Theses on the Philosophy of History   Walter Benjamin
These aphorisms are, like much else of Benjamin’s, somewhat enigmatic and unfocused, but also insightful and highly intelligent. Much concerned with Marx’s historical materialism. Fascinating notion of history as memories that “flash up” at moments of danger. Benjamin shows himself to be a theoretical Marxist, not a communist. Very critical of historicism. If I were younger, I would do some analytical work on these. Very good.

The Invoice   Jonas Karlsson
Delightful, touching, humorous novel about a man who is required to pay for being happy. Clear, spare prose and a gentle sensibility made it a quick, absolute pleasure to read. Liked it very much.

On Empire: America, War, and Global Supremacy   Eric Hobsbawm
Collection of four thoughtful, very well-written, and insightful essays/lectures. The statistics on the wars of the 20^th century are staggering, especially the wars from 1914-1945, in which at least 187 million people were killed. Hobsbawm sees clearly the problematic nature of the Bush administration’s attempts to declare itself an empire and act like one. His distinctions between the British empire and American hegemony are obvious to self-evident. An excellent, stimulating, and enjoyable book.

The Emerald Lie   Ken Bruen
Another Jack Taylor novel written in Bruen’s characteristic spare, beautiful, prose. Emerald is back, Jack keeps getting beaten, literally, and everything, and everyone, is harsh at best. Plot wanders a little, loses focus, and kind of runs down. Enigmatic ending. But as usual, very enjoyable, and well worth it.

I’m Traveling Alone   Samuel Bjørk
Well-written, complexly-plotted novel about a police team trying to catch a serial killer of six-year-old girls. Interesting and believable characters, at least as far as the police are concerned. Twist just before the unjustifiably rather sweet ending, though I didn’t really mind because I liked the characters. A couple of plot tangents that were just red herrings and ended up going nowhere. Still enjoyed it, good distraction.

Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America   Annie Jacobsen
Jacobsen begins with the POV that the use of former Nazi scientists was wrong in every case, and there is no discussion of the pros and cons. She writes an exposé rather than a history, in the style of a true-crime book, though her research and documentation are pretty good. Wish she had taken a more scholarly approach. Found the accounts of the search, capture, and interrogation of the scientists very interesting. The narrative rambles and is a little unfocused, again because of the exposé approach. Veers off topic in the last few chapters, and her  prose gets overwrought. Good appendix listing “Principal Characters.” Not bad, don’t regret reading it.

Year Zero: A History of 1945   Ian Buruma
Well-written, well-organized history of the world in 1945, after the trauma of the world war. Topics include, sex, hunger, revenge, described in graphic detail, etc., and range from the defeats of Germany and Japan to the founding of the United Nations. “The scale of human misery in the aftermath of the war was so vast, and so widespread, that comparisons are almost useless.” Europe and Asia were utterly devastated in every sense. Very informative, and Buruma’s Dutch personal history and sense of irony add a lot. A very good book, really enjoyed it.

Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche   James Miller
Interesting, well researched biographies of major western philosophers. Some good analysis of their ideas as well. Don’t know that I would have included Seneca, or some of the others such as Augustine, Montaigne, Rousseau, and Emerson because it’s questionable whether they were actual philosophers, and because of a personal lack of interest. Surprising how strongly Kant was influenced by Rousseau, at least according to Miller. Interested also that he had to hide his atheism to protect his position. Always thought his philosophy was atheist. Kant’s late-life dementia, and Nietzsche’s insanity, are deeply sad. Enjoyed reading through this.