Reader’s Diary

Christopher Phillips

Former reporter Christopher Phillips is the Johnny Applesed of philosophy. He travels the country starting philosophy discussion groups in cafes, coffee houses, libraries, schools, and any other place that will have him. A diverse bunch of people come to these “Socrates cafes“, people who one would never imagine had an interest in, knowledge of, or inclination towards philosophy. When Phillips writes about how he came to his vocation, about his experiences pursuing it, and about the people he meets, his book is interesting. However, he spends too much of this book talking about what is talked about at the cafes, and, while they were no doubt fascinating discussions to be in, they are not especially interesting to read about.

Michael O’Rourke

This is a funny tragedy about big business. The main character, the eponymous Riley McReynolds is the chief council in a St. Paul insurance firm that’s in the process of being remade by a modern, incompetent, fool of a cost-cutting CEO. Through Riley’s eyes we see the CEO’s sycophants and the human cost of his actions. Riley, the thinking man’s Dilbert, gives us a humorous perspective on events, and this is a funny, funny book, but I was disappointed that O’Rourke didn’t allow Riley to rise above the circumstances. Ultimately Riley remains everyman rather than becoming a hero.

Jeremy Mercer

In 1999 Jeremy Mercer was a former crime reporter, was in his late 20s, and in Paris. He ended up at the famous English language book store “Shakespeare & Co.”, the bookstore owned by the larger-than-life George Whitman who lets writers and would-be writer live among the books. My reaction to this enjoyable memoir about the store and its denizens was about 10% “why doesn’t he just grow up” and 90% “I wish I could have been there”.

Larry Bond

This is an example of an almost-extinct genre: the plausible techno-thriller. The submarine Memphis is assigned to look for evidence of nuclear waste dumping in Russian waters. Her newest crew member, the book’s main character, is a former naval pilot attempting to qualify as a submariner. This is reminiscent of the classic submarine novel “Run Silent, Run Deep”, which also had a character qualifying for sub duty. It’s a plot device that lets the reader learn about sub operations along with the character, an exposition that would otherwise be a distraction from that plot rather than a plot element. Inevitably conflict ensues, both between crew members and between the Memphis and the Russian fleet. It’s too bad Bond doesn’t write more books because this, like his previous ones, is excellent.

Bryan Ward-Perkins

Was the so-called “fall of the Roman empire” really a relatively peaceful assimilation of so-called “barbarians” into so-called “civilization”? This is the view of many modern scholars. I suspect it’s a view rooted in modern relativism. If we talk about a “fall” after all, we’re being judgmental, and it’s not politically correct to call people “barbarians”. In this book Bryan Ward-Perkins makes a good case for the traditional view: the empire did fall, not peacefully but painfully, and what came after was not - for many years - as good a civilization (measured in material terms, at least) as the one that fell.

In addition to making the case for the traditional view, Ward-Perkins’ book is a nice short overview of the end of Rome. His use of archaeological evidence to support his argument is particularly interesting.