MOST INTERESTING ESSAYS 12/4/25: THEORY & TRUTH, MEMORY & INTELLIGENCE, PSYCHIATRY, WRITING, EGYPT IN 2019, LIVE OR DIE, GARDEN OF EDEN, SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION, DEATH ROW, RIGHT & WRONG, FRANTZ FANON, TRUTHINESS, CONSPIRACY, LIBERALITY, LIFE IS LIQUID, BECOMING god-LIKE, TIPPING POINT, VANISHING WORLD
Like the number 47 in “Guardians of the Galaxy”, the 27 books of the New Testament offer no answer to the meaning of life.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“The History of the Bible” (The Great Book Lectures)
By: Bart D. Ehrman
Narrated by: Bart D. Ehrman Lectures
Bart Denton Ehrman (American New Testament Scholar, Wheaton College BA, Princeton Theological Seminary received a Master of Divinity and PhD.)
Bart D. Ehrman’s lectures are a revelation to one who knows little about either the Bible or the New Testament. As a scholar, Ehrman views the New Testament as history, not a religious covenant. The New Testament, as differentiated from the Holy Bible (a covenant with Israel), is a later covenant with Jesus that extends religion to all humankind.
Ehrman’s lectures are not about religious belief but about the history of the New Testament.
Removing the ideas of religious belief from his lectures will undoubtedly offend many who believe in God’s and/or Jesus’s divinity. What Ehrman does is explain how the New Testament is a flawed recollection of historical figures. The flaws come from scribes who interpret three contemporaries of Jesus–Matthew’s, John’s, and Peter’s fragmentary writings of Jesus’ ministry and teachings.
The 27 books of the New Testament are written by scribes of later centuries that are interpretations of Matthew’s, John’s, and Peter’s interpretations of Jesus’s beliefs and history on earth.
Because scribes and contemporaries’ recollection of Jesus are human, truth is in the eye and limitations of its beholders. The inference from Ehrman’s lectures is that truth is distorted by interpretations of interpretations.
Ehrman systematically reveals how the story of Jesus’s life and beliefs change over the centuries.
He gives listeners a better understanding of the complexity and false interpretations of religion that accompany the many atrocities committed by believers who foolishly murder fellow human beings. These great historical conflicts are based on interpreters’ interpretations of interpretations.
God may or may not exist, but human beings insist on their beliefs to the detriment of humanity.
History unreservedly shows–believing in religion, without concern for society leads to discrimination, mayhem, and murder. That is as clear today in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as in the history of the Jewish holocaust and pogroms of the past.
Like the number 47 in “Guardians of the Galaxy”, the 27 books of the New Testament offer no answer to the meaning of life.
Marie Arana clearly argues the color of one’s skin has given great advantage to white citizens of the world.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“LatinoLand” (A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority)
By: Marie Arana
Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
Marie Arana (Author, graduate of Northwestern University of Hong Kong with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and an MA in Linguistics.)
“LatinoLand” begins shakily with what seems an exaggeration of international Latino cultural influence in the world. However, as Marie Arana continues her report a listener/reader appreciates her knowledge of American Latino history. Her argument is that Americans have little understanding of the largest and least understood minority in the continental United States. If one continues the book beyond the first chapters, her argument about Latino culture in America becomes clear and compelling.
MarieArana was born in Peru.
Presuming from Arana’s education in Hong Kong, she speaks and understands several languages. From her book, it appears she was born into an upper-class Peruvian family who could afford a superior education for their children. Her father was a successful civil engineer who married an American from Kansas. She moved with her parents to Summit, New Jersey when she was nine years old. Arana earned two college degrees from the Northwestern University of Hong Kong.
In one sense, “LatinoLand” is about America’s greatest 21st century challenge, immigration.
More importantly, it is about human discrimination, ignorance, and inequality. Discrimination begins with perceived difference. The greatness visible marker of difference is the color of one’s skin. Arana argues discrimination begins with skin color. She explains how inequality grows from discrimination, and cultural ignorance. (Though not mentioned, human self-interest plays a role in the creation of inequality.) A mixture of ignorance and not caring for others creates fear and potential for violence.
Mosaic of children from around the world, including, Kayapo, Indian, Native American, Inuit, Balinese, Polynesian, Yanomamo, Cuban, Tsaatan, Moroccan, Mongolian, Karo, Malagasy, and Pakistani.
