Longhorn Reviews

Rumble Fish

[Longhorn Review] Rumble Fish

Material Type: All, Books — Posted on May 2, 2011, 3:34 pm

By: S.E. Hinton

Two Tough and Thoughtful Guppies

Review on Rumble Fish novel by S.E. Hinton

Rumble Fish was the third book written by S.E. Hinton, a female author known for
adopting a male perspective in most of her novels and short stories starring violent
and troubled teenagers. In Rumble Fish she introduces us to Rusty-James, a violent
fifteen year old, boy hung up on trying to bring back the gangs and “rumbles,”
literally fighting his way through each day. Because of parental neglect, poverty,
and violence Rusty-James finds himself clinging to the memory of the gangs in the
past, trying to reach the notoriety his famous brother, The Motorcycle Boy, had
obtained in the city. Both brothers are curious specimens of isolation products of
their social environment. Rusty-James is a young man trying to belong and The
Motorcycle Boy is a young man who does not want to belong.

The use of symbols is
evident throughout the book to develop these two complex characters and their
attitudes toward their world. The Motorcycle Boy is partially deaf and colorblind
due to the accidents he suffers on his various escapes on stolen motorcycles. This
deaf and colorblindness keeps him from seeing the colorful lights of the parties and
nightlife that Rusty-James is so attracted. His deafness also keeps him from hearing
Rusty-James’s comments on the things he does not see or hear because of his
condition. The motorcycle is The Motorcycle Boy’s escape and freedom from the slump
he lives in. He steals them and leaves days in a row but always has to come back for
reasons which the reader is left to assume, his love for his brother or the lack of
money to leave long enough. Rusty-James always alludes to the color of his hair and
eyes that is very unique to him and his brother, however, the essence of The
Motorcycle Boy reflected in the way he “sees through” people contorts his face, and
attitude that their physical similarities undermines the larger difference in their
philosophy of life. Last but not least are the rumble fish kept in separate bowls.
“Siamese fighting fish. They try to kill each other. If you leaned a mirror against
the bowl they’d kill themselves fighting their own reflection.” The Siamese fighting
fish represent the individual fighting spirit of each boy that keeps them from
fitting into their society and finding a meaning in their life.

The theme and plot
in the story remind me of The Catcher in the Rye in which we are also presented with
an antihero, Holden Caulfield. In both stories the reader drifts through the days of
the main character witnessing the thoughtlessness of their actions and the
character’s suppression of the feelings and realizations that new experiences bring.
Contrary to the manner in which the characters express their seamlessly defiant and
unchanged views and manner toward life, the reader understands that there is a
change happening within the character that does not have to be addressed through
their thoughts or their dialogue, but rather is presented in a matter of fact yet
subtle manner. Both of these pieces leave the reader with an open ending that can
drive one insane with speculation of why anyone would float through life in such a
manner. Both of these works are wonderful short books, yet very insightful to the
meaning of life especially through their perspective on the years in which human
nature seems to drive one to recklessness. Rumble Fish is a great read and trying to
evaluate what propels one’s own life and actions and gives an insight to the lives
of those we might never understand, the cool kids who can’t live for the future due
to paranoia and instead see life as a rumble.

Reviewer: Sara Cabral

Second Variety

[Longhorn Review] Second Variety

Material Type: All, Books — Posted on May 2, 2011, 2:33 pm

By: Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick, considered a huge influence on modern-day science fiction, has
struck literary gold with his work, “Second Variety.” Short and sweet, “Second
Variety” has just enough fat and gristle to make clear the author’s point, and no
more. Some of the audience of “Second Variety” will inevitably claim the trivial
idea that Dick was making a comment on the current society he saw, and the possible
future it led to. After all, “Second Variety” was published in 1953, as the Cold
War’s pace began to pick up. Dick even uses the very entities of the reality of the
Cold War as the two sides of the war that his apocalyptic story occurs in. However,
in my opinion, this kind of thought undermines the real theme of “Second Variety.”

