IRAN’S COLLAPSE

One’s heart goes out to the citizens of Iran and wonders what hope there is for their future. Iran seems trapped between rock and a hard place, a choice between the bombs of war and religious fundamentalism.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

King of Kings (The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation)

Author: Scott Anderson

Narration by: Malcolm Hillgartner & 1 more

Scott Anderson is a novelist and veteran war correspondent. His previous novels include Moonlight Hotel and The Man Who Tried to Save the World.

“King of Kings” is an informative historical account of the collapse of Iran as a former monarchy and current theocracy. The hubris of the King and the Ayatollahs have no one to blame but themselves for their government’s failure. What Anderson shows is that what royal and theological leaders have in common. Both neglect the wellbeing of the Iranian people. The King squandered the wealth created by the oil industry to buy a false sense of security. The “King of Kings” made excessive investments in weapons and a spy service called SVAK rather than invest in Iran’s economy for the betterment of its citizens. The King’s SVAK turned into MOIS in the Ayatollah’ regimes. Neither regime invested in the people’s welfare. Both secret services were designed to spy on Iran’s citizens and reinforce the delusion of serving the people when in fact they were designed to preserve their governments’ power and control.

Iran’s leadership as a monarchy and theocracy have failed its people.

Anderson shows the “King of Kings” initially improves the general welfare of Iran’s citizens but because of inept leadership and the privileges of power, the Shah failed the Iranian people. The Shah’s incompetence as a manager of Iran’s great oil wealth is a wasted opportunity that could have provided a better life for its citizens. Rather than encouraging economic growth, the Shah chose to invest in weaponry and other countries products to sustain Iran’s economy.

The Iranian people were not farming or creating their own industries to sustain and grow their economy.

The King’s failure to invest oil revenues in the economy and Ayatollahs who cared little about economic investment, impoverished the Iranian people. When other countries like Saudi Arabia flooded the market with oil, the economy of Iran collapsed. That loss of oil income impoverished the people of Iran. Iran had become dependent on other countries produce rather than the work of their own farmers and industrialists to support their lives and families. That impoverishment drove many back to the ideal of a Muslim religion that believes hardships of life are only preparation for heaven.

The rule of the Ayatollahs seems as incompetent as the Shah’s.

The Ayatollahs fail to improve the economy and rely on a secret service that victimizes all who criticize their rule. It seems they believe the hardship of life is no concern because heaven awaits all those who believe in the Ayatollah’s governance. Anyone who fails to support the Shia Muslim autocracy is murdered or imprisoned based on the Ayatollahs’ belief in the hereafter. Iranians may believe in the Ayatollahs’ teaching and are willing to support their government, but a substantial portion of the Iranian people are discontented with their poverty and hunger.

Iranian oil fields supported the wealth of Iran before Saudi Arabia’s entry into the market.

Anderson explains how Iran became a troubled country. Neither rule as a monarchy or theocracy offered a solution to poverty and hunger. The answer may not be capitalism or democracy, but the present and past Iranian governments have not served the needs of its people. One’s heart goes out to the citizens of Iran and wonders what hope there is for their future. Iran seems trapped between rock and a hard place, a choice between the bombs of war and religious fundamentalism.

BOMBING IRAN

America’s self-interest is to see Iran as an independent State that does not murder Americans. Regime change may be a small step toward that goal or a step into quicksand that will only swallow more American lives.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

King of Kings (The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation)

Author: Scott Anderson

Narration by: Malcolm Hillgartner & 1 more

Scott Anderson (Author, novelist, non-fiction writer, war correspondent who has written for the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Esquire, and Vanity Fair. Was raised in Taiwan and Korea, received an M.F.A. in creative writing from University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop.)

This review is only a glimpse of Anderson’s book, but the bombing of Iran gives this reviewer a sense of urgency about President Trump’s decision to bomb and kill the current leader of Iran.

The author, having been raised in a non-American culture, has written an interesting history of Iran that offers some perspective on Iran’s Persian culture and its tumultuous transition from royal leadership to an Islamic Republic. Iran’s monarchy had survived for 2500 years. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini deposed the “King of Kings”, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, in 1979.