Arana notes how the color of one’s skin is one of the most prominent features of difference among humans. Skin color differences, lack of caring, self-interest, and ignorance breed economic inequality. Arana implies the American Constitution ameliorates some human failings but does not achieve its ideals. She suggests American democratic ideals have been used by some political leaders as a Trojan horse for authoritarianism. She particularly points to the difference between what Fidel Castro said about creating a Cuban democracy when he overthrew Batista, i.e., he claimed to want a democratic haven for its people. However, under Castro, Arana notes Cuba became an authoritarian dictatorship that victimized its citizens by taking their assets and using their value to create and maintain a government-controlled economy.
Arana recounts the history of Cuba, Haiti, and Puerto Rico as examples of countries that preached democratic ideals but became authoritarian dictatorships that eschewed freedom and impoverished its citizens.
Many Cubans, Haitians, and Puerto Ricans fled to the U.S. to escape authoritarian victimization. What many found was American discrimination made it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve the American ideal of freedom and independence. Immigrants could not escape poverty because of the color of their skin, their language difference, and a lack of caring by white Americans pursuing their own dreams.
She goes on to explain the first Latino becomes part of President Reagan’s cabinet as the Secretary of Education in 1988. Of course, Arana acknowledges many Latinos have succeeded in America. From sports stars to musicians to military heroes to Supreme Court justices, America has benefited from the Latino diaspora. But Arana suggests many more Latinos have not achieved the American dream because of the color of their skin.
Arana notes the Nixon Administration is the first President to recognize a separate and distinct ethnic group labeled Hispanic.
Arana suggests the labeling of ethnic groups is a chimera, a fabrication of the mind. People are a mixture of different ethnicities. She implies no one is a pure anything because of the nature of humankind. The inference is that all humans are just humans, and the only difference is in their respective cultures. Cultural differences are relevant but the color of one’s skin is the mark that bodes ill for societies’ future.
In her review of history, Arana notes how a Latino child was discriminated against by having to play in different playgrounds than white children. Only with the advance of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 did that wrong get righted.
The proximate and initial cause of discrimination always seems to be the color of one’s skin. Interestingly, Arana notes that white skin makes a difference in many cultures, including her native culture in Peru where white skin was highly coveted and sought through marriages with white skinned relations.
Arana points to the great contributions that have been made and continue to be made by Latinos to American growth and prosperity.
Discrimination has always been a struggle because of inherent human self-interest, regardless of the ideals of the American Constitution. Arana notes the hurdles that immigrants face in getting to America, let alone becoming free and independent. Many Americans, from Presidents to Congressman to individual American citizens fight newcomers who are struggling to find a better life, employment, security, and peace.
Arana notes more Latinos are coming to America, but from other countries than Mexico. It is surprising to find more Mexican citizens are choosing to leave than come to America. This is not changing the struggle, but it clarifies Arana’s many reasons for writing her book. The ideals of the American Constitution and America’s economic wealth offer hope to immigrants.
In the 21st century, Arana notes that today more Mexicans are returning to Mexico than emigrating to the U.S.
Marie Arana clearly argues the color of one’s skin has given great advantage to white citizens of the world.
Kaplan’s last chapters make a powerful statement about what America should do to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“Earning the Rockies” (How Geography Shapes America’s Role in the World)
By: Robert D. Kaplan
Narrated by: William Dufris
Robert Kaplan (American Author, freelance journalist and foreign correspondent.)
The first chapters of Robert Kaplan’s “Earning the Rockies” are a travel memoir about America’s growth from 13 colonies to 50 states, but the last two chapters are a considered view of America’s turbulent history and what its role should be in the world.
Kaplan explains he comes from a working-class family born in New York City.
Kaplan was raised on the East Coast. His father was a local truck driver. However, his son became a world traveler who served in the Israeli Army and worked as a freelance writer for major publications. His travels and professional reporting experience undoubtedly influence his opinions about America’s role in the world.
Kaplan’s book begins with memories of his beloved father who talked to him about many things, one of which is a belief that “Earning the Rockies” requires one to work to make a living before traveling across the country.
Kaplan writes an apocryphal story of traveling from the east to west coast of America. In reflecting on his journey, he recalls the history of America’s growth as a nation state. He writes of white settler’s displacement of Indian tribes, a journey to the northwest by leaders of the Mormon church, and America’s growth and assembly of 50 states.
In his travels, Kaplan recalls:
1) America’s territorial growth with the Louisiana purchase,
2) confrontation with Mexico to expand America’s southwestern border,
3) Civil War for union rather than separation, and
4) Mormon and other pioneer travels on the Oregon Trail to see and settle the Northwest.
