[books 2011] The Many-Headed Hydra

23. The Many-Headed Hydra - Sailors, Slaves, Commoners and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker

I finished this before I went on holiday but didn't have time to write it up.

This book is about (among other things) how some of the more radical ideas cooked up in the British Civil War (which were largely sold out as Cromwell established his power base) were taken to the New World by a collection of sailors, slaves, pirates, labourers, and indentured servants, including women. These ideas became the basis for the American revolution as well as more slave revolts than I can count. However, by the time of the actual Revolution, the likes of George Washington and Tom Paine were deeply suspicious of the lower classes, so this story got written out of history.

The book starts with the increasing enclosures and loss of the commons in the Tudor era, which were still a major issue by the time of the Civil War, and how the rise of capitalism and wage labour depends on the appropriation of the commons. Along the way it touches upon piracy in the Atlantic world, the multi-racial makeup of the English navy, indentured servitude (or, why I know Niall Ferguson is Not Even Wrong) and the real historical basis for Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Once again, I'm not doing it justice. It's fascinating, if somewhat information- and concept-dense, but is more than worth the effort it requires.

It's a must-read for anyone who cares about the people who get written out of history.

[books 2011] Ray Bradbury and Barbara Kingsolver

24. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

This was part of the haul of books I bought around Hallowe'en because of Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill. The last time I read it, I was younger than the protagonists in the book. This time I read most of it on the plane on the way to the US.

One seriously scary book, beautifully written. Nothing creepier than Midwestern Gothic. Go read it. Now.


25. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Given that The Poisonwood Bible is one of my all-time favourite books, it's pretty bad that it's taken me this long to get round to reading the "new" one.

It's the story of half-Mexican, half-American Harrison Shepherd, whose mother takes him from his American home to Mexico when he is 12. He eventually ends up working for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and becomes personal secretary to Leon Trotsky when he is exiled in the Rivera household. He blames himself for Trotsky's assassination and goes back to the States, where he becomes a successful author. Until he comes to the attention McCarthyite communist witch hunts.

While I didn't love it as much as The Poisonwood Bible and it's a little slow to start, it's very good indeed and I ripped through the last half of it (which is a lot of book) in two days.