An Article for Fellow Book Lovers: 10 Books That Made Us…And 5 Others That Also Helped (Denny & Claire Hartford)

As I mentioned in a recent Book Den post (October 31), I finished a most enlightening and relevant book entitled 10 Books that Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn’t Help by Benjamin Wiker. That book easily makes my Top 10 for the year and I couldn’t recommend it more highly for those who want to know more about why Western Civilization has so tragically “devolved” in the last century. I truly hope many of you will take the challenge and read it yourself.

But reading that book also prompted Claire and me to think about the books that had actually made the world better -- at least, our world. We decided to make it a project, one that would cause us to look back, remember, and evaluate the books that had most shaped our lives for the better. It proved to be a very worthwhile exercise for us both and we have decided to share it. We hope you find our answers of interest even as we suggest that you consider pondering a similar experiment. So, let’s go. Aside from the Bible itself, we are going to tell you the 10 Books That Made Us…And 5 Others That Also Helped. 

You'll find that piece on the Vital Signs Ministries website right here.

Heroes in My Library

My library is a special place to me, in part, because it is a place where many of my heroes await meeting with me.  You remember heroes, don’t you?  Those men and women who bravely fought for great causes, sacrificed for lofty ideals, and otherwise broke the bonds of compromising commonality to achieve noble aims.  In addition to my faith in Jesus Christ and my dependence on the Holy Spirit, in addition to my zeal to study the Bible and carefully learn its revelations and precepts, I’ve joyously accepted the gifts God has given me in mortal heroes. And I've cherished the inspiration they have brought me throughout my life -- heroes whose exemplary character and deeds of physical and moral valor compel me to dream bigger, reach further, and relish more the adventures of life.

My library resounds with the presence of these heroes and, even after decades of friendship, I still appreciate my every encounter with them. They include the apostles, Luke the physician, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Christopher Columbus, Ronald Reagan, Francis & Edith Schaeffer, Ulysses S. Grant, St. Patrick, Clarence Thomas, G.K. Chesterton, Old Testament heroes like Joseph and Kings Hezekiah and Josiah, Thor Heyerdahl, Edith Cavell, C.S. Lewis, Audie Murphy, Joni Eareckson-Tada, Malcolm Muggeridge, Paul Tournier, Florence Nightingale, Samuel Eliot Morison, William Wilberforce. The list goes on.

Even the fictional heroes in my library are trusted friends: Sherlock Holmes, Sydney Carton, the Count of Monte Cristo, Robin Hood, Fr. Brown, Richard Hannay, Robinson Crusoe, Badger and Ratty, D’Artagnan and the Musketeers, Mr. Pickwick, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Fr. Tim Kavanagh, Elwin Ransom, Ivanhoe, Horatio Hornblower, Frodo and Sam, the converted Ebeneezer Scrooge, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, and so many others. The Lord uses even these “invented heroes” to yet provide real-life inspiration and direction.

Heroes have shaped my life in ways too numerous and deep to ever fully realize. They have daringly challenged me to venture outside my comfort zones and narrow self-interests and instead embrace the adventurous opportunities life provides for character, integrity, courage, and religious faith.

Where would I be without heroes? I don’t want to even imagine.

Catching Up: A Brief Review of First Quarter Reading.

Yes, the first quarter of 2023 is drawing to a close and I realize I’m behind schedule in reviewing and recommending books from my recent reading. So let me make it short and sweet. First of all, my reading is lagging behind a bit because of other things crowding into the schedule -- preparation for several sermons, preparation for a couple of lectures at a L’Abri Conference, trips to Kansas and Minnesota, and a busier schedule of “When Swing Was King” and other Vital Signs happenings. Still, I’ve very much enjoyed those titles I did get to.

As you may know, a great deal of my reading has always been re-reading. And that trend actually increases as I age. Even as I have favorite foods (hamburgers and grilled peppers, bacon and eggs) that I eat over and again; even as I have favorite haunts (the Colorado mountains, Branson) that I visit over and again; and even as I have favorite friends that I make it a habit to hang out with; so I am delighted to re-visit my favorite books.  

I’m in good company with this practice.

C.S. Lewis wrote in On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, “An unliterary man may be defined as one who reads books once only…We do not enjoy a story fully at the first reading. Not till the curiosity, the sheer narrative lust, has been given its sop and laid asleep, are we at leisure to savour the real beauties. Till then, it is like wasting great wine on a ravenous natural thirst which merely wants cold wetness.”

And in An Experiment in Criticism, Lewis explained his convictions this way, “The majority never read anything twice. The sure mark of an unliterary man is that he considers ‘I’ve read it already’ to be a conclusive argument against reading a work…Those who read great works, on the other hand, will read the same work ten, twenty or thirty times during the course of their life.”

Therefore, with such standout encouragement, I’m not bothered to say that of the 17 books that I’ve read so far in 2023, 16 of them were re-reads. They included the full “canon” of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes (the 4 novels and the 5 collections of short stories): A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow, and the The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.

There were also a couple of terrific adventure novels in that re-read pile (Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Master of Ballantrae and Rafael Sabatini’s Scaramouche); Karel Capek’s insightful play from 1920, R.U.R.; and 4 of Shakespeare’s “history” plays (Henry VI Part One, Henry VI Part Two, Henry VI Part Three, Richard III.)

