What is so troubling about Grandin’s history is what appears to be the nature of human beings whether royalist, capitalist, socialist, or communist.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
America, América (A New History of the New World)
Author: Greg Grandin
Narrated By: Holter Graham
Greg Grandin (Author, American historian, professor of history at Yale University.)
Before Professor Grandin, most Americans presumed the United States came from the traditions of the British empire. After reading/listening to America, América, one recognizes the powerful influence of the Spanish empire on the settlement of North America, the attitude of colonists toward minorities, the growth of slavery, and the deep entanglement of Spain in the broader Americas. America, América is a book that widens one’s understanding of the history of the United States.
When being reminded of the many atrocities of colonization and the decimated indigenous natives of the Americas, one is appalled by man’s inhumanity to man. Grandin begins his history of colonization with the Spanish empires’ expansion into the Americas long before the Mayflower expedition to America. Conquistadors set the table for the way what became Americans way to colonize the New England territory. Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro led expeditions that decimated the Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas in Peru. Looking for wealth Spanish conquistadors murdered, raped, and pillaged Latin American native populations. The conquistadors exemplified what became the modus vivendi of British colonists in America. Indigenous peoples were forced to work for Spanish landlords, later supplemented by imported African slaves. The atrocities of Spain in the 16th century are repeated by English settlers in the 17th and later centuries. An estimated 80% of the indigenous people of the Americas perished from disease, forced labor, and ethnic cleansing by Spanish settlers–a grim reminder of American settlers did to indigenous natives in America.
What is so troubling about Grandin’s history is what appears to be the nature of human beings whether royalist, capitalist, socialist, or communist. America, América shows the founding of the United States is a repeat of Spain’s early colonization of the southern part of North America. The human race appears driven by the desire for money, power, and prestige in a system that begins with attack on indigenous peoples and repeats as a perceived advance of civilization. There is some truth in that perception but one realizes indigenous peoples are equally driven and commit human atrocities among themselves in pursuit of value, power, and, or prestige.
This book is returned before completion because of its length. Its history is enlightening but its length is too much for this dilettante.
There is no religious, nationalist, or political justification for killing of innocents but the history of the world shows we are all killers.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Conquering Crises (Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them)
By: Admiral William H. McRaven
Narrated By: Willaim H. McRaven
William H. McRaven (Author, retired four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy, ninth commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014, commanded special operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.)
Wisdom does not always come with experience or age. Though born in 1955, William McRaven spent 40 years as a special operations officer in the U.S. Navy. He retired from military service and became chancellor of the University of Texas System from 2015-2018. Now, as a writer, McRaven offers some insightful advice to those who manage others in response to crises. He offers his personal, corporate, and institutional experience as a crises’ manager.
Though McRaven’s experience comes from a military system of command, he offers a listen, learn, and plan approach to getting things done through others.
When faced with a reported crisis, he notes the first information one receives is usually inaccurate and misleading. He offers numerous examples like Pearl Harbor in 1941, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Covid-19 in the 21st century. The first reports of those crises were misleading and were found to be much more consequential and damaging than originally reported. The first step when faced with a crisis is to be sure of the facts. McRaven generally discounts first reports. He suggests one should confirm details from personal observation (if possible or practicable). If one cannot investigate facts of a crises personally, one must confirm details from other sources that are at, subject to, or near the crisis. The point is not to act on first reports but to seek more information.
McRaven receives a phone call in the middle of the night about a mistaken Taliban sympathizer carrying a weapon who is shot and killed by an American soldier during America’s intervention in Afghanistan.
It was found he was not a sympathizer but a cousin of the President of Afghanistan. McRaven calls General Petraeus in the middle of the night to report the incident. Petraeus thanks McRaven for contacting him immediately rather than waiting until the morning. Both recognize the urgency of the crises. They discuss details of what happened and plan a response. McRaven is ordered to contact the President of Afghanistan immediately to explain what happened and offer American support for the family of the murdered cousin. McRaven’s point is know the facts of a crises, create a plan to address what is known, react as quickly as the correct facts are known, plan a response agreed upon by those in authority, and act (as soon as possible) according to plan.
Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan.
