Reviews

I don’t enjoy writing book reviews. That was by far the most common assignment during the thirty six hours of course work for that period of my life I refer to as grad school. The reviews were exhausting, boring, and from where I stand, mostly useless since all of the books had been reviewed previously by history scholars with lots of letters in front of and behind their names. I get that education is about expanding a student’s mind and helping them think about situations, books, etc. in different ways. I am a teacher after all. It’s just that no one actually ever explained to me how writing reviews of old books was going to transform me into a “Master of History.” They didn’t even give me a sword when I finished…which should totally be a thing.

Along the same lines, I don’t actually read book reviews often. What people think about books is not only highly subjective, it’s also very personal. Multiple times, I’ve read books that I thought were awful and then found out later that they’d won Pulitzer Prizes. (True story.) Someone’s tastes are off. I’m not going to get into my thoughts on that one. Actually, I think I already have.

Except when I have to, I don’t generally live life by definite rules. I’m a bit of a free flowing non-conformist…when I’m allowed to be. So even though I don’t generally write reviews or read them, I do make exceptions.

I’ve used Crash Course US History videos to supplement my own inadequacies as a lecturer for quite some time now. The host, John Green, keeps the videos fun and flowing for the kids while still being historically accurate and interesting, both of which are very important.

Several years ago, I was talking to one of my coworkers about what book she was reading. She said she was reading a book called The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Wait…John Green?!? The Crash Course Guy? He wrote a book? Apparently, he’d written several. Who new?

I’ve never claimed to be on top of current cultural trends. My mind is often stuck somewhere in the past, and I’ll find that I have some catching up to do from time to time. This was one of those times.

So I bought and read The Fault in Our Stars…and Looking For Alaska…and Paper Towns…and An Abundance of Katherines and enjoyed them in all their teen lit glory.

A few weeks ago, my daughter asked to go to the bookstore. I think she’s figured out that I will nearly always respond, “Yes!” to that question…and so we went. While we were there, I bought a copy of Turtles All the Way Down and The Anthropocene Reviewed, both also by John Green.

I enjoyed all of John Green’s fictional stories, but it was The Anthropocene Reviewed that has stuck with me. It is literally a book of reviews about things that have had some significance (positive, negative, and everywhere in between) in the author’s life. The effect is to create a type of memoir showing the ups and downs of his life. John Green is not afraid to share details of his life (being bullied, his anxiety and OCD) that many others may try to hide, and the book, for me, just reinforced my already positive perception of the author.

The reason I’ve continued to use Crash Course US History videos in class is because John Green is not afraid of dealing with controversial topics, but he does it in such a way that (if they are actually watching) will make students think about the complexity of the issues. One of the most important things I try to get across to my students is that history and life are not just black and white…it’s full of shades of gray (or grey, depending on where you’re from). Looking at historic events through a modern lens is hard, but John Green has helped.

Multiple times in the Crash Course videos, John Green mentions that history is not necessarily about the individuals. That is true overall. But sometimes there are individuals who use their platforms to try to make the world around them more accepting, kind, and knowledgeable. They give of themselves so much that it impacts others’ lives in profound and positive ways. They just want to help make things better through whatever means they can.

This isn’t actually a review of any of John Green’s books or videos. It’s about my own perception of John Green the person. I don’t know him personally and probably never will. But that’s what influencers are, right? Someone who uses their voice in whatever form to change things, hopefully for the better…even if you’ve never met them. And that’s what he has done and continues to do.

I give John Green five stars.