What I read in 2024

On New Years, 2019 a friend of mine posted a list of the books they had read in 2018. I thought it was a great idea so I've been posting such a list myself ever since, first on Facebook, now on my blog. I find it a very useful exercise in self-reflection - though I am sure it is really just another example of my narcissism. 😏

If anyone else makes such lists, I'd love to see them. Feel free to share the lists, or links to your lists, in the comments.😀 You can find my previous years here: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Looking over this year's list (see below), these trends stood out:

# of Rereads: 21 (I've marked rereads below with an *)

# of YA reads: 11
# Military History reads: 2

# non-military History reads: 3

# of fantasy/horror works: 35
# by or about Tolkien or Inklings: 3

# of D&D or other RPG related reads: 11

# related to Lovecraft or the Mythos: 2
# Forgotten Realms: 5  
# of Marine reads: 2
# Frigate Navy period reads: 1

# Thieves' World & related: 3
# Matter of Britain/France works: 4

# of holiday reads: 8 

# historical fiction reads: 5

# World War II reads: 2 

# Folklore or Mythology reads: 3

# Books about writers and writing: 2

The most obvious difference this year was significantly fewer books were read. That's fine with me, it's not a competition. i could pump the numbers by reading a bunch of short books, but the numbers are meaningless so why bother? Well, not quite meaningless, I do count, but only to consider how my reading habits change from one year to the next. 

In this case, I know there are fewer books because I did a ton of reading that wasn't books. I reread the summaries or logs if you will of all of my old play-by-email roleplaying games, starting with Mercs. I reread them as i reedited them and added images planning to release them on a new blog, but so far I only have the Mercs summaries up. But I read them all, and since each chapter is 100-300 pages of text, each was like a novel. A LOT of fun for me, rereading them. But It didn't feel "right" including them in my count for the year.

Similarly, I don't include the reading I do for work here, mostly. I read a LOT for work, it is the nature of the beats, and one reason I love my job. But it tends to be piecemeal and scatter-shot. I read chapter in this book followed by a chapter in another. I only include work reading here when I read a work from beginning to end straight through. 

I can't call this a satisfying year, some of the books I found surprisingly excellent - Spelljammer: Memory's Wake and The Dead of Winter but I was often a bit disappointed in the new books I read, like the Century trilogy. 

2025 is shaping up to be a bad year, here's hoping I can get some good reading in to hide from it!

What I read in 2024:

#1. Tasting History by Max Miller

#2. The Dark Is Rising: Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper*

#3. The Odyssey by Homer, trans. by Emily Wilson 

#4. The Dark Is Rising: Greenwitch by Susan Cooper*

#5. The Birth of the Royal Marines, 1664-1802 by Britt Zerbe

#6. The Dark Is Rising: The Grey King by Susan Cooper*

#7. Gotrek & Felix: Trollslayer by William King

#8. The Dark Is Rising: Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper*

#9. Brother Wulf by Joseph Delaney

#10. Wulf's Bane by Joseph Delaney

#11. The Last Spook by Joseph Delaney

#12. Wulf's War by Joseph Delaney

#13. Gotrek & Felix: Skavenslayer by William King

#13. Gotrek & Felix: Daemonslayer by William King

#14. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded edition by: J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter & Christopher Tolkien 

#15. Hammer of the Gods: The Thule Society and the Birth of Nazism by David Luhrssen

#16. Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... Volume 1: Doomworld

#17. Trek To Kraggen-Cor, Silver Call Series, by Dennis L. McKiernan

#18. The Black Company, Chronicles of The Black Company, by Glen Cook*

#19. Shadows Linger, Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook

#20. After the King: Stories In Honor of J.R.R. Tolkien, Martin H. Greenberg, Jane Yolen (eds.)

