Eschewed Obfuscation

All Girls: Single-sex Education and Why It Matters
by Karen Stabiner
320 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Education

My recent SHP summer class inspired me to read up more on education, and this book has a secondary focus on college--one of my pet research kinks. I was hoping to find insight into the women's vs. coed dilemma; however, All Girls is concerned with single-sex middle/high schools. One is a selective public NYC high school for disadvantaged girls (the first class is entirely minority), while the other is a prestigious West-coast private school with a history of single-sex education dating back to the "finishing school" era. If that sounds interesting, then you should read the book, because Stabiner does a decent job with the political and gender aspects. All Girls didn't quite meet my needs but I nevertheless enjoyed reading it, although it was perhaps a little slow-paced in exhaustively describing every character's personal history. I found the college acceptances and decisions fascinating, which I'm sure will surprise no one.

Good for education or college geeks, as well as feminists.

The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College
by Jacques Steinberg
292 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Education/College

Disclaimer: I'm fascinated by the conundrum of higher education, so I sped through this book like a much-anticipated thriller. If you are normal, YMWV.

As the title hints, The Gatekeepers is a (slightly dated, because of recent changes) inside look at Wesleyan University's admissions process. Wesleyan is a highly selective liberal arts college in Connecticut; one, in fact, that I visited, although I failed to "click" with the campus. And, for once, it is a book that lives up to the hype. I enjoyed the insights into the thinking of admissions officers/committees, as well as to Wes as a school (I'm sure that I'm not right for it). True to his day job as an NYT reporter, Steinberg writes with spare but emotional clarity--a beautiful example of good narrative nonfiction, by engaging with real people as characters. I think it was suspenseful; the twisty prose managed to surprise me with the students' and the adcom's ultimate decisions. So, a highly recommended read in the highly specialized field of College TMI.

Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight against Imperialism
by Cornel West
229 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction

In general, I agree with Cornel West's opinions. White supremacy is uncomfortable but undeniable; both political parties are screwed up; I find his subdefinitions of nihilism intriguing. However, I believe that West's approach to his subject is fundamentally flawed. His scathing tone will offend enemies and allies alike--for instance, he condemns youth blogging as comparable to middle-school blowjobs (176)--which accomplishes exactly nothing. Fancy rhetoric is all and well for a philosopher, but West is damn unpersuasive, especially for such a noted scholar and tenured Harvard professor. I'm sure he can present an eloquent defense of his argument, but in writing popular nonfiction, such skills are useless. West's prose is flagrantly critical and filled with emotional triggerwords, the latter of which I also find sloppy. He has some wonderful points but to the general public, his worthy ideas are buried in execution.

Furthermore, West has a tendency to ramble almost-but-not-quite off topic. From the title, one would think that the book concerns democracy; this is technically correct, but should not be an excuse for him to devote half of a chapter to a direct defense of an apparently much-publicized debacle with Harvard's President Summers. I, for one, expected more content relating to democracy rather than (black/white) race, (Judaic/Muslim) religion, or West's memoirs. All are fine topics for a book, but they do not belong in this book. Thus, for IBARW 2008, I am reviewing Democracy Matters rather than West's previous book, Race Matters (i.e. the former was assigned reading for a class and I'm now disinclined to read the latter). And I'll even incorporate the intersectionality theme, since West devotes two out of seven chapters to discussing religion.

Table of Contents

1. Democracy Matters Are Frightening in Our Time [introduction]
2. Nihilism in America [background to discussion of democracy]
3. The Deep Democratic Tradition in America [what this book should have been entirely about]
4. Forging New Jewish and Islamic Identities [what about Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, and agnostics?]
5. The Crisis of Christian Identity in America [oh, boohoo--sorry, but I have very little sympathy for the religious majority's wavering faith in a supposedly secular nation]
6. The Necessary Engagement of Youth Culture [by making a hip-hop CD, insulting youth bloggers, and defending his side of the Summers scandal]
7. Putting on Our Democratic Armor [conclusion]

The first chapter does a decent job of introducing West's concept of democracy. You would do well to go find a comfortable-to-hold highlighter at this time, because his prose often elevates obscurity above clarity. West says that the three dogmas against democracy today (in the U.S., it is assumed) are free-market fundamentalism, aggressive militarism, and escalating authoritarianism. Broad accusations follow, plus a shout-out to every major anti-ism. Three counter-dogmas: Socratic questioning, prophetic witness, and tragicomic hope. Interesting analysis of 9/11--"Never before have Americans of all [emphasis original] classes, colors, regions, religions, genders, and sexual orientations felt safe, unprotected, subject to random violence, and hated" (20). I wish he had used "beliefs" instead of "religions," but that's a minor quibble. The introduction is actually a decent read, once you get past the prose; for example, on page 15: "Race is not a lens to justify sentimental stories of pure heroes of color and impure white villains or melodramatic tales of innocent victims of color and demonic white victimizers."

