A Kingdom Strange--The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, James Horn

   As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm doing research into the beginning of the English colonies in America. I came up with A Kingdom Strange--The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. I found this book to be pretty useful and easy to read. You can find it on Amazon.com.

A lot of the other literature on these events made it difficult for me to make a clear timeline. Fortunately, Horn does include a fairly straight forward timeline towards the end of the book. I would have liked it if he had included months and days when those details were known. But he didn't. Again, it's better than the other sources I have found.

Oddly enough, in the beginning I believe Horn spells Sir Raleigh's name right, and then starts to call him Ralegh. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he always spelt the name wrong. What a goof, though. Did he not have an editor or proofreader?

The Birth of the Nation, Mrs. Roger A. Pryor

The Birth of the Nation is certainly not the type of book I would normally read: a history about the beginning of the English colonization of Virginia and the United States. However, I have a project to write a shortened version of the establishment of the United States. Gutenberg.org had this volume and so I read it as speedily as I could.

Inside there is a tale of drama and death. Topics like Pocahontas and her romance with Captain John Smith are explained.

The book is not written in a clearly chronological order. Some dates are given. But they are not always clear when the story shifts, which has made using it for research something of a challenge. But there are some nice descriptions within which definitely give the reader an idea of how hard life was, and how hard the people trying to settle Jamestown were.

Pryor writes, "After Lord Delaware landed with his accessions to the colony, 900 persons had been sent from England to Virginia, of whom 700 had perished.(292) In 1619 it was estimated that 2540 immigrants had landed at Jamestown, of whom 1640 had died." That is the hell of a mortality rate.

The men who were sent were greedy, violent, and lazy, to name just a few of their attributes. If not for Pocahontas, I find it somewhat likely that the precarious hold onto this piece of land might have been lost. Although, no doubt England would have established posts with or without Jamestown. She wasn't about to give up.

The Mind Games Women Play on Men, Tonya Love

"The Mind Games Women Play on Men" by Tonya Love was free for awhile on Amazon.com. Tonya Love is the author of the classic, "The 20 Types Of Bitches In The World." Now "The Mind Games Women Play on Men" is selling for $3.99.

This ebook is rather short. As such, each subtopic that Love brings up is poorly developed.

I don't know if Tonya Love is a male or female. I'm kind of on the fence here. My first impression is that it reads a bit misogynistically. On the other, some women are misogynistic. Regardless, when using the pronoun to refer to the writer, I'll assume that the writer is female.

There is one couple which she uses repeatedly throughout several of the subtopics as an example to help each of her theories. There are a few contradictions here: in one chapter, the man asks his woman (who manipulates him all the time with sex and other tools) to marry him every year, and she turns him down. Then Love writes that "She also knew that if she was married to him, the house would be half hers and he couldn't make her leave it anymore! So she would bait him with, 'We have been married together for six years, and still you haven't married me.' So which is it? Is he asking, then she says no, and complains that they're not married? Wow, if she's like that then she's really into creating drama over nothing. Be grateful, whatever guy Tonya Love is basing her narrative on, that the lady never said yes. She's deadly poison.

In any case, the type of woman she describes seems based on a kind of trashy person one might want to avoid altogether. I have this urge to suggest that the 'house' she refers to that the couple share when they're together is in fact a trailer in a park somewhere.

Tonya Love didn't bother with a proofreader, and it shows. There are a lot of grammatical errors, wrong words, "your/you're" issues, and more. But, it does not detract from what she's trying to get across.

I think that the writer believes that all women play these games. I do think that the author is a woman, and no I don't think she's misogynistic. The last lines of her book are, "Those who play together, stay together." So clearly she thinks that games are normal for relationships. This may be true, particularly for her and her circles. Perhaps this is fairly normal for the American woman or other women, but very few of the games she refers to am I familiar with. I am 41, and have had six major relationships lasting 2 or more months, with the last 4 lasting for 4 years or more. There are some games, but not the ones she has talked about.

Why did I get this book? Well, I thought it might be a bit more amusing or offer some interesting insights into some types of relationships. I got something out of it. I was amused. It's short enough that I made it to the end and didn't waste too much time on it. 

Is it worth $3.99? I'll go with no.

