Index: A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age (Dennis Duncan)

The index, or that part of the book in the back with an alphabetized list of items and associated page numbers, is given little thought on many occasions. I was always uniquely curious about how the index evolved and the work that goes into it. Organizing all of the pertinent information in the pre-computer age was a rather laborious undertaking, but thanks to the work of researchers and librarians, a gradual system and standard for how indexes look today came about.

Index, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age is Dennis Duncan’s account of the cleverness and wordplay that occasionally goes into a book’s index and how something that is a tool of reference, and occasional narcissism for those wanting to see if they are mentioned within a book’s pages, came about. The index has served a useful role for scholars and researchers as well over the centuries, helping catalog and organize information. It wasn’t until the 19th Century when standardization began to take shape in indexing, and it wasn’t until the mid 20th Century before a modern professional association was codified to help train indexers.

The index’s useful role is evolving - beyond books, it now takes the form of #hashtags on Twitter and other social channels, providing a way for social media users to group themes or topics together. Google’s search index is a beast unto itself, helping organize the world’s websites that can be accessed with a quick, index-like query. Duncan’s book also highlights the role technology will have in indexing going forward.

Index, A History of the has moments of insight and humor woven within a topical history book. Its subtitle, A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age, is poignant and accurate. It is bookish, occasionally wonky, but enjoyable if you’re into history.

MY RATING - 4

The Burning Girls (C.J. Tudor)

In C. J. Croft's The Burning Girls, strange things are happening in Chapel Croft, England. Martyrs, visions, deaths, missing girls -- Chapel Croft has it all. A little too much.

Reverend Jack Brooks moves to Chapel Croft with her daughter, Flo, to take over the running of a chapel.  She hopes to get away from what happened at her last assignment, but instead, she finds a village with a dark history. Martyrs were burned five hundred years ago, two teenage girls, went missing, and the chapel's previous vicar committed suicide. This is just the past -- the current inhabitants of Chapel Croft also have secrets of their own. 

In my opinion, The Burning Girls just has too much going on. Things weren't wrapped up satisfyingly enough, and the ending was implausible enough to detract from my enjoyment of the rest of the book. I seem to be in the minority here, though, so if you like dark books, you might enjoy this one.

MY RATING - 3

Seven Games: A Human History (Oliver Roeder)

The games of Chess, checkers, Go, Scrabble, poker, backgammon, and bridge have been played by billions of people over the centuries. From novices playing for fun to professionals playing for money to computer programs playing for a quest of perfection, the games have societal importance. Oliver Roeder’s Seven Games: A Human History charts the origins of these games, their historical importance, and how technology has been used to not only compete against humans but also to help improve humans in their gameplay against each other.

Seven Games introduces us to more than just the games themselves; we also get to know the cast of characters involved in them. These characters include poker players at the World Series of Poker, an IBM engineer creating a program for backgammon, and a man who lost only three games of checkers in 40 years. These stories fuel Seven Games to be more than just a history of games. Roeder’s use of personal stories is augmented by showing the reader how technology has impacted each of these games in various ways, like Scrabble (computers can help players figure out “bingo” words) and even bridge, a game whose popularity is on the wane.

Roeder’s book is a wonderful exploration into play, competition, risk-taking, and how technology is fueling how humans can take risks more effectively in these games. 

MY RATING - 4.5

The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs (Marc David Baer)

The Ottoman Empire controlled a vast swath of the Middle East, Southeast Europe, and parts of North Africa before reconstituting itself as the modern nation of Turkey in the early 20th Century. At its apex in the 17th Century, the Ottomans marched on the gates of Vienna and controlled millions of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in a large, diverse territory. While many European accounts of the Ottomans look upon the empire as backwards, the truth was more complex. Marc David Baer’s The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs offers a very authentic look at a multicultural empire that brought innovation, technology, and diversity throughout its centuries in existence.

The Ottomans traces the empire from Turkish and Mongol origins, to its conquest of the remnant of the Byzantine Empire, to its heights in the 17th Century as a global trading and military power. It also shows the Ottomans in reform, decline, constant struggles with itself and, eventually, with ethnicities within its realm. While for much of its history the Ottomans were tolerant of other faiths, they converted millions to Islam in Southern Europe and in parts of Asia. As the empire aged and eventually waned in influence, its tolerance gradually gave way to a militaristic, ethno-nationalist state that eventually committed ethnic cleansing and genocide of Armenians.

Baer’s account is informative and well-researched. We learn about how the Ottoman government functioned and how its thinking often overlapped with European thought. At its best, the Ottomans were a modern empire for the times that had economic might and controlled much of the commerce between Europe and East Asia. At its worst, the Ottoman Empire fought itself and its own people. Baer’s book helps challenge conventional thinking of “East” and “West”, while showing us a vivid account of an empire that fell apart through losing sight of what made it successful for centuries.

