Christmas Books, 2011
Last year at this time, I wrote a lengthy post, listing books and authors who might be of interest. In case you missed it, here it is again:
Thanksgiving is over. Black Friday has passed. Christmas and Hannukah approach. And let’s face it: you do not know what to buy for those who are near and dear.
If, however, you are a regular visitor to this website, the odds are excellent that your loved ones are readers. So you could do a whole lot worse than think about giving someone a book. In doing so, you would certainly not be alone. Something like two-thirds of the books sold in the United States are sold at this time of year.
But what to buy?
Well, you could start with Claire Berlinski, author most recently of There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters and of other books – including steamy novels with alluring titles such as Loose Lips and Lion Eyes. My bet is that she would not mind if you ordered, say, ten thousand copies.
Nor, I suspect, would Paul Rahe mind if you ordered a like number of those of his books that came out in paperback this year – Machiavelli’s Liberal Republican Legacy, Against Throne and Altar, Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty, and Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift. – though I fear that they may be – how shall I say? – less entertaining. If the intended recipient of your gift is truly a voracious reader, you might even try the three volumes of his Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution.
For puzzles and games, there is Pat Sajak. For insight, you could turn to John Yoo – author of Crisis and Command, War by Other Means, and The Powers of War and Peace – or to Richard Epstein, who is even more prolific, or to Peter Robinson, David Limbaugh, Victor Davis Hanson, Mark Steyn, Rob Long, or James Lileks – to mention only a few of the contributors to Ricochet.
There are a number of good recent books on current American politics. I think Dinesh D’Souza is on to something in his depiction of the third-world radicalism of Barack Obama in The Roots of Obama’s Rage. Stanley Kurtz does a fine job of tracing our President’s links with the far left in Radical in Chief. And Angelo Codevilla’s The Ruling Class is a work of genuine insight.
If, however, the intended recipient of your gift has tastes that run to adventure, you could hardly do better than to send a complete set of Patrick O’Brian’s celebrated Aubrey-Maturin series – eighteen volumes, page-turners every one.
If statesmanship is the appropriate subject, you might try The Landmark Thucydides – a marvelous edition of the classic work replete with maps – or the first and the second volumes of Winston S. Churchill’s Marlborough: His Life and Times, which Leo Strauss once aptly described as “the greatest historical work written in our century, an inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science.”
If travel writing is what you are in search of, you can do no better than my old friend Patrick Leigh Fermor. A few years back, when I was a visiting fellow at All Souls College in Oxford, one of those permanently there described him as the greatest living master of English prose – and rightly so. His books on Greece – Roumeli and Mani – are a treasure, and the same can be said for his ruminations on monastic life – A Time to Keep Silence. Even better are the two volumes he published on the epic journey he took on foot in 1933 and 1934 from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople – A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water.
It was my privilege in the mid-1980s to carry the manuscript of the latter from Kardamyle, deep in the Peloponnesus, by bus to Athens, where someone at the British embassy sent it on in a diplomatic pouch to John Murray, Paddy’s publisher in London. The last time I stayed with Paddy in the Mani, almost five years ago, he was ninety-one-years old and halfway through the third and final volume of that saga. If you want to learn about his exploits on Crete during the Second World War, try W. Stanley Moss’s Ill Met by Moonlight, which will be back in print within a week, or purchase the movie of the same name, in which Paddy was played by Dirk Bogarde.
I quote my previous post at length because nothing much has changed: these books are evergreeen. To the list, I would like to add two that I quite recently read myself. First, Richard Epstein’s latest book – Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration, and the Rule of Law – which I made the basis for a short presentation that I delivered at the annual meeting of the Federalist Society in mid-November. It is crisply written, soberly argued, and compelling. And, second, Sari Nusseibeh (with Anthony David), Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life, which I just read in preparation for writing a response to his more recent book What Is a Palestinian State Worth? I may say more about Sari in a later post. We were fellows together at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC in 1993-94 and became good friends. He is the leading Palestinian dove, and he was the brains behind the first intifada. His judgment is occasionally off, but the story of his life is breath-taking. I had trouble putting it down.
But enough from me. I need your advice. What do you recommend that I give to my loved ones this year? Keep in mind: I have a wife, two daughters (8 and nearly 12), and two sons (5 and 3). The five-year-old reads; the three-year-old is read to.
You might also want to recommend books to the others who visit this site.
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Comments :
May '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
My recommendations would not be as high brow or internationally oriented. Of the many books I read this year that I strongly recommend for any reader are: Altamonte Augie by Richard Barager, a coming of age novel set around the Helter Skelter concert, and True Crime by Bill James, where he applies his insight from baseball analysis to, well, true crime.
Dec '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
I'm guessing Herman Cain's book is off most people's list?
Oct '10
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
My book of the year? David Deutsch's The Beginning of Infinity.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
Paul A. Rahe:
What do you recommend that I give to my loved ones this year? Keep in mind: I have a wife, two daughters (8 and nearly 12), and two sons (5 and 3). The five-year-old reads; the three-year-old is ready to.
For all your children up to the eight-year-old, books from the Moomin series. If the 12 year old still has a taste for light, innocent fantasy, she might like Moomin books, too (I've never stopped loving them). My favorites:
(Moominvally in November is not for everyone. Comet in Moominland and Moominsummer Madness disappoint by comparison.)
The 12 year old might be ready for PG Wodehouse.
