Mark Twain, Ron Chernow

 Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

Started: January 26, 2026
Completed: July 9, 2026
Recommendation: Highly recommended
Recommended By: Nobody
Media: Audio

Review:

It took a while to get through this book as it is so huge that I had to cycle through the library several times in order to listen to the whole thing.  I have a lot of respect for Chernow, but only the broadest of understandings of Twain.  My brother visited a Twain exhibit and brought back a book of his works which I have not yet read (though I had read Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Connecticut Yankee in my youth as well as other short stories like, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County").  What a knew of Twain you could fit in a thimble in comparison to this book.  I knew his era, but did not realize how many celebrities he knew all over the world--for that matter I was only vaguely aware that he had moved from Missouri to New York City.  I knew nothing of his wife or family (oddly, the last surviving member of which died only a few years before I was born) and had only heard peripherally about his interest in young girls (which seemed platonic from Chernow's perspective or at least only fantasy without any desire to actually act on his interest)--though disturbing in concept.  I was also completely unaware of his personal struggles and perspectives on religion.  I was aware of his role as a publisher from Chernow's Grant.  This book was so insightful and shed light on so much of Twain's life that I found it fascinating.

Night Flyer, Tiya Miles

 

Night Flyer:  Harriet Tubman and the faith dreams of a free people by Tiya Miles

Started: July 6, 2024
Completed: July 7, 2024
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: a New York Times list of upcoming books

Review:

I knew the outlines of Tubman’s story, but I knew neither the details nor the context.  This book offers both and is an interesting and approachable introduction to Harriet Tubman.  It is not thorough (surely there are other biographies for that), but it is complete and it focuses on Tubman’s active life bringing people to freedom.

A Great Improvisation, Stacy Schiff

A Great Improvisation:  Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Stacy Schiff

Started: 6/23/2024
Completed: 6/29/2024
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

deracinated -- uprooted from one's natural geographical, social, or cultural environment

obsequious -- obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree

Review:

I enjoy stories about John Adams.  This one makes John Adams look like a country bumpkin who gracelessly insulted Franklin despite Franklin being an overall great guy.  Schiff is enamored of her subject and that is fine.  I really liked hearing about Franklin from someone who really liked him.  Who treated some of his womanizing as a man seeking love (as he undoubtedly was) instead of a cur who would sleep with anything in a skirt.  It is nice to hear this side of Franklin presented well.  I also had no idea how much of his work in France was not noticed (largely because of his lack of letters, both from not writing and from losses at sea).  I am constantly reminded when I read a biography like this how hard it was to communicate.

The Invention of Air, Steven Johnson

 

The Invention of Air:  A story of science, faith, revolution, and the birth of America by Steven Johnson

Started: March 2, 2024
Completed: March 9, 2024
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

At heart, this is a light biography of Joseph Priestly.  The focus of this biography is the impact that he had on others (like the US founding fathers), so it doesn't cover his whole life and it doesn't dive into personal details (like the relationship with his wife and children) in any great detail.  Johnson isn't really trying to tell you what it was like to be Joseph Priestly, the focus here is on how his scientific and religious activities affected the US founding fathers.  He was younger than Franklin, but did not outlive Adams or Jefferson.  His scientific interests were fostered by Franklin and his religious material (as well as scientific) impacted both Adams and Jefferson who both made an effort to distance themselves from him as candidates for office.  In the letters between Adams and Jefferson, though, Priestly was a frequent topic and that showed how he had impacted both.

The Showman, Simon Shuster

 

The Showman:  Inside the invasion that shook the world and made a leader of Volodymyr Zelensky by Simon Shuster

Started: February 18, 2024
Completed: February 22, 2024
Recommendation: Highly recommended
Recommended By: My Wife

Review:

What a great book.  I now have much better insight into the beginning of the war from Zelensky's point of view, how he operated, and a much better understanding of how he came to power.  This also gives good insight into early Russian aggression.

