Cyril's Gleans

Bob’s Top Eighteen Favorite Books/Writers in Random Order as of September 2010

"Orlando Furioso" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Furioso As noted in the Wikipedia article, a number of both verse and prose translations are available Bob prefers the Harrington verse translation, but the recent Slavit verse translation, though abridged, is worth reading

"Jerusalem Delivered" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Delivered Bob likes the Fairfax translation but recommends Esolen's

"The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer There are a plethora of translations, both verse and prose Bryant's verse translation is unduly neglected; however, Bob recommends Chapman's verse translation, particularly the 2-vol. PUP edition which also includes "The Lesser Homerica" http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002L805WC/ref=dp_olp_collectible?ie=UTF8&qid=1285719384&sr=1-7&condition=collectible

Christopher Marlowe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Marlowe Bob likes all of Marlowe, plays and verse, particular his "Hero and Leander" and "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"

"The Pilgrim's Progress" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim's_Progress

John Milton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton Bob likes all of Milton's verse, particularly "Paradise Lost", but finds his prose heavy going

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow Bob thinks Longfellow underrated

Alfred, Lord Tennyson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred,LordTennyson Tennyson often wrote too much like Tennyson but Bob likes anyway If new to Tennyson, one might try “The Idylls of the King”

"Don Quixote" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote Bob's favorite single prose fiction (as it is of many others) There are numerous translations, many worth reading Bob's two favorites are the one by Samuel Putnam and the one by James H. Montgomery If you are coming new to the book, you might like to start with Montgomery

P. G. Wodehouse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.G.Wodehouse Bob's favorite author Mainly known for his prose fiction, he also wrote numerous song lyrics for the musical theater (see http://www.amazon.com/Bolton-Wodehouse-Kern-Musical-Comedy/dp/0870081454/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285720662&sr=1-1 ) and unreliable prose non-fiction Bob prefers his short stories to his novels and lyrics, particularly the Mulliner stories and the golf stories

Philip Larkin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Larkin Bob's favorite modern poet Everybody should have a copy of his collected poems http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Poems-Philip-Larkin/dp/0374529205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285721066&sr=1-1 Bob does not care for his prose fiction, but his non-fiction is worth reading

Rudyard Kipling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling Kipling is great, both prose and verse Bob particularly likes his short stories (he recommends the Everyman edition) and the T. S. Eliot edited collections of his verse http://www.amazon.com/CHOICE-KIPLINGS-VERSE-RUDYARD-KIPLING/dp/B000H7YIA4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285721825&sr=1-1

Stephen Foster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Foster As the Wikipedia article says Foster is the "father of American music"

W. H. Hudson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Hudson Hudson published a lot All that Bob has read is worth reading Bob's favorites are "Far Away and Long Ago" , "Idle Days in Patagonia", and "The Purple Land"

William Shakespeare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare Bob likes most of Shakespeare His favorites are the "Sonnets" and "Romeo and Juliette"

William Wordsworth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wordsworth Bob is a major Wordsworth fan even though a good bit of his poetry is not too good - best to read a selection such as the Penguin Classics "Selected Poems" Of all his poems, Bob likes best "The Prelude" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prelude Bob recommends the Norton Critical Edition: The Prelude: 1799, 1805, 1850 (Norton Critical Editions) by William Wordsworth, M. H. Abrams, Stephen Gill, and Jonathan Wordsworth

"The Anabasis" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabasis_(Xenophon) "The Anabasis" might be best approached by first reading "Xenophon's Retreat: Greece, Persia, and the End of the Golden Age" by Robin Waterfield

"The Education of Henry Adams: An Autobiography" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Education_of_Henry_Adams Bob recommends the Massachusetts Historical Society edition

Bob has been thinking again

Some of Bob's thoughts on two books reviewed in the U.K. "Guardian": http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/11/shallows-internet-changing-way-think

The Shallows: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember by Nicholas Carr
and
Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives by John G. Palfrey and Urs Gasser

Bob's thoughts:

Bob is convinced that the modern world was created by moving pictures: sixteen frames/second moved us from an analog view of the world to a dual analog/discrete view that resulted among other things in television, quantum mechanics (you might like to read The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science that Made Our World - Hardcover (Oct. 14, 2010) by James Kakalios), the digital computer, and the Net.

The so-called "digital generation" must cope with this dual view in a more intense way than those of previous generations with only the movies and TV to corrupt them: multi-media, hypertext, morphing, Anime, Manga, pictographs ("icons", "emoticons" in today's jargon), text-speak - you name it.

It is changing they way they think - in some ways for the better - in some ways for the worse (at least in the view of most of the previous generations). Bob is following the career of the digital generation with interest.

Some Bob Quotes

For more than sixty years Bob has been saying: "Free trade is the Devil's work".

Also for more than sixty years: "The population explosion is the core problem - all others are ancillary".

For more than forty years Bob has been adding: "The technology explosion and the pollution explosion are the two major problems entailed by the core problem."

Bob Has Georgia on his Mind - http://www.lyricsdepot.com/ray-charles/georgia-on-my-mind.html

Bob is moderately cosmopolitan having lived on three continents and traveled most everywhere; however, he is at heart a Georgia Boy. He was born and grew up in Georgia (1934-1954) and lived off and on in various parts of Georgia for 25 years during the years 1934-2007.

