Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

by Doris Kearns Goodwin
I love history books that let the reader get to know some of the most fascinating characters in history. For that reason, I really enjoyed Team of Rivals. Not only does it explore the character and strategies of President Lincoln, it also explores the personalities and traits of some of the other great men of that generation.

When Lincoln was running for the presidency, he was the long-shot, darkhorse candidate. Most people thought William Henry Seward would easily get the nomination of the new Republican Party, and if not him, then Salmon Chase or Edward Bates. But Lincoln cleverly positioned himself, from the frontier of America, to swoop in and clinch the nomination when Seward faltered in the end. But that wouldn't be very remarkable, if he didn't immediately thereafter bring all of his former rivals into his cabinet. Some of them came kicking and screaming; others came out of a sense of duty; still others came because they saw a chance to grab the next presidential nomination. But in the end, they call came to respect and admire the man whom they initially thought was a simple, unrefined country lawyer.

Throughout the course of the book I came to appreciate the roles these men played during the crucial period of the American Civil War. I admired Secretary of State William Seward's selfless willingness to support the man who had the position Seward should have won. I appreciated the dogmatic hard work and gruff exterior of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. I was impressed by Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles' transformation of the American Navy from a few dozen dilapidated ships to a modern superpower. I was somewhat disgusted by Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase's perpetual back-stabbing and self-righteousness as he tried (unsuccessfully) to outmaneuver Lincoln politically. And I was touched by the sacrifice of Attorney General Edward Bates as he was separated from his family and worked hard until he was over 70.

However, even though there are many great men and women with important roles in this period of American history, the book's view of the other men merely serves to reinforce the monolithic character of Lincoln himself. We usually think of him as Honest Abe, but that doesn't mean he was simple. He managed to cobble together an enormously talented cabinet during a time when traitors and Southern sympathizers literally threatened to tear the government and military apart. He played his rivals off each other and held together the newly formed Republican Party, which threatened to split at any moment. His unshakable faith in the Union and his own abilities was contagious, bolstering his cabinet members and the soldiers he repeatedly visited in the field. And his refusal to hold grudges diffused many situations and allowed him to win over many of his most bitter critics. As his formal rivals, who quickly became his colleagues and supporters, came to know Abraham Lincoln, they reached the same conclusion that I reached: that Lincoln was the best (and perhaps only) man to bring the country safely through that crisis. Doris Kearns Goodwin is a fine historical writer. She is obviously a Lincoln fan, and after reading Team of Rivals, I have to agree.

Howl's Moving Castle

by Diana Wynne Jones
I didn't even know about this book until Hayao Miyazaki made a movie version. The film was quite good in its own right, but now that I have read the book, I realize that he made quite a few changes that I can't exactly explain. And as is almost always the case in books adapted to movies, the book is better.

Howl's Moving Castle follows the story of Sophie, a young woman who works in a hat shop. Her sisters have left and were leading exciting lives, but as the dutiful oldest daughter, Sophie felt trapped in her tedious world. All that changes when the Witch of the Waste comes to the shop and becomes angry with Sophie. The Witch curses Sophie, turning her into an old woman, and Sophie flees before her family can discover what happened to her. In desperation, she eventually takes up residence in the strange moving castle that roams around the town, said to be owned by the evil Wizard Howl. In the castle, Sophie meets Wizard Howl and many other colorful figures, and has plenty of adventures of her own.

A lot of the characters and subplots in Howl's Moving Castle are fairly confusing, but it all comes together in the end. I thought the book was extremely imaginative, and it has a very humorous tone; the characters are genuinely funny and vivid. I'd recommend this book to anyone, both young and old.

The Big Over Easy

by Jasper Fforde
Having previously read Jasper Fforde's whimsical novel The Eyre Affair, I knew a little of what to expect when I opened The Big Over Easy. Sure enough, I was once again immersed in an alternate history filled with fantastical characters, murderous plots, and continual literary references. Fforde likes to create a world in which literary knowledge is useful in the professional world, which is surely the most fantastical part of his stories.

The Big Over Easy follows Jack Spratt and Mary Mary from the Nursery Crime Division, who are investigating the suspicious death of Humpty Dumpty, who as you imagine, is actually a big egg. The stuff of nursery rhymes and fables is freely mixed with traditional pulp mystery elements, including corrupt corporate schemes, sordid affairs, and plenty of plot twists. The Big Easy is an entertaining and quick read, with plenty of familiar characters and humorous references, but less of the snootiness of The Eyre Affair.

