John Adams by David McCullough

JOHN ADAMS
David McCullough
Published 2001
American Biography
The Gentle Challenge: (Book Recommendation)

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When I joined Silva's Gentle (reading) Challenge, my goal was to fit more of my un-reads into specific categories. One of the categories was a book recommendation (or a book you would read because you trusted the word of others). 

John Adams by David McCullough has been on my un-read list for a decade or more. A book blogger I admire recommended this book; but, in fact, she was not the only one who gave it excellent reviews. Therefore, I trusted these opinions. 

I am excited to announce that it was absolutely worth it, and they were correct. I am so grateful that I finally read this book.

Frankly, I do not know where to start or what to say about this epic narrative, except to begin with an emotional response. 

I embrace this book fervently and will add it to my personal canon. It was pleasantly written, exceptionally well done, and absolutely enjoyable. I often imagined that I was transported back to the 1700s and lived through every moment. I walked away with an appreciation for what these men (and women) did to form a new government based on the ideas of self-government and personal liberty and freedom, even if we "could[n't] keep it." 

McCullough's writing style was intelligible, concise, and delightful. He included an abundance of supporting evidence from correspondence, newspaper articles, books, and diaries (sadly, a lost art). If a written work supported a statement or idea, it was included. I do not think he left anything out. Often, I was amazed at how much written correspondence took place, and McCullough used many sources to cross reference who said what and when and where just to piece this history back together. 

By the way, this story was not only about John Adams, although it was very much about him; it was a window into the heart and soul of his faithful, intelligent wife, Abigail, and fellow compatriots, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush, and many others. 

I was not aware of the degree Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and some others disapproved of and betrayed Adams, and that Vice President Jefferson, in my opinion, may have committed treason under Adams during his presidency. Scandalous! (Reminds me of Mike Pence and Donald Trump. There is nothing new under the sun.)

I enjoyed the relationship between Adams and his wife, a beautiful, faithful couple, faithful to God and to one another through long periods of separation. Abigail was an excellent partner and helper, encouraging her husband in honorable pursuits. She was a well-educated and well-rounded woman, a protective mother, and a patriot. Both Abigail and John were of one mind on many moral, ethical, and  political perspectives. They had a model union, as is evident from their written correspondence. Mr. Adams absolutely adored his wife, and I can see why.

McCollough presented a genuine and true character analysis of Adams. Of course, he was not a perfect personality, while grievances about him were probably warranted. But he was an admirable, fair, and trustworthy man. Most notably, his relationship with Jefferson later in life was charming, and their collection of letters to one another was and still is inspiring of reconciliation and friendship. 

I especially appreciated the sections on Adams' love for books and reading, which actually contended with Jefferson's obsession with books. 

Unlike Jefferson, who seldom marked a book, and then only faintly in pencil, Adams, pen in hand, loved to add his comments in the margins. It was part of the joy of reading for him, to have something to say himself, to talk back to, agree or take issue with, Rousseau, Condorcet, Turgot, Mary Wollstonecraft, Adam Smith, or Joseph Priestley. "That is no doubt that people are in the long run what the government makes out of them...," Adams read in Rousseau. "The government ought to be what the people make it," he wrote in response. (LOL!)

Adams was guilty of defacing books while reading and once wrote 12,000 notes and comments in one book alone! He read French Revolution by Wollstonecraft twice "with delight" because he disagreed with almost everything she said. Adams and Jefferson "were two of the greatest book lovers of their bookish generation." Adams owned over 3,200 books and Jefferson, before he sold them, owned (if I remember correctly) over 5,000. Yikes!

John Adams by John Singleton Copley, 1784

Other adventures experienced in this chunk of history included Adams' overseas life in France and England; the terrible French Revolution, whose outcome Adams predicted; the provocation of America by the French and British; the ongoing issue with slavery; the complications with disease; and the nasty disputes among men like Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr. How many times did I scribble in the margins: There's nothing new under the sun.

This is only a small fraction of what I went through. The biography is over 650 pages, with an impressive bibliography. The pages are full of memorable quotes and passages. (I had to stop writing them down while reading, though I plan to return to the book and collect them.) This work is chronologically written, beginning in the early 1770s, the eve of the American Revolution, until right after Adams' death, July 4, 1826, just a few hours after his friend Thomas Jefferson died. Adams was 90 years old. 

