Rebecca Reads » international politics

Jerusalem: The Eternal City by David Galbraith et al

Rebecca Reid — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:02:22 +0000

Geographically, anthropologically, archaeologically, historically, politically, and above all religiously, the city of Jerusalem is a fascinating city. In Jerusalem: The Eternal City, David Galbraith, D. Kelly Ogden, and Andrew Skinner provide an overview of the city, focusing on the many different aspects of Jerusalem’s past, its present, and the potential for the future, specifically from the perspective of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).

Jerusalem: The Eternal City, then, has a very specific audience. It is not a universal book about Jerusalem, and its limited audience does give the book some flaws. When I read this book ten years ago, prior to my own experience in Jerusalem, I was in love with everything to do with the city and its history, and this book got me more than a little excited to walk the streets of Jerusalem myself. Despite the flaws, I still enjoyed rereading Jerusalem: The Eternal City, and it reminded me of my time there.

Some of the flaws might be considered strengths. The ancient sections about the city rely almost exclusively on Biblical histories, and for those who want a scriptural overview of Jerusalem’s history, Jerusalem: The Eternal City amply provides that. The sections on modern political situations and possible solutions, while very interesting and seemingly balanced, did seem immature from my own immature political perspective. Of course, because the book is now 15 years old, such political perspectives may simply outdated. Each of the later chapters focused on a different part of recent history (political, religious, etc.) and were therefore repetitive about some historic events.

Finally, as a religious person myself, I did enjoy the religious perspectives of the book, but found myself hoping for more anthropological and archeological history in addition to the religious details. I think anyone approaching this book needs to understand that it’s a religious history and discussion before anything else. It’s not meant to balanced.

For me, the most interesting sections were those on Jerusalem at the Meridian of time (how the city was during the life of Christ) and the subsequent history of Jerusalem during the nearly two millennia that followed. (It started feeling repetitive during the discussions of the 1800s and after.) It was fascinating to see how three different dominant religions found the land and that specific city central to their faith. The later chapters, about possible religious futures for the city were, from a religious perspective, very interesting, and I liked reading the collection of scriptures about the city, all in one place.

Finally, because I had the opportunity to stay in the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, I was fascinated to read how such a center came about. I also have a separate book about the Center (Grafting In: A History of the Latter-day Saints in the Holy Land by Steven W. Baldridge), and I liked how Jerusalem: The Eternal City had the Center’s history condensed into one chapter. What I enjoyed about this history is how the Center was built into the land, and that the entire purpose to the center is historical and religious education (for college-aged American Christians) and unification of people and personality. It is right on the border between the West Bank and the city of Jerusalem, and when I lived there, the Center employed both Arabs and Jews, as well as Christians, a highly unusual arrangement. I am not sure that my 19-year-old self realized how unusual it was to have Arabs and Jews working side by side in the cafeteria in a West Bank educational center.

Since I read Jerusalem: The Eternal City as a reminder of my six to eight weeks living in Jerusalem (we also spent some time in Galilee, Jordan, and Egypt, although Jerusalem was our base), I think it might be appropriate to share some of my photos of the most beautiful city on earth. (A rabbi said that whoever has not seen Jerusalem in all its splendor has never seen a beautiful city in his life, quoted on page 2).

I used a dozen rolls of film when I was there. In retrospect I wish it had been the age of digital photography, since then I’d have taken more than twice as many photographs!

(Note: Click on a picture to see it larger. I scanned these pictures from the prints I have; they are out a bit fuzzy and somewhat out of focus. I was not a photographer and my camera was not an impressive one.)

The Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies (where I lived for 8 weeks). Hebrew University can be seen in the background.

The Western Wall

My study abroad group at the Dome of the Rock (I am in the second row for the bottom, sixth from the left)

View of the City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Golgotha in two different seasons (the top is June when I left the area, the bottom is from April when I first arrived)

The Garden Tomb (my favorite retreat)

Me at the Garden Tomb

I read Jerusalem: The Eternal City in May and the first half of June as my project book.

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Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle

Rebecca Reid — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:58:39 +0000

I don’t normally read memoirs, but I’m finding that I really love to read political or journalistic memoirs when they are in graphic novel form. They are a fast read, and I learn so much about a different country’s political situation in a new perspective. I love that I can see the country via a comic. Of course, the danger of reading a political memoir is that it is obviously skewed toward one person’s perspective: I cannot see the entire picture.

