I had seen the 1937 film adaptation as a child yet never
read the book. Picking it up in 2023, I was struck by a subtle theme that I would
have completely missed at an earlier age.
The characters, and therefore the
author, are aware that a second great war might lie ahead, and some would
escape. The longing for a place of refuge where they would scarcely age, free
from the stresses of our modern world, made even more sense in the 1930s. Hilton’s
characters embody the fear that another, even darker time is on the horizon. In
that sense, they are lost, not simply in the Himalayas, but in their inability
to escape from a looming calamity.
It made me wonder if the many apocalyptic
books and shows of our present time reflect a comparable collective fear that
something darker lies ahead of us.
I
loved River of Doubt, and this book about a grand misadventure down the
Grand Canyon kept me just as transfixed.
Soon after the U.S. Civil War, one
man’s yearning to explore produced so much hardship for himself and the men he
brought with him. I like to read about tests of will and the struggle to
survive, though reading about this adventure did not make me want to join them.
It was more than enough just to feel like I was in those unwieldy, wooden canoes
being battered by rapids and smashed against the rocks.
But in these man versus
nature tales, the even greater tension comes from how the travelers turn
against each other.
Drawing on rarely examined diaries and journals, Down the Great Unknown is the first book to tell the full, dramatic story of the Powell expedition.
On May 24, 1869 a one-armed Civil War veteran, John Wesley Powell and a ragtag band of nine mountain men embarked on the last great quest in the American West. The Grand Canyon, not explored before, was as mysterious as Atlantis—and as perilous. The ten men set out from Green River Station, Wyoming Territory down the Colorado in four wooden rowboats. Ninety-nine days later, six half-starved wretches came ashore near Callville, Arizona.
Murakami is a remarkably skilled
story weaver. His plots are engaging, even when they’re unbelievable. But this time
his novel rings painfully true by addressing a less frequented theme: the loss
of a friend group.
Gone is the magical realism that haunts many of his other
works. Instead, we follow one seemingly real person on his quest to discover
why, years ago, his core group of high school friends suddenly, inexplicably
cut him off. I’ve been blessed to still have daily contact with my three
closest friends from childhood well into middle age. Perhaps the thought of
losing that connection made this book that much more compelling.
One of the most revered voices in literature today gives us a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the remarkable story of a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present.
A New York Times and Washington Post notable book, and one of the Financial Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Slate, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast,…
What
kind of country is America? Zachary Shore tackles this polarizing question by
spotlighting some of the most morally muddled matters of WWII. Should Japanese
Americans be moved from the west coast to prevent sabotage? Should the German
people be made to starve as punishment for launching the war? Should America
drop atomic bombs to break Japan's will to fight?
Surprisingly,
despite wartime anger, most Americans and key officials favored mercy over
revenge, yet a minority managed to push their punitive policies through. After
the war, by feeding the hungry, rebuilding Western Europe and Japan, and
airlifting supplies to a blockaded Berlin, America strove to restore the
country's humanity, transforming its image. This Is Not Who We
Are asks crucial questions about the nation's most agonizing divides.
