Last week I posted about this month’s Wall Street Journal Book Club choice, Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust. My public library had a copy of the 1988 film version so I watched that. The cast is impressive: James Wilby as Tony Last, Kristin Scott Thomas as Brenda Last, Rupert Graves as John Beaver, Anjelica Huston as Mrs. Rattery, Judi Dench as Mrs. Beaver, and Alec Guinness as Mr. Todd. But Waugh’s story of Bad Decisions and the tragic consequences still casts a pall over this work. As Roger Ebert said, “A Handful of Dust” has more cruelty in it than a dozen violent Hollywood thrillers, and it is all expressed so quietly, almost politely. GRADE: B

Richard A. Epstein is worried about the state of our country. “In virtually all areas of law, the Constitution has to deal with the twin questions of takings and givings” (p. 492). And Epstein thinks all parts of the Government–executive, legislative, and judicial–have overreached. “Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security all have the capacity to bankrupt the nation” (p. 312). Epstein quotes a former President’s warning, “A government big enought to give you everything you want is a government big enough take from you everything you have” (p. 18). Epstein argues for a smaller, more compact and sustainable Government based on the original classical liberal Constitution. This 684-page tome explores the Constitution in detail. If you’re a history buff, you’ll find plenty in this book that you didn’t know about the Constitution and the Supreme Court. I found Epstein’s analysis compelling and persuasive. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface: My Constitutional Odyssey
Part One: Preliminaries
Introduction: Our Two Constitutions
1. The Classical Liberal Synthesis
2. The Progressive Response
3. Constitutional Interpretation: The Original and the Prescriptive Constitutions
Part Two: Constitutional Structures
Section I: The Judicial Power
4. The Origins of Judicial Review
5. Marbury and Martin
6. Standing: Background and Origins
7. Modern Standing Law
8. The Political Question Doctrine
Section II: The Legislative Power
9. The Commerce Power: Theory and Practice, 1787–1865
10. The Commerce Clause in Transition: 1865–1937
11. The Commerce Clause: Transformation to Consolidation, 1937–1995
12. Constitutional Pushback: 1995 to Present, from Lopez to NFIB
13. Enumerated Powers: Taxing and Spending
14. The Necessary and Proper Clause
15. The Dormant Commerce Clause
Section III: The Executive Power
16. Basic Principles and Domestic Powers
17. Delegation and the Rise of Independent Agencies
18. Foreign and Military Affairs
Part Three: Individual Rights
Section I: Property, Contract, and Liberty
19. From Structural Protections to Individual Rights
20. Procedural Due Process: Implementing the Classical Liberal Ideal
21. Freedom of Contract
22. Takings, Physical and Regulatory
23. Personal Liberties and the Morals Head of the Police Power
Section II: Speech
24. Freedom of Speech and Religion: Preliminary Considerations
25. Force, Threats, and Inducements
26. Fraud, Defamation, Emotional Distress, and Invasion of Privacy
27. Government Regulation of the Speech Commons
28. Progressive Regulation of Freedom of Speech: Labor, Communications, and Campaign Finance
Section III: Religion
29. Free Exercise
30. The Establishment Clause: Theoretical Foundations
31. Regulation and Subsidy under the Establishment Clause
32. The Commons
Section IV: Equal Protection
33. Race and the Fourteenth Amendment
34. Citizenship and the Fourteenth Amendment
35. Equal Protection and Sex Discrimination
Part Four: Conclusion
Conclusion: The Classical Liberal Alternative
Notes
Index of Cases
General Index

I really enjoyed watching the Masterpiece mini-series of Wolf Hall on PBS last month. Music is a big part of Wolf Hall so I bought this new CD of the Tudor music from the TV series. The series features early musicians playing live on the sets. All the Tudor Music for the production was arranged by Claire van Kampen and recorded with the Musicians of Shakespeare’s Globe at the Abbey Road Studios in London, England. GRADE: A-
SET LIST:
1 A New Beginning: Trumpet Parley (0:11)
2 Court Masque: Lady Carey’s Dompe (2:53)
3 Cromwell at York Place: Hoboekendans (2:04)
4 Smeaton, Anne’s Lutenist: Ah Robyn (2:19)
5 Cromwell Is Happy: Scaramella (1:04)
6 A Play About Wolsey’s Fall: Romanesca (2:53)
7 Henry Sings of Anne: Alas What should I do (0:44)
8 The Feast at Calais: Bassadansa (1:29)
9 Anne’s Music: Browning (2:19)
10 Anne’s Coronation: Fanfare No. 1 (0:31)
11 The Coronation Feast: En Vray Amour (1:09)
12 Anne and Henry’s Court: Tandernaken (2:24)
13 The Baby Princess: Lady Carey’s Dompe V2 (3:02)
14 Thomas More: Helas Madame (0:43)
15 Christmas: Hoboekendans Extra (1:29)
16 Court Masque: Ce Qui Souloit (1:50)
17 Henry at Greenwich: Tourdion (3:11)
18 Henry Sings of Jane: Whereto should I (0:44)
19 Anne’s Last Supper: Chiaranzana (3:01)
20 Henry Embraces Cromwell: Green grows the Holly (0:47)