In the case of Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, Guy Delisle’s perspective may be one of the few such memoirs of a visit to North Korea. Although I knew that North Korea was a communist nation, the facts that Delisle shares of his two months working there are quite astonishing. It’s hard to believe that such a dystopian country exists contemporary to my own. For the less ignorant, Pyongyang won’t be a shock. Regardless, the comic reads like a novel, and I’m glad for the glimpse into a world I didn’t quite know existed as such.

I wondered a little bit, as I read, if Delisle had this book in mind when he began his trip. The novel he decides to bring with him is George Orwell’s 1984, and he seems to seek out edgy things to say and do. Yet, maybe it was hard not to. Pyongyang the city had no entertainment and as a new visitor, I’m sure I’d likewise be clueless. Before reading this, I didn’t realize that Orwell’s 1984 was a reality in a nation on the earth.

The similarities between 1984 and the North Korean world Delisle portrays are striking. Here are just a few things that seemed right out of Orwell:

Pictures of Big Brother on the walls (i.e., Kim and Kim Jr.).
“Volunteers” cutting the grass with a sickle.
Restaurants named with numbers.
A classroom of cookie cutter children playing the accordion perfectly (as depicted on the cover).
The lack of entertainment.
The lack of contact with the rest of the world.
The sense of country-worship Delisle’s guides obviously express.
The lack of any disabled people.
The fact that everyone informs on everyone else as “spies.”

It was rather scary and certainly uncomfortable. This is today. This is not a dystopian novel!

Although the political situation was uncomfortable, the graphic novel as a whole was actually quite funny. Delisle was bored, so he found things to do. And he had some great discussions with his guide and his translator. I loved the scene where he asked his translator what he thought of the novel he’d lent him (1984). Oh my, did that man hurry to return the novel. “I don’t like science fiction!” he exclaimed, sweating profusely. I do wonder, though, if North Korean authorities are going to find that man and make him pay for that simple appearance in this novel (similar to the aftermath of newspaper photos of Tiannaman Square). It worried me.

In the end, it was a great read. I learned about the world but I also was entertained. I enjoyed the artwork too. It helped me see this world that seems to foreign from my own.

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The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington

Rebecca Reid — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:19:27 +0000

In The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Samuel P. Huntington attempts to define the post-Cold War world. His conclusion is that, instead of an “us” and “them” approach to world politics, we must view the world as that of many civilizations, including mainly the West (generally Christian), Sinic (Chinese), Islamic, Hindu (Indian), and Japanese civilizations. Observing the world and predicting future encounters, therefore, revolves around the dynamic political relationships among these civilizations.

While this was an incredibly challenging book for me to get through*, I am incredibly glad I persevered. While I of course was familiar with the Cold War relations between USSR and the USA, I hadn’t seriously considered the state of the world after the Cold War. Huntington’s book is quite interesting, although it is dated. Because it was written in 1995, I found myself wondering many times how 9/11 changed the face of the world in terms of his philosophies.

In some respects, I think 9/11 may have been a direct result of exactly the issues Huntington addresses. Western civilizations like the USA did not comprehend the significance of Islam and/or expected Islamic countries to both modernize and Westernize. Also, Western civilizations assume “Western” ways of thinking are superior to other civilization traditions. This simply adds to the conflict between the civilizations, and it makes sense that the rising generations of the civilizations grow up relatively “anti-Western.”

On the other hand, Huntington does not address terrorism and terrorist states much at all. I kept thinking something was missing in his picture of the world: where do terrorists fit in the picture of world civilizations and developing states? Is the world really just a collection of civilizations and states surrounding those civilizations? What about the rouges?

I’ve read the book, and there is a lot in it. I don’t feel qualified to say whether or not I agree with Huntington, or whether or not his arguments are sound. As an amateur (i.e., not a political science academic), I found it very interesting, albeit overwhelming. I also don’t want to start a political debate: I really don’t know what I’m talking about. I was interested in this book and I still am interested in the concepts.

I now wish to learn, for comparison purposes, what the other political theories are in this post-Cold War era. Huntington wrote his book in the 1990s, just between the Cold War and this new age, whatever it has become. Even more, I want to know what the post-9/11 theories are. Can anyone suggest a book that might help me on that endeavor? While I’m not sure I’m up to it this month, I certainly want to learn at some point in the future. I hope that reading more political theory might make political theory in general less overwhelming.

