kingsoupnut

Nearly there...

I don't know why but sometimes when I get towards the end of a book I put it down for ages and don't finish it. Like I can be loving a book and just tearing through it then when I get to the last thirty pages or so I'll drag it out without fully realizing it. Does anyone else do that?

So I promised to let you know the deal. 

It was weird.

Basically Foyles opened its room for the event, at the top with glass walls overlooking the bookshop. It opened at 7.30 and was just a room with no seats and a table with wine and a table with the shortlisted books. 

I had gone solo as you know and after work was a bit tired on my feet, but I jumped in.

Sadly most people had come in quite large groups and it was hard to jump in as a stranger and make conversation without looking like a strange loner. I took the option of propping myself up next to a pillar with a glass of wine. I talked briefly with a guy who worked in publishing of sci-fi. I wanted to talk with him more because one day I hope to write my own fantasy/sci fi novel, but it didn't last long.

Luckily an older man saw my plight and took pity on me. We chatted for a good hour and it turned out he was a huge fan of collecting first editions. He told me how he'd ordered signed first editions of all of Ian M. Banks work just before he died and  was surprised he ever received them. I gathered they were the prize of his collection.

The event itself did not start until around 9.15 so we waited a long time. It then consisted of a couple of people giving speeches including the head of the award and Adrian Tchaikovsky and then it ended and the host told us we could all stay for more drinks until Foyles shut us down. I said my goodbyes and got off, still a bit surprised at the event as a whole. 

It's not that I didn't like it, I just didn't expect the sort of atmosphere there was. People seemed like they wanted to be seen to be in with a group of authors/publishers and I get the feeling that some of the authors were letting the attention get to their heads a little. Maybe I am naive to thing it would be otherwise, but strange nonetheless.

It was an experience, but not one I'm not likely to seek to repeat. 

Back on a laptop, oh yeah. 

Also been watching a load of Ripper Street recently on my phone and now all I wanna do is buy waistcoats and bowler hats. Why did they ever go out of fashion?

Nearly done with the brothers karamazov. Not sure if I'll leave much of a review, but it's just good to be back on BL.

Have a good one. 

On my phone it's harder to navigate. I've Moved to new place. This is my collection for the months ahead. When I've bought a laptop I'll be on here more frequently. Hope you're all enjoying your reads. I look forward to reading some reviews. Have a good weekend. 

+ Children of Time which I picked up, but isn't pictured as it's on the other side of the country to me currently. By the way anyone who is interested in British Social, political and economic history. Dominic Sandbrook, who's two books on 60s and 70s Britain are pictured, has a series airing at the moment on the BBC about the 80s. All 3 episodes are on Iplayer and I've found them not only enlightening, but also quite amusing. 

So I just found out the ACC award for this year is taking place in ten days time at Foyles bookshop in London and tickets are only £13 and still available. 

I've not read anything from the shortlist, but it's the 30th year anniversary. Do I go, do I not?

It's a classic for a reason. Brilliant characters, engrossing drama with the added benefit of interesting political, theological and philosophical sections. 

How can you not love something that constantly refers to people as scoundrels and sensualists? I may even start running around labelling people scoundrels for the most trivial things myself. It's too good of a word to be used sparsely, although I might not be able to pass off calling people sensualists, as unfortunate as that is. 

So I got to watching Starz's Black Sails recently and although I was hesitant at first, expecting it to be kind of corny, it soon grew on me and I've been binge watching it. The show has grown through the second season and I particularly like Toby Stephens as Captain Flint. (RLS' Treasure Island Captain Flint). I like how they have blended fictional characters in with the romanticized real life ones such as Blackbeard & Charles Vane.

Anyway all of this led me to start thinking about the history of the Caribbean and in particular piracy. From my initial wikipedia searches I found that information seems sparse, which is understandable, given that we're talking about 400 year old history, but I knew there would be someone out there that has written a solid, engaging history. 

And so I'm now at the point where I've just purchased 3 books from Amazon based on recommendations from varying places. David Cordingly's name kept popping up with his history Under the black Flag and his more recent Spanish Gold. Finally I stumbled upon Carrie Gibson's Empire's Crossroads. 

To be honest I'm sat here now and I'm thinking to myself, how have I left it so long to delve into piracy. Perhaps it's because it's typically romanticized for children, who can pretend to be adventurous, marauding captains with their plastic sword, pirate hat play set from the local toy shop.

Maybe because of this glamorizing of piracy in modern day society and the lack of reliable evidence available it's hard differentiate between what is legend or fantasy and what was real. Hopefully my three purchases will help enlighten me. 

Struggling. I'm only 45 pages in, but I can't shake the style. When I'm reading it I'm imagining someone telling a dramatic story over a wood fire to an infant. I understand that's the target audience and it's sort of a childhood, fantasy classic that evokes nostalgia but I read The Belgariad in adulthood and didn't really have the same issue.

