May 24 2020

Travels with Charley: In Search of America (1962)
By John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck is already a well-known, prize-wining author and journalist by 1960 when he sets out "in search of America". He stars in his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, heading north to Maine, before starting a circuit around the continental US, a trip that will take about four months, in a truck concerted to a small RV.  He has a few must-see destinations: Deer Isle, ME [?]; Niagara Falls; Chicago; his home town of Salinas, CA; his in-laws' home in TX; New Orleans.  The rest of the trip, he stops when he's tired, sometimes staying at a roadside hotel for a shower, but usually living in "Rocinante" (named for Don Quixote's horse) with his large poodle Charley for company. Interestingly, it seems that the planned stops are disappointing (especially Steinbeck's hometown, which has mushroomed from 4000 residents in he's childhood years to 80K in 1960 - but particularly difficult was the stop in New Orleans where Steinbeck sees the effects of school integration firsthand when white adults harass a small black child accompanied to the school door by police officers).  Much more enjoyable are the author's serendipitous meetings with locals.  None seem to recognize the famed author; the story really shines when he meets a farmer or hunter, often inviting them to share a whiskey-laced coffee on Rocinante's dining table.  In the end, while Steinbeck opines on may topics - environmental issues, the interstate highways, wealthy, prejudice - he doesn't offer so much a finding of America as a fear that it is becoming too homogeneous and urbanized.

Like Steinbeck, I spent the year 1960 on the road.  Actually, it was 1959-1961, living all around the US with my parents and two siblings, as my dad had taken a 2 1/2 year position as a traveling auditor for his company.  I can identify with so much of what he sees, especially in CA and, to some extent, New Orleans.  The old US highways, with their greasy-spoon cafes and mom-and-pop motels hadn't yet given way to the interstate systems.  Wish I'd thought to write a book!

May 14 2020

The Lost Gutenberg: The Astounding Story of One Book's Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey (2019)
By Margaret Leslie Davis

Fewer than 50 Gutenberg Bibles are known to exist today - almost all in museums or universities.  Author Margaret Davis traces the history of "No 45" - from its journey through several private collections to its current home in Japan.

The tale opens in 1950 with No 45's arrival at the home of its last private owner, Estelle Doheny, in Los Angeles.  Estelle is the widow of Edward Doheny, an Irish American oil millionaire who "struck it rich"in the late 1800s but was later implicated in the infamous Teapot Dome scandal in 1923, accused of bribing US Interior Secretary Albert Fall.  He is eventually cleared, although Sec Fall is implicated and imprisoned, becoming the "fall guy".  During the ordeal of the decade-long trial, Estelle is given a book about American authors and finds solace in collecting these writers, eventually acquiring first editions, and then becoming a serious collector.  She hears that the LC is buying a Gutenberg Bible and sets out to buy her own copy, though it will take decades.

Davis provides tidbits of history about Gutenberg and his famous book, which probably had a run of about 180 copies.  He would have printed only the words of scripture, leaving each owner to provide a cover and enlist illuminators to provide decorations if they wished.  Thus each Bible was unique.  Most were printed on good quality paper with a high rag content, but a small number were printed on vellum.  The paper versions were bound in 2 volumes, vellum in 3.  Many of the known Gutenbergs today are missing a volume, as is No 45, which contains only Genesis - Psalms.

From its creation ("sometime before Aug 15, 1546") until 1836, No 45's owner(s) are unknown, but it was likely part of a seminary or church scholar's collection.   But by the early 1800s, there was a growing interest in rare books, and Gutenbergs were starting to be sold and collected.  Davis introduces No 45's private owners:

Archibald Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford
1836-1884
paid: L45, sold for: L500 to book dealer James Toovey

Lord William Tyssen-Amherst, bibliophile
1884-1908
paid: L600 to book dealer James Toovey; sold for L2050 to book dealer Bernard Quaritch

Charles Wm Dyson Perrins, heir to Lea & Perrins and Royal Worcester Porcelain
1908-1947
paid L2050; sold for L22000

(briefly owned by Sir Philip Beaumont Frere, a London solicitor)

Estelle Doheny, CA book collector
1950-1958
paid: L25000 (~$72000); donated to St John's Seminary, along with most of Estelle's collection, with a restriction that the collection cannot be altered for 25 years following Estelle's death.