#21. The White Rose, Chronicles of the Black Company, by Glen Cook

#22. The Silver Spike: Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook

#23. Elfshadow by Elaine Cunningham*

#24. The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy edited by Leonard S. Marcus

#25. Spelljammer: Memory's Wake by Django Wexler

#26. Elfsong by Elaine Cunningham*

#27. Silver Shadows by Elaine Cunningham*

#28. The Dream Spheres by Elaine Cunningham*

#29. Beyond Sanctuary by Janet Morris*

#30. The Best of the Realms Book III: The Stories of Elaine Cunningham by Elaine Cunningham*

#31. Smedley by Jeff McComsey

#32. Beyond the Veil by Janet Morris*

#33. Beyond Wizardwall by Janet Morris*

#34. The Express Diaries by Nick Marsh*

#35. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny*

#36. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova*

#37. The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth*

#38. Fall of Giants: the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett

#39. Winter of the World: the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett

#40. Edge of Eternity: the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett

#41. Kringle by Tony Abbott*

#42. The Story of the Nutcracker by Alexandre Dumas

#43. The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures by Sarah Clegg

#44. The Fright Before Christmas by Jeff Belanger

#45. Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien*

#46. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, read by Jim Dale*

#47. Life on a Mediaeval Barony: A Picture of a Typical Feudal Community in the Thirteenth Century by William Stearns Davis*

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

To Criticize or not to Criticize...

 Self-examination is important. Challenge your own beliefs. I try to do this to myself constantly. It is important that others do this as well.

Head of Socrates in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (Rome)

For example, consider a semi-popular phrase among the nerd/geek community: "Don't yuck someone's yum." Essentially, this phrase means, don't point out the flaws in things that other people like. You can dislike something without criticizing or bitching about it.

Anyone who knows me knows that being critical is a huge part of who I am. I review things, I criticize them in the classic sense "to consider the merits and demerits of and judge accordingly" and apply this to art others may simply accept at face value. So, when faced with "don't yuck other's yum" I find a valid point about how I can reduce other' pleasure and make their lives measurably worse. I really do try to work on this, especially with the people I love or those more vulnerable than I. Slamming a child's favorite book or movie is mere cruelty.

At the same time, too many people simply accept art. They don't recognize that they become what they watch, read, and listen to. The songs you hear, the TV you watch, it slowly but surely changes your views, your morality, your ethics. It is impossible NOT to be changed in this way, just like the drip-drip of water WILL wear down every rock eventually, no matter how hard. Rivers dig channels through the earth. If you listen to "WAP" and similar songs enough times it WILL change how you think about women. Maybe not in a bad way, I leave it to you to parse those lyrics, but it will change you.

That's why we rightfully have made the n-word, blackface, and open racism taboo. Because we realize how corrosive they are to society.

As is so often the case, there is a balance to maintain. We have to balance the potential damage of unexamined, and unchallenged art with the potential damage of simply ruining something for the joy of destruction. It's not easy, and there is no single answer, every piece of art, and every interaction, requires a new assessment.

I tend to err on the side of criticizing, as is apparent from the many reviews on my blog. Especially in formats like this, where those who wish to avoid close examination of a given work can simply look away. On the other hand, I rarely review anything that I cannot recommend in someway. Most art has some good in it.

But what matters isn't that I am critical, in the best "to consider the merits and demerits of and judge accordingly" sense, what is important is that we ALL try to live more critically. We all have this capacity. It just requires exercise and patience.

As Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." So, as we come to the end of the year, please, let's all examine our lives!

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

Yule Review: The Dark is Rising series By Susan Cooper

  A version of this article appeared in Knights of the Dinner Table #158 (December, 2009).

When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;
Five will return, and one go alone.

I’ve always found Christmas to be a magical time, and not simply for the presents. In the northern hemisphere, when the days grow shorter and short, the nights longer and darkness holds great sway over the world so that even the days are often dim and grey it is easy to imagine elves slipping between snow covered trees. On cold nights, looking up at bright stars while “the moon on the breast of the new fallen snow gave a luster of midday to objects below” I have felt that magic sink into my soul. Halloween may seem the more natural holiday for fantasy fans with its witches, vampires, and demons, but it is Christmas when the magic seems to come to life.