WHO WANTS TO READ THIS?

Obviously, if you like: 

• biographies, 
• biographies about U.S. presidents, 
• histories, 
• American history (particularly early American History), 
• books about war or Revolutionary war histories, 
• political science or government systems 
• (or want to witness the birth of man's best attempt at good government ever), 
• stories about brilliant minds together in one time or place, 
• and love stories -- yes, love stories! 

...then this is your next book.

THE GENTLE CHALLENGE

 

Poetics by Aristotle

POETICS 

Aristotle

Written 4th century B.C.

Greek essay

The Well-Educated Mind Plays

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I read this for my WEM (plays) reading challenge, but it is not a play at all. It is an essay on poetry, particularly drama, including forms and parts, marks of success and failure, as well as Aristotle's criticisms and resolutions. 

According to the author, the art of poetry, particularly tragedy, is the imitation of life. Drama is the vehicle which poets use to imitate "people doing things." Imitation comes naturally to human beings...and it is pleasurable. 

There are two kinds of poetry: comedy and tragedy. Aristotle's narrative on comedy has been lost, but the remainder of his essay focused on tragedy. He noted that over time, spoken word plays developed and then plot-construction and stories. 

Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is admirable, complete and possesses magnitude; in language made pleasurable, each of its species separated in different parts; performed by actors, not through narration; [a]ffecting through pity and fear the purification of such emotions. 

The plot is the source and the soul of tragedy... 

A good tragic plot should be complex and imitate true life events. However, it should not present decent characters beginning with good fortune and falling into horrific circumstances because this would exasperate the audience. Nor should depraved characters begin with poor fortunes and excel because this is least tragic. The best tragic plot begins with an intermediate character who experiences a life change not of his own moral fault, but by a mishap outside of his control. 

The plot should also take the character through a realization of his downturn and an understanding of why the reversal of fortune. An excellent tragic plot succeeds when it produces pity and fear. Pity is what we experience when we empathize with the character and fear when we recognize that the same could happen to us. 

WHO WANTS TO READ THIS?

I suppose this is an excellent source for those studying drama or poetry, and certainly it has been used as required reading in high school and college. Simple, insightful, and well organized. Who said the Greeks were difficult to read?

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

Doctor Zhivago

Boris Pasternak

translated by Hayward and Harari

Published 1957

Russian historical fiction

Classics Reading Challenge 2025

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In 2016, almost ten years ago - gosh, time flies! - I read this classic for the first time. I was mesmerized by it and added it to my personal canon. That's how confident I was about its ability to affect and transform me. 

Meanwhile, I re-read it last month for my Classics Reading Challenge: Russian classic, and I cannot believe I read the same book. I dragged myself through this, completely disoriented, having forgotten much of the story. Come to find out, there really is no clear plot in Doctor Zhivago. There are a million characters with a dozen or so interchangeable names each. And love story? There is NO love story. If Pasternak intended to include a love story, it is a lousy excuse for one. 

Having said all of that, I decided to read my original review from 2016, and I preferred my review to re-reading Zhivago because my review was short and sweet. I am still in agreement with my initial response to the exquisite writing style and aesthetic descriptions of Russia. Pasternak was a naturalist, it seemed. Very effective writing, indeed! Is it safe to assume that was why he won the 1958 Nobel Prize in literature for his poetic method? I also approved of the author's dissertations on essential themes, particularly on liberty and freedom, Marxism, beauty and art. I did underline quotes here and there; hence, there was some active reading going on, which means I was thinking and reading at the same time. I had a pulse, I mean, while reading.

But other than that, I was not mentally or emotionally engaged this second time, and I think it has more to do with how I have changed over these ten years. This time, I was more irritated by Yuri, our protagonist -- our tragic hero - and his adultery. And by page 486, I was extremely grateful when I turned the page to find that I had written "JERK" across the top margin because even back in 2016, I had had enough of Yuri's self-serving character. 

OK...maybe I am being a bit dramatic. 