My Path to Atheism, Annie Besant

This is the second nonfiction book I have read on atheism. I am an atheist, for numerous reasons. So, the topic is of interest to me. The book was published in 1885. I cannot help but wonder at how a woman, so far back in time, could have had the courage to question a patriarchal society that was often violent against such questioning and doubt. Therefore, I knew immediately that I was reading the work of an early feminist. My Path to Atheism is available for free on Gutenberg.org.

My guess hit the mark. According to Wikipedia, Annie Besant devoted her life to many worthy causes: the emancipation of women and India, not to mention the freedom to disbelieve in the popular Christian cults. However, it is also noted that she believed her son "was the new Messiah and incarnation of Buddha." However, her son refuted these claims. Perhaps the declaration was a fiction meant to discredit Besant, which makes perfectly good sense considering it came about as she toured the US, lecturing.

"On the Deity of Jesus of Nazareth"

"A thorough knowledge of the Bible is the groundwork of heresy."

Annie Besant offers some solid arguments through literary analysis of the Bible, both old and new. She argues that Jesus could not fulfill the predicted messiah as a god, since it was not a god that was predicted as a messiah. Another interesting feature is her argument that his miracles were not nearly as profound as those of the ones before him. Raising the dead was done by Elijah and Elisha; Moses healed lepers, among others.

In Besant's essay, "A Comparison Between the Fourth Gospel and the Three Synoptics," Jesus is often referenced in a very favorable light (though not as a deity or half god). By example, she describes Jesus as, "...the tenderest, gentlest, widest-hearted man  who has yet graced humanity." She seems not to be saying that there is no god to worship. Merely she states that Jesus is not that god, not a half god, and never claimed to be anything other than a teacher about god. There is some excellent analyses of the Bible in relation to the question. She also refers to god reverentially, as a being of love. She leaves off the essay, mentioning 'the sacred memory of Jesus of Nazareth... an insult to Almighty God. Thus far, I do not feel connected to Besant's claim to atheism.

"On the Mediation and Salvation of Ecclesiastical Christianity"

Again, I cannot see how Besant relates her interpretation of the Bible to that of atheism. She repeatedly shows her belief in an all loving god rather than an absence of god. She points out some flaws in the basic tenants of a god who holds salvation behind a belief in Jesus as a savior. She argues that salvation comes directly from god rather than Jesus.

"On Eternal Torture"

This essay is interesting enough, but again, Besant takes a standpoint that's reflective of someone who is a theist, not an atheist.

That said, she brings out the conflict of a so called loving god who commits unbelievers to eternal damnation and torture. She quotes a Catholic priest who is teaching children about Hell:

"How will your body be when the devil has been striking it every moment for a hundred million years without stopping?" A girl of eighteen is described as dressed in fire; "she wears a bonnet of fire. It is pressed down all over her head; it burns down her head; it burns into the skull; it scorches the bone of the skull and makes it smoke." A boy is boiled: "Listen! there is a sound just like that of a kettle boiling.... The blood is boiling in the scalded veins of that boy. The brain is boiling and bubbling in his head. The marrow is boiling in his bones." Nay, even the poor little babies are not exempt from torture: one is in a red hot oven, "hear how it screams to come out; see how it turns and twists about in the fire.... You can see on the face of this little child"--the fair pure innocent baby-face--"what you see on the faces of all in hell--despair, desperate and horrible."

That's some horror show to terrify little children into obedience. She quotes some Protestants on hell, though it is far less eloquent or imaginative. An Anglican preacher teaches young men and girls about the consequences of indulging in 'sins of the flesh.' She merely alludes to what he said (what a shame! I love the poetry of horror!).

She waxes poetic about the contradiction of a kind and loving Jesus/God and the expectant return to earth, whereupon,

 (The angels) are to spend eternity, hymning the Lamb who saved them to the music of golden harps, harps whose melody is echoed by the curses and the wailings of the lost; for below is a far different scene, for there the sinners are "Tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever...

More poetical imagery of contrasting Utopia and Dystopia. What is most amusing is the thought that those up in Heaven would not be disturbed by the suffering of others. What kinds of people are saved? Not the kind of people I would find kindred to my soul. However, the people who preach that they are the only ones to be saved since their gospel and faith is the only true one are often the first to want to bomb everyone else, stone, punish, and do whatever evil to those who choose not to believe, or cannot believe such myths.

