Lewis and Clark revisited: New Perspectives

John K. writes 

The Apes met Aug 31 to discuss This Vast Enterprise by Craig Fehrman.

Many in the group had read Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose, a pick early in the life of the Apes.  Undaunted Courage had long been cited by many as a group favorite, so it was interesting to hear the take on this new perspective.

Fehrman did a lot of research that was not in Undaunted Courage, some of which happened after the publication of Undaunted.  

The primary deviation was that rather than tell the story of the Corps of Discovery through the eyes of the expedition captains, Lewis and Clark, Fehrman chose to tell the story through multiple perspectives of many others who participated.

Using the journals of those besides the captains who recorded their experiences, letters from many of the members of the Corps, and the oral traditions of several of the indigenous tribes encountered by the Corps, Fehrman expanded the vision of the story, making it more multi-layered and less linear than Undaunted Courage.

Most of the Apes in attendance agreed with the following:

•       Though a fine historian, Fehrman is not the writer that Ambrose was.  Ambrose wrote history like a classic novel, Fehrman is much more a historian, less given to soaring prose.
•       The concept of telling the story through multiple points of view was a real success.  It gave depth and complexity to the story without losing sight of the context of the journey. 
•       There were some places where it was agreed that Fehrman went a little too far in speculation concerning what certain members of the Corps thought or felt.  Not a major criticism but one which was generally agreed upon.

The book really brought to life the many struggles that were contended with by all members of the Corps.  The intense physical and psychological strength that it took from each member to successfully complete the journey was vividly explored.

Additionally, the book did an excellent job of providing context, such as the political difficulties experienced by Jefferson, the three failed Spanish expeditions sent to find and either kill or capture the members of the Corps, the complexity of indigenous politics in all the regions explored, and the many times that one member or another of the Corps simply got lucky.

All in all, a fine book, a solid and creative history and a very good retelling of a cornerstone event in American history.

from Conch to Chaos: Lord of the Flies

 from Glenn

July 27, the Forge. Charlie, Asad, John F, Clark, Mike, Glenn

“Durable,” Mike said, and, yeah, it is. Lord of the Flies by William Golding has sold more than 10 million copies since its 1954 publication and is still taught in many British and American classrooms.

The Apes discussed it during our July meeting and gave it a passing grade. Of course, several of us had read it as youngsters, but we old farts apparently were not as enthralled with it as we might once have been.

Charlie and others had questions about some plot points which were discussed but not fully explained.

The (spoiler alert) rescue at the end struck a few Apes as lame.

Jeff weighed in via Clark with an intriguing question raised in one of his classrooms while discussing the book: “What if the prep school had been coed?”

A few Apes considered: “What if the adolescent ‘you’ had been in this situation, which of the characters might you have been most like?” Mike: Piggy. Glenn: Piggy. Charlie: the rescuing naval officer.

Consensus on the book MAY have been something to the effect: It offers a decent survival story wrapped in an experiment in human behavior. What happens if the rules go away? How fragile is civilization? What is the essential nature of humanity? Etcetera!

A few Apes thought some of the difficult questions resonate with our current national trauma.

The meeting began with the usual “Why’d you pick the book?” or, in this case, “Why the F**k did you pick the book?”

I picked the book mostly for “convenience,” as Clark pointed out. We had less than a month between mtgs, so short seemed like a good thing. However, I mainly wanted to reread the book before watching the new Netflix adaptation.

I was gobsmacked by 2025’s Netflix 4-episode award-winning series, Adolescence. (One amazing thing = every hour-long episode was shot in one continuous take.) Check it out:

Adolescence (Wikipedia entry)

The same screenwriter, Jack Thorne, who created Adolescence wrote this adaptation of Lord of the Flies, exploring similar themes. Again, it’s only 4 episodes, and powerful, and so very well done. Nominated for a 2026 Grammy. Again, recommended! (Extra-credit: Making of the Lord of the Flies documentary, also amazing…)

Lord of the Flies (Wikipedia entry)

Apes take on Tolstoy

reported by Charlie

The Apes discussed The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy at The Forge on July 6, 2026.