A majority of the story is its background and setting, which is Russia, during WWI and the Russian Revolution, 1917-1922. The history is actually a beneficial part of the story. In fact, if you are looking to expand your understanding or experience of this time period, and of Russia, add it for that reason. 

But if you are looking for an entertaining story with characters, human experiences, relationships..., this is not it. I went from a five-star experience to a three-star, mainly because of the lack of cohesive plot or storyline and the disappointing characters. 

 

The Birds by Aristophanes

 

The Birds

Aristophanes

Written 414 B.C.

Greek Comedic Drama

The Well-Educated Mind Plays

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The Greek poem The Birds was a strange, carefree comedy. It was very odd. I found myself asking: What am I reading? Where is this going? What is the point? There was no point. 

Aristophanes wrote The Birds during a time of worldly peace and ease, with no concern for war or turmoil. The setting was not Athens, though there were historical references to Greece and its surroundings. 

The two main human characters, Peisetarius and Euelpides, traveled an unknown road, bellyaching about their dull lives in Athens, while taking pointless directions from their pets, a crow and jackdaw. (Already the poem felt wayward.)

Peisetarius had an idea to seek out the mythological character Tereus (who had transformed into a bird)  and convince him to create a city just for birds, where humans (such as themselves), tired of human life (also them), may find sanctuary in the sky.

Once connected with Tereus, the main characters easily persuaded him to build this bird city where birds would live together rather than fly freely everywhere (which seemed like a worse idea to me). However, the conciliation was that birds could concentrate control of all humans below and also besiege power from the Greek gods above. After all, birds were the original gods, he told him. Tereus enthusiastically agreed and called all the birds together and employed the two humans to convince the world's birds of the plan. 

As birds appeared, they were fearful at first sight of Peisetarius and Euelpides, until Peisetarius presented his flattering birds-were-the-original-gods speech and assured them to regain their lost powers from the Olympian gods. They ecstatically agreed and prepared to do battle with the gods. 

After the city was built, the gods, who were pathetically feeble, puny, and half-witted, visited the city.  They did not stand a chance against the birds, obviously, and unsurprisingly capitulated power to Peisetarius, who was naturally crowned the new king of the birds. (He wasn't shrewd for nothing.)

There was a symphony of music, bird song, and colorful plumed costumes throughout the play. And there was a Shakespearean semblance to the play, which tells me the Bard read Aristophanes, no doubt! But there were also extreme sexual overtones towards females and F-bombs, too, that were unfortunate. That is why I could only give it two stars. My final words are that I'm grateful to be done with it, and I'll never read it again.

The next title on TWEM plays list is Poetics by Aristotle.

The Theodore Roosevelt Trilogy (Volumes 1 & 2) by Edmund Morris

VOLUME ONE

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

Volume One

Edmund Morris

Published 1979

American biography

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I began my Teddy Roosevelt journey last year when I read The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris, the first volume in the Roosevelt trilogy, which covered the first forty-two years of his life. He had the most excellent privileged beginning -- well-off, well-educated, and well-loved. His father was his greatest inspiration, and though Theodore experienced extreme health complications from asthma, his father encouraged him to overcome his weakness with physical exertion and a rigorous spirit of mind. This approach to life produced the epitome of a manly man. After a disciplined regiment of boxing and weight lifting, Roosevelt conquered the great outdoors -- mountain hiking, swimming, and hunting became part of his lifestyle.

Roosevelt also developed excellent character, principle, and esteem. He honored women with respect, and he expected all men to be true. He feared no man and earned the admiration of his enemies. 

This first book of the trilogy covered the death of his father, his first marriage, the tragic death of his wife and mother on the same day, after his wife gave birth to their first daughter, and his second marriage to childhood friend, Edith. The book also included the political positions Theodore accomplished. While he was the Police Commissioner of New York, his focus was to end corruption in the police force. Many loathed him for being a hardliner, but he was obligated to follow the law. And of course, one of his most famous adventures was leading the Rough Riders during the Spanish American War in Cuba and liberating the Cuban people from Spain. 

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt ended with Theodore becoming President McKinley's vice president and shortly thereafter learning that McKinley had been shot...catapulting him into the role as president. He was the youngest ever to become president, at that point in history.