And the only new work? Well, it was an exceptional one, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen. You’ll probably find me posting quotes from Esolen’s book on my Facebook page for some time. Plus, it made me eager to read other books he’s written. He’s relevant, accurate, insightful, wise, spiritually tuned in, and a wonderful writer. 

I recommend the Esolen book as highly as I can. And, yes, all of the others rate several stars as well. 

Yes, Shakespeare's Henry VI Is Worth Your Time -- Even Part One

Henry VI, especially Part One of the trilogy, is often described as one of the weakest plays of William Shakespeare (aka Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford) but I find it full of drama, pathos, and plenty of life lessons. 

Indeed, this play presents the heroic courage and steadfastness of John Talbot (1st Earl of Shrewsbury); the savage, mystic, even eerie, character of Joan of Arc; the very beginning of the conflict between the houses of York and Lancaster that will lead eventually to the War of the Roses; the brave loyalty of John’s son; the utter failure of the seductive trap laid by the Countess of Auvergne for Talbot; the self-serving egos of both York and Somerset which result in the defeat of the English and the noble death of Talbot. 

All this and more are there in Henry VI Part 1 and I always find it a real treat to read.

Along the way this time I collected a few of my favorite quotations from the play:

“Heavens, can you suffer hell so to prevail?”
(Said by Talbot, Act I, Scene V)

“Well, let them practice and converse with spirits.
God is our fortress, in whose conquering name
Let us resolve to scale their flinty bulwarks.”
(Said by Talbot, Act II, Scene I)

“Unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone.”
(Said by Bedford, Act II, Scene II)

“Civil dissension is a viperous worm
That gnaws the bowels of the commonwealth.”
(Said by King Henry, Act III, Scene I)

“Care is no cure, but rather corrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.”
(Said by Joan La Pucelle -- Joan of Arc -- Act III, Scene III)

“Good Lord, what madness rules in brainsick men, 
when for so slight and frivolous a cause

such factious emulations shall arise!”

(Said by King Henry, Act IV, Scene I)

“’Tis much when scepters are in children's hands,
But more when envy breeds unkind division; 
There comes the ruin, there begins confusion.”
(Said by King Henry, Act IV, Scene I)

“The fraud of England, not the force of France,
Hath now entrapped the noble-minded Talbot.
Never to England shall he bear his life, 
But dies betrayed to fortune by your strife.”
(Said by King Henry, Act IV, Scene IV)

“Here on my knee I beg mortality,
Rather than life preserved with infamy.”
(Said by Talbot's son John, Act IV, Scene V)

“Of all base passions, fear is most accursed.”
(Said by Joan La Pucelle -- Joan of Arc -- Act IV, Scene II)

Ending 2022’s Reading: A Review, Recommendations, and Resolutions

The year 2022 was not a record year for my reading – there was too much time taken up with vertigo recovery, our care for Carol Coppi, our involvement with my little sister in Wichita, and the ever-busy tasks of Vital Signs Ministries. And, alas, my reading took a pretty big hit with the ending of the Notting Hill Napoleons, our remarkably stimulating book club of 30 years. However, I still managed to slip in 6 dozen. 

As usual, many of these books were re-reads as I thoroughly enjoyed checking in again with such dear, lifelong friends as Alexander Dumas, Rafael Sabatini, Samuel Eliot Morison, C.S. Lewis, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jan Karon, G.K. Chesterton, John Buchan, William Shakespeare, Michael Ende, Edna Ferber, Owen Wister, Joni Eareckson Tada, Bess Streeter Aldrich, and Charles Dickens. 

But I made some new friends in 2022 too. Hunting the Nazi Bomb by Damien Lewis, Your Time Is Now by Jonathan Evans, Seven Men of Gascony by R.F. Delderfield, The Admirals by Walter Borneman, Created Equal (Clarence Thomas in His Own Words) edited by Pack and Paoletta, Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, The Apostate by Mark Christian, and The Book of Signs by David Jeremiah. All of the above titles made 4 stars in my ratings and are therefore enthusiastically recommended to you all. 

So there you have a very brief review plus a few recommendations. How about the resolutions then? Well, even now I have begun re-reading the several books connected to a seminar I’m presenting at the Rochester L’Abri’s annual conference on February 17 & 18. That presentation is entitled Beware the Mad Scientist: Divine Warnings Against “Playing God” from Classic Literature and it will cover Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, and Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.  

Beyond that project, my reading will most likely continue along regular routes. I will spend most of my reading time with those authors near and dear to me while occasionally investigating others.  Of course, I do have a few specific projects in mind (besides the L’Abri responsibilities) for 2023. They include my bi-annual reading of Heaven by Randy Alcorn; a few classic commentaries on books of the Bible by men like Harry Ironside; more Dickens and Shakespeare; a first time read of Robert Bork’s book The Tempting of America and George Gilder’s Men and Marriage; and jumping back into the stirring adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia. 

Want to come along?

