Monday, June 30, 2008

June Books: Journeys to Tibet and Vietnam

The Open Road: The Global Journey of the 14th Dalai Lama: Pico Iyer
Fascinating look at the Dalai Lama and the entire Tibetan cause. Decidedly not a hagiography of His Holiness, nor a patronizing romanticizing of Tibet, Iyer offers sketches of who the Dalai Lama is as a human being and also as a symbol projected onto both by the West, and a his own people. He has a unique perspective, perhaps because his father had been friends with the man, perhaps in part because of his own heritage as a Western educated Tamil who resides now in Tokyo, he is able to cut through the orientalism/exoticism/and colonial romance that we here in the Western world project onto Tibet. Offering some history combined with contemporary descriptions of Dharamsala and the pluses and perils of modernity, whiel also delving into the current internal politics of the Tibetan government-in-exile, and overall just creating a more more dimensional and complex portrait than I've encountered anywhere before. Highly recommended for its unique perspective on the issue.

Tree of Smoke: Denis Johnson
At long last, one of my favorite authors has won the National Book Award, now for his swirling psychedelic epic of the Vietnam War. Its hard to know where to begin with describing this doorstop of a novel- the writing is beautiful and poetic as one would expect from Johnson, originally a poet. The storyline itself is complex and difficult to follow, with an extensive cast that utilizes and upends conventions and cliches of Vietnam narratives- the madly obsessed colonel, the innocent childlike private, the inscrutable Vietnamese friend- or is he an enemy? But Johnson brings a fresh take on these, and manages to keep the story moving along, sometimes more efficiently than at other times, with all of these characters. Definitely recommended, but definitely a time commitment.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Springtime Books

The Jaguar Smile- Salman Rushdie
I just found this on a shelf when I was moving, having started but not finished it when I was travelling through Nicaragua. Its a series of vignettes/ essays about Nicaragua, Rushdie went down after the Sandinista revolution overthrew the Somozas, and just when the Contra war was beginning. He ends up talking to an amazing number of national political figures, poets (and the many that were both), and just local regular people in all parts of the country. An amazing time capsule of the 80's as well- so many people discussing with certainty the coming American invasion that never exactly happened. I'd highly recommend this for anyone interested in cold war era Latin American politics, or just travelling through that region. It can also just about almost be read in one sitting. Very well written, very intimate sketches of people and places during this fascinating time in Nicaraguan history.

Carnet de Voyage - Craig Thompson
A patient of mine actually recommended this to me. Its a graphic novel, or more accurately, graphic memoir of the author travelling through Spain, France and mostly Morocco. Though some parts were kind of dry (the minutae of book signings) the parts about travelling alone, the self-consciousness, boredom and anxiety, as well as the adventure. His sketches also captured Morocco, and many of the same places I've been, perfectly.

Teaching Children to Meditate: David Fontana and Ingrid Slack
So apparently I'm not the first on this bandwagon- someone has already written a book very similar to the one I'm trying to do. First let me say, this book is great, very practical, very well written very accessible. Thats exactly the problem, reading it I was horrified by the likeness to the book I'm trying to do. Well, not entirely, but certain parts are just so similar that it almost freaked me out. I suppose this is partly the nature of writing on the same topic. However, their approach is quite different overall, so I think I'm safe as far as my project goes. Anyway, if you do work with kids, this one is worth checking out- unlike most of the others I've encountered on the topic.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Happiness and Misery

McMafia - Misha Glenny
Okay, the title is godawful and idiotic- BUT it was written by a BBC reporter for a Euro audience, where the name is maybe a little better. This book tells the tale of international crime syndicates in the the wake of globalization in the post-cold war era. These twin events and a few other unfortunate coincidences and unforeseen policy consequences lead to an enormous boom in organized crime, particularly in post-conflict regions. (El Salvador is cited as the first post-conflict semi-organized crime nation). The book was fascinating: traffic in women, caviar and cigarettes in Eastern Europe by post-Soviet gangs, outfitted with Soviet-era weaponry who exported their brand of crime around the world. Chechen gangs who license the terms "chechen" to unaffiliated gangs, just because it makes them more frightening to rivals. The massive influx of non-assimilating secular Russians into Israel corrupting that society and justice system. Nigerian "419" scams that siphon millions from duped Westerners in the name of anti-colonial payback. Colombian cartels expanding their markets to the EU that outsource manufacturing to the Bolivian and Peruvian peasants to the south and work closely with South African gangs to smuggle cocaine into Spain, only to launder their profits its Emirati and Russian banks. Chinese pirates who make imitation Mercedes, and Japanese Yakuza who operate with impunity, serving as a de facto justice system in Japan, where they legally rent offices and advertise.
The book takes a decidedly European bent, written as it is for that audience. The helplessness of police is quite frightening, with all the changes in technology and new routes opened by "free trade." The author also squarely places blame in part on Western desire for cheap tax-free liquor and smokes, not to mention prostitutes and cocaine. At the same time, the behavior of the criminals is rationalized by anti-colonial and anti-western sentiment, which is fanned by criminal leaders who play the robin hood role. Corrupt leaders particularly play to these sentiments, meanwhile selling off their nation's assets and pocketing the profits as cheaply as their colonial forebearers.

Authentic Happiness- Martin Seligman
Slightly disappointing, and not a whole lot of new ideas in here, though a great introduction I suppose to the world of positive psychology. Seligman is right on with his facts and figures, as one would expect a former APA president to be, and does have some great demonstrative anecdotes, explanations and applications for the research on happiness. However, I finished feeling as if I got a little more of him than I really needed, and he was a fairly narcissistic guy for such a "feel-good" field of positive psychology.