Doug Wins Our Verdict

Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Doug for his gracious hospitality last night. He resisted the temptation to feed us along party lines (i.e., Italian for the right wingers and Thai for the left leaners) and instead heaped mounds of non-partisan poultry and beef on platters and invited us to make our selections. That, combined with twice-baked potatoes and far too many dessert choices, may have encouraged gluttony over moderation. (At least it did for this intemperate centrist.)

While we enjoyed Doug's beautiful home, we sympathized with the inordinate investment he's made behind the walls. Doug, at least you have Al Stewart’s haunting melodies to motivate you as you make his home yours.

The Book
The Nine, Toobin’s recent expose of the Supreme Court, prompted more vigorous discussion than I ever imagined. In a gathering of 13 men (with only 2 lawyers to keep us honest), I assumed that the court’s personalities and issues would barely keep our attention. I was wrong.

Doug provoked us from the start by asking if we could identify Toobin’s sources and therefore his sympathies. We all chimed in with some obvious candidates (Breyer, Kennedy) and concluded that since he was most sympathetic to O’Connor, he must have spent a lot of time in Phoenix. Since Toobin writes with no attribution, Doug’s question forced us all to recognize the limits of Toobin’s reporting.

The unabashed politics of the Supreme Court aroused some comment. For people with life tenure, the members of the court show themselves surprisingly reactive to the events of the day. Larry echoed Toobin’s observation that O’Connor, while less beholden to precedent, usually sought to broker a compromise that provided guidance to the lower courts. Jack wondered whether the court, having grown more conservative since O’Connor’s departure, would soon be marginalized by more liberal executive and legislative branches. Glenn seemed taken with the notion that the court, regardless of its politics, moves more slowly in order to temper Congress’ gyrations.

Peter questioned the representative authority of an institution that repeatedly takes its members (and its clerks) from the same half dozen elite law schools. Perhaps in response to Peter’s understandable ignorance (and our poor memories), Tom pulled out his daughter’s 8th grade US History text and held forth on the constitution and each of its 27 amendments. Get ready for a quiz at the next meeting, fellows. I hear Tom is a sucker for questions on the scope of the 14th Amendment….

We gave this book a 6.5, a solid but unspectacular rating. The subject matter kept most guys interested, but Garth lamented the formulaic chapter transitions, John described the narration as tedious, and I yearned for a little more substance.

Next Up
George introduced a twist in our usual book selection process. Instead of starting with proposed titles, he offered us three possible dinner menus for our next meeting. To a man, we opted for the African stew paired with aphrodisiacal gazelle horns (as opposed to the short ribs or the enchilada stacks). When presented with the literary counterpart for each menu, we abandoned our palate in favor of our funny bone. Yes, gentlemen, my prediction came true: you eagerly raised your hands for Steve Martin’s Born Standing Up and you rejected a title from Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) as well as an African coming-of-age story (Beah’s A Long Way Gone).

George’s clever departure from our selection criteria was worthy of Chief Justice Earl Warren. No strict constructionist, George (like Warren) made new MBC law when he elevated Steve Martin to the level of Cormac McCarthy. Well, we can only hope that Stan rediscovers our original intent upon his return from Brazil.

Roy's Our Gatsby

Acknowledgments
Last night Roy’s hospitality was like coming home. No women, no children—just a house full of men and distilled spirits and food fit for kings. The Dungeness crab, pasta, and assorted sides were all we needed to feel as generously treated as Jay Gatsby’s guests. Had Roy turned the pool lights on, we might have jumped in and made for East Egg.

Roy, thank you for your hospitality and for the insider’s tour of your distillery, er, laboratory. Perhaps someday we’ll also see the armory. In the meantime, we’re content knowing that yours is the sanctuary we’ll retreat to next time the lights go off.

(But if our lights do go off, we know that Garth's won't. He was simply stunning in his electroluminescent smoking jacket. If only Roy had made good on his threat to wear pink last night. The two of them might have decamped to the Castro Theatre after our meeting.)