The Bunnicula series is wonderful for pre-pre-teen children.
Anguished English and similar books by Richard Lederer should have the whole family howling with laughter.
The Trenton Pickle Ordinance (and Other Boneheaded Legislation) is another funny, family-friendly book.
I'm assuming that you have the Narnia and LOTR series already.
Edited on Dec 4, 2011 at 11:26amApr '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
For the youngest I recommend the classic Curious George. You'll bring back wonderful memories and at the same time be giving him some of his own.
Jul '10
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
For a Christmas story you can read to the whole family, try The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey. I just got a copy to read with my daughter. The story and illustrations are deeply moving -- at times almost heartbreaking -- without being maudlin, a rare feat indeed. If you've not yet discovered this book, Dr. Rahe, I can't recommend it highly enough.
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
Many thanks for these suggestions. More would be most welcome.
Sep '10
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
Paul, difficult without knowing your family's preferences in detail (especially your wife) and the lists to date are already pretty good. Flannery O Connor is an acquired taste and few of her essays merit the Advent treatment, though I would say her essays in Mystery and Manners and Letters may make a good gift for an adult with writing aspirations.
For the mystery lovers, have a gander (a gander? a goose?) have a look at the Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Leslie S Klinger. Klinger recently did a multi part lecture series on Robert McKee's Storylogue that is really quite excellent.
I'll think of more later but Singred Undset's Saint Catherine of Siena is worth a gand er look I mean
Mar '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
Freedom Betrayed by Herbert Hoover. Not read it yet myself, but on MY wish list.
For history buffs, I recommend 2 older titles:
From Dawn to Decadence by Jaques Barzun - best history of the last 500 years.
Cultural Amnesia by Clive James - the author's personal list of important personalities that have been forgotten in history. A very opinionated piece (the author is a professional critic), but a great read. It's also one you can pick up and put down, or just flip through.
Mar '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
The perfect reading material for any young lady is this classic which could only be improved upon with Mr. Skotie Young's illustrations:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
A wonderful story and the illustrations truly are fantastic.
I cannot believe I forgot to mention the most important point of all when posting this. The tale of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz was good enough for my niece when I passed it on to her on her birthday, therefore it is good enough for any young woman. Not a casual recommendation Prof. Rahe. your relations would be well served indeed.
Along those lines I must support the words of Mama Toad . Lloyd Alexander put forward a foundation on which any young man would be privileged build his life. I am impressed indeed to hear a women who can understand such matters. My respect to you Ma'am, it is a rare thing indeed.
Edited on Dec 4, 2011 at 7:39pmFeb '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
My children -- 14 yo son, 12 yo son, 10 yo daughter, 8 yo son -- love the Redwall books by Brian Jacques, a wonderful storyteller and lover of young people. We also love books by Diana Wynn Jones and E. Nesbit, Marguerite Henry, and Regina Doman. And Lloyd Alexander. And Cornelia Funke.
For little people, like my 5 yo son and 3 yo daughter, I love Rosemary Wells and Tomie de Paola. Tomie has a Strega Nona series of books that are fun and delightful, and he also retells stories of saints and Christian legends.
I also highly recommend David MacAuley -- his books The Way Things Work, The Way We Work, Cathdral, Castle are all amazing. And little children enjoy looking at them too. (as do adults!)
Pop-up books can have a short life with young children, but mine love them anyway - not wisely but too well -- Robert Sabuda is one.
Anything with illustrations by Quentin Blake.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
Ooh, yeah, Redwall! The world of Redwall doesn't have quite the depth of a Narnia or a Middle Earth, and if you were to read the whole series straight through (like I did once when I was sick) it could get repetitive. But any story on its own is a ripping good yarn. Highly recommended!
Jul '10
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
Right on! And the stuff he writes himself, like Zagazoo, Cockatoos, and the Mrs. Armitage books, are every bit as good as the works of other authors for which he provides illustrations.
Along those same lines, you might also try My Dog May Be a Genius, a book of mildly zany poems by Jack Prelutsky.
Mar '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
I cannot believe I forgot to mention the most important point of all when posting this. The tale of theWonderful Wizard of Oz was good enough for my niece when I passed it on to her on her birthday, therefore it is good enough for any young woman. Not a casual recommendation Prof. Rahe. your relations would be well served indeed.
Along those lines I must support the words of Mama Toad . Lloyd Alexander put forward a foundation on which any young man would be privileged build his life. I am impressed indeed to hear a women who can understand such matters. My respect to you Ma'am, it is a rare thing indeed.
Edited on Dec 4, 2011 at 7:46pmAug '10
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
William Steig wrote charming illustrated books. Some favorites: Dominic (suitable for 8+) and the letter-puzzle books CDB! and CDC?
Mar '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
My 4 year old picked up a "Can You See What I See?" book from the library last week. Not a reading book but great for a family evening on the sofa.
The books include about a dozen detailed pictures and a poem listing the hidden objects to find in each picture. Some of those items are obvious enough for the 3 year old and some are challenging enough for the 40 year old.
It makes for a great TV-less, fun for the whole family evening.
Feb '11
Re: Christmas Books, 2011
My 14 yo son also wishes me to add Patricia C. Wrede, whose Enchanted Forest Chronicles have enchanted him truly. He also likes Father Brown and anything really by G.K. Chesterton, including the non-fiction. (He spent several days trying to read me the choice bits from Orthodoxy, which, of course, meant that he tried to read me the whole book.)