The Great, By Richard Bausch

In the short book of “No Heroes, No Villains” by Steven Phillips On June 28, 1972, a Transit Authority patrolman, John Skagen, was on his way home from testifying at court for an arrest he made a couple of weeks prior. Skagen was taking the train home to the Bronx when he saw and stopped James Richardson who was awaiting the subway train which would take him to work at Lincoln Hospital. Skagen ordered him to “put up your hands, and get against the wall”. Skagen’s actions seem unprovoked and unnecessary. After a short tussle the two men exchanged shots and Richardson fled the scene on foot. Two other officers that were on the main street above the subway station rushed to the scene.

In 1872, John Gast created a masterpiece that not only exemplified what American society was like, but global advancement as well. This artwork, rightfully titled “American Progress” is a clear display of the journey Americans were taking in attempt to civilize the world to their standards, what would become known as the White Man’s burden. While we continue to call it a burden, it seemed anything but to those on the “civilized” side of it. “American Progress” shows the joy of bringing enlightenment to those believed to be in need of help. Despite being labeled as a strenuous responsibility, fulfilling the White Man’s burden was something powerful countries enjoyed and by accomplishing this onus they themselves created, they are seen as the more powerful and therefor developed members of society.

Jared Diamond is a world renowned scientist, author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and currently a geography professor at UCLA. Of his six books published, we will be looking at the last chapter of his fourth book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. In this book Diamond utilizes the comparative method to find resemblance in past societal collapses with our current society. In the chapter entitled, "The World as Polder: What Does it Mean to Us Today," Diamond points out that there are indeed many parallels between past and present societies and that our modern day society is currently on a path of self destruction , through examples such as globalization and the interdependency of each country.

The book I read for my Political Science class was In God's Underground, by Richard Wurmbrand.

Guy Vanderhaeghe’s The Last Crossing is a Western of subtly crossed borders. Vanderhaeghe elicits a sense of blurred lines between opposites, giving the illusion that boundaries are not so statically fixed. The historical figure Jerry Potts illustrates that the division between Indigenous and white is not so easily distinguished by ways of appearances, languages, and relations. The lines of health and illness intertwine as the reader follows Addington’s syphilis, Custis’ mystery ailment, and the Indigenous peoples’ struggle with smallpox. Justice, punishment, and the law become subjective in the novel with regards to Madge’s death, Addington’s military massacre, and Indigenous resistance against unfair treatment. Distinctions between

Howard Thurman removes the window dressing in the African American experience of segregation in America. Thurman in his book, “The Luminous Darkness” paints an obscure portrait that delved deep into the consciousness of Black men, women and children freshly freed from chattel slavery. Two hundred years of slavery and one hundred years of darkness seeping into each soul perpetuated by an evil explained only through the Word of God. Although this book was published in the 60’s, the stigma segregation continues resonate in the souls of those who remember and perhaps even in the souls of those who do not.

Social change comes from a societies understanding and acceptance of controversial topics, laws that enforce social norms and the politics that play a role in such change. The author Gerald Rosenberg of “The Hollow Hope” believes that the Supreme Court is able to bring about social change. Rosenburg main argument seemed to be questioning if a courts ruling that had once been accepted and had standing for several years were to be over turned, would the environment outside of the courtroom suddenly change and be accepting of their division.

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol was incredibly strange to me. That is not to say that I did not enjoy it. Really, I am just unsure of how I feel about it because it was so strange that I do not know how to wrap my mind around it. I did enjoy how whimsical and silly it was, though. I was not sure what to expect from this story, but it certainly was not what I experienced.

Ernest Holmes addresses a trepidation we may have when giving: our resources will be temporarily depleted. It is common sense that the more we give, the less we have; but there is a principle at work which defies common sense, because the appearance of loss and lack is deceptive. Once we have sown a seed our hands are empty, but the soil is full and soon we will have our hands full with the harvest of that seed. If we had held onto that seed, there would be no harvest and we would eventually be empty-handed. However, giving in a principled manner does not incur a loss, but gains. Giving, as a matter of principle, is the difference between gaining more or having less. Of course, if we go through the motions of giving — appearing to give, but actually throwing money away in an unprincipled manner, then we have simply wasted our time, and our treasure. Not every seed sown, grows; some fall on hard, stony ground and never take root. Not every prayer is heard and answered; some fall on deaf ears — our own. Having ears, we hear not. Having eyes, we see not. And having our hands full, we give not. It is a shame, because we could give, have and enjoy more.

Rome is known for its’ empire (The Roman Empire). Rome started out small and ended up becoming this huge and undefeatable force of nature. Rome received their success by either attacking other nearby towns/neighbors or granting them treaties or citizenships. E. Badien, the author who created an article called, The Organization Of Italy, explains how Rome organized Italy, and got their neighboring cities and nations to join them and turn ancient Italy into a leading state of power. In Badien’s observations, he finds that granting citizenship and the Latin’s helped Rome to become powerful and assisting Italy to be more structured.

In the book Revolutionary Characters by Gordan Wood, the degree in which he portrays the personality and personal philosophies that informed the politics of these early American leaders, especially Thomas Jefferson, shows that contrary to popular belief that these men were not some unflawed perfect beings, but they are just like us with their many fears and insecurities. These flaws appear in all of the founding fathers and this adds a level of realism to them. It also shows that flaws are a part of human nature.

Ambrose Bierce was known as the “mist of light”. His stories were usually centered on civil war. It was usually a horror or supernatural story, but it could be a comic or tall-tale as well. Bierce’s “Chickamauga” is nothing short of a horror story. This story is known as one of the most powerful anti-war stories, and fits in with the literary criticism New Historicism. It is about a young boy around the age of 6 years, whose father had fought in the Civil War. We later find out that the young boy is deaf and mute. This, and him being only 6 years of age, causes him to be naïve about the things he sees in the forest one day when he gets lost.

This book review is on Guns, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond. The book was very interesting but a lot of the information could have been cut because it’s a bit too long. Jared Diamond is a scientist, not a historian and he’s American. He upset many historians around the world by the way he bashes Europeans. However, he did win a Pulitzer Prize for the book so that says something.

Many of the stories that have been told for centuries, or have recently been created, incorporate the story of a young innocent character who embarks on a journey and becomes a hero, known as The Hero’s Journey; a series of steps that all heroes follow. This journey not only shows the main character becoming a hero but also shows the hero move along a path similar to that of adolescence, the path between childhood and maturity. The Hero’s Journey was created by a man by the name of Joseph Campbell. He wrote a book called The Hero with One Thousand Faces, a novel containing a variety of stories that follow the steps of the Hero’s Journey. One famous creation that follows The Hero’s Journey is the science fiction

Watchmen by Alan Moore and David Gibbons makes many comments on the good and evil of humanity. The heroes in the book are very human and thus are very flawed. Most of the time, it is hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Quite frankly, the heroes themselves are relatively bad people and show the inner darkness that humans possess. However, there still seems to be a representation of the good in people. In this panel, there are many aspects that draw on the idea of the evil and good of humanity. This panel is able to capture so much of the story at once and it also presents the reality of what Veidt did. Even more so than the destruction caused, it is the images of the two Bernies, the “Black Freight” magazine, and representation