VOLUME TWO

Theodore Rex

Volume Two

Edmund Morris

Published 2001

American biography

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The second volume in the trilogy, Theodore Rex, began with Roosevelt's first administration in 1901, and ended after his second term was finished, in 1908. He was a most beloved and popular president. Though he was a Republican, he was more of a progressive (by today's standards) and sided with the people on many issues. He was definitely the people's president.

Here are a few highlights from Theodore Rex: 

• He would bar correspondents or whole newspapers from the White House for misquoting him.
• He was friends with Booker T. Washington. White Southerners were angry that he met with Washington in the White House, but Roosevelt did not care what they said about him. 
• He also permitted black politicians to bring their black wives to the White House for dinner, which was not heard of and caused quite a stir. 
• He believed equality would occur naturally, eventually.
• He cared more about quality and merit, not quantity.
• He had an extensive booklist and devoured books even while listening to others speak, and he wrote books, too.
• He gave excellent speeches.
• He won the Nobel Prize for helping to end the Japanese Russo War.
• He believed that to postpone war, one must prepare for it. He encouraged the military to build up its fleets. 
• He had an energetic personality, and was always drawn with a huge smile full of teeth. He exhausted some because they could not keep up with him.
• Some of the foreign entanglements on his plate included dealing with Columbia during the creation of the Panama Canal; and issues with Cuba, the Philippines, and Japan and Russia.
• Near the end of his second term, he lost support of black voters due to an incident which occurred in New Orleans, firing black soldiers who were accused of rioting.

Someone came up with a perfect motto for Roosevelt: 

Rem facias rem, si posis recte, si non quocunque modo rem --

"The Thing, get the thing, fairly if possible, if not, then however it can be gotten." 

All three of the volumes are over 500 pages each, and Edmund's notes are bountiful alone. The writing style is exceptional and enjoyable. Theodore Roosevelt is an extraordinary moral character, whose boundless energy jumps off the pages. God certainly broke the mold after He made Teddy Roosevelt.  

The third volume is Colonel Roosevelt, and I hope to finish that this year. 

Medea by Euripides

Medea

Euripides

Written 431 BC

Greek tragedy

⭐⭐⭐

The Well-Educated Mind Plays

First, I have to explain the issue with this book cover. The cover art is a detail from a painting by Eugene Delacroix of Medea preparing to kill her children. (Sorry, I know, spoiler alert.) As is common in Classical and Romantic art of the Greeks and Romans, there is nudity, and this image included enough that I had to give Medea a bandeau. So that's what that is about. There are other artworks available featuring a clothed Medea that would have been more suitable, but I digress. 

ABOUT THE PLAY

Well, well, well...a woman turns psycho after her two-timing husband decided to upgrade and marry a princess to advance his own agenda. What could possibly go wrong? 

I thought I liked Jason of the Argonauts, but he left his wife Medea to help Creon, ruler of Corinth, and married his daughter, leaving Medea devastated. She was in such turmoil she threatened to kill her own two children. Creon was naturally concerned for his own life, and he banished Medea and her children from the land. However, she successfully convinced Creon to give her one last day before she left for good, and he granted it, which was a big mistake. 

In the hours leading up to her departure, she met with Jason, who, for whatever reason, had compassion on her, though he conveniently blamed women for all that was wrong with society. 

But you women have sunk so low that, when your sex life is going well, you think that you have everything, but then, if something goes wrong with regard to your bed, you consider the best and happiest circumstances utterly repugnant. The human race should produce children from some other source and  a female sex should exist. Then mankind would be free from every evil. 

In their time together, each had a moment to share his/her side of the story. Jason also explained why Medea was being exiled by Creon: because she dare curse the royal family. Medea described losing one's native land as the worst misery. 

After her meeting with Jason, Aegeus paid Medea a visit. He had a problem which Medea could help him with, and in return, he would offer her protection in his land, which she would need after she followed through with her wicked plot to kill Jason's new wife. 

She asked Jason to persuade his new wife permission for her children to stay behind and be raised with Jason and her. Medea provided gifts, a robe laced with poison, to appease her.

Immediately the princess put on the robe and the poison began to work. She was like a girl on fire. And Creon embraced his daughter, and died with her. 