Recently he has been reading David Bottoms’ “The Onion’s Dark Core: A Little Book of Poetry Talk” - http://www.amazon.com/Onions-Dark-Core-Little-Poetry/dp/1935708023/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284839266&sr=1-3-spell – and it has motivated him to say a few words about Georgia authors he has read and liked.

Five poets he likes from Georgia or closely associated with it:
Turner Cassity - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Cassity
A. E. Stallings - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.E.Stallings
David Bottoms - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bottoms
Sydney Lanier - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Lanier
Johnny Mercer - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mercer

Five creative prose authors he likes from Georgia or closely associated with it:
Erskine Caldwell - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_Caldwell
Carson McCullers - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carson_McCullers
Flannery O’Connor - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flannery_O'Connor
Caroline Miller - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Miller
Joel Chandler Harris - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Chandler_Harris

Bob's thoughts on middle school and young adult books and authors

Bob has found the best source for middle school and young adult books is the Newbery List (ALA | Newbery Medal & Honor Books, 1922-Present). Writers suitable for that age group he particularly likes include:

Rosemary Sutcliff (Rosemary Sutcliff - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

C. S. Lewis (C. S. Lewis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

H. L. Montgomery (Lucy Maud Montgomery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

John Myers Myers (John Myers Myers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Elizabeth Enright (Elizabeth Enright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Jean Crfaighead George (Jean Craighead George - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Bob strongly recommends "Nancy Drew" (Nancy Drew - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) to middle school and young adult girls - only the first 60 or so books untouched by the PC police, the 1930s movies (he thinks three), and the current electronic games.

There are more but enough is enough.

An author Bob's sons liked but he didn't was (J. R. R. Tolkien - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

An author his granddaughters liked but he didn't was (Philip Pullman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Some few of the many war movies Bob likes

Bob likes war movies and has seen a lot. Here are some few thirteen in chronological order.

The Fighting 69th – 1940 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032467/

Sergeant York – 1941 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034167/

The Sky’s the Limit – 1943 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036363/

Sahara – 1943 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036323/

To Hell and Back – 1955 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048729/

Paths of Glory – 1957 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/

On the Beach - 1959 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053137/

Red Dawn – 1984 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087985/

Full Metal Jacket – 1987 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/

The Hunt for Red October – 1990 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099810/

The Thin Red Line – 1998 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120863/

Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry: The Life of Norman K. Collins – 2008 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185598/

Restrepo – 2010 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1559549/

NB - well known movies such as
Birth of a Nation
Raintree County
Beau Geste
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
Four Feathers
Gunga Din
Soldiers Three
etc.
are excluded

Some Books on War BeauBob Likes

SacredBrothBob,

Glad you liked. I agree with your comments.

BeauBob

Other books high on BeauBob's list include:

Helmet for My Pillow by Leckie

Soldier by Herbert

Platoon Leader by McDonough

Company Commander by MacDonald

Chickenhawk by Mason

Some with a different flavor:

Something About a Soldier by Willeford

The Last Valley by Windrow

Legionairre by Murray

Crossing the Line by Kernan

Bob Takes a Random Stroll Down Memory Lane

Bob Meets Charisma

The two most charismatic individuals that Bob met in a moderately long and happy life were Fred Astaire the actor and Bob Wagner the mayor (the mayor was ex- at the time and working as a “financial consultant”). Bob met Fred when working with him in the movie “On the Beach”. Bob met Bob when they sat next to each other on a Swiss Air flight from Geneva to NYC (Bob the Bob boarded in Zurich, Bob the financial consultant boarded in Geneva with his entourage and was seated next to Bob the Bob – the entourage did not fly first class). They enjoyed a four-hour chat. Bob the Bob was impressed – Bob the financial consultant possibly less so, but he did not let on.

Bob Surprises Swiss Air Passengers

Bob flew many times in and out of Kloten (at that time the name of the Zurich airport – but as the Dutch objected (it is the slang there for testicles), it is now called the Zurich Airport). Whatever.

As many of you know, TJWSr was besotted with having his employees paged at airports. The only manager I had who followed this tradition was Dr.MCA, so I was paged a number of times in Kloten.

I don’t think that surprised too many people, but on one occasion I surprised a plane-load of Swiss Air passengers. I was late for a flight through no fault of my own, and Swiss Air obligingly held the “Noon Balloon” (as we called the flight to JFK) for me at the end of the runway and drove me out there in a little open-air cart. As I walked to my seat, I received a fair number of puzzled looks – I think the passengers were expecting somebody a little more interesting.

Bob Enjoys Good Meals

I am convinced that the best airplane food ever was first class on the old BOAC transatlantic flights in the 1960s. However, I did have a great first class meal on the old Sabrina airline back in the 1970s.

I spent a lot of time in Brussels – it is one of my favorite places – and the home of great food as well as beers. One the best meals I had there was a catered lunch eaten on the desk of one of IBM’s titled hires (another legacy of TJWSr). It was a big desk, and I was alone – I do not remember what I was doing in Brussels at the time nor why I was having a solitary repast in the office of a French count (possibly it was his lunch and he was out) – but such is life.

NB – with any luck at all (on my part), the is the first of a series