Jurassic World (aka, Dinosaurs Go Wild!) is the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise. The first movie is the best, but now with advanced CGI technology, more life-like and scary dinosaurs can be painted on the screen. Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard’s daughter) plays the manager of the dinosaur theme park. Chris Pratt, a raptor expert, warns the Jurassic World administration that their creation of a newly designed dinosaur (“bigger, louder, more teeth”) was a Bad Idea. And, of course, the new Frankenstein-dinosaur escapes and chaos ensues. If you liked the original Jurassic Park movie, you’ll enjoy Jurassic World. There’s plenty of action and it’s a fun Summer popcorn movie. GRADE: B+

In the 1970s I binged on John Dickson Carr and Carter Dickson mysteries. They’re examples of the Golden Age of the Great Detectives. The plots of Carr’s books were twisty and the clues were mysterious. There was always a hint of the mystical or supernatural luring behind the eventual rational explanations of the crimes. This new book from Ramble House provides the best guide yet to John Dickson Carr and all of his works. James E. Keirans covers all the novels, short tories, radio and Theatrical plays, poems, essays, and book reviews. It’s hard to imagine a more complete package! If you’re a fan of John Dickson Carr this is a must-buy. If you’re a casual fan, you’ll still enjoy all the information provided in this reference book. It will inspire you to read more of John Dickson Carr’s vast oeuvre. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Format
Rules of Engagement
The John Dickson Carr Companion
Index

Patti Abbott is on a book tour promoting Concrete Angel (highly recommended!). But today she appears here on my blog answering questions about books. I met Patti and Phil at a Bouchercon in Indianapolis and later–with Jeff and Jackie Meyerson–we all went to see a play in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. Patti and Phil are two of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet. Patti’s been hosting Friday’s Forgotten Books for years at http://pattinase.blogspot.com/ and provides great insights into movies and TV shows. I’m sure you’ll find her comments below scintillating!

What books are currently on your nightstand

All of our books are packed so I’m reading on the Kindle. On my Kindle are THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY, Wiley Cash, BAD FEMINIST, Roxanne Gay, HANGOVER SQUARE, Patrick Hamilton, WADING INTO WAR, Scott Parker, THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS, Bill Loefelm, THE MAGIC OF SHIRLEY JACKSON.

Who is your favorite novelist of all time?

I have read only one novelist who wrote six novels that were each perfect to me: Jane Austen.

What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?

I have thought long and hard about this and I think the only thing that would surprise you is how many books I have bought and not read. I am talking in the hundreds. Always the lure of the new book I don’t have pulls me away from the ones I do.

Who is your favorite fictional hero?

Frankie Addams from THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING. She reminds me so much of the child I was: filled with longing, loneliness, romance, hysteria, hyperbole.

What novel do you return to?

Goodbye Columbus. It reminds me of being young. Of the mistakes you make, of the ardor you harbor.

Patti’s next Book Event is JUNE 18th-New York, Mysterious Bookshop, a conversation with Bryon Quertermous (MURDER BOY)
58 Warren St, New York, NY 10007 7:00 PM

The choice this month for the Wall Street Journal Book Club is Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust. I read this book back in the Sixties when DELL published Waugh’s work in very nice paperback editions. You can join the discussion about A Handful of Dust at http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/06/03/does-evelyn-waugh-care-about-his-characters-wsj-book-club/ A Handful of Dust starts out like a P.G. Wodehouse comedy with a young couple who are having marital problems. But mid-way through the novel a tragedy occurs that changes the tone and trajectory of the book. My favorite Waugh novel is Scoop, but there’s plenty to admire in A Handful of Dust.

I’ve read several of Harold Bloom’s books about literature. Bloom’s new book, The Daemon Knows discusses the 12 American writers Bloom most admires (his two personal favorites are Whitman and Hart Crane). If I were teaching a literature class, I’d mine The Daemon Knows for all the biographical and critical backgrounds on these 12 writers. Bloom discusses each writer’s major works in detail And here is where I had a problem. About a third of A Daemon Knows is quoted material. Yes, of the 500+ pages about 200 pages are quotes from the works of Whitman, Melville, Emerson, Dickinson, Hawthorne, James, Twain, Frost, Stevens, Eliot, Faulkner and Crane. That’s a big chunk of this book. And Bloom rambles from topic to topic. That can be annoying, too. But, if you’re interested in any or all of these classic American writers, A Daemon Knows will enlighten you. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Why These Twelve?
Daemonic Preludium
1: Walt Whitman and Herman Melville
2: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emily Dickinson
3: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry James
4: Mark Twain and Robert Frost
5: Wallace Stevens and T. S. Eliot
6: William Faulkner and Hart Crane
Coda: The Place of the Daemon
Notes
Index

At the end of each semester, I receive Thank You notes from students. Here are a couple that just arrived. You can see why it’s hard for me to think about retirement when I’m teaching students like these.

Professor Kelley

With great thanks,
(name withheld)

And then there’s this one from a student who emigrated from Yemen:

Dr. Kelley,

(name withheld)