American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

My most recent read is something I don't normally read about, history. I've never been a big history fan. I think it stems from my history class in high school. The teacher really didn't care, and therefore didn't make it something that interested me. However, living right outside of Washington D.C., you can't help but be inundated by history. I've become interested more and more by the founding fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson. The Jefferson Memorial is one of my favorites to visit. Recently, the hubby and I made a trip to Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. You can read about it and see  pictures of our visit at my other blog (click here). We loved our visit and learning more about our 3rd president. With our local Border's going out of business, we finally decided to pick up a biography about Jefferson.

We chose American Sphinx:  The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph Ellis since it was a well known biography of Jefferson and was a National Book Award Winner. This book examines several different time periods in Jefferson's life, starting with his time in Philadelphia, examining his life in France, his tenure as president, and ending with time in Monticello.

There are so many interesting tidbits in this book. We learn about his views on slavery. He was torn about ending slavery because he wasn't sure if the slaves would be able to properly incorporate themselves into American life. We learn about the establishment of his beloved University of Virginia, where he was adamant that it have no religious affiliation. We learn about his views on government. He preferred state rights and despised the Supreme Court. We learn about his love/hate relationship with John Adams and the letters they exchanged later in life.

This book was truly interesting and I learned a lot. It can be dense at times, especially when it comes to political dealings, but then it breaks into these wonderful sections about Jefferson's personal views on different topics, and that is what I really enjoyed. So, if you want to learn more about this founding father, I think this is a good place to start.

The Handmaid's Tale

I read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood at the suggestion of my dear hubby. He really likes this book, and now I can see why.

Imagine a world where the religious right are in power. There are few women able to bear children, and those that are able to are rounded up and are sent to a school to become a Handmaid.

Handmaid's are assigned to families, each lead by a Commander. Handmaids are expected to take part in a "ceremony" each month in an effort to produce a child for the family she is assigned to.

The story centers around the main character of Offred, a handmaid. This story moves back and forth from Offred telling of her experiences as a handmaid, her time at the school where she learned to become a handmaid, and the time before the religious Gileads took over the country.

I envisioned the main character living a normal life during something like the 80's, and then being forced into this servitude and living in a world that is a weird mix of the middle ages and modern times.

I think the main reason I like this book so much is because it reminds me a lot of 1984 by George Orwell. It's a world where people are being constantly monitored and whisked away to never be seen again if they did something displeasing to the regime.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you haven't read Margaret Atwood before. It is an interesting depiction of what our world could be like if our country was run as a Christian theocracy.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

For today's book review I bring you Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. I know, I know, I'm a little late jumping on the David Sedaris train, please forgive me.

Me Talk Pretty One Day is a collection of short stories about David Sedaris' life. It is divided into two parts. The first part includes several stories about his childhood growing up near the Research Triangle in North Carolina, from when he was older and in college, and post college. The second half of the book is focused on his time in Paris, France living with his boyfriend, Hugh.

I love short stories, and I was really entertained by the stories within this collection. Some of my favorite stories include "Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities", which is about David taking guitar lessons at the bequest of his father, and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and "Jesus Shaves", which are both about David talking French lessons while in France.

I think the thing I like most about this book is that it is so candid. He's honest about his drug use and his homosexuality. He is willing to share the awkward moments in his life in an honest and funny light. I'm now hooked. Our local Borders is going out of business, and I swiped up every David Sedaris book I could find. I look forward to reading his other collections and I highly recommend this book of short stories, especially if you want to laugh to yourself or out loud.

Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins

Today I bring to you Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life’s Origins by Robert M. Hazen. 

Creationists always think they can stick it to evolutionary biologists by going “haha, you can’t explain how life came into existence”.  Well, quite frankly, that is not the business we are in. Evolutionary biologists think about how life has changed over time. But, that doesn’t mean an evolutionary biologist should remain uneducated about the origins of life, which is why I decided to read this book.

Hazen is an astrobiologist in the middle of the current research investigating how life arose on earth. This book is in some ways a personal account about Hazen’s life and his personal quest, along with his colleagues, to figure out how life came to exist. He touches on several different aspects of origins research. He mentions the early work of Urey and Miller, the two scientists who really pioneered origins research. He talks about the competing theories of where life began, at the ocean’s surface with waves crashing against rocks in the presence of violent early atmosphere, or in the depths of the ocean, under extreme pressures at hydrothermal vents.  He ends with talking about how self-replication might have arisen, with plenty other topics in between.

Overall, this book was O.K. I certainly leave feeling more informed about origins research. I also like how he made this book personal to his experiences. A couple things I didn’t like. One was the technicality of the book. While I could understand it pretty readily due to my background in science, I have concerns that someone from the general public might have a hard time with it. The second, he seems to be an apologist to the religious. Even though he seems against intelligent design, on page 80 of the book he states “Isn’t it more satisfying to believe in a God who created the whole shebang from the outset—a God of natural laws who stepped back and doesn’t meddle in our affairs?” Why even evoke God if there are natural laws that explain the observations? Just stick to the science, man!!

Overall, this is a good read to start with if you want to begin to understand origins research. I just wish the author had kept the science and religion separate.