American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

Richard Wright's first published book was a series of short stories called UNCLE TOM'S CHILDREN. They are wonderful stories looking at the brutality of race relations in Great Depression-era America and good preparation for NATIVE SON.

The conclusion to my look at STARMAN JONES by Robert A. Heinlein. This one clearly stands out among the Heinlein juveniles by branching out into new themes and new geographies.

The conclusion to my review of Richard Wright's first novel, LAWD TODAY. It is a great way to start digging into Richard Wright, and I think a good contrast with NATIVE SON, which we will look at in a few weeks.

In 1953, Heinlein wrote his 7th juvenile in STARMAN JONES. He always seems to have something new to say in each of these novels, even if the main characters are always a little bit cookie cutter. He does try to give this young man a bit more differentiation. Nevertheless, this is another good example of world building. I enjoy how each of these novels feels lived in.

 

Today I start a new series looking at the major works of Richard Wright. We begin with LAWD TODAY!, which was published in the 1960s, but was actually the first book written. It is an amazing modernist text looking at the working class black life in Chicago during the Great Depression. It is also one of the bleakest books we have looked at in a while.

"The Year of the Jackpot" is a fascinating story by Heinlein published in GALAXY in 1952. It deals with sexual morality, normalcy, survival, historical cycles, and the end of the world. A must read.

The final episode in my review of BLACK RECONSTRUCTION by W. E. B. Du Bois. These final three chapters summarize the major themes of the book quite well. One of the best books on the topic, even a hundred years after publication.

The conclusion to my review of THE ROLLING STONES by Robert A. Heinlein. An overall great book in this juvenile series.

Part 6 of my review of W. E. B. Du Bois' BLACK RECONSTRUCTION IN AMERICA.

We are in the meat of the book BLACK RECONSTRUCTION IN AMERICA by W. E. B. Du Bois. In these chapters, he looks into the revolution and counter revolution of property in Mississippi and Louisiana and then Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. We see how different demographic structures led to different reactions by the ruling planter class. 

In this episode we get introduced to the Stone family and watch them becoming THE ROLLING STONES. This 1952 novel has some of the most well drawn of Heinlein's characters, but it is not the major young man protagonist who are pretty much interchangeable in this one. Some meta commentary on his juvenile novel heroes, I reckon.

The second part of my review of THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert A. Heinlein. While I love a lot about this book, it ultimately falls far short of what it could have been.

In this episode look at the middle chapters of BLACK RECONSTRUCTION IN AMERICA, exploring the broader questions at the heart of the 15th Amendment and the impact of black voting rights on the Reconstruction politics of South Carolina.

It is kind of nice to have old Heinlein back. After writing those juveniles and mainstream science fiction stories, THE PUPPET MASTERS allows Heinlein to bring back hot women, nudity, and individualist philosophy. I am not sure this novel is a success yet, but it is lots of fun.

One of the most fascinating looks at Andrew Johnson is made by Du Bois in this section of BLACK RECONSTRUCTION IN AMERICA. I also discuss his sources and unique bibliography in this episode.

The conclusion to my coverage of BETWEEN PLANETS by Robert A. Heinlein.

The Civil War ends and the reaction to emancipation starts. In the second part of my coverage of W. E. B. Du Bois' BLACK RECONSTRUCTION IN AMERICA, I look at chapters 5-6 and the beginning of the conservative reaction to the second American Revolution.

Once again, we begin a look at what turns out to be my favorite of the juveniles by Robert A. Heinlein. BETWEEN PLANETS is the best yet. Can they keep getting better? The lesson in this book is courage and honor in the face of fate.

In this episode I look at the first four chapters of the amazing book BLACK RECONSTRUCTION IN AMERICA by W. E. B. Du Bois. It is a brilliant celebration of the potential of interracial democracy, written at a time when those potentials were forgotten by historians.

A bit of an aside in this series, "Cliff and the Calories" by Heinlein is a short story about a young woman struggling with a perhaps unnecessary diet. It slightly aligns with some of what he was doing with his juveniles, but I think we need to wait until we read Podkayne to know for sure.

The finale of my review of OLDTOWN FOLKS by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and the conclusion to this series on Stowe's novels. Next up, we will return to W. E. B. Du Bois with a deep dive into Reconstruction-era America.