It is an interesting paradox that she mentions: the Christian who believes in the act of forgiveness, the requirement thereof, but also believes that those who sin against them will never be forgiven by their god. Perhaps that sort of believer does not so much as forgive as expect to see and enjoy the spectacle and screams of the offender suffering eternal torture.

But again, in the end, she is not arguing for or against theism or atheism. Her closing shows that she's clearly a theist:

I believe that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all; I believe that all mankind is safe, cradled in the everlasting arms.

Truly that is a nice sentiment, but it is also optimistic that some all powerful and all knowing god would be so in love with us. A tyrant, which is what such a being would be, either good or evil, would relish good cheer or lamentation: if nature is anything to go by, it's something in between. All life ends in death. Death itself does not end. It seeks immortality through its ability to reproduce.

Religion, for me, is the delusion used to help people sleep better at night: either in good cheer because those whom you hate shall suffer eternal damnation while ye sit on high in the music that praises your savior, or in the screams of pain from the torture of eternal torture.

"On the Religious Education of Children"

Besant certainly has some odd ideas about education. She writes, "Religious education should come, so to speak, by chance." As an atheist, I would never entertain the idea of sending my children to a Sunday school to become brainwashed by the dogma. However, I find it hard to imagine teaching math in the same way, or any other subject. If there was a god, certainly that seems to be his means of educating mankind. We seem to have to discover everything ourselves.

The next opinion she brings up seems poorly thought out. "A child's natural instinct is towards good." Most children have little empathy and are entirely selfish. They need to learn empathy. She supports her argument with this:

A tale of heroism, of self sacrifice, of generosity, will bring the eager blood flushing up to a child's face and wake a quick response and a desire of emulation.

However, this emulation of the hero is due to the treatment of the hero. Most stories have 'happy endings' where the hero wins, is rewarded and praised, and has a good conscience (doesn't feel guilt). Usually he (especially in Besant's century, heroes were male) wins the maiden or the fantastically beautiful maiden whom he just saved from the villain. Thus, all the rewards belong to the hero, while the villain typically loses everything and is miserable. Therefore, I would conclude that it's not the goodness of the character that the child emulates for the sake of goodness, but rather for the rewards that the character receives.

While Besant won my respect earlier in her book, this particular essay seriously damaged my first impression.

"Natural Religion Versus Revealed Religion"

This essay points out that many associate "God's truth" with the works found in the Bible. Besant points out that some of these truths were written of before the Bible itself was written.

That said, I still see no argument suggesting that there may not be any god.

"On the Nature and the Existence of God"

God is a projection of man into space.

At last, perhaps, I have discovered Besant's claim to how she is an atheist. "...'atheist' is often flung unjustly at any thinker who ventures to criticise the popular and traditional idea of God..." Thus, it is not that she is any kind of atheist in the sense that she does not believe in god, but that she does not believe that the so-called experts of theism know much about god. She is not an atheist. She believes in god. Her beliefs are centered around the things that are good in life: love, good works, as belonging to god while the evil in the scriptures and in works are not of god, even when they are in the Bible.

My Conclusion

At this point, I am undecided on whether or not I have wasted much time reading this book. I feel deceived. This is not a book written by someone who had doubts and later became an atheist. Perhaps I should have seen this coming based on Besant's Wikipedia article as being someone who converted to an Eastern religion. I thought, perhaps, that her becoming an atheist was a mental or philosophical space she was in before she took on another religion. Now, unless I am pleasantly surprised, I feel duped. However, having wasted this much time digesting the first half, I might as well continue my meal until it is complete. That said, I read somewhere that once you've discovered the book you are reading is not worthy of your time, you ought to throw it against the wall. Well, I won't be doing that with my Kindle. But I do think I will be deleting it, which works even better: no hole in the wall, and it 'disappears' from my house, having never been the cause for harvesting a tree for its pulp.

Atheism Among the People, Alphonse de Lamartine

Recently I decided to read more nonfiction from the same periods of the fiction that I typically read (free, expired copyrighted material). While I do read a lot of nonfiction online, often these are not entirely well written or offer any depth to insight. Thus, this is the first essay which I read. It is available freely at Gutenberg.org.

First of all, I am an atheist. When I downloaded this essay, I had supposed that it was an essay about atheists. However, it is mostly just propaganda against atheism.

