To Conquer the Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight, by James Tobin. A narrative history of the early pioneers of heavier-than-air flight, particularly the Wright Brothers and Samuel Langley. Not as memorable as it could have been, but I still found it worthwhile, though perhaps not for the reason one might expect. Looking back after several months, my main recollection is the book’s insight into the creative/entrepreneurial process. Getting one’s own hands dirty matters! So do patience, determination, hard work, and the lesson that it is better to start on a shoestring budget and scale up (as the Wrights did) than to require extensive funding (as Langley, the director of the Smithsonian, did).
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque; translated by Arthur Wesley Wheen. This is one of those titles that is deservedly a classic. Short (304 pages in print, per Amazon) and effective, it conveys (a) the horror of the First World War, (b) the way it shattered the hopes of a generation, and (c) the incomprehension and alienation that can divide those who’ve seen war, and those who have not. Even its lighter moments are tinged with sadness, as we know it won’t be long before its protagonists return to the trenches. A book that should, perhaps, be read by every voter – and every policymaker.
A Pioneer in Yokohama: A Dutchman’s Adventures in the New Treaty Port, by C. T. Assendelft de Coningh; translated by Martha Chaiklin. An extract from the memoirs of a man who lived in Japan first for three months in 1851, and then during one of the most pivotal and intriguing periods in that country’s history: the years from 1859 to 1861, after she forcibly opened her doors to the West. I cannot praise it highly enough: witty, evocative, and fluidly translated, it is a must-read for anyone interested in the subject. (And interestingly, many of the issues that confronted the author – such as fear of terrorism, the difficulty of finding somewhere to stay in a frontier boom town, and life amongst the adventurers who flock to frontier boom towns – sound very familiar in 2013!)
The Rise and Fall of the British Empire, by Lawrence James. Despite this book’s vast size (720 pages in print, per Amazon), it’s really an overview of its equally vast subject: the British Empire from 1600 to the present day, 1993. But what a splendid overview it is, extending beyond the visible part of empire (lines on a map, marching armies) to the attitudes and institutions that underpinned it. Sharply written, and occasionally leavened with bone-dry wit, I found it both readable and fascinating. Another recommended read.