The book was relatively short. The group that met was small. The comments were brief and concise. The discussion wrapped up timely to accommodate an important World Cup match. Therefore, this review will be brief as well.

I had read this book four times from my early teens to my late forties at turning points in my life that evoked themes touched on in this story. I read it twice more just before choosing it to examine more closely the strength of the narrative and quality of the writing.

What I know of Tolstoy leads me to believe that this tale may have been created from personal experiences. A young, wealthy Russian tired of the dissipated life in Moscow joins a military campaign during the Caucasian War of the mid-1800s against the mountain tribes of the Caucasus, hoping to find a higher purpose. Billeted in a small village of allied Cossacks this sensitive and naive young man believes he can insert himself in the simple village life in this wild place, gain the love of a beautiful Cossack girl, become a Cossack 'Brave'and fill his empty soul. But the fantasy collapses.

Mike: Impressed by Tolstoy's insight into the human condition. Enjoyed the character-driven narrative as Olenin strives for a sense of community.

Clark: Not crazy about the book; not much of a story. However, the description of the village life was a strong part of the story and Olenin was a likable character. The old, friendly reprobate, Uncle Yeroshka, was reminiscent of Fiddler On The Roof.

John: Enjoyed reading it. Slow building. Olenin's longing for love, escaping the shallowness of Moscow social life and finding community were poignant.

This was the first time with Tolstoy for all the group I've talked with. Glad to introduce him in this foreshortened novel.

Split decision: Some happy travelers, some not

 John F. reporting…

Cordelia Underwood: Or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League by Van Reid saw some Apes happy to be along for the ride, but others – meh. 

John F., who suggested this novel, thought it would be a nice “beach read” to open the summer season. He also was intrigued by how it was first published – as a serial in a weekly newspaper in Maine. 

The story took place in 1890s Maine and involved lots of potential for storytelling – a fair maiden, the Cordelia in the title, who inherits land in the North Woods of Maine, a mysterious man delivering a treasure map to said land, three comical men with no visible means of support and seeking purpose to their lives for which they seemed to have none, a mysterious suitor of said fair maiden, a few ancillary “Maine-iacs,” and one sensible man up for many an adventure. Thus, the adventure begins. 

And went on and on and on, some Apes said. Even the humor wasn’t humorous, with few exceptions. Others found it a fun read with fine storytelling and a folklore flavor. The story grew on them – but like moss, slow-growing. 

Bottom line: folksy for some but no Prairie Home Companion for others.

Vatican corruption likely true, Pope murder allegation doubtful

 Asad writes:

The headline sums it up pretty well. Glenn observed that there were a lot – A LOT – of financial details to wade through on the links between the Vatican Bank and the Mafia; he kinda got tired of it, and there was no real evidence Pope John Paul I was murdered in the book – so no conclusion on that topic.

JohnF read the book and had similar thoughts. The financial shenanigans were believable, but the assertion that the Pope was murdered was not. We then got some interesting background from JohnF on the Vatican and Catholic doctrines.

Why I picked this book: I read this book about 25 or so years ago, when I really had no notion of the Church or the Vatican, and I remember being flabbergasted by the extent to which the Vatican bank at that time was involved with organized crime. Learning about the Vatican bureaucracy was fascinating and I thought it would be an interesting discussion.  The question about the Pope’s death – I feel was a bit of a writing gimmick.

We did have a fun discussion on these topics, with JohnF as the one most knowledgeable on the topic. We even talked about the symbolism of the all-seeing eye and the pyramid on the back of the dollar bill…

Good discussion.

a tough read, for sure, but for some "worth it"

 John K reports

A small group of five met at John's house to share chili, impressions of This Here is Love, by Princess Joy L. Perry, and share brief stories of the immigrant journey of their own families.

In keeping with tradition, John discussed “why I chose this book.”