Chapter two actually follows up on some of the introduction's implicit promises, with an interesting discussion of political nihilism and its subsets--evangelical, paternalistic, sentimental. I have 20 minutes left to write this before it's tomorrow, so I'm not detailing all these weird philosophical terms that West makes up. Chapter three talks about democracy as a verb rather than a noun. It's also exceptionally dense and would probably make more sense on rereading.

The fourth chapter, which begins an extended discussion of religion in America, is where my patience with West begins to wear thin. I'm fascinated with the impact of religion on American culture and would readily admit that it has some bearing on American democracy; but it is hardly two-sevenths of all democracy matters. West laments the patriarchal leanings of Islam and the dangers in the Middle East without presenting any possible or theoretical solutions. The rest of the chapter tells me lots and lots of stuff about Judaism, which is great except that it's not diverse in the way that West's introduction promises. Chapter five continues the same broad topic, this time focusing solely on Christian identity. I believe Buddhism is briefly mentioned in passing as an afterthought; I don't recall anything about Hinduism, arguably the world's oldest organized religion, and with this track record, I won't even bother looking for awareness of American atheists and content agnostics. West acknowledges that he is a devout black Christian--apparently the "black" part of that makes him an amazing spokesman for all oppressed minorities--but I found his treatment of religion identical to that of mainstream America. The Christian viewpoint obviously dominates, with Judaism welcomed because of a common God and Islam a point of concern post-9/11. Eastern religions and non-believers exist outside a democratic America, is how I read West.

Also, re: page 165, "...the most liberal nonwhite group--American Jews--voted for Reagan..." Am I lonely and delusional in thinking that most American Jews--especially the traditional families, not the isolated converts--are white? Ethnicity /=/ race, kthxbai.

Chapter six involves West bragging about his outreach efforts to black youth, then defending himself to an imaginary bank of reporters concerning his "all-too-notorious encounter with the president of Harvard, Lawrence Summers." It also hosts the ludicrous association I mentioned above, on page 176. I quote necessarily at length:

...we witness personal depression, psychic pain, and individual loneliness fueling media-influenced modes of escapism. These include the high use of drugs like cocaine and Ecstasy, the growing popularity of performing sex acts at incredibly young ages, such as middle-school-age girls giving boys blow jobs because it will make them "cool"; and the way in which so many kids have become addicted to going online and instant messaging or creating Weblogs in which they assume an alternate personality. This disgraceful numbing of the senses, dulling of the mind, and confining of life to an eternal present--with a lack of connection to the past and no vision for a different future--is an insidious form of soul murder. And we wonder why depression escalates and suicides increase among our precious children.

Ironically, I'm critiquing West as a youth blogger, posting this on a "Weblog" under an alternate personality and killing my (condemned-to-Hell-anyway) soul. Moving on--the last chapter is thankfully just a reiteration of the first three. For a book about democracy, this one talked a whole lot about race and couldn't even cover that tangent properly.

Overall, I am dissatisfied with West's decisions and omissions. He portrays himself as an ally of all the variously oppressed, but he sees fit to champion only certain groups. I will not be reading Race Matters because I have limited reading time these days and given the choice, I'd much rather read Frank Wu's Yellow, then go on to educate myself about all the rest of the non-black and non-white U.S. ethnicities. Is this my own cultural prejudice against African-Americans? Perhaps, but I feel that others--not necessarily my ethnic peers, though I'm woefully ignorant about them as well--more desperately need representation in the race discussion. The final verdict on Democracy Matters is mixed; I didn't enjoy it, but I don't think it was a waste of time either. In the end, it's up to you.

And I'm 5 minutes over the deadline, alas.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakaeur
293 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir

The first of my three assigned-reading books over the summer. In 1996 Krakaeur summited Everest as research for an article commissioned by Outside magazine. The guided expedition went horribly wrong; less than half of the team made it back down the mountain alive, and all three guides perished. Krakaeur admits straightaway that he wrote the book as a kind of therapy, catharsis; while usually the bane of all writing, I think that it lends his account raw immediacy. The fact that Krakaeur is an experienced writer, not a fumbling amateur, helps too. His excellent prose blends seamlessly into the background, never obtrusive or flashy. I ignored all of the chapter dividers--the design is too busy and conducive to skimming--but the narrative flows well despite time jumps. The beginning is a little slow to get going; the climax, however, flies by so fast that I was surprised when Krakaeur-the-character was helicoptered to safety and the story entered an extended denouement, just like that.