Inseparable, Yunte Huang

 

Inseparable:  The original Siamese twins and their rendezvous with American history by Yunte Huang

Started: 2/7/2024
Completed: 2/12/2024
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

I was hoping for a biography and what I really got was more or a sketch of the life and times.  I think that if you took the pages that actually talked about the the Siamese Twins and compared them to the book, the biographical material would be less than half.  I learned some things I hadn't known about Herman Melville, Mark Twain, and way too much about Mayberry (from The Andy Griffith Show).  I learned more about the twins, but it feels like I should have just read an Encyclopedia Britannica article and then read a little of their financial logs and my time would have been better spent.

Aristotle the Philosopher, J. L. Ackrill

 

Aristotle the Philosopher by J. L. Ackrill was on a reading list for a philosophy degree.

Started: 12/26/2022
Completed: 12/2/2023
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: A reading list for studying philosophy

Words for which I sought help:

tyro -- a beginner or intermediate

Review:

This is a short book, but it is heavily packed with quotations and analysis.  It took me a long time to read because I wanted to spend time with each concept and I wanted to work through the arguments being made.  Around the chapter on logic, the book became increasingly analysis and less quotations (though it was still dense with quotation).  By this time, however, the book was hitting Aristotelian concepts with which I was much more familiar and some of which I still remembered from reading Aristotle in translation.  At this point, the book went much quicker and was, for me, walking down a well marked path. 

The Maniac, Benjamin Labatut

The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut is the story of John Von Neumann.

Started: 10/23/2023

Completed: 10/29/2023

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This is an odd novel.  I chose to look at it as non-fiction, despite its being a novel and including details that nobody could actually know.  The story of Von Neumann's life is told from the perspectives of the people who knew him.  Each had a different, distinct voice and covered portions of his life which were often overlapping.  It was interesting and very odd.  I can recommend it, but with the sole reservation that that you need to know about the life of Von Neumann in order to really follow it well.

American Prometheus, Bird and Sherwin

 

American Prometheus:  The triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

Started: 8/3/2023
Completed: 10/10/2023
Recommendation: Nobody
Recommended by: The book behind the movie

Review:

So, wow, there is so much to this book.  It has an incredible amount of detail that blew me away.  I thought I knew about the brain group behind the atomic bomb, but I only knew part of it.  As I learned more about Oppenheimer and how he came to work on the project there was a tremendous amount of stuff that happened beyond simply learning and teaching physics.  I learned more about Oppenheimer as a person who was struggling with what the right thing was to do his whole life.  I feel like his participation in the atom bomb project is the only reason that we know so much detail.  His life was otherwise ordinary in many ways--particularly his difficulty with his family life.  How he handled the things he faced, however, was novel.  Instead of leaning into the problems and working to resolve them, he seemed to skirt them.  It felt like he found physics a puzzle that he wanted to solve, but his daily life held no such interest and his troubled childhood (as a child of luxury, but often on his own) set the stage for the rest of his life where he was provided endless resources, but his personal life seemed fragile.  Now, of course, I want to see the movie!

Master Slave Husband Wife, Ilyon Woo

 

Master Slave Husband Wife:  An epic journey from slavery to freedom by Ilyon Woo

Started: 719/2023
Completed: 7/27/2023
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

There is a heroic run from slavery.  This is not, however, the story of a couple who "went on the lam" and hid constantly dodging slave catchers.  Instead this is the story of a couple who used cunning and careful planning to make a clean escape in broad daylight.  They did have to run from slave catchers eventually (after the fugitive slave law was passed and Daniel Webster was the AG of Massachusetts).  I think that this book is more about perseverance under life threatening adversity.  This isn't really a full biography and it is told in a narrative format although the research is top-notch. 

So Many Steves, Steve Martin and Adam Gopnik

 

So Many Steves:  Afternoons with Steve Martin by Steve Martin and Adam Gopnik is an audio only book which is a collection of interviews.

