July's Book: The Hobo Handbook

The Hobo Handbook by Josh Mack
Non-Fiction (2011 - 200 pp.)

The Hobo Handbook is one of the most practical books I've ever read. Although I doubt I'll become an 1890s-style riding the rails with no fixed address hobo at any time, the book is remarkably modern. A life of Craigslist odd-jobs, VIA/Amtrak rides and couch surfing feels a lot more doable than the frequently mentioned train-hopping. Camping is also discussed at length. While I knew about a few of the subjects Josh Mack mentions (like the importance of purifying water), tips on how to cook a fish over a campfire are useful even for the relatively light packer who isn't a hobo. Sections like the one on signage hobos use to communicate feel quainter but add to the historical background Mack uses to flesh out the reasoning behind the hobo way of life.

The main premise of all this travel is the romantic notion of living life without being under the control of landlords, cable companies, you name it. Mack concedes this control may not seem so bad after a while on the road. I've never been one to rail against corporations, and indeed, Mack discusses the importance of maintaining a bank account. The hobo experience is one that truly has to be done for love, as it isn't profitable and doesn't succeed in removing you from society. The money you save not having to pay rent and bills (although you'll probably maintain a smartphone anyway) is more than offset from the money you aren't getting working a traditional job. The hobo lifestyle started as a way for the unemployed and unattached to travel the United States while finding work wherever it came. Perhaps that resonates with the open-minded yet increasingly jobless youth of today?

My favourite parts are the ones that depart from the book's very loose story entirely. The opening Hobo Aptitude Test and the three appendices vindicate The Hobo Handbook's purported field guide status. I have a penchant for books like this, having read so many novels in my 25 years I need frequent changes of pace. The lack of traditional literary forms is what makes The Hobo Handbook so much fun. Seeing as Mack has done much of what he writes, I was worried this might be an account of his travels. The end product here is far more interesting.

The only qualm I have with this book is the sometimes lax copy-editing. Seemingly every chapter has one or two typos. It's not enough to interrupt the flow of the book, just enough to make an author/journalist/humanities graduate like me a tiny bit annoyed. Otherwise, the language is accessible enough for an airport read yet engaging enough for a more in-depth look.

Ease of Reading: 8
Educational Content: 8

Happy Canada Day!

It's apparently one of those things I say on here.

A Tiny Peek into State of Sin

State of Sin is the working title of the novel I'm about to write. I wrote this promotional blurb for it, working city names and all. Here's a piece of the writing process:

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Bankers, farmers and mobsters fight over what it means to be a good person. The boardrooms of Fourth Rome vie with the homesteads of Inlandia for supremacy in the legislature. For some, one moral miscue is a banishment to the underworld – for others, acting morally is the problem. A shroud of lawlessness means morality is all that matters.

June's Book: The Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine by Jay Sexton
History (2011 - 250 pp.)

The Monroe Doctrine is an easily readable (at least to the history major), well-written narrative about the history of the Monroe Doctrine from its drafting in 1823 until World War I. It concerns itself primarily with the men who drafted it (including then-future president John Quincy Adams), the intellectual conception of the Doctrine from approximately 1823-1920, and most of all the domestic and foreign policy ramifications. Jay Sexton aptly states that perhaps the Monroe Doctrine should be pluralized, as its many interpretations included such diametric opposites as expansionist/isolationist and anti-slavery/pro-slavery. The story of empire as it unfolded in nineteenth-century America is connected to the malleability of the Doctrine, as Sexton demonstrates.

As someone who has received at least some baseline historical training, but not in American history, I found the book very accessible. Sexton assumes the reader has an idea of who the presidents of the period were and what the major world events were. He does not, however, presume intimate knowledge of the background involved, for example the why of the Gadsden Purchase or of the 1895 kerfuffle in Venezuela. He also stays very strictly on topic, avoiding perhaps interesting side commentaries on events indirectly influencing invocations of the Monroe Doctrine such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act. One of the more curious aspects of the book is his willingness to cast usually derided presidents like James Buchanan in a rather neutral light. The whole book is refreshing in this way.

The one criticism I can make of this book is that nowhere does it actually include the text of the Monroe Doctrine. A full reprinting of Monroe's 1823 address, with the paragraphs identified as the Doctrine in bold, would be best. It must be in the public domain by now, after all. While I am certain I could find it easily, it would be very convenient to have the text handy for reference as I read. Getting through a 250-page on the impact of a document not made readily available to the reader feels a little awkward.

Ease of Reading: 4
Educational Content: 9

2013 Clean Air Commute

From now until June 23 (this coming Saturday), take some method of transportation other than driving to your workplace for the chance to win prizes! As a devoted transit-goer, the 21st annual Clean Air Commute sounds great to me. Canadians only.

I'm on Gaia Insights

Their website now features me. I am now someone who can give Gen Y-related opinions.

The 10 Paradoxes of Creative People

Great post by Sheri Leblanc on creativity. I can definitely identify, pretty much all around.