Books

Summary Towards the end of Franklin’s life, he decided to write down an account of his life, ostensibly for the edification of his son. His authorship was briefly interrupted by his involvement in the Revolutionary War, and unfortunately, it appears he wasn’t able to finish it before dying in 1790. We are left with a brief account of his family history and selected anecdotes from his life, all the way up to around 10 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. ...

Summary The gospel of philosophy according to Bertrand Russell begins at the dawn of historical records. In the beginning were the Pre-Socratics, who said many things. Then came the Platonists, who said fewer things, only to be surpassed by the Aristotelians, who said even less. When we arrive at the Middle Ages, folks were saying very little indeed. In the Dark Ages, a silence had broken out; it continued for quite some time, but alas, this state of affairs could not continue. Sooner or later, someone would start talking again. Literally crawling out of an oven, René Descartes presented a freshly baked philosophy to the world, which started the conversation again, and people haven’t stopped talking since. ...

Summary The moon has exploded, no one knows who done it, but scientists quickly figure out that it will spell the end of the world in approximately two years. Thoughts The first half of this book was nearly flawless. Positioned as a hyper realistic sci-fi similar to books like ‘Martian’, it faithfully, to a layman at least, describes what the experience would be like for people trying to survive in what could be described as a slightly improved international space station. The major thing that stuck out to me from the book was just how easy it was to sympathize with the characters’ predicament. This was in part a product of exemplary writing, but there was also something more. Something hauntingly familiar about the way the explosion of the moon occurred. I could easily imagine the way the story would propagate across our information superhighways. The neuronal synapses it would causes to fire, the horror, but also the detachment that would follow. This fictional series of events felt all too familiar for reasons that are difficult to explain. ...

Summary The first in a series of seven books, ‘Swann’s Way’ opens with reflections by a narrator on some of his earliest memories, one of which involves being visited by a man named Charles Swann. After a period of reflection, we begin to follow Swann, a man of society, as he eventually falls in love with a former courtesan named Odette de Crécy. The rest of the book chronicles the rise and fall of their relationship. ...

Summary Antoine Roquentin, an isolated aspiring biographer, inhabits Bouville (mud town) like a ghost. “Nausea” by Sartre is not so much a story as it is an attempt to let the reader have an experience. Roquentin’s alienation provides the space to observe, producing the typical results of social critique. Yet, he goes beyond this to grapple with the existence of things in general. Thoughts This book will have a very hit-or-miss reception among readers. It can be easily dismissed as another case of a melancholic Frenchman who needs to spend more time in the sun. When I picture Antoine, he is quite pale, so those readers would probably be correct. However, for my friends who don’t know when to stop asking questions, this book will give you a few more. ...

Summary Sapolsky is a biologist specializing in neurology. Ever since he was a child, he has been obsessed with primates, so shortly after graduating from Harvard, he travels to Kenya to begin his studies on a troop of baboons. His study focused on the effect that stress has on the development and overall well-being of a physical system and eventually spanned around 25 years, where he would spend four months in the field and the rest of the year analyzing his findings in the States. The book is separated into sections that align his own maturity with those of the baboons, such as adolescent, young adult, etc. With this handy narrative device, the reader is able to witness the maturation of the author simultaneously with his subjects. ...

Summary Written in 1844, Max Stirner aimed to stir-ner the pot. While teaching at a school for girls by day, he was a revolutionary writer by night. His publication of “The Ego and Its Own” necessitated his resignation from teaching, but earned him a spot among influential German thinkers. As a young man, Stirner attended lectures by Hegel before joining the ‘Young Hegelians’, a group that included Marx and Engels but eventually imploded due to disagreements - a common issue among philosophers. In “The Ego and Its Own”, Stirner seeks to open the reader’s eyes to the world’s workings. He argues that we are born into a body limited by materialistic constraints - we can’t fly, we need to eat, we must stay warm, etc. However, as we mature, we discover a limitless internal mind. This internal world, unbeknownst to us, has been populated with “spooks” or “ghosts” by society, religion, parents, etc. Since we are unaware of the origins of these ideas, we feel they are inviolable and real. Stirner aims to demonstrate that these are not real (in the sense of natural laws) and that surrendering our autonomy to these ideas is a mistake. He argues that all our ideals are egoists, working only for their advancement. Stirner poses the question: why work for another egoist when you can act independently? Beyond this, he suggests that human behavior, when examined, is ultimately driven by egotism. For example, why did person A donate to an orphanage? If you probe deeply enough, it appears that actions are motivated by perceived personal benefit. Stirner posits that there are only two ways to live: either as a conscious egoist or as one who believes they aren’t. Recognizing one’s egoism, according to Stirner, allows a person to cast off any “spook” or ideal like humanity, nation-states, etc., as soon as it no longer serves the individual. He argues that we are more than concepts and should not submit to them when they cease to serve us. Unlike Ayn Rand, he does not elaborate on what this approach might entail in practice. ...