Also having a hard time taking the main character seriously when his nickname Sparrowhawk (reminded me of Sparhawk from the Elenium) is cool, but then his real wizard name is just Ged.

Maybe I'm not giving it enough of a chance and I'm super busy with work and things going on in my private life, but it's a chore to read it at the minute. I'm giving it to page 100 and then I'm canning it. :(  

I can't decide what to read next. I've read two non-fiction history books on the bounce I can either continue with one of the following:

Pol Pot: The history of a nightmare - Phillip Short

An Unfinished life: John F. Kennedy - Robert Dallek

Or I can go back to fantasy fiction with an author I've been meaning to read something of for a while:

The Earthsea Quartet - Ursula Le Guin

What would you guys go for?

Slight spoilers in this review, I know a few of you want to read it so I tried to keep it minimal. For a book that attempts to address thousands of years of human history in 521 pages, it does a solid job. I loved the first 400 pages or so, It is written in a gripping way that is often missing in non fiction. I learnt a lot about the world and I would have given it five stars had its sections on the holocaust, the nazis and American foreign policy in the middle east not been limited.

It descends towards the end into page upon page of America shaming, essentially blaming it entirely for taking on Britain's imperial mantle in the middle east and destabilizing it further during the cold war. I agree that the US is responsible in part for destabilizing some countries in the region and that this has led to a rise in ultra nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism, but the way this is written it is almost as though it's an opinion piece at times. It feels like Frankopan has decided the US is to blame entirely and looks for evidence to back up his claims, rather than going in with an objective outlook and trying to assess the evidence without bias.

But my criticisms of the later sections of the book are not to say it is also not largely interesting. I learnt things about weapon sales and oil that I previously had no knowledge of and my understanding of countries such as Iran and Iraq has improved as a result. Sections on Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were equally enlightening. 

Where the book really shines is in its early history of the formation of the east, sections on the viking Rus, the Islamic golden age, the slave trade and the mongols are fascinating. I had no idea that the word slaves comes from the slavs as they were heavy victims of Viking enslavement. I had no idea the mongols spread further after the death of Genghis Khan and were largely responsible for rebuilding areas they had pillaged. I even had no idea that Islam was almost spread into Europe as a dominant religion at its height, only to be repelled in France and knocked back by Christendom.

I went for a drink with a friend yesterday and he said something along the lines of, "I don't understand anyone who doesn't find history interesting." I have to say when I read a book like this one filled from the start to the end with dramatic feats, brutal politics, vast empires and powerful individuals it is hard to see how people can so easily dismiss history. I have only ever learnt from my interest in history, it has only served to increase my knowledge of the world around me and to help me make sense of what is going on in the world and for that reason, books like this that are filled with so many insights should be a must read for everyone. 

I'll leave this with my favourite quote in the book. 'Britain's politicians and diplomats were not made of the same stuff as the Francis Drakes and the other magnificent adventurers who created the empire; in fact, they are the tired sons of a long line of rich men, and they will lose their empire.' - Mussolini to his foreign minister Count Ciano.

I'll keep it short because I'm hoping I can save it all for a review. Fantastic so far. 

I've stop/start read this book since May and only just finished it. I think that shows with the disconnected style of my review, but I gave it a shot, even if it's all over the place.

I'll start with a quote from page 67.

There could be no palaces and fine parks, no aqueducts and paved roads, and no soaring pyramids without the labor of thousands of people straining at subsistence level. All of the meso-American cultures built their capital, and their civilization, out of peasant sweat. 

As you can see life for the Mexica could be brutal if you didn't sit at the top. The author's argument in simplistic terms and to my understanding at the present time, is that the Amerindian people developed their society later than that of people of other continents because they discovered farming much later. Several tribes existed in various parts of what would become Mexico and at differing times some of these tribes came to dominate and influence culture. One such group believed that the sun needed the sacrifice of human blood in order to rise every day and so the practice of human sacrifice and eventually the cutting out of people's hearts (Mel Gibson's Apocalypto style) became imbedded into religious practice.

Fehrenbach argues that the Amerindian people were culturally and technologically stagnant for significant periods of time and once discovered by a technologically superior people, in this case the Spanish, It was inevitable that they would be exploited. This section of the book was my favourite. I found the story of Motecuhzoma and Cortez fascinating. Motecuhzoma saw the arrival of Cortez as the arrival of a sea god. I believe the story went that a white god was exiled and would one day return on some sort of sea beast. Low and behold when Cortez and his men arrived in ships, the Mexica leader put two and two together and got five.

He then bowed down to Cortez and let him essentially pillage his stores of all of his gold and didn't raise a hand to stop it. Tensions eventually boiled over with the people and Cortez's men gunned them down, before being encircled in a pyramid. They tried to flee at night lost the gold in a polluted lake, never to be seen again, and Cortez was vanquished, only to return again and massacre the Amerindians.

