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HONORABLE OMISSIONS FROM 2005: Larry’s Best from the Year Gone By

I realized that my last Vision article in 2005 listing my best films was done in haste, and I neglected some films that I truly enjoyed.  In addition, I thought I would add my five favorite books from the previous year:

BEST FILMS OF 2005:

I would include March of the Penguins and Batman Begins from my previous list, but I would now add The Island, Merchant of Venice, and Cinderella Man to that group.

The Island features a ‘perfect society’ of individuals who have been led to believe they’re survivors of a world-wide contamination.  In actuality they are human clones being raised in an underground complex, acting as walking “insurance policies” for their wealthy “sponsors” – organs ready to be harvested when needed.  This film raises a number of pro-life issues, combined with some incredible action/adventure! 

Merchant of Venice is based on the play from William Shakespeare, but I doubt it has ever been done better, especially with Dustin Hoffman in the lead as Shylock.  This film raises strong moral questions centering around justice and revenge. 

Cinderella Man is the miraculous story from the 1930s of the comeback of New Jersey boxer James J. Braddock.  I love films like this, especially when the hero is such a devoted family man.  It is astounding how a boxing film could also be described as a tender and loving story of family values and marital commitment.  All five of these films deserve multiple viewings. 

BEST BOOKS OF 2005:

I realize that there are those who closely follow what I read, so I thought I would include some books that I greatly enjoyed in the past year, although not all were published in the past year. 

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (William Morrow, 2005) is one of the most original books I have read in a long, long time.  The two authors combine economics and sociology in a fascinating way. Their premise is that if you look at enough numbers, you could find the underlying reason behind everything.  So, if you ever wondered why so many drug dealers live with their mothers or when sumo wrestlers would be more likely to lose a match – this is your book. 

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown, 2005), the same author who wrote the very popular Tipping Point.  In his latest work, Gladwell explains the impact of intuition.  From a psychological perspective, I found this book tremendously intriguing.  It proves a point that was made as far back as the scientist and philosopher Michael Polanyi (1891-1976) that we know more than we know.  A very good read that I highly recommend.

Civilization and Its Enemies: The Next Stage of History by Lee Harris (Free Press, 2004) has been quoted by me several times in the past.  Harris gets right to the heart by focusing on the word “enemy.”  Political correct thinking disdains the very notion of an enemy, preferring to think that there are simply others with different viewpoints who need to be better understood.  Harris shatters this deception with great intellectual depth. 

The Pentagon’s New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Barnett (Putnam, 2004) is a good companion to the previous book.  Barnett is a Pentagon strategist who has developed a theory that the world is essentially divided into two halves; the Functioning Core and the Non-integrating Gap.  He makes the case that countries such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, or for that matter, Venezuela, the African continent and much of South-east Asia have not integrated into the globalization of the rest of the Functioning Core and as a result, have enormous unrest and instability.  Though the book is from a military perspective, I believe those with a burden for missions should also focus on the “disconnected” countries.

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene (Vintage, 2003) is obviously not for everyone.  But this book addresses one of the best-kept secrets in science; namely that the two most established theory in physics (general relativity and quantum mechanics) actually contradict one another!  Albert Einstein, among others, had always believed that surely there must be one unifying theory that could explain this paradox.  Greene outlines one possible solution known as Superstring Theory.  I have found this idea so intriguing that I have used some aspects of it in my new leadership book.   

A word of warning: my viewing and reading habits largely revolve around things that make me think.  I like to relax and have fun, of course, but my priority is always keep learning.