Started: 6/25/2023
Completed: 6/26/2023
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: My wife, who knows I am a big Steve Martin fan

Review:

Walking in the door, this was going to have to be a marked departure from Steve Martin for me not to enjoy it.  I thought it was great.  Really enjoyed it.

Path Lit By Lightning, David Maraniss

 

Path Lit By Lightning:  The life of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss.  I have been fascinated by Jim Thorpe since I learned his name as a boy.

Started: 6/6/2023
Completed: 6/12/2023
Recommendation: Mild recommendation
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

Since I was a boy reading about the flying wedge, I've had an interest in Jim Thorpe.  Frankly, I thought of him only as a football player, had no idea he was Indian, and did not realize he was called "The Greatest Athlete of All Time."  I have been to Cancun and seen his bust in the NFL Hall of Fame, but I was so overwhelmed by the number of exhibits (and my father's desire to move on) that I had not time to read any of the stories.  I was also aware of the Indian schools and how those had been devastating to so many families and the horrors that some (if not all) children endured.  This book was eye opening in many ways.  Thorpe played professional football, basketball, and baseball; was an Olympic champion; and a colligate track and field star.

This book is simply mind numbing in its details.  It felt like every box score from every game was discussed (surely this was not the case) and the extreme violence of early football (where dying seemed to be a regular occurrence) was another area that seemed to have surprising intensity in this biography.  Maraniss included the details of love letters between Thorpe and his second wife which also seemed a bit much (some of the details such as pet names and repeated comments of desire could probably have been omitted without any damage to the story).  Beyond those over detailed portions, the portions that dealt with the details of living as an Indian in a society that viewed Indians as, at best, a lower class of human (better than blacks) was appropriate and insightful because this framed Thorpe's life.  His familial relationships were stunning, though not surprising given his tumultuous upbringing.

I found the epilogue insightful and sad.  Most of Thorpe's life left me sad.  It seems like the people around him could have done better by him in so many ways, yet, it is hard to call out individuals beyond the individuals called out in the book.  To suggest that his children should have done more (particularly his daughters) seems wildly inappropriate.  His sons were also abandoned.  In part this was due to his inability to hold down a job for any length of time and that seems to keep going back to drinking.  In short, however, here was a flawed individual who was unable to overcome his own character flaws despite enormous effort to do so.  As with most heroes, looking at the portion of their life that is heroic is vastly inadequate and often overshadows many other problems.  It seems, however, that Thorpe, exceptional though he was in many ways, is an astounding example of how America mistreated Indians.  Surely, more could have been done to help him, particularly during his second marriage when he sought to get rid of drinking, but circumstance seemed to grind him down.

The Revolutionary, Stacy Schiff

 

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff is another biography of a founder.  I find these compelling.

Started: 12/11/2022
Completed: 12/19/2022
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

emendation -- the process of making a revision or a correction to a text.

Review:

I have never read a review of Samuel Adams and, sadly, knew him more for beer.  A three term governor of Massachusetts and signer of the Constitution.  I know a lot about John Adams, but his older cousin has escaped my notice.  This was an interesting biography and I feel like I learned a lot.  In point of fact, however, Schiff has little history with which to work as his papers were largely destroyed (by him and others) and his work was, perforce, under the radar.  I had no awareness of his involvement (purported or otherwise) in the Boston Tea Party or as the owner of the Boston Gazette.

Travels with George, Nathaniel Philbrick

 

Travels with George:  In search of Washington and his legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick.  I like the way Philbrick writes and I also am more interested in understanding Washington as a human being, so this book seemed like a good fit.

