Experimental Blog #14

Comments on 2 books


"The Blue Sweater" - Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz

Throughout this book the author demonstrates that she must be an exceptionally strong person, both physically and mentally. Although she had what must have been a very exciting and promising job at one of America's largest banks, she could not satisfy her desire to involve even the poorest people of world in our interconnected economy and society, by means of finding local "entreprenuers," that is, people with ideas and ability, and the new practice of "microfinancing," very small loans at very low rates of interest. By choice, it seems, she worked mostly with women.
This desire of her's led to a series of posts and projects, and ultimately revealing acquaintances with Rwandan women on both sides of, and both before and after, the genocide of 1994, which killed over 800,000 people; about 10% of the population.
The author's accounts repeatedly demonstrate the relationships, conflicts, and hopes of Africans and Western outsiders in our "post-modern" times.


"Goddess of the Market - Ayn Rand and the American Right" by Jennifer Burns

Although the author of this fascinating book writes that in the year 2008 alone the combined sales of Ayn Rand's four novels, all written over 50 years ago, exceeded 800,000 copies; I never read any of them, and I still have no plans to do so. However, Jennifer Burns outlines at least 3 of them so well, I feel that I already know something about them.
For me this book was filled with history and information about early Soviet Russia, Hollywood, and American politics, primarily conservative politics, from the 1930s to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.
All the philosophical and personal conflicts, disputes, and struggles involving Ayn Rand, and her "Objectivist" philosophy, and "libertarians," and various conservative factions was entirely new to {oblivious?}me, and very educational and enlightening.
The author also mentions the last television appearance of Ayn Rand on a well known, at the time, American "talk show," which occurred not long after the death of her husband of 50 years in 1979. I do remember watching that program.