America becomes an economic giant, protected from foreign interference by two oceans.
In the creation of this American geographic giant, many territorial, political, and economic conflicts were resolved. Kaplan’s suggests America’s economic growth is based on force and compromise, the keys to America’s future in the world.
Kaplan’s American heroes are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and George H.W. Bush. He adds the extraordinary insight of Ambassador George Kennan in his analysis of Russia. Kaplan notes other great leaders, but these four Presidents and one diplomat are examples of how American leaders use force and compromise to enhance the power and prestige of democracy in the world.
Kaplan explains prudent use of force and compromise is how the west was won and how America became an economic hegemon, a power and influence in the world.
Union of America’s States was perpetuated with force, while compromise continues to ameliorate the wrongs done to Indians and Blacks in America. Those wrongs will never be removed but compromise inures to the benefit of future generations.
Kaplan argues there is an imperial elite in America, similar to what were the elite and influential intellectuals of ancient Greece.
China is working toward a similar goal with its expansion of aircraft carrier and warship production.
Prudent use of power and compromise will expand the influence of every country that has hegemonic ambition. The operative word is “prudent”, i.e., navigating life with a thoughtful eye toward the future. Of course, there is a difference between China’s and America’s political prudence, but each is able to draw on resources that can change the course of history. The question becomes which has a system of government that can prudently use force and compromise to achieve peace and prosperity?
China’s and Russia’s education system leans toward communism which has not had the same level of success as capitalism.
America’s imperial elite is largely educated in American’ ivy league schools. Kaplan suggests, to the extent that these elitists grasp the importance of using force and compromise through democratic capitalism, the world has a chance for peace and prosperity.
Kaplan notes there is less geographic advantage for America today because of technological interconnectedness.
Capitalism is not a partisan issue but a social imperative for both Republicans and Democrats to work together to benefit all Americans.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“Capitalism in America” (A History)
By: Alan Greenspan, Adrian Wooldridge
Narrated by: Ray Porter
As one would expect, “Capitalism in America” begins with the British economist, Adam Smith, who defined capitalism in 1776 with “An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”.
Alan Greenspan (on the left) is an American economist who was chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987-2006. Adrin Wooldridge (on the right) is a British economist and journalist who wrote for “The Economist”. Wooldridge has a doctorate in philosophy and has co-written several books with Richard Micklethwait, the editor-and-chief of Bloomberg News. One might argue Greenspan has a conservative bias but Wooldridge’s experience as a British journalist gives one a sense of balance in this informative and well-written history of American capitalism.
“Capitalism in America” reveals tumultuous times for the American economy but with positive forward momentum. The public in all countries have experienced hard times from market forces. Some countries, like Israel, India, and the U.K. have experimented with socialism as an alternative to capitalism. Communist countries like Russia and China flirt with capitalism and one may argue–benefited from its market results. The author’s history shows capitalism as the primary reason for America’s economic growth and success. However, that’s getting ahead of their story.
Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury, presented a “Report on a National Bank” to President Washinton and the House of representatives in 1790. This report notes that Congress, with its authority to collect taxes, could fund the bank and lend money to the government to pay foreign creditors, public services, and private businesses to grow the economy. Jefferson opposed the idea, but Hamilton’s broad interpretation of the Constitution allowed his idea of a national bank to be created. In 1791 the First Bank of the United States is established in Philadelphia and remained chartered for 20 years. This became a giant step for America’s economic growth.
Several future Presidents opposed an American national bank. Of course, Jefferson was one because of his belief in an agrarian future for America. Jefferson’s friend and future President, Madison (the 4th President of the U.S.) opposed the idea of a national bank, and Andrew Jackson (the 7th President of the U.S.) used his power as President to oppose the “Second Bank of the United States” in 1833.
The authors note the successful industrialists of the 19th century capitalized on Hamiltonian creation of an American banking system. They became known as the robber barons of America. Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan used capital to produce oil, expand rail transportation, make steel, and provide bank capital to grow the economy.
And then, WWI drew America into events that roil the course of its economic history.
An American economic boom occurs in the first two years of the war with America choosing neutrality. Exports surged from $2.4 billion to $6.2 billion in 1917. Everything from cotton, to wheat, to automobiles, to food, to machines were exported during those years. After joining the war, 3 million Americans were mobilized. When the war was over, the world and the American economy faltered. Recession (1918-1921) hit the world after the war, though America showed it had become a major world power.