Midshipman's Hope

by David Feintuch
Midshipman's Hope is a military/sci-fi novel that does a good job creating a universe in which humans travel to and colonize other planets using spaceships the same way our ancestors used sailing vessels. Those ships carry cargo and passengers through the depths of space for months on end, and are manned by a crew of sailors and officers similar to the naval tradition. Feintuch tells the story of Nicholas Seafort, a young midshipman who becomes the senior officer on the ship after disasters and illness kill the captain and his lieutenants. He is forced to continue the voyage to the planet Hope as his duty as an officer, even though he feels he is unqualified to command.

Midshipman's Hope succeeds mainly through its frank portrayal of the self-doubts of its main character and narrator, as well as the interpersonal dynamics of a small ship alone in space. Even though the setting is in the future, the book gave me a hint as to what sailing the seas would have been like five hundred years ago. Like most science fiction books, the author engages in some amateur sociological predictions when he describes the government and the hierarchy of the military, but it generally contributes to the story rather than distract from it. By the end of the book it is clear that there is more to come (it is the first in a series), but there is still a fairly satisfying ending in which Seafort comes to grips with his own decisions and vanquishes a few personal demons. Midshipman's Hope is a very good science-fiction/military novel in the tradition, and an enjoyable read.

The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun

This is actually my first experience in Lilian Jackson Braun's popular The Cat Who series. I was familiar the titles, but The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell was the first time I actually read one of the series. Sadly, it may be the last one I read, because I thought it was poorly written and somewhat pointless.

I gather that every Cat Who book follows the character of James Qwilleran, a writer who inherited a fortune and spends most of his time talking with friends, giving away money, and obsessing over his two cats, KoKo and Yum Yum. This could be a nice set-up for an unlikely detective protagonist (a la Miss Marple or Hercules Poirot) but this book utterly fails to deliver. There are quite few mysteries, including three murders, several plots, and not little intrigue. But for some reason Ms. Braun never has her protagonist solve any of those mysteries. Qwilleran is content feeding his cats and eating in fine restaurants while people get knocked off around him. Several of the mysteries in this book are never really explained; the story just goes on and everyone seems to forget about them.

I think, now that I have read this book, that I may be forced to read one of Braun's earlier Cat Who novels to see if this book is truly representative of the series. I hope that the books are usually higher quality, and that the series just jumped the shark rather than being of poor quality to begin with. Ms. Braun is known for her light-hearted writing, and it was nice to read a mystery that wasn't a sordid affair full of misery, sex, and violence. But I was hoping for a little more plot.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

The seventh and final installment in this worldwide phenomenon of young adult literature brings the Harry Potter series to a satisfying close. Having improved as a writer since Book 1, Rowling capably ties up almost all the loose ends in this magical tale of good versus evil. One thing with which I was impressed was how merciless Rowling was with the characters and conventions she had built up in the previous six books. Many major characters die, and the traditional school year rhythm of the series is immediately dispensed with as Harry, Ron, and Hermione take on the most powerful evil wizard, Lord Voldemort. It is not a perfect book, but fans of the series will generally not be disappointed. In fact, naysayers of the series might reconsider their criticism as the last book breaks even the magical Harry Potter mold. With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the integrity of the series is safe, virtually guaranteeing its continued popularity for several decades to come.

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

Lord of Light is an epic novel that blends elements of fantasy and science fiction into a sprawling narrative of deities, wars, and religion. Set on a faraway planet after the destruction of Earth, Lord of Light follows the rebellion of the Buddha, Sam, against the gods. In this book, the gods are merely the first colonists on that planet. In order to subdue the native inhabitants of that world (called "demons" in the book), the humans gave themselves vast powers through genetic engineering and technological means. Those first colonists then used those powers, along with "reincarnation machines," to rule over the human inhabitants of the planet. Hinduism is used as both religion and a government, but the main character, Sam, tries to overthrow that system with a new religion -- Buddhism.

Like Roger Zelazny's Amber series, Lord of Light is mostly fantasy with some technological undercurrents. But Lord of Light remains a singular work for how it weaves magic with science and religion with politics. This is one of Zelazny's best-known novels, and while I enjoy reading his Amber series more, I have to admit that Lord of Light is his best work overall.