I read this for the World Citizen Challenge. It certainly helped me appreciate my place in terms of world politics! The parts I most appreciated were his exploration of the difference between Westernization and modernization. It was important for me to see how my way of life is starkly different from that of many other civilizations simply because I’m Western, and Western is not necessarily better. I also appreciated the history Huntington discussed because it helped me understand his arguments a little better; I’m not familiar with political theory, but history I enjoy.

*My husband studied politics and economics as an undergraduate; he says this is actually a very easy book of this type to read. Nonetheless, I struggled.

Other Reviews:

If you have reviewed The Clash of Civilizations on your site, leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it here.

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Daughter of Destiny by Benazir Bhutto

Rebecca Reid — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:00:41 +0000

Bhutto’s autobiography, Daughter of Destiny (published in 1988 as Daughter of the East), tells a completely unique story. Bhutto was the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country (Pakistan), and she first went through years of struggle, including years of solitary confinement, before she could be an example of democracy.

Much of her autobiography was written prior to 1988, before she was elected prime minister. She says she wrote it “to set down the record of the brutal Martial Law regime of General Zia ul-Haq” (page 374). The remainder of her book shares how she was briefly allowed to serve the country and restore some democratic freedoms before a dictatorship again gained control of the country.

Despite all the drama with which Bhutto wrote, for much of the time I was reading, I fundamentally didn’t understand the import of resisting the regime. From my couch in the USA, it seemed to be an unnecessary, violent political struggle. Then I read a letter Bhutto received from a political prisoner:

I prefer to be hanged than live under the oppressor. To give in is not our principle. We are not ready to call a donkey a horse, or black or white, out of fear of Martial Law. (page 276)

I finally understood a little bit what it meant to live under a dictator: it meant denying what you know to be true because you’re threatened.

That type of understanding is why I read about the histories of other cultures. I feel I cannot relate at all: I live in a peaceful country and have my entire life. Bhutto’s story is one of a country that had been (relatively) peaceful her entire life (for she was born into an independent Pakistan), until a military dictator took over the democratically elected government and established military rule.

Benazir Bhutto shares her passion for Pakistan, the people of Pakistan, and democracy in her autobiography. I only wish it were better told: Daughter of Destiny had serious flaws that made it a frustrating read.

Destiny and Choices

Because Benazir Bhutto was born into a wealthy family, she was given many opportunities as a Pakistani and as a woman. She learned about democracy and she became a role-model for women, showing them that they can make a difference. She reminded me of Katharine Graham’s role as a woman in power (which I read about in Graham’s autobiography Personal History, reviewed here), and also of Nelson Mandela’s fight for freedom and basic rights (which I read about in his autobiography A Long Walk to Freedom, read in pre-blogging days). Mandela, too, was wrongly imprisoned for many years, all while being a leader of an illegal political organization.

But of course Benazir Bhutto’s story is far different from these other two individuals. Bhutto reiterates throughout her book that she was “destined” to be a leader. In some respects, I agree. Her father was a politician and eventually prime minister, thus encouraging her interest in the subject. However, Benazir Bhutto had choices. She chose to study politics, while her sister did not and her brothers became terrorists. When Bhutto knew that she would be going to jail, she stayed and faced the dictator; many people did leave the country. No, Benazir had choices: her life was not destined. She chose to walk in dangerous paths.

Problems with the Text

Unfortunately, despite the fascinating subject matter, I found Daughter of Destiny to be horribly written.

Most of the book jumps from past to present tense, using flashbacks. Yet, even the flashbacks are not consistent or clear. Even without tense shifts, her thoughts are all over the board. In some places, it seems she can’t remember what the focus of a chapter is (was there ever a focus?). She desperately needed an editor or ghost writer to help her gain structure.

I also disliked how many of the dramatic events were told as if the book were a memoir. Bhutto included very specific conversations that dragged for multiple pages, complete with character actions and overly staged emotions. I feel the story would have been dramatic without the added details, so this was rather painful to read. I wished for a more straight-forward “this is my life” account, rather than a dramatic attempt to convince me that the politics of a dictator are bad.

My last criticism is that Benazir Bhutto complained a lot. Of course, this is a political biography of a political person. I didn’t realize until page 376 (as quoted above) that her main purpose was to show the wickedness of the Zia dictatorship; I thought I was reading about her life. In that sense, then, this book was a very negative portrayal of her life: every horrible thing that happened to Benazir was General Zia’s fault. I felt she failed to take responsibility for things that really were her choice. Of course General Zia made life challenging, but he didn’t make every small choice for her.

Politics Are Hard for Me

I enjoyed reading this book, but I struggle very much with these types of books: I find myself very angry with the U.S. government’s choices, and I wish something else could have been done.

