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January 5, 2006
Book Review: Top of the Heap A. A. Fair
Those who travel in the mystery circuits know that Erle Stanley Gardner, most famous for the Perry Mason series of mysteries, also published under a number of pseudonyms. Each of these was usually dedicated to a given series. The series published under the name A.A. Fair is Bertha Cool and Donald Lam.
Bertha Cool is a large woman who runs a private detective agency out of Los Angeles. In the earlier books in the series she contributes more to the story and the solution of the mystery. In this entry she acts mainly as catalyst and obnoxious obstacle. Lam does all of the footwork. And fancy footwork it is indeed. The mystery is multilayered and starts when a wealth young San Franciscan comes to the Cool and Lam agency looking for detectives to procure him an alibi for a night on which a notorious gangster was shot.
Well, that's only the beginning of a noir roller-coaster ride that uncovers a stock scheme, a double murder, a hit-and-run driver and other incidentally related crimes and criminal activities.
Unusally well-crafted for this series and available now in the new Hard Case line of classic and nouveau noir entries. Worth your attention if you need a light read.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 6:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Book Review: The Myth of Hitler's Pope David Dalin
Another entry in the gather around and protect the reputation of Pope Pius XII books. A worthy cause and a notable book in the cause.
Dalin traces documentary evidence that soundly refutes the detractors of Pope Pius XII as well as the generalized claim of anti-semitism on the part of the Catholic Church and the popes specifically. While I found some of his arguments in favor of the Church overly generalized to the point of inaccuracy, his generosity of spirit in the matter is to be applauded.
What Dalin effectively does do in the work (as well as clearing Pius XII's name) is to point out the strong Nazi roots of current Islamic antisemitism. Some time back in Crisis there was an essay titled, "Hitler's Mufti," and this comprises most of the end of Dalin's present work.
For those interested in trying to restore some balance in the presentation of Pius XII to the world, this work is invaluable. It is readable and well documented. It does have some small faults, but they are more than made up for by the wonderful historical insights offered throughout.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 6:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Museum Review: King Tut
During a recent trip to Naples, we took the opportunity to take our friend and my son to Fort Lauderdale to view the traveling exhibition of Egyptian materials related to King Tut. Most recently this exhibit was in Los Angeles. It will be here in Florida until April or May.
First the good points: this makes a fine exhibition for either the novice or the expert reviewer of Egyptian artifacts. There is relatively little material associated directly with Tut, neither the mummy, the sarcophagus, nor the death mask is present in the exhibition, despite the misleading advertising that suggests the presence of the latter. What we do see are some of the pectorals and jewelry that were within the wrappings on Tut's mummy, some of the materials from the burial chamber and a few canopic jars. This sounds paltry, but believe me, they are worth seeing for their intrinsic interest and for their great beauty.
The remainder of the exhibition covers the Pharoah before Tut who attempted to impose a monotheistic system on the Egyptian people. Tut's reign was viewed as a restoration of the traditional system of worship.
The final rooms of the exhibit recreate the actual burial chamber both in size and in the diagrammatic layout of the burial arrangements. The last room is dedicated to new research on Tut that suggests that he may not have been murdered by his successor. However, I have been advised by people more attuned to the news in this field that the particular theory espoused is a bugbear of the exhibit coordinator and is not to be taken too seriously as objective research.
Now for the downside--the exhibit is poorly managed and poorly run. While there are a limited number of tickets for viewers during each time period, those limited tickets are still too many. Each gallery is overly crowded and movement between parts of the exhibit space is slow and difficult. Often it was hard to get a good look at some of the piece without waiting for five, ten, or more minutes.
We arrived about a half-hour before our entry time and were ushered to a line where we waited until well past our time. We were shown the way to some stair where we climbed and waited for another fifteen or twenty minutes before we went in to see a short context-setting film. Afterwards we entered the exhibit.
The museum really needed more forethought in preparing the exhibition. In addition, the exhibit materials were written not so much to educate the public as to placate specialists in the field with the net result that many of them were nearly incomprehensible to the audience they should thrill most--school-age children. I'm not suggesting that exhibits be written down to that age, but I am suggesting that there are ways to construct exhibits so that all might benefit from the knowledge being bestowed. However, this complaint is not unique to the Tut exhibit.
None of these criticisms should be viewed as in any way suggesting that one should avoid this rare opportunity. As the Islamic fundamentalist world becomes more vehement about the eradication of the non-Muslim past (view the Taliban's horrendous destruction of the Afghan Buddhas) such relics may become more rare, and certainly our opportunities to view them will be curtailed. I cannot recommend heartily enough the value to be derived from attending and enjoying such a wonderful exhibition. Those who live in Florida should make plans to try to see it.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 6:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Announcement: Christ, The Life of the Soul Blessed Columba Marmion
This season has been very difficult for me in a number of ways. But a couple of notes from some on-line friends and the totally unexpected arrival of this book in the mail have really made my day.
