99% Invisible
My ‘real’ book for the month though was one called 99% Invisible, from the podcast of the same name. It’s a series of insights about the hidden architecture of cities and social systems. It’s not as good as the series it is based on (which I wholeheartedly recommend) but I learned quite a lot from it. I had no idea for example that home delivery of mail was a direct consequence of the American Civil War – it was considered unfairly cruel for widows to be told of their dead husbands in the public surroundings of a post office. Little insights like that litter the text and it’s a breezy, easy read about a topic that I don’t otherwise consider inherently absorbing.
What does aggravate me a little though is that the decision was taken to include only illustrative line-drawings throughout rather than actual photographs of the places and things referenced. It really does undermine the text because you lose the important link between ‘what’s interesting’ and ‘how it looks’. Instead you get unconvincing and often unclear artistic renderings.
As I say, the podcast is much better – one of the greats. Although if I was going to get into the business of recommending podcasts your way I’d start with the phenomenal ‘Reply All’. It’s the reason why it’s still okay for any of us to still be on the Internet, knowing what we do about its corrosive nature.
A Game of Birds and Wolves
I resented an awful lot of the start of this book, because it felt like the author had pulled the ol’ switcheroo on me. The blurb promises to delve into the story of the game that won the Battle of the Atlantic. And yet the first… third, maybe, of the book is a history of the formation of the U-Boat corps interweaved with the story of the formation of the Women’s Royal Naval Service. It’s so far removed from the title that it feels like someone may have made a mistake at the printers. In its defence, this content is interesting – and it turns out relevant – but still, it’s a far cry from what I was expecting. 120 pages of what is essentially ‘scene setting’ asks a lot of the reader when they are waiting for the promise of the title to make an appearance.
After a while, the book starts to wind its way towards the Game of Birds and Wolves, and at this point it becomes a fascinating exploration of WATU – the Western Approaches Tactical Unit and how the young women of WRNS (affectionately and then later officially designated as ‘Wrens’) were instrumental in its conduct. Here is where we find a retired naval officer called Gilbert Roberts designing compelling wargames that could be used by naval officers in the ongoing ‘Tonnage War’. The techniques and tactics developed by Gilberts and his Wrens went on to be instrumental in ending the terror of the U-Boats (especially the dreaded wolf packs that plagued Western shipping routes), and in saving Britain from starvation. Much of the background noise of World War 2 was a war of logistics, in which Germany attempted to sink more tonnage of shipping than Britain could replace. If they reached a certain threshold, Britain would be unable to sustain its population even with severe rationing. Britain, then as now, is an import economy for many of its staples. At that point, Germany could press its advantage and win the war.
In 1942, Germany sunk almost six million tons of shipping. In 1943, after Churchill had tasked twenty destroyers to anti U-Boat activities (largely on the basis of WATU simulations), that had dropped to 2.3m tons. In 1944, it was a mere 600,000 tons. The British navy went from sinking 87 U-boats in 1942 to sinking 244 in 1943 and 249 in 1944. WATU was massively important to winning the Battle for the Atlantic, and that in turn put Britain in a position where they were able to see a sliver of victory on the horizon.
This is the story told in A Game of Birds and Wolves and it’s told very well, if a little dishonestly. There’s a lot of puff around the book being the first to tell the story of WATU. In truth though, the story of WATU was told back in the 70s by Mark William, and it only adds a little more to that original tale. The success of the book has certainly raised the profile of WATU, but there’s a lot of self-congratulation that isn’t really warranted. And as serious historians have pointed out, the book plays too fast and loose with the historical record – stressing what feels authentic rather than what is authentic. It’s also perhaps overly critical of the work that proceeded WATU, coming across in certain passages more like a hatchet job. And even the subtitle of the book is somewhat misleading – while the Wrens do get plenty of coverage, it is clearly a book about Gilbert and the Wolves rather than ‘the birds’ so prominently advertised.
A worthwhile read, certainly. But should be taken with a pinch of salt if you were looking for a history book rather than a well-written piece of historical narrative.
Americanah
There’s a lot going on in this book. In many ways it feels like a ‘Greatest Hits’ album of worthy topics. Off the top of my head, you’ll find reflections on everything from race in America, to gender and sexuality, to privilege and politics. It passes by migration policy, relationships and intimacy, hope through symbolism, popular culture and the language of love. I’m sure if I sat down with the book again I’d find another dozen themes reflected within. I did get a lot out of it, but honestly it feels like there’s way too much book in this book. It’s insightful and thoughtful and it doesn’t really skimp on a generously dose of empathy in all its dealings, but it is intellectually exhausting. It feels like a book with ADHD, leaping wildly from point to point without really digging deeply into any of them.
On the other hand, perhaps it’s not quite enough book for what it is trying to be, which is a sprawling epic set over three continents, forty years, and multiple intersecting personal histories. There’s a lot of gorgeous writing in here. Warmth. Affection. It’s even meaningfully critical while never losing sight of the human frailties that are at play when living within socioeconomic classification. It just feels a lot of the time like you’re being hose-fed a torrent of social studies papers by earnest first year university students. By the time you’ve incorporated a new theme into your perception of the book, you’re already three themes behind. A little more focus I think would have turned this from an excellent book (which it is) into an outstanding one.
Ankh-Morpork Archives Vol 2
I said when I reviewed Volume One of this that it felt like a vaguely grubby cash-in – little of real merit, and clearly written to wring just a little more revenue out of the Discworld licence. Volume 2 is more of the same. I couldn’t possibly recommend it to you. While it doesn’t lift text directly from the books it certainly plagiarises a lot of the jokes and so you’d have a much better time if you just… well, read the books.
I’ll still buy the next one though because they look really nice on my shelves. Score one for naked consumerism I guess.