The Spanish then culturally obliterated the Amerindians enforcing slavery and catholicism on them, whilst pillaging their resources to send back to Spain for the monarchy. 

'The viceroyalty, after the middle of the sixteenth century, began to shape the entire public economy to support the flow of silver out of the country and back to spain. Meanwhile normal commerce stagnated and goods piled up and rotted.' page 224

The death toll was also massive from imported disease and punitive government. At an estimate there were 11 million Amerindians in the conquered regions in 1520. By 1650 only 1 million remained.

Fast forward to modern times and Mexico is formed after it gains independence from Spain, only to spiral into corruption and inept government after government. Revolution/coup one after another, until foreign interests start to see the stagnation and see an opportunity. Mexico then becomes a haven for British, American and French interests with some industries, such as oil, being purely owned by foreign companies without paying any tax. This was changed to a small rate of tax, before the oil industry was totally nationalized in modern times by Cardenas. The government ironed out a deal where it paid compensation for loss of property, which they ironically financed through US credit/loans. 

The books ends with the message that people endure and with endurance comes hope. But for me it's all a bit of a depressing and frustrating read. It's hard to stay emotionless and not see a country pillaged by ruthless business/nations and its own corrupt officials. The effects of colonialism were far reaching. You constantly begin to think there might be a light at the end of a tunnel for Mexico, only for someone or something to come along and snuff it out in a whirlwind of exploitation. Even through economics, situations arose in which politicians believed they were doing the best for their people only to then exacerbate existing gaps in wealth distribution as a result. There is a lesson in here about the dangers of total free market economics and a lack of state intervention and vice versa.

I was largely oblivious to the role countries like Spain have played in destroying cultures and subjecting people to their rule. This is why education in this country needs to include a broader selection of history and not focus on British history and very modern European history. I have a degree in the subject and I'm learning more through my own research than I was ever taught. 

Whether I accept Fehrenbach's conclusions is another thing. This books was republished in the 1990s and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the arguments have been rebuffed by modern research, but the fact is that this is my first foray into Mexican history and so I'm at this stage inclined to accept the conclusions it draws until I read further, should I choose to do so. Either way the history of Mexico is by and large a sad tale, a tale of what might have been for a country so rich in resources. Who knows what the future holds, but I hope one day it finds a way past chronic corruption, debt and inefficiency to develop into a strong economy. 

I found Hampstead heath today in the city and sunbathed amongst some tall grass and didn't see a soul for close to two hours. I had my ear plugs in and it was the closest I've been to total silence in as long as i can remember. Bliss. 

Managed to focus well during that time on this book too, which is always a plus. The story of Mexico, from colonialism onwards, sadly seems to be a downward spiral of corruption and ineptitude in government at all levels. Exacerbated by foreign interests capitalizing on its rich resources. Pretty much what I expected then. 

Can you blame me with a cover like that?

I think my immediate worry is that Brexit has galvanized the far right in other European countries into demanding their own referendums and an EU split is on the cards. I think for the safety and political stability of the world this shouldn't happen. One of the original reasons for the EU was to tie down Germany into a European community to stop it from going rogue and warmongering. (I know we have NATO and that should keep the peace, but still worrying political signs).

I think its just common sense that if someone like Russia steps out of line and invades the Crimea, a collective Europe in the strongest economic bloc in the world, can have a significant political effect through the use of economic sanctions. Britain/France/Germany on their own counts for a lot less. 

I wouldn't be surprised now if Scotland finally gets independence from Britain, which it should, and even if Northern Ireland started to doubt its connection with Britain. A possible unification of Ireland. It may be far fetched, but you have a scenario possible where Britain becomes Wales and England.

Just imagine this. The EU splits, Britain splits and Trump gets the presidency in the US. I bet Putin is rubbing his hands at the very thought that it could happen

I'm annoyed about the inadequacies of the political campaigns to inform people properly of the potential consequences of their votes. The whole thing seems to have boiled down to dubious stats seemingly pulled out of the air about immigration, budget and sovereignty. There were even people voting leave as a protest vote against the PM.

I think this is where my issues with democracy come to the fore in a controversial manner. I cannot advocate giving power to the people on issues with potentially negative, world changing consequences. We train thousands of PhD specialists every year in this country in far ranging subjects like politics, economics, law etc. An independent body of a hundred thousand or so experts with a deep understanding of the EU and its workings should be making decisions of this magnitude, not millions of people with vastly different motivations and knowledge & interest levels. It just seems so incredibly inefficient, even irresponsible to do so.

And i hope the pound stabilizes. If the cost of imports rises, the cost of living will rise for me in London and it might make living there unrealistic. I'll put an edit in here, I'm annoyed and perhaps being a tad dramatic, that's for you to decide, but regardless I'm going to the pub to drink this away. Have great weekends BL people!