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The Language God Talks
"More years ago than I care to reckon up, I met Richard Feynman." So begins The Language God Talks, Herman Wouk's gem on navigating the divide between science and religion. In one rich, compact volume, Wouk draws on stories from his life as well as on key events from the 20th century to address the eternal questions of why we are here, what purpose faith serves, and how scientific fact fits into the picture. He relates wonderful conversations he's had with scientists such as Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Freeman Dyson, and Steven Weinberg, and brings to life such pivotal moments as the 1969 moon landing and the Challenger disaster.
Brilliantly written, The Language God Talks is a scintillating and lively investigation and a worthy addition to the literature.
Brilliantly written, The Language God Talks is a scintillating and lively investigation and a worthy addition to the literature.
209 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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409 people want to read
About the author
Herman Wouk
160 books1,389 followersHerman Wouk was a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning Jewish American author with a number of notable novels to his credit, including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.
Herman Wouk was born in New York City into a Jewish family that had emigrated from Russia. After a childhood and adolescence in the Bronx and a high school diploma from Townsend Harris High School, he earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1934, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity and studied under philosopher Irwin Edman. Soon thereafter, he became a radio dramatist, working in David Freedman's "Joke Factory" and later with Fred Allen for five years and then, in 1941, for the United States government, writing radio spots to sell war bonds. He lived a fairly secular lifestyle in his early 20s before deciding to return to a more traditional Jewish way of life, modeled after that of his grandfather, in his mid-20s.
Wouk joined the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater, an experience he later characterized as educational; "I learned about machinery, I learned how men behaved under pressure, and I learned about Americans." Wouk served as an officer aboard two destroyer minesweepers (DMS), the USS Zane and USS Southard, becoming executive officer of the latter. He started writing a novel, Aurora Dawn, during off-duty hours aboard ship. Wouk sent a copy of the opening chapters to Irwin Edman who quoted a few pages verbatim to a New York editor. The result was a publisher's contract sent to Wouk's ship, then off the coast of Okinawa. The novel was published in 1947 and became a Book of the Month Club main selection. His second novel, City Boy, proved to be a commercial disappointment at the time of its initial publication in 1948.
While writing his next novel, Wouk read each chapter as it was completed to his wife, who remarked at one point that if they didn't like this one, he'd better take up another line of work (a line he would give to the character of the editor Jeannie Fry in his 1962 novel Youngblood Hawke). The novel, The Caine Mutiny (1951), went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. A huge best-seller, drawing from his wartime experiences aboard minesweepers during World War II, The Caine Mutiny was adapted by the author into a Broadway play called The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, and was later made into a film, with Humphrey Bogart portraying Lt. Commander Philip Francis Queeg, captain of the fictional USS Caine. Some Navy personnel complained at the time that Wouk had taken every twitch of every commanding officer in the Navy and put them all into one character, but Captain Queeg has endured as one of the great characters in American fiction.
He married Betty Sarah Brown in 1945, with whom he had three sons: Abraham, Nathanial, and Joseph. He became a fulltime writer in 1946 to support his growing family. His first-born son, Abraham Isaac Wouk, died in a tragic accident as a child; Wouk later dedicated War and Remembrance (1978) to him with the Biblical words, "He will destroy death forever."
In 1998, Wouk received the Guardian of Zion Award.
Herman Wouk died in his sleep in his home in Palm Springs, California, on May 17, 2019, at the age of 103, ten days before his 104th birthday.
Herman Wouk was born in New York City into a Jewish family that had emigrated from Russia. After a childhood and adolescence in the Bronx and a high school diploma from Townsend Harris High School, he earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1934, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity and studied under philosopher Irwin Edman. Soon thereafter, he became a radio dramatist, working in David Freedman's "Joke Factory" and later with Fred Allen for five years and then, in 1941, for the United States government, writing radio spots to sell war bonds. He lived a fairly secular lifestyle in his early 20s before deciding to return to a more traditional Jewish way of life, modeled after that of his grandfather, in his mid-20s.
Wouk joined the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater, an experience he later characterized as educational; "I learned about machinery, I learned how men behaved under pressure, and I learned about Americans." Wouk served as an officer aboard two destroyer minesweepers (DMS), the USS Zane and USS Southard, becoming executive officer of the latter. He started writing a novel, Aurora Dawn, during off-duty hours aboard ship. Wouk sent a copy of the opening chapters to Irwin Edman who quoted a few pages verbatim to a New York editor. The result was a publisher's contract sent to Wouk's ship, then off the coast of Okinawa. The novel was published in 1947 and became a Book of the Month Club main selection. His second novel, City Boy, proved to be a commercial disappointment at the time of its initial publication in 1948.
While writing his next novel, Wouk read each chapter as it was completed to his wife, who remarked at one point that if they didn't like this one, he'd better take up another line of work (a line he would give to the character of the editor Jeannie Fry in his 1962 novel Youngblood Hawke). The novel, The Caine Mutiny (1951), went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. A huge best-seller, drawing from his wartime experiences aboard minesweepers during World War II, The Caine Mutiny was adapted by the author into a Broadway play called The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, and was later made into a film, with Humphrey Bogart portraying Lt. Commander Philip Francis Queeg, captain of the fictional USS Caine. Some Navy personnel complained at the time that Wouk had taken every twitch of every commanding officer in the Navy and put them all into one character, but Captain Queeg has endured as one of the great characters in American fiction.