The first 3 owners all had to liquidate their book collections to settle debts: Gosford to pay for debts his father incurred in trying to build the largest castle in Ireland; Amherst to pay creditors when his trusted financial manager embezzled the lion's share of his family's fortune; and Perrins to rescue the failing Royal Worcester company.  Estelle, a multimillionaire when her husband died, became a generous philanthropist, endowing schools and health care, in part to redeem her husband's name from the scandal of Teapot Dome.  While No 45 is housed at St John's Seminary, the church is approached about doing a chemical analysis, using a cyclotron (the same kind of machine that split the atom).  Surprisingly, the caretakers at St John agree, and amazing new information is revealed, eg,   the ink, always thought to be composed of carbon, was instead made of lead and copper (so that's how it kept its blackness all these years!); the number of pieces of type were far more than originally thought.

Sadly, the Catholic church opted to sell all of Estelle's collection, and the Gutenberg alone goes for $5.4M (and this was right after Black Monday in 1987).  The new owner is Maruzen Ltd, the Japanese publishing conglomerate, and No 45 becomes the first Gutenberg to find a home in Asia.  Maruzen gives (or sells) it to Keio University, which becomes a pioneer in digital bibliography, digitizing the entire volume, initially in 1997, then updated in 2017, as new technology became available.  Thus, No 45, with its beautiful illumination, is probably the most widely known copy, due to its atomic analysis and its digitization by Keio University.

I have seen the 3-volume set at the Library of Congress, and it is amazing!  Hard to believe it is in such beautiful condition after all these centuries.  While looking at the digitized version may not be as unique as seeing the real object,  I have to thank Keio for making it possible to see every page (not just the open pages) in perfect and minute detail...

May 10 2020

Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk, and True Flourishing (2016)
By Andy Crouch

Jesus had the greatest possible authority and yet made himself vulnerable.  Flourishing people are both strong and weak.  While we often either grasp for power or withdraw into safety, Crouch asserts that true flourishing (being fully alive) requires both strength and the vulnerability to show weakness.  We see this in the best leaders - those who use authority to recognize and address failure rather than using it to conceal and minimize their weaknesses and mistakes.   While exposure to possible failure is always a risk - it can increase, not diminish - one's authority, and that applies to our own actions as well as delegating authority to others: "Turning over power to others, giving them authority to act on their own behalf - to cultivate and create in their own right rather than just implementing our vision" (p 175).  We see these facets in Jesus, who exposed himself to ridicule, torture and death.   Yet walking this path lets the image of God shine through us and blesses others.

My review does not do justice to Crouch's points; his arguments are worth a read to truly understand the value of vulnerability and, from a Christian perspective, to trust ourselves fully to God, the ultimate authority.

May 6, 2020

There There (2018)
By Tommy Orange

Though the language is sometimes coarse and the characters down on their luck and often hostile, this story by Cheyenne tribal member Tommy Orange gives me a good sense of the struggles of urban American Indians.  Orange includes a prologue about the native Americans sad history after European arrival: from King Philip's war through Wounded Knee - basically a summary of loss and death.  While I tend to think of today's Indians as "on the rez", many Indians have flocked to cities, and Oakland, CA is host to a large native community, as well as host to one of the largest annual powwows, an event that becomes the main event for which all of the various characters are preparing.  Some, like Tony, a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome, are looking for a chance to make a quick buck.  Dene wants to interview participants to record their stories.  Edwin is an intern working with the powwow's organizer, while 14-year-old Orvil looks forward to his first opportunity to dance.  In all, about a dozen different speakers share their stories, some from a first person perspective, some 3rd person, and one even in 2nd person.  It took 2 readings for me to appreciate all of the connections in this book, as well as the poignancy of the struggles faced by Americans Indians today, the descendants of our land's first stewards, now sidelined and many with substance abuse and other health problems, some without hope.