There are, ironically, very few fantasy novels that really capture that Christmas or Yuletide magic. It is an elusive, fairy air captured by true masters such as Dickens in the classic A Christmas Carol yet tasting oddly flat when addressed by numerous journeyman writers. Yet in The Dark is Rising British author Susan Cooper captures the mystery of the season and melds it with the equally deep and ancient Matter of Britain. The result is an incredible work of fantasy and children’s literature.

Susan Cooper was born in 1935 in Buckinghamshire, England. Her childhood in Britain during World War II had a great influence on her later work, as did her days living in Wales and her degree in English from Oxford. Though she never personally met J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis, she attended lectures by both of them, as explained in this excellent bio on her webpage. She worked as a reporter before moving to the Massachusetts, where she became a full time author, primarily of children's stories. She is best known for The Dark is Rising series, for which she won several awards, and her grasp of the underpinnings and function of Fantasy was made most obvious when she presented 'A Catch of the Breath',  the fifth annual J.R.R Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford on 27th April 2017. You can, and should, watch this outstanding talk on YouTube here, it truly is a masterpiece of public speaking. 

The Dark is Rising series comprises five novels: Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree. All five are set in England, Cornwall, or Wales and depict episodes in the ongoing cosmic struggle between the Dark and the Light, which is represented by the immortal Old Ones.

Only one character, Merriman Lyon, appears in all five novels. Merriman is strongly implied to be Merlin, and certainly fills the role of mentor and mystical advisor to the five children who are the novels’ main protagonists. Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew are three quite normal children drawn into these quests by their ‘great-uncle’ Merriman. They are in all of the novels save The Dark is Rising and The Grey King. Will Stanton, seventh son of a seventh son, is the protagonist of The Dark is Rising novel itself and appears in all of the novels except Over Sea, Under Stone. Bran Davies is the last of the children, a mysterious albino Welsh boy who appears in only the last two novels, The Grey King and Silver on the Tree.

The novels are complex and handle their rather deep subject matter well. The action is fierce but restrained; the struggles involved rarely extend to mere physical altercations. Over Sea, Under Stone recounts the search for the Grail during the Drew children’s holiday in Cornwall, and the greater matters are only hinted at. The Dark is Rising takes place throughout the Christmas season in the Thames valley of England; Cooper is particularly skilled in using the traditional calendar of Yuletide, Midwinter Day, and the Twelve Days of Christmas to frame her tale. Greenwitch introduces the Drews to Will during a spring holiday in Cornwall during the Greenwitch festival; Jane Drew’s place in the story is more firmly established. The Grey King is perhaps the darkest of the series. Will recuperates in Wales from a sickness and befriends Bran, a shy boy with a tragic family history. And Silver on the Tree brings the series back to Midsummer, as the tale travels across England and Wales and through time, with all five children together for the final quest.

For gamers, the series is full of inspiration. Those who thrilled at the drawing of Herne the Hunter in Deities and Demigods will find his depiction in this series masterful, moreover it provides the game master with a wonderful example of how to use the Wild Hunt in a campaign. The seamless manner in which Cooper weaves history and mythology into the modern world is equally inspiring, and her concept of the Light and the Dark, as well as their eternal struggle, works well for most modern fantasy games. The series inspired me to write and run two different, long-running campaigns. Ars Magica and World of Darkness gamers in particular will find much of value here.

Cooper never stoops to using sex or violence to tell her tale, and so the series remains appropriate for children even while addressing themes of importance. Her writing is sparse yet evocative and her plots are meticulous, nothing feels forced or out of place. She has a great deal to say about the nature of good and evil, yet she never lectures or berates the reader.

If you want poetry, magic, and Arthurian glory set within the modern world, then read this series. It is a true classic.

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

A Halloween Review: The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore

  A version of this article appeared in Knights of the Dinner Table #156 (October, 2009).

From 2006 through 2012 I was the "Off the Shelf" columnist for Knights of the Dinner Table, a magazine and comic book devoted to tabletop fantasy role paying games. I reviewed classic and
modern fantasy, horror, and science fiction novels. Every October I tried to review a work of classic horror in honor of Halloween. I am trying to continue that tradition with my blog. You can find previous Halloween Reviews here. 