He married Betty Sarah Brown in 1945, with whom he had three sons: Abraham, Nathanial, and Joseph. He became a fulltime writer in 1946 to support his growing family. His first-born son, Abraham Isaac Wouk, died in a tragic accident as a child; Wouk later dedicated War and Remembrance (1978) to him with the Biblical words, "He will destroy death forever."
In 1998, Wouk received the Guardian of Zion Award.
Herman Wouk died in his sleep in his home in Palm Springs, California, on May 17, 2019, at the age of 103, ten days before his 104th birthday.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
June 15, 2010
I was disappointed in this book on science and religion. After reading This is My God, a superb introduction to orthodox Judaism and a beautiful popular theistic apologetic in its own right, I was expecting similar greatness from The Language God Talks. But, in addition to rambling from random point to random point in his recollection of life, Herman Wouk decides to write in a strangely melodramatic style. One example paragraph: “So, outer space breached! The conquest of a new frontier brilliantly begun! Moon voyage dream of stargazers, poets, storytellers down the ages come true! Cold chaste goddess of the night ravished by an outward-bound primate, and fled for all time weeping to the dark side of the moon! Whither now, Homo sapiens? What does NASA do for an encore in space pioneering. Answer, plenty!”
By page thirty, Wouk doesn’t seem to have much to say, except that he admires agnostics scientists, he’s bad at math, and calculus is the language God speaks. I’m reading this all and I’m having flashbacks to college, when I abandoned my plan to major in math and was asked sardonically by my academic advisor, a math professor, “And wither shalt thou goeth with thy English major?”
A good chunk of the book is spent giving a sort of creative journalistic overview of the history of modern scientific (or perhaps more accurately technological) conquests. This may be fine if you’re primarily interested in the “science” part of the subtitle, but if you’re expecting, as I was, this long prologue to be some kind of a set-up for the grand theme of “science AND religion,” you’ll be let down. At page 68, we finally arrived at what I thought was going to be the point of the book. The rest of the book, I now thought, was going to be a response to the scientist Feynman’s challenge that “the stage” of the universe “is too big for the drama” of God watching “human beings struggle for good and evil.” So, arrival at point! Considerable introduction at length exhausted, profound treatise on science and religion to commence! Wither will Wouk next guide me, expectant reader? Religious, penetrating writer of fiction and theology, poised to glide his pen across awaiting page? What revelations on the theme of science and religion will he now pour forth? Answer, none!
By page 92, he is still talking about the book he is GOING to write. Then, for the next several dozen pages after that he rambles about characters in his various books. These, apparently, are “pictures” that are presumably in some way connected to the grand theme of science and religion. I, unfortunately, had trouble grasping the connection. Finally, in the very last chapter, the book partially redeems itself with a conversation of some religious depth between Feynman and Wouk. (Even if it is clearly contrived and not at all believable as an exchange that even two brilliant men would have.) In the end, however, teiku--the question stands.
Now, I respect choosing not to answer a possibly unanswerable question, but why write an entire book to say you aren’t going to answer it? And what exactly was the question that Wouk was going to answer but didn’t answer? I’m not even quite sure about that.
One good thing did come out of reading this book. As much as I loved This is My God, and as much as I enjoyed Wouk’s novels The Caine Mutiny and Winds of War and War and Remembrance and Aurora Dawn and City Boy, I was simply unaware that Wouk had written a more serious nonfiction work about Judaism titled The Will to Live On. Since he spends a good thirty percent of this book plugging his other books, I now know! And I will be adding it to my to-read list.
By page thirty, Wouk doesn’t seem to have much to say, except that he admires agnostics scientists, he’s bad at math, and calculus is the language God speaks. I’m reading this all and I’m having flashbacks to college, when I abandoned my plan to major in math and was asked sardonically by my academic advisor, a math professor, “And wither shalt thou goeth with thy English major?”
A good chunk of the book is spent giving a sort of creative journalistic overview of the history of modern scientific (or perhaps more accurately technological) conquests. This may be fine if you’re primarily interested in the “science” part of the subtitle, but if you’re expecting, as I was, this long prologue to be some kind of a set-up for the grand theme of “science AND religion,” you’ll be let down. At page 68, we finally arrived at what I thought was going to be the point of the book. The rest of the book, I now thought, was going to be a response to the scientist Feynman’s challenge that “the stage” of the universe “is too big for the drama” of God watching “human beings struggle for good and evil.” So, arrival at point! Considerable introduction at length exhausted, profound treatise on science and religion to commence! Wither will Wouk next guide me, expectant reader? Religious, penetrating writer of fiction and theology, poised to glide his pen across awaiting page? What revelations on the theme of science and religion will he now pour forth? Answer, none!
By page 92, he is still talking about the book he is GOING to write. Then, for the next several dozen pages after that he rambles about characters in his various books. These, apparently, are “pictures” that are presumably in some way connected to the grand theme of science and religion. I, unfortunately, had trouble grasping the connection. Finally, in the very last chapter, the book partially redeems itself with a conversation of some religious depth between Feynman and Wouk. (Even if it is clearly contrived and not at all believable as an exchange that even two brilliant men would have.) In the end, however, teiku--the question stands.
