Future Arctic

“Future Arctic” by Edward Struzik, excellent on its own, is also a good complementary read to a book like Kennedy Warne’s “Let Them Eat Shrimp.” Both are about “underdog” ecosystems, one cold, the other quite warm, both stressed by climate change, vulnerable to exploitation of their respective resources, and, as is sadly often the case, the people living there are marginalized by outside interests. Struzik presents a wide range of the challenges the Arctic is already facing, and what we need to be thinking about when planning for what lies ahead. Much is unknown about this part of the globe, and predicting how climate change will shape it, and the rest of the world as a result, is far from easy. However, some of the best science being conducted is helping us prepare, and when made as clear as it is in this book, there is no reason to not take seriously the knowledge and modeling that can help us prevent or minimize the effects of future disasters.

What Happened, Miss Simone?

What do you know about Nina Simone? For my admiration of her and her music, I didn’t know all that much, and thought a book like this would be informative. Yes, this is a beginning to end biography, but feels like a series of events strung together, without any deep analysis. “What Happened, Miss Simone?” covers her tumultuous life, if brushing lightly over some heavy, serious incidents. I think this is a fair depiction of the woman, not entirely sympathetic for giving so much attention to her weaknesses, but we can see she was a strong person, and a true and original artist.

Why I read works in translation

I always wanted to know at least one other language, and since many of the closest countries are Spanish-speaking, like many neighbors here too, that language was a practical choice. One of my teachers said that the best way to learn a language is to read as much as possible, especially books, which contain every kind of word formation. Reading a book translated from English to Spanish helps me learn the latter, and reveals where changes were made. When I read a book translated to English, I have fun imagining how the original might have been written, and what would have had to stray from directness. This reciprocation also deepens my understanding of the mechanics of English. The voices of certain translators have sometimes pleased me as much as the authors themselves. After all, it is the translator’s words I am reading the story through.

Practicing Spanish is not the only reason. Why stop there? Even if I can’t learn a new language from reading one book, there is a rewarding experience of seeing the same processes at work, and more importantly, learning about different parts of the world, from people who have lived different experiences. Even works by English-speaking authors, especially from countries like England, can provide positive challenges. The importance of translation extends to nonfiction: the science and journalism communities are now global. There is a world of writing to be enjoyed, and translation is the key to making that available to more readers.

Note: I wrote this as a brief essay, limited to under 250 words. There is a lot more I could say, and would be open to starting a discussion on the topic.

Dark Money

I read and review environmental books, and rarely read books about solely about politics. However, the biggest challenges and resistance to ameliorating environmental issues, especially climate change, come from one of the two major political parties in the United States, and an overwhelming amount of their campaign money be traced to fossil fuel industries and ultra-wealthy individuals like brothers Charles Koch and David Koch. “Dark Money,” then, is very much about the natural environment, but the whole political environment as well. When I started reading, I was highlighting almost every sentence, there was so much I wanted to talk about – but I was still in the introduction! After the first chapter, I scaled back, and hope I haven’t used too many direct quotes, and succeeded to rephrase other things. Jane Mayer wrote an article for The New Yorker in August 2010, a precursor to “Dark Money” in a way, but with equal attention given to the “Covert Operations” on the left as well. She was threatened with a smear – not personal, as no “dirt” could be found, but made-up claims of plagiarism that were easily disproven. The Kochs, apparently unavailable for comment, wouldn’t answer whether they were behind this. Credit goes to Mayer for this excellent work, and I encourage you to read her book for the full story.

The Imitation Game

Even after reading the massive biography by Andrew Hodges, and seeing the movie “The Imitation Game,” I am still eager to learn more about the life and work of Alan Turing. “The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded” is a graphic novel (biography) somewhere between those two, and continues to tell his story in an entertaining and informative manner.  This medium, too, is one I am growing very fond of, for its creativity and ease of presentation, in a series of frames like comics, its ability to demonstrate in ways that written text alone cannot. So, do we need more biographies of this man? Yes, and “The Imitation Game” is one of them.