Summary “The Denial of Death” is Ernest Becker’s pivotal contribution to the intersection of psychology and philosophy. Rooted in psychoanalytic insights, Becker presents a framework later known as Terror Management Theory, or TMT. The central premise is that to function, one must find a way to ignore or mitigate the central fact of existence: its inevitable end. Becker argues that humanity engages in various strategies to suppress or forget this reality. For example, someone might sacrifice their life for a concept like freedom or, alternatively, for avarice. In the first case, Becker suggests that dying for ‘freedom’ is an attempt to attach oneself to a concept larger than oneself, thereby achieving vicarious immortality as the concept of ‘freedom’ lives on. Similarly, in pursuing greed, a person operates under the conception of a certain cultural hero (e.g., the gangster, the successful stockbroker), seeking to become this hero for self-justification. Becker posits that no culture has, or probably ever will, avoid evading death’s implications. ...

Summary A mother tells a boy that he will be able to go to a nearby lighthouse. The father says that it is unlikely the boy will be able to go to the lighthouse because of bad weather. Ten years pass, the father finally takes the boy to the lighthouse. Thoughts As you can guess from the summary this is going to be one of those ‘modern’ books where nothing seems to happen. For some this will be a turn off, but if you find the endless twisting and turning of your mind during one of the thousands of mundane conversations that make up a life, then this book is for you. Similarly to Mrs. Dalloway, time and experience take on new meanings as a single day, seemingly chosen at random, is played out in intricate detail. The level of emotional data that is packed into everyday exchanges will be surprisingly to all but the most mindful. Woolf’s diaries indicate that she would spend hours listening to herself think, and the emotions that would arise as responses to external stimuli. She was able to bring this clarity to each of the characters in this book. Some take up more space than others, but with each, the reader feels like they are getting the unfiltered experience that the character themselves are having. Since Woolf is a modern writer, it is not good enough to watch someone do something, we must watch someone watching something be down. Being removed twice from anything is the price we must pay for this authentic experience. Whether the game is worth the candle will be up to each reader to decide on their own. I think it was, providing a unique way to convey emotion and setting. There are moods in this book that are difficult to find anywhere else, consider the following scene when we are briefly left without any narrator so the abandoned house itself takes up the thread: ...

Summary Llewelyn Moss, a small town welder, stumbles on a briefcase full of cash in the middle of the desert. Taking the briefcase triggers a series of events that forever links the fates of him, an aging sheriff, and a hitman. Thoughts This is the third Cormac McCarthy book I’ve read this year and it may be my favorite. He wrote it a year before The Road, you can see the two stories as connected in an interesting way, but more on that later. This book is one of McCarthy’s least “fancy” book, you aren’t going to get much of his unique pacing or Hemingway-esque prose that was prominent in his border trilogy. For some, this is a loss; for others, it’s a welcome relief. Llewelyn Moss, quickly revealed to be out of his depth, knows this yet persistently tries to convince himself and others of his capability. Sheriff Bell is of course, one of the men that are too old for this country, whenever the book switches to his perspective we are usually met with a memory or utter consternation at the direction the world seems to be heading. Bell is a sheriff that everyone would consider to be an “old timer”, but he secretly knows he is not. He’s got all the common sense of the older generation but can’t manage to have the same beliefs, and this bothers him to no end. Bell’s wife acts like Dante’s Beatrice, a guide and anchor to life that he would be completely lost without. The antagonist, Anton Chigurh, a representation of fate, the unyielding code, and the inevitable end, seamlessly weaves in and out of the narrative. He embodies the universe, one that defies reasoning through its own inexorable logic. ...