Now, I respect choosing not to answer a possibly unanswerable question, but why write an entire book to say you aren’t going to answer it? And what exactly was the question that Wouk was going to answer but didn’t answer? I’m not even quite sure about that.
One good thing did come out of reading this book. As much as I loved This is My God, and as much as I enjoyed Wouk’s novels The Caine Mutiny and Winds of War and War and Remembrance and Aurora Dawn and City Boy, I was simply unaware that Wouk had written a more serious nonfiction work about Judaism titled The Will to Live On. Since he spends a good thirty percent of this book plugging his other books, I now know! And I will be adding it to my to-read list.
October 27, 2010
Oh, man -- this is going to be a difficult review to write. I often speak half-jokingly of my deep personal love for Herman Wouk, as if it's possible to feel an actual connection to an author you've never seen. But having loved Inside, Outside: A Novel, which Wouk refers to as his "novel-memoir" (the protagonist is clearly similar to Wouk, and his life follows a similar trajectory), I feel as if I know him even though we've never met. That, and Wouk's 90+ age, make me feel not a little twinge of guilt as I get ready to pan this book.
Sorry, Herm, and all due respect and all that, but this book just didn't work for me. My brother affectionately calls this book "The Language God Rambles In," and with good reason. I simply couldn't keep track of the train of thought, if there was one. One minute we're talking about the space race, then we're dabbling in theology, a minute later we're giving a spotty history of some scientific discoveries, and then we're reminiscing over the writing and publishing experience of some of Wouk's books and offering some plot summaries, even excerpts. Wha?
Skylar's excellent review (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) does an fantastic job of capturing the mishmash that is this book, and I recommend that you give it a read. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the book itself, my undying love for Wouk himself notwithstanding.
Sorry, Herm, and all due respect and all that, but this book just didn't work for me. My brother affectionately calls this book "The Language God Rambles In," and with good reason. I simply couldn't keep track of the train of thought, if there was one. One minute we're talking about the space race, then we're dabbling in theology, a minute later we're giving a spotty history of some scientific discoveries, and then we're reminiscing over the writing and publishing experience of some of Wouk's books and offering some plot summaries, even excerpts. Wha?
Skylar's excellent review (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) does an fantastic job of capturing the mishmash that is this book, and I recommend that you give it a read. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the book itself, my undying love for Wouk himself notwithstanding.
May 18, 2010
Herman Wouk has always been one of my favorite writers. I feel in love with the Caine Munity and then felt that I must read his entire ouvre. His books always ranged from romantic to serious with a lot of fine story telling and impeccable research to entertain and inform the reader.
I remember being so impressed with his book, This is My God that I had a religious epiphany. I rededicated myself to Judaism and started living a better life. I always am eager for a new book but realizing that Mr. Wouk is now 95 I was worried that I may never get that next book.
Yet, just this month we have such a book, The Language of God. This is only the third non-fiction book that Mr. Wouk has written, all three dealing with religion, but I hesitate to label this book about religion as it is so much more. The book is where science meets religion.
Mr. Wouk is a famous member of the Modern-Orthodox movement of Judaism. Yet, his books depict scenes in life that many Orthodox Jews would not openly confront. This book is in that vane, he seeks to show just how science and religion are balanced in his own conscience and he does so quite well.
The book is Mr. Wouk’s remembrances of the late great scientist, Richard Feynman (a personal favorite of mine as well). Feynman was famously atheist and not really into fiction writing. He believed that the world offered so many mysteries that there was not time to waste on frivolous pursuits such as fiction.
I must say that this is a book that is quite timely. There seems to be a resurgence in the Darwin debates. More and more atheists are being published and there has not really been any rational counter argument that does not seem to be faith alone. Mr. Wouk is the first of the rational faithful to write a book on the need for co-existence between the two worlds.
I remember being so impressed with his book, This is My God that I had a religious epiphany. I rededicated myself to Judaism and started living a better life. I always am eager for a new book but realizing that Mr. Wouk is now 95 I was worried that I may never get that next book.
Yet, just this month we have such a book, The Language of God. This is only the third non-fiction book that Mr. Wouk has written, all three dealing with religion, but I hesitate to label this book about religion as it is so much more. The book is where science meets religion.
Mr. Wouk is a famous member of the Modern-Orthodox movement of Judaism. Yet, his books depict scenes in life that many Orthodox Jews would not openly confront. This book is in that vane, he seeks to show just how science and religion are balanced in his own conscience and he does so quite well.
The book is Mr. Wouk’s remembrances of the late great scientist, Richard Feynman (a personal favorite of mine as well). Feynman was famously atheist and not really into fiction writing. He believed that the world offered so many mysteries that there was not time to waste on frivolous pursuits such as fiction.
I must say that this is a book that is quite timely. There seems to be a resurgence in the Darwin debates. More and more atheists are being published and there has not really been any rational counter argument that does not seem to be faith alone. Mr. Wouk is the first of the rational faithful to write a book on the need for co-existence between the two worlds.
