Avatars of the Word
James O'Donnell
Harvard University Press
James O'Donnell belongs to that small clique of academic humanists who not
only believe that dead guys are relevant, and that history has something to
teach us about the present, but who go out of their way to make history relevant,
even trendy.
His new book, "Avatars of the Word," is based on the cunning premise
that massive upheavals in the technology of communication (such as the Internet)
have happened before. In it, he makes a bold attempt to use his knowledge of
late antique history to give some perspective on our blossoming cyber-culture,
and to use his command of net-speak to breathe some new life into his dissertation
topic.
Unfortunately, the results are somewhat less than revolutionary. O'Donnell
is a trendy academic, and his diction never rises above that fact. He also (in
an attempt to be more informal) fails to give his book a simple thesis or argument,
preferring instead to call it a series of "musings." The result is a mishmash
that ranges from the occasionally intriguing to the blatantly irrelevant.
The
book is at its best when it sticks to the premise. It is quite interesting to
learn, for example, that the late Roman empire witnessed an upgrade from the
rolled papyrus scrolls of old to bound manuscripts-- an advance in referencing
and "nonlinear access" comparable to the advantages of World-Cat versus cabinets
of cards. Less to the point are his discussions of Saint Augustine's popular
image or an extended literary analysis of an obscure letter by Plato. And his
axe-grinding chapter on the need to reform the liberal arts curriculum, as well
as his instructions to fellow professors on how to teach, are not only out of
place, but actively grating.
"Avatars of the Word" appears in both traditional
manuscript and html formats. The Web version (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/avatars)
features a few color slides of black and white plates from the book, as well
as links to his class syllabus and to a database of medieval source materials.
Both avatars of "Avatars" bear witness to the advantages and flaws of the World
Wide Web as a medium for publication: unlimited opportunity for personal expression
at the expense of constraints on quality, pertinence and focus.
-Katherine Nagel
Demonic Males: Apes and
the Origins of Human Violence
Richard Wrangham and
Dale Peterson
Houghton Mifflin
Popularized science can often be a disaster. Two terrible things tend to happen
when the academy attempts to present the fruits of its labor to the rest of
us, the teeming unwashed masses of the scientifically illiterate. First, the
material can be presented in such a cloyingly condescending way that most of
those who had any real curiosity about the topic are effectively turned off.
Second, the material can be so wrapped up in complicated science wizard-talk
that its subject is utterly obscured.
"Demonic Males" dodges the traditional
snares, while pursuing the roots of human violence. Authors Richard Wrangham
and Dale Peterson lay down the building blocks of their argument with skill
and eloquence, and, despite Wrangham's Harvard credentials, Demonic Males remains
largely free of aggressively bewildering jargon. Wrangham and Peterson also
steer clear of boiling violence down to either genetics or upbringing, going
so far as to analyze the origins of the flawed "nature vs. nurture" simplification
of primate and human behavior patterns. Instead, the authors present lucidly
analyzed accounts of primate behavior and analogous (or contrasting) actions
among humans, concentrating specifically on patterns of male violence. From
rape, to murder, to chimpanzee raiding parties and intra-group politics, the
authors span the range of male brutality as it is found among humans and their
close cousins.
"Demonic Males" also covers a number of the touchstones of traditional
anthropology (Margaret Mead amongst the Samoans and Napolean Chagnon's study
of the Yanomamo people of the Amazon, for starters), but puts them into the
greater context of mankind emerging from a genetic heritage that includes the
infanticide committed by gorilla males and the brutal warfare of chimpanzees.
Traditional ideas about both the savagery and nobility of "primitive" mankind
are put into line with modern warfare and violence among primates. Clearly written,
compellingly argued and well-constructed, "Demonic Males" is a solid hit. Chalk
up another triumph for the explainers of the arcane. So, as either Professor
Wrangham or Mr. Peterson may very well be fond of saying: "Get your hands OFF
of me, and ONTO this book, you damn dirty ape."
-
James Norton
(jrnorton@students.wisc.edu)
Tough Jews: Fathers,
Sons, and Gangster Dreams
Rich Cohen
Simon and Schuster
Emerging from a past bound in pogroms and harsh laws of segregation, Jews coming
to America at the turn of the century discovered that they finally had it as
good as everyone else. Unfortunately, this was qualified to mean "as good as
everyone else in the ghettos of New York." This meant that many a lad found
himself turning to a life of violent crime in order to survive the mean streets.
"Tough Jews" starts with the 1920s rise and fall of Arnold Rothstein, the original
modern, style-conscious wiseguy. From there, the book looks at Jewish mobsters
ranging from almost approachable local color like Abbadabba Berman and Tick-Tock
Tannenbaum to murderous muscle-for-hire like Abraham "Kid Twist" Reles and the
deadly Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss, who helped turn a group of Brooklyn
street punks into the infamous gang of contract killers known as "Murder Inc."
With gripping anecdotes, historically appropriate dialogue and a talent for
juggling multiple stories, author Rich Cohen paints a picture of a New York
that few modern people could imagine. The streets of Brooklyn run with blood,
and the triggermen aren't Italian, or Irish; they're Jewish, and they're as
mean (or meaner) than the opposition. "Tough Jews" is a book built more as a
collection of stories than strict history, and many of its finest moments are
personal anecdotes like the story of Meyer Lansky recalling the pogroms in his
hometown of Grodno, Poland. At one point, one of Lansky's neighbors makes a
speech that shapes the path of the remainder of his life. "Jews," the man shouted,
"Why do you just stand around like stupid sheep and let them come and kill you,
steal your money, kill your sons and rape your daughters? Aren't you ashamed?
You must stand up and fight. You are men like other men. A Jew can fight."
Considering
the gravity of the book's topic, Cohen tends to stray a little toward the light
side; at times, the death-dealing rampages of Murder Inc. come off romantically,
and the book occasionally lapses into a wistful nostalgia inappropriate to the
brutal criminals portrayed in its pages. What Cohen does pull off, however,
is a convincing and detailed whirlwind tour through a world from the past.
The delis, diners, candy shops and corners of Brooklyn emerge from archives
and stories told by the author's father, a participant in a sort of clubhouse
gang that emulated (in dress and lingo only) the Jewish gangsters that had proceeded
them.
"Tough Jews," is an amicable collection of stories, and drops another
facet into the ever-evolving history of Jewish identity: the Jew as crime-savvy
mobster, afraid of no one and a king of the streets. Personal, surprising, and
an easy read, "Tough Jews" is a worthwhile dip into an underworld that is both
familiar and chillingly new.
-James Norton
(jrnorton@students.wisc.edu)
(this review also available via The Digital
Cardinal)
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