Dick’s work drives home his overarching theme : “who is human and who only appears
(masquerading) as human?.” He carefully weaves this theme into his short story with
the precision of a skilled craftsman. It becomes apparent that this theme is vastly
important to Dick, as he devotes an entire novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep? to it. Similarly set in a post nuclear war society, this novel parallels the
themes of “Second Variety” as Dick explores heavily the idea of what it means to be
human.

To go into further detail, as we explore the world of “Second Variety”, 3 of
our 4 main characters - Tasso, Klaus, and Rudi each claim to be a Russian soldier.
When our 4th main character, Hendricks (the American) meets up with them, he
discovers just how grave the situation with the Claws, the killer robots, has
become. To make matters worse, there are types of Claws yet unknown. Each of these
types is called a Variety, and hence the name of the story. Each soldier begins to
suspect the other, and this mistrust leads to the inevitable betrayal that can only
follow when one fears for his or her life. As Dick assigns very human actions to
each of them (for example, they each long for a cigarette, of which Hendricks is
hesitant to share), it becomes increasingly difficult to tell which of the Russians
the author will lead us to believe is the sought after Second Variety.

Reading this story is an experience that any science fiction fan would not soon forget. This
story has a huge amount of positives. It is engaging, easy to read, fast-paced and
exciting. It has mystery and suspense that will have you sitting on the edge of your
chair. However, in my opinion, it is also intellectual. Many have seen it as an
indictment of the Cold War, but it is also so much more. It asks the big questions,
probing human nature and what it means to be a human.

Reviewer: Matt

Arturo Rivas Sainz cultural project: "Summa"

[Longhorn Review] Arturo Rivas Sainz cultural project: "Summa"

Material Type: All, books — Posted on April 25, 2011, 4:07 pm

By:

After editing magazines like "Eos" (1944) and "Xallixtlico" (1950) Rivas Sainz
founded Summa, possibly the most prestigous cultural magazine, next to Adalberto
Navarro Sánchez`s "Et caetera", during the second half of the 2oth century in
Guadalajara. "Summa" features some of the brightest writers during this period,
despite its chaotic format.

Reviewer: Pedro Valderrama

Political intelligence in the Internal Revenue Service : the Special Service Staff : a documentary analysis / prepared by the staff of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senat

[Longhorn Review] Political intelligence in the Internal Revenue Service : the Special Service Staff : a documentary analysis / prepared by the staff of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-third Congress, second session.

Material Type: All, Books — Tags: constitution, ervin, irs — Posted on April 25, 2011, 4:04 pm

By: U.S. Congress Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights

I call this "the book that doesn't exist." "Political Intelligence in the IRS.."
is actually the complete 1974 investigation report by the U.S. Congress into the
secret IRS intelligence gathering unit. Congressman Sam Ervin, Jr who directed the
investigation considered this unit the "greatest internal threat to our
constitutional rights."

This book is the only government record and acknowledgment
of the secret IRS unit called the Special Service Staff which went after U.S.
citizens because of their exercise of their 1st amendment rights. Congressman Sam
Ervin, Jr directed his committee to investigate after he found no trace of the group
listed at IRS. The same is true today because the Library of Congress does not show
that this book exists. (Good luck getting your own personal copy).

The book shows
that the Nixon White House gave the IRS the idea to use the tax agency for revenge
and retaliation based on what a citizen said. The investigation by the Subcommittee
on Constitutional Rights started about May 21, 1973 and lasted about eighteen
months. The well-written letters and summaries by the late Congressman Sam Ervin, Jr
give you a glimpse into what he considered the "perversion" of the tax agency. My
favorite is Chairman Ervin's May 13, 1974 letter (page 205) listing his reasons to
subpoena the IRS Commissioner for a lack of cooperation with the investigation.

IRS responded to the investigation by claiming the unit was disbanded. However, in 2008,
I traced the secret unit to the IRS criminal investigation division (IRS-CI) after
the 2008 death of a tax protester in Austin, Tx. This was a couple of years before
Joe Stack attacked the Austin IRS in a suicide attack. The 1974 report shows that
the FBI who worked with the IRS secret unit also absorbed their similar unit into
their criminal investigation.

