Now For Something Completely Different

During his State of the City Address the Honorable Mayor announced the reopening of the four closed branch libraries. Since he is so interested in the literary, I thought it would be fun to discuss books. For example, my favorites. This posting will deal with five novels I find to be valuable. The first three are political. Whenever someone wants to understand our political system, I recommend these three. ADVISE AND CONSENT by Allen Drury published in 1959. It won a Pulitzer. The plot is based on a real scandal and works around a presidential appointment facing the advice and consent of the senate, the backroom deals, the nasty behavior. Then there is THE LAST HURRAH by Edwin O'Connor published in 1956. The plot involves the last election of an aging Irish politico in a city like Boston. The hero is based on James Michael Curley (either you loved him or hated him); it is a good picture immigrant politics. My favorite scene is election night. The returns are coming in and suddenly Our Hero notices one district is not reporting like it should; that's the beginning of the end. The third ALL THE KING'S MEN by Robert Penn Warren. Published in 1946, this novel also won a Pulitzer Prize. The hero of this novel is based on Hughy Long. A good. well meaning man becomes a political tyrant. The Long clan did a hellva lot of damage to Louisiana. The next two are war books; how men react to war. THE CRUEL SEA by Nicholas Monsarrat is about he British navy during World War II. The main characters are the crew of the HMS Compass Rose, a convoy ship. Probably the most dramatic part of the novel is when the Compass Rose is struck by a U-Boat and how members of the crew react. One sailor commits murder to get a seat on a lifeboat, another commits suicide to give up his seat. The final novel is THE CAINE MUTINY by Herman Wouk and published in 1951 (also a Pulitizer winner) . The mutiny was not crazed sailors running about with a cutless here and there. It was legalistic decision that brought about a court marshal (also a great part of the book). The mutiny was Mr. Maryk telling Captian Queeg he no longer had authority on the bridge. Soo, I'll be back with my favorite five, "fun," reads. Enjoy this lovely weather.