On Re-Reading

“‘Tell me what you read and I’ll tell you who you are’ is true enough, but I’d know you better if you told me what you re-read.”  (François Mauriac)

“Curiously enough, one cannot read a book; one can only re-read it. A good reader, a major reader, and active and creative reader is a re-reader.”  (Vladimir Nabokov, Lectures on Literature)

These 2 quotes (and the one I post at the end from C.S. Lewis) prompted me to go back and scan my reading lists (those from the last 13 years were readily at hand) to ascertain just which authors and books are indeed my “go to” reads. I wasn’t surprised at the results. Indeed, the authors I’ve spent time re-reading in recent years were the authors with whom I’ve spent quite a lot of time all my adult life: Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Francis Schaeffer, John Buchan, Alexander Dumas, William Shakespeare, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Thurber, Walter Scott,  Fyodor Dostoevsky, G.K. Chesterton, Malcolm Muggeridge, Randy Alcorn, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joni Eareckson Tada, Jane Austen, Paul Tournier, James Barrie, and such historians as Walter Lord, Shelby Foote, Samuel Eliot Morison, and Winston Churchill.

Oh yes, the most recent discovery to make this “best friends” list is Jan Karon. And what a wonderful addition she is.

I have a few other repeatedly-read authors, particularly in the “sheer entertainment” category which encompasses mysteries, adventure, and historical fiction. Among them are Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, G.A. Henty, Erle Stanley Gardner, Alistair MacLean, C.S. Forester, John D. MacDonald, John Dickson Carr, etc.

Were there books that I re-read in this last 13-year period that came from authors besides my friends mentioned above? Yes, several in fact.  Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit. Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story. Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki. Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus. Walter Wangerin’s The Book of the Dun Cow. Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur. Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel. Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac. U.S. Grant’s Memoirs. Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Boris Pasternak’s Dr. Zhivago. Edward L. Beach’s Run Silent, Run Deep. Richard Adams’ Watership Down. Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. Armando Valladares’ Against All Hope. Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons.

Now I’ve known for some time that a good deal of my reading was re-reading. But this little experiment revealed to me just how much. The lowest percentage of re-reading in this 13-year period was just over 25% with the highest being just under 60%. The average in the latest 5 years is between 45-50%. But it is definitely climbing as the years go by.

I guess in my aging years I’m enjoying spending more time with old friends than with new acquaintances. C.S. Lewis seems to agree. “To me, re-reading my favorite books is like spending time with my best friends. I’d never be satisfied to limit myself to just one experience each with my favorite people.”

The Paget Style

Sidney Paget undertook the job of illustrating Arther Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories for The Strand Magazine in 1891. However, his hiring was a mistake. The editors had actually offered the job to his brother, Walter, another fine illustrator whose drawings eventually adorned the works of Shakespeare, Walter Scott, H. Rider Haggard, Daniel Defoe, and others. It proved to be a most fortuitous mistake for the Sydney Paget illustrations of the Holmes stories proved to be superbly unequaled.

Wrote James Montgomery in 1954, “It would be impossible to overestimate the influence that Paget exerted…on his interpretation of Holmes, Watson, and the golden time ‘where it is always 1895.’ From that day to this, no characterization, no other mood has been accepted by English readers, and when his untimely death in 1908 necessarily shifted his mantle to other shoulders, the artists who followed him — several of greater skill and reputation — were compelled to subordinate themselves to the Paget style in all essential particulars. It has been truly said that what Phiz did for Pickwick, Paget did for Sherlock Holmes.”

Here are examples of both men’s work. The first two are Walter Paget illustrations from, respectively, Treasure Island and King Solomon’s Mines. And the other two, of course, are Sidney Paget’s work for the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Reading Resolutions: A Good Start to 2018

Reading. It is a pretty regular item in our annual Christmas Resolution deliberations. And though it is sometimes formed into a very general goal (as in “Read more quality stuff”), it usually becomes much more specific with certain authors, genres, or booklists becoming targets.

Last year, for instance, my reading-oriented resolutions included a new “read through the Bible” regimen with Claire, re-reading a lot of C.S. Lewis, re-reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and re-reading a Shakespeare play every month. Regarding that last goal, I only managed to get to 8 of them. But I was still pleased for even though I didn’t quite make it, I certainly read more than I would have if I never made the goal in the first place! Also, I scored very well with my other resolutions and so I’m pursuing my 2018 goals with an encouraging wave of momentum and, I’m delighted to say, January has proved a good start to the year.

Here’s a quick rundown.

* Claire and I started in again on January 1 with the same “read through the Bible” plan (and strategy) we used last year. That means reading 2-4 chapters a day while drinking tea, munching on our Paleo power bars, and listening to the narration of the same passage by Alexander Scourby.

* My first book read in 2018 was the 4th book in Jan Karon’s Mitford series, Out to Canaan. I have found these novels very pleasant, very comforting, but also enlightening and spiritually challenging.

* The month was a bit of a “play month” for me with one of my favorite dramas of all time (Thornton Wilder’s Our Town) and three I had never read: Joseph Addison’s Cato, Arnold Ridley’s The Ghost Train (which Claire and I listened to in an audio version one snowy night), and, from ancient Greece, Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes.

* My major project in January was a re-reading of the 2 volumes of Memoirs by Ulysses S. Grant. This, by the way, is a masterful work of literature as well as history.

* Though I prefer reading a real book to a Kindle version, I am nevertheless greatly pleased by the technological breakthrough Kindle represents, especially because it allows me to read (often for free) very old books that I would never be able to afford if, that is, they could even be found. The books in this category that I read in January were two by an English mystery writer of the very early 20th Century, R. Austin Freeman. Those 2 were Dr. Thorndyke’s Cases and The Red Thumb Mark. I also enjoyed another early 20th Century mystery from Anne Katherine Green, The Forsaken Inn.