Next, Medea prepared to flee to Athens, but not before seeking ultimate revenge on Jason by murdering her children. Afterward, Medea and Jason had a few choice words for one another, but in the end, Jason was left to suffer. 

LAST WORDS

I felt awful after reading this play. There were so many verbal insults and offenses exchanged between Medea and Jason, and obviously nothing good came out of this story. Of course, Euripides challenged the status quo of women in society of his day, as he portrayed a woman who violently acted out her scorn and abuse by her husband, Jason. She sought the worst kind of revenge by murdering her own babies. Certainly she punished herself in the process, though I did not get that impression. I imagine audiences must have been shocked to watch this play. I would have. 

Next play in The Well-Educated Mind list is: The Birds by Aristophanes. 

 

The Well-Educated Mind Book List 

A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent

A Gospel Primer for Christians:

Learning to See the Glories of God's Love

Milton Vincent

Published 2008

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For five or six days now, I have been down with a really bad flu or something, and while I am certainly improved, I am still feeling the effects of it. This illness has gone through almost every person in my household, but thank God, we are on the mend. 

Meanwhile, I have neglected reading my books the entire days I have been sick and am only now hoping to review the three books I had finished a week ago. This first one should be the easiest to review because it was under 100 pages and had a simple premise: Christians need to recite to themselves the gospel every day. The author provided the why and how, with supporting references to and examples from Scripture. 

PART I is a series of Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily. But here, I just included a portion of my notes while reading through those reasons.

1. Paul taught believers how to apply the gospel to their own lives. 

2. It is a daily battle to believe the gospel.

3. The gospel is the power of God. 

4. We should give the gospel a central place in our thoughts each day.

5. We are commanded daily to take up and put on the whole armor of God for our own protection, and to put on each piece with prayer. We were actually chosen for prayer. 

6. Make preaching the gospel to self an obsession of the heart.

7. Be in the gospel at all times, and God will supply all your needs.

8. Stop dwelling on your sin and the guilt thereof. Start using the gospel to liberate yourself from that guilt because Jesus took care of it for you.

9. Become practiced at celebrating the gospel. Should cause joy and then a passion for the lost. 

10. You should come to realize: "I deserve hell. Jesus died for me (in my place) and now I do not have to go there. That's how much He loves me." (Jesus did not deserve to die. I do/did.)

11. Self-love is NOT liberating. It is lonely, mundane, and tiresome. The gospel frees us from the self-love shackles.

12. The gospel makes good news out of every aspect of life, including trials. Trials are for God's purpose to improve our character and conform us to Christ.

13. God had to do something so radical (like the death of His Son on the cross) because of the hardness of our hearts, the arrogance and selfishness of man. It could not have been something as simple as "Jesus loves you" that saves us from God's wrath. 

14. God prepared works for us to do and prepared us to do them. The works He prepared for us to do are refreshing to our souls. The works are so valuable to Him that Jesus died on the cross so they could be performed.

Part II offers a gospel narrative, a refreshing prose version of the TRUTH. I highlighted every word because all of it was so good. Here are the sections and a favorite truth from each: 

1. The Glory of God: He is unimaginably awesome in all of His perfections, absolutely righteous, holy, and just in all of His ways. 

2. My Sin Against God: Instead of giving thanks to Him and humbly submitting to His rule over my life, I have rebelled against Him and have actually sought to exalt myself above Him. 

3. God's Work on My Behalf: God loved me so much that He was willing to suffer the loss of His Son, and even more amazingly, He was willing to allow His Son to suffer the loss of Him at the cross. 

4. My Salvation: In saving me, God also justified me, and being justified through Christ, I have a peace with God that will endure forever. 

I don't deserve any of this, even on my best day, but this is my salvation, and herein I stand. Thank You, Jesus. 

Part III is a poetic version of the Gospel Narrative, and it is very beautiful. It probably would be very nice to memorize, too. 

I love this little book and will read it again and again until I lose my eyesight. It really is an essential help for Christians. It lays out a concise and uncomplicated understanding of the gospel in a way that is applicable to one's daily walk in faith. 