In this particular case, I also found myself angry with Benazir Bhutto’s biases, especially about her father. She venerates him through the book, even considering that when he was prime minister in the 1970s, he began a nuclear program. I thought this was quite strange, considering his greatly impoverished country needed education (and basic rights!) for women and girls. It was odd to me that Benazir didn’t see the strangeness of that political decision in the midst of the Cold War. I’m not convinced her father was the wonderful leader she always claimed him to be.

I’m also not convinced that Benazir was necessarily a great political leader. Not that she was a bad one, but I felt I wasn’t getting all the story. It confused me that the Bhutto family always led. While their family obviously had the financial means, it seemed undemocratic for the leadership to default to the wealthy widow or child of the previous leader. Rich heiresses (or heirs) do not necessarily make good democratic politicians. Even when Benazir wrote her political will in 2007, she requested that her husband take over the party. That seems odd and inappropriate to me: throughout this book he never had political inclinations. He is now president of Pakistan. Does this seem odd to anyone else?

All that said, I’m glad for Bhutto’s leadership in the country when they desperately needed a democratic leader. I am very glad that Obama is expressing support of Pakistan’s democracy, and I hope the democracy can last. Pakistan needs support if this democracy is to be sustained: the country seems rather susceptible to military dictatorships.

Why I Read It

When Myrthe mentioned the Global Voices Book Challenge, I decided to join. The concept of the challenge is to read a book, fiction or nonfiction, about a country that you have never read about before by April 23. I chose to read about Pakistan; although I read Three Cups of Tea last year, that was mostly about the American. I also didn’t finish by April 23. So I cheated.

All that said, I’m glad I took the time to read this, even though it was poorly written. I learned a lot, and I’m all the more interested in the region.

Benazir Bhutto also recently wrote Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, this time with the help of professional writer (thank goodness!). I’ve read that it’s a rebuttal to Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, which I’m currently reading. I look forward to her thoughts.

Can you recommend a nonfiction book about Pakistan and/or Afghanistan? I’m interested in reading more about the region.

I read Daughter of Destiny for the Global Voices Book Challenge and for the World Citizen Challenge (“Biography”).

Other Reviews:

If you have reviewed Daughter of Destiny or Daughter of the East on your site, leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it here.

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Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth

Rebecca Reid — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:10:51 +0000

I can finally recommend something related to the Three Cups of Tea story.

Remember how I hated listening to the audiobook of Three Cups of Tea, which felt like a journalistic report despite being called a memoir? My mother loved Three Cups of Tea and thought it was wonderful, so I enlisted her help in writing my post for Rebecca Reads: I shared a Counterpoint post, with each of us writing our thoughts of the book.

Long story short: The issue of my “hating” Three Cups of Tea was revived last week by someone who wasn’t so happy with my very scathing review. Hate, apparently, is too strong a word, considering Greg Mortenson is in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize. (FYI, apparently more than 100 people are nominated each year.) Despite that, I still thought that the character described in the book is not a likeable person: he’s a bit too flighty for me to trust with my money. Besides, the book dragged along with horribly unnecessary details. I had to reiterate to my visitor that I have no intention of rereading Three Cups of Tea, but if the story were completely rewritten I may revisit the issue. (I said, “If Greg’s story is rewritten by a different author in a completely revamped structure, I may consider revisiting it.”)

Well, it has been rewritten. Twice.

Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth is a children’s picture book, told from the perspective of the children of Korphe.

First the children tell us a bit about their life:

We make our own games, and we make our own toys.

Then they tell us that before their school was built, they had lessons outside.

We wrote with sticks, on the ground.

Then they tell how a stranger stumbled in to their village, cold, hungry, and sick. They helped him get better and, because he was trained as a nurse, he helped the sick people of Korphe get better.

For those of you who know the story of Three Cups of Tea, you’ll know that “Dr. Greg,” as he was known, asked Haji Ali how he could help the people of Korphe. Haji Ali told him to “listen to the wind,” and Greg decided that what he needed to do most was build a school for the children of Korphe. Of course, he then returns to Korphe a year later and the people of the village all help him build a bridge and a school.

The story is perfectly put together. There are no extraneous details: no tales of Greg sleeping in his car, no horribly boring details about Greg’s girlfriend dumping him, no details that show that Greg is horribly foolish. The fact that he arrives with supplies for the school before recalling the need to make a bridge becomes part of the story – not an annoying “duh! Didn’t you know better?!” moment, as it felt in Three Cups of Tea.

