The perpetual struggle for a just society
For my 85th birthday, April 3, Susana arranged for us a trip that she knew was tremendously important to me, for reasons both professional and personal: our visit to Hamburg and then to Kiel in northeast Germany, from March 31 to our return to Spain on April 9. A birthday is always an opportunity, or … read more »
The year to come
My main resolution for 2026 is to continue to advance the three projects I had set out for myself in 2024: writing, language, and saving the world. So what is called for now is a progress report. But first, an explanation. 1) “Saving the world” in the face of wars and genocide, rapid climate change … read more »
Resolutions, past and present
For 2024, I posted four New Year’s resolutions as my alter ego The Man Who Can : 1, a new novel, this time set in Germany; 2, acquiring fluency in German; 3, more book reviews, and 4, getting better on guitar. I‘m part way there, on all four goals – except maybe no. 4, … read more »
2024: Return of the Man Who Can
The Man Who Can is the most potent and most pragmatic of my alter-egos, the one who solves problems and gets things done, but he has been unavailable, hors de combat for much of this past year. Two overseas trips — to the U.S. in June and Italy in October — interrupted my, and his, work. … read more »
How Naziism arose
The Death of Democracy: Hitler’s Rise To Power by Bnjamin Carter Hett My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is the clearest and most concise of all the books I have read (many) to understand how Germany, known for its philosophers, scientists and artists, and with the largest social democratic party in Europe or anywhere … read more »