* I have long had Antonia Fraser’s King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in my library but I only got round to it this month. It was a provocative and elegantly written retelling of the great legends, but often with Fraser’s unique twist. I think I'm going to read more of Dame Fraser's books this year.

* Also through Kindle in January came another freebie, this one from one of my favorite writers, John Buchan. It was quite different than anything I had ever read of his but I found it quite interesting. It was A Book of Escapes and Hurried Journeys.

* I read Tom Clancy’s modern classic The Hunt for Red October shortly after it was published in the late 1980s and I have told myself many times over the years to read it again. I finally listened to myself and did so. And I’m glad I did. It is a superb thriller -- and with none of the psychotic, sex-crazed, serial killers that so dominate that genre nowadays.

* And finally, I should mention that January’s reading also included two excellent theological works, Randy Alcorn’s Happiness and Francis Schaeffer’s No Little People. However, I’m reading them both carefully and just a bit at any one sitting and so I’m not yet finished with either one.

New Year's Resolutions for Readers

My Christmas resolutions always include directions and goals for the coming year’s reading. Those resolutions are sometimes quite general as in “read more quality stuff,” but they can also be pretty specific. In 2016, for instance, I purposed to re-read my favorite Alexandre Dumas novels but also to read the ones I’d never got round to. The mission was accomplished and I had great fun doing so.

In 2017, my resolutions included reading through the entire Bible as well as reading a Shakespeare play every month. The first goal of those two was met. Claire and I worked together on that project, greatly stimulated both by a Facebook group committed to the same activity and by Alexander Scourby’s monumental narration of the Bible.

But I fell a bit short of the mark in the Shakespeare resolution. Indeed, instead of 12, I only read 8 of the Bard’s plays. However, I’m fine with that for I appreciate this simple fact. Even when I don’t make it all the way to a certain goal, making the resolution (combined, of course, with subsequent effort and the occasional evaluation of my progress) gets me much further than if I had never set the goal in the first place.

So, what about 2018? Well, I am again getting very specific this time around. For instance, I have compiled a list of books that I have read before but which I know would be of immense profit to read again. I’m calling it the “Return to the Heights” Booklist. It contains some pretty daunting challenges (Solzhenitsyn, Dostoevsky, Shelby Foote’s 3-volume history of the Civil War) but also a lot of exciting and pleasurable stuff like Seabiscuit: An American Legend, The Hunt for Red October, Prisoner of Zenda, and Tarka the Otter).

Also, for most people, reading success is profoundly helped when they can find extra motivation, accountability, and assistance. It's certainly true for Claire and I. Examples? A) Our participation in the Notting Hill Napoleons has tremendously boosted our reading of classic novels (for the last 26 years!). B) The Book It! program of Vital Signs Ministries has spurred the reading of important non-fiction titles for all those involved. C) Last year’s reading though the Bible was marvelously aided by Claire, the Facebook group, and those wonderful Scourby CDs. D) In the last few years, we have twice created reading groups through our church to tackle the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia series. All of these things have impressed us with how much more faithful people are to the task -- and how much more they enjoy the ripple effects of reading the literature -- when there is accountability and shared insight, a sense of purpose and achievement, encouragement and conviviality.

And so, Claire and I are going to continue developing programs and parties to get people into reading!

What does mean for 2018? Well, of course, the Notting Hill Napoleons will continue. And Vital Signs Ministries will be reviving the Book It! program and looking at ways we can extend it to those outside our physical area — Skype participation, live chat connections, etc. We are also considering the creation of a closed Facebook group to aid in stimulation, accountability, direction, and the sheer fun that can come through reading things in common. And finally, we are launching the Wild Knight Literary Society, another book club focusing on classic novels but one which will only meet every quarter. (For information on that club, please note this post.)

If you are interested in joining a closed Facebook group designed to promote reading, and/or if you would like announcements of the titles coming up in the Book It! discussion series, and/or if you think the Wild Knight group might be something you’d like to pursue, please let us know.

The Year in Review (In Reading, That Is)

2017 is almost in the books -- pun intended, I suppose -- and so a quick review of this year’s reading is appropriate. I finish the year a little above my average number of books read. That's good. Several of those were lively, entertaining reads with little ongoing relevance like a couple of Alistair MacLean thrillers, Bill Buckley's Blackford Oakes series, and Donald Hamilton’s Matt Helm series that I re-read early in the year (for the umpteenth time) and then gave away to get them out of the house for good. Kinda’ like eating all the cookies before going on a diet!

One of my reading resolutions for the year was to stage a substantial return to Shakespeare with an ambitious schedule of one a month. But, alas Poor Yorick, I only got in 8. I read about the same number of G.A. Henry novels as well. He is almost always a delightful read and I like learning the history he packs into his adventure novels. A couple of Jeff Shaara novels came along in the Notting Hill Napoleons selections: The Frozen Hours and The Fateful Lightning. 

I re-read a lot of C.S. Lewis this year: Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, The Abolition of Man, The Pilgrim’s Regress, Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce (finished in the shadow of the 14, 265 ft. Mt. Quandary which I climbed earlier in the day), and The Screwtape Letters. Great stuff.