This isn't the type of memoir I usually read, but on its own merits it succeeds admirably. I actually cared a little about mountaineering by the end and I empathized with the lure of such a risky hobby. The latter is a feat because personally (fiscally and morally, NOT politically) I am conservative and I usually sneer with disdain upon crazy people who go around climbing the world's tallest mountain. A good book; I wouldn't say it was great, but YMMV.

What Life Was Like in the Land of the Dragon: Imperial China, A.D. 960-1368
by Time-Life Books (Denise Dersin, ed.)
144 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Historical/China

This covers Song (including the Southern Song) to Tang dynasty, with emphasis on the Song and Mongol (Yuan) rules. A surprisingly helpful source of information on imperial China, especially regarding topics like culture and technology. I've used it well as a jumping-off point, although it is sometimes heavy on generalizations, being aimed at a mainstream rather than scholarly audience. Upper-class is covered in more detail than lower-class; unfortunate but only to be expected. As a plus, it is also excellently illustrated--lots of photographs of Song pottery and Tang painting. The ending is abrupt, lacking any type of conclusion; a full-page painting spread, and then nothing. Still, a good resource and one I would recommend if you happen to be also researching imperial China. I plan on seeking out the other books in the What Life Was Like series as well, for pleasure-reading.

The Insider's Guide to the Colleges 2003
by Staff of the Yale Daily News (eds.)
977 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction/Self-Help/Education

More reliable than Fiske when dating is accounted for (renovations, changed outsourcing, etc.) A good reference book, in my opinion, but the organization (alphabetical by state) is not conducive to browsing by similarity or cross-applications--one of my favorite parts of Fiske's guide were the similar colleges suggestion sidebar.

And that's all I have to say, really. College research is interesting enough (for me, and I admit that I'm rather a freak in this regard) but it's not much to write home about.

Cool Colleges for the Hyper-intelligent, Self-directed, Late Blooming, and Just Plain Different
by Donald Asher
448 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction/Self-Help/Education

I read this almost cover-to-cover, because the colleges featured are carefully selected and interesting by their own merit. Asher is an interesting writer, too, which helps a lot. Unlike Choosing the Right College (an entirely different college guide, which I discuss below), Asher's book serves well as a gateway to college research. A lot of the information I'd already gleaned through Internet research, albeit more time-consuming than reading this. Recommended, for those few it might still be useful.


Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth about America's Top Schools
971 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction/Self-Help/Education

Most unfortunately, this hefty manual seems to be written by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) so I can't blame any particular author. I haven't finished reading/skimming it yet, and will persevere despite significant and disturbing issues encountered, but it does give comprehensive information both objective and subjective. If not for that and the fact that it's a library book, I would fling it against the wall.

Because the book is pretentious, obviously conservative (in the mostly non-political sense of the word), and discriminatory almost to the point of inflammatory. To begin, there is an essay in the extensive introductory section entitled "Finding and Following the Core"; the idea of students managing to create their own broad curriculum is briefly mentioned and even more briefly dismissed. This essay proposes a set of eight core courses that form the ideal liberal arts curriculum, which I reproduce here in full [xxxiii]:

1. Classical literature (in translation)
2. Ancient philosophy
3. The Bible
4. Christian thought before 1500
5. Modern political theory
6. Shakespeare
7. U.S. history before 1865
8. Nineteenth-century European intellectual history

For every college reviewed, these equivalent "core" courses are also listed. I will presume to point out the obvious flaws in such a curriculum: two relate directly to Christianity and another three (four/five, depending on whether you could classical literature and ancient philosophy, which I doubt includes many non-Western-canon works) focus on the West. As a woman, as a proud Chinese-Canadian, as a staunch atheist, and as a student attracted to the freedom of an open curriculum, I am irritated and offended by the text's bias. Not necessarily because of it alone, but because it is never acknowledged. In Cool Colleges, Asher takes pains to explain his bias against the large public universities in regards to undergraduate learning. Here, there is nothing of the sort. 'Traditional' is essentially equated to 'good,' and 'innovative' to 'bad.' In the English department, courses on Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, et. al. are 'thankfully traditional' while anything on race, gender, culture, or even postcolonial literature is reviled as 'politicized.' The tone certainly plays a role: "...If you happen to be a woman and a minority, you may have more advising than you know what to do with. The Sarah Doyle Women's Center tends to advocate the politics of liberal women. One recent event included the boy-we-must-need-to-recruit 'Bring a non-feminist to the women's center' dinner..." [110]. Also, "...it is encouraging that trendy departments are offered only as minors or concentrations. These include peace and conflict studies, feminist and gender studies, and Africana studies" [114].