In 2024, President Trump directed America’s bombing of Iran that killed Iran’s second leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The purported reason for the bombing is to save the Iranian people from the tyranny of its current leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei had become Iran’s leader after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Anderson infers Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, though a Shia Muslim himself, was too detached from the Muslim religion practiced by a majority of Iranian society. The Shah pursued modernization without bringing Iran’s Shia Muslim believers into the “Sturm and Drang” of modernity. Despite improving the economic condition of Iran’s citizens, the Shah ignored the importance of a religion that reaches back to 651 CE with the Arab Muslim conquest of Persia. Even though the economic benefit of modernization is documentable, the gap between rich and poor, along with belief in a religion that emphasizes an afterlife, made too many citizens of Iran unhappy with the Shah.

Sunni and Shite Muslim Difference.

Muslimism began in the early 7th century and spread across the Arabian Peninsula. An estimated 68 million Iranians, approximately 89% of the country, are Shia Muslim believers. Anderson believes the Shah’s failure to understand the importance of his own religion led to the 1979 revolution that toppled the “King of Kings”. Anderson suggests too little effort was made to bring religion into the Shah’s management of the Iranian people. Putting aside that failure, one wonders could any leader bring his people to believe in life today when their religion emphasizes an afterlife is the only goal of existence. Whether any leader of Iran could have ameliorated citizen discontent in Iran is hard to argue. Because of America’s decision to kill Iran’s leader, that speculation is moot.

It is not a matter of being or not being Religious but a matter of having a pragmatic and compassionate understanding of humanity.

Now, America is faced with the Shah of Iran’s dilemma of bringing religion into the administration of Iran’s government. Americans have solved that problem with the separation of church and state. Is that possible in Iran? That separation is something Anderson suggests is the mistake made by the Shah. Is America more or less likely to solve that problem than an Iranian? President Trump believes he should have the power to approve the next leader of Iran. Problem solved???????

The Shah of Iran is fascinated by American military hardware.  In that infatuation, the Shah fails to serve the domestic needs of Iran’s citizens. 

America’s self-interest is to see Iran as an independent State that does not murder Americans. Regime change may be a small step toward that goal or a step into quicksand that will only swallow more American lives. Just doing something is not an answer to the complications of international relations.

TESTING DEMOCRACY

Does American Democracy have the resilience to adjust to a massive change in its economy from Artificial Intelligence? That is the essence of Turley’s concern about “The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution”.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Rage and the Republic (The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution)

Author: Jonathan Turley

Narration by: Jonathan Turley

Jonathan Turley (Author, American attorney, legal scholar, commentator, professor at George Washington University Law School.)

As George Santayana wrote in “The Life of Reason” in 1905, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Jonathan Turley served on the board that judged whether Clinton and Trump should be impeached. His history in “Rage and the Republic” is a scholarly assessment of America’s struggle with democracy and “rule of the many” rather than the “One”. Turley reviews the histories of the American and French revolutions to show how they were fundamentally different and what that difference shows in the present and implies for the future.

President Trump is testing the limits of democracy.

Trump is not the first nor the last President who has taken liberties with the ideals of Democracy. President Franklin Roosevelt was heavily criticized for his public works decisions during the depression just as President Trump is heavily criticized for his imperial actions on immigration and the bombing of Iran. As one listens/reads to Turley’s “Rage and the Republic”, one is comforted by the history of America’s struggle with the framework of democracy as it is defined by the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Democracy has been challenged by many in the history of its establishment but has managed to right itself from the trials it presents for belief in liberty and equality for all.

An inherent difficulty of Democracy is in balancing freedom with authority.

Turley reminds listener/readers of the early days of American independence and men (because they were mostly men) like Thomas Paine who railed against abuse of power by Governors of independent States like Pennsylvania, and the government of the early American states. Paine’s history is of a flawed human being who rose to be an American patriot. Paine reinforced belief in Democracy with his political actions and beliefs reported in his publication of “Common Sense”. Paine railed against the Governor of Pennsylvania for profiting from his role as a head of state just as many criticize Trump today for doing the same as President of the United States.