May 23, 2010
From My Blog...[return][return][return]I did not know what to expect when I began The Language God Talks by Herman Wouk and all I knew prior to beginning the book is that I enjoyed Wouk's earlier works and he not only met, but also quoted my all-time favourite physicist, Richard Feynman. I am pleased to report The Language God Talks exceeded my expectations. Wouk's book, while concise is filled with very large and abstract ideas. Those interested in mathematics and science will probably gain the most insight from The Language God Talks, after all, according to Feynman and others, the language is calculus. Wouk discusses the lengths he goes to talk to the great minds of the century in his quest for a deeper understanding of how religion and science fit together, piecing together history, literature and science. If one is looking for a straightforward answer, this book may disappoint. However, if one is looking for an intellectual book filled with many deep issues to ponder and then render one's own opinion, this is the book to read. Wouk's book, while deceptively trim and simple sounding, is a series of rather complex philosophical, ethical, and straightforward questions as well as his own reflections from serving in WWII. The book offers up no direct answers rather Wouk points the reader towards several relevant, and at times intellectual, examples or in the scientific world, proofs (not to be mistaken with the proof of something). I highly recommend The Language God Talks to anyone who is looking for an intellectual book that will make one think for oneself rather than turning out pat ideology. The Language God Talks would be a lively discussion group book.
January 7, 2023
Well written and easy to listen to but super hard for me to follow the points being made.
August 3, 2018
This book isn't what I expected it to be. I'm not sure exactly what I thought it would be, perhaps similar to an excellent drash I once heard in synagogue delivered by a physicist who explained how Genesis mirrors the Big Bang in terms of how the universe was created (first there was darkness, then there was light, etc etc). Or maybe I thought he would clearly explain how he, and the majority of Jews worldwide, myself included, have no problem reconciling science and religion. Science is the explanation of how the universe works, whether or not a G-d created it.
He gets close to these explanations several times, but doesn't clearly state them. There were too many digressions into his life and his books, most of which were not relevant. And those that were, a longer re-writing process might possibly have distilled into the cleanly stated truths that I was waiting for. I suspect that at his impressive age Wouk didn't feel he had the time (or the energy?) to distill this work into what I wanted from it. There were still parts I found very interesting, and I think fans of Wouk, especially Jewish ones, will get more from this book than non-fans. It was very interesting to me to glean that he is not strict Orthodox as I had assumed, but more humanist/agnostic in viewpoint as are most of the Jews I've ever met (again, myself included). There are ethical and cultural dimensions to Jewish life that make it easy to be a practicing Jew and not a "believer" in the Christian sense.
His inclusion of an excerpt from "War and Remembrance" as an appendix, a passage which moved me to tears once again, is what Wouk says he sees as essence of the Jewish faith: faith that we do not understand the universe or G-d, that we are too small to understand, that we will endure and study and question and keep patiently waiting to see if G-d ever clearly states G-d's own existence and plan. I would have loved to have seen him state that in non-fiction prose—that's what I mean by this book exploring soaring ideas and not following up by explicitly laying them out in clear language. Still, this book both reinvigorated my connection to Judaism and my curiosity about advanced science I will never understand.
He gets close to these explanations several times, but doesn't clearly state them. There were too many digressions into his life and his books, most of which were not relevant. And those that were, a longer re-writing process might possibly have distilled into the cleanly stated truths that I was waiting for. I suspect that at his impressive age Wouk didn't feel he had the time (or the energy?) to distill this work into what I wanted from it. There were still parts I found very interesting, and I think fans of Wouk, especially Jewish ones, will get more from this book than non-fans. It was very interesting to me to glean that he is not strict Orthodox as I had assumed, but more humanist/agnostic in viewpoint as are most of the Jews I've ever met (again, myself included). There are ethical and cultural dimensions to Jewish life that make it easy to be a practicing Jew and not a "believer" in the Christian sense.
His inclusion of an excerpt from "War and Remembrance" as an appendix, a passage which moved me to tears once again, is what Wouk says he sees as essence of the Jewish faith: faith that we do not understand the universe or G-d, that we are too small to understand, that we will endure and study and question and keep patiently waiting to see if G-d ever clearly states G-d's own existence and plan. I would have loved to have seen him state that in non-fiction prose—that's what I mean by this book exploring soaring ideas and not following up by explicitly laying them out in clear language. Still, this book both reinvigorated my connection to Judaism and my curiosity about advanced science I will never understand.
February 28, 2019
Very well written collection of memoirs by a Jewish novelist on his way of balancing science and religion, and the conversations and experiences that led him there. The actual meat of that balance between science and religion rests in the last chapter, but the memoirs along the way are enjoyable and insightful. I think this book would have been more interesting had I read the authors' novels first and therefore been motivated to hear his memoirs, novel excerpts, and explanations, but as my first time reading his works this was not unpleasant. I greatly enjoyed hearing this science versus religion conversation from a Jewish perspective, since so often such a conversation is dominated by Christian and atheist voices. Overall a good, thoughtful, insightful book.
October 15, 2011
Have you ever been at a party where you only knew one person who invited you and that person was off socializing with other people? You found yourself just sitting there picking up bits and pieces of conversations around you. It is much like tuning a radio and only hearing a word here or there as you zoom by the frequencies. The conversations are about people you do not know and topics that at first sounded interesting but soon you found out that most of what they were saying was either beyond your comprehension or a series of inside jokes or exclusive mutual experiences. That is pretty much what this book was to me. I got about halfway through chapter seven and decided that this was going nowhere and stopped. I suppose if I had more of a history with the author and his works I would be more interested. Herman Wouk has a wonderful writing style, but in this work, it jumped around way too much for my feeble mind to follow.