The author is French. He remembers Charlemagne in the best light as a symbol of freedom and religious belief, while Napoleon and other near contemporaries as those who have been lost to atheism.

The more interesting parts were his suggestion that atheism is driven by science and the complementary and associative disciplines (ie., math). Lamartine writes,

...the habit of believing only in the tangible. These are the beings who, so to speak, live and think in the dark.

Of course, this is ironic, since faith itself is based in the dark, and he is saying that scientists and the followers of science need to see evidence in order to have a belief in something. Of course, there is no evidence of the existence of God.

But what I liked most that he wrote was, "We have not perceived God in the smoke of any of our experiments." In other words, there's no way to prove the existence of God in any experiment.

Science and religion are opposed. Although there are many who practice religion who are also scientists or have studied science, in general faith in the science of the Bible (the date of creation, the age of the universe, etc), contradicts the hard science of geology and paleontology.

He also says that atheists cannot have morality, as morality is a religious law. However, of course, atheists do not believe in Godly appointed laws, but rather in laws of humankind. The laws of the Bible cannot possibly suffice for modern humankind, since, we now agree that women are people with souls. Homosexuality is not inherently evil.

Alas, atheism does not necessarily result in peace anymore than any religion has. China and the USSR are examples of atheistic nations which have great violence in its recent history.

I don't really recommend reading this essay. In modern terms, it is a 'fluff piece' with no real value.

The Uncensored Letters of a Canteen Girl, Kathleen Duncan Morse

There is very little information about this book and Kathleen Duncan Morse. Even the dates of her .
Gutenberg.org

birth and death are a mystery. Her birth is 1888, and she worked in a canteen during WWI from 1917-1919. This is all I can really find out about her aside from the reading of her letters which in themselves give little direct description of herself. It's freely available at

She has authored one other book, and a play. Other than that information, there is nothing else I could find about her. Wikipedia does not have anything, and there are no images anywhere. That is quite a shame. Should she have had a camera it would have been twice as interesting.

A part of the reason I decided to read this book is because I don't read enough lady authors. I really need to improve that. 

Kathleen's letters are extremely well written short narratives. She has a knack for entertaining the reader with candid descriptions of her life in the American camp in which she worked. She would have been 28 to 30 years of age over the course of these letters. I try to draw an image of her, but it is difficult. She talks very little about herself and her life in America. The narratives are about her life in France during the war.

Most of my impressions of the author are rather vague and without any substance from the reading. In my mind I see a portly white woman, probably Irish with a name like Kathleen. She sounds like the aunt figure to many of the young men for whom she cares. She writes, while sick in Paris away from her canteen,

...some day I'll get back to the hut again I suppose, and when I do, if those boys aren't almost half as glad to see me as I am to see them, why I'll know that some other canteen lady has been surreptitiously stealing their affections, and I shall put poison in her soup.

- from January 30

Her narratives are highly skilled: short, sometimes action filled, with colourful descriptions which make the letters very entertaining. Her description of an enemy bombing raid on Paris:

As I watched, a burning plane looking like a great tinsel ball seared its way through the sky, falling just to the right of Paris.

- from January 31
 

By the time the war is through and the cleanup process has begun, she is given leadership roles. Even though she has completed her duty in France, when she hears about the awfulness of Verdun, she volunteers to help with her canteen.

She has a positive effect on those around her. She will steer around rules in order to help everyone she can. She smuggles beans and other items to a starving village.

Prophetically, she writes,

They're not beaten for good, the prisoners invariably declare. Just as soon as the Americans have gone and things have calmed down a bit, they are coming back to France again, they say, and this time they will settle matters with the French for good and all.

Conflans, March 30, 1919

Of course, they were right. They would be back in less than two decades, more vicious and evil than before.

So many of the boys, she remarks in her final letter, had gone to the war wanting to escape their home.

"I used to want to get away from home," confided one boy to me, "but when I get back there again I"m just going to tie myself so tight to Mother's apron-strings that she'll never get the knot undone."

I enjoyed reading this book. I don't think I've ever read a book covering the war aside from assigned chapters in public school.

I spent a lot of time looking for more information on this author. But there is very little. It is a shame, as I am very curious what became of her. If anyone knows more than I do, please contribute it in the comments section below.