Book Review: The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams (Three Stars)

Book Review: The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

(Three Stars)

“Life is a narrow valley, and the roads run close together.”

Fascinating and sad. An anomalous document: an autobiography written in the third person by a grandson and great-grandson of American presidents; Henry Adams. Written late in life these are Adams’s reflections on his lifelong search for truth and meaning.

“He never thought to ask himself or his father how to deal with the moral problem that deduced George Washington from the sum of all wickedness. In practice, such trifles

Book Review: Heir of Sea and Fire by Patricia A. McKillip (Three Stars)

Book Review: Heir of Sea and Fire (Riddle Master #2) by Patricia A. McKillip

(Three Stars)

“There is an instinct in me to trust you blindly. Beyond reason, and beyond hope.”

Moderns whine the former dearth of recognized female authors and lead characters in speculative fiction. Like most generalizations that’s generally wrong. This book is a case in point. Published in 1977, it features a mostly female protagonist and supporting cast. Sadly, but understandably, the series male hero … (Oops, that’d be telling.)

“I know that silence … sometimes I think it’s a silence of living, then at other times, it changes to a silence of waiting.”

Simple, direct storytelling. Great impact. Hate to think how Robert Jordan would

George Washington on “Party Disputes”

Portrait by Gilbert Stuart; public domain image

 

“Truth is so enveloped in mist and false representations that it is extremely difficult to know through what channel to seek it.”

President George Washington, 1795

(Not a new problem.)