Despite Paine’s “Rights of Man”, every President, Republican or Democrat, has sided with corporate interests. Some Presidents undoubtedly benefited from those interests.

Turley explains Paine’s imprisonment in France during the French revolution. The irony of Paine’s imprisonment in France is America’s neglect of his predicament, and the rage of the French Revolution which may be harbingers of a future for American citizens. Just as “Trump’s induced” riot of January 6, 2021, and today’s public reactions to ICE’ immigration and Iran’s bombing, public reactions may be warnings of America’s future.

One hopes America’s rage does not devolve into anything like the French revolution.

America remains a land of immigrants. In today’s world, Turley notes it is common for Americans to have more than one citizenship. He notes a French citizen who becomes an American farmer in the United States. Despite being a French citizen, he adapts to a different way of life and grows to identify himself as an American. That adaptation will be greater for all Americans in the 21st century.

Turley’s interesting history of public rage is a warning about the massive transition governments will have to make because of Artificial Intelligence and its impact on employment. Does American Democracy have the resilience to adjust to a massive change in its economy from Artificial Intelligence? That is the essence of Turley’s concern about “The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution”.

LITERATURE

Serpell has written an excellent review of Morrison’s work as a novelist. It illustrates the great power and importance of literature to reveal an understanding of ourselves and humanity.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

On Morrison 

Author: Namwali Serpell 

Narration by: January LaVoy

Namwali Serpell (Author, Zamian/American, professor of English at Harvard.)

Ms. Serpell has written an insightful and informative review of Toni Morrison’s written works. Morrison died on August 5, 2019. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She also won a Pulitzer Prize for “Beloved” in 1987. Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953 and received a master’s degree in American Literature from Cornell in 1955. Her writing is partly about racism in the United States, but her story telling is about human beings, regardless of their race.

Toni Morrison (1931-2019, American novelist, professor of literature, and editor.)

Serpell explains how one can understand the brilliance of Morrison as a writer of great fiction. Morrison’s reading of literary classics is a part of her success as a writer. Serpell’s explanation of the many allusions in Morrison’s books show how brilliant both Serpell is in her understanding of literature and Morrison’s success as a literary Nobel Prize winner.

Tolstoy and Morrison are among the great writers of their times

What comes through to this critic is how ignorant one can be about what makes a writer great. Morrison is a writer that in someways removes the color of one’s skin from society by creating stories that are true about every American today. The story in “The Bluest Eye” of a father who rapes and impregnates his own daughter is an appalling truth about world gender discrimination and human degradation. It illustrates the brutality and inequality of gender discrimination in society. Societal inequality is not just about the color of one’s skin but in the false belief of racial and gender superiority.

Like Baldwin, Morrison was a voracious reader of books.

Serpell reveals the many allusions to classic literature in Morrison’s work. From Shakespearean drama to the modern literature of Eliot and Joyce, Morrison draws on behaviors, and social strategies that shape her stories. Morrison gives the same depth to Black life as all human life. Serpell shows Morrison draws on singular heroes and forces that have driven the characters of other famous and successful writers.

Morrison’s Published Books

  • The Bluest Eye (1970)
  • Sula (1973)
  • Song of Solomon (1977)
  • Tar Baby (1981)
  • Beloved (1987)
  • Jazz (1992)
  • Paradise (1998)

In the last chapter of “…Morrison”, Serpell visits a memorial to Morrison. Serpell explains that reading Morrison is like developing a relationship with her. The author notes Morrison did not shy away from the truth of discrimination. She explains Morrison looks at monuments to discrimination like the statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, VA. and believes they should be left in place to remind society of stories that show how unjust inequality is to humanity (the statue is removed in 2021). Morrison is shown to be a great Black writer with a clear understanding of what it is to be an American.

Toni Morrison Memorial.

Interestingly, Serpell is highly critical of Morrison’s poetry. Serpell suggests Morrison has great poetic power in her prose but fails when she tries to write poetry. (Not being a follower of poetry, this reviewer is no judge.) What one can read in Morrison’s prose shows an imaginative density that seems the equal of what people say about poetry. It is somewhat surprising that Morrison could not be a good poet. In any case, Serpell has written an excellent review of Morrison’s work as a novelist. It illustrates the great power and importance of literature to reveal an understanding of ourselves and humanity.