A more complicated crisis noted by McRaven is also in Afghanistan. America’s ambassador to Afghanistan meets with McRaven to tell him the special forces reporting to him in Afghanistan are alienating local Afghan citizens with their military actions against the Taliban. The ambassador tells McRaven his operations are alienating Afghani citizens to the point of losing America’s war against the Taliban. The meeting becomes heated because McRaven believes his command is doing a great job of pacifying Taliban attacks on local citizens. Rather than acting like an ostrich with its head in the sand, McRaven calls for a meeting of colonels in the Afghanistan theater to investigate the Ambassador’s accusation. The team McRaven assembles finds the Ambassador’s concerns are justified. Though peaceful coexistence appeared to be improved with McRaven’s special forces’ actions, the alienation of Afghani’s was growing. As has been written by other authors, America’s special forces often acted based on one Afghani family’s personal anger at another family rather than for any concern about Taliban activity.
The group of colonels assembled by McRaven developed a plan to more judiciously act on alleged Taliban activity from Afghan informants.
Of course, America’s ignominious departure from Afghanistan, implies McRaven’s response was too little and too late. This is not to argue that McRaven’s response was wrong but only that the plan did not stop Taliban resurgence. The valid point McRaven is making is that one should systematically address a crisis, create a plan once the facts are known, and execute the plan. Obviously, not all crises are successfully resolved. In the case of America’s intervention in Afghanistan, McRaven’s plan may not have been right for the facts that were gathered, or the crises was just too culturally complex for a successfully executed response.
McRaven comes across as a highly competent leader and manager in a crises.
Where one may have reservations about any leader’s role in a crisis is whether they agree on the facts. McRaven believes it is right to assassinate a proven terrorist who has killed innocent people. That kind of decision goes beyond the principles of McRaven’s book about response to crises. “Judge not, lest ye be judged” is alleged to have been said by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount.
McRaven believes assassination is justified.
In Ukraine and Gaza, innocents are being killed every day. There is no religious, nationalist, or political justification for killing of innocents but the history of the world shows we are all killers. In a crisis, you would want someone like McRaven to be the “beauty on duty”, but one must ask oneself if assassination is ever justified.
Only with education and understanding of the past can society or the individual change their future.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Cowboy Apocalypse (Religion and the Myth of the Vigilante Messiah)
By: Rachel Wagner
Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
Rachel Wagner (Author, professor of religion and philosophy at Ithaca College in Ithaca New York.)
Rachel Wagner has written a highly personal book about American gun culture that will resonate with some and appall others. As an academic philosopher and professor of religion, Wagner analyzes gun violence and sexism and how belief in “might makes right” is deeply ingrained in American character.
There are so many stories of death and injury from gun violence in America that one becomes numbed by Wagner’s apocalyptic story.
We were living in Las Vegas when 59 people were killed, and 527 were injured by one gunman in a hotel room less than 3 miles from our home. When one looks at statistics of children murdered in school rooms since 2010, a solution for gun violence should be urgent, but it appears not.
Rise in school shootings between 2010 and 2o19.
Wagner argues gun violence in the U.S. is viewed by much of the public as a belief in the myth of the “good guy with a gun” that is embedded in the history of America and reinforced by fictional stories, books, television, and the movies. She argues detective fiction like “The Big Sleep”, TV series like “Have Gun Will Travel”, and movies like “Die Hard” have lone heroes who defeat dastardly villains.
Think Alan Ladd in “Shane” or John Wayne in any of his westerns, and one believes gun-toting man-gods keep the world safe.
Wagner shows how malleable society is and why the gun lobby is rewarded and sustained by the myth of the “good guy with a gun”. Wagner argues gun-toting Americans have become gods in their own mind. What they really are is examples to potential killers of school children and unsuspecting tourists.
HAVE GUN WILL TRAVELDIE HARD
Wagner believes American gun obsession has wheedled its way into a religious narrative based on Christian apocalypticism and romanticization of American history. She notes the myths of armed vigilantes who are seen as saviors who can reset society when it goes astray. This myth seeps into American cultural shibboleths of white supremacy and patriarchal dominance that pervade video games, movies, and novels.
Wagner argues sexual and racial inequality are exacerbated by America’s gun culture. Wagner notes an experience in her personal life and her education in religion show how “might makes right” has been, and still is, a danger to society.
Wagner argues America needs to look in the mirror and quit glorifying firearms and vigilante justice. She suggests the January 6th attack on the capitol shows how widespread belief in vigilante justice is in America.
January 6, 2021, insurrection when a mob of supporters of then-President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.
The philosophical and religious beliefs of the author are made clear in her final chapters. Only with education and understanding of the past can society or the individual change their future.
In light of Donald Trump’s disruption of government employment, one wonders what foreign and domestic conspiracies are being missed?
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Looming Tower (Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11)
By: Lawrence Wright
Edited By: Alan Sklar
Lawrence Wright (Author, writer and journalist.)