I re-read Boris Pasternak’s Dr. Zhivago this year and, surprisingly, found it rather disappointing. Oh well, tastes change; readers change. Much more satisfying in fiction explorations were Ice Palace by Edna Ferber, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory by Newt Gingrich & William R. Forstchen, The Innocence of Fr. Brown by G.K. Chesterton, and the lengthy Japanese epic Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.

Other fiction of superb quality came this year from Charles Dickens: The Chimes, Cricket on the Hearth, A Christmas Carol and an assortment of shorter Christmas-themed stories. And the highlight of the Notting Hill Napoleons’ year (for me, anyhow) was our November reading of Dickens’ wonderful novel, Dombey & Son.

But I’m not quite done with the fiction favorites. I read the first 4 novels in Jan Karon’s Mitford series this year and loved each one: At Home in Mitford, A Light in the Window, These High, Green Hills, and Out to Canaan. I also returned to Middle Earth late in the year with spellbinding reads of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Terrific!

And there were a couple of exceptionally fun Christmastime reads -- The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler and 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith.

The year’s best non-fiction reading involved, as it always does for me, theology, history, and culture. Besides the C.S. Lewis stuff there was Kingdom Man by Tony Evans, A Torch Kept Lit by William F. Buckley, Who Built That: Awe-Inspiring Stories of American Tinkerpreneurs by Michelle Malkin, Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade & Don Yaeger, Holiness in Hidden Places by Joni Eareckson Tada, and Happiness by Randy Alcorn.

And what would be the tops in my recommendations to others? That's too tough to call but these (in alphabetical order) would certainly be the finalists.

* A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
* Dombey & Son by Charles Dickens.
* Happiness by Randy Alcorn.
* Holiness in Hidden Places by Joni Eareckson Tada.
* Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
* Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
* The Middle Earth books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
* The Mitford books by Jan Karon.
* Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.
* The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.

To Reject or Revisit Shakespeare: That Is the Question

Who is the best writer in the English language?  Who is the most influential? Who provides the most valuable insights into human nature, political leadership, the development (or digression) of personal character?  The answer to these questions, of course, is easy.  And it's been the answer for over 400 years.  It is William Shakespeare.

So why has the reading of Shakespeare fallen out of favor?  Indeed, why have even professional educators suddenly kicked the noble Bard into the gutter? The recent study conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni reveals just how dramatic has been this new disdain. That study showed that only 4 of the nation’s 52 highest ranked colleges require their English literature majors to take a course in Shakespeare. Unbelievable.

Why has this happened? Well, there have been several fine articles published in the alternative media which deal with this perplexing question. But may I boil it down to two basic issues?

1) Reading Shakespeare is just too hard for today’s students.  Sadly, our dumbed-down society doesn’t go in much for reading anyhow.  We prefer visual stimulation, especially TV, movies, and computer games that are heavy on sensuality and action and politically-correct propaganda.  And we certainly don’t have the time, the inclination, the attention span, the work ethic, or the literary skills to read the works of a writer as complex and profound as William Shakespeare.

Therefore, rather than admit the obvious; namely, that we have produced a nation of 100 pound weaklings for whom Shakespeare is just too heavy to lift, we merely read something easier, quicker, and more fitting to our self-flattered egos. Better yet, we watch a movie.

2) Reading Shakespeare has been determined by the post-moderns who control academia as an activity geared primarily to racists, misogynists, and elitists. After all, Shakespeare was a white male who was gifted, well-educated, and who associated with the upper crust of society.  Even worse, Shakespeare’s plays and poetry reflect a Christian worldview which is, to use a word newly popular with liberals, deplorable.

This unreasonable but determined neglect of Shakespeare’s genius by today’s academics is, of course, sad for the culture as a whole, not to mention individual students who miss out on Shakespeare in preference to the scratchings of irreligious, untalented hacks. As Professor Jonathan Bate, a leading Shakespeare scholar at Worcester College, Oxford put it, “Shakespeare remains the greatest author and most rewarding to study who ever lived. American students who do not study Shakespeare are missing out on the depth of his characterization, the brilliance of his language and the universality of his themes.”

Claire and I have become particularly frustrated with the situation. In fact, we take it a little personal. After all, we have been fans of Shakespeare since our youth.  We read him in high school.  We took college courses on him.  We have seen many of the dramas performed; listened to his work through audio recordings; and read many of the plays over and again.  So, as we considered this new trashing of the Bard by the post-modern powers that be, we decided to double down on Shakespeare. We will now read, study, and promote his work with greater vigor than ever.

Our plan of action involves several steps. 1) We’re going to be more aggressive and organized.  For instance, we are committing to read at least one Shakespeare play every month. We will also be watching more of the plays, many of which you can find for free.  2) We are currently taking the online course on Shakespeare offered for free by Hillsdale College.  We have only two lectures to go and have found them very interesting and motivating.  3) We are going to re-read some of the excellent books in our library that persuasively argue that the real author behind the pseudonym of William Shakespeare was Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. And 4) we will be encouraging others more than ever to read and watch the Shakespeare plays.

Want in on the fun? Just let us know.

(The photo at the top of this post is An Early Reading of Shakespeare by Solomon Hart, 1838.)

Getting the Year Started in Books

For the first personal “reading review” of 2017, I have, as is usual, a pretty eclectic list which includes a couple of books I had actually started in 2016 but only finished early in January. Both of them earned 4 stars. The first was a brand new read for me -- Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. It was instructive, interesting, heart-warming. And then there was a re-reading of C. S. Lewis’ Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer which I found of great value.