The Book
Our discussion of The Great Gatsby started off in two venues. At my table, there seemed to be some question about whether it deserved the recognition it’s received. Peter certainly didn’t think so, and Doug’s description of Fitzgerald’s troubled last years eking out a living in Hollywood wasn’t inspiring.

When our groups joined together, I asked if this book deserved its position in the pantheon of great American novels. The initial reaction was underwhelming, but the final tally produced a huge thumbs-up. With a 7.7 rating, TGG takes top honors to date.

Despite my encounter with Roy’s unadulterated gin, I remember a few of the sentiments from our run around the table. But I’m already confusing them with comments made during the Quiz Reveal that followed. So, here’s my selective mash-up:

Our two power engineers (Tom and Dean) used almost identical language to express their fondness for the book and its brevity, with Dean also noting that the characters’ unrealized ambitions find a parallel in the lives of middle aged men everywhere. (How dare you call us middle-aged, Dean!)

Roy, evidently addled by exposure to Red Line synthetic lubricants, couldn’t separate Jay Gatsby from Coleman Silk in The Human Stain. Terry, whose Harvard education omitted TGG, was dismayed to learn that motor oil now costs more than $1.98/qt.

Larry faulted Fitzgerald for elongating a short story into a novel. Indeed, he called it a “novella,” a term he picked up during those interminable PTA meetings in the school library. Peter, still suffering from either altitude sickness or ethnocentrism, felt that TGG was a disappointingly incomplete work. Garth rejected Fitzgerald’s "vacuous" caricature of the American Dream in favor of…yes…the version touted for Burning Man 2008!

Doug’s sympathy with the characters’ Midwest/East Coast perspectives was lost on us as we marveled at all of his hockey injuries, including the nicked carotid artery. Jeff (Andover) and George (Redwood), both participants in that most elite of sports (yes, I speak of the crew), opined on the class tensions in TGG. No irony there.

I forget the commentary from Stan and Armando, as I was more intrigued by their later references to waxing styles in Brazil and using Zig Zag papers as art media. Finally, Dan, even if you are worth only $49.95 to your wife, your empathy for the Wilson character is ours, too.

Next Up
Doug gave us three outstanding options. For fiction, he proposed Russo’s Nobody’s Fool. For non-fiction, he offered The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin. And in the history category, he proposed Ellis’ Founding Brothers. Our choice was surprisingly easy: we voted overwhelmingly for The Nine. So, as we explore the personalities sitting atop the least scrutinized branch of government, let’s thank Doug for steering us (temporarily) away from fiction.

The Men of Man Book Club

We've been getting together since last May, but there's a lot we still don't know about each other. Just how much, we'll soon find out. At the end of an upcoming meeting, I'll administer the following "quiz" and we'll see who's been listening and who's been drinking. The one with the most right answers gets an extra fine bottle of red that has been reclining in my cellar since Terry sold me the house.

Before the quiz, you may do all the homework you like, but no fair volunteering your own (or someone else's) data unless asked....

(Note: Everyone is featured; a few come up twice.)

1. According to his wife, this man is worth only $49.95, because that’s all she paid an internet dating service to find him.
2. He played NCAA Division I hockey.
3. These two attended Harvard.
4. These two have wives who attended Harvard.
5. He attended Yale (with his wife).
6. He was the 20th employee of Netscape.
7. After trekking through the Himalayas, he worked all winter at a ski resort in Austria.
8. These two are longtime “power” engineers. (For extra credit, name their companies.)
9. One was, until recently, a nationally-ranked cyclist; the other is on a nationally-ranked rowing team (3rd place at the 2007 Head of the Charles).
10. His products are sold around the world using the trade name Red Line.
11. These two attended the oldest boarding school in the country. (For extra credit, name the school.)
12. He completed the Paris-Brest-Paris race, at 1,200 km the oldest bike race in the world. (He is not the cyclist mentioned above.)
13. At the 2007 Burning Man Festival in Nevada, these two men designed, built and operated a communal shower and water recycling facility.
14. These two were once PTA presidents.

Tom's Tortillas and More

Acknowledgments
Last night Tom fed us well and single handedly too. Okay, aided briefly by his sous-chef (John prepared the guacamole), and closely observed by a hungry Robin and Casey, Tom turned out a meal worthy of a Mexican Tenksgeevee. His enchiladas, chopped anchovies on Caesar, and Spanish rice were complemented by an exquisite homemade Mud Pie. The frozen hand emerging from the dessert was a delicious bit of culinary symbolism.

(Peter/Dean, since you didn’t finish the book, we’ll let you in on a secret: Garth’s high-concept dessert suggestion, which Tom executed so well, is explained in the last two pages of the novel. While you're at it, try to figure out why John arrived wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and Stan was sporting huaraches.)

Tom, thank you for hosting us with such grace and generosity. Fifteen bookmen arrived hungry and went home satisfied.

We welcomed Glenn to our group last night. He was an inaugural MBC member, but his yearlong stint in Colorado has prevented him from joining us until now. Now that he's back in Marin (and cycling with Terry), we know all's well in his and our world.

The Book
Our run around the table produced a surprising verdict on Tortilla Curtain: we all seemed to like the book enormously, but there was no scarcity of criticism. I put the book in my Top Ten, but learned that most of you quarreled with the novel’s accelerated ending (glad you read it this time, Roy), the implausible attitudes of the principal characters (including Delaney’s rapid conversion to the dark side), Boyle’s failure to capture more of the complexity of the migrant worker experience, and an alleged lack of originality (Larry, I'm putting words in your mouth). To all of your criticisms, I say rubbish! I’m still taking T.C. Boyle to the proverbial desert island (but maybe I’ll take Stan’s suggestion and bring along Water Music instead).

Despite the quibbles over tone and style and substance, the book pulled a 7.5 rating, our highest to date. Even Jack, voting absentee, gave it a 7. (Note to Dan: Jack missed because of a conflict NOT involving his wife or mother-in-law!)

In the Painful Parallels department, we have in our midst a self-described Mexican naturalist (Armando); two former SoCal denizens, one raised outside the proliferating gated communities (Glenn) and one inside (John); our carpetbagger from Rolling Hills Estates who declined to state on the gate issue (Terry); an Australian whose convict roots and dubious morals make him our poster child for immigration control (Peter); and the usual polyglot assortment from the Emerald Isle, eastern Europe, and Asia, whose ancestors were despised by the immigrants who preceded them. As Terry asked us, who will the Mexicans despise 50 years from now?

Next Up
In a serious breach of protocol, Roy proffered only one book for our consideration. But since our straw vote revealed that most were satisfied with the choice, we all agreed to read Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby for next month. For later consideration, George recommended Updike’s Rabbit series and others mentioned a desire for non-fiction (including Glenn, who touted The Last Place on Earth; Armando, who liked America in 1492; and George, who proposed a title (name?) about a 19th century US expedition around the world). Keep bringing your recommendations to future meetings.

Killer Angels Considered for Davidson Eighth Grade

The eighth grade history teachers at Davidson are considering Killer Angels as a supplemental text for their eighth grade honors history classes. I was asked by Mabel Bialik, my son's teacher, to provide input and agreed to meet with several Davidson teachers tomorrow (1-8) at 2:30 at Davidson. I obviously liked the book and would recommend it, but I know many of you were not as enthusiastic.   Thus I wanted to offer you the opportunity to provide Mrs. Bialik and the other eighth grade history teachers other views.

I will write in my comments that the book may not grab the interest of girls as there are few women mentioned in the book.

I'm sure they would welcome any comments you would have either tomorrow or via e-mail. You can also reply to this posting and I will see that it gets relayed to the teachers.

Of note, the eighth graders that go on the D.C. field trip this spring will visit Gettysburg. 

-- Larry