Bedlam at the Brickyard

Stewart, Brenda R., and Wanda Lou Willis, eds.  Bedlam at the Brickyard. Indianapolis: Blue River Press, 2009.

ISBN: 978-0-9819289-9-9

Available: Paperback

I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover; however, that is exactly what I found myself doing when I opened the latest package from the Indiana State Library's (ISL) Talking Book and Braille Library. While the artwork for Bedlam at the Brickyard was supposed to convey “bedlam, bafflement, and bewilderment at the Brickyard 400,” it screamed amateurish, cartoonish, crap dead ahead. However, I decide to proceed on with the project with an open mind.

The first real story in the anthology, The Ballad of the Midnight Travler by S.M. Harding, was interesting enough to keep me reading, but it seemed like a long stretch to the next well written and pleasantly surprising tale, A Crowd Pleaser by Marianna Halbert.

After completing the book, I would have to state, in all fairness, that the book took me on a “rollercoaster ride” with boring historical accounts like Winners of the Brickyard 400 in the lowest points and Picture Perfect by Victoria A. Stewart at the highest peak. I would place most of the stories in that jerky, bumpy area in the middle.

If you are not a huge fan of NASCAR (and I certainly am  not) then this book is probably not for you. However, if NASCAR racing is your “thing” then you might enjoy some of the stories in this book. That is why my recommendation is for:

Public Libraries

All other types of libraries can definitely spend their money more wisely.

A Book of Five Rings

Harris, Victor, ed. A Book of Five Rings. New York: The Overlook Press 1974.
ISBN: 0-87951-018-8
Available: Paperback
I went to the library to pick up a copy of Miyamoto Musashi’s A Book of Five Rings (五輪書: Go Rin No Sho) for three reasons. First, this book has appeared on many successful Japanese people’s recommended reading lists. (This includes my Japanese wife.) Second, this edition is advertised, on the cover, as “Japan’s answer to the Harvard MBA!” (Who wouldn’t want a short, inexpensive Harvard education?) Third, A Book of Five Rings has been called the Japanese version of The Art of War. (Having read and enjoyed the later classic, I thought I owed it to myself to read Musashi’s work as well and judge it for myself.) At any rate, I thought I would use this blog entry to pass along my impressions of A Book of Five Rings.

First of all, the Translator’s Introduction provides an interesting and informative look at the life and times of Miyamoto Musashi. Once I had read it, I felt like I had a good understanding of the man. In the introduction Harris provides a map of Japan as it was during Musashi’s lifetime, examples of Musashi’s art and poetry, and photographs of relevant items such as samurai armor and swords, and locations such as Kumamoto Castle. The original book is divided into an introduction by Musashi and five key sections: The Ground Book, The Water Book, The Fire Book, The Wind Book, and The Book of the Void. For me, the most pertinent of these was The Fire Book. I state this because I believe it provides strategic advice that can be used in any vocation to give the practitioner an advantage over his/her colleagues and opponents.

In my opinion, the main message of Musashi’s book is this: no matter what your vocation is, you must devote yourself to training, research, and study, to become a true master and be successful at it. As Musashi states in The Ground Book, “The essence of this book is that you must train day and night in order to make quick decisions” (44). A bit further in this same book, Musashi lays out nine principles for those who want to learn his strategy; the second principal states, “The Way is in training” (49). In The Fire Book, Musashi states, “Any man who wants to master the essence of my strategy must research diligently, training morning and evening. Thus can he polish his skill, become free from self, and realize extraordinary ability. He will come to possess miraculous power” (70). Finally, in The Book of the Void, the shortest and most philosophical of the books, Musashi states, “With your spirit settled, accumulate practice day by day, and hour by hour” (95).

I believe this book lives up to the publisher’s assertion on the back cover; that is, it speaks “equally to the businessman, the philosopher, and the practitioner of the martial arts.” That is why my recommendation is for:

Asian Studies Libraries, Business Libraries, Academic Libraries, Public Libraries, and Junior High and High School Libraries

In short, A Book of Five Rings is a good addition to any library.

Lincoln the Lawyer

Dirck, Brian. Lincoln the Lawyer. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2007.
ISBN: 978-0-252-03181-6
Available: Hardcover (also available in Paperback: 978-0-252-07614-5)
I just finished reviewing Brian Dirck’s Lincoln the Lawyer for the Indiana State Library's (ISL) Talking Book and Braille Library.

When I first opened the packet from the ISL, I must admit that I was looking forward to the project because Lincoln is an historical figure I have always respected and admired.

While the first chapter of the book provided a few interesting insights into the life of the man who would become the 16th president of the United States, it quickly became apparent that Dirck’s book was going to be as much, if not more, about antebellum lawyers as it was about Lincoln. In short, the book contains an ample amount of speculation throughout. The “Conclusion,” for example, describes in great detail what Lincoln’s professional career would have been like if he had not been assassinated in 1865 and returned to Illinois to resume practicing law.

While this is somewhat understandable, because much of what is known of Lincoln the lawyer comes from surviving court documents, in this case it is also for the best. I state this because when Dirck describes some of Lincoln’s actual cases, they are rather dull accounts concerning promissory notes, contract disputes, partnership dissolutions, patent cases and corporate cases involving railroads.

However, in all fairness, there were some “gems” to be found along the way; my favorite was the next to the last chapter, aptly titled, “Grease.” In this chapter Dirck analyzes the affects Lincoln’s actual law career had on forming the great man:

[Lincoln’s law career] taught him about the value of grease—that unglamorous, often overlooked but vital substance that lubricates and reduces friction to acceptable levels…This, at bottom, is the lesson Lincoln took away from his twenty-five years at the bar, a lesson he would not likely have learned from tiling soil or piloting riverboats or pursuing any of the other occupations available to him on the Illinois frontier (155 and 160).

In the end Dirck concludes that:

His magnanimity—if that is what it was—his generosity, and his humility were not manifestations of saintliness or an inordinately pure character. Rather, they were the products of a quarter-century spent in a law practice that taught Lincoln some difficult but exceedingly valuable lessons about limitations, boundaries, and the tremendous societal value of grease (172).

If you are looking for an exciting, insightful and interesting book concerning the life of Honest Abe, then this book is probably not for you. However, if you are interested in the history of United States law, are a Lincoln scholar, or a student preparing a research paper on the Great Emancipator, then this book is certainly worth your consideration. That is why my recommendation is for:

Law Libraries and Academic Libraries

All other types of libraries could spend their money more wisely.