As America recovered from WWI, their prowess as a producer of goods and services led to the roaring 20s and a runaway stock market that eventually crashed at the beginning of the Great Depression (1929-1939).
The authors note President Roosevelt is a great salesman who provides relief to many Americans with government employment programs during the depression. However, the authors note Roosevelt’s inept management delays America’s recovery by instituting price controls that distort market forces. Overt price control is a recurring mistake of national economies. The authors are not saying that price control is a singular cause of America’s continuing economic crisis, but it makes market recovery more difficult and longer to achieve.
The authors explain reparations for WWI’s winners helped set the table for WWII.
Germany’s inability to pay reparations, the growth of Antisemitism, and German inflation led to the rise of Hitler. Though not addressed by the authors, Japan felt threatened by American, Chinese, and Russian influence in Asia that led to Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into WWII.
The point is made that America’s depression before the war is not cured by Roosevelt’s economic intervention. The advent of war mobilized American industry.
The authors suggest market interference delayed recovery from the Great Depression. On the other hand, Roosevelt gave hope to the country with his speeches and employment programs. Citizens underlying faith in America’s ability to overcome hardship, and their response to Pearl Harbor reinvigorated the economy. Industries were retooled to meet the demands of war.
The authors argue mistakes in America’s capitalist history have been made by both Democratic and Republican Presidents who interfered with naturally occurring market forces. From Roosevelt to Nixon to Reagan to Obama to Trump, Presidents who institute price controls and/or tariffs interfere with free trade. America’s capitalist economy suffers from those actions. This is not to argue all legislation and federal action on the economy constitutes capitalist interference. Fundamental human rights that ensure freedom to vote, speak one’s mind, practice one’s own religion, work in industries one chooses, while seeking peaceful resolution of differences, are interferences that sustain capitalism.
When natural market forces are interfered with by business leaders and public legislators, capitalism suffers. An inference one may draw from the authors is that legislated programs that aid Americans who are unable or unwilling to participate in the capitalist economy are an interference with capitalism. That raises legislated issues of emigration, social security, health insurance, education, defense, transportation, veteran’s benefits, housing, environmental protection, occupational safety, and other public benefit programs. This is where there is continuing disagreement among Americans. These are not party issues because both Republican and Democratic leaders have both positive and negative arguments for and against these policies.
There is the law of unintended consequences that plague government policies. Some argue Reagan reinvigorated the American capitalist economy by reducing taxes, cutting government programs, reducing government employment, and busting union strikes. He did those things and government debt skyrocketed to a level greater than ever in the history of America. The gap between rich and poor was set on a path that beggared the poor and enriched business managers without comparable enrichment of labor. Like Roosevelt, Reagan sold ideas that had unintended consequences that were not in the long-term interest of Americans.
Lessons may be drawn into the 21st century by the power and intrigue of the 16th century.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“The Mirror and the Light” (Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Optimism)
By: Hilary Mantel
Narrated by: Ben Miles
Hilary Mantel (1952-2022, British author, Booker Prize winner acclaimed for historical fiction like the Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Died at the age of 70.)
Historical fiction is a valuable tool when combined with a research-driven imagination. Hiliary Mantel’s trilogy, “Wolf Hall”, “Bring Up the Bodies”, and “The Mirror and the Light”, offer a fascinating picture of Thomas Cromwell.
Thomas Cromwell has been labeled as a dictator by some and a hero of liberty by others. He gained a reputation as a consummate power broker and political advisor, but some consider his protestant religious convictions bordered on zealotry. The famous Winston Churchill disparaged Cromwell’s role in England’s 16th century as a dictator. Winston Churchill was an aristocrat from a wealthy family. One is inclined to think Churchill would have been one of many noblemen in King Henry’s time that would have disparaged Cromwell for being the son of a blacksmith. Mantel’s historical fiction envisions Cromwell as a brilliant political tactician who initiated democratization of England’s government. (By democratization, one must recognize Cromwell believed the King’s decisions were paramount, but that monarchy is limited by dependence on consent.) Far from being a dictator, Mantel shows Cromwell was an astute leader of men superior to him in rank but beneath him in ability.
Henry VIII (1491-1547, King of England from 1509-1547, died at the age of 55.)