ART

Wallace’s brief history of Michelangelo and Titian make one see each artist through different lenses. Michelangelo was a multifaceted artist who could sculpt, draw, and paint the human body with perfection. Titian could paint with a vibrancy of color that reveals emotion.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Michelangelo & Titian (A Tale of Rivalry and Genius)

Author: William E. Wallace 

Narration by: Mack Sanderson

William E. Wallace (Author, internationally recognized authority on Michelangelo, Professor in the Dept. of Art History and Archaeology at Washington University.)

At the beginning of “Michelangelo & Titian”, one may be skeptical of a comparison of Michelangelo with Titian but by the end of Wallace’s history, one begins to understand and appreciate the Professor’s vignette of these famous artists. Michelangelo considers himself a sculptor who knows how to draw and learns how to paint. Titian is a colorist and painter who influences Michelangelo without becoming his equal. Titian is ten years younger than Michelangelo and lives some years after Michelangelo’s death. Though Michelangelo is judged to be more versatile and accomplished than Titian, Wallace shows both made great contributions to the world of art.

Italy’s republics.

Titian is born in Venice, Michelangelo in Florence. Both live into their 80s but Titian is 10 years younger. Wallace suggests these two men knew each other’s work but may have personally met only twice. Once in Venice around 1529 and a second time in Rome around 1546. In 1529, Michelangelo had fled Florence to seek refuge in Venice because of political turmoil in his home Republic. He had become a favorite of the Medici family but changes sides when the Medicis are overthrown by Emperor Charle V and Pope Clement VII in 1527.

Michelangelo is impressed by Titian’s work in Venice because of his use of color. Wallace alludes to Michelangelo’s praise of Titian in a letter written sometime in the 16th century. Wallace argues they were well aware of each other’s talents which created an unspoken rivalry that influenced their work as artists.

Michelangelo
Titian

Wallace argues these two artists brief acquaintance undervalues the influence each has on the other’s art. An example alluded to is the way they depicted Adam and Eve in their paintings. Michelangelo’s painting is based on his drawing skill and intimate knowledge of muscular/anatomical features of the human body. (When learning to become a sculptor, Michelangelo dissected cadavers to improve his understanding of the body.) Though Titian did not have the experience of dissecting cadavers, he uses color to give emotional immediacy to his painted images. In the Sistine Chaple painting, Michelangelo envisions the gravity of what Adam and Eve represent while Titian incorporates the sensuality of humanities fall from grace. Each artist influences the other but remain distinct in their ways of representing the world through art.

Michelangelo’s Eve below Adam
Titian’s Eve above Adam

The representation of Adam and Eve on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo is perfectly anatomical but only shows Adam’s image above Eve who is looking away from God. (One wonders what message is sent to humanity by that detail.) In contrast, though the painting is less anatomically pleasing, the Titian painting shows the emotions of two people with Eve being restrained by Adam. (Another subtle message about the inequality of the sexes?) Wallace implies the anatomical correctness, and the creation story of Michelangelo is what makes the Sistine Chapel painting great art. For Titian, it is the emotional message he offers with the use of color and expression that make his painting remarkable. These two geniuses had complementary skills. Michelangelo’s superior understanding of the body offers body idealization, and Titian’s use of color gives sensuality and emotion to his art. Both artists tell a similar story but in complementary ways.

Wallace’s brief history of Michelangelo and Titian make one see each artist through different lenses. Michelangelo was a multifaceted artist who could sculpt, draw, and paint the human body with perfection. Titian could paint with a vibrancy of color that reveals emotion.

MURDOCH

Capitalism, communism, and socialism are flawed in different ways. Most Americans believe Capitalism is the best of the three. “Bonfire of the Murdochs” reveals the flaws of capitalism.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Bonfire of the Murdochs (How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family)

Author: Gabriel Sherman 

Narration by: Cassandra Medcalf

Gabriel Sherman (Author, American journalist, screenwriter for The Apprentice, and biographer of Roger Ailes.)