Part 4 of my review of OLDTOWN FOLKS by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This is an amazing novel that deserves more attention.

A story of capitalism run amok and maybe doing some good, THE MAN WHO SOLD THE MOON, by Robert A. Heinlein is a great novella exploring how  money can do almost anything.

The middle sections of Harriet Beecher Stowe's OLDTOWN FOLKS (1869) explored education with intense focus and through multiple conversations. While repetitive, this section of the novel allowed Stowe to engage with the debates of her own time about education, making a case as persuasive as the one she made in UNCLE TOM'S CABIN about slavery.

In this episode, I finish up my review of the excellent novel FARMER IN THE SKY by Robert A. Heinlein. This novel has some excellent reflections on population, empires, war, ecology, and the frontier. Are the juveniles (and the Future History series at large) metaphors for the Atlantic world? Sometimes I think so.

Heinlein's fourth juvenile novel, FARMER IN THE SKY (1950) is one of the best books he wrote to that point and the most "mature" of his "boy's novels". We seen Heinlein's approach and concerns grow up with his characters. The first part of this book is an excellent window into the ecological, scientific, and political vision Heinlein develops.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's OLDTOWN FOLKS (1869) is doing a lot, and that is made clear in the second section of this book, which explores the fate of two orphans in this small New England Town, and their ultimate liberation.

"Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon" is another delightful Future History story by Robert A. Heinlein, but this one includes Boy Scouts. Can an Earth Scout ever find a place with the Moon Scouts with the Moon's inhospitable environment? Maybe if he saves the day? This story has some very harrowing life and death moments as two boys get lost a "morning glory" (a sinkhole).

In this episode I begin to explore OLDTOWN FOLKS by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This is a fascinating, almost modernist, novel about one man's memory of the days of his youth in early 19th century New England. Through deep dives into characters and the community, Stowe digs into surface level and hidden aspects of New England society.

What is this early 1940s Heinlein story doing in the 1950? In this episode I explore Heinlein's brief return to ASTOUNDING with "Gulf". Thanks, I hate it.

In this episode I finish up up look at Harriet Beecher Stowe's THE MINISTER'S WOOING. It finishes up much the way we expect. Overall, this novel is a nice surprise and worth checking out if you have the time. Next up, OLDTOWN FOLKS.

This is the last of the GREEN HILLS OF EARTH stories (from the anthology, but not thematically), we explore the question of who is suited for space exploration by looking at the place of women in the frontier.

In part two of my review of THE MINISTER'S WOOING by Harriet Beecher Stowe we build out the world of post-Revolutionary New England with a closer look at the new theology of the Great Awakening and get to experience the suspicious arrival of Aaron Burr as a suitor. Then tragedy hits.

The finale of my review of Robert A. Heinlein's RED PLANET. I focus on the political aspects of the novel and the awesome portrayal of the indigenous Martians.

In this episode I begin looking at Harriet Beecher Stowe's THE MINISTER'S WOOING, a novel about New England religion tied to a sentimental novel of love and loss.

This episode is the first half of my review of RED PLANET by Robert A. Heinlein. While I loved the "Green Hills of Earth" cycle, I cannot help but feeling that this novel brings us back to the Heinlein I love to wrestle with.

The end of my five-part review of UNCLE TOM'S CABIN by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Overall, I am very glad I finally read this excellent book. There are great moments throughout the novel and it deserves its place as a classic, not just a historically important text.

This section is the turning point in the story, where we see our hopes in the white characters end through their untimely deaths. It then take Tom (and the readers) to hell and the heart of the story, which will play out in the cotton fields of the deep South.

In this small fantasy story, "Our Fair City", Robert A. Heinlein explores city politics and corruption through the adventures of a sentient whirlwind. This story may be skippable, but has some nice moments. I like Heinlein reflecting on local politics more than I do the fantasy elements of this story.

The middle sections of UNCLE TOM'S CABIN by Harriet Beecher Stowe are some of the most interesting in the novel. Stowe is more intriguing with the conflicted and complex characters. With the death of Eva (explored in the next episode) the characters become more clearly defined, and that is a bit of a pity.