When Halloween again rises from its grave to stalk the cool fall nights, one’s thoughts turn to the classic move monster of yore, that unholy triad of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolfman. The first two first appeared in classic gothic novels of the nineteenth century, widely read and beloved thrillers that often feature in high school reading lists. The werewolf’s historical and mythological roots are deeper than the other two; nearly every culture has some sort of lycanthropic legend. Werewolf tales are particularly widespread in Europe, where true stories of horrific wolf attacks were mythologized into fables such as Red Riding Hood. Despite this rich history, the literary antecedent of the Wolfman is less well known than his two companion classic horrors, in part because that 1933 novel, The Werewolf of Paris, remains under copyright.  

The Werewolf of Paris was written by Guy Endore, born Samuel Goldstein. Endore is best known today as a novelist and screen writer who was black-listed as a communist during the Red Scare. Endore was a communist (at least for a time), and was thoroughly immersed in the avant-garde intellectual movements of the 1930s. He was also educated in Europe.

Endore’s political leanings add a great deal to The Werewolf of Paris, a truly remarkable horror novel. Set in nineteenth century France, the novel tells the story of Bertrand Caillet as told primarily by his step-uncle, Aymar. Unlike later versions of the werewolf myth, Bertrand is not cursed by the bite of another werewolf but suffers rather from a family curse.  The novel tells the origin of this curse, and then details Bertrand’s sad life from birth to death.  The novel climaxes during the Franco-Prussian War, Bertrand is in Paris during the German siege, the Paris Commune, and the eventual retaking of Paris by the Versaillais troops. 

The descriptions of the Commune are vivid, and throughout the novel Endore’s Leftist sympathies leak through the text, yet this enhances rather than detracts from the experience, allowing the reader to immerse him or herself in the languid yet fevered atmosphere of France in the nineteenth century. The contrast between Bertrand’s bucolic home village and the beleaguered Paris, were Bertrand’s depredations are truly the least of horrors is particularly acute.

In addition to the politics, Endore’s novel reeks of sex, and the sex is both more blatant and more depraved than the bubbling under-currents of Victorian erotic repression found in Dracula. The werewolf tale has always had a direct connection to sex, again Red Riding Hood is the most obvious example. The Caillet family curse is born and perpetuated through sexual transgression down the ages. Bertrand’s own bestial urges expresses itself sexually as well as violently, and the only cure for his affliction appears to be a demented sort of true love. Though certainly not pornographic or particularly explicit, the sexuality is disturbing enough that I recommend parents read he book before their teenagers. I would only allow older, mature teens to read it myself. 

For gamemasters the novel is most fruitful as a background template, demonstrating how to design a memorable non-player character.  Bertrand makes an excellent tragic villain, and presenting the players with this sort of challenge, a monster that perhaps should not be killed yet must be stopped, is an excellent change of pace. Players may find less of immediate use, although Aymar’s investigations once he is in Paris itself may be instructive for Call of Cthulhu or other games involving supernatural investigations.

Despite its popularity, Endore’s novel was not filmed itself until 1962 when the famous British horror studio, Hammer Films, made Curse of the Werewolf. The novel’s psychological depth and overt sexuality was a deterrent to earlier dramatization. The filmed version moved the action to 18th century Spain, and was Oliver Reed's first starring role.

Bertrand’s rich, evocative prose makes the novel an engaging read despite the heavy subject matter.  Readers looking for a classic horror story with depth and resonance will be well rewarded his work. Read it late on a windy night with a window open and dogs howling in the distance… and don’t be surprised if you crave red meat and more the next day…

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

The Express Diaries by Nick Marsh

A version of this article appeared in Knights of the Dinner Table #196 (February, 2013)

Role-playing has always been intimately linked to literature, it grew from wargaming, certainly, but its
soul has also been a deep desire to live within the fantastical worlds we immerse ourselves in while reading.  Indeed, styles of role-play can often be divined from one’s reading preferences (Conan fans usually love hack and slash, for example). Many books have inspired role-playing games, and as the role-playing hobby has developed, it has inspired books in its own turn. 