I hate to be defeated by anything, so I will probably suffer through to the end but that will only happen when I am getting ready to put this book on the pile that will eventually get turned in to the local used book store. Hopefully I will get 50 cents for it. I think what happened here is I was expecting some sort of science versus theology presentation which is how this book started but in the end it was just a collection of reminiscing about his journey and how he wrote his other books.
Sorry Herman, but I did not like most of it.
I hate to be defeated by anything, so I will probably suffer through to the end but that will only happen when I am getting ready to put this book on the pile that will eventually get turned in to the local used book store. Hopefully I will get 50 cents for it. I think what happened here is I was expecting some sort of science versus theology presentation which is how this book started but in the end it was just a collection of reminiscing about his journey and how he wrote his other books.
Sorry Herman, but I did not like most of it.
November 3, 2014
The Language GOD Talks - On Science and Religion by Herman Wouk. Wait, isn't that the guy who wrote Winds of War, and War and Remembrance? I remember the movies, too. And the language GOD talks is...calculus...so says Richard Feynman, someone who doesn't believe in God....or does he? I remember reading the memoir of that wacky genius Feynman, too.
Like Wouk's character in the concentration camp, hungrily anticipating Jastrow's last words trying to make meaning of their suffering, I gobbled up this book and was left with an appetite to read all of Wouk's works. I got to meet the brains behind the books, got a glimpse of the author's process, his hidden meanings, his writer's memory, his inability to ever learn calculus. I love him for that. History, literature, science, suffering and faith converge to make this tsumani of thought. I want to read it again. I want to read more.
Like Wouk's character in the concentration camp, hungrily anticipating Jastrow's last words trying to make meaning of their suffering, I gobbled up this book and was left with an appetite to read all of Wouk's works. I got to meet the brains behind the books, got a glimpse of the author's process, his hidden meanings, his writer's memory, his inability to ever learn calculus. I love him for that. History, literature, science, suffering and faith converge to make this tsumani of thought. I want to read it again. I want to read more.
July 5, 2012
I'm really wishing they'd let us do half stars -- five gradations seems too narrow, not to mention the fact that an overall rating is of what? But the rating system aside, this writing memoir/essay/remembrance is most intriguing when he is recounting his interactions with Richard Feynman. Really this is a book about language, the language of the story teller versus the language of the scientist. The title comes from a quip from Feynman, calling Calculus the language god talks. Wouk takes the position that narrative is the language god talks and the religious language of story supersedes science. But Wouk admits never understanding Calculus, which is maybe the ultimate irony, since Calculus is about limits -- driving towards infinity but never quite getting there.
October 20, 2010
Herman Wouk is a brilliant writer and in this book he explores the often diametric views on God between science and religion. While by definition , he reaches no conclusion , he concludes the book with a superb excerpt from War and Remembrance in which Aaron Jastrow , in Therienstadt (a Nazi death camp) , gives a powerful and moving talk of the story of Job and the unshakeable faith for Jews throughout history .
October 5, 2010
A pleasant and finally somewhat moving little book. It doesn't do very well on science, religion or calculus (the language God talks), but it does work as an homage to Richard Feynman, as a survey of the roots of Wouk's major works, and as a sensitive interpretation of Job in the context of WWII.
July 3, 2013
Great insights, meandering structure, abrupt transitions from topic to topic. Worth reading, if nothing else for Wouk's personal blend of humanism, secularism, and reverent Judaism, and for the aphorism he repeats regarding the role of God in the world: "The question stands."
September 17, 2010
A wonderful little book that reads like a conversation over a long dinner with a warm, profoundly intellectual and well-travelled friend who is approaching his final days and has wisdom to share.
August 4, 2019
Fascinating...but do not make this your introduction to Wouk
I consider Wouk's The Winds of War / War and Remembrance and Inside, Outside among the greatest of books. Wouk, following the lead of Tolstoy's War and Peace, effectively conveys the history of the era as a side effect of telling the tales of his major characters. He is guided by the peculiar notion that good writing should be readable and accessible, even to readers lacking a PhD. (The funny thing about "War and Peace" is that, gosh, you can actually read and enjoy it, even though it's a big book and a classic. (Some translations are more readable than others; I linked the Rosemary Edmonds translation, which I liked.)) I think every American should pick up Wouk's WWII books at some point, and these books might be good candidates for high school reading.
When I saw the 94-year-old Wouk had written a book contemplating the relationship between Man and God, I was anxious to read what perspective and wisdom he had gathered during his long sojourn on this planet. This turns out to be a small book touching on big questions of science and philosophy and theology and history, interspersed with personal memoirs and connections to Wouk's literary canon. A central theme is a running conversation/debate (partly historical and partly imaginary) between Wouk (who passed away in 2019 at the age of 103) and the physicist Richard Feynman (who had died in 1988, before Wouk wrote this book), with Wouk seeking philosophical convergence between the model of a universe governed by natural law versus the human quest for spiritual transcendence. On the surface, Wouk's religiosity and Feynman's apparent materialistic atheism would seem incompatible, but Wouk pursues the notion that neither man is wrong and both can share and be enriched by a common philosophical structure, if only the proper framework can be found.
I think the way to appreciate "The Language God Talks" is to take it as a contemplative follow-up to Wouk's earlier works. That is, if you have his other books (or some of them) under your belt and found value in them, this will revisit and clarify and strengthen the themes therein. However, if you're not familiar with the earlier major works or weren't taken by them, I doubt this book will take root in your mind. It's a small book and it covers a vast turf; its ambition is far too great for it to stand alone.
As a footnote, fans of Wouk might be interested in Arnold Auerbach's 1965 Funny Men Don't Laugh. The mention in TLGT motivated me to seek out an old copy, which I found quite rewarding. The apprenticeship to Harry Goldhandler described in "Inside, Outside" is somewhat autobiographical, and Auerbach was the friend who brought young Wouk in to work for David Freedman, the real-life Goldhandler. The true tale is told in Auerbach's memoir, although here Freedman/Goldhandler for some reason becomes "Lou Jacobs".
I consider Wouk's The Winds of War / War and Remembrance and Inside, Outside among the greatest of books. Wouk, following the lead of Tolstoy's War and Peace, effectively conveys the history of the era as a side effect of telling the tales of his major characters. He is guided by the peculiar notion that good writing should be readable and accessible, even to readers lacking a PhD. (The funny thing about "War and Peace" is that, gosh, you can actually read and enjoy it, even though it's a big book and a classic. (Some translations are more readable than others; I linked the Rosemary Edmonds translation, which I liked.)) I think every American should pick up Wouk's WWII books at some point, and these books might be good candidates for high school reading.
When I saw the 94-year-old Wouk had written a book contemplating the relationship between Man and God, I was anxious to read what perspective and wisdom he had gathered during his long sojourn on this planet. This turns out to be a small book touching on big questions of science and philosophy and theology and history, interspersed with personal memoirs and connections to Wouk's literary canon. A central theme is a running conversation/debate (partly historical and partly imaginary) between Wouk (who passed away in 2019 at the age of 103) and the physicist Richard Feynman (who had died in 1988, before Wouk wrote this book), with Wouk seeking philosophical convergence between the model of a universe governed by natural law versus the human quest for spiritual transcendence. On the surface, Wouk's religiosity and Feynman's apparent materialistic atheism would seem incompatible, but Wouk pursues the notion that neither man is wrong and both can share and be enriched by a common philosophical structure, if only the proper framework can be found.
I think the way to appreciate "The Language God Talks" is to take it as a contemplative follow-up to Wouk's earlier works. That is, if you have his other books (or some of them) under your belt and found value in them, this will revisit and clarify and strengthen the themes therein. However, if you're not familiar with the earlier major works or weren't taken by them, I doubt this book will take root in your mind. It's a small book and it covers a vast turf; its ambition is far too great for it to stand alone.
As a footnote, fans of Wouk might be interested in Arnold Auerbach's 1965 Funny Men Don't Laugh. The mention in TLGT motivated me to seek out an old copy, which I found quite rewarding. The apprenticeship to Harry Goldhandler described in "Inside, Outside" is somewhat autobiographical, and Auerbach was the friend who brought young Wouk in to work for David Freedman, the real-life Goldhandler. The true tale is told in Auerbach's memoir, although here Freedman/Goldhandler for some reason becomes "Lou Jacobs".
August 6, 2019
Herman Wouk has always fascinated me as an author: someone who could write huge, ambitious, and (most uniquely of all) popular books about World War II with what can only be called heart. Like Stephen King, he's not a perfect writer but he's perfectly readable and has something to say beneath the flowing, even breezy, language. Sometimes breezy is a breath of fresh air.
This book is a short work about Richard Feynman and the space program (I happened to start it on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing), as well as Wouk's method for writing The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. I read those in high school but don't remember many details, I just remember how Wouk had a knack for complicated, epic plotting on the scale of the big Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies.
Here he talks about science, writing, and God. Wouk is an American Orthodox Jew and he uses Feynman as a foil for the big questions. In A World from Dust, I end with a plea for conversations exactly like this (though the final imaged conversation isn't as compelling as the actual ones!).
For Wouk, there's actually two "languages God talks" to refer to the title: calculus and the Torah/Talmud. Wouk only speaks the latter, but he speaks it fluently and persuasively. This quote is the center of the book, in which Wouk refers to the "Ghost Light" that stagehands would set on a stage after everyone else had gone home, always burning, to make sure no one would trip and to keep away the ghosts. I'll leave you with this gem:
“For Feynman, the Ghost Light was nothing but his own piercing mind, the spark of Adam in his genius brain, contemplating creation and finding it glorious but senseless. It is a popular view, also the considered view of some, not all, advanced thinkers. As for the author of this causerie, I see a different Ghost Light, distinctly there but very far off and hard to make out. It is not a single brilliant light like Feynman’s intellect. It is an odd irregular flickering flame, like a tumbleweed or low bush that has caught fire. Each time I look, there it is, burning.”
