 revision because I always thought Geary’s ‘Before France and Germany’, about the Merovingians was terrific. Great sentences, great thought. What I had forgotten (perhaps) was that I had to look up terms (mostly Latin and – I think – Greek) all the time.
The funny thing about this one – the theft of religous relics – is that it’s not really about historical events ‘per se’ (‘per se’ being a Latin term which means ‘intrinsically’ ), but that it calls up Baudolino, one of the slowest-reading novels I’ve read, which was about the sack of Istanbul (the Fourth Crusade) and the ideas of Baudolino et al (‘et al’ being a latin abbreviation for ‘and others’) that what they really needed was a relic of Prester John, possibly a finger, which they could get somewhere in the lands to the East of Jerusalem. In the most essential ‘Handlist of Relic Thefts’ appendix which accompanies ‘Furta Sacra’, we find this: >>“John the Baptist. The archdeacon of Archbishop Rufus of Turin attempts to steal the finger of John the Baptist from Maurienne and is struck dead. Early ninth century?”<<. Never mind, different John.
No sooner had I thought “wow, we sure don’t have this relic stuff anymore,” than almost at once I was reading a story about the skull of St. Thomas Aquinas traveling through the US East after a year in Europe (700th anniversary). If, as was once believed, a mirror held up to a relic could capture some of its holiness and, thus, become somewhat holy itself, consider the effect of a photograph of the skull!
On the table
The Washington book : how to read politics and politicians (2024): By Lozada, Carlos. The author has read 150 ‘Washington Books’ so that you won’t have to. I was skeptical, but just opened up and started reading. Immediately checked out Kamala Harris’s book. Here’s what she learned (Last chapter ’what i have learned)
No false choices
Test the Idea
Go to the Place
Embrace the Mundane
Words Matter (example: revenge porn is neither revenge nor porn)
Show the math
No one should have to fight alone
If it’s worth fighting for, it’s a fight worth having (Christine Blasey Ford)
You may be the first. Make sure you’re not the last (Mentor)
The verge : Reformation, Renaissance, and forty years that shook the world (2021) By Wyman, Patrick. Told thru 9 people
Columbus
Isabel of Spain
Fugger!
Aldo Manutius
Charles V
four others!
The myth of nations : the medieval origins of Europe (2002) by Patrick J. Geary
The wisdom of plagues : lessons from 25 years of covering pandemics (2024): by Donald G. McNeil, Jr
Crusader: By Horse to Jerusalem: by Tim Severin (2001).
Severin and one companion ride horseback from Chateau Bouillon (in Belgium) to Jerusalem, following the route of the First Crusade. They start with two horses: Carty, an Ardennes Heavy Horse, and Mystery, a hard-working pack horse of all trades. One interesting aspect: at least as far as Bulgaria, they are always able to find someone to shoe the horse. They even find a saddle that works. The support infrastructure for this type of horse persists, even from 1096 to the present.
Arriving late January
Explorers of the Mississippi (1967) By Severin, Timothy.
The points of my compass ; letters from the East, the West, the North, the South (1962) By White, E. B. 1899-1985.
Soldiers and kings : survival and hope in the world of human smuggling (2024) By De León, Jason, 1977-
Meanwhile:
— all photos Copyright © 2022-2024 George D Girton all rights reserved