In the end, I loved the story because of the children of Korphe, which is what I thought Three Cups of Tea should have been about in the beginning. The person of Greg Mortenson was not all that interesting to me: the children who went to school on the ground should always have been the theme.

Sample page from Listen to the Wind, Courtesy Amazon

The illustrations are collages, which I personally liked but may be an acquired taste. In the afterward, the illustrator clarifies that, since the art (for example, the hats) of Korphe uses recycled goods from the West (such as broken zippers and stray computer chips), she used recycled papers for her pages too.

I disliked one thing about the book, and that was the supernatural “Listen to the Wind” theme. It was a bit odd. The book ends with “We are the children of Korphe. Can you hear our voices? Listen to the wind…” It just felt like a weird ending.

The afterward provides photographs and further details about Korphe and Three Cups of Tea, ending with this statement:

A penny in the United States doesn’t even buy a piece of gum, but in Pakistan and Afghanistan, one penny buys a pencil, and one dollar funds one child’s education for a whole month.

That gives me chills. I now want to donate to the cause, something that Three Cups of Tea completely turned me off to.

To fund one child’s education for a whole month for just $1, visit http://www.penniesforpeace.org.

I highly recommend Listen to the Wind. If you could not get through Three Cups of Tea, I don’t blame you: but give this one a try. The story is inspiring!

I also have the new “Young Reader’s” edition on reserve at the library; I’m hoping it is likewise more approachable than the original Three Cups of Tea.

If you have reviewed Listen to the Wind on your site, leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it here.

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Three Cups of Tea: Counterpoints (Guest Post)

Rebecca Reid — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:00:29 +0000

I disliked Three Cups of Tea; my mother loved it. Read our counterpoints.

Hated It

By Rebecca Reid of Rebecca Reads

I heartily disliked listening to the 800+ minute audiobook of Three Cups of Tea by David Oliver Relin.

To begin with, I disliked the horrible writing, which was full of extraneous details and parenthetical thoughts, as well as cheesy comparisons (“Mortenson sat on a boulder and drank from his water bottle until it was empty. But he couldn’t drink in enough of this setting.”). Or maybe my boredom stemmed from the never-ending tangents away from Greg’s Pakistan story (such as his girlfriend dumping him). Also, I disliked Three Cups of Tea because it read like a report, not a memoir. Despite Greg’s name on the cover, the story was in the third person. Recollections are told by a researcher (“he says, five years later” and “she says, her eyes filling with tears”). This journalistic approach to what could have been impressive made this story drier with each and every insignificant detail.

Ultimately, I disliked this book because of Greg Mortenson, who I failed to like for the beginning 600 minutes of narration. Yes, he was compassionate. But because he lacked common sense, to me he appeared to be a clueless loser with good luck.

In the early 1990s, middle-aged Greg worked part-time to save for climbing adventures. When Greg fails to summit K-2 and those in a remote village in Pakistan save his life, Greg promises to build them a school. In the USA, he lives in his car to save money. Not knowing how to use a computer or to fundraise the requisite $12,000, he typewrites letters to celebrities for months. Then he meets a wealthy scientist who not only funds Greg’s promised school but wills $1,000,000 to Greg in the form of a new Pakistan school-building humanitarian organization. But Greg is no business man: when funds get low, he chases possible donors across the USA, and his own employees quit because he disappears for weeks at a time without contact.

Back in Pakistan, Greg, who despite having funds still lacks common sense, does foolish things. For example, he buys building supplies before remembering he’d first need a bridge to get them to the village. In 1996, he was abducted by Taliban operatives because he traveled alone, despite advice not to. After 9/11, he goes to the Afghan border “just to see what will happen.” Despite his scatter-brained ways, he somehow succeeds in building schools, bridges, and women’s centers.

The story post-9/11 was slightly more interesting, and I learned much about Muslim-American relations from a new perspective. Greg’s attempts to rekindle peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan were applaudable, and I stopped disliking him as much. However, there is subtle comparison of Greg to Mother Teresa, which I still felt was inappropriate.

Greg has compassion on the uneducated of Pakistan, and he does promote peace towards the Muslim world post-9/11. The children of Pakistan certainly do need an education. But personally, I found Greg’s story uninspiring overall because, despite his obviously compassionate heart, Greg mostly seemed to lack common sense.

Loved It

By Ellen Sorenson

Ellen Sorenson has a Ph.D. in English and she teaches middle school English. She also happens to be Rebecca’s mother.