January also saw me go through several of William F. Buckley’s espionage/thriller series starring CIA agent Blackford Oakes. They were Saving the Queen; Who’s On First; Marco Polo, If You Can; and See You Later, Alligator.  Some of these Blackford Oakes novels were better than others but, because of scenes which some would find offensive, I wouldn't recommend any of them.  These scenes, by the way, were unnecessary, distracting, and remarkably out of sync with what else I know of Buckley’s character.  Too bad.

Last week I read a couple of Alistair Maclean adventure novels. I normally like MacLean quite a bit but these were not his best. Partisans only made it up to 2 stars. The Way to Dusty Death was a bit better.

But these first 6 weeks of the year have yielded 3 other treasures, all of them 4 star reads. Ice Palace by Edna Ferber (which was our January Notting Hill Napoleons’ selection) and, from William Shakespeare, the tragedy Hamlet and the comedy The Tempest.

Happy reading to you.

The Year (So Far) in Books: Concerned Primarily with Lewis and Dumas

This year’s reading has, to be quite honest, presented quite a challenge.  Sure, there have been some fun, escapist reads along the way (a John D. MacDonald, an Arnold Bennett ghost story, a couple of Ngaio Marsh mysteries, a Mary Roberts Rinehart thriller, and a few others), but most of this year’s books have been in keeping with the New Year’s resolutions I’ve been making for awhile now; namely, to spend more of my evenings with the really quality stuff.  That means the best history, theology, and classic literature.

The theological books read thus far this year have been profound and helpful. There have been a few I had never read before but, as is usual, a lot more which are re-reads. 2016’s list so far includes Heaven by Randy Alcorn, The Snakebite Letters by Peter Kreeft, Fool’s Talk by Os Guinness, Manalive and Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, and I’m still slogging through Augustine’s Confessions.  Perhaps I should also include in this category the “space trilogy” of C.S. Lewis: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.

Other books? The cold war novel by Commander Edward L. Beach, Cold Is the Sea, was very good as was Jeff Shara’s Civil War story, The Smoke at Dawn.  I also enjoyed The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, Twelfth Night by Edward deVere (aka William Shakespeare), and a reprint of a 1955 classic I picked up in Estes Park, Colorado – Bob Flame, Rocky Mountain Ranger.  Oh yes, there was another truly exceptional book that Claire and I enjoyed via CDs that played while we drove to San Antonio, Texas in our “When Swing Was King” road trip.  It’s a book Claire and I both highly recommend for fun, inspiration, family values, history, and…did I already mention, fun?  The book is Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.

But the most extensive reading so far in 2016 has been my tackling again the immense series of Alexandre Dumas’ d’Artagnan adventures: The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, and finally The Man in the Iron Mask.  3,282 pages of swashbuckling action, mystery, patriotism, romance, international intrigue, history (as liberally re-interpreted by Dumas), heroism, humor, and, of course, virtuous and undying friendship.  After going through these books again, Dumas’ place as one of my five favorite authors is more secure than ever. Indeed, Dumas’ place is so secure that my next project is his 1844 classic, The Count of Monte Cristo.  That's another 1,240 pages. Whew!  

But in the midst of this next Dumas novel, the selection for two months of the Notting Hill Napoleons, we are riding into another grand adventure…a summer reading project of C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. We have invited readers of all ages from our church to join other friends in this fun and inspirational series, complete with discussion guides, quizzes, and a couple of parties where we can talk about what we’re experiencing in Narnia. 

By the way, if you’re interested, just let us know.

Of Interest to My Bookish Friends

* “Tolkien, Lewis, and the Great War” (Linda Bridges, National Review)

* “Can Shakespeare Heal? One Director’s Quest to Help Treat PTSD” (Madaline Donnelly, Daily Signal)

* “More Answers to Twelve Tantalizing Questions” (John Malek, The Book Den)

* “Alice in Wonderland at 150: still a literary wonder” (Susan Reibel Moore, Mercator)

* “America’s Reading Crisis Is Much Worse Than You Think” (Sara Kay Mooney, Christianity Today)

So What Are English Lit Profs Teaching If Not Shakespeare?

The dumbing down of American students is, of course, preceded by the most bizarre fancies among the politically correct academicians who teach the poor kiddies.

A case in point?

Philip Sherwell, writing in the Telegraph, observes that only 4 of America’s 52 highest-ranked academic institutions [Harvard, University of California, Wellesley College, and the US Naval Academy] require a Shakespeare course in their English departments. How come? The American Council of Trustees and Alumni suggest that “Shakespeare’s demise as a subject of specialist study mirrored an increase in courses with emphasis on race, class, gender, and sexuality such as ‘Literature, Food, and the American Racial Diet’ at Princeton University.’”

Your tax dollars at work.

We're Voting Early (Our Book Club, That Is)

Because one of the couples in our book club cannot make it to our Whispering Pines weekend in Nebraska City next month, we decided to go ahead and vote on our 2015 booklist at our next meeting -- which is tonight. I'm listing below the books that Claire and I are submitting.

