When the Light Goes

A short little book, short little chapters, a slight read. The book got savaged in reviews when it came out, but I enjoyed it. I identify with Duane and his late life crisis. He comes back from a trip to Egypt to find a new young secretary in his office, and the book revolves around his involvement with her and with his psychiatrist. A lot of raunchy sex--although that's not quite right since he has a lot of trouble with his arousal. It is an old man's fantasy, I guess, and it really leaves Duane disoriented. On top of it, he has heart problems and ends with open heart surgery. And he's still depressed, but there's something appealing about the dysfunction that is his life, his family, his friendships, and his towns. Probably Roth does a lot better in this territory, but then he's not nearly as funny as McMurtry. Parts of the book, even or especially when Ruth Popper dies, made me laugh out loud. Honor hits the nail on the head when she tells him that he never let anyone, including Karla, come close to him in his life, and maybe that's what makes him all the more appealing to me. In any case, I had to finish the book before I could move on to Rhino Ranch, which the reviews say brings the whole Thalia saga to a close.

Author: McMurtry, Larry

Date Published: 2007

Length: 195 pp

printn

A History of the Medieval World

It was an interesting listen, but in the end there was just too much information to digest in one book: from Constantine's conversion to the First Crusade. By the time we got to the first crusade, it seemed as though Bauer was racing through the material. But by coming on the back of Bury's book, I do feel that I have a better feel for the movement of the Germanic tribes, first out of the Baltic region to the Danube basin and the Black Sea, for those peoples that we have come to recognize as Gothic, and also for the northern people who moved across the Rhine--the Franks, the Lombards, the Alan, Allemany, Vandals, Suebi and the Saxons.

The material on China, Japan, Korea, India, and the Americas, while making the book comprehensive in scope, really seemed extraneous to the telling of the story, which really centered around Europe and the Mediterranean. And really, what it came down to, was one king following another king, trying to establish some kind of dynastic succession, whether in Byzantium or somewhere in Europe. The Germans seemed more resistant to the idea, dividing their lands among the sons to see who would come out stronger.

The whole idea of papal supremacy, developed during this time, was total bullshit, of course, made very clear when Otto came down from the Eastern German lands and established his own popes on the apostolic see in 964. I had thought of the Huns as sweeping out of the Asian steppes, but really they were a part of the whole political intriguing and scheming going on at the time. And as the Turks and the Mongols demonstrated, they were just one of many peoples to cross the steppes and appear on Europe's doorstep. But overall, it comes down as good story telling.

Author: Bauer, Susan Wise

Date Published: 2010

Length: 22hr 44min

Narrator: Lee, John