Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling

My previous experience with the Jungle Book was the Disney movie, which I admit I enjoyed. Kipling's take was a bit deeper, I have to say. The moralistic stories discuss acceptance, learning, role in society, and bravery. Characters are loved for who they are, but at the same time their innate differences (especially in Mowgli's case) still drive them apart in the end. The Jungle Book makes me want to explore India, see for myself the "rule of the jungle." The allegory of the empire is strong, although only slightly critical, and there is a definite favor for the "innate right" of the conquerers. That being said, you can tell Kipling loved India.

Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940: How Americans Lived Through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression - David E. Kyvig

This is an interesting history that focuses more on the effects of new technology development and social change of different groups of 'everyman' than on the driving forces behind the history of this tumultuous time. It attempts to sound objective; however, there's a definite progressive slant and very little critique on things that were obvious failings. Every new development is assumed to be an advance from the past (and some definitely were), but this book doesn't discuss in enough detail the long-term effects these decisions had on American culture and way of life. That being said, my timing of reading this book during the current "economic downturn" has certainly given me new perspective on some of the present policy decisions and their potential implications for the future. While government guidelines/regulations and guarantees may help restore customer faith in independent enterprise, indiscriminate government spending (and commercial interest involvement in Washington) has historically not boded well or been effective in economic turn-around.

The Legends of King Arthur and his Knights - Sir James Knowles

Interesting. I've always loved Arthurian legends (knights and adventure and doomed romance), and this version is both fun to read and boring at the same time. It's very medieval both on its focus on religion and the Grail, and completely ignores the more political aspects of the Arthurian stories. The characters are caricatures as well, yet I think the strength of this group of stories lies instead on the insights you can gain into the time period of the author than the subject matter itself.