After I finished this book, I was listening (via YouTube) to a pastor speak at a convention and he said that the gospel should be preached in every sermon, but the reason he gave was for those in church who had not heard it, yet. And immediately I corrected him in my mind and recalled why the gospel is absolutely crucial for every Christian to hear and recite daily, including in church. The gospel message is not just to reach the lost; it is especially for believers, and now I understand why. 

King Oedipus by Sophocles

Oedipus Rex

Sophocles

Written 430-420 BC

Athenian Tragedy

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The Well-Educated Mind Poetry

This was the second play from The Well-Educated Mind Reading Challenge, and unlike Agamemnon, I was familiar with the plot, though the details were fuzzy.

Before the play began, there was a tale about Oedipus. Ahead of his birth, Oedipus' parents, king and queen of Thebes, Laius and Jocasta, discovered through Apollo's oracle that their son would one day kill his father and marry his mother. Not willing to kill him themselves, Laius and Jocasta handed him over to a servant to abandon the baby in the mountains and leave him to die. The servant, obeying the word of Apollo, took the baby beyond the borders of his country and left him with a messenger, who in turn took him to the childless king of Corinth, Polybus. 

Of course, in adulthood, Oedipus was exposed to the rumor of the curse, through Apollo, and wanting to alter the course of the prophecy, he left those whom he believed to be his true parents and went straight to Thebes, which was in chaos. King Laius had been murdered and the Sphinx was terrorizing the city. Oedipus had arrived in time, solved the riddle to rid Thebes of the Sphinx, eliminated her dominance, and was rewarded with the loyalty of the people as king. He married Jocasta and together they had four children. 

After fifteen years of peace, a devastating plague was devouring the city, and the people looked to their king for salvation. 

Oedipus sought answers from Creon, his brother-in-law, and Creon told him they needed to find out who killed Laius first. Therefore, Oedipus proclaimed that if anyone knew about the death of Laius, they must speak up. 

The blind prophet of Apollo directly told Oedipus that he was the killer. This caused much conflict between Oedipus, Creon, and the Chorus, the male elders of Thebes.

Remember, up to this point, Oedipus had no idea that the king and queen of Corinth were not his natural parents. He still believed that he avoided his fate by fleeing. But when Jocasta entered the conversation, she filled in details about the oracle, how she gave up her son as an infant. However, Jocasta was sure that her baby died when she and Laius sent him away with the servant. 

Oedipus filled in the blanks and revealed that he did kill several men on the road, and since one man had  escaped (none other than the servant), he wanted to hear from him what he remembered from the attack on Laius. Thus, they sent for the servant. 

Long story short, this servant, the same who was given orders to dispose of the cursed infant, admitted that he was instrumental in preserving the child's life. Thus, the parties concluded that Oedipus was the grown son of Laius and Jocasta. 

Upon revelation, Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus put out his eyes.

What should I do with eyes where all is ugliness? 

Where is there any beauty for me to see? Where loveliness of sight or sound? Away! Lead me quickly away out of this land. I am lost, hated of gods, no man so damned. 

I will not believe that this was not the best that could have been done. Teach me no other lesson. How could I meet my father beyond the grave with seeing eyes; or my unhappy mother, against whom I have committed such heinous sin as no mere death could pay for? Could I still love to look at my children, begotten as they were begotten? 

CHORUS:

Then learn that mortal man must always look to his ending, and none can be called happy until that day when he carries his happiness down to the grave in peace.  

* * *

THEME(S)

One major theme of this play is fate. Fate is "the development of events beyond man's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power." Oedipus' parents thought they could change their fate by abandoning their son, and Oedipus thought he was able to affect or escape the predicted outcome of the oracle by fleeing his "parents"; and yet, they all stepped right into the prophecy. 

Is man truly in control of his own life, having free will, or is his life already preset? I suppose if you have a curse upon your head, you know the answer.

Today, the question of free will and fate still perplexes us, and some people still seek oracles (fortune tellers, horoscopes, astrologers, etc.). What do you think? Fate or free will? Are we in control of our destiny; can we affect change at all? Or is life in the hands of God?

The Finding of Oedipus - unknown (1600-1799)

The next play in TWEM reading list is Medea by Euripides. 

