Larry’s Comments (group member since Nov 23, 2020)

Larry’s comments from the Nonfiction Reading - Only the Best group.

Carol wrote: "I saw a picture on FB yesterday which showed Mars as having a blue sunset., whereas the colours on Earth are predominantly red and orange. Was very surprised as we always think of it there as red.
...I presume the sharks have survived all these years because they live in the ocean and so are less vulnerable to meteor hits and natural disasters, talking of which I believe Asteroid 2024 YR4 is approaching Earth in 2032 and there is a 2% chance it will hit us. "
It is interesting how some genera, say sharks and jelly fish, just last and last.

As for that asteroid, I did see some predictions that said that if it hit the Earth, then the strike would most likely be in the Southern Hemisphere. I believe that calculation is based on the direction fom which it is coming from. I suppose it's right.

Ron, take a look at these books, both by Steve Brusatte, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World and The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us.

As for science and religion, I have no problem with accepting the findings of science and believing in a Trinitarian Christianity. I am a Presbyterian Elder, who has served on examination committees to determine whether pastors who have been called by a church can be accepted into the National Capital Presbytery. If they fail the exam, then they don't get to serve as a pastor even if a church wanted them. It never happened on one the committees that I served on but it has happened.

Scientific questions, e.g. do you believe in evolution, never come up when a potential pastor is examined. (The PC-USA denomination is a fairly liberal denomination, which is one of the reasons that science is generally accepted.) But some deep theological questions do, e.g. why does the PC-USA use the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed but not the Athanasian Creed?

Here's an interesting observation. Extreme religious believers and many scientists don't accept the truths of the other side, but they seem to unite in not believing that philosophy has made some major advances in the last 100 years. In particular many physicists have made very negative statements about philosophy and evangelicals also have made their own attacks. Generally speaking I think both sides are very poorly read about philosophy and especially the academic philosophy of the last 50 years. One example iinvolves devopments in Utilitarianism theory.

Books, music, and even videos keep me sane these days.

Ron, I love this story about your nephew and the dinosaur book.

Many species of sharks are under threat from humans … as they are hunted for their fins to be used in shark fin soup. We sometimes kill the things we love, as the poet said.

Cynda, you have that exactly right about PAPYRUS. It is about the invention of books and the collection of those books … and it rambles along with one diversion after another. If you like those diversions, you’ll like the book.

Mary Beard’s book, SPQR, is one of my favorite books that works in a lot of historiography alongside the history to explain what we really know about the Roman Republic and how we know that. And then it gets into what are reasonable guesses about some other parts of the history. I know some other people like it a lot and some don’t like it very much at all. It really is essential.

I was profoundly moved by John Williams’ STONER. I do plan to get around to AUGUSTUS.

Carol, it is so good to have helpful neighbors!

Ron, reading while together at a sporting event is not at all bad. I probably went to 160 Orioles and Nationals games. At about half of those my wife would sit there reading a book … and enjoying the game in her own way. No one ever said a negative thing about that. She even liked getting to those games early for batting practice. I think she enjoyed the stadium slowly getting filled in with people.

Perfect, Cynda. I started yesterday and I’ll read and comment at your pace.

Some dates aren't so important ... the birthday of Charles Dickens is extremely important. Thank you, Carol.

Cynda wrote: "Henry Marsh does leave space for others to tell of their experiences. Yesterday I visited with my elderly parents 85 and 90. I encouraged them to do whatever it is they want to do before they die a..."

You are right about all of this, Cynda. I do like how direct Marsh is--on several occasions--about how doctors should talk with and listen to patients. He stressed on two(???) occasions that doctors should sit and not stand. When possible, this is indeed important. He talks about how important it is to leave real hope but to also be realistic. And I think he mentions how different patients and their families will react differently. I have been with my in-laws and my mother as they all died. It was a gift ... a heavy gift ... but a gift.

I was frustrated with the Kindle that I was reading this book dying when I was halfway through the book. Nothing could be done to bring it back to life. That's the second Kindle that died on me in about 15 years. It took a few minutes tro figure out where I was using my backup Kindle. The frustration came from the loss of notes. in the earlier chapters. Ugh.

I'll wrap up my own comments with a summary of a few chapters.

CHAPTER 10 - deeply philosophical about death and his own approaching death.

CH 11 a really good summary of cancer treatment … specifically technical information of the chemical treatment of prostrate cancer.

Ch. 14 He is scammed by some workmen who convince him he needs work done on the slate on his roof. He writes about trust and how patients trust or don’t trust their doctors.

Ch. 15 … hormone treatment for six months and then successful radiotherapy.

Ch.17 After his radiotherapy ends, he tries to teaching. He did not miss operating, but he did miss teaching. He had loved operating once.

He helps with how to talk with patients and their families
But he can no longer be as detached as he once was.

He decides to stay in London and not move to the cottage in Oxford .he wants to be near to his children and especially his granddaughters. He has put a lot of work into the cottage and its grounds.

Cynda wrote: "The world does change faster and faster. What will younger generations of my family experience. It is a mystery.

The statues have never bothered me, my family. Being a man who identifies variousl..."

The statues are mentioned in Chapter 17, specifically the statue of Cecil Rhodes, who was involved in pushing black people off their land. Rhodesia is named after him. I would take that statue down and most Confederate statues down as well. There are a very few Confederate leaders, e.g. John Singleton Mosby and James Longstreet, who were rehabilitated, swearing an oath of allegiance to the United States, and served the Union after the war with appointments from Grant. I can tolerate statues of those two, but I don't know where any are located. What is so wrong about the statues in general in that they were erected as part of the so-called "Lost Cause" Movement and a glorification of the Confederacy.

And I will, too. Thank you, Cynda!

"The River Po is the longest river in Italy, travelling for 650 kilometres from its source in the Alps across the entire width of the peninsula until it reaches the Adriatic Sea in the east. Flowing through 13 provinces and 180 local councils, it is a part of the national psyche, as iconic to Italy as the Thames is to England or the Mississippi to the USA.


In The Po, Tobias Jones travels the length of the river gathering its stories: its battles, crimes, characters, cuisines, histories, industries and inventions. He visits towns made famous for their sporting legacy, birthplaces of the greatest Italian writers and composers and rediscovers Italy's unusual industries and agricultures; from the marble mines of Paesana that provided the raw materials for the Renaissance to the paddy fields of risotto rice at Chivasso."

(From the GoodReads review

I'll wrap up Henry Marsh's And Finally: Matters of Life and Death in a few days and move on to this one!

Here's one bad thing Amazon tried to do ... twice in the last two years. I went to buy something (not a book) and they offered me a special deal for two ... at more than twice the price. Nope. I didn't fall for that. I bought the item ... and then bought it again, paying the same price. Strange.