The positive face of capitalism offers economic and political freedom to pursue economic well-being through personal effort. There is also a negative face. “Bonfire of the Murdochs” seems to show that face.

Gabriel Sherman explains how Rupert Murdoch and his family are scarred by capitalism which makes them immensely rich but morally bankrupt.

Keith Rupert Murdoch (Australian American business mogul.)

The patriarch of the Murdoch family is Rupert whose family founded two media conglomerates, i.e., News Corp and Fox Corporation. News Corp combines The Wall Street Journal, The Times, and The Australian newspapers. Fox Corporation is made of Fox News, Fox Sports, and Fox TV network. Rupert is the principal creator of these conglomerates, but his children were integral parts of the management and administration of their success.

Patricia Booker
Anna de Peyster
Wendi Deng
Jerry Hall
Elena Zhukova

Rupert Murdoch married five times and had 6 children. He was married for 11 years to Patricia Booker. Their only child was Prudence, born in 1958. Murdoch married his second wife Anna de Peyster in 1967 (the same year of his divorce from Patricia). His second marriage results in the birth of Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James. Anna de Peyster and Rupert Murdoch were married for over 30 years. His third wife, Wendi Deng added two more children for a total of six from his first three wives. His last two marriages were to Jerry Hall and his present wife, Elena Zhukova. The story of Rupert Murdoch’s treatment of his six children is the core of the harm that may come from capitalism’s singular focus on wealth.

Prudence
Elizabeth
Lachlan
James
Grace
Chloe

Rupert remains alive at 94 years of age. Lachlan Murdoch, took over Fox and News Corp in 2023 with Prudence, Elisabeth, and James taking over one billion dollars each to withdraw from Murdoch holdings without voting rights in its operations. Lachlan becomes the sole manager of the remaining media conglomerate. The author explains how Lachlan is the chosen heir apparent. Lachlan’s conservative views and willingness to distort news’ objectivity are purported reasons for Rupert’s choice of Lachlan as his heir. James and his siblings are characterized as critics of the political leanings and news distortions of Rupert’s empire. All but Lachlan leave the news combine with a billion-plus dollar buyout with no voting shares in the future of Rupert Murdoch’s holdings.

Sherman’s inference is that Lachian is the best choice to continue Rupert Murdoch’ version of capitalism.

Whether one believes Rupert Murdoch’s children are politically different from their father or not is a question one may have in listening to Sherman’s book. It appears the first four Rupert children have a desire for wealth more than capitalist probity. Murdoch and his oldest children seem primarily motivated by individual power, and the socio/political benefit of wealth. The four children, at least those before Grace and Chloe, appear to sacrifice capitalism’s ideals for wealth. Wealth is a lure offered by capitalism for good or ill as members of a capitalist society.

Capitalism must benefit more than a simple minority or small majority of citizens within a country.

One may come away from “Bonfire of the Murdochs” with a bad opinion of Rupert Murdoch and his children but to the non-judgmental, the book only shows a side of capitalism that has made America Great for Americans like Trump and societally flawed for the poor. Capitalism, communism, and socialism are flawed in different ways. Most Americans believe Capitalism is the best of the three. “Bonfire of the Murdochs” reveals the flaws of capitalism.

SLAVERY

The Seminole Indian leaders, Osceola and Abraham, formed an alliance for multiracial freedom that remains the goal of all rational human beings. They failed and only became free in death.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Free and the Dead

Author: Jamie Holmes (The Untold Story of the Black Seminole Chief, the Indigenous Rebel, and America’s Forgotten War.)

Narration by: David Sadzin & 1 more

Jamie Holmes (Author, writer for the NYT, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Slate. Served in the Peace Corps after receiving a degree from New York University and went on to Columbia to receive a Master of International Affairs.)

“The Free and the Dead” is a book that shows how little this reader/listener knows about slavery and Black history. “The Free and the Dead” is a history of Black slaves in Florida who were descendants of Spanish Florida that became a refuge for enslaved Africans fleeing the English colonies between the 1600s and 1700s. Spain offers asylum and freedom to runaways who could reach Florida in the early days of America.

