Notes from Neil

Thursday, Jan. 16 — One thing you won't see in this newsletter are reviews of the various self-improvement books that pop up like mushrooms this time of year - you know, the ones that make you feel bad about already having broken your resolutions. Why not? Because I've always believed that reading itself the greatest form of self-improvement, regardless of the topic. Here's what we're reading:

2014 BCS Rose Bowl Program
Even though they sold out on game day in Pasadena, all of our stores still have copies of the souvenir program from the 100th Rose Bowl game, which I'm led to believe was won by a team from our own state. Needless to say, supplies are limited.

A Curious Madness: An American Combat Psychiatrist, a Japanese War Crimes Suspect, and an Unsolved Mystery from World War II - Eric Jaffe.
A beguiling slice of mid-20th century history, as told by the grandson of one of the key players. The scene is the post-Second World War trial of twenty-eight Japanese men, twenty-seven military and one civilian, accused of war crimes. During the opening proceedings the lone civilian, Okawa Shumei, slapped the head of former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, and shouted phrases in German. The author's grandfather was the U.S. Army psychiatrist tasked with determining if Okawa was actually insane, or was feigning madness to avoid prosecution.

In addition to the sensational aspects of the war trials, the book traces the history of the two men at the center of the story, and how they arrived at that particular crossroads. Through their life stories the reader learns about American military psychology practices of the 1930's and 1940's, as well as the evolution of that era's Japanese military philosophy. An enlightening and very human history lesson.

A Prince Among Stones: That Business with the Rolling Stones and Other Adventures - Prince Rupert Loewenstein.