James Crawford (6) (1978–)

This is a collection of crime fiction stories that a friend brought back for me from Scotland this past October. The collection comprises twelve short stories, each inspired by and centering in some way around a different Scottish landmark. There's an introduction by Crawford at the begninng, and a map of all twelve locations followed by brief descriptions and visiting information for each location at the end. Finally, there are bios for each contributing author.

I enjoyed most of the stories. There were a few I didn't care for, and a few that were just okay, but more that I actively liked.

I like the concept of having each writer submit a piece inspired by a specific Scottish landmark, and that each story was prefaced with a picture. I do think it would have been even better had the pictures been in color, but I also recognize the likely practical reasons why this wasn't done. I really appreciate the map and brief information on each location at the end of the volume.

I’m not sure what the rationale was behind the order of the stories, especially the first and last, which are not among the strongest in the collection. I'm not sure that changing the order would have done anything to or for the overall effect, though, so it's mostly just idle wondering rather than a true complaint.

Overall, a good collection, and well worth reading if you can get your hands on it.… (más)

Definitely interesting, if a bit skewed toward Europe. I was expecting a little more architectural commentary--the book definitely skews toward history rather than descriptions of details and functionality, and the quality of both the latter decreases as the book progresses. Having had to track down rights for images, I understand why there aren't more...but dang, it's too bad!

Anyway, still a fascinating book. The chapters aren't too long, either, so you can dip in and out if you want.

Some of my favorite chapters/buildings:

5. The Temple of Jerusalem - I knew a little about the history of the Jewish temple(s), but of course there's so much more than just those structures.
12. The Fortress of Golconda - I really, really wanted more description here
16. Kowloon Walled City - Dang, this was fascinating! Probably my favorite building/city to learn about
17. The Pruitt-Igoe - As someone who loves the idea of people living in close, shared quarters (because it's better for the environment), this was more than a bit of a wake-up call.
20. GeoCities - I was just a little too young to experience this, unfortunately. I had one friend with a GeoCities fan page for the book and movie Les Miserables, but I never ventured further.

I was also very interested in the chapters on the Tower of Babel, Akhetaten, the Library of Alexandria, and Karakorum, but I knew enough about them to start that I didn't get the thrill of new discovery that I felt with the chapters above.


Quote Round-Up
I started out promising myself I wouldn't make any notes. Ha!


The Library of Babel

p. 177) Ptolemy founded two great institutions: a 'Shrine to the Muses' - a building known more commonly as a museum...
Yep, that's it. I was floored that I'd never thought about where that word came from!

p. 193) The iron of this uber-library [one containing every book that could possibly exist] was that the possibility of any book having been written did not have any bearing on the probability of finding it. This vast written archive was neither curated nor critiqued, and expert accounts would be shelved side by side with imperfect or nonsensical ones. Universal knowledge, in [Argentinian author Jorge Louis] Borges' library, simply meant too much information.
Enter the librarian! I read [b:A Canticle for Leibowitz|164154|A Canticle for Leibowitz (St. Leibowitz, #1)|Walter M. Miller Jr.|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450516880l/164154._SY75_.jpg|250975] for one of my LIBSCI classes, but it sounds like Borges' short story "The Library of Babel" may have been just as--if not even more--pertinent.


The Hippodrome of Constantinople

p. 208) The dialogue between the crowd and the emperor had grown into an almost ritual performance, an extension of the entertainments that played out on the arena sands. As a result, it gradually fell to the most passionate and vocal of the circus fans to lead the cheer for or against imperial policy.
Well, if that isn't disturbingly timely, given our political situation. Being reminded of the "bread and circus" philosophy as a whole really struck a chord.


Karakorum

p. 296) [Since it was more than a little out of the way] Ogodei's plan for turning his new capital into an essential destination for Silk Road trading caravans [was that] he would pay vastly inflated prices for any goods passing through Karakorum.
This gave me a chuckle, as did Ogodei's comment to his incredulous advisers that only reputation will stand the test of time. If only certain modern-day billionaires would think the same way. Ahem.


The Berlin Wall

p. 484-485) This willingness to spend money beautifying the Wall...was an attempt to cover up the structure's fundamental, unavoidable flaw: it was the wrong way around. As a former border-guard-turned-defector told the West German newspaper Der Spiegel in 1981: 'They always said--anti-fascist protection rampart. But the whole thing was built back to font... Everybody saw this. It was built so that no one from our side could go over.'
Certainly that's the narrative that has prevailed since the wall came down. Knowing how people can be, though, I wonder how many ordinary East Berliners actually believed that the Wall was protecting them from the West. Also, I'm more than a little disappointed that no one in Soviet propaganda realized this problem and tried to fix it: barbed wire and conveniently-in-the-way pipes on both sides of the wall; and commissioned pro-Soviet murals might have helped play down the keeping-in aspect.


GeoCities

p. 524) In June 1999, protesters crowded the streets of GeoCities in a virtual demonstration that threatened to turn into a virtual riot. Many left the city, never to return. What had caused such an impassioned out-cry? ... Geocities had been sharing residents' personal registration information with advertisers.
This is absolutely, sadly hilarious. Now no one cares what information we share with advertisers. I mean, look at me--Amazon's probably using my ratings of these books to try to sell me more books on Amazon, but I keep rating and reviewing anyway!

p. 533) GeoCities was the very first internet city. It will also likely be the last. Basing web structures on real-world counterparts is already out-moded. The city has been replaced by the cloud. Instead of a digital earth, we now have digital heaven, an omnipotent repository of data that is nowhere and everywhere all at once. We are no longer citizens of the net, but consumers. We do not have to live in the web anymore, because the web lives with us, carried in our pockets...
I'm genuinely sad I missed GeoCities. I love the idea of the place-based internet.


Palmyra

p. 553) Zenobia and the Palmyrenes did not so much want to overthrow Rome as take control of its bureaucratic economic networks in a bid to dominate world trade. It was a plan of breath-taking confidence and ambition.
Once again, I was startled by how relevant this seems to our current times. This sounds exactly like something China or Russia might do these days, "invading" over the internet more for economic reasons than geographically imperial ones.… (más)

Anthology of short stories: crime fiction set against the background of real places in Scotland and the islands thereabout. The characters are fiction, though. I liked nearly every story, some more than others. The stories range from one involving a murder involving Vikings, through ones involving revenge, cannibalism and just plain evil, even including one of my favorites: "Sanctuary": a gothic fantasy complete with ghost. The only one I disliked: "The last siege of Bothwell Castle": Islamic State takeover of the castle, with tourists. A section after the stories tells the background of each setting.

Recommended.… (más)