Louise Erdrich offers a distinctive picture of Indian reservation life and reminds one of American power’s ill treatment of Indian people.

Some former slaves joined the Seminole Indian confederation to become leaders and translators of Indian languages for early settlers of what became American territory. Holmes reveals some of the cultural blending between Seminole and African descendants who had escaped colonial slavery. Separate villages of these culturally blended descendants gained relative freedom in the U.S. South by becoming fierce fighters for Seminole Indian freedom in the Seminole Wars between 1817 and 1858.

Today’s Indian Reservations.

As most Americans know, the Indian wars were lost and the Seminoles like all Indian tribes were moved around the country to reservations that changed with subsequent Presidents’ and American military’ orders. Holmes reveals some of this early history in “The Free and the Dead”. The most famous Black Seminole leader was Abraham who became a co-leader with Osceola, an indigenous Seminole Indian who resisted U.S. policies.

Abraham (A prominent Black Seminole leader in the 19th century.)

Abraham became a Black Seminole chief. He was a former slave who became an influential military leader of the Seminoles. He spoke English, Spanish, and the Creek Indian languages which made him an important intermediary in negotiating with white settlers. Abraham worked with major Seminole war leaders in negotiating agreements between white settlers and Seminole tribes. This twist in the history of American slavery and Osceola’s and Abraham’s alliance make Holmes’ story insightful.

Osceola, leader of the Seminole Indians in Florida in the Second Seminole War.

The point of “The Free and the Dead” seems the only way one becomes free is when they are dead.

Slavery today seems as prevalent as it was years ago. America’s Declaration of Independence says, “all men are created equal”. Ironically, it seems neither men nor women seem to qualify.

The Seminole Indian leaders, Osceola and Abraham, formed an alliance for multiracial freedom that remains the goal of all rational human beings. They failed and only became free in death. Abraham seems to have died in old age while Osceola is captured and dies in prison.

JUST BEING

Until equality of opportunity is somehow politically assured, human nature will always victimize those who are different.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Fire Inside (The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde)

Author: Rima Vesely-Flad Ph.D.

Narration by: Heni Zoutomou

Rima Vesely-Flad (Author, Buddhist and Black History scholar with a Ph.D. in Social Ethics.)

The premise of Vesely-Flad’s book is somewhat misleading because its cover highlights James Baldwin and Audre Lorde while much of the text is a biography of Rima Vesely-Flad. “The Fire Inside” does address beliefs of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde but it is the dimension of black life in America that is the book’s subject. A large part of the story is the author’s life as a woman born to a white mother and black father. Vesely-Flad explains her grandparents were offended by their granddaughter’s birth because of her having a Black father.

The beliefs and fame of James Baldwin are reported in many books written about him and by him. Audre Lorde and Vesely-Flad, on the other hand, are not well known to the general public. Lorde’ and Vesely-Flad’ stories are gender versions of Baldwin’s story.

Audre Lorde (American writer, professor, philosopher, feminist, poet, and civil rights activist.)

Ms. Lorde was born in 1934 to Caribbean immigrant parents from Grenada. She became a poet who wrote about racism, structural oppression, sexism, and sexual orientation. A book of her poems was first published in 1968, and she became a National Book Award winner in 1988. She was an active participant in the women’s movement, civil rights, and LGBTQ liberation. A famous line which became a rallying cry Lorde created is “Your silence will not protect you”. Her beliefs are about the majority of people in America and their power. She argues–the American white majority should confront the truth of who they are, and how society represses those who are non-white. This is the theme that fits the reputations of Baldwin and Vesely-Flad in “The Fire Inside”.

“Go Tell It on the Mountain” is an autobiographical view of life and growth to manhood as a Black child raised in Harlem. It took ten years to write but became Baldwin’s most famous book. It released Baldwin from the ghost of his stepfather’s cruelty and set the stage for his exploration of race, religion, sexuality, and personal identity.

