Brad's Recent Readings...

Here is a selection of the books that I have been reading over the past eight months or so, and some comments on them. I'm not much of a critic I'm afraid, but I've given each my own personal star-rating based on the quality of the story and/or the translation/edition/medium:

- "The Iliad" by Homer: I listened to this translation as an audio book. I apologise because I have forgotten the publisher, the translator and the narrator's names! The narration was riveting, but the translation was not nearly so good as that of Robert Fagels, who I would recommend. ***

- "The Aeneid" by Virgil: This translation was by Robert Fagels and published as an audio book by Penguin, narrated by Ian McKellen. A very fine translation with a very engaging narrator. Listening to epic poems such as these completes the experience, as they were always narrated in their time and never or seldom read. *****

- "The Expedition of Cyrus" by Xenophon: What an adventure! If you were under the impression that the ancient classics were boring, read this and have that mind-set smashed. Published by Penguin, I can not recall the translator on the spot. *****

- "Saboteur": I was reading this non-fiction book about an Albertan eco-terrorist when I left Victoria and unfortunately had to leave it at the library only half-read. It was very well written and incredibly thought-provoking, presenting every side of a very complex and present-day problem. I'll have to find it and finish it when I get the chance. ****

- "The Complete Works of Michel de Montaigne" by Michel de Montaign: This volume contains translations by Donald M. Frame of all of the essays, letters and travelogues by this philosopher of the French Renaissance. I have only been reading the essays individually as my interest calls and have not completed the book, but they are though-provoking, amusing, insightful, interesting and conversational. It is often as though a personality from the Renaissance had time travelled here to have a conversation with me! Published by Everyman's Library. ***

- "Italian Rapier Combat" by Capo Ferro: This book, a translation of Capo Ferro's "Gran Simulacro" edited by Jared Kirby and published by Greenhill Books, I have only been referencing for bits and pieces. The technical writing and illustrations, faithfully copied from the original manual, are interesting not only to learn about Renaissance rapier techniques and the evolution of fencing, but also to understand the mentality of a swordsman of the age and his presentation of a book and an education to his ruler. **

- "The Dream of Eagles Series" by Jack Whyte: This novel series, published by Penguin Canada, dramatises the legends of King Arthur seeking to portray them as they may have unfolded in reality. He traces the roots of the legend back to ancient Roman times and up to Arthur's coronation. ****
- "The Skystone": This first instalment is told from the perspective of Publius Varrus, a veteran primus pilus of the Roman army, a weapons smith, and a friend of the Legate Caius Brittanicus. In it Brittanicus founds a colony, foreseeing the fall of Rome, and Publius Varrus searches for a skystone, a metal that will make the world's finest sword, all while living in fear of the Seneca family, rival of the Brittanici.
- "The Singing Sword": The best book of the series, in my opinion. Through a rich tapestry of history, philosophy, warfare, kingly politics, innovation, corruption and revenge emerges Excalibre, the singing sword, and the colony of Camulod.
- "The Eagles Brood": The first book from the point of view of Caius Merlyn Brittanicus, grandson of Caius Brittanicus, after the withdraw of Rome's legions from Britain. Beginning with Merlyn's childhood and growth with his cousin, Uther Pendragon. This leads into their coming of age and of command, Merlyn of Camulod and Uther of his Cambrian Celtic peoples, and their wars with the upstart king of Cornwall, Guthrys Lot.
- "The Saxon Shore": Probably the slowest book of the series, although worth reading. Merlyn adopts Arthur, the orphaned son of Uther and his mistress, the queen of Cornwall and princess of Eire. He makes connections with the Mac Athol ruling clan of Eire and puts down the potential rebellion of Peter Ironhair within Camulod's council of the round table.
- "The Sorcerer: The Fort at Rivers Bend" and "Metamorphosis": The two final books of the series are presented as the two volumes of "The Sorcerer". After an assassination attempt on the child Arthur, Merlyn flees with him and a group of trusted friends to inhabit an abandoned Roman garrison in Cumbria until Arthur is ready to take his command in Camulod. After completing Arthur's education and repulsing an attack from the Son's of Codran upon their allies in Ravenglass, they return to Camulod where Merlyn's half-brother has been on command. After a period of peace Merlyn's army is ambushed by allies of the re-risen Peter Ironhair, killing several of Merlyn's closest friends. Driven by revenge, he adopts a new style of warfare: poison, trickery, wit, and the assassins arts, earning him a reputation as a fearful sorcerer. With his help Peter Ironhair and his monstrous ally the demented nephew of Uther Pendragon, who are fighting for the kingship of Arthur's rightful lands in Cambria, are slowly weakened and eventually destroyed, leading to Arthur's coronation as the champion of Christian Britain.
- "Clothar the Frank": The first of a two-book mini-series following "The Dream of Eagles". It looks at the life and legend of Sir Lancelot. I have not yet finished this book.

- "Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance": An extraordinary revolutionary philosophical classic! This book will make you think and contemplate things you may never have before. I listened to this on audio book - I've forgotten the publisher - and the narration was down-to-earth, conversational, and thoughtful. *****

- "The Histories" by Tacticus: A wise and interesting account by an elderly man in an increasingly chaotic empire who, after a lifetime of employment by its rulers, has chosen to compose a final critical analysis of his own. I listened to this on audio book with a narrator who had a very academic-sounding stern british accent which may have matched the mood but was not necessarily exciting. **

- "In Flight Swahili": A quick and easy way to learn some Swahili, but many of the words and phrases suggested were overly formal, overly touristy, or said in a way that a native speaker (according to my native speaking friends) would never have said them. *

- "Modern Swahili Grammar" by Mohammed A. Mohammed: Reading this will give you a solid foundation of grammar on which to build vocabulary, but the academic linguistic lingo is either baffling or boring. *

- "Heaven's Mirror" by Graham Hancock: A very interesting and shockingly well-grounded alternative view of history. Monumental ancient sites from around the world are looked at in connection to one another and the constellations, revealing stirring evidence for a much more scientifically aware distant past than conventional history ever suspected possible. ****

- "Collapse" by Jared Diamond: Of all of the books on this list, this is the one that I would recommend the most. I have been reading it slowly because every time I read a chapter I lend it to someone because I think that this is one of the most books for people to read in the world today. Diamond methodically documents civilizations of the world, past and present, who have fallen or show susceptibility to fall due to primarily environmental causes. He makes clear the complexity and intimacy of the problems facing societies such as ancient Polynesia, Greenland, and North and Central America, and modern China, Haiti, Rwanda, and United States. He uses history in its most important function: to learn from the past to avoid the repetition of mistakes. Although easy to read for non-fiction, this book is mostly facts which allows you to look at it analytically before you reach the end of the chapter and start to piece the facts together into the horrifying reality that they suggest. A more sober, contemplative, fact-oriented, sympathetic, and intelligent look at the broad and long- and short-term effects of climate change I have never yet found. *****

- "Me to We: Turning Self-Help on its Head" by Craig and Marc Kielburger: Exactly the opposite of the books that made me sick of the idea of self-help. The founders of Save the Children - alongside the likes of Bishop Desmond Tutu, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Lewis - offer an inspirational look at how selflessness, community, and helping others can be the most communally and individually gratifying experiences of all. *****