Lawrence Wright won the Pulitzer Prize for his meticulous research and writing on the origin of Al-Qaeda and its lead up to the 9/11 attack on America. “The Looming Tower” is not a popular audiobook for some Americans. It tells listener/readers of America’s intelligence failure in the early 21st century. A militant Muslim religious organization is created in the Middle East with intent and successful execution of an attack on the United States in 2o01.
Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966, Egyptian Author, Educator, Islamic Theorist, Poet, former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood.)
A name not well known by most Americans is Sayyid Qutb (pronounced koo-tube), a Muslim religious believer and scholar. Wright suggests Qutb laid the groundwork for Islamist extremism in a religious organization called the Brotherhood. Though Qutb was raised in Egypt and gained his education at a Cairo teacher’s school called Dar al-‘Ulum, he spent two years at the University of Northern Colorado between 1948 and 1950. Wright argues Qutb’s experience in America shaped his views of Western society and, in particular, America. He believed and wrote that the moral and cultural nature of non-Islamic society was decadent. Wright suggests Qutb warranted violence against the West because his experience in Colorado showed Western culture corrupted Islamic values.
The World Trade Center collapse killed 2,753 civilians, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.
In The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright suggests the primary motivation for 9/11 stemmed from ideological and cultural grievances rooted in extremist interpretations of Islam. Osama bin-Laden is shown to have adopted beliefs that were the same as those of Qutb, i.e. the belief that all who were not adherent to the Muslim religion were infidels and subject to damnation in this life and in their life after death. Wright emphasizes the influence of figures like Sayyid Qutb, who’s disdain for Western values and culture laid the philosophical groundwork for jihadist movements. Qutb, and subsequent al-Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, believed that Western influences were corrupting Islamic society and threatening Muslim values and beliefs.
Osama bin-Laden is estimated to have inherited $25 million to $30 million dollars from his father Mohammed bin Laden when he died. Osama chose to use his wealth to destroy American cultural and religious symbols he believed were contrary to Muslim beliefs.
The book outlines how bin Laden and his network were driven by anti-Western ideology to oppose U.S. foreign policies in the Middle East. Al Qaeda wished to assert power by attacking symbolic targets. The 9/11 attacks were meant to provoke a dramatic response from the U.S. and further polarize the world along ideological lines, feeding into their long-term vision of a global jihad. Wright meticulously explores how these motivations were cultivated over decades. “The Looming Tower” is a compelling and deeply researched account of the events leading up to 9/11 in 2001.
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941-1989, father of global jihad, a Palestinian-Jordanian’ Islamist jihadist and theologian, is killed in a car bomb, along with his 2 sons, in Peshawar, Pakistan.)
Osama bin-Laden’s father was a billionaire construction magnet in Saudi Arabia. Osama bin Laden, and the many heirs of his father, enabled his many children to live lives in luxury if they chose. Osama chose to use his wealth to destroy American cultural and religious symbols he believed were contrary to Muslim beliefs. Abdullah Azzam was often referred to as the “father of global jihad,” Azzam was a mentor to bin Laden and played a significant role in shaping his ideology. He encouraged bin Laden to channel his resources into the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union. The irony of bin Laden’s choice is that he was an incompetent military leader but an effective promoter and steward of jihad, the effort to live a righteous life, avoid sin and uphold the principles of Islam. A further irony is that bin Laden’s murder of innocents seems a sin of the highest degree.
Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, during a U.S. military operation called Operation Neptune Spear.
The mission was carried out by SEAL Team Six, a special operations unit of the U.S. Navy, at bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This was eleven years after the world trade center, Pentagon, and flight 93 crash. The Trade Center collapse killed 2,753 civilians, firefighters, and law enforcement officers. The Pentagon attack killed 184 military and civilian personnel. Flight 93 resulted in 40 passenger and crew deaths. In a complex web of influence and support, “The Looming Tower” emphasizes the attacks were the result of al-Qaeda’s planning and execution by followers of Osama bin Laden.
Wright notes Ayman al-Zawahiri became Bin Laden’s second-in-command and a key strategist for al-Qaeda. Zawahiri takes control of al-Qaeda after bin Laden’s death.
Ayman al-Zawahiri’s background in Egyptian Islamic Jihad and his partnership with bin Laden were pivotal in the group’s evolution. Ayman al-Zawahiri became the leader of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden was killed. An American operation that killed al-Zawahiri in 2022 was carried out by the CIA that targeted him on the balcony of a safe house in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Wright notes that bin Laden received financial support from members of the Saudi elite during the early stages of his jihadist activities, though this relationship soured over time.