Usually these works are best when a writer simply sets a work within a specific role-playing setting, though many have attempted to turn their characters exploit into novels, those attempts usually fall very flat. But not always, some writers have succeeded in turning roleplaying campaign inspiration into fictional gold. 

The Express Diaries by Nick Marsh was inspired by a series of role-playing sessions played and recorded by an RPG group, the Bradford Players (at one time these were available for sale online, as shown here, but they seem to be no longer available, sadly). The Bradford Players were running through a classic Call of Cthulhu adventure, Horror on the Orient Express (Chaosium, 1991). The adventure was inspired by the literary works of H.P. Lovecraft and Thomas Ligotti, Marsh’s novelization of the game sessions brings the cycle full circle. 

The novel follows a band of investigators as they chase down the mystery of the “Sedefkar Simulacrum” from London to Constantinople and back again, travelling generally on the infamous Orient Express. The tales is told, as the title implies, through various diary and journal entries, and further expanded through newspaper articles, advertisements. This is reminiscent of Stoker’s technique in Dracula and it is equally effective in this work. 

Perhaps because Marsh wasn’t one of the original players, but rather an outsider inspired by the sessions, this novel suffers from none of the self-indulgent flaws one usually finds in fiction inspired by game sessions. The characters view points are each unique, and this is apparent as the view shifts with each entry.  The earlier chapters have quite a bit of humor, some of it can get a bit predictable for anyone familiar with gaming in the 19th century. That doesn’t prevent it from being funny, however, and the early humor allows the reader to bond with the characters, and lulls the reader, so that when the horror truly begins, it is a bit shocking. 

For gamers, the value of this work is obvious, it serves as a wonderful example of a Call of Cthulhu campaign, or really, it works for nearly any horror adventure. The Bradford players seem to have been very role-playing oriented, none of the characters could be described as combat heavy hitters so the campaign is an excellent example of games in which direct combat and firefights play little if any role (appropriate, for the setting). 

Marsh’ sense of humor and ability to portray character is excellent, his prose is very sure-footed. Perhaps he doesn’t quite handle the horrific portions of the tale quite as well as the humorous sections, but they are still a great read. The reader heavily identifies with the characters and subsequently feels their defeats quite keenly. 

Of course, critical for any tale of this sort are the scenes on the train proper, as well as the sense of travel as the story progresses across Europe. This is one of Marsh’ strengths, the train comes alive through his prose, the reader feels as if they too have taken the long journey, and despite the horror, like they might want to take another such trip. I appreciate when he points out anachronisms such as dining cars that appear in the original adventure.

The novel is well suited for both prequels and sequels, and one can hope that Marsh finds good reason to continue novelizing the adventures of the Bradford Players. Certainly this work is a worthy addition to the Cthulhu mythos, even if Lovecraft himself may not have approved of the tale (he seems to have preferred a single protagonist, and never a female lead).In fact, I found this comment from a reader on the book's Amazon page extremely insightful: "...not so much something H.P. Lovecraft himself might have written as what you might have gotten if Clark Ashton Smith had written a Bram Stoker pastiche." I wish I written that myself!

If you enjoy horror, the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, or if you enjoy role-playing then give The Express Diaries a read. Or if you just are in between campaigns and need a Call of Cthulhu fix. Regardless, you’ll have a good read.

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

Think Deep

 All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog
by Caspar David Friedrich (1818)

Many accuse me of being grumpy, and that is probably fair as I find that much of the world is a constant irritation to me. Earlier today I found myself being irritated by someone who, in all fairness, was just trying to earn their living as a genre author, just working to spread their "brand" in the current common vernacular. And no, this is not someone who knows me in any way, just a stranger that Facebook's algorithm decided I should see. Despite the fact that "fantasy romance" is not a genre that I read or routinely discuss. 