A Land Remembered (Student Ed. Vol. 1) by Patrick D. Smith

A Land Remembered (Student Ed. Vol. 1) 

Patrick D. Smith
Young Adult Historical Fiction
Published 1984

The Gentle Challenge: (Home-Sweet-Home)
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For this category, Home-Sweet-Home, the author must be from your hometown, where you live currently, or where you are from. I chose to read A Land Remembered because the author lived in Florida, which is where I live now. 

Unfortunately, I unknowingly ordered a student edition, volume one, from the library, which was a bummer because I would have preferred to read the adult version all in one piece. But apparently, most books via the library are eBooks, and I would have preferred a hard copy, which is how I ended up with the YA edition. Nonetheless, I figured it would be a quick and easy read, and if I agreed with it, I would choose to read the adult version in the future. 

In a nutshell, yes, I would read the adult edition of A Land Remembered. I gave it three stars because I agreed with it, which means I liked it, but again, it was written for a younger audience; thus, it probably would have been four-stars. 

ABOUT THE STORY

The story followed the migration of the young MacIvey family (Tobias, Emma, and their adolescent son, Zech) from the war-torn state of Georgia, 1863, into the untamed wild lands of La Florida. For the next seventeen years, the family traveled all over the state, battling the wildlife, climate, and natural habitation to stay alive and make a living. They had nothing to start with, but with ingenuity, ambition, and determination, they worked to build a successful lifestyle capturing wild cattle, herding them across the land, getting them nice and fat, and then selling them for a profit. 

The work was strenuous and exhausting, and oftentimes they were met with disappointment, defeat, and tragedy. In fact, some tragedies turned graphic. (In the adult edition, they were probably extremely graphic.) They faced wild animals, swarms of insects, hurricanes, humidity, floods, freezing temperatures, rustlers, illness, and more. 

Some scenarios were hard to wrap my head around, like swarms of mosquitoes choking cattle and humans to death. (I mean, I once was bit 35 times in the course of a few hours by a mosquito while I was supposed to be asleep; but I have never had thousands of mosquitos in my mouth, nose, and throat. I do hope that's a thing of the past.) 

There were also successes. Tobias was doing so well for himself and was able to find extra willing men to work for him. He made so much money that he stored the coins in sacks and forgot about them. His son, Zech, decided to use the money to purchase the land they were sitting on, which happened to be twenty thousand acres at twenty cents an acre. By then, Zech was an able-bodied young man, and he found himself an educated young lady and married her. 

That was a happy ending, but it is only part one. Part two continues the life of Zech and his wife and their family, which I will have to catch up with later, when I hopefully read the adult version. 

The quiet land seemed awesome, too vast for any man to ever conquer. Animals could survive its hazards, but Tobias wondered if he could. 

Map of La Florida 

ON A PERSONAL NOTE ABOUT FLORIDA

While I was reading this book, I thought, "Man, Florida is dangerous!" Then I said, "What am I talking about?! I know it is!" This place is still wild. 

My family has been in Florida almost three years, and we have experienced four hurricanes, including the worst one to hit Tampa in over 100 years. Our property was struck by lightning, costing $3,000 to repair the driveway gate. I can't open my mailbox without being accosted by a family of amphibians; or walking in my yard without playing obstacle course with fire ants, which is why I wear rain boots even in summer. We get blinding downpours -- meaning you cannot see while driving and windshield wipers are useless. It rains so hard and often that if it weren't for all the crisscrossing roots underfoot, I am certain the ground would open up and swallow us. I told you about the mosquitoes: do not step outdoors between June and October. And don't get me started on how the human beings drive down here. 

Last November, after Hurricane Milton, I thought to myself: I don't think I can do this every year. Maybe Florida isn't our forever home. Unlike Tobias MacIvey: I don't want to conquer Florida. I just want to survive. 

The Gentle Challenge

The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark

The Ox-Bow Incident

Walter Van Tilburg Clark

American Western Fiction

Published 1940

Classics Challenge: Used Book Find

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This story could have been set anywhere and in any era; however, The Ox-Bow Incident took place in a small frontier town of Nevada, 1885. The town had been plagued by a series of cattle rustlings. 