Jamal al-Fadl was an al-Qaeda operative who helped establish the organization’s financial infrastructure. He later defected and provided critical intelligence to the U.S. about al-Qaeda’s operations. Many individuals and entities played pivotal roles in enabling bin Laden’s vision and the expansion of al-Qaeda. Wright’s book delves deeply into their motivations and actions. It’s a fascinating, albeit chilling, exploration of history.
John P. O’Neillwas an FBI counter-terrorism expert who tirelessly pursued bin Laden.
John P. O’Neillwas an FBI counter-terrorism expert who tirelessly pursued bin Laden. Tragically, O’Neill died in the 9/11 attack while serving as head of security at the World Trade Center. The FBI had gathered significant domestic intelligence on al-Qaeda operatives within the United States, including their movements and activities. However, the CIA, focused on foreign intelligence. They withheld crucial information about al-Qaeda’s overseas operations and connections because foreign intelligence was their exclusive responsibility. This lack of coordination with the FBI (limited to domestic terrorism), and rivalry between the agencies, meant that neither had a complete picture of the threat. The CIA had knowledge of al-Qaeda members Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi who were two team members for the attacks on 9/11. Because of a lack of cooperation between agencies, the FBI did not know they should be tracking these individuals. They became key players in hijacking American Airlines Flight 77 which plowed into the Pentagon.
In The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright emphasizes the significance of John O’Neill, an FBI counterterrorism expert, as one of the most important figures who recognized the threat posed by Osama bin Laden. O’Neill was deeply committed to tracking al-Qaeda and warned about its intentions, but his efforts were often hindered by interagency conflicts and bureaucratic obstacles. Wright portrays O’Neill as a passionate and prescient individual who understood the gravity of al Qaeda’s threat long before many others did.
In The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright highlights the CIA’s Alec Station, who tracked Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. This unit was led by Michael Scheuer, a CIA analyst who played a pivotal role in gathering intelligence on bin Laden during the 1990s. Alec Station was instrumental in understanding al-Qaeda’s operations, though the book criticizes the interagency conflicts that hindered surveillance effectiveness. Wright paints a vivid picture of the challenges faced by intelligence agencies in the lead-up to 9/11.
Michael Scheuer, a CIA analyst who played a pivotal role in gathering intelligence on bin Laden during the 1990s.
On the CIA side, Michael Scheuer, who led Alec Station (the CIA’s unit that was monitoring bin Laden), played a role in identifying the danger. However, Wright notes the lack of collaboration between the FBI and CIA, ultimately undermined their ability to prevent the attacks. The book paints a vivid picture of the challenges faced in navigating institutional rivalries while trying to protect the nation. Wright’s narrative is both compelling and sobering.
“The Looming Tower” highlights how some individuals connected to al-Qaeda faced legal consequences. For example, figures like Ali Mohamed, a former U.S. Army sergeant turned al-Qaeda operative, was prosecuted for his role in supporting terrorism. Mohamed provided critical intelligence and training to al-Qaeda and was eventually arrested and convicted in the U.S.
In light of Donald Trump’s disruption of government employment, one wonders what foreign and domestic conspiracies are being missed?
George Faludy suggests the most popular books written by Erasmus were “The Praise of Folly” and “Colloquies” which are similar in that they offer humorous and insightful stories of the human condition. One leaves Faludy’s biography of “Erasmus” with the thought that these two should be read, particularly because of the time in which we live today.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
ERASMUS
By: George Faludy
György Bernát József Leimdörfer aka George Faludy (1910-2006) Author, Hungarian poet and translator.
George Faludy’s biography of Erasmus was published in 1970. A few years ago, I purchased a paperback edition of Faludy’s book because of an interest in a 16th century “man of the cloth” (an ordained Catholic priest) who became a devotee of Francesco Petraca (better known as Petrarch who is considered the father of humanism). Erasmus was born in 1466 and died in 1536. He believed in the value, dignity, and potential of human beings. Petrarch had been dead for a hundred years when Erasmus became a proponent of humanism at a time when Catholic’ Indulgences were challenged by Martin Luther. Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses led to a schism in the church leading to the establishment of Protestantism.
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses led to a schism in the church leading to the establishment of Protestantism.
It is hard to imagine how Erasmus managed to become a leader in reforming the Catholic Church with his humanist beliefs. Erasmus walks a fine line between the schism fomented by Martin Luther and his belief in reform. Erasmus wrote the famous work “The Praise of Folly” that was a satirical critique of societal and ecclesiastical practices of the Catholic church without joining the movement started by Luther. On the one hand, Erasmus agreed with Luther on the importance of faith and the perfidy of “indulgences” sold by the Church. Indulgences were to raise money with alleged religious guaranties for a Catholic’s admittance to heaven. On the other, Erasmus insisted on faith in God and reform, not abandonment of the Catholic church. Erasmus’s academic and scholarly review and interpretation of religious texts convinced him that the Church only needed reform, not schism.
