Book Notes

I was once told that I "...don't read like a Baptist"! If you do, that's fine; but I tend to read a variety of genres and styles both in fiction and nonfiction, classics, comics, and new stuff. This is my place to comment on various literary topics.

Greatest Western Writer of All Time: Elmer Kelton vs. Louis L'Amour (With Zane Gray and Max Brand in the Shadows)

Readers and writers who really know westerns know one thing for certain--that Elmer Kelton is the greatest western writer of all time. The winner of 7 Spur Awards (LL earned 1)created incredibly realistic and memorable characters in real settings and situations that make Zane Gray look like "chick lit" and Max Brand read like comic books. So why haven't any of my friends heard of him?

Elmer Kelton is the author of about 60 books, mostly taking place in and around Texas. He seldom includes shootouts,bar brawls, or Indian fights unless they were historically accurate. His heroes are cowboys dealing with the loss of the free range and the advent of the automobile; Texas Rangers coping with unemployment when the force was disbanded; ranchers dealing with a multi-year drought; black "buffalo soldiers" being treated worse than the enemy they were called in to fight; lawmen falsely distrusted; and sons falsely accused. Violence is portrayed in its ugliness, and romance is shown as the mystery it is--sometimes as natural as sunrise, and sometimes so awkward as to be unattainable.

I have not read all of Louis L'Amour's books, but the westerns I have read all seem to have the same type of main character: the strong, silent hero (usually facing an injustice) with his own personal ethic that, while decent, is not completely moral or socially acceptable. In my experience, any of his men could survive alone in the wilderness of the Rockies through a winter without suffering or missing human companionship. That's fine; but after a volume or two I get it. The sameness of LL is in stark contrast with EK's books.

“I have often been asked how my characters differ from the traditional, larger-than-life heroes of the mythical West,” Mr. Kelton said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News in 2007. “ ‘Those,’ I reply, ‘are seven feet tall and invincible. My characters are 5-8 and nervous.’ ”

I love Last of the Breed, just as I love Gray's Ohio trilogy and Max Brand's flawed heroes; and I do not expect Kelton's books ever to achieve the best-selling status that those others have achieved. Literature is never as successful as popular fiction. But his contemporaries in the Western Writers of America recognized that his books transcended the typical, mythical cowboy novels, and in 1995 they voted him "Greatest Western Writer of All Time." Who am I to argue?

Hard Copy vs E-Reader?

According to some in the Christian Readers' Circle, I have gone over to the dark side--I have begun using (and enjoying) an e-reader. Recently, I was accused of helping to drive Borders Books into bankruptcy by making the switch away from "real" books. That's not how I see it.

I received my e-reader for Christmas, and have read dozens of books on it. I currently have about 70 books loaded and waiting to be referenced or read. In the same time, I have read about 25 hard-copy books, and have bought nearly that many. So what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Advantages:

Cost--well-known books in public domain are often free from the Gutenberg Project; modern best-sellers are free on loan from my local library system as well as the NYC Public Library for cardholders; thousands are free from various publishers; virtually all books available are cheaper than their hard-copy cousins.

Convenience--I can load up to 1500 books on my reader, and take them with me easily. I can enlarge the print size to make it easy on the eyes, and even to increase reading speed (if I can see the entire page at a glance, I can read about as fast as I can flip the pages.)

Disadvantages:

Computerization--as with all electronic technology, the e-reader has the potential to break or fail and lose all my books. I have to constantly recharge the battery, and I need wi-fi availbility to download books.

Copyright--many book/series that I like are older and out of print, but still under copyright. These are not available and are not likely to be, at least until copyright expires.

Containment--the book is on the reader and I can't pass it around to my wife and friends. Some books can be shared with other e-readers, but most cannot.

Cruising--navigation can be a nightmare. While some books include a table of contents, many do not, and those that do are often slow to load (this is particularly annoying with my eBible). Pagination does not always match the hard copies used by the other members of my readers group.

Comprehensibility--many books that have been electronically scanned for publication are nearly unreadable. Scanners mistake punctuation marks for letters and vice versa, and page headings/numbers insert themselves as part of the text.

Crap--e-publishing has made it possible for even the least talented writers to serve up their drivel to the unsuspecting reader. Where is a literary landfill when you need it?

Conclusion:

I love the free/cheap books and the convenience so much that I am willing to overlook the problems.

Highly Recommended

Reads:

The Bible (obviously); some of my favorite parts are the Gospel of John; Jude; Proverbs; and Revelation.

The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl. I was surprised to see this in a used book store--I wasn't aware that the author had put out a third book, let alone that it was already in paperback! An incredible read--the mystery behind trying to discover the mystery behind The Mystery of Edwin Drood--with twists that can only be called Dickensian. This book outranks The Dante Club, and puts The Poe Shadow to shame. Matthew Pearl is an incredible writer.

The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart

This is the story of a Kentucky mountain school teacher, and the challenges and victories he found as he worked in every area of education and its related disciplines of finance and politics. Semiautobiographical, this powerful book should be read by all teachers. The author later published a volume of true autobiography that covers the same period of time and comments on this books and some of the gaps in the story. Harder to find, but worth it if you liked Thread; it's called To Teach, To Love.

The Wolf and the Buffalo by Elmer Kelton. A look at the West and American race issues as we seldom see them. This book is about a Comanche warrior and a black soldier, whose paths cross as they both struggle with and against white civilization. The master of the genre creates two epic heroes whose only tragic flaw is their birth. This book will haunt me.

In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham. A tale of courage and faith, this is the greatest missionary book I have every read.

When Character Was King by Peggy Noonan. This loving look at Ronald Reagan and his presidency makes me proud to be an American.

Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein. A sci-fi about young people stranded on a strange planet and forced to survive by their own wits. Contrary to Lord of the Flies, they are able to show some self-control and establish a civilization. Great for young people.

With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. A classic devotional textbook for those who seriously desire a closer relationship with Christ.

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout. One of the first Nero Wolfe books I read, this remains with me the longest and strongest. Out of his element, the "gargantuan gourmet" with his sidekick Archie is the eccentric genius at his best. One of my favorite detective series.

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim. A scholarly companion to the Gospels. Edersheim uses his linguistic and historical knowledge to put the life of our Savior into context.

RDBowker

Education for Today and for Eternity