Free Republic Book Thread, Week of 03/05/05

[Tanniker Smith]

Hello, once again. Welcome to the weekly Free Republic Book Club thread.

The winner of the poll and the topic for this week is historical novels.

For those of you that want to get a jump on next week, the runner up in the last week's poll was mysteries, so grab one off the shelf and get busy reading, so you'll have something for next week. 8-)

[Tanniker Smith]

Last week's thread: Free Republic Book Club, Week of 2/26/05

TS

[Tanniker Smith]

Book Club Ping.

[Rabid Dog]

Please add me to the Book Club List!

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

Thanks for the ping.

[Nate1984]

Add me also please!

[JustaCowgirl]

Add me to your list as well. Thanks!

[Maceman]

Don't know if this 1887 work qualifies as a historical novel, but in 1935 it was named the most influential American novel novel of the prior fifty years in no less than three publications.

An absolute must-read for anyone who wants to understand the major driving force behind American political developments in the 20th century.

Can you guess the name of this work?

[jim macomber]

Meant to ask to be placed on the list.

Nobody said international legal thrillers?

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

I'm guessing that it's "Looking Backward" by Edward Bellamy. I bought it recently and the date 1887 reminded me of it. I haven't read anything beyond the introduction and I don't know if I want to continue. The introduction itself is stomach-turning.

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

Regarding historical fiction, my two favorite authors are Anya Seton and John Jakes. I don't read much fiction anymore, but when I'm in the mood for it, I enjoy their books.

[Maceman]

I'm guessing that it's "Looking Backward" by Edward Bellamy. I bought it recently and the date 1887 reminded me of it. I haven't read anything beyond the introduction and I don't know if I want to continue. The introduction itself is stomach-turning.

You are correct. But oddly enough, I didn't find it stomach truning at all. Reading this utterly, fantastically naive utopian novel and comparing its futuristic vision of an ideal American government-run society in the year 2000 with the reality of the past century was an experience in pure schadenfreude for me.

I think every Freeper should read it, and that we should never stop beating modern Progressive Democrats over the head with it.

Getting this book back in front of the public consciousness as the intellectual root of modern American progressivism will go a long way towards humiliating and destroying the entire Democratic Party agenda.

[jocon307]

"...humiliating and destroying the entire Democratic Party agenda."

Verily, verily, that is what we crave!

[Maceman]

Verily, verily, that is what we crave!

Then getteth thou a copy and readeth it forsooth.

[Liberty Valance]

Didn't know FR had a book club. I'm off to the local independent bookseller to see Kinky Friedman and have him autograph his latest murdery mystery novel. Rumor has it that the Kinkster gets killed off in this one..."Ten little New Yorkers". He's also going to run for Governor of the Great State of Texas so this will be a dual opportunity booksigning. Billy Joe Shaver will also be there with his new bio. With any luck this one might break out into song. Happy reading folks :o)

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

Since you recommend it so highly, I will give it another try. I just found it nauseating because we hear the same things coming out of the mouths of modern liberals every day.

[The Great Yazoo]

Kim by Rudyard Kipling really ticks multiculturalists off. Which is but one reason to read it.

Libertarians love the opening sentence, "He sat, in defiance of municipal orders, astride the gun Zam-Zammah on her brick platform opposite the old Ajaib-Gher -- the Wonder House, as the natives call the Lehore Museum," reflecting disdain for petty bureaucratic regulation.

Filled with great lines, such as my tagline below, Kim is the story of Kim, Kimball O'Hara, the orphan of a British soldier gone native and abandoned in the streets of Lahore (now Pakistan) in British-ruled India.

Known on the streets as "Little Friend of all the World," Kim is able to pass as a native to such an extent he runs errands for Mahbub Ali, a Pathian (Afghan) horse-trader whose business takes him on all sides of the border.

It is through Mahbub that Kim meets Colonel Creighton, officially of the Ethnological Survey, but also the spymaster handling the Pundits, native spies in The Great Game, Britain's first "Cold War" with the Russian Empire in Central Asia.

Add in travels with an ancient Tibetan monk, Kim's capture by the "Red Bull" on the green field, more or less forced matriculation at a Catholic military school, and an interesting keen mind, Kipling tells a great tale of India, spying, and camping out.

I would recommend an annotated version, as many references to people, places, and things are likely unfamiliar to readers not intimately knowledgeable about India and Pakistan. Background will also be helpful. One might try Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia, an especially well-written and fast-paced read itself.

Although sections must be re-read to ensure comprehension and some of the language (especially when Kim is speaking Hindi) is awkward at times, Kim is a delightful read. I highly recommend it.

[joyce11111]

Please add me to the Book Club List!

[Maceman]

Since you recommend it so highly, I will give it another try. I just found it nauseating because we hear the same things coming out of the mouths of modern liberals every day.

Just to be clear, it is NOT great literature by any standard. Pretty dull, actually.

What makes it a great read is how seriously it takes itself, and seeing how completely history has proven its ideas to be utter rubbish. Yet it still remains the core of the Progressive vision, even today, though most Progressives are not aware of that fact.

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

Did you know that Edward Bellamy's cousin, also a socialist, wrote the Pledge of Allegiance?

[Maceman]

I knew that the Pledge was written by a socialist, but hadn't realized it was Bellamy's cousin.