Reviewer: Sara Black

Tradition and innovation: Sicily between Hellenism and Rome

[Longhorn Review] Tradition and innovation: Sicily between Hellenism and Rome

Material Type: All, books — Tags: Ancient rome, Roman history, Sicily history — Posted on March 9, 2011, 2:59 pm

By:

Title seems so promising but the initial text (as far as I could stand) is
incoherent. What is this publisher thinking? GoogleTranslate could have done a
better job of translating this from whatever the original language was. Would have
sent it back for a refund if I could have.

Reviewer: SW

Some clarifications : y otros poemas / by Javier O. Huerta.

[Longhorn Review] Some clarifications : y otros poemas / by Javier O. Huerta.

Material Type: All, books — Tags: javier huerta, some clarifications, Texas — Posted on January 3, 2011, 8:48 am

By: Javier O. Huerta

Javier Huerta is a great friend of mine. This book is so profound. An up and
coming Latin American writer. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: M. Falcon

Robots taking over!

[Longhorn Review] Robots taking over!

Material Type: All, Books — Tags: human, robots, robots taking over, second variety, terminator — Posted on December 9, 2010, 3:32 pm

By: Philip K. Dick

The “Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick occurs in the aftermath of a widespread
nuclear war between the Soviet Union, sometimes called the Russians, and the United
Nations. Major Joseph Hendricks is the commander of a small American force stationed
in the slag and ash of nuclear ravaged France. A few miles away are a group of
Soviet soldiers, and in between is an army of technological killers known as “The
Claws”. Early Soviet victories forced the North American government and technology
production team to flee to a moon base, leaving the majority of the troops behind.
To counter the almost complete Soviet victory, United Nation technicians developed
robots, nicknamed claws – the basic models are “a churning sphere of blades and
metal” that ambush their unsuspecting victims “spinning, creeping, shaking
themselves up suddenly from the gray ash and darting toward… any warm body.” United
Nations forces are protected from the claws by a special wrist tab that disables the
robots from attacking them. Within six years, the robots are repairing and
redesigning themselves in automated underground factories run without any human
supervision.

The United Nation forces receive a message from the Soviets asking for
a policy-level officer to meet them for an urgent conference. Hendricks is sent to
negotiate with the Soviets. On the way to the Soviet base, he meets a small boy
named “David” who asks to come with Hendricks. When he gets to the base, the
soldiers immediately kill David, revealing him to be a robot. The three Soviets met
by Major Hendricks – Klaus, Rudi and Tasso – reveal that the entire Soviet army and
command structure collapsed under the onslaught of the new robots. From salvaged
internal metal identification plates, two varieties are identified: I-V, a wounded
soldier, and III-V, David. The II-V – the “second variety” – remains unknown. The
Soviets also reveal that the United Nation protective tabs are ineffective against
the new robots. Hendricks attempts to transmit a warning to his United Nations
bunker, but is unable to do so.

A crowd of David and Wounded Soldier model attack,
but Tasso destroys them with a very powerful hand grenade. They search for a hidden
escape rocket to hopefully escape to the moon base, only to find that the rocket is
a single-seat spacecraft. Hendricks attempts to leave, but Tasso quickly subdues
him. She convinces him to let her leave and send back help. In his injured state, he
has no choice but to agree. Alone, Hendricks discovers that Tasso was the true II-V
and recognizes that he has doomed the Moon Base by sending a robot to them.

Dick, Philip K. “Second Variety”. Gutenberg Ebook of Second Variety. May 1953.
www.Gutenberg.org Web. 17 April, 2010. .

Reviewer: Tam Pham

Good Book

[Longhorn Review] Good Book

Material Type: All, Books — Tags: French Novel, Motorcycle, Rebecca, Travel Narrative — Posted on December 9, 2010, 3:32 pm

By: André Pieyre de Mandiargues

The book “La Motocyclette” better known as “Girl on a Motorcycle" by André Pieyre
de Mandiargues takes place in Europe, more specifically in Haguenau, France. The
main characters are Rebecca Nul, her husband Raymond Nul and her ex-lover Daniel.