Faludy carefully explains the tumultuous relationship between Erasmus and Luther that at times seemed to break but survived their fundamental disagreement on reform versus schism.
Erasmus acknowledged many misrepresentations of religious text with an unwavering belief in the divinity of their origin. As one who is skeptical about the divinity of religious texts, it is encouraging to read of this highly respected scholar’s belief in their truth. Faludy’s biography of Erasmus may not change an agnostic’s mind about God, but it will give one pause because of Erasmus’s reported research of original religious works in Greek, Latin, and other languages, i.e., a skill beyond most peoples’ capabilities.
Faludy does not write of Erasmus as a saintly person but as a well-educated and diligent scholar.
A surprising note by Faludy is that Erasmus suffered from syphilis which suggests something less than perfection in Erasmus’s character. However, Faludy’s note is not corroborated by any other information known to this reviewer.
Faludy suggested the most popular books written by Erasmus were “The Praise of Folly” and “Colloquies” which are similar in that they offer humorous and insightful stories of the human condition. One leaves Faludy’s biography of “Erasmus” with the thought that these two should be read, particularly because of the time in which we live today.
The story of Michelangelo ends with the return of the Medicis to power. It is for Michelangelo–a journey of “…Agony and Ecstasy”–of love for his work, the daughter of a Medici, and the tumult of his time.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.
The Agony and the Ecstasy (The Biographical Novel of Michelangelo)
By: Irving Stone
Irving Stone (1903-1989, died at the age of 86, American writer of biographical novels about artists, politicians and intellectuals.)
Irving Stone’s novel is an entertaining book and an historically supported story of the famous artist, Michelangelo. Michelangelo was a Florentine born in Florence, an influential city at the heart of the Italian Renaissance. The Medici family was in control of Florence’s political and cultural life in Michelangelo’s youth.
Two of the most famous artists of all time, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti created two of the most famous art works of the world in Florence, i.e. da Vinci’s “Adoration of the Magi” and Michelangelo’s “David”. However, their personal relationship began roughly in their brief contact in Florence. In 1504. Leonardo da Vinci was 52 years old. Michelangelo was 29.
“Adoration of the Magi”“David”
They had both been contacted to paint murals in the Hall of Five Hundred in the Palazzo Vecchio. Leonardo had already made his reputation as a master painter, polymath, and diverse genius. Michelangelo was considered a sculptor more than a painter. However, in a casual conversation da Vinci alludes to sculpture as a less prestigious form of art. The younger Michelangelo is offended and is alleged to have said harsh words to da Vinci with a challenge to paint a competing fresco in the Palazzo Vecchio. Neither completed their planned paintings but their preparatory works were preserved and considered important developments of the High Renaissance. Irving Stone suggests they meet later in life and Leonardo apologizes for what he felt was a misinterpretation of his words about the art of sculpture.
Leonardo’s Unfinished WorkMichelangel’s Unfinished Work
Stone suggests Michelangelo is more of an ascetic than da Vinci. Leonardo as noted by other authors, had many interests beyond art. Michelangelo prefers sculpture to any other form of art and when he is contracted for his artistic genius, he grudgingly takes commissions for his skill as a painter. “The Agony and the Ecstasy” is a title that captures Michelangelo’s artistic conflict.
Stone shows Michelangelo pursues human dissection, just as Leonardo is said to have, to more fully understand the construction of the human body for an artist to make painting or sculpture appear more real. Human dissection is not legal in Michelangelo’s time in Florence, so he secretly works at night when no one is around to see what he is doing.
Stone addresses the political turmoil of the time and how Michelangelo is hired by the Medici family when he is a young man. This is before the Borgias replace the Medici family in Italy. Michelangelo remains close to the Medicis even in their exile but is attracted to Rome in 1496 by Cardinal Raffaele Riario, a relative of Pope Sixtus IV. In Rome, Michelangelo creates “Bacchus”, the god of Wine.
Michelangelo’s Bacchus, the Roman god of agriculture, wine, and fertility.
After creating “Bacchus, a French cardinal commissions the “Pieta” for St. Peters Basilica. Michelangelo gains the reputation of being a master sculptor.
Michelangelo’s Pieta depicting Mary holding the body of Christ.
