Damn, that’s some powerful writing. It would take me a while to figure out the elements, but hold on to whatever you were feeling when you replied, cause it fueled some really good stuff.
Thanks to my family’s reading, writing and conversational habits, I didn’t have a chance of fitting in at school. I grew up in a great big world, inside the walls of a tiny one-bedroom apartment on the wrong side of the tracks. As a kid, I had lots of books, a few games and no toys. My great aunt and uncle sent us dolls from every country where they worked. But books, magazines and newspapers were my favorite things. At story time, we’d crawl up beside gramma in her big rocking chair, then grampa would point to some place on the globe and gramma would take us there. Later grampa would show us pictures in books and magazines from the places that we’d travelled in gramma’s stories.
My family discussed politics, money, religion and history constantly — and loudly. When I went to my white friend’s homes, parents told their kids all kinds of stuff, but they never talked with them. I thought that was because I was there, but my friends said nope, their parents never talked with them the way my family did. I had a feeling my friends liked my family more than they liked me.
I think reading, writing, study and conversation are habits ingrained in us as children. Like my family, I’ve made daily entries in a journal since I was eight years old. Changing our habits, is like trying to quit smoking. Making me wait 5 minutes without something to read feels like torture. Give me a book and I can wait for hours. To form a new habit takes discipline, for it has to stick hard enoughm to make us uncomfortable without it.
I cannot send you cookies and a card to cheer you up or take you out for coffee and a good conversation. The best I can do, is offer you some of my favorite reads.
If you liked Zinn and Richardson, you might enjoy some Will Durant. Will and Ariel Durant’s eleven volume History of Civilization was harshly criticized by traditional historians, for having taken a cultural view of history (instead of the western view of war and all the conquering liars lies). In my estimation The Lessons of History and The Case for India were by far, the Durant’s best work. Both works are short and pointed — and so beautiful, they painted my vision of history.
If you are interested, need a pick-me-up, or a strong dose of fortitude, you can read The Case for India on-line
https://ia800403.us.archive.org/16/items/TheCaseForIndia-English-WillDurant/TheCaseForIndia_text.pdf
You can download The Lessons of History here:
https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-lessons-of-history-e174480503.html
Sabo, you sound like a romantic to me. If so, Irving Stone’s The Greek Treasure: A Biographical Novel of Henry and Sophia Schliemann is a must (it will make history swoon like a lover).
I love history, but I love culture more and cannot resist writers who teach me history with great stories. Caravans, by James Michener, offers Afghanistan before the Russians invaded and sent that beautiful and progressive country hundreds of years back in time. In case you’re interested, have a peak at this 1980 Washington Post article — James Michener: The Author and the Afghan Refugees.
Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse are so, so good. I’m reading Species right now and having the same reaction as Medium writer Indi (IOW I do not recommend it).
In all sincerity, thank you for replying to my comment. I really meant it, I was looking forward to your thoughts.
