Books

I finished Scott Turow's novel Personal Heroes a couple weeks ago. I think it was his best. I am reading Carhart's reinterpretation of Gettysburg, with emphasis on what he thinks was Custer's (remember, Last Stand?) vital role. It, too, is good. I was disappointed with J Higgin's latest Sean Dillon novel. It had some decent parts, but too much didn't match up to his usual adventures. Why We Run by Bernd (not a misspelling) Heinrich is interesting and insightful, maybe even for nonrunners. He uses his knowledge and studies/experiments with animals (bees, birds, antelopes, cheetahs, etc.) to explain how and why we run, specifically, how he used what he learned from the animals to train for an ultrarace. To the Best of My Ability (ed. by J. McPherson, the Civil War expert) has 5-6 page profiles of the Presidents from George to Clinton. There are some good stories and anecdotes. A few of the assessments are interesting and even new, although I few seem strained and stilted based on the authors' political views. But these slants are pretty easy to pick out. The Dirty Dozen isn't the WW2 novel, but the story of 12 cases (and others) where the Supremes have abrogated the Constitution and, even, much previous case law/precedents. It's sort of scary that the SC can and does do this--where might this take us? Where might it stop?

I think it's time to find a new Lincoln book. When times get pretty doomful, Lincoln's story is always uplifting. His Presidency reminds me of the hope we must never lose. Remember, "He was born one of us, but became 'Abraham Lincoln.'"

Out to Gettysburg....