I recently reread this book, for the fourth time, I believe, and an edition signed by Barbara Tuchman given me by Scott some near five weeks ago now. It is one of my favorite books, more so now than even when I first read it, back in 1985 or so. Her description of the folly, pride, and dismal conclusion of the ‘calamitous fourteenth century’ is more apt than ever, now that our own new century is leading us into the same grim playground of history.

I should take the time to point out the food crisis, the energy crisis, the crisis at large, the score of military crises, the crisis of confidence afflicting nearly every society on the globe? yes, the world has always had crisis, but the ones we face are particularly dangerous in that they threaten to undo everything accomplished since 1800 . . . perhaps more.

We will be lucky to forge our way through it in America in one piece. So much luck can’t be said of the rest of the world.

the phantom tollbooth, by norton juster, illustrations by jules feiffer, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

the reading reptile, the world’s best children’s bookstore so far as i know, was so incredibly kind as to give sparrow, for her birth, a copy of this book signed by juster and feiffer, who appeared at the reptile while we were still in the hospital with our little reptile. we’d wanted to go, but the timing was not propitious. by the time she can read it, i daresay one or the other of these folks will not be with us any longer, so we are happy to have this little bit of them for her to see.

Mark Helprin - Winter’s Tale, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

i re-read winter’s tale also, just finishing it yesterday. this is about the fourth time i’ve gone through it, and it has repaid me every time.

in brief, it is a novel of magic realism from 1983. i can’t add more to a short review than what you’ll find in wikipedia, but i will say that since it is set in a “future” new york of 2000 (and 1900 and 1914 and +-1995)–a new york that resembled 1985 a lot more than what the “future” really was–it makes a curious read, but still apropos, in a post 9-11 milieu.

i highly recommend it.

landing is mine again, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

scott kindly brought me an autographed copy of barbara tuchman’s a distant mirror: the calamitous 14th century. always a favorite book of mine–i can’t guess how many times i’ve read it before–i’ll be reading it again very shortly now.

a curious sort of ‘congratulations on your new daughter’s birth!’ sort of gift, which he pointed out. but considering, i think it’s apt.

de coucy the dog was named after enguerrend de coucy vii, whose career tuchman followed in this book.