Sometimes we read a book to enjoy the perfection of the language; sometimes we are enthralled by the intricacies of the plot; and sometimes we are inspired by a story that must be told. Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin was, for me, such a story. I was reminded of a character in Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country — a woman who, when thanked for her service responds, “what are we born for?” Surely Greg Mortenson knows what he was born for. Lost while climbing Pakistan’s treacherous K2, he wandered half-frozen into the remote village of Korphe, where the impoverished people nursed him back to health. Whereas other climbers had visited the village and never returned, Mortenson was determined to keep his promise to build a school for the people who had saved his life.

It was a promise he was supremely ill-equipped to keep. He was without adequate organizational skills, financial resources, or personal connections. Yet he somehow managed to raise the necessary $12,000 in America, purchase materials in Islamabad, and transport them through corruption, bureaucracy, and bands of roving militants nearly as challenging as the poorly developed mountain roads he had to navigate.

His one school in Korphe has been followed by dozens of others, in addition to pipelines and wells to bring fresh water to villages, women’s workshops and community centers, and health education. Education for girls is the single most important factor in reducing poverty, abuse, and child mortality in developing nations. For the boys of Pakistan, it provides an alternative to the Taliban-sponsored madrasahs, where hatred and violence are served along with three meals a day.

According to Haji Ali, Village Chief of Korphe, in Pakistan, “[we] drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family.” Reading Three Cups of Tea, I was reminded that I am a member of the human family. And though I have not shared a cup of tea with the people of a distant land, perhaps I can share something. Mortenson’s bridge to Korphe spanned more that the gorge beneath it; it spanned warring cultures, and his work suggests that perhaps the war on terror is not won by bullets, but rather by love, education, and a shared cup. I was left to wonder, if Greg Mortenson, with his inept ways, can make a difference in the world, what can I do?

One group of American school children raised 62,345 pennies for Mortenson’s efforts. That’s enough money to buy two or three nice ipods, or 5% of the cost of a school for the children of Pakistan.

It is a book worth reading.

Visit threecupsoftea.com, gregmortenson.com, the Central Asia Institute, and Pennies for Peace for more information on the book and how you can help in Pakistan.

What did you think of Three Cups of Tea?

Other Reviews:

If you have reviewed Three Cups of Tea on your blog, leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it here.

ETA (February 27, 2009): Hey folks, I have closed comments on this string.

As with most books, Three Cups of Tea has proven to be a divisive book: many people like it and many people hate it. Many people recommend it as required reading because of it’s good message, while others can’t get past the first 100 pages for sheer boredom or disgust at the writing. This post, set up as a Counterpoint, attempted to illustrate the two points, and I think the comments have only turned my attempt to be balanced into an argument, which was never my purpose. I’m very sorry we could not just all be nice, especially while talking about a book about peace-making.

Please note that since I wrote this review in October, I have read dozens more books, some I liked a lot and some I haven’t liked at all. I’d love for you to share your thoughts on those books!

–Rebecca

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Speeches of Winston Churchill

Rebecca Reid — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:11:40 +0000

I am not very familiar with the political situation before, during, and after World War II. But after reading the best speeches of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, I am impressed that his powerful, confident speeches were a deciding factor in the perseverance of the United Kingdom through the trying times of World War II. I loved reading his political speeches: though my situation is different, his powerful words buoy me.

I’ve decided read all of the Nobel Prize for Literature winners, a goal I solidified by joining the Read the Nobels challenge. I was surprised to see Winston Churchill’s name on the list of winners. Obviously, I knew the name, but I was not familiar with his writing. I decided to approach his writing firstly through his well-known speeches.

Churchill’s Speeches

Unlike many modern politicians, Sir Winston Churchill had no speech-writing staff: he wrote his own speeches. His secretary claimed,

In the case of his great wartime speeches, delivered in the House of Commons or broadcast to the nation, [Churchill] would invest approximately one hour of preparation for every minute of delivery.” (Editor’s Preface, xxv)

That means 30 hours of “dictation, rehearsal, and polishing” for a 30-minute speech. Churchill’s care is apparent in his speeches. He has phenomenal control over the English language. I found myself impressed with his powerful words; I want to be a writer like he is! (His writing was much more inspiring to me as a writer then a certain “how to write” book was for me recently.)

