Globalization is nothing new. Garten points out that it began 60,000 years ago when 150,000 people left Africa and migrated all over the world, spreading goods, ideas, and cultures.
There are lots of books about globalization in terms of war, trade, and migration, but this book looks at it from the perspective of a few individuals. This book is a deep dive into the stories of 10 people who made the world more interconnected, beginning in the 12th century.
If we don’t focus on critical individuals, we leave out the difference that men and women make when they select one course of action over another. We forfeit the ability to measure contemporary leaders against those who came before them. It would be as if we were studying a war without delving into the motivations, the decisions, the triumphs, and the failures of the top generals. In fact, it is the rich combination of impersonal circumstances and human action that makes digging into world history so compelling.
In From Silk to Silicon I selected nine men and one woman who met several criteria. First, they had to be transformational leaders. Put it this way: they had to virtually change the world… They changed the prevailing paradigm of how society was organized. They raised the hopes of broad swaths of civilization. They opened highways on which many others could travel… “first movers,” those who initiated or were in on the ground floor of a powerful, fundamental trend or movement that had an outsize impact on the world… My subjects also had to be “doers” and not just thinkers, people who rolled up their sleeves and made something of global significance happen.
I highly recommend this one, even if you just delve into one chapter (they are rather lengthy). It reads like a story and you’ll be eager for more.
This is a linguistic autobiography. Lahiri, whose 4 novels I have read and loved, departs from all she knows of English and takes up a life-long love of Italian, moving to Rome and writing only in Italian. This lyrical collection by a Pulitzer Prize winner of her reflections from that year grew from observations she jotted down in the back of a notebook. Her intimate thoughts and insights on language and her love story with Italian makes this worth reading.
That said, I found it repetitive in parts. She says the same thing, that language is a metaphor for belonging, in many different ways… all beautiful, but still making the same point. This book should probably be a long essay somewhere.
Why, as an adult, as a writer, am I interested in this new relationship with imperfection? What does it offer me? I would say a stunning clarity, a more profound self-awareness. Imperfection inspires invention, imagination, creativity. It stimulates. The more I feel imperfect, the more I feel alive.
And one more favorite paragraph:
Those who don’t belong to any specific place can’t, in fact, return anywhere. The concepts of exile and return imply a point of origin, a homeland. Without a homeland and without a true mother tongue, I wander the world, even at my desk. In the end I realize that it wasn’t a true exile: far from it. I am exiled even from the definition of exile.
An English major with a youth spent in foster care uses the words of her favorite books rather than learn and express what she herself feels. She has been hiding behind the words of 19th century romance writers like Jane Austen. The novel consists of letters to an anonymous benefactor, Mr. Knightly. This is a quick, light-hearted read about belonging, love, and finding oneself. Nothing earth-shattering, but still a good story.
But I wouldn’t trade all this either. Through it, I found a new character. Me. She’s bold and fairly feisty, with serious timidity issues at times. Every step she takes forward, she glances back and even retreats. But she’s got courage. I think she’ll make it. I don’t know when she’ll be free to run—figuratively, that is. Physically she runs plenty, and that’s where she gets her courage. I hope to like this new character.
This is a rather silly fairytale retelling of the latest royal romance and I won’t judge it for being shallow because I expected that anyway. Though rather slow-going, the book was entertaining and funny.
Stranded on Mars, everyone thinks you’re dead, and you’re in a desperate fight against time and the elements to stay alive. “A castaway story for the new millennium,” this engrossing story is a classic man-versus-nature battle for survival. I could not put this book down… it’s so good! Not that I would ever find myself alone on Mars, but I would NEVER think of the amazing solutions that this guy did! I decided not to watch the movie version because I prefer the picture in my head. As usual.
The words you can’t find, you borrow. We read to know we’re not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone. My life is in these books, he wants to tell her. Read these and know my heart. We are not quite novels… We are not quite short stories… In the end, we are collected works.
I will read any book about books and bookstores. This one was sort of predictable, but a fun read.
I should probably get around to “the Martian” someday.
Fun to see what’s been in your reading pile Naomi. I’ve been doing far less reading than normal and so I’ve got lots of things waiting for my eyeballs. I’m looking forward to some lovely spring days where I can get outside and sit and enjoy both nature and a good book. Double goodness.
I can see why you might be challenged to do any blogging with that many books on your plate! Wow. Thanks for giving us a little taste of each. That Silk to Silicon looks good!
I do so adore books. And love to hear what you’re reading. I too have been missing. It happens. But we’re back. Now i need to find Scott and see what he’s been reading.