The book's narrator, Art, and his partner, Gil, had just crossed over from the East into town and were mindful of their manners around the other cowboys, hopeful to be accepted by their community. Incidentally, everyone seemed to be on edge, and Art, the observant one, sensed that something was not right. Rumor had it that one of the more recent rustlings involved the murder of a well-liked member of the town's society, though many hardly knew the man personally. 

Given that the sheriff was out of the area at the moment, the men were compelled to search out the "rustlers/murderers;" themselves. For them, pursuing the insurgents proved their own might, their  intolerance of lawlessness, their sense of justice, and their proof to exist in the bigger surrounding world. Therefore, twenty-eight members, including Art and Gil, formed a posse and searched the harrowing night for the criminals. 

Eventually, they made up their minds that they had found the culprits and held a makeshift court as judge, jury, and executioner. After a democratic vote was made by the mob, the convicted were lynched and the self-righteous returned to town. 

The revelation directly following the lynching was shocking. Hence, the real trial of society's sense of right and wrong and man's conscience within himself began. The Ox-Bow Incident reveals the story about man's cowardice of physical ostracization from the group over committing a real injustice by lynching innocent men. This is man's weakness. Nobody liked killing, but it was far better than being opposite of or outside the mob. To oppose the mob would be to expose one's perceived weakness; standing morally alone for truth's sake is a very dangerous place to be. 

I had everything, justice, pity, even the backing - and I knew it - and I let those three men hang because I was afraid. The lowest kind of virtue, the quality dogs have when they need it, the only thing Tetley had, guts, plain guts, and I didn't have it. 

All a great, cowardly lie, all pose; empty, gutless pretense. All the time the truth was I didn't take a gun because I didn't want it to come to a showdown. The weakness that was in me all the time set up my sniveling little defense. Didn't even expect to save those men. The most I hoped was that something would do it for me.  

This is also a story about man's desire for more power -- how he can be so blinded to truth because he is only bent on being right according to his own desired justice. Then it becomes personal, and he needs a scapegoat to feed his will. 

You don't care for justice...you don't even care whether you've got the right men or not. You want your way, that's all. You've lost something and somebody's got to be punished; that's all you know. 

The Ox-Bow Incident is on the same social plane as To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, or even The Great Gatsby because these stories teach a timeless ethical lesson. The lesson is not a gentle one, but it is urgent and essential to our humanity. It is timeless because man is born with a weak constitution regardless of his birthdate. It is typical of his raw nature to follow the mob and save his own hide. 

SHOULD YOU READ THE OX-BOW INCIDENT?

While reading, I had forgotten that this was considered a western. If westerns are not your genre, fear not. This is a powerful journey into your own conscience. We've all been here. How difficult it is to stand alone, to stand against the crowd, the mob, our own friends or family, even. We don't want to be perceived as wrong. And you know what the mob is capable of: absolute violence unto death, just to make their point. 

But reading this story reiterates how much more honorable it is to stand on principle, even if it is just to bide time to get to the facts before a final decision must be made. (See "Twelve Angry Men," the 1957 version). We all are called to do this at some point in our lives. 

To answer the question - Should you read this? Anyone should and can read this. It is just over 200 pages and, while the progression is slow with a lot of dialogue, the buildup caused me to want to hurry up and find out. It was every kind of emotion you can experience. The premise calls on the reader to rise to the occasion next time. And there will be a next time. 

I probably would not reread this, but only because it had that difficult part in it where you don't want to look, but you have to quickly, in case you miss anything. It reminded me of how I felt when about In Cold Blood. The point is that the premise was well taken. The lesson was well ingested. I got it. However, I will watch the film, starring Henry Fonda. 

One last final note: while I was reading The Ox-Bow, I thought about the short documentary by JBS on forms of governments. There was a section on the difference between a democracy and a republic set in the Old West. Under a democracy, when a posse captured a gunman and the majority voted to hang him, he hung (or hanged). But under a republic, when the posse captured the same gunman and the majority voted to hang him, the sheriff stepped in and said they couldn't hang him. Instead, he took the gunman to court where a jury of his peers must UNANIMOUSLY vote guilty or not. That is the law.