The Blessed Columba Marmion is the author of a number of books in which I have been interested, but which have been out of my reach either because of cost or sheer availability in any form. Now, Zaccheus Press, a Press which just keeps getting better and better has produced an all-new translation of one of Marmion's key works. (I am reporting this more by reputation than through my own knowledge.) What a handsome and large book it is. I can't wait to get started with it. John O'Leary, the Owner and operator of Zaccheus Press has dedicated his efforts to reproducing some of the great, lost works of the past. I have noted that his previous efforts have been picked up and distributed by Ignatius Press (Abbot Vonier's Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist and Hugo Rahner's Our Lady and the Church. Each book is better made and more aware of some of the subtleties of the typesetting arts, and each is more ambitious. If you have the money, the time, and the inclination, you might want to look at Mr. O'Leary's site and invest in some of the handsome volumes. They are a magnificent addition to any library of Catholic Literature, and you will do much to help contribute to the restoration of some of the great old works that have been lost to us.
Mr. O'Leary, if you happen to stop by, thank you so much for your service to the Catholic community as exemplified by these beautifully produced, nicely printed volumes. May God prosper your efforts at this renaissance of Catholic Spiritual literature.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 7:29 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 6, 2006
Nada, Nada, Nada, Nada, Nada, Nada, and again Nada
For some sets,
it is emptiness
that makes them whole.
The bounding matter
is twisted, turned
bent between two
competing sides.
Meaning flows from
the interface
between the two.
The line between all and nothing
is thin as a laser-level line
as firm as Cantor's dust
as solid as serpienski's gasket
as clear as the absolute length of the shoreline
as bounded as the shell of a cloud.
That's all you can know about it.
That's all you need to know about it, except--
the line between all and nothing
is the only line.
Everything sits on one side
or the other.
And closer to the boundary
is closer to the heart of all.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 8:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Reading List
Up Now--
Anne Rice Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt--I was first astounded by Ms. Rice reading Interview with the Vampire. I knew that I was reading something absolutely new, compelling, interesting. I have not been a fan since--something happened in the development of her style and writing that put me off--my problem, not hers. But once again, I am astounded by Ms. Rice's ability. This book is beautifully written and it takes big risks--for example writing from the point of view of Jesus. But every choice seems deft and sure, guided by prayer and study. What do I make of the inclusion of certain elements from "apocryphal" sources? I make that Ms. Rice uses them to show us the true humanity of Christ--the developmental awareness that every person comes to through time. I have watched my own son come to awareness of himself as a person. Ms. Rice proposes that if Christ is "like us in all things but sin" He might always have known who and what He is, but He might have had to come to an understanding of what that means. I believe the book portrays that dawning understanding beautifully. I haven't finished it yet, but I still recommend it to your attention. Even if the ending falls short, the journey has been worth it.
Up Shortly:
Christ, The Life of the Soul Blessed Columba Marmion--I mentioned receiving this yesterday and I am looking forward to reading it. It will be one of those long, slow reads because the prose is such that it will take some time to assimilate the ideas. The book is assembled from a series of talks and so has a more informal, looser structure, but still remains heady and profound. Just glancing at the first few pages showed that this would not be my usual duck-my-head-in-a-book-while-the wife-watches-CSI kind of thing.
Also yesterday I received the IVP new Catena volume for Revelations. This should prove one of the most interesting volumes as one can discover from it what the Early Church Fathers made of St. John's visions.
Looming--
My christmas gift books:
The Moai Murders Lyn Hamilton
Literary Giants, Literary Catholics Joseph Pearce
and at the inspiration of TSO
Charles Carroll of Carrollton: Faithful Revolutionary Scott McDermott--I had not looked closely enough to discover that this was, in fact, a Sceptre publication and thus a work of Opus Dei.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 8:46 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 7, 2006
Random Thought on Defending the Faith
I've read here and there about the proper means of defending one's faith. It occurred to me at some time that the most useful, most effective, most reliable means of defending one's faith is to live it as it is meant to be lived, without stint, without quibble, without making a point of it.
It also occurred to me that this is by far the most difficult means of defending one's faith--one that, while not reserved to Saints, certainly most effectively demonstrated by them. Some of these Saints also defended their faith in other ways--in physical battle, in intellectual battle, in protracted debate. But others did not so engage, and yet they still won the hearts and minds and souls of a great many. I guess I would say that living your faith in its entirety is a precursor to being able to defend it in any intellectual capacity.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 8:54 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack