Visuals

The visual studies at the end of these chapters had more to say to me than other chapters. Perhaps now they hit closer to home and my own understanding.

German View of Napoléon

I suppose many in Germany knew that their own unifying hero like Bismarck was decades away, so it was easy at first to admire Napoléon. Beethoven was such an admirer and devoted a symphony to him. That is, until he invaded and started killing large numbers of Germans and Austrians.

Some of the visuals and their idealistic interpretations of early Industrial Age life strike me as pure propaganda. 

English

For me, the most notorious is a beautiful family traveling together in an idyllic luxury cabin by train, with Saint Paul’s Cathedral in the background.  Even today, seeing Saint Paul’s Cathedral from a distance of more than a couple miles is quite a feat.  While not Manila or Mexico City, London has a lot of particulate diesel matter in the air and is only saved by marine currents. The print regarding the Crystal Palace also puts a best face on industrialization and captures for me another propaganda item. Although glass and iron, it burnt down.

Guns, Germs, and Steel

My thoughts on the readings this week had my attention caught up in the differences in culture expressed by industrialized powers, and what Strayer has to say to account for the differences.  Some, but not all of Stayer’s thinking parallels that of author Jared Diamonds book Guns, Germs, and Steel. A National Geographic production of that work is available on Google Video. It goes to a long explanation as to simple things as diet staples contributing to a society to become seafaring or have enough time away from basic food growing and production to devote time to new and exploratory methods.