Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris

Do you love political face-offs, Teddy bears, and people who concern themselves, in making life changing decisions with a "still, small voice"?  If so, you will probably enjoy Theodore Rex.

President Theodore Roosevelt was a progressive Republican.  This biography which focuses solely on his presidency captures clips of his passionate spirit.  While he did hunt, take great effort to preserve natural lands by federal powers, and even send the country's navy around the world in a show of power, his unique spirit for engaging in negotiations/diplomacy stands out in this book.  Under his presidency the Panama Canal was constructed and Booker T Washington was invited to the White House for a private meeting with the President.  He also received the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese war.  These are just the tips of the ice berg of his robust presidency.

I admit, I think this is one wonderful account of politics.  President Roosevelt took office because of the assassination of his predecessor but was reelected and during his time was very popular.  He was tempted to run for a third term but listened to a "still, small voice".  

This book is the second in a series by Edmund Morris, the first of which, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (1979), won the Pulitzer Prize.  I am hoping to go back and read that at some point. Theodore Rex was released in 2001 and Colonel Roosevelt was released in 2010.

The Chosen

For 2013, Julia asked me to read this book.  This book is a very cleverly written page-turner.  The story centers on a friendship between two bright Jewish boys from different Jewish sects and their fathers (both Rabbis).  Perhaps more importantly, the book focuses on raising children and the weight of tradition and loyalty.  I think this is an important book because it is so well written.

On a personal note, this book struck a chord with me owing to my own close friendship with a best friend who is both brilliant and a member (of my extended-family and of my faith).  It was unusual for me to feel compassion for these boys because the writing was that good-that realistic and it did something I like--it transported me back to good memories.  Additionally, anyone who reads it will likely be impressed with the characters' excellent ambitions.  I believe this is a very American novel.

I definitely recommend this book.

The Good Fight: Hard Lessons from Searchlight to Washington

Unfortunately, this is probably the only book I will be completing for the next few months, however, I am very grateful I had the opportunity to read it and that it began the year for me.  Thank you Mom & Dad for the gift!  

Mom and Will have each read extensively from it and so they may be able to fine-tune what I write.  

This book has inspired in me a change of opinion about the job done by Harry Reid.  I appreciate that he wrote down his experiences.  I've become convinced that he is a man with good principles who might do a great job in the Senate.  I still think he is wrong on some positions.  However, I am inclined to believe that he can do much good in the Senate.  This seems justified to me in that principles matter and Nevada matters to me.

The top five most revealing facts about Harry Reid--

1. Harry Reid opposes abortion and even drafted/proposed a Nevada abortion law limiting abortions on the state level prior to Roe v Wade.

2. Harry Reid is pro-guns.

3. Harry Reid grew up extremely poor and perhaps more poor than any single person I have personally ever met or known (his hometown had no doctors, no churches, and only one school room).

4. Harry Reid loved President George H. W. Bush but appears to hate President George W. Bush.

5. Harry Reid can't ever remember having gambled although he became the Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission after becoming the youngest Lieutenant Governor in Nevada's history and the first locally raised lawyer to be of counsel to the City of Henderson.

Reid also included a letter he wrote detailing his testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Plan of Salvation to his granddaughter in response to her request for it so that she could accomplish her Personal Progress Award for the Young Women's Program.

I also enjoyed reading Reid's detailed stories about early Las Vegas and mobsters, Howard Hughes, Oscar Goodman, Steve Wynn, and other notables.  There is a familiarity about his writing voice and it sounds rebellious but Vegasy.     

My Current Top 10 List

1. Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
3. To The Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S Monson by Heidi Swinton
4. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Luiz Zaffron (a couple unnecessary paragraphs containing sex scenes)
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. No Apology: The Case for American Greatness by Mitt Romney
7. Silence by Endo Shusaku
8. U.S. Constitution by James Madison
9. John Adams by David McCullough
10. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
**The Book of Mormon**

Best Book in Ages: To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S Monson

I loved this book. This is one of the best books I have read (especially recently). It is inspiring and filled with amazing stories, great poetry, and hilarious anecdotes. Furthermore, it is a testimony of Jesus Christ and His servent, Thomas S Monson, who I know in my head and in my heart to be a real prophet of God.