History vs. Current Events

Reading political speeches from 50-100 years ago again reminded me, as I’ve mentioned, that I appreciate history much more than current events. I loved the perspective of recent history as I read Churchill’s speeches about the Boer War, World War I, the time between the wars in which Germany began to rearm, World War II, and the beginnings of the Cold War, all speeches he gave from various positions in government.

Being unfamiliar with World War II from the British perspective, I was surprised by the repeated warnings in the 1930s from Churchill, an unpopular Member of Parliament, about the re-arming of Germany. For example, take this beautiful quote, from 31 May 1935:

It would be a folly for us to act as if we were swimming in a halcyon sea, as if nothing but balmy breezes and calm weather were to be expected and everything were working in the most agreeable fashion. By all means follow your lines of hope and your paths of peace, but do not close your eyes to the fact that we are entering a corridor of deepening and darkening danger, and that we shall have to move along it for many months and possibly for years to come … (page 114)

The sense of foreboding is eerie, reading it so many years after the fact.

Giving Hope (Along with Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat)

When war did come, Churchill was thrust into the role of Prime Minster. Rather than saying “I told you so,” as he rightly could have, he instead gave hope through his powerful words. In his first speech to Parliament as Prime Minister on 13 May 1940, his voice is solemn and trembling. As always, he seems to have a little lisp as he speaks. But his dedication to Britain is unwavering, and the hope he instills through his words gave me the chills:

In this crisis I hope I may be pardoned if I do not address the House at length today … I would say to this House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”

(In a later speech, he adds that he’s also sure he’ll offer a few mistakes along the way too!)

He continues:

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crim. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. Let that be realized; no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, “Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.” (emphasis added, page 206; listen here via Online Speech Bank)

A few days later, he speaks publicly via the radio. His voice is upbeat and full or hope and energy. He obviously desires to instill hope in the hearts of those in the midst of war when he calls upon them to

Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict (page 209; listen here)

The front is broken in Belgian, and 338,000 Allied troops are miraculously evacuated. He warns against pride in that matter, for the war would continue until victory, as he’d mentioned before:

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

His speeches, especially in those first years of the war before America joined the fight, are full of such power. These are but a few of his powerful words.

A notable non-war speech was “The Sinews of Peace” given in 1946, which has been named “The Iron Curtain” speech. Again, I was intrigued by the apparent vision Churchill had for what was to come in the future and reading these so many years after the fact was fascinating.

Reading Churchill’s Speeches

I approached Churchill’s speeches through Never Give In!: The Best Speeches of Winston Churchill, which was edited by Sir Winston S. Churchill’s grandson of the same name. You could certainly read the eight-volume set of his complete speeches, but the 500-page volume was sufficient for my needs. I can’t say whether Never Give In! was truly the best representation of Churchill’s speeches, as these are the only ones I’ve read. However, I enjoyed the brief historical context before each speech; it helped me gain the context. I also felt that there were few gaps in the history of Churchill’s career and I liked that. Were these the best of the best? I don’t know. But I certainly enjoyed them.

You can purchase, via Audible, an audio abridgment of this book read by the grandson. Alternatively, many of the well-known speeches are transcribed at The Churchill Centre.

I loved Churchill’s writing. Next, I intend to read his memoirs of World War II, although I’m hesitant to read all six volumes. Churchill abridged it himself into 1,000 pages, but I wonder if that feels complete. Have you read those memoirs? What do you think?

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Political Reading

Rebecca Reid — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:00:08 +0000

As I mentioned recently, I minored in “International Studies” in college. I took courses in political history, U.S. international relations, anthropology, and sociology. I also took one economics class, but I don’t recall a thing about it. My minor was too broad, because I don’t remember very much, and it’s only been five years. I also didn’t read well.

When people started mentioning magazines they read for Weekly Geeks, I realized that I used to read The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, and other political newspapers and magazines on a regular basis. Since graduation, I haven’t read them. But I greatly enjoyed political subjects: Why don’t I make time to read those things?

For me, this goes back to my ability to read. I’ve lost my attention span and I’m caught up in the quickness of Internet articles: why read the news when I can skim the headlines? It takes a large attention span to read Foreign Affairs, and I was ashamed that it was hard to read through an article by Secretary of State Condelezza Rice at first glance. I had to force myself to concentrate. I certainly shouldn’t find it so challenging: I studied these kinds of things in school!

Something Condelezza Rice wrote stuck with me:

We know that today’s headlines are rarely the same as history’s judgments.

I think my problems with reading newspapers stem from the fact that I’m not interested in “today’s headlines.” I’m much more interested in the big picture, the entire history of these things. My courses were mostly looking at the history of various political issues, not the modern-day situations, although those were an aspect of the courses I took.