Started: 11/14/2021
Completed: 11/19/2021
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

OK, so not really a biography of Washington, though it does sort of stroll through parts of his life.  It seems like I get to know Philbrick's dog better than Washington.  Philbrick even identifies himself as a bore recounting his harrowing sailing story, but he put it in the book.  So, this travelogue is boring and it needs to be enhanced with something.  I'm just not sure it is Philbrick's dog, lovelorn wife, or even his 5th great uncle.  I was hoping this would be more of a book about how Washington's trips brought the country together and while this is addressed, there is no compelling case that says it worked--heck it is unclear that this was Washington's intent (instead of trying to just get away from the daily obligations of governing--Washington seemed happiest on the move).

What is Washington's legacy, the purported purpose of this book?  Maybe Washington, DC...that is about the best conclusion I could reach from what I had read.  I knew that Washington did not travel with a dog.  I knew that the president had a number of myths around his life (e.g. the "just a man" statements) and that he had taken a difficult journey while trying to stay at taverns (so that it did not seem like a trip taken by a king to his court members' houses).  But of his legacy?  Little.  I cannot recommend this book in any way.

The Code Breaker, Walter Isaacson

 

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, gene editing, and the future of the human race by Walter Isaacson is a book about the creator of the CRISPR gene editing tool.

Started: 5/15/2021
Completed: 5/20/2021
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

Being short is not a disease.  Now that that is over with, this book is pretty interesting.  The examples of things people choose to use when talking about the effects of gene editing (such as height) aside, this is a thorough and interesting approach to looking at the burgeoning field of gene editing.  Doudna plays a central role, but this is not really a biography (despite the billing).  We do learn some of her life, but this is not a detailed look at her life.  Rather, this is a detailed look at the newly created field of gene editing (looking at a lot of the editors, not just Doudna).  I learned that my high school and college biology are no longer up to talking about RNA and DNA.  They are the merest introduction and this book was swiftly over my head.  It does not help that I have little interest in this field in general and find the terms confusing.  I think that if I took more time to study the area, I would find this book a mere introduction, but I didn't and probably won't, so this book was a bit of a struggle for me in terms of the base material.  I do find it interesting what is possible and, like the discussions of AI, I have a feeling that we are slipping behind on the ethics front.  Which leads us back, full circle, to what genetic "diseases" people might want to fix.

America, The Band, Jude Warne

 

America, The Band: An authorized biography by Jude Warne with a forward by Billy Bob Thornton is a book about a band that I like and was planning to go see before COVID got in the way.

Started: 1/16/2021
Completed: 2/13/2021
Recommendation: Recommended for fans
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

diegetic -- occurring within the context of the story and able to be heard by the characters

longevous -- long-lived

Review:

I thought that this would be a biography of the band members.  It is not, really.  It is more a biography of the music of the band.  Of course, there is biographical material for the band members, but you aren't going to learn things like Dewey's favorite colors.  Their birth dates are not mentioned.  The focus is on the music.

The book itself is exceedingly well made.  It has a certain heft, a "book" feel, like I associate with a textbook.  The binding is taught and the paper is heavy weight and relatively high gloss (great for the pictures, but causes a glare when reading under lights).  This book is made to live a long and well used life.  I do not recognize the font as anything special, but I found it easy to read.  The pictures embedded in the book are very well printed.

There is a period of over 10 years (covered in a few paragraphs) when the band becomes a touring band and does not produce a studio album.  To me, this sounds like a rich period for the band and covers a time of divorces and marriages.  We really don't learn much about how the band managed except that it played much smaller venues and spent a lot more time on the road.  It is a loss to not understand this period because the band has not really returned to being a studio band (although there have been more albums).  Gerry has done nine solo albums, but these are glossed over and barely mentioned.  In short, this is a book about America's music and only addresses the people behind the music in order to understand the music itself better.