The book starts off with Rebecca Nul in bed having dream. The dream she was having
was about how there was no traffic and it would have been the perfect time for a
motorcyclist to really go mad on the road. The description of the dream is really
vivid and a really good start for the book.

The book then goes on to talk about
Rebecca getting ready for her journey, the journey where she is going to go see her
ex-lover Daniel. It talks about Rebecca putting on the all black leather suit. The
leather suit is a symbol. It represents the theme of sex, which is a big theme in
this novel. Rebecca puts on the suit over her naked body; she loves the feeling of
being naked. When her husband see’s her in the suit he looks at her with sadness and
mistrust.

Another symbol seen in the book is the motorcycle. The motorcycle is a
massive Harley Davidson which in the time of the book was the latest and fastest
model around. The motorcycle is such an important part of the book because it is
what she takes her journey on to go see her ex-lover Daniel. It’s the tool that
helps her commit adultery.

Rebecca has only been married to Raymond for only two and
half months. When Rebecca is with her husband she feels lifeless. However by running
to Daniel she feels rebellious but as it turns out she is just running away from one
form of dominance to another. She thinks leaving her husband is a form of liberation
but it really is not. She is running to Daniel who plays mind-games with her and who
dominates her which is what she wants but it is not being independent as she claims.

Rebecca leaves a good man to run into the arms of a man who is an arrogant bastard
and he always treats her like crap, and tells her that he is only using her for sex.
But she would rather have that than live a happy life with her schoolteacher
husband.

Reviewer: Lauren Oritz

Jacob gets Eclipse'd

[Longhorn Review] Jacob gets Eclipse'd

Material Type: All, Books — Tags: Eclipse. Vampire, Jacob, Meyer, Stephenie, Twilight, Werewolves — Posted on December 9, 2010, 3:31 pm

By: Stephenie Meyer

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was released this past summer in theaters. The film is
based on Stephenie Meyer’s 2007 novel, Eclipse, and it picks up from the previous
book, New Moon. Immediately, the first scene portrays Victoria in the process of
creating her newborn army of vampires. Through the creation of an army, Victoria is
attempting to exact revenge against Edward, the Cullen vampire who killed her
eternal mate. However, Victoria specifically targets Bella instead because by
killing Edward’s love, she may truly achieve the vengeance she had been desperately
craving.

On the other hand, the love story continues with Edward and Bella who are
very much in love. Bella is in the process of contemplating about becoming a vampire
and finally marrying Edward but Jacob will not allow it. Jacob attempts to interfere
with Edward and Bella’s relationship due to his own feelings for Bella that started
in New Moon. He claims that Bella is making a mistake and that she would not have to
change for his love, as opposed to becoming a vampire for all eternity. Upon
discovering Jacob’s true intentions, Edward then becomes enraged and creates a
situation where Bella begins to distrust him. She then considers Jacob’s reasons to
be with him and stay human.

Eventually, the love story becomes intertwined with the
upcoming war and both werewolves and Cullen vampires reluctantly join forces to
protect Bella and defeat Victoria. The overwhelmingly powerful newborn vampires, led
by Victoria, are a force to be reckoned with but Jacob and Edward continue to focus
on the fight for Bella’s love. As both clans of vampires and werewolves prepare for
the imminent battle, Bella is battling her own mixed-feelings for Jacob and Edward.
Bella knows Victoria is coming for her and yet she does not dismiss Jacob’s advances
which creates a dramatic and competitive atmosphere, in the midst of battle.
However, when Victoria and her army finally arrive, Edward and Jacob’s collective
efforts successfully protect Bella and defeat Victoria and her army. In the battle,
Jacob suffers mortal injuries and in spite of this, Bella’s concern for Jacob’s
injuries resumes a platonic role. Edward wins Bella’s love, again.

Reviewer: David Ko