I feel the need to read and study the events in the last 5-10 years of politics so I can understand where the world stands now. I feel very clumsy. And yet, I still don’t really look forward to “today’s headlines.” History’s judgments are so much more interesting.

Which do you find most interesting: today’s headlines or history’s judgments?

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Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

Rebecca Reid — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:32:06 +0000

While I loved reading Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood, I was not as impressed with Marjane Satrapi’s continued memoir, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return. Part of the problem was that while I liked the young girl striving to find herself, I no longer liked the angst-ridden teenager narrating the story of her foolish mistakes.

Persepolis 2 seemed to have two parts: one part of Marji living by herself in Austria, skipping classes, doing drugs, and otherwise feeling sorry for herself, and one part Marji returning to Iran and coming to terms with the challenging political situation and social repression that women face in that country. I liked the second part of Persepolis 2 much more than the first because it educated me on the environment women had to live in even in the late 1980s in Iran. While I certainly appreciated the story of her return to Iran and I was somewhat interested in her view of the challenges to a 20-year-old woman educated in the West suddenly thrust back in to a repressive environment, I honestly didn’t like her as a person. I was disappointed because I did like the young girl in Persepolis 1 who thought she was a prophet and longed to find her place with God and in her world. I realize every young teenager makes mistakes and I’m not criticizing that; I’m just sorry I bothered to read about it.

Persepolis 2, as a graphic novel, was intriguing, much like Persepolis 1 was. However, since I would never pick up a memoir of a teenager randomly wandering around Austria, I would never have picked up this book had it not been a graphic novel. When I say I didn’t like it, I say I didn’t like the story (i.e., her life), not that I didn’t like the way it was presented.

Ultimately, Persepolis 2 was not my type of memoir. It may be for you.

Other reviews (from people who probably liked it more than I did):

The Bluestocking Society
The Armenian Odar Reads (both books)

If you want, link to your review in the comments and I’ll add it here.

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Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Rebecca Reid — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:00:41 +0000

Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis:The Story of a Childhood was a delightful but heartbreaking memoir of a girl coming of age during the Iranian revolution and war, 1979-1983. Marji is just 10 when the Shah is overthrown and Iran is transformed into an Islamic state. Marji suddenly must wear a veil and hide her sneakers, which are too “Western.”

While there is nothing humorous about war, torture, and murder, Marji’s memoir of her experiences during this time is full of subtle humor. I loved the stories in which Marji and her family found humor despite their surroundings. (I don’t want to spoil it for you, so you’ll have to read it yourself.)

In Persepolis, Marji had to come to terms with who she was, and she had to reconcile herself with God. It was a beautiful story of growth, even in the midst of horrific war.

By reading Persepolis, I’ve joined the world of graphic novels readers (although can I tell you again how much I dislike that term?). I was amazed at how natural it felt to read in this format. I wasn’t sure if it would be quicker or slower than reading a non-graphic novel, but it was an interesting blend. The book itself was quite short, so I found it was very quick. Besides, as the cliché says “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and sometimes I found the pictures did shorten it wonderfully: they told us what we needed to know without having to explain it in many words.

For example, when her father explained that her grandfather was the son of the overturned emperor, the next box is thus (page 22):

The cursive writing and squiggly lines so perfectly capture the day dream. Explaining the same thing in words would have detracted from the strength of the day dream.

I guess my question for myself should be: would I have read Marji’s memoir if it wasn’t in the form of a graphic novel? Probably not. While I am very interested in history and international politics, Iran isn’t on the top of my nonfiction interest list these days. But I’ve very glad I did read it; it was an intriguing look into a life completely foreign to my own.

I’ve recently read All the President’s Men, and I think that would probably be better in graphic form. It was so horribly written and put together; reading it with pictures in place of words (i.e., Nixon getting more and more nervous; newspaper headlines in the background) would have been much more interesting or at least entertaining.

I am excited about the prospect of graphic books. Reading this was a different experience–just like listening to The Book Thief via audiobook was a different experience. But it is still reading! I believe now that you can’t say it’s not reading until you give it a try.

I look forward to reading Marji’s continuing story in Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return.

Have you read this? What did you particularly like about it? If you’ve never read a graphic novel, try it. It’s a nice change.

Other reviews:

The Bluestocking Society
The Armenian Odar Reads (both books)

If you want, leave a link to your review in the comments and I’ll add it here.

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