As for the music, this is an excellent resource.  The explanation behind "A Horse With No Name" (it is not a drug hallucination) and that it was written by a teenager is pretty awesome.  The book is more technical then I can understand, but it isn't really in depth.  There is a lot of talk about bridges (to me, this means kind of a transition piece), but I do not pretend to understand how bridges work, why they are difficult, and what they contribute to the music (it is assumed that all of this is known).  I also have no idea what a "middle eighth" is, but it is clearly a section of a song.  That there are odd tunings for the guitar is discussed (I understand that part), but the actual tunings are not provided--which is fine, but it seems like it would be a good thing to add.  There is also a fair amount of discussion of particular types of chords (like seventh chords) which means nothing to me (I'm guessing it involves something like a G7 to C7 or something like that, which, to me, is simply fingering on the guitar fret).  The actual definition is not helpful ("A seventh chord is the combination of a triad and an interval of a seventh").  This just leads me down a rabbit hole of music theory trying to figure out what a triad, interval, and a seventh are.  The chase is surely not worth the run as all of these concepts are likely wrappers for other concepts that I will never use because I do not play instruments or sing.

The Last American Aristocrat, David S. Brown

The Last American Aristocrat:  The brilliant life and improbably education of Henry Adams by David S. Brown came to my attention through a review in The New York Times, but, in fairness, I am quite interested in the Adams family.

Started: 1/25/2021

Completed: 1/29/2021

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By: The New York Times

Words for which I sought help:

catholicity -- liberality of sentiments or views

marplot -- one who frustrates or ruins a plan or undertaking by meddling

mendicant -- beggar

seraphic -- suggestive of or resembling a seraphim or angel

Review:

There are some assumptions built into the book.  Brown assumes that the world and times of Henry Adams are well understood at some times and repeatedly describes other times.  It is an uneven treatment, but it is hard to find fault as I would have difficulty determining what it is reasonable to assume of an audience for this type of biography.  One image that I really thought was well conceived was Brown's description of Adams' longing for Lizzy in the long aftermath of the loss of his wife as "Desire comforting Suffering."  The book is comprehensive and well written with many similar excellent turns of phrase.

Hamilton Fish, Amos Elwood Corning

 

Hamilton Fish by Amos Elwood Corning is the only biography (of which I am aware) of Hamilton Fish who was Grant's Secretary of State during both his terms.

Started: 1/3/2021
Completed: 1/10/2021
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

disapprobation -- strong disapproval, typically on moral grounds

precipitancy -- rashness and suddenness of action

vituperation -- bitter and abusive language

Review:

This biography was written in the early twentieth century and contains references that reflect that.  The major issues for which Fish was "famous" are little known today.  I am familiar with many of them from having read a biography of Grant.  It was that biography that got me searching for more information about Hamilton Fish.  This biography does record his accomplishments, but does not really offer any insight into the man as an individual.

The Wright Brothers, David McCullough

 

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough is a book recommended to me by my parents.  I have enjoyed McCullough's writing.

Started: 11/2/2020
Completed: 11/13/2020
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: My parents

Words for which I sought help:

lacuna -- an unfilled space or interval; a gap

Review:

Listening to this book in McCullough's raspy voice was comfortable and enjoyable.  It is a positive biography of sorts and it just felt fun and good.  I liked learning more about Katherine Wright and I thought that Orville's treatment of her at the end of her life was awful, but it is easy to judge from this remove.  I had no idea that my life and Orville's had overlapped.  That was shocking.

Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson

 

Benjamin Franklin: An American life by Walter Isaacson caught my eye as I was looking for a different book on Franklin.

Started: 10/4/2020
Completed: 10/6/2020
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

I have read an early Franklin biography (I typed it into Project Gutenberg).  I learned things from this biography that the previous simply omitted.  This biography, however, remains an homage to Franklin.  There is nothing wrong with that, but it obscures the individual.  I was interested to learn about his first son and the complications that came with it.  It seems to me that an entire book could reasonably be written on that topic and not explore it fully.  I was disappointed with the author taking Franklin's position with regard to John Adams, whom I deeply respect.  It certainly affected my view of the biography and, no doubt, leaves me an unfair reviewer.