Many views of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell have been offered by historians. One is that the King was a great sportsman who enjoyed participating in violent competitions like jousting. Mantel mentions one of those events when the King is unhorsed and appears dead from the impact of an opponent’s lance. The King is unconscious for some time and is pounded on the chest by an attendant that brings him back to consciousness. This is later in his reign, possibly after the beheading of Anne Boleyn. One wonders if his many marriages are in part because of something more than want of a male heir. There is little doubt that a male heir was extremely important, but six wives seem extreme and his decision to execute Cromwell unjust.
Some fundamental truths about King Henry VIII’s era make Mantel’s fictionalized history easier to follow.
King Henry needed money to expand and sustain his monarchy. His greatest opportunity to gain wealth was in confiscation of assets held by the papist Church in England. The King and Cromwell opposed the idea of the Roman Catholic Church’s influence on England’s affairs. Papal opposition was reinforced by Cromwell’s Calvinist beliefs, aligned with England’s Puritan radicals who offered support for history’s course of events. The King needed money. Cromwell’s Puritan and political beliefs coincided with the monarchy’s needs.
Anne Boleyn (Born 1501 or 1507, beheaded in 1536 at age 29 or 35.)
A second fundamental truth is that Anne Boleyn was unable to give the King a surviving male heir. One might question Boleyn’s alleged affairs, but her motives were obscured by history. Maybe Boleyn simply exercised her libido in the same way men often did and still do. On the other hand, if King Henry could not sire a male heir, maybe Boleyn believed a secret conjugal partner would provide an heir. A male heir may have insured Boleyn’s life as long as secrets are kept.
(The great number of historical characters in “The Mirror and the Light” distract from Mantel’s view of King Henry’s time. One often has to look-up the characters she has introduced to keep track of the story. Thirty to forty characters are too many for a casual reader to appreciate the context of an historical novel’s era.)
Human nature’s faults, like desire for money, power, and prestige were the same then as they are now.
The King’s prestige was dealt a blow when Boleyn’s affairs become public. Like today, a cuckolded husband rarely forgives a wife’s extramarital affairs. With the King’s need for a male heir, accusation, trial, and execution were justification for getting rid of Henry’s second wife. She was beheaded by a sword’s blade alluded to in the title of Mantel’s novel. Cromwell provided the evidence, which is to this day, questioned by historians.
Martin Luther (1481-1546)
Cromwell lived in the time of Martin Luther’s attack on the Catholic church and the printing of the Tyndale Bible in Germany.
The middle of “The Mirror and the Light” gives its listeners a view of the religious evolution of Thomas Cromwell. The King’s desire for the wealth of Papal holdings in England seems enough to motivate the King. One wonders if Cromwell’s experience with “royal power” or protestant belief are the primary motivation for his actions.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1473-1530, English statesman and Catholic cardinal.)
Cardinal Wolsey resisted King Henry’s desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. Wolsey was dismissed by the King. Ironically, Cromwell owed his rise in parliament to Wolsey and remained loyal to Wolsey despite the King’s dismissal. Despite Wolsey’s resistance and dismissal by the King, he died of natural causes. Cromwell’s abilities and skill as a go-between came to the attention of King Henry. However, Mantel suggests Cromwell is never forgiven by Wolsey’s children for the King’s demotion of their father. What remains in Mantel’s story is how the King loses faith in Cromwell as his advisor.
Holbein portrait of Anne of Cleaves (1515-1557, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII.)
The proximate cause of Cromwell’s conviction for treason and heresy was his negotiation and recommendation to King Henry for marriage to the Duke of Cleaves’ sister.
Thomas Cromwell was executed for treason and heresy in 1540. Cromwell’s intent was to provide an alliance with the Duke of Cleaves against the Holy Roman Empire. Hans Holbein’s painting of Anne was said to have unfairly enhanced her looks. The Duke of Cleaves alliance did not appreciably improve England’s defense and the questionable value of the alliance was laid at the feet of Cromwell. King Henry declared his six-month marriage to Anne of Cleaves was unconsummated. Cromwell’s English aristocratic enemies used the King’s discontent as grounds for the accusation of treason and heresy for which he was executed.
The Craft’s story is an inspiration for the anti-slavery movement before and after the civil war. Their story reinforces the principle of equality of opportunity for all.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“Master, Slave, Husband, Wife“
By: Ilyon Woo
Narrated by: Janina Edwards & Leon Nixon
Ilyon Woo (American author, Received BA in Humanities from Yale College and has a PhD in English from Columbia University.)