This book is a short work about Richard Feynman and the space program (I happened to start it on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing), as well as Wouk's method for writing The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. I read those in high school but don't remember many details, I just remember how Wouk had a knack for complicated, epic plotting on the scale of the big Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies.
Here he talks about science, writing, and God. Wouk is an American Orthodox Jew and he uses Feynman as a foil for the big questions. In A World from Dust, I end with a plea for conversations exactly like this (though the final imaged conversation isn't as compelling as the actual ones!).
For Wouk, there's actually two "languages God talks" to refer to the title: calculus and the Torah/Talmud. Wouk only speaks the latter, but he speaks it fluently and persuasively. This quote is the center of the book, in which Wouk refers to the "Ghost Light" that stagehands would set on a stage after everyone else had gone home, always burning, to make sure no one would trip and to keep away the ghosts. I'll leave you with this gem:
“For Feynman, the Ghost Light was nothing but his own piercing mind, the spark of Adam in his genius brain, contemplating creation and finding it glorious but senseless. It is a popular view, also the considered view of some, not all, advanced thinkers. As for the author of this causerie, I see a different Ghost Light, distinctly there but very far off and hard to make out. It is not a single brilliant light like Feynman’s intellect. It is an odd irregular flickering flame, like a tumbleweed or low bush that has caught fire. Each time I look, there it is, burning.”
August 23, 2023
An Thought Provoking Stroll through the Meaning of Life
Herman Wouk is one of the great American novelists of the twentieth century. Over the years, I have read and enjoyed all his novels. I came across this non-fiction book and was intrigued by the subject. When we are very young we typically will ask our parents where we come from (and get some crazy answers which shut us up) then, as we confront our mortality many years later (hopefully), we tend to wonder again about where we come from, albeit on a grander scale.
This book examines the incongruous relationship between religion and science put forward very succinctly by Richard Feynman: "It doesn't seem to me that this fantastically marvelous universe, this tremendous range of time and space and different kinds of animals, and all the different planets, and all these atoms with all their motions, and so on, all this complicated thing can merely be a stage so that God can watch human beings struggle for good and evil - which is the view that religion has. The stage is too big for the drama.”
Wouk obviously has a lifelong fascination with science, although he readily admits his shortcomings - but when you have relationships and conversations with any number of Nobel prize winners in physics and related subjects it’s easy to come up short. The book does not pretend to be a thorough academic analysis of the subject but rather, includes his musings on how his various works of fiction (especially his two on WWII) and his Jewish upbringing, are informed by science and a humanist approach to life. As a result, the book is very readable for a Wouk fan.
"The Language God Talks" does not pretend to be anything other than what it is - an easy stroll through the great mystery of life and the progress science has made in unravelling some of its secrets. We’ll never know our ultimate destination, but we should enjoy the journey and maybe reread The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.
Herman Wouk is one of the great American novelists of the twentieth century. Over the years, I have read and enjoyed all his novels. I came across this non-fiction book and was intrigued by the subject. When we are very young we typically will ask our parents where we come from (and get some crazy answers which shut us up) then, as we confront our mortality many years later (hopefully), we tend to wonder again about where we come from, albeit on a grander scale.
This book examines the incongruous relationship between religion and science put forward very succinctly by Richard Feynman: "It doesn't seem to me that this fantastically marvelous universe, this tremendous range of time and space and different kinds of animals, and all the different planets, and all these atoms with all their motions, and so on, all this complicated thing can merely be a stage so that God can watch human beings struggle for good and evil - which is the view that religion has. The stage is too big for the drama.”
Wouk obviously has a lifelong fascination with science, although he readily admits his shortcomings - but when you have relationships and conversations with any number of Nobel prize winners in physics and related subjects it’s easy to come up short. The book does not pretend to be a thorough academic analysis of the subject but rather, includes his musings on how his various works of fiction (especially his two on WWII) and his Jewish upbringing, are informed by science and a humanist approach to life. As a result, the book is very readable for a Wouk fan.
"The Language God Talks" does not pretend to be anything other than what it is - an easy stroll through the great mystery of life and the progress science has made in unravelling some of its secrets. We’ll never know our ultimate destination, but we should enjoy the journey and maybe reread The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.
January 15, 2023
I must admit I had expected something else from this book, I thought it would lead me deep into philosophy. No, it did not. It includes a light hearted description of Herman Wouk's interaction with scientists and especially with Richard Feynman. It also makes many revelations about how the author goes about writing a book and about his private life starting with his service for the US Navy in WWII. While Herman Wouk is the son of a rabbi and practices orthodox Judaism, Richard Feynman is an atheist. And here is the most philosophical aspect of the book. While scientist including Feynman think mathematics is the language god speaks, religious Jews analyze scripture. And the term 'god' is often used by scientists as a wink wink reference to nature and is not taken literally. The book deals with this contradiction by explaining the positions of different people in and out of science and of explaining in easy terms the scientific approach. It also tries to describe the Jewish liberal orthodox religion as a religion which is compatible with science. On the great question of the existence of god, the book ends on a note of 'Teiku', i.e. 'the question stands'.