As a bibliophile, one is drawn to “The Fire Inside” because of the picture of Baldwin on its cover. Many who have read Baldwin’s work are drawn to this book because of his fame and writing about American racism. The stories of the author’ and Lorde’s lives reinforce much of what one has read in Baldwin’s books.

The author of “The Fire Inside” follows and considers herself a Buddhist. Neither Baldwin nor Lorde were Buddhists, but Vesely-Flad argues they followed many Buddhist beliefs by confronting and clarifying suffering in America. They exposed the illusions of ego, fear, and domination which are goals of Buddhism. Like Buddhists, the author argues Baldwin and Lorde insisted on liberation of the personal, political, and spiritual beliefs of the individual.

What an author like Margo Jefferson explains in “Negroland” is American society makes her life different because of her color.

Vesely-Flad explains both Baldwin and Lorde are gay. Black Americans who believe in their right to be as they are should not be challenged by the political, spiritual, and religious beliefs of society. The point they make is that one’s inner life is their own. As long as one is not using anger, discrimination, or power to oppress others, they have an equal right to their personal life, liberty, and opportunity.

How will input from human beings escape the imperfect nature of humankind?

Vesely-Flad’s idealization of life and liberty exists nowhere in the world because of human nature. One is drawn to religions like Christianity, Protestantism, and some would argue Buddhism, but in practice we all remain trapped by human nature and become discriminatory. Vesely-Flad’s story of her life and experience have the same social ugliness that is known of Baldwin’s and Lorde’s lives. Until equality of opportunity is somehow politically assured, human nature will always victimize those who are different.

BREATHING LIFE

Nestor’s book, “Breath” is worth a reader/listener’s time. Breathing exercises are not a cure-all for sleeplessness, snoring, or regulating blood pressure, but Nestor’s experience and Dr. Nayak’s research encourage reader/listeners to change the way they breath.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Breath (The New Science of the Lost Art)

Author: James Nestor

Narration by: James Nestor

James Nestor (Author, American science journalist.)

“Breath” is a surprising best-selling book about breathing through one’s nose rather than one’s mouth. Nestor’s participation in a 10-day Stanford experiment shows several negative medical symptoms associated with how we breath. Nestor experiences sleep apnea, raised blood pressure, high stress levels, and increased anxiety because of the way he breaths earth’s air. Nextor’s participation in a Stanford University experiment suggests nose breathing is a biological superpower because nasal passages filter and humidify the air we breathe. Exhalation from the way we breath releases nitric oxide and improves oxygen absorption.

“The story of CO2…” is that photosynthesis by plants converts sunlight into energy which makes CO2 the basis upon which all life exists on earth.

Stanford’s experiment reveals CO2 emissions from breathing are essential for all living things.

Experiment shows slow breathing for 5.5 seconds-in, and 5.5 seconds-out improves blood pressure, and heart rate variability that enhances calmness. Surprisingly, slow breathing increases carbon dioxide tolerance while aiding body absorption of oxygen. The consequence of breathing too fast surprisingly impairs oxygen delivery to our system. Oxygen deprivation is one of the causes of anxiety, fatigue, and poor physical performance. Practicing good breathing habits can help reduce anxiety and fatigue to improve physical performance. It is hard to believe changing our breathing habits can have so great an impact on our lives.

Changing how we breathe is not as easy as one might think.

In the past, when one could not breath on their own, they were placed in an iron tube to replace their natural lung function.

Not breathing through one’s mouth seems an easy change to make in one’s life but a 5.5 second inhale and exhale rule takes practice. The recommendation is to train yourself for 5-to-ten-minute periods until it becomes a learned goal, if not habit. Another suggestion is to alternate nostril breathing by covering one nostril and practicing the 5.5 second inhale/exhale cycle. One can alternate nostrils with breathing in with one nostril and out with the other. Nestor suggests a 4-7-8 technique of breathing. Using only your nose, inhale 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds. He believes it will help one fall asleep if they are having difficulty sleeping. In general, Nestor suggests one should become more aware of how they are breathing during the day.

Dr. Jayakar Nayak (MD, PhD, conducted the breathing experiment as a Professor of Otolaryngology at Stanford University.)

