Title

Drawing life : surviving the Unabomber

Description

On June 24, 1993, David Gelernter opened a package that exploded, blowing off most of his right hand and damaging his hearing, eyesight, and chest. Ironically, the perpetrator, the technology-phobic "mad genius" we know as the Unabomber, managed to punish one of the very few people who are deeply skeptical about computers and openly critical of technology. Perhaps the greater irony is that the bomb meant to destroy a man's life remade it, and the wounds meant to break his spirit only strengthened it. Now, in this haunting memoir, Gelernter makes a metaphor of himself, seeing in his own near-death and recovery the same disfigurement and promise for American society as a whole. As he ponders his own spiritual condition and the healing power he found in family, religion, community, and art, he critiques the American soul and its devaluing of these very treasures. Instead of teaching and lauding the virtues of courage, critical thinking, and good judgment, Americans have made a media circus out of crime. We are so busy peeking pruriently into the twisted minds of madmen that we have forgotten the acts of violence are not significant because they tickle our bloodlust, but because they force us to rethink our priorities. In a power analysis of the media's response to his experience, for example, Gelernter points out that the Unabomber was described as a "genius," as "sick," as "fascinating," but never as evil. Gelernter asks the chilling question: What does it mean when a culture no longer believes in evil? What happens to a society that has lost its ability to react morally in a crisis? After all, when a man is blown up by a bomb, we should question, not gawk; learn the deeper lessons, not bask in the lurid details. A gripping and poignant narrative as well as a thought-provoking analysis of our culture and where it's headed, Drawing Life is about the resurrection of an extremely thoughtful human being and the extraordinary power of one man's will to live.

Identifier

681316

684839121

Creator

Gelernter, David Hillel

Source

Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection

Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.

Catalog record

Language

eng

Date

1997

Program air date: November 16, 1997

Publisher

Free Press

George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives

Text

Transcription of Annotations
Notes on front endpapers: Vietnam crazy, reporters. Modern Feminism, disastrous consequences of civil rights religion. Tradition is oxygen to a religious community. Manhattan is a psychopath. Most white males were probably bigots. Germany & Hebrew translations in acknowledgements. Hut Man. E.B. White--I love him as a non-intellectual. 1939 World Fair project-turning point. Sesame Street--obnoxious flagship of elite child rearing p. 96. Fake thumb--can paint again. I would have told them--don't publish p 120. Unabomber trial fall 1997--I will testify. What is an intellectual? Low church v. High church. Politics free. English language. Gel. as a painter. Can't look at my hand. Home schooled (1.2 mil) 37 point advantage. John Markhoff--my small band of honorable reporters. Beethoven--cools me down. Verso of front endpaper: What kind of a teacher are you. 'Barely decent at best.' My wife Jane. 1. Lawmen; 2. medical personnel; 3. reporters, 'why respect for the first two shot up.' Not the world's most cheerful person to begin with. Politicians are drawn to the targets of showy crimes, like fruit flies to ripe bananas. They can't help themselves and probably don't even know they are doing it, p 13. Judgmental p 10. Notes on front fly sheet: Bookstore: spiritual healing power of myth. You have succeeded taking religion out of religion. Sleazeball reporters plagued me. *press reflects elite opinion in society at large. *a Big New York TV personality p54; cannot imagine what I am going through. Victim culture. *It crosses your mind not only are these people oblivious jerks, they are not too bright. *Print reporters make the calls themselves. TV interviewers are too important. Underlinings/Notes: Underlinings: Family, relationship with Yale, impact of blast, injuries, crime, recovery, music, art. Notes: "Soledad Morales," "Neal Kozodoy," "June 1993," "crime gets worse," "I am better than before," "Nick Carriero," "1000 acts of kindness," "the bomb," "Beethoven," "judgmental," "this age," "Gov. Weicker," "right hand," "not world's most cheerful person," "intensive care mattress," "married 8 years," "baseball with the boys," "mother," "writing," "smarter than me," "Nurse," "FBI," "feel dirty," "Prof. Charles Epstein a target," "Jewish," "my car," "2nd letter from bomber," "I don't like computers," "family's safety," "lost my sense of humor," "drugged," "drugged," "paint w/ left," "dreams," "last time I played the piano," "barely decent teacher," "never paint again," "E.B. White turned down every speaking engagement," "dreams are bad," "blurry," "sleazeball reporters," "victims," "Bill Moyers," "reporters," "pro press," "TV crews," "politicians as normal," "jerks," "jerks not too bright," "publish false info," "make things up," "the New Yorker," "victim," "Big N.Y. TV personality," "email to Washington Post," "Mad Genius," "elite opinion," "opinion piece, false account of my views," "intellectual," "1965 changes in America," "Civil Rights," "white male bigots," "people cry," "N.Y.C. psychopath," "Cokie Roberts," "tradition is oxygen to religion," "my dislike for intellectuals," "Birds," "fall term," "physical therapy," "wrist rods come out," "late night incoming fax," "late Oct," "painkillers," "fast typer, bitterest," "the violin," "1939 World's Fair," "honorable reporter," "N.Y. Times," "Sunday business," "Markoff early articles 1992," "my disgust," "1.2 Mil- home schooled, 37 pt advantage," "extreme right winger," "dating and sex," "modern feminism disaster," "Promise keepers," "Sesame Street obnoxious flagship," "Motherhood Revolution," "right index finger typing," "fake thumb," "blurred vision continues," "1940 America," "energy presses you homeward," "painting," "father," "92 Y," "key class," "computers," "reading," "TV society," "trains v. planes," "operation on hand," "look at my hand," "drive again," "first class," "I cheer up," "writer has a duty," "want to be surrounded by women," "Hillary despise her," "driving again," "buy a watch," "1939 is finished," "Newsweek 100," "Son's favorite piece," "Hut Man," "brother, I would say don't publish," "CBS," "Passover and the press," "death penalty," "quote out of context," "Vietnam just a symptom," "intellectuals despise middle class," "elite loathes the public," "crowd hates media," "E.B. White on Intellectuals," "elitenik," "public disdain journalist and politician," "Joseph Mitchell," "high church v. low church," "Sports," "politics free English language," "a misfit. .Yale Volvo," "merit," "arithmetic disappeared," "numbers," "cornea," "wooden arm," "drugs," "what do you learn," "1st task," "Mrs.," "E.B. White's collected essays," "Spice box wedding ring."

Subject

"Gelernter, David Hillel."

"Kaczynski, Theodore John, 1942-"

"Victims of terrorism--United States--Biography."

"Bombings--United States."

Relation

Original Booknotes interview

Rights

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