Daily Archives: August 30, 2008

Thoughts on A Short History of the Civil War

My latest audiobook was A Short History of the Civil War by Bruce Catton. It gave me a good overview of the Civil War, and I enjoyed it a lot. The one problem with listening to audiobooks about wars is that when they mention geography, it’s impossible for me to figure out what’s going on. I don’t have a map to look at.

I learned a bit about strategy in war. There’s a lot of value in having the initiative and forcing the enemy to react to you rather than the other way around. In general, one should concentrate ones forces. Speed is a killer, as evidenced by the cavalry. I don’t really know how this helps me practically. Maybe the next time I’m playing a board game I can remember it.

I was impressed by Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln. Had Lincoln not been assassinated, I wonder how differently things would’ve turned out. He was much more magnanimous and moderate than the Republican Congress.

Finally, I realized how the Civil War and its aftermath left scars on a nation that we still see today. The book was written in the 60s and that upheaval in civil rights is directly related to that war. 100 years and the same kind of tensions flared again. It’s strange how conservatives want to make-believe that racism just isn’t a problem anymore when history shows us how culture can sometimes change very slowly. After all, it’s the conservative who should recognize the role of the habits of society.

Thoughts on The Best Fables of LaFontaine

I love fables. So I picked up The Best Fables of LaFontaine, which translates LaFontaine’s French verse into English verse. The vocabulary was weird at times, but I guess it’s because the book was published in 1965. I wasn’t too enamored with the way the book was written. In general, I think it’s really, really weird to translate poetry. Maybe it was just this version, translated by Francis Duke. Perhaps someone can recommend a better one.

Again, though, I love fables, so I made my way through the entire book anyway. Two stuck out for me this time. I marked up “Rats in Council,” which contains the line “Who’ll bell the cat?” Also, I marked up “The Tortoise and the Two Ducks.” These ducks carry a tortoise up in the air, with the tortoise holding a branch with her mouth. When gawkers yell out what a miracle it is that the tortoise is flying, the tortoise opens her big yap and falls to the ground.

I think now of cable news. Isn’t a mark of wisdom knowing when not to talk? Yet cable news encourages constant chatter. It seems to me a recipe for stupidity.