The Good Stuff
Library of America and Chairman Mao
Library of America
In recent weeks I’ve purchased the two latest volumes published by the Library of America, collections by William Kennedy and Jim Thompson. I’d read one novel by Thompson, a writer of noir fiction in the 50s and 60s, but nothing by Kennedy, though I’d heard of his novel Ironweed, which won the Pulitzer Prize in the 1980s.
The LOA was launched about 30 years ago, with the purpose of assuring that the classics of American literature remain accessible, and in the beginning it published all the names you would expect – writers like Twain, Henry James, Faulkner, and so on.
As the project has gone on, LOA is increasingly publishing lesser-known writers whose work is worth preserving. A few years ago they published the complete works of Charles Portis and John Williams – they couldn’t have made better choices. They have published an extraordinary range of noir fiction, one of my favorite genres. I am unlikely to have come across David Goodis or Chester Himes or Ross MacDonald if not for their editions.
The books are printed and bound with exceptional quality; they will last for multiple generations with any care.
The best way to buy from Library of America is to visit their website – www.loa.org.
- Jack Jr.
Mao: The Unknown Story
I’ve been on a bit of a biography kick for the last few months and my current project is a revisionist take on Mao Tse Tung. Mao: The Unknown Story is not flattering to its subject. The wife and husband team of Jung Chang and Jon Halliday Cleary did an enormous amount of research, including interviewing many of the remaining original CCP leaders in the 80’s and 90’s, publishing this book in 2006.
It has been extremely helpful for me to understand the origins of the CCP and its intimate connection and collaboration with Stalin and the Soviets. Mao seems to have had no real ideology or convictions save one: That he was a unique individual who deserved to have control over others. This is a tough book, not because it’s dense but because Mao’s rise involved more completely avoidable suffering than anything I’ve read before. In many, perhaps most cases, this suffering didn’t result from unintended consequences but rather were deliberate choices on Mao’s part to acquire and consolidate power. Still, it’s the sort of book I’m glad I’m reading, because the unpleasant parts of history are often the most important ones to remember.
- Jack III
Jack Jr.’s new book, Becoming Yourself: A Perspective on Christian Character is now in print. You can order your copy HERE at our website
I, too, have four different LOA collections in my library and they are beautifully published. I don't like to be on "junk email" lists but their mailing list is worth being on - their marketing emails always include bonus stories, good information, and new offerings to consider. Regarding the Mao biography, that's an interesting recommendation - I would have imagined it almost impossible for anyone to get enough source material on a subject like Mao to make for a truly revelatory vs. speculative work. Thanks to both of you for Matter at Hand!