“Master, Slave, Husband, Wife” will disabuse any listener who may think the American Civil War was not about slavery. Ilyon Woo’s detailed research of Ellen and William Craft reveals the many reasons why no one can deny the fundamental cause of the Civil War in America, i.e. it was slavery.
Ellen and William Craft
Ellen and William Craft were slaves until escape from their slave master in 1848. William was enslaved by a white land holder named Robert Collins who held a half interest in Craft’s ownership with another southerner. Ellen was the child of a white owner and black slave that gave her a fair-skinned white racial appearance. However, Ellen was classified as a slave because of her mixed racial parentage. Her mother was a slave to a white slaveholder who was her putative father. At the age of eleven, Ellen was gifted as a valued piece of property to a sister who later became Collin’s wife.
Ellen missed her birth mother but only after years of being on the run, did she manage to re-unite with her mother, Maria Smith.
In 1846, Ellen reached the age of 20 and agreed to marry William who was a skilled cabinet maker.
William was allowed to work for a portion of his wages in return for a cut of his income to be paid to his owners. In 1848, with the money William saved from his outside work, the married slaves planned an escape from Collin’s household. The plan was for Ellen to dress herself as a white man with William as her slave on a journey to Philadelphia, Boston, and possibly Canada.
Ellen Craft dressed as a white man with an accompanying slave who is actually her husband.
The fugitives succeed in their escape, but their success is challenged. The challenge came from the morally misguided attempt by the American government to avoid a war between the North and South by passing the “Fugitive Slave Act of 1850”.
That act would allow capture and return of runaway slaves to their putative owners. The Act was a compromise between the north and south, supported by President Millard Fillmore, who was willing to sacrifice black Americans to slavery in order to preserve the Union. Storied and respected leaders of America like Daniel Webster, who had freed his slaves, supported the “Fugitive Slave Act”. Webster believed, like the majority of a white Congress, that union was more important than human equality.
Woo’s detailed research reveals how Ellen and William had both black and white supporters who recognized the iniquity of slavery and helped them escape bounty hunters hired by Robert Collins to return the Crafts to slavery. Ellen and William were in Boston. They were helped to escape by Boston’s anti-slavery Americans of conscience.
The anti-slavery movement extended into some of the city of Boston’s government officials. Some local government officials refused to cooperate with bounty hunters trying to fulfill the legal requirements for recovery of escaped slaves. Woo infers Boston boiled with demonstrations against the “Fugitive Slave Act”.
WILLIAM WELLS BROWN
The danger of recapture remained palpable because some officials were concerned more about preservation of the union than the iniquity of slavery. Ellen and William chose to flee to England. Their escape is aided by Quakers and the support of famous black Americans like Fredrick Douglass and William Wells Brown. Douglas publicized the story of the Crafts. William Wells Brown, an equally famous slave escapee, supported the Crafts by using them in traveling presentations that spoke of the iniquity of slavery and how they escaped its clutches. Ellen and William remained in England for 18 years. With the support of Lady Byron and Harriet Martineau, the Crafts learned how to read and write.
The Crafts spent three years at Ockham School in Surrey, England where they taught handicrafts and carpentry.
The Crafts respected each other in ways that defy simple explanation. Though they strongly supported each other, they were often separated for long periods of time. William and Ellen became self-educated writers and teachers who started schools. William traveled to Africa on his own and started a school without his wife. He was gone for months at a time but never broke with his wife who stayed in England.
After 18 years, Ellen and William return to the U.S. The civil war was over. They had five children together with two who remained in England. The Crafts started Woodville Cooperative Farm School in Bryan County, Georgia. The school failed but they continued to farm and wrote a book about their lives titled “Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom…” which became popular in both England and the U.S.
The Craft family’s story of their flight to freedom.
Ellen Craft died in 1891. She was buried in Bryan County, Georgia. William Craft died in 1900 but was denied burial in Bryan County next to his wife. William was buried in Charleston, South Carolina. Though separated in death, they seem as tied to each other as they were in life. The Craft’s story is an inspiration for the anti-slavery movement before and after the civil war. Their story reinforces the principle of equality of opportunity for all.
The two edges of nuclear physics that may save or destroy the world is still with us. The best humanity can hope for is balance between human nature and science.
Blog: awalkingdelight
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“American Prometheus” The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
By: Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
Kai Bird (American author and columnist who wrote about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Born in 1951.)Martin J. Sherwin (American historian who wrote about the history of nuclear weapons. Died in 2021.)
Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin tell the story of America’s “god of fire”. Like the myth of Prometheus who reveals Olympian gods’ knowledge of fire, J. Robert Oppenheimer reveals physicists’ secrets of nuclear fission that give atomic power to humanity. Their history tells listeners of the risk entailed in research and production of nuclear bombs.
J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967, Died at the age of 62.)
Bird and Sherwin offer an intimate and revealing story of J. Robert Oppenheimer that reveals his genius, his human frailty, his growth as a project manager, and the abysmal way American government treated his historic achievements.
Though Bird’s and Sherwin’s history is more about Oppenheimer’s life than his discoveries, it seems prudent to note Oppenheimer discovered the Born-Oppenheimer molecular wave functions about how electrons and positrons work. Oppenheimer also worked with fellow physicist William Phillips on the Oppenheimer-Phillips process in nuclear fusion with work on what is called quantum tunneling. Though Oppenheimer was nominated for a Nobel Prize three times, he never won. Phillips and Steven Chu receive the Nobel in 1997.
Max Born (German/British physicist, 1882-1970)William Daniel Phillips (American physicist, Nobel Prize 1997 with Steven Chu.)
The great controversy surrounding Oppenheimer is his association with communism. Bird and Sherwin clearly acknowledge the association but convincingly argue Oppenheimer was an American patriot who contributed to communist social welfare programs without being a card-carrying member of the CP.
“American Promethius” illustrates Oppenheimer’s growth as a consummate manager of a complex organization that could successfully develop a weapon of mass destruction, an atomic bomb that can end war. However, as history shows, the atom bomb may end a world war, but nuclear bombs become a threat to human existence by any nation that acquires the same technology.
Los Alamos National Laboratory entrance located a short distance NW of Santa Fe, NM
The first atomic bomb exploded on July 16, 1945 in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
The authors show Oppenheimer’s understanding of an atom bomb’s threat by quoting the Bhagavad Gita. “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” Oppenheimer refuses to continue research on Edward Teller’s plan to create a fusion bomb of even greater destructive potential. Teller succeeds in creating that bomb. Oppenheimer recognizes any small or large nation that gains fusion bomb technology increases a threat to humanity.
The second atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll was a fusion bomb released on July 25, 1946. The Marshall Islands, where Bikini is located, is suing the U.S. for what it calls a violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Edward Teller was a leading physicist who worked on the Los Alamos project. Teller’s difficult interpersonal relations and volatile personality made him an important influencer, and defamer of Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer refuses to continue research on a fusion bomb because of its destructive potential and its potential influence in an arms race.
Edward Teller (1908-2003) Hungarian American, theoretical physicist who was the principal inventor of the hydrogen bomb based on the principle of fusion. It’s destructive potential from heat and light are substantially greater than the two nuclear bombs dropped on Japan.)
Teller and an American German physicist, Hans Bethe a team leader, come to lager heads when Bethe agrees with Oppenheimer’s’ focus on a fission rather than fusion bomb. Teller fell out with his team leader, as well as Oppenheimer, over the disagreement.
Hans Bethe (1906-2005, received a Nobel Prize in 1967 for the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis.)
The arrival of Niels Bohr (1885-1962) at Los Alamos in 1943 raises a fundamental concern about creation of a weapon of mass destruction. Bohr’s concern is a nation’s failure to share nuclear physics technology about the bomb with allied forces, particularly Russia, to avoid an international arms race.
Bohr believes scientific cooperation would reduce the probability of an arms race. Bohr’s view seems idealistic in light of today’s history, but the idea is adopted by Oppenheimer. Nuclear weapons have become widely coveted by weaker economic nations of the world because of their political systems failure to improve the lives of their citizens.
Human nature is not overcome by technological sharing because of differences in fundamental religious and political beliefs.
Pursuit of the bomb is just another tool to accelerate national leaders’ political or religious beliefs. Niels Bohr’s noble idea and Oppenheimer’s acknowledgement of the value of sharing science is victim to national leaders’ beliefs and human nature.
A nation like North Korea covets the bomb because it gives them the ability to punch (negotiate or fight) above their weight. A nation like Iran is led by a religious leader who only views the modern world in light of a beneficent afterlife.
Katherine Oppenheimer. Robert’s wife (1910-1972, German American biologist, botanist, and member of the Communist Party.)
