Book Review: The Ridiculous Race

Spoiler alert! Some surprises are revealed within this review.

Just finished reading The Ridiculous Race. Written by two former National Lampoon editors (including one of the co-writers for My Name Is Earl), the book tells the tale of two writers who race around the world (all for a bottle of Scotch). The only rule is no airplanes.

Although authors Steve Hely and Vali Chandrasekaran write light-heartedly, occasionally you bump up against very serious and emotional statements and observations. Those moments, while few, are sufficiently presented to get you seriously thinking about the United States' role in the world. These sobering passages, mixed with silly tales of seemingly juvenile pranks played worldwide, also prompted me to reflect on how well off Americans are, even in a down economy while an unpopular war continues overseas.

Just when you think the book may be falling to simple, predictable jokes, you encounter an observation that proves telling. Which is good, as one of the authors cheats. When I first read of his jetting across the Atlantic, I feared the book's whole premise was spoiled, thereby rendering the entire "race" a joke in itself. But I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did.

In concluding what he learned from his whirlwind world trek, Hely intriguingly summarizes America's standing:

I got to thinking that America isn't like a bully, or a jock, or a cool kid. In the high school of the world, America is like one of those girls that's just effortlessly beautiful. So beautiful you can't even have a crush on her. A girl that isn't deliberately mean, it's just that she can't possibly understand how lucky she is. And people always do what she wants, without her even realizing it, so she never bothers becoming smart, or savvy about the other kids in school. Just with her airhead remarks, she's always accidentally screwing up the whole order of things. She doesn't even realize it.

Now, when you have a girl like that, the other kinda-pretty girls sort of like her but sort of hate her. That's maybe Germany, or France. And the ugly girls talk about her in the locker room, but are still totally afraid of her. That's Venezuela and Iran. The regular-looking dudes can't help but be awed by her. Maybe they try to woo her with poems. That's Great Britain. And the real twisted kids develop unhealthy obsessions about destroying her, just because they're infuriated at how unfair things are.

That's insightful, at least in my book.

Chandrasekaran, meanwhile, injects arresting moments of his own, including moving stories of sites and people he visits in Berlin, Palestine, Moscow and Cambodia.

All told, The Ridiculous Race was well worth $15. I read it in three days or so (that's how light it is).

Reds Trade Dunn For Single A Pitcher

The Cincinnati Reds have traded Adam Dunn, one of the lone potent offensive forces in its lineup, for a single A pitcher and two players to be named later. The pitcher in question posted a 1-4 record with a 3.94 ERA.

I am officially a Major League Baseball fan free agent.

Thoughts On The Screwtape Letters

Occasionally a book comes along that proves truly arresting. While many tout various books as "exceptional," "outstanding," or even "thought-provoking," very few are actually life-changing.

I found C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters to be just one of those books. And, being an absolutely voracious reader, I like to think I've experienced my fair share of literature.

The Screwtape Letters basically collects a series of letters between two demons. Essentially the reader assumes the role of voyeur in a tutoring session aimed at assisting a junior demon in corrupting a recent Christian convert.

In the letters' course, Lewis manages to address many of the most significant challenges Christians and others battle on a daily basis. That's not incredibly special, however.

What makes the Screwtape Letters so intriguing, at least to me, is the ease with which Lewis' logic enables closure to complex and long-standing issues. While I had to work to understand, and re-read several passages, I found my mind settling into an easiness (as if it were saying "yeah, I get it").

Everyone, of course, falls short of their goals. Whether those failings constitute shortcomings, sins or just simple failures is endlessly arguable. Lewis, however, portrays such failures in a uniquely different light, one I found truly compelling, comforting and enabling. Instead of viewing shortfalls, temptations or anxieties as faults, Lewis enabled me to better understand and better accommodate common trials and tribulations. As a result, simple acceptance and a desire to try harder next time become the MO (as opposed to time-consuming self-flagellation, guilt or other destructive behavior).

That's worth a Saturday afternoon (the time it took me to complete the text) in my book!