Stone suggests the Pope asks why Mary appears so young and Michelangelo explains it is because she is the mother of a divine.
After the Pieta, Michelangelo is commissioned by overseers of the Office of Works of the Cathedral of Florence. This is not clear in “The Agony and the Ecstasy” but it reinforces Irving Stone’s recognition of Michelangelo’s deep connection to Florence. He returns to Rome, but his heart is in Florence. Much of Michelangelo’s time in Rome is uncomfortable and does not calm down for him until the Medicis return to power.
The warrior Pope, Pope Julius II heads the church from 1503-1513. Irving Stone explains; this Pope demands Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome. Of course, Michelangelo resists because he wishes to be remembered for sculpture, not painting, because it is an art that gives him joy. The forceful Pope insists, and Michelangelo makes a false start that changes into a history of the birth of the world on the ceiling of the Chapel. He works on the ceiling of the Chapel from 1508 to 1512.
Birth of the world.God touches AdamDetail of the touch.
Sistine Chapel painting by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512.
The story of Michelangelo ends with the return of the Medicis to power. It is for Michelangelo–a journey of “…Agony and Ecstasy”–of love for his work, the daughter of a Medici, and the tumult of his time. Michelangelo never marries and dies at the age of 88 in 1564.
Extending Harari’s idea of biophysics research and algo-rhythmic programming suggests a potential for immense changes in society. A singularity that melds A.I. with human brain function and algo-rhythmic programming may be tomorrow’s world revolution. Of course, that capability cuts both ways, i.e., for the good and bad of society.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Homo Deus (A Brief History of Tomorrow)
By: Uval Noah Harari
Narrated By: Derek Perkins
Yuval Noah Harari (Author, Israeli medievalist, military historian, science writer.)
By any measure, Yuval Noah Harari is a well-educated and insightful person who will offend some and enlighten others with his opinion about religion, spirituality, the nature of human beings, and the future. He implies the Bible is a book of fiction that is historically proven to have been written by different authors with contradictions that only interpreters can reconcile as God’s work.
“Homo Deus” is a spiritual book suggesting humanity is on its own and has a chance to survive the future but only through the ability of human understanding and effort.
To Harari, the greatest threats to society are national leaders who believe in God, heaven and eternal life who discount human existence and use of science to improve human life on earth. The irony of Harari’s belief is that humanist leaders are the only hope for human life’ survival.
Harari argues science, free enterprise, and the growth of knowledge offer the best hope for the future of human life.
Neither capitalism nor communism are a guarantee of survival because of the increasing potential for error as human beings become more God-like. Advances in engineering, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology may replace the happenstance of human birth. The value of free enterprise is evident in the agricultural, industrial, and technological revolutions of history. However, as science improves the understanding of the mind and body of human beings, the technology of biogenetics offers hope for the future while running the risk of biological error with unforeseen consequences.
Harari’s book is the brave new world written about by Shakespeare in the 17th century and reimagined by Aldous Huxley in his 1932 dystopian novel “Brave New World”.
On the one hand, Shakespeare offers a positive spin as his character, Miranda, sees people from outside her experience and says “How beauteous mankind is! O Brave! That has such people in’t”. While Huxley notes a future society that becomes conformist and lacks individuality and human emotion. Which way society will turn is unknown.
The conformist demands of collective ownership of property and means of production by communism impede creativity. Capitalism is more creative and dynamic. However, capitalist incentive raises the specter of human nature that only sees financial gain without any concern for environmental or human cost. On balance, capitalism appears more likely to accelerate technology because communism more often follows than changes scientific direction.
Some think A.I. will lead the world to greater knowledge and prosperity while others believe it will destroy human life. A sceptic might suggest both views are wrong because A.I. is only a tool for recalling knowledge of the past to help humans make better decisions for the future. The real risk, as it has always been, is human leadership.
Harari believes, like Nietzsche, that God is dead because belief in God is losing its power and significance in the modern world.
Though many still believe in God, it seems more people are viewing God as a myth. The Pew Research Center reports a median of 45% of people across 34 countries still believe in God. However, the variation is wide with Brazil saying 70% believe while in Japan the percentage is only 20%. Harari implies belief in God is in decline.
Harari explains biophysics illustrates that human thought is algorithmic. He argues our thoughts, decisions, and behaviors can be understood to be a result of patterns created in human brains that are pre-determined. There is no “free-will” in Harari’s opinion. This is not to suggest aberrant behavior does not exist, but that human thought and action is determined by our experientially defined brain in the same way a computer is programmed. Experience from birth to adulthood is just part of a mind’s programming.
