Jeffery Harvey

Just finished this book for the second time...my did I get much more out of it this time than when I was 17 years old!

Still continually amazed at the level to which Faulkner can immerse himself into a literary character. I made the comment in a book club that his treatment of Benjy, Quentin (son), and Jason was like an actor preparing for a movie role. There was very little, if any, stylistic carry-over from one section to the next, which made the reader feel like he/she was in the head of the individual narrating that particular section.

This time, I picked up more on the racial themes as well as the struggles states like Mississippi had in the generation following the Civil War. I especially liked how the part of the Compson family that tended to side with Jason (father) - i.e. Quentin (son), Caddy, and Quentin (C's daughter) - were ultimately set free from the deteriorating family through death or relocation. Jason (son) and Caroline (i.e. the Bascomb side) were left to continue deteriorating into obscurity. Benjy was simply caught in the middle with no choice but to watch it happen.

Again, great book. I would not change the five-star rating. My only qualm with it was the jarring transition to third person narration in the Dilsey section. I wish it would have stayed in first person...I just grew too attached to the first person upon this reading. Still, though, an excellent read and re-read.

This was the first biography I had read in years. It did not disappoint. Chernow's writing offered a connection with the subject, and he made Grant seem like someone who would sit next to you in the quiet corner of a library and narrate some of his more harrowing experiences. I appreciated the detailed exploration of more than just his Civil War and Presidency periods. The chapters discussing the Mexican War and his travels abroad following his presidency were interesting and worthy inclusions.

While any biography of Grant would be incomplete without reference to his drinking, Chernow takes an almost obsessed approach to highlighting Grant's triumph over the vice, and he uses the alcohol rumors to nearly vilify Grant's opponents. The tone of the drinking refrains grew more didactic and gruff as the narrative progressed. In some instances, the return to drinking stories jarred the flow of the tale.

I came across Jackall's Moral Mazes as a citation in a research article discussing the use of discourse in management. From that standpoint, I tend to agree with what I read somewhere that one of the key findings of Jackall's text is the manager's role in manipulating symbols.

I was interested in this piece at the start, but that interest turned into a sort of morbid curiosity. I've read texts where the author took a contrarian position and wrote with a pessimistic or overly didactic tone. Moral Mazes was not that. Jackall writes with what I can only call bemusement at the lengths to which managers in a bureaucracy will go to protect themselves and their confidants. I was taken aback at that stance, not in a bad way, but in such a way that I became interested in what Jackall would write next.

I take note of the original publication (though I read a re-issued edition) and the cultural tenor of that era. Jackall does not shy away from having "the pretty secretary" as a perk of upper-level management, and similarly, even though he will often acknowledge men and women in management roles, he clearly acquiesces to the majority of management roles being filled by men at that time as somehow "right." There's a passage where he writes about "ozone depletion theory" in skeptical terms, clearly as was likely the case with his subjects. Ultimately, while the text is a study of the "moral rules-in-use" (to use something akin to Jackall's own words) in corporations and Jackall keeps the content presumably accurate to his data, it reads like a study of bureaucracy commissions by an in-control bureaucracy somewhere behind the scenes.

With all of that said, I am considering using the introduction and first chapter as well as the author's note at the end of the text in a qualitative research course. I appreciated the narrative constructed from 140+ interviews with managers, and I thought Jackall did an acceptable job of describing his data collection. Students often can't make sense of how qualitative data collection can transpire across a multi-year period, and this book is an example of that.

I'm glad I stuck with it and read this one. I can't say that I'd recommend it in its entirety to many, but this one has its place.

I have been intrigued by the stories of Jesus ("gospels") that do not appear in the Bible, not because I'm looking for some sort of schism in the church or trying to stoke any type of controversy. Rather, they purport to tell more of the story of Jesus and his teachings - that's intriguing. I don't consider myself a Biblical scholar by any stretch, but I appreciated the tone that Mattison took with his translation and the explanation for it. He, too, was not looking for any type of "grand conspiracy" for not including Mary's gospel in the Bible. He looked for parallels with Biblical material and approached the piece as a means of offering additional clarity (or, at least...depth) to one's understanding of the teachings of Jesus.

I read the piece as having three main themes: being an authentic human, the beauty of the mind we authentic humans have, and confronting personal demons. I'm reaching a bit with that last one because, admittedly, I had trouble following the passages about the ascension of the soul (and its confronting seven powers). Mattison's explanations (and citations of others who have transcribed the work) were very helpful here. I lean toward the allegorical approach taken by some of the cited scholars, but as Mattison suggests, interpretations can only be partial until more of the manuscript surfaces.

Mattison points us toward a focus on what is eternal (versus what is temporary - i.e., physical existence) in the beginning of the text. I find that message to be very consistent with Biblical material and, dare I say, a helpful spin on it. I also find my second noted theme, the beauty of the mind, to be an acknowledgement that human minds are what perceive the divine while physically existing. Perhaps that a bit of a challenge to the notion of the soul as perceiving the divine (or even the heart), but again, one's mind is what helps her/his soul to navigate the physical world, so why wouldn't it be what would see (and interpret) visions?

As personal commentary, I take no issue with Jesus having had female followers/disciples, and I don't have an issue with one of those women writing down their experiences with Jesus. (I acknowledge the debate about which Mary is the actual author of this text, though I tend to agree with scholars that it is likely Mary Magdalene.) I also appreciate the depiction of the other disciples in this writing. Yes, they bicker and they challenge Mary's tale (perhaps unnecessarily vigorously), but the writing shows them as people dealing with radical (for the time), paradigm-shifting teaching, just as they had for the entirety of the time they followed Jesus. It seems natural for their to be disagreements between groups, even bickering. It also paints a consistent picture of Peter if we remember that he was one who took extra convincing concerning many of Jesus's lessons.

In summary, this translation is a quick, easy and informative read. I found it hopeful and thought-provoking. I won't recommend all read it, but if you have a curiosity about the "extra gospels," then this translation is an useful overview of Mary's "gospel."

As with any collection of devotionals, some will land and others will miss. I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of reflection prompted by many of these writings. I found them introspective and challenging, which for me, is a welcome change from the overt and blind praise offered by many devotions. These certainly were praiseful of God and the newborn babe, but they shifted the focus to what it means to follow Jesus. It was a call to incorporate faith into one's life - going far beyond asking for prayers on social media or lashing out at whatever the dominant (and modern) powers suggest should be an object worthy of Christian faith.