Will they make it? Who knows? The members of our noble company once enjoyed greater unanimity in the types of books we enjoyed but, in recent years, we've seen much wider differences of taste, opinions, time available, and so on. Some like more modern stuff while others, like Claire and I, would like to stay with classic literature. (If there was an 18th and 19th Century-only club, we'd probably join it!) Some want to avoid long novels. Some want to avoid dialect (Sir Walter Scott, for instance). Some prefer lighter themes while others go for the Russians. Some absolutely refuse to read anything on a Kindle, making some choices too expensive to buy in hard copies.

You get the idea. Finding literature that the whole group wants to read is a difficult business. But, like we always do, we'll give it a go.

Anyhow, here's the Hartfords' list of suggestions for this time around. If these are the kind of books you like reading and discussing, by all means, let us know. We're always ready for a book conversation over lunch or coffee. In fact, we're even open to the possibility of joining (or starting) another book club.

Why not? What else are we going to do? Watch TV? Yuck.

Denny & Claire’s Recommendations for 2015 
(All books listed have been read in full by the endorsers.)

1) Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak – Russia. Revolution. Romance. What won’t you like about this grand novel? Length? C’mon. We used to read these long novels in years past and loved them. We can do it again. And, if need be, we take an extra month to read it. No big deal. (648 pages. Several used, cheap copies around. $11 for a Kindle edition. 5 copies in the local library.)
If you don’t want this particular re-read, would you consider:
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Doestoevsky?
Or Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott?
Or 1984 by George Orwell?

2) Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmonds -- Gilbert and Lana Martin are newlywed pioneers trying to make a home in the Mohawk Valley just as the American Revolution is launched. But the Martins’ hopes for a life together must not only overcome poverty, hard work and extreme loneliness, but they are also violently challenged by Indians, British soldiers, and the Loyalists devoutly set against the new nation. Here's a much different view of the Revolution because this story isn't set in Philadelphia or Boston but rather on the distant New York frontier. (580 pages. Several used copies around at cheap prices. 2 copies in the local library.)

3) Richard III by Edward de Vere (aka William Shakespeare) – From 1993 through 2003, the Napoleons voted in a Shakespeare play. We suggest we return to the Bard this year with this riveting historical drama. The writing is beautiful. The potential for meaningful conversation is enormous. The educational value is immense. And a Shakespeare play probably takes less time than any novel we’ll read…even if you throw in watching a good movie version. (Available just about everywhere, including your own library at home.)

4) Knight Without Armor by James Hilton -- Published in 1933, this thriller is quite a bit different from the author’s better-known novels, Random Harvest, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and Lost Horizon. This deals with Ainsely Fothergill, a lost young man who begins a career as a journalist covering the Russo-Japanese war (1903) but, through an unusual series of events, becomes a reluctant spy for the British government in revolutionary Russia.  (297 pages. $2.99 at Kindle. $8 at ABE Books. Free through Gutenberg.)

5) Run Silent, Run Deep by Commander Edward L. Beach, Jr. -- No, this isn't much like the Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster flick of the same name. It is, in fact, much more interesting and worthwhile. The novel provides a detailed look at submarine service during World War II through the eyes of one crew, but the reader learns a lot about how subs worked, training, strategy, Pearl Harbor, and matters of the human soul. The plot also involves a very daring adventure against a Japanese war genius. Beach himself served on submarines in the Pacific during the war and his writing is terrific.  This book has made it to NHN Alternative status before. Let’s take it all the way. (343 pages. Used from $1 at ABE Books.)

6) Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Aldrich -- Ella Bishop comes to college as an eager, curious and dedicated young student…and stays as a teacher through many long and lovely (though sometimes lonely) years. This is a touching story of integrity, unrequited love, loyalty, and passion for teaching young people. And of course, Aldrich is a Nebraska author. (337 pages. $2.99 Kindle and $5.89 at ABE Books. Free at Project Gutenburg. 4 copies in the local library.)

7) The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers -- A tense, deeply moving novel about the escape of a young Communist from a Nazi concentration camp and his ongoing efforts to avoid recapture. (344 pages. Used starting at $1 at ABE Books.)

8) Mistress Wilding by Rafael Satabini – Rebellion. Romance. Heroes and villains. Chivalry and adventure. A rousing adventure from one our favorite authors, set against the intriguing background of the Duke of Monmouth's return to England during the reign of King James. (262 pages. Free on Kindle and $4.99 at Amazon).

9) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier -- "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." You loved the movie; I think you’ll love the book – even though you’ll find the ending quite a bit different.  Du Maurier is an incomparable craftsman and in Rebecca she has created one of America’s most intense and intriguing gothic novels.  416 pages.  (Used copies starting at $.01 at Amazon.  10 copies in the local library.)

10) Persuasion by Jane Austen – Jane Austen might have saved her very best for her last novel. Though connected a bit to Northanger Abbey (the Royal Navy, the city of Bath, family complications), the story finds Austen exploring a more darkly satirical perspective than in her other work. But just for a season. In the end, there is a very positive, uplifting tone and message. Her treatment of the various ways in which a person is “persuaded” to be something they are not is terrific. And, not surprisingly, it is a masterfully crafted novel. (272 pages. Both new and used copies abound at inexpensive prices. 13 copies in the local library.)

