Caligula by Suetonius

Blimey! It all started off so well for Gaius Caligula, doing all these seemingly good and groovy things as emperor; reinstating this, giving out that, building stuff, I began to wonder if my impressions of him as a complete nut job were over inflated. Then, Suetonius writes 'so much for Gaius the Emperor; the rest of this history must needs deal with Gaius the Monster', after which all the weird, violent and sadistic stuff starts happening; he really was an unpleasant and deeply twisted individual by all accounts; if he'd been born to ordinary folk he'd have been bad enough, I'm sure; but to be born into the position of ultimate imperial power, well, his depraved excesses knew no limits, nothing was off limits to him. It's incredible and really quiet scary as to what depths people can sink to. As you'd imagine, it didn't end well for him; although I'm sure it couldn't end soon enough for all those Gaius Caligula took umbridge against or a fancy to.

Richard Hakluyt's adventures

They say history's written by the victors, and reading Richard Hakluyt's, The Voyage of Sir Francis Drake Around the Whole Globe, written first hand in the late 16th century, it is. Our view of Francis Drake, and his contemporaries, would appear to be somewhat sugar coated, indeed purposefully deceptive; it seems that rather than the dashing explorers and gentleman adventurer  types, Drake and his ilk were little more than a bunch marauding bandits and pirates, who with his men, and with the blessing of the Queen, robbed everybody they came across; makes you proud to be British. Thomas Candish on another voyage around the world; was even worse than Drake; Candish was even more brutal. In essence Hakluyt's accounts of his journeys with Drake and Candish read; saw a ship, boarded it, robbed it, killed some folk, sunk it; visited a port, landed, robbed it, burnt it, killed some folk; saw some fellows, robbed them, possibly kidnapped, tortured or killed them; saw some native types, exploited them and maybe killed them; returned home ladened with riches for tea and cake. No wonder so many peoples hated us so, essentially we were bullies; okay, I know, this was all undertaken in the context of a period of war with Spain, but still, clearly the British were somewhat different to decent wholesome heroic chaps which our history books portray; they were morally indifferent to friend or foe at best.

Still, I'm loving these Penguin little black classics; they're great!.

Plato, Socrates' Defence

Socrates' Defence by Plato; what a great read. Plato's book is but a tiny window onto the life of one of the classical periods most notable philosophers, though through Socrates' defence I got the impression he was a rebel thinker, at odds with the establishment of Athenian society, who asked more questions than he gave answers, he believe we should care more about our morals and soul than the acquisition of trinkets and such like; in that respect I saw reflections of Eastern philosophy. His defence against, what was a death penalty, seemed a moral and honourable defence that appeared bound to fail when accused by those who clearly weren't; he gently poked at his accusers, the jury and Athenian society, in a way that, to my mind, could only wind them up: funny guy. He was defiant, yet humble to the end, as you'd imagine it didn't end well for him. The last section of the book, where Socrates talks of death is thoughtful and thought provoking. I came away thinking, I must read more of Socrates. 

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

It's been said, if a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20, he has no heart, and if he is not a conservative by the time he is 40, he has no brain; obviously, that's utter bollocks, although too often it would appear the older folk get the more right wing they become. I first read Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, many years ago as a teen with a growing political appetite with left of center sensibilities; and so was interested to revisit it now as a jaded adult, who if the saying was true should have moved to the right, though in reality hasn't moved a at all. I still look left, still agree with their basic premises, which I believe still hold true; that equality of opportunity, a genuine stake in society and opportunity to shape said society are our fundamental rights. Now though I see some failings in how Marx and Engels thought this would or could be achieved, as well as maybe a touch of naivety. Particularly in their assertion that the necessity for the bourgeoisie to educate their workforces would lead to the downfall of the bourgeoisie and the road to salvation for working people; agreed, education can liberate people, but why hadn't they considered that education would be used as a tool by the bourgeoisie to maintain their control, as it continues too; surely they must have foreseen that the bourgeoisie would not relinquish control so easily? Of course, I'm being unfair, they couldn't foresee the future and it's too easy for me to criticize them with my benefit of hindsight; at least they proposed a better world. Though communism didn't bring about liberation, equality and opportunity for the working masses, how could it; Marx and Engels had already remarked how revolutions only became effective when a section of the bourgeoisie had broken away to become part of said revolution; inevitably ensuring the perpetuation of the old system, merely in another form. I'm sure both Marx and Engels would be pissed to see the regimes who've called themselves 'Communists', it's clearly not what they had in mind. Still a good read and certainly food for thought.

Baltasar Gracián

I've finished the first of my Penguin little black classics: Baltasar Gracián, 'How to use your enemies'. An enjoyable read and an insight into the world of the 1600's, a world of deception and illusion, it would appear much like today, which Graciáns aphorisms illustrate beautifully. Much of it raises a smile, as you it's true. His observations on human behaviour and interaction are astute, and as people is people, Graciáns words are just as pertinent for todays world.

Penguin little black classics

Penguin little black classics, at 80p each they're a bargain! And, with 80 titles to choose from you're also spoilt for choice. Each book is about 50, or so, pages long and offers an opportunity to dip into the works of some of the worlds most noted authors from across the ages. I picked up a handful of titles today and can't wait to get reading.