In contrast, St. John's College (MD and NM) is lavishly praised for its 'Great Books' curriculum. Personally, I find that such a curriculum, while admirable in its aim, is fundamentally flawed; the in-out rule for proposing change, for instance, is biased because the student has not studied the alternative texts and obviously prefers the original. But I ask: why is Shakespeare intrinsically more worthwhile than the world's oldest novel, Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Gengi? Why is Cicero favored over Confucius? Why the Bible, rather than the Upanishads? The Western canon is filled with amazing and enduring works of literature (I adore Shakespeare to pieces), but the world canon is filled with equally amazing and enduring works. (Incidentally, St. John's College is 90% Caucasian.)

And a final snub: the University of Delaware is not included in Choosing the Right College. I note that many other (certainly less 'prestigious,' for whatever that's worth) state universities are. Sob. A pity; I would be interested in reading the author(s)' take on UD's multicultural requirement.

ETA: Oh, lovely. In the section on Oberlin: "The college's cultural diversity requirement is in place...but students may also choose to complete the requirement by taking courses in foreign languages or world history. In other words, 'cultural diversity' doesn't necessarily mean ethnic/gender/class propaganda" [628]. Moreover, extremely conservative colleges such as BYU are presented with neutral and reassuring word choice.

The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality
by André Comte-Sponville (trans. Nancy Huston)
206 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Philosophy/Atheism

Sadly I didn't get to finish this lovely little book, because it's already overdue at the library. I do plan to check it out again, though: at page 53. It is a true philosophy text, though accessible because of the layman language. It's also translated from the original French, which accounts for a liberal use of exclamation marks. Comte-Sponville is a "faithful atheist," maintaining traditional Western Christian morality while not believing in God. He also distinguishes at length between faith (belief) and fidelity (commitment), which combine oftentimes to form piety. As he says:

"Frankly, do you need to believe in God to be convinced that sincerity is preferable to dishonesty, courage to cowardice, generosity to egoism, gentleness and compassion to violence and cruelty, justice to injustice, love to hate?...If you cease believing in God, are you obliged to turn into a coward, a hypocrite, a beast?" [22-23]

Religion's greatest strength, according to him, is consolation in grief. It is the wellspring of society, but it is not necessary for civilization to continue. Comte-Sponville is an atheist philosopher with the most open views that I've ever had the pleasure of reading: truly gentle, tolerant, accepting. He respects theists, nontheists, and atheists equally. He talks about his own "liberation" in deconversion, then in the next paragraph will earnestly discuss those who converted and experienced the same liberation. And he concludes from this seeming paradox, simply, that "all people are different."

So: very sad that I didn't get to read more of this. I would recommend it to anyone interested in theological philosophy. Comte-Sponville surprised even me with his firm neutrality.

No school today due to the snow; I am Happy. Now to catch up on internet-reading, get a good hour or so of clarinet in, read a certain overdue beta manuscript, work on Achaea stuff, and maybe even write some more on the untitled Mongolian-glacier story fragment.


Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
by Adeline Yen Mah
278 pages (trade paperback) [Googled; I forgot to note it personally]
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir

I had a favorable reaction to Chinese Cinderella, so I started reading this with reasonable expectations. However, it quickly became clear that the beginning of this autobiography is essentially identical in content to the former. Chinese Cinderella is tighter and stronger; I only read the last half of Falling Leaves, but my main impression was whiny. And weak--it's unfair to make such a judgment, I know, but I kept wanting to scream at story-Adeline--when she's grown, a certified doctor, married, and still capitulates before her parents--to grow a spine already. I can understand filial piety, but repeated instances of accepting clear emotional abuse from your parents (when one is clearly an adult, not a helpless child) do not a good book make. Not rec'd; Chinese Cinderella still is recommended, however.

Material World
by Peter Menzel
255 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Photojournalism

Not much to say about this; Menzel's photojournalism is always profound, but after reading both What We Eat and Women in the Material World, his first work in the series feels outdated. Especially the date references; 1994 was a long time ago. This wasn't really meant to be read straight through. It would make a wonderful coffee-table book, though. The concept of comparing material possessions from families all over the world seems like common sense now, but 13 years ago it was quite an innovation.

On the very last page is a wonderful quote, which I'd like to share.
"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."
--Albert Einstein