I stopped to ponder the source of my irritation, I realized it was the shallowness of this author's spiel. She was listing reasons why folks might like her books and it was simply keywords "conflicted heroine", "demons", "magic sword," and "morally challenged protagonist." I'm sure she is familiar with the basics of plot structure, that she had a  basic education in literature, ect. But she felt the only way she could get readers was to hit a check off list story elements. She didn't even try to convince us the plot mattered, or that there were any literary aspirations in her work.

I understand advertising has limits, that it is an essentially shallow medium. Heck, advertising for The Lord of the Rings was shallow and reductionist. So sure, she was working at a disadvantage in a medium designed to be shallow. 

We let ourselves and the world down, however, when we simply bow to that. 

I don't blame this young lady, she has to "monetize", she has to earn and sell, because whether she likes it or not, she lives in a capitalist society.  Beyond that, I recognize the value of art that is simple, carefree, shallow. All of us need to turn the brain off and just follow some simple, cheerful tales on occasion. That's exceedingly healthy. 

But it should not be all art, or even most art, and it should not be what we all seek, all the time. 

Think deep.

Don't just watch a tv show or movie, or just read a book. Study them, examine them, think about what the intended, and unintended, messages of the story might be. 

And don't just do this for movies or books or stories. Do it for songs, whether country ballads or K-Pop dance songs. Consider what values and meanings lie beneath the surface. 

Do the same with your religion. Don't doze off during readings or sermons. Dissect them. Consider the words, consider what rhetorical tricks are used, what logical inconsistencies are papered over. 

Think deep. 

Compare and contrast sources. Trust everything and nothing. 

As long as you live and have sentience, you have an obligation to use that grey matter in your skull to properly understand as much as you possibly can. 

Think deep.

Consider what you want your life to mean. Life has a meaning, and that meaning is decided by each and every one of us individually. Live according to that meaning.

Think deep.

At least I will then be irritated less often. 

The Role of Historians in Public Affairs

 All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

I'm on leave today. Not working.  

So, this article is interesting. 

I'm interested in what other historians think of this article. 

I've generally found Heather Cox Richardson's "Letters from an American" insightful and useful. I'm a historian myself, yet as my historian friends know, I have nowhere near her reputation within the field or with the general public. I'm often very critical of other historians, but I have mostly found her essays connecting current American politics to the past insightful. She especially has a solid grasp on the history of white supremacy and authoritarianism in the United States. She is a recognized authority on American political history.

On the other hand, as a military historian I have found her foreign policy analysis a bit basic, not wrong exactly but not as insightful as her other work. And I have certainly found her to be too much of a fan of Biden, she cuts him slack when he probably should be criticized a bit (on Afghanistan, for example).

I agree with the article, she should not have made the statement claiming historical precedent concerning our current political situation this past weekend - that stepped from historian offering analysis to flat-out campaigning for Biden. The election contest between Biden and Trump is unprecedented in American history, and you have to be even more careful then usual when using history to understand it. 

But William Hogeland is definitely making a more extensive argument here, his point concerns the role of historians in public affairs and the uses of history. History never repeats itself, drawing lessons from history is difficult - ironically, history is littered with examples of people who based their actions on "lessons" they drew from history and failed spectacularly. On the other hand, my own work only exists because the military needs to draw concrete lessons from history - a practical use of history that many academic historians flat-out reject. 

In his article he implies that Richardson should be addressing the current crisis in the liberal arts that has slammed the American higher education system. I'm not certain that her work is not addressing those issues, albeit indirectly. 

More to the point, since Trump and the Heritage Foundation have adopted the Communist policy of rewriting history to suit their personal desires, who is supposed to oppose that? If historians like Richardson are not speaking up, who will correct the outright historical lies?  

The Trump Supreme Court has shown what lawyers will do to to history if no one opposes them, what will historians do to protect it? 

This turned more partisan than I intended when I began writing it. A useful lesson in how a historian of Richardson's skill might make a misstep like she did this past weekend. I think I would prefer the occasional mistake of that sort to silence in an ivory tower. 

I just don't see Hogeland offering a practical alternative. 

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.