Better Appreciation

I still greatly dislike Henry Adams's writing style. I think its superfluous and just boring. But I do have a greater appreciation for the author as I delve deeper into the book. The parts of the book that really stand out for me are Adams's political commentary. The quote that was mentioned in class today (about a priori government) was one that caught my eye last night. These are the same words one can hear on CNN or Fox News almost nightly. He speaks of how politicians are only in office because someone wanted them there and not necessarily on merit. I'm sure this struck a cord with all of us as you would have been brain dead to miss all the lovely campaign commercials during the past year.
Once I realized that Adams's views can be applied to today's issues I became a little less frustrated with the book. It really, really bothered me that he just kept telling us random events but not really summing them up, telling am oral, or anything one might expect. However I now think this is so the reader may form their own opinions. Adams thought his trip to Germany was useless when he originally took it. However while he was a professor at Harvard he used his time spent in Germany to influence his lessons. Adams may realize that he learns different things from the same experience over time and wants to share this with the reader. The first time I read about Germany I thought "Wow, lucky man. Blowing your father's money and doing nothing." But when I rethought about his trip I realized that Adams had given up a formal education to get a truly eye opening cultural experience. I believe reconsiderations, such as the one I had about his trip, are the reason that Adams does not explicitly tell the reader what can be learned from any situation.