Harari implies understanding of brain function will change the world as massively as the Agricultural, Industrial, and technological revolutions.
Harari goes on to suggest humans have never been singular beings, but a multitude of beings split into two brains that mix and match their biogenetic and biochemical programming to think and act in pre-determined ways. Experiments have shown that the way the left half of a human brain sees and compels action is different than how the right brain sees and compels action. Each half thinks and acts independently while negotiating a concerted action when both halves are functioning normally. That negotiation between the two brain halves results in an algorithm for action based on the biochemical nature of the brain. The way two halves of the brain interact multiply the person we are or will become.
Extending Harari’s idea of biophysics research and algo-rhythmic programming suggests a potential for immense changes in society. A singularity that melds A.I. with human brain function and algo-rhythmic programming may be tomorrow’s world revolution. Of course, that capability cuts both ways, i.e., for the good and bad of society. Interestingly, Harari paints a grim picture of the future based on an A.I. revolution.
“Say Nothing” is an attempt to give listener/readers an understanding of Ireland’s “Troubles”. Patrick Radden Keefe helps one understand but it remains a complicated and confusing history because of its mix of religion and national sovereignty.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Say Nothing (A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland)
By: Patrick Radden Keefe
Narrated By: Mathew Blaney
Patrick Radden Keefe (Author, American writer and investigative journalist.)
“Say Nothing” is an attempt to give listener/readers an understanding of Ireland’s “Troubles”. Patrick Radden Keefe helps one understand but it remains a complicated and confusing history because of its mix of religion and national sovereignty. From the 1960s to the late 1980s, there were violent clashes between unionist/loyalists, who were largely protestant and wanted to be part of Great Britain; while Unionist/loyalists, who were largely Catholic wanted independence as the Republic of Ireland.
Bombings, sniper attacks, and violent confrontations caused an estimated 3600 deaths and tens-of-thousands injuries during the “Troubles”.
Not until 1998, with the “Good Friday Agreement” did the deadly conflicts cease. However, Great Britain’s Brexit, periods of political deadlock with the Northern Ireland Assembly, and debates over details of the “…Agreement” have occurred. Keefe tells a story of the build-up to the “…Agreement” in “Say Nothing”.
The Irish Republican Army that wished for Irish independence murdered Jean McConville, a mother of ten, in 1972.
The murder is puzzling because McConville is Catholic which suggests her death was either a mistake or that some Catholics were union/loyalists. Some in the IRA suggested she acted as a spy for the UK. That is a mystery Keefe fails to unravel while giving listener/readers some historical perspective on Ireland’s Troubles. Some say Marian Price was the murderer, but Keefe demurs and argues there is no concrete evidence.
Northern Ireland is over 40% Catholic while the Republic of Ireland is over 60% Catholic.
Ireland’s troubles date back to the 16th and 17th centuries when English and Scottish Protestant settlers chose Ireland as their new home. The native population of Ireland was Catholic and religious differences and land acquisition by Protestants set the table for conflict. In 1921, Ireland was split in two with Northern Ireland remaining a part of the UK but with a 40% minority who remained Catholic. A Catholic movement for civil rights in Northern Ireland began in the 1960s. Violence and political conflict ensued with the formation of paramilitary groups like the IRA (Irish Republican Army) that began bombing and shooting Protestant followers. The IRA wished to end British rule, unify Ireland, accommodate religious difference, and create an independent nation.
Over the years, there were several leaders of the IRA. Michael Collins, Cathal Brugha, Liam Lynch, Sean Stiofain, Gerry Adams, and Martin McGuinness. Gerry Adams is the leader most often referred to in Keefe’s book.
The IRA never admitted to ordering the abduction and murder of Jean McConville. The author directly asks Adams if he ordered the murder, and his response is that he has no blood on his hands. Some suggest, her murder was a collective decision by leaders of the IRA.
Both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were ambivalent about Brexit and chose to neither entirely agree with separation from the EU nor entirely agree with the UK in its rejection of membership.
There remains a great deal of ambivalence about unification of Ireland as an independent nation but “The Good Friday Agreement” allows for a referendum on unification because of what appears to be a majority wishing to create one nation. However, Northern Ireland’s majority wishes to remain part of the UK while the Republic of Ireland wishes to remain independent. Unification seems unlikely because of their differences about being part of the UK.
It is interesting to note that the Catholic religion is the largest religious group in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but that Northern Ireland Catholics constitute 42.3% while the Republic of Ireland is 69.1% Catholic. Keefe’s story triggers an interest in understanding the history of Ireland, but it is too long in its telling to offer clarity.
