DRAWING LIFE

Rating:
Summary: A survivor of the Unibomber speaks out
Review: During the 1964 presidential campaign, the candidacy of Barry Goldwater was neatly summed up in a cheery song that boasted, in part, "We're the bright young men who want to go back to 1910 . . . We're Barry's Boys!"

It sums up the conservative mind set -- 50 years behind the times. Well, guess what? This book is the up-to-date version of Barry's Boys; Gelernter is a thoroughly modern 'Barry Boy' who carefully subtracted 54 from 1994 and came up with the ideal time period of 1940. He wrote this book as an attack against the Unibomber who almost killed him with a mail bomb in 1993; the result is more to be pitied than an expression of sadness.

Part of the fault, of course, is "The Media." He's very accurate in citing a 1996 report about the Dole campaign, "The crowd hates the reporters, the reporters hate the crowd . . . . . " True enough, except the same condition existed in 1964 when reporters covering the Republican convention feared for their lives at the hands of delegates. It not an isolated feeling. In 1968, my cousin was an actual casualty covering the Democratic convention in Chicago; in 1970, the police chief in Gallup ordered me not to attend a Democratic rally because he didn't have the manpower needed to protect me from the mob.

Welcome to the real world, Mr. Gelernter.

Despite this, modern America is a vast better than life in 1940, and in 1964. The great debate this year is whether 2004 is an improvement over 2000; anyone with an ounce of memory knows it is better than 1992, and 1988, and 1984.

Every social and material advance in society is always condemned by Luddites who are terrified of the future, disgusted by the present and barely tolerant of the past. They are personified by Ronald Reagan, who would have died in 1981 except for modern medical technology that didn't exist in 1964 when he praised Barry's Boys and their march to the past.

The future is a wonderful place. I'd like to see as much of it as possible; I don't have any desire to return to those barren yesteryears when the button shoes, spats and top hats of Bary's Boys were all in fashion.

Anyone who thinks the future means going back to the past will love this book. The writing quality is delightful, sparkling, all clever technique and devoid of intellect. If you want to go back to 1910, or even 1940, this book is a delight. But, if you wake up in the morning looking forward to an exciting new day and a bright new future, it's a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: A survivor of the Unibomber speaks out
Review: During the 1964 presidential campaign, the candidacy of Barry Goldwater was neatly summed up in a cheery song that boasted, in part, "We're the bright young men who want to go back to 1910 . . . We're Barry's Boys!"

It sums up the conservative mind set -- 50 years behind the times. Well, guess what? This book is the up-to-date version of Barry's Boys; Gelernter is a thoroughly modern 'Barry Boy' who carefully subtracted 54 from 1994 and came up with the ideal time period of 1940. He wrote this book as an attack against the Unibomber who almost killed him with a mail bomb in 1993; the result is more to be pitied than an expression of sadness.

Part of the fault, of course, is "The Media." He's very accurate in citing a 1996 report about the Dole campaign, "The crowd hates the reporters, the reporters hate the crowd . . . . . " True enough, except the same condition existed in 1964 when reporters covering the Republican convention feared for their lives at the hands of delegates. It not an isolated feeling. In 1968, my cousin was an actual casualty covering the Democratic convention in Chicago; in 1970, the police chief in Gallup ordered me not to attend a Democratic rally because he didn't have the manpower needed to protect me from the mob.

Welcome to the real world, Mr. Gelernter.

Despite this, modern America is a vast better than life in 1940, and in 1964. The great debate this year is whether 2004 is an improvement over 2000; anyone with an ounce of memory knows it is better than 1992, and 1988, and 1984.

Every social and material advance in society is always condemned by Luddites who are terrified of the future, disgusted by the present and barely tolerant of the past. They are personified by Ronald Reagan, who would have died in 1981 except for modern medical technology that didn't exist in 1964 when he praised Barry's Boys and their march to the past.

The future is a wonderful place. I'd like to see as much of it as possible; I don't have any desire to return to those barren yesteryears when the button shoes, spats and top hats of Bary's Boys were all in fashion.

Anyone who thinks the future means going back to the past will love this book. The writing quality is delightful, sparkling, all clever technique and devoid of intellect. If you want to go back to 1910, or even 1940, this book is a delight. But, if you wake up in the morning looking forward to an exciting new day and a bright new future, it's a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking, excellent work
Review: For one of his last targets, the Unabomber selected David Gelernter, a computer science instructor at Yale. Wouldn't you know, Gelernter writes, that this anti-technology terrorist picked one of the few computer science people who doesn't even like computers? But Gelernter dismisses the Unabomber as a worthless fool undeserving of serious attention, except to put him to death for his murders. Instead, Drawing Life uses the attack on the author as a starting point for a critique of our nation's culture of "victimology," of undue tolerance, of liberals, and of intellectuals.Full of sharp opinions, Drawing Life is bound to anger many who would prefer simply to sympathize with Gelernter for his injuries. The book is full of digressions, returning to Gelernter's personal situation from time to time as though only to renew his energy for another attack on the intelligentsia. But the writing is superior, and the arguments are cogent. If it does nothing else, Drawing Life should provoke worthwhile discussions on the direction in which our society is headed.

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Examination of America in the 1990's
Review: Gelernter, an associate professor of Computer Science at Yale who has little use for computers, wades into the current "politically correct" acedemic world with guns blazing and a "take no prisoners" attitude that is all too often lacking from those on the political right, who seem too intent on appearing moderate and in the process lose all sense of outrage, said outrage being Gelernter's primary stock in trade. Along the way, the author delves into religion, music and art with a seriousness and grace that are all too often lacking in political discourse. This is a thin, tightly written book which could and should be discussed for years. BRAVO!

Rating:
Summary: Terrific; buy it now
Review: Gelernter, an associate professor of Computer Science at Yale who has little use for computers, wades into the current "politically correct" acedemic world with guns blazing and a "take no prisoners" attitude that is all too often lacking from those on the political right, who seem too intent on appearing moderate and in the process lose all sense of outrage, said outrage being Gelernter's primary stock in trade. Along the way, the author delves into religion, music and art with a seriousness and grace that are all too often lacking in political discourse. This is a thin, tightly written book which could and should be discussed for years. BRAVO!

Rating:
Summary: Not very good.
Review: This is a beautifully written book by a courageous man. It has a unique perspective. Gelertner values what is important in life. But the politics are moronic. In spite of that, the book makes you think. Freddy Sweet, Ph.D. [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: I wish every American would read this book.
Review: This is an outstanding example of inspiration without the saccharine that afflicts most inspiring books today. Professor Gelernter survived the nearly fatal attack by the unabomber through gallantry, the ability to find something to be grateful for even in the midst of tragedy, and the support of his family, his friends, and his faith. He has shed nearly all of his bitterness, and his story is a text for recovery from tragedy. It is more than that, though. It is also in the tradition of authors like George Steiner, seeking to diagnose the ills of a society in which, using Gelernter's own words, the twentieth century has become itself a crime scene. Gelernter writes sparsely and bluntly about the transformation which has taken place in America since the 1960's. Traditions and restraints have been broken, and putting things back together will take a long time and a lot of perseverence. We have spent our grandparents' moral capital and have surrendered traditional values to the new intelligensia. Whether you accept all of Gelernter's social criticism or not, you must read the book for the stirring recitation of recovery which rejected victimization in favor of redemption. The tale of a gallant and noble soul.