Scanning The New York Times for interesting reading, I came across this book.  The premise: Three families whose lives intersect in Tidewater, Virginia, between 1690 and 1730, one enslaved, another headed by a free black man striving to buy and free his family,  the third by Scottish immigrants bonded as indentured servants.

The lives intersect at times, separate at others, but all within the same geographic region and subject to the same social realities.  I read several positive reviews and made the choice to pick it based upon those, prior to reading it myself.

The group reaction was mixed, with Clark only reading the first portion, saying it was just too difficult to read about such levels of suffering and human cruelty.

A common reaction was that it was indeed a difficult read.  However, the remaining Apes liked the book, felt it was original, that the writer was skillful, the storytelling developed as the book progressed.  Interesting characters.  

We generally agreed that it was a tough examination of what it takes to summon the will to live when there are no good outcomes available to you.  It also examines moral choices and their consequences.  

Upon conclusion of the book discussion, we each recounted a brief sketch of how our known ancestors immigrated here to the US.  It was quite interesting to hear the stories, both similarities and differences.

Pretty good chili, good discussion and excellent camaraderie! 

Apes Give Sept Book Mixed Reviews

 by Charlie

I don’t think Painted Horses by Malcolm Brooks needs a lot of critical analysis. It was intended to be a light read and was viewed as such by the attending group.

It was generally felt that the story lacked plausibility, particularly the love story. That being said, each in the group found some part of the story interesting. There was especially interest in the historical context of the creation of Yellowtail Dam and Bighorn Lake.

Several Apes thought the writer a bit verbose and his writing in this, the author’s first novel, not quite seasoned.

For my part I liked the book mainly because of its themes of horses, archeology, the Crow tribe, the wild places of south-central Montana, and the transitioning of that area from the old West to the new West.

I was personally comfortable with the writer’s style which brought me along through places and situations with clarity. Given that some of the characters were not very relatable, a few were unique in my reading experience, and some of the nested stories within the main narrative, although a bit jumbled, were also new territory.

Masked Hatred, Unmasked Truths: A Fever in the Heartland

 John F writes

Take one psychopathic sociopathic opportunist (if that isn’t triply redundant), stir in latent hate, “othering,”“canceling,” and hiding behind masks, and you have a recipe for A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plan to Take Over America, and the Woman who Stopped It by Timothy Egan.

This happened about a hundred years ago in Indiana. 

Some comments from my fellow Great Apes:

It was an eye-opening examination of class and crowd psychology. Anti-Jewish, anti-Black, anti-Catholic feelings combined to bring 400,000 Hoosiers into the Klan and under the spell of David C. Stephenson, who lied even on his headstone. It showed what a skilled opportunist could do.

Egan has an uncanny ability to see a great story, as he had demonstrated in previous works. Although there was an observation that a journalist may not know how to write a narrative, there also were comments about the eye-opening history that few if any of us knew anything about and the meticulous reportage of the events of the time.

There were few heroes in this story. First, of course, was Madge Oberholtzer, the woman whose assault and death-bed narrative brought down Stevenson. Then the courageous district attorney who won the conviction against Stephenson, a Muncie newspaper editor, and a South Bend attorney who for a time exposed Klan membership lists.

Masks protected the identities of Klan members but also brought a sense of belonging. There was something within each Klan member, however, that short-circuited right thinking. Birds of a feather flocked together.

It is hard to sustain a civil society, especially when ministers (many bribed) spoke from their pulpits in support of the Klan and Klan goals.

A reference to “the center cannot hold” sent me to, I confess, Wikipedia for William Butler Yeats’ poem:

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre 
The falcon cannot hear the falconer; 
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; 
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, 
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere 
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; 
The best lack all conviction, while the worst 
Are full of passionate intensity. 
 
Surely some revelation is at hand; 
Surely the Second Coming is at hand. 
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out 
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi 
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert 
A shape with lion body and the head of a man, 
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, 
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it 
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. 
The darkness drops again; but now I know 
That twenty centuries of stony sleep 
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, 
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, 
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?