A Canticle for Leibowitz
by Walter M. Miller Jr.
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Book Reviews of A Canticle for Leibowitz
Book Review: The monks reawaken
Summary: 5 Stars
The monks of Medieval times spent much of their life copying manuscripts in philosophy and theology that further generations would read, thus maintaining lost knowledge after the decline of Western civilization following the fall of the Roman Empire. Through their efforts and Islamic scholars classical Greek thought was introduced back into Europe and facilitated the reawakening of Europe.
Now a nuclear holocaust has put humanity back into barbarism, and the monks are keeping blueprints of circuit designs and they have no idea what they mean, and a recipe of items that do not exist anymore. As time progresses humanity once again civilizes itself and the new scientists are interested in the data kept by the monks. It doesn't take long for one of the scientists to become at odds with the monks with his speculations.
This is a classic, tragic tale of how the hubris of knowledge without the humility to use for a moral end will always bring disaster. Walter Miller was a disturbed figure, and it shows reading this. It was probably his mental disturbance that lead him to know so well the foibles of human beings and how easy it is to bring about destruction though ego thinly rationalized as good intentions.
Book Review: Fantasy and Science Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this in Fantasy and Science Fiction. St. Leibowitz (canonized 3174)is the future of the history of libraries.
* Assurbanipal (668-627 BC) at Nineveh;
* Eratosthenus (276-195 BC) at Alexandria;
* Marcus Terentius Varro (116-27 BC) of Rome;
* St. Jerome (342-420) patron saint of librarians;
* Charlemagne (742-814) at Aachen who established schools that included scriptoria;
* Thomas Jefferson (1747-1826) father of the Library of Congress;
* Anthony Panizzi (1797-1879) principal librarian, British Musem;
* Cardinal Francisco Ehrle (1845-1934) at the Vatican Library;
* José Toribio Medina (1852-1930) Spanish American bibliographer;
* Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskîa (1869-1939) founder of the Soviet library system;
* Ladies Library Associations of the State of Michigan (1876).
* Jennie Maas Flexner (1882-1944) readers' advisor;
* Vannevar Bush (1890-1974) "As We May Think";
* Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) director of Biblioteca Nacional of Argentina;
* Major Owens (1936-) librarian in Congress
* St. Leibowitz (canonized 3174).
Book Review: The best sci-fi book you've never heard of
Summary: 5 Stars
This book has an admittedly clumsy title that makes for a difficult sell intially. When I have recommended this book to people, their first reaction is usually a puzzled look at hearing the title. However, this book is remarkable in every aspect. Miller paints a tale here that draws you in from the beginning and leaves you amazed through the end. There are elements of dark comedy, tragedy, theology and human nature here that will make you think and reflect. The book is a bit dated as it was written in the Cold War era. If you can make the mental journey with Miller back to that point in history, you will not be disappointed. It also helps to understand a bit about Miller's life--he was a Roman Catholic electrical engineer who served as a bomber pilot in WWII. This book won the Hugo Award in 1961 and belongs among the classics of the genre. If you love sci-fi that has substance and meaning, this is a book you will enjoy.Book Review: Here we go again
Summary: 4 Stars
Is history destined to repeat itself over and over again? Yes would seem to be the main premise of A Canticle for Leibowitz.
Priests turn an electrical engineer into a saint and try to maintain every scrap of technology from a civilization that has just blown itself back to the stone age. These religious artifacts, as they become, are revered and even carried aloft on a spacecraft headed to distant stars as the human-kind, once again tries to annihilate all vestiges of life on Earth. One has to wonder what will become of the distant world after a few hundred years of human colonization.
I read this after Neil Stephenson'Anathem and, while there are some similarities, Anathem was a much better read. I also thought Canticle went way overboard with religiosity, especially towards the end.
Book Review: Post-Apocalypic Excellence
Summary: 5 Stars
Push "Mad Max" and [[shudder]] "Water World" out of your thoughts. This book deals with humanity's struggle to recover after global nuclear war. An order of Catholic monks are devoted to preserving as much of the scientific and technical writings (others as well) of the pre-war civilization. This means protecting it from angry mobs, marauding tribes and warring nation-states as well as the rigors of time. Though for long centuries no one understands the concepts contained in the writings (which they refer to as "Memorabilia," they faithfully preserve, copy and even illuminate the works.
This book is in the genre of science fiction, but there is a strong (not off-putting, in my opinion) religious perspective. It's a meditation on human nature and history. Pessimistic almost to the point of humor, "Canticle" is a compelling, thought-provoking read.