James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” gives advice that resonates with the troubles of the world today.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Fire Next Time
By: James Baldwin
Narrated By: Jessie Martin
James Baldwin (Author, 1924-1987, African American writer and civil rights activist.)
“The Fire Next Time” consists of two brief essays by James Baldwin that are seminal works on the equality of all human beings. Published in 1963, the first essay is “My Dungeon Shook” which is advice to a young black American. The second, “Down at the Cross…” is a criticism of Catholic and the Nation of Islam religions.
The first is a message to Baldwin’s nephew about white America’s prejudice toward black Americans.
He is telling his nephew to reject white America’s stereotypical view of black Americans. Baldwin tells his nephew to embrace who he is as a human being, neither better nor worse, and to pursue life and living with the truth of his being.
RELIONS OF THER WORLD
“Down at the Cross” is a criticism of religion, particularly the Christian and Nation of Islam faiths. Baldwin argues that both diminish the truth of God by feeding the flames of anti-spiritualism and social inequality.
Baldwin argues through love and understanding of differences among religions and races, the divisiveness of inequality can be erased.
The fundamental point of Baldwin’s writing is that NOI offers a part of what black America needs by instilling self-respect and identity. However, he criticizes NOI’s separatism as counterproductive and extreme. Baldwin advocates love and understanding among all human beings.
Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975, Religious Leader of NOI)
Elijah Muhammed’s advance of the Nation of Islam (NOI) is credited for advocating black empowerment, but Baldwin implies that empowerment mitigates against belief in the equality of all human beings.
Baldwin evolves to a more humanist view of life and declines to take a prominent role either in the Nation of Islam, or the Pentacostal religion he left twenty years earlier. James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” gives advice that resonates with the troubles of the world today.
One hopes for more Leifer’s in this world of human tragedy.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Tablets Shattered (The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life)
By: Joshua Leifer
Narrated By: Eli Schiff
Joshua Leifer (Author, journalist and scholar who explores the past and present of American Jewry, Leifer pursues a PhD at Yale on the history of modern moral and social thought.)
Joshua Leifer reflects on the Americanization of Jewish ethnicity in modern times. Leifer offers his personal view of modern events in Israel, including the terror of October 7th, 2023, and its aftermath.
In the last month, my wife and I journeyed to Poland, the Baltics, and Finland.
On the trip, we visited Auschwitz, the terror of Soviet occupation of the Baltics, and the tenuous relationship of Finland and Russia. More will be shared in a future review.
The holocaust is made present to anyone who chooses to visit Auschwitz.
This is a monument to the Holocaust, located in Germany.
Leifer’s book is not about Auschwitz’s atrocity but about a diminishment of Jewish identity. One who reads or listens to Leifer’s view of Jewish ethnicity will look at Judaism in a different way. Regardless of one’s personal beliefs, Leifer argues Judaism is losing its way from what he believes is a fundamental tenet of the Jewish religion. That tenet is that Judaism will always be a minority within cultures of the world and, as a minority, Leiger argues it is critically important for followers to return to its Judaic roots. Leifer implies Americanization of Judaism is a social influence that threatens the Tablets of the Covenant, i.e., the Ten Commandments.
Leifer explains that Israel will continue to grow as an independent nation with an exodus of Jewish believers from America and the world. Leifer suggests that exodus is evident in the diminishing number of American Jews who have chosen to leave America to become Israeli citizens. His hope is that in Jews return to a nation of their own with a renewed belief and adherence to the Ten Commandments.
I am the Lord your God: You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image: No idols or images.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet: Do not desire your neighbor’s house, wife, or possessions.
Of particular note is the Haredim who adhere to traditional Jewish law and customs.
There is an underlying accusation in Leifer’s book that America reinforced want for money, power, and prestige that changed the nature of Judaism.
However, human nature is a failing in all cultures. The truth is that all forms of government and culture seduce human beings to violate the Ten Commandments: not only Jewish followers. Human nature is an equal opportunity exploiter of society and people.
Leifer does have a point in that any ethnicity that truly follows the ten commandments is better than one that ignores them.
The fault in Leifer’s belief is that the ten commandments will or can be universally accepted by any culture or ethnicity. Human nature can be improved upon, but one doubts it can be erased by either religious or secular teaching of the Commandments.
Leifer hopes for a two-state solution in Israel. That seems a laudable and achievable goal, but human nature remains the same. With statehood, both Israeli and Palestinian societies may become better but there will always be the threat of Commandment violation because of human nature. One hopes for more Leifer’s in this world of human tragedy.
REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE 