It's interesting how humble you can feel when walking amidst
thousands upon thousands of books. I wandered through the history
section of the lovely and art endowed Los Angeles County Central
Library (
http://www.lapl.org/central/art_architecture.html) which
was organized by country/region, and/or individual, and went from
the tumultous Koreans right into Japan. One moment, it's all this
north-south damn-those-chinese-and-americans kind of talk, the next,
there's twigs and blossoms and peace. Well, that's how it started,
but it soon grew ugly as the section broadened into warfare.
Warfare, art, warfare, art... I understand you can study both, but
it seemed a curious mixture to have them interspaced. There was a
theme here, but I couldn't quite lay my finger on it. (Of course,
going back a bit in the Korea section revealed that they, too,
shared no love of the Japanese, probably due to the twice a millenia
invasions by those folks. What is so wonderful about Korea that the
Japanese kept invading it?)
So I snagged Mr. Turnbull's Osprey book and "Samurai, A Military
History," also by that same worthy, and found that the Osprey book
was meaty reading for such a thin tome. I suspect, from Turnbull's
many offerings, that he is an excellent gent to start with, and then
to branch out when my abundant free time is no longer taken up by
these books. Suggestions, anyone? (Or, if there's a reading list
compiled by some person, kindly direct me to it?)
After picking up those volumes, I wandered some more, and mused on
the fact that someone, somewhere, for some reason completely unknown
to me, thinks it important that we preserve the 1964 yellow pages
for Des Moines, Iowa. Else, why have it available for checkout, in
a library created ugly brown cover, with black lettering? If only
Andrew could see his progeny now, and think, "for this, I ruthlessly
crushed all other steel companies?" Ah, but the rest of the place!
It was enough to humble your kind author. I know so very little
about anything. Soon, I will know a very little about this subject,
too. :)
Cheers.