Titus Andronicus: A Bloody Mistake

Without a doubt, the worst play attributed to William Shakespeare was the bloody tragedy, “Titus Andronicus.” I’m going through my own Shakespeare re-reading festival this summer and autumn and I felt obliged to go through this horrid tale again, the first time since my undergraduate days. (Back in the late 30s, weren’t they?)

Anyhow, I pass along my recommendation to read Shakespeare’s gems but, under no circumstances, should you bother yourself with this nightmare of torture, rape, mutilation, murder, cannibalism, and two of the most loathsome villains (Aaron and Tamora) in literature. Oh, did I mention that the thing is poorly written too?

By the way, and let’s keep this between you and me (and Coleridge and Eliot, who agree with me), I don’t think Shakespeare even wrote the thing.

One other note. This play has not been well-received throughout much of its history. Ravenscroft thought it an “indigested heap of rubbish” in the 17th Century. Johnson despised it in the 18th Century. And the Victorians rightly condemned it as stupid and ridiculously violent. It has only been in the post-modern decadence emerging from the 1950s that “Titus Andronicus” has found its praises.

And the statement that makes about modern culture may be the greatest tragedy of all.

My Favorite Historians?

The recent high school graduate wrote me,

“Denny, I know your academic training was in history and that you remain deeply interested in it. I was wondering if you could tell me who the best historians are for me to start reading?”

My reply --

You raise an interesting question and it's been kinda' fun for me to think about. Of course, the first issue is selecting the type of history. The fellows dealing with the history of philosophy or ancient Rome or World War II are, most likely, going to be different. Naturally then, my favorites will be guys who cover the areas of history I'm most interested in.

Another thing I should mention is that some of my very favorite books of history were not written by professional historians at all. A conservative speechwriter wrote my favorite history of the Reagan administration -- Peggy Noonan. A soldier wrote my favorite history of the American Civil War -- Ulysses Grant. And my favorite histories of the U.S. space program were written by two scientists and a novelist -- Chris Kraft, Gene Kranz, and Tom Wolfe.

Keep in mind too that autobiographies are history and they are rarely written by professional historians. Also, novelists and playwrights frequently serve as excellent chroniclers of history. I especially appreciate in this category Fyodor Dostoevsky, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare (aka Edward de Vere), Sir Walter Scott, Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Dumas, Victor Hugo, Jane Austen, Evelyn Waugh, Boris Pasternak, the Brontes, and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

But enough traipsing around your question. If you can keep all of these things in mind, I will mention a few professional historians that have indeed made the top rank for my interests and purposes. I'm quite sure I'll leave a couple out but, without classifying them as to time or subject, here's some names: Shelby Foote, Samuel Eliot Morison, Walter Lord, John Toland, David McCullough, Antonia Fraser, Laura Hillenbrand, Roland Bainton, Winston Churchill, Paul Johnson, Stephen Ambrose, Bruce Catton, and William Prescott.

By the way, among these my absolute favorites are Foote, Morison, Lord, and Hillenbrand.

De Vere Is Shakespeare: It Just Makes Sense

The De Vere Society (of which I'm a longstanding friend and admirer) has launched a nifty poster campaign which is designed "to raise the profile of the Shakespeare Authorship Question in the public's mind by questioning the Stratfordian claims to authorship."

A second aim is to encourage inquiring minds to visit the De Vere Society (U.K) website where they can discover all sorts of intriguing, enlightening information about the authorship question, the remarkably inept historiography used by Stratfordians, Edward de Vere himself, and more.

Along with the link to the website above, I'll also give you a peek at the poster. And, because the print is small in this copy, I provide the content in bigger print below. Then, below the poster's content, I'll provide a couple of other Book Den posts related to the Shakespeare authorship controversy.

“Is this an impostor I see before me?” 

• In nearly 200 years of research, no-one has discovered a single piece of corroborative evidence that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon was a writer. • There is no evidence that he received a formal education. Yet the works attributed to him were clearly written by an exceptionally gifted classical scholar. 

• There is no evidence that he ever travelled abroad. Yet 16 of the plays attributed to him display first-hand knowledge of Italian cities and require the author to have been fluent in Italian. 

 • No document has ever been discovered which records any payment to him as the author of a play. 

• There are no letters written by him even though, while he was living in London, his wife and daughters were living in Stratford, and the only examples of his handwriting are six poorly written signatures of variable spelling. 

• The only evidence we do have records a man interested in modest property deals, suing debtors for small sums and serial tax evasion – nothing whatever to suggest he was the leading light of the Elizabethan age. 

Academics refuse even to admit that the Authorship Question is a legitimate subject of debate. Instead, year after year, they publish ever more fanciful fictionalised biographies of William of Stratford – having no qualms about presenting conjecture as fact. 

Yet there is now a growing clamour from outside the walls of academia of scholars asking to be let inside so they can point out that the Emperor and all his courtiers are wearing no clothes. 

www.deveresociety.co.uk

Previous Book Den posts:

Once More On The Authorship Debate  

Reading Roundup: A Few Items from Literary Sites You Might Have Missed (with a link within to "A Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare.")

Yet Again on the Authorship Question

Shakespeare Controversy 101

Who is Shakespeare? -- Edward de Vere vs "The Great Pretender"

"Is Shakespeare Dead?" Dramatized

Dr. Keir Cutler performs (and performs very well!) Mark Twain's "Is Shakespeare Dead?" debunking the myth that the Stratfordian actor wrote the great works of William Shakespeare.