Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

Why have humans in different parts of the world been so consistently dominant over the people in other parts of the world? How do some societies manage to produce so many trade goods and services while others simply work to sustain themselves? These are just a few of the questions that Jared Diamond attempts to answer in Guns, Germs and Steel.

As the reader may guess, Diamond states that economically and politically dominant countries have prospered because they possess guns, germs and steel. This may be obvious, but it is not this conclusion that takes up the bulk of the book. Rather, Diamond tries to explain how European and Asian cultures have been especially prosperous without resorting to racist or ethnocentric assumptions. Some of his most interesting points are the following:

The geographic layout of Europe and Asia are more conducive to the spread of
cultures and technologies than other continents.
The fact that humans first evolved in Africa and migrated north through Europe and Asia before reaching other continents helped to preserve more large animal species for later domestication.
These things don’t necessarily mean that Europeans and Asians are more intelligent or innovative than other societies, but that their situations have been better suited toward some types of developments.

I really enjoyed this book; I am not an anthropologist or archeologist, but I found the topic very entertaining. Diamond writes in a way to explain these complex evolutionary topics to people who are not well acquainted with the field (though I think a little bit of knowledge of human evolution is helpful). Diamond's writing and conclusion were enjoyable; I felt that I took away a good deal from reading this book. And the topic was an admirable one, reminding us that people of different cultures aren’t as dissimilar as we sometimes seem.

The Financial Lives of the Poets (and the rest of us too)

Many of us have been affected in some way by the recent economic depression, and Matt Prior the hero of Jess Walter's The Financial Lives of the Poets is no exception. When we meet him, his life is nearly in ruins - the book was just published last year and is set in our current depression. The protagonist is only days away from losing his home, he has no job, his family is deeply in debt, and he suspects that his wife is being unfaithful. You'd think that things couldn't possibly get any worse.

Interestingly enough, the day before I began reading The Financial Lives of the Poets, I heard a story on NPR talking about California's financial woes, and suggestions by some that legalization of marijuana for recreational use could alleviate some of these problems. In this context, Matt Prior's decision to become a drug dealer to save himself from economic downfall seems less satirical than it may from a distance. This is something that I am especially fond of in this novel - the concerns of the main characters are immediate. (One can only hope that the economy will improve enough to make this book seem dated in just a couple years.)

Whenever I read a book/essay/article that is meant to be at least mildly satirical, my mind slowly drifts to Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal (which I love dearly). These two pieces aren't so very different. Neither author is actually promoting the solutions that are presented in their respective works, but both are presenting a challenge: Let's come up with a better or more realistic solution.

As Matt Prior exacerbates his situation, we root for him. After all, he wants the same things that many of us want; a comfortable home and security for his family. Hopefully those who read this novel will learn from Matt's mistakes - he reminds us that life isn't about things but about the people with whom you share them.

Baby Love

The death of J. D. Salinger seems a good occasion to write about Joyce Maynard’s Baby Love (PS3563 .A9638 B3 1981). Joyce Maynard doesn’t get the respect she deserves, perhaps because she published her first book, a memoir, when she was 20. Or maybe it’s because she doesn’t shy away from sensational subjects: To Die For fictionalizes the Pamela Smart story.

Baby Love is the story of four teenaged friends--three single mothers and a fourth who hopes to become one. There are plenty of other characters as well: an escapee from an institution for the criminally insane, and the equally insane—and not entirely less criminal--grandmother of one of the babies. One of the young mothers, Tara, perhaps the most likeable character of the novel, contemplates running off with a birthing cult. The cult members may also be insane, but they’re so much better than Tara’s actual family that we can only root for her to move on in with them.

The escapee from the detention center has his eye on one of the characters. There’s a tragedy.

And yet this book is neither a Mary Higgins Clark-type thriller nor an instance of hard-edge naturalism: it’s humor from start to finish. One reason is because we’re clearly never meant to identify with the characters; they’re all too broadly drawn to be real.

Here, for example, is what the crazed grandmother takes with her on a planned trip from New Hampshire to Disney World:

There are Mrs. Ramsay’s TV and a twelve-volume set of the Golden How and Why Encyclopedia. There are two African violet plants and a pressure cooker, a plaster cast of the Praying Hands, a beach umbrella, Mrs. Ramsay’s Barbie Doll collection (one is the 1962 version, with a bubble cut and the Dinner at Eight evening gown). There is a framed photograph of Mrs. Ramsay’s son Dwight in his Cub Scout uniform, an autographed copy of Lawrence Welk’s autobiography, Wunnerful, Wunnerful, four boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax. The reason for that is they don’t make Borax the way they used to anymore, back when Ronald Reagan was the host of Death Valley Days. Mrs. Ramsay happens to know they mix in chalk dust now. She found out just before they started doing it, so she bought enough of the old kind to last her.

If you enjoy a little tastelessness in your humor, Baby Love is absolutely worth your time.