Nestor refers to Dr. Jayakar Nayak’s 10-day Stanford experiment in which Nestor participated. He wrote this book as evidence for the harm he was doing to himself and how mouth breathing for oxygen can be corrected by breathing through one’s nose. Patients, like Nestor, were trained in nose breathing exercises that show marked improvements from the symptoms of sleep apnea, sleep fragmentation, heavy snoring, and stress. Results of the experiment showed sleep apnea and snoring ceased, systolic blood pressure dropped, and heart rate variability improved in most patients who participated in the Stanford experiment.

Nestor’s recommendations are based on nasal breathing, slower breathing, and breath exercises supported by Dr. Nayak’s research. Nestor’s book, “Breath” is worth a reader/listener’s time. Breathing exercises are not a cure-all for sleeplessness, snoring, or regulating blood pressure, but Nestor’s experience and Dr. Nayak’s research encourage reader/listeners to change the way they breath.

MONEY & TRUST

The obvious irony of McWilliam’s history of money is that it began in Africa and its newest successful iteration comes from the same continent.

Books of Interest
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The History of Money (A Story of Humanity)

Author: David McWilliams & 1 More

Narration by: David McWilliams

David McWilliams (Author, Irish economist, former Central Bank of Ireland and UBS economist.)

McWilliams has created an interesting history of the origin of money. It began with agricultural production of grain somewhere between 3000 and 2000 BCE and evolved into an abstract representation of physical properties. Somewhere around 2500 BCE, Sumerians introduce the idea of interest on money over time. They create a lending system for farmers and traders so they can borrow against an unknown future. This became the engine for investment and economic growth.

Around 600 BCE, coins are minted to provide portability of money.

McWilliams believes portability of money originated in western Turkey among people who lived on the Aegean Sea. McWilliams’ source of information is Herodotus. Herodotus was a Greek historian and geographer in Turkey who became identified as the “Father of History” by the Roman orator, Cicero. Because money became portable, trades and markets around the known world could be expanded. The key to the success of “money” is trust in its value by society. Once the value of coin was accepted, coin became abstracted to paper as a representation of coins’ value. McWilliams explains this began in medieval times and continues through today.

The power of information technology.

However, in the 20th and 21st century McWilliams notes money becomes digital currency which turns paper currency into information. This fascinating history explains how money evolved from physical assets to coin to paper and now to digital currency with societal trust and imagination. McWilliams explains money power became less physical and more conceptual with the emergence of collective trust. Conceptual transition came gradually but accelerated with Guttenberg’s printing press and religious beliefs in indulgences that could be sold to the public to assure entry into heaven. Even with the protestant reformation and the end of indulgences, trust in money continued to grow.

McWilliams explains expansion of money power came from trust in issuers and the authenticity of tokens backed up by societal support.

Societies’ trust is reinforced by the rise of record-keeping, writing, and enforceability of promises. Society accepted belief that money would remain valuable in the future. With societal acceptance lending, savings, and investments expanded. Societal trust in money made the world go round. What is interesting about McWilliams’ concept of money is that without trust, money’s transition to information is challenged by the invention of crypto currency. He argues crypto currency is a gambling phenomenon because it does not rely on societal support. Support relies on its singular cryptographic information. Furthermore, McWilliams notes it requires a level of technological understanding on the part of its users which discourages social trust.

The Ishango bone shows notches carved into it that purportedly show the value of accounting or numerical thinking.

McWilliams traces the origin of money to the Ishango bone (discovered in the 1950s) that dates to 18,000 BCE on the Congo River in Africa.

In contrast to the complicated creation and use of Crypto currency, McWilliams notes the success of M-Pesa which has achieved societal trust in Kenya. M-Pesa is a digital wallet that lives on a mobile phone’s SIM card. This digital wallet can store money, send and receive payments, withdraw and deposit cash–all on a mobile phone, without internet access. This idea offers a model of financial services without ever opening a bank account. It avoids reliance on a creator of crypto currency or the banking industry with an app-based wallet like Apple Pay or PayPal.

The obvious irony of McWilliam’s history of money is that it began in Africa and its newest successful iteration comes from the same continent.