March 11, 2019
This book will likely not be what you expect from the title. But my goodness, it is a breathtaking existential journey. The author, a Pulitzer winning novelist, digs deep into his soul and reconciles his life as a Jewish novelist living through some of the most incredible discoveries in physics, as well as the most unimaginable terrors of the Holocaust. This is a book about identity, and how science and religion are reconciled in the life of one man. That said, it will speak to many. I found myself on the edge of my seat as the author recalled his fascinating conversations with Nobel physicist and staunch atheist Richard Feynman, who encourages the author to learn calculus, “the language God speaks.” But does “God” speak more than one language? The one of Wouk’s beloved Talmud and Bible, for instance? And will these two heavyweights in their respective fields come to reconcile these views as their discussions span the decades?
January 23, 2023
Wouk's faith which recognizes that it is based on a subjective perception of the universe that is not shared by everyone, is close to my own. Unfortunately, his rambling reflections on his encounters with scientists, writers and on his own reading does not actually reveal anything profound in his own spiritual journey. What Wouk does offer is the author's commentary on his own novels, which is rare in the literary world. The only memorable passage is his reprint of Jastrow's sermon. But in the end, time spend reading Winds of War and War and Remembrance will be more enriching than this book with its promising title. Sorry, Herman.
November 12, 2024
This is a hard one to rate. This book was not what I expected & and his purpose for the book was loosely executed. For that reason, I'm holding back a fourth star. But the author has written some extremely interesting chapters about certain scientists, how the Talmud has shaped his very being, and two of his novels that delve into an expansive narrative of World War II and the Jewish experience during that time. It's enough to make me more interested in his novels. He seems like an incredible person, writer, and thinker. A curious spirit that would be a pleasure to talk to over dinner.
December 16, 2024
Fascinating tales of discussions with Nobel prize winning physicists about how their work impinges (possibly informs) big existential questions in life, religious beliefs in a G-d, randomness, the limits of man's understanding, the problem of evil, and Orthodox Judaism's role in forming Wouk's understanding of the world. Wouk also explains how his life experiences and writing influenced his metaphysical beliefs as well as how his War & Remembrance plot evolved. Wouk's clear writing and gifts of narrative make this volume rewarding and thought provoking.
December 30, 2017
The book commences with a story of Wouk meeting a man who tells him that calculus is the language of God.
Ultimately the book is a little interesting, but can't truly articulate the language of God, for as it says in Hebrews 1:1 - the language of God is now expressed through his son Jesus Christ.
This is Christ-less theology and it really is meaningless.
It is well written for what it is, but it just doesn't lead you anywhere.
Ultimately the book is a little interesting, but can't truly articulate the language of God, for as it says in Hebrews 1:1 - the language of God is now expressed through his son Jesus Christ.
This is Christ-less theology and it really is meaningless.
It is well written for what it is, but it just doesn't lead you anywhere.
October 21, 2019
Not at all what I expected.
I picked up this book bases on a reference from the author of Infinite Powers. I thought it was going to be about Wouk’s foray into learning calculus based upon a conversation he had with Richard Feynman instead it is a dial of on religion and a narrative on the thoughts behind Wouk’s epic WWII novels. It was moderately interesting but a bit too preachy for my tastes.
I picked up this book bases on a reference from the author of Infinite Powers. I thought it was going to be about Wouk’s foray into learning calculus based upon a conversation he had with Richard Feynman instead it is a dial of on religion and a narrative on the thoughts behind Wouk’s epic WWII novels. It was moderately interesting but a bit too preachy for my tastes.
January 12, 2022
Wouk’s journey through science and religion is insightful, funny, and incredibly thought-provoking. I’ve only just learned recently about the Talmud and it’s purpose, but Wouk’s relationship and history compels me to educate myself further on a grand and challenging tradition. Highly recommend this for anyone who loves to think, anyone who loves science, anyone who loves to talk about the space race, and anyone who loves good debate on science and religion.
April 29, 2023
Nobel Prize Winner Richard Feynman, a Jewish atheist, talking to Herman Wouk, a practicing Jew and best selling author (THE CAINE MUTINY, THE WINDS OF WAR): "The main reason I don't believe in God is insignificance. Why would God choose to pay attention to the third planet from the Sun in an insignificant solar system in an insignificant galaxy in a vast universe mostly composed of nothing. And as to Christianity, why would you land your son there?"
September 19, 2017
Too much of a listing of his own works and too little on the relationship between science and religion. Although much of this writing is enjoyable to read, this felt like a disconnected series of essays very loosely tied together and it didn't fulfill the promise of the title or description of the book. Disappointing because I love his novels and also his book on Judaism, This is My God.
August 1, 2025
I really loved his interactions with Richard Feynman, and his retelling of the history of NASA and space exploration in general, but beyond that it’s mostly a rambling retelling of his other books. I would’ve liked a bit more focus, particularly as he relates the wonders of science with the complexity and tradition of religion.
June 30, 2018
I was so excited about this book. Chapter one drew me in. But then the author spent almost the entire rest of the book more as a memoir about writing a book than actually writing THIS book.
So here it is: a book about writing other books.
2 stars was me being generous.
So here it is: a book about writing other books.
2 stars was me being generous.
December 5, 2018
One of the last books from Herman Wouk, and it reads like the work of a nonagenarian; rambling, not always coherent, but full of interesting stories. I would have rated it higher if he had more concretely addressed the topic implied by the title.
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