A disturbing note about Oppenheimer is his marriage to his wife, Katherine “Kitty” Puening whom he married in 1940. Kitty became pregnant before they married. They had two children, a boy and girl. This is Kitty’s fourth marriage. Neither parent seems to show much interest in their children. Kitty is shown to be a free spirit, beautiful and charming who generally supports Oppenheimer in his job at Los Alamos. One wonders how their children were affected by their parents’ neglect. Their daughter committed suicide in 1977. The boy still lives in New Mexico and makes a living as a carpenter.
In 1947, Oppenheimer is recruited by Princeton to head a new organization that is called the Institute for Advanced Study. Because of frequent trips to Washington D.C. and the attraction of running a broad organization for the study of science and humanities, Oppenheimer chooses to take the position. His team management experience at Los Alamos and his broad interest in the humanities make Oppenheimer a perfect match for the position. With millions of dollars set aside for the Institute, Oppenheimer attracts the best and brightest science and humanities luminaries from around the world. Einstein, Kurt Godel, John von Neumann, George Kennan, T.S. Eliot, and too many more to mention, were recruited by Oppenheimer. Some were at the height of their professions and became Nobel Prize winners.
The last chapters of “American Prometheus” address the investigation of Oppenheimer’s communist associations during the McCarthy era.
His greatest initial concern was for his brother, Frank, who had joined the communist party. However, the wide range of the investigation and the zealous pursuit of Lewis Strauss, a former shoe salesman who chaired the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), results in Oppenheimer’s security clearance being stripped. His reputation is unfairly diminished by overzealous politicians and investigators ranging from the FBI director to the AEC chairman.
One leaves this history with a feeling of shame about how Oppenheimer is treated by some and over-praised by others. No human being is without faults, regardless of their intelligence and ability. Oppenheimer was an American patriot who served America with what it needed in the circumstances of his time.
J. Robert Oppenheimer (center) receives the 1963 Enrico Fermi Award from President Lyndon B. Johnson at a White House ceremony on December 2, 1963, as then AEC chairman Glenn Seaborg (left) looks on. (Photo: DOE). He died at age 62 in 1967.
One leaves this novel hoping Russia leaves Ukraine in peace, Palestine and Israel with an acceptable agreement for both countries, and a war that does not widen.
Blog: awalkingdelight
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“The Winter Soldier” A Novel
By:Daniel Mason
Narrated by: Laurence Dobiesz
Daniel Mason (Author, physician, winner of 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, the Joyce Carol Oates Prize.)
Daniel Mason’s “The Winter Soldier” is a reminder of WWI and the heartbreak of war. It is a love story created out of the horror of injuries, desperation of commanders for recruits, and the collateral damage of civilians. All of this is a reminder of what is happening today in Israel/Palestine, Ukraine, and Russia. Told from the losing side of war, it makes one think of WWI’s history and the aftermath of today’s military actions.
The well-known triggering incident that led to WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.
There are many other fundamental reasons for the war ranging from mutual defense alliances to imperialism to national security and disputed borders but as in all wars there are no winners, only losers. The losers are disabled combatants, children, and the survivors who cannot forget what they have been through. For the dead, life is simply over.
Mason’s story is about an Austro-Hungarian’ medical student from an aristocratic family who is thrown into the maelstrom of war. By circumstance, he is recruited into a field hospital in Poland because he is the only academically trained medical person. He is still a student, but his sketchy understanding of medicine and the human body give him some guidance on how to amputate limbs and treat life threatening diseases. The field hospital is in a former church that is managed by a nun who worked with former doctors and had some practical knowledge of medical treatment. Lucius, the hero, a 22-year-old is introduced to Margareta, a nun who is one year older. She has much more firsthand experience with war’s casualties. Her judgment sustains much of what Lucius does that tempers his novitiate understanding of medical practice.
It is a “…Winter Soldier” who survives the war that offers a surprising ending to Mason’s imaginative and well-written novel.
The precursor to the story’s surprising ending is that Lucius falls in love with Margareta, but they are separated by the invasion of Russian soldiers. They find each other after Lucius marriage and pending divorce to another woman. Lucius travels back to where Margareta lived and finds she has moved to another town. He travels to the new town and finds Margareta at a local hospital. This is not the end of the story. A surprise remains.
Mason’s story is an entertaining novel of particular interest today because of the truth of Mark Twain’s observation: “History never repeat itself, but it does often rhyme”. One leaves this novel hoping Russia leaves Ukraine in peace, Palestine and Israel with an acceptable agreement for both countries, and a war that does not widen.
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