MY RATING - 4.5

Dark Social: Understanding the Darker Side of Work, Personality and Social Media (Ian MacRae)

Social media in the world of business is more than just the outward communication and marketing that are put forth on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and elsewhere. It also involves internal communication, such as Slack or any internal messaging system that allows for communication between colleagues and from management down. Much has been written (and reviewed) about social media and the challenges it poses in society; however, not as much has been written about the challenges communication has within the workplace. 

Ian MacRae’s Dark Social: Understanding the Darker Side of Work, Personality and Social Media tackles social media from a business and leadership perspective. It’s a valiant attempt at helping leaders understand the landscape of the ills of social media - from bots spreading fake messages online to disgruntled employees unloading trade secrets through public and personal channels. Add to this the occasional organizational culture that fosters toxicity in the workplace and MacRae argues that it is a tricky landscape for businesses to negotiate. He argues that companies can put structures and systems in place to foster better internal behavior and help bring out the best in their employees. Much of Dark Social is behavioral psychology and how personalities in the workplace will typically behave. In this aspect, the book is incredibly worth reading.

MacRae does miss the mark in a couple aspects. First, a lack of discussion on the presence of online mobs that can destroy one’s reputation, rightly in some cases, wrongly in many others. How can businesses navigate a Twitter mob that runs with a half-truth or non-truth? Or, how do you limit or mute the presence of these mobs on social media to prevent them from getting out of hand? Second, the book lacks some best practices for individuals in prominent company positions regarding separating business and personal information online. While MacRae is right in pointing out that online and offline personas do not differ markedly, there is little given to best practices on social media usage - and perhaps the idea of a public channel for their official business capacity and a private channel for their cat video sharing. 

While social media is arguably necessary, more discussion should be had on how to navigate the minefield and how to keep personal and business separate, for the good of everyone in a company and those who lead it.

MY RATING - 3.5

The Rule of Laws: A 4,000-Year Quest to Order the World (Fernanda Pirie)

Rulers, whether they be emperors or elected officials, have used laws to impose order since early civilization. Laws have served many purposes: as political or theological social control, as visions for a better world, and as guidelines for how to manage incidents and civil matters. Laws have evolved on several tracks over the millenia, and author Fernanda Pirie showcases that evolution in The Rule of Laws: A 4,000-Year Quest to Order the World.

Pirie’s book covers legal history from the perspective of China, India, Europe, and the Middle East, showing laws rooted in good governance and religion, evolving over centuries and adapting from each other and other geographic regions to improve upon their legal codes. In some parts of the world, such as Islamic-controlled areas, religious influence dominated the legal code and the secular government would work in improvements and secular laws as appropriate, while keeping an eye on the law’s implications to the legal code. In Christian parts of Europe, while the secular government controlled the law-making, religion and faith had influence in helping frame the build out of law. Pirie shows how English Common Law set the basis for much of the legal framework of the 19th and 20th Centuries and how the English exported their law-making system as part of their colonization of India, America, and Africa. 

Missing from this book, however, is insight into rule systems in the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa before European colonization. Coverage into extralegal pursuits - such as the mob - is given a chapter. It would have been nice to see more written about rule systems in these parts of the world. The exploitation of native-born peoples at the hands of the Common Law system is properly pointed out as part of this story. That aside, The Rule of Laws is a relatively concise history of how law-making evolved over time throughout the world and is worth reading if you want insight into the evolution of rule.

MY RATING - 4

The Children on the Hill (Jennifer McMahon)

I've reviewed all of Jennifer McMahon's books on this blog, from one of my absolute favorites, to one I didn't like so much. The Children on the Hill falls square in the middle for me. 

In 1978, Dr. Hildreth is a famous psychiatrist working in Vermont at her own treatment center for the mentally ill. Her grandchildren, Vi and Eric, live with her after their parents were in a horrific accident. One day, Dr. Hildreth brings another child, Iris, home to live with them. Iris won't talk and is skittish around the family. But Vi treats her like a sister, and before long, Iris comes out of her shell a bit. 

The Children on the Hill also has an alternating timeline in 2019. Lizzy Shelley is the host of a popular podcast about monsters. She is called back to the same Vermont town where she grew up -- a town where there has not only a monster sighting but a girl has gone missing.

Obviously when you're reading, sometimes you need to suspend some disbelief. But I found the connections between these two timelines implausible and confusing. Also, I would have liked to have learned so much more about Dr. Hildreth. This book still offers the same feelings of suspense and dread that McMahon is known for, but it is definitely not her best.

MY RATING - 3

Expected release date: April 26, 2022