The final portion of the book covers some of the truths he has taught--
*"When God speaks and man obeys, that man will always be right"
*"Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies"
*"Decisions determine destiny"
*"When you are on the Lord's errand, you are entitled to the Lord's help"
*"Your decision to think right, choose right, and do right will rarely if ever be the easiest course to follow"
*"You do not find the happy life--you make it"
*"The power to lead is the power to mislead, and the power to mislead is the power to destroy"
*"Good habits...are the soul's muscles; the more you use them, the stronger they grow"
*"Life is like a candid camera; it does not wait for you to pose"
*"The door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people's lives"
*"As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn our responsibility to reach outward"

Mom and Dad are both reading it now and they have both commented on how great it is to me individually.

Somethings I've Learned--

1.  If you are an Imagine Dragons fan best thing to do for an update is to check their Facebook or Wikipedia Page.

2.  President Monson has a biography out called To The Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S Monson by Heidi S. Swenson.  He looks very dashing on that cover and being a fan, I am looking to invest haha.  I felt like that would be a very Pres. Monson type thing to say.

3.  I just finished reading Freakonomics by Steven Leavitt (famed economist under age 40) and am now on to Black Rain and Silence.  (Though both are Japanese novels--one on the atomic bomb dropping and the other on Christians being persecuted and forced to renounce their religion in the 1600s)

4.  I am somewhat ET-like in that I have a bump between my eyes because my swimming goggles are a little too small for my head.  So if you see me, please don't run away.  Don't be afraid.

5.  Sometimes at the stupidest times we all miss Ned.  I even ran into a girl who came to his farewell--she is very cute and I thought, wow, where is Ned now, hahaha...it's fantastic when you are like getting back but of course it's not so cool when you are a young missionary...so probably we shouldn't mention that to him.  Just shooting from the hip here.

goodreads.com

Well, you know all about the coolness of sites like ratemyprofessor.com which is extremely useful for finding good teachers your first few years of college and getting the low down on how they teach and how tough they are.  But do you know about goodreads.com?  I recently found out about another way cool site-- goodreads.com.

The premise is that you can keep track of and rate/review all the books you read.  They have pretty much every book ever on the site and you can read synopses or updates on new books by favorite authors.  You can also "friend" your friends and see what they read or recommend.

I am on this, Jeremy Foote and some others are too.  I like it because then I can look back at great books I've read from time to time.  I think the coolest thing here is that there are a lot of serious readers on it so that if you want some great opinions on what books to read you can rub shoulders with the wits of your very own wise-man.  You need their names or emails to find people (a lot of people go by first name only).  My email is joemeservy@gmail.com

www.goodreads.com

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

This is one of the best books I've read this year--perhaps the coolest.  I highly recommend this book.  It's chocked full of really great ideas.  If you haven't heard of it, Randy Pausch is a professor who gave a last lecture at the prestigious CMU after a terminal diagnosis with cancer.

The lecture was so captivating that he wrote a book which has sold 4.5 million copies and been a NY Times Best Seller.

Furthermore,

• The Pittsburgh City Council declared November 19, 2007 to be "Dr. Randy Pausch Day".
• In May 2008, Pausch was listed by Time as one of the World's Top-100 Most Influential People.
• Randy was named Pittsburgher of the Year 2008.
• On May 30, 2008, Randy received a letter from then President George W. Bush thanking him for his commitment to the Nation's youth.
• On February 4, 2009, The Walt Disney Company dedicated a tribute plaque at Walt Disney World near the "Mad Tea Party" attraction with a quote by Randy that reads "Be good at something; It makes you valuable ... Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome."
• The Walt Disney Company also created the Disney Memorial Pausch Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University, which will support two graduate students.
• Per Jared Cohon's announcement on the day of the Last Lecture, a raised pedestrian bridge at CMU that connects the Computer Science building and the Center for the Arts is named after Pausch, symbolizing the way he linked the two disciplines.

Official Website
The Last Lecture (live)

READS

I am currently at page 305 of Brandeon Sanderson's The Well of Ascension (3rd book in the series--Sci Fi and fantastic).

In the Book Club this month (ends next week) we are reading Persuasion by Jane Austen.

So, if any of you Book Clubbers are reading this. . . suck it up and be a Man.


Later,
Joe