ross pipes book review

God, Dr. Buzzard & the Bolito Man

2011-04-08T11:13:00.005-04:00

God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia, is a memoir by Cornelia Walker Bailey. Sapelo Island is a barrier island that is 60 miles off the coast of Georgia. You can only get there by boat. My wife and I will visit the island with the United Voices of Praise Choir in July and hopefully the author will guide us on our visit.

Thousands of West Africans were brought to this country to become slaves to serve plantation owners in the coastal areas around Charleston, SC, and Savannah, and extending as far North as the Cape Fear area of North Carolina and as far South as Jacksonville, Florida., GA. The slave ships made stops at Sapelo Island. Some of the slaves were bought by the owner of a large plantation on Sapelo Island. Identified by some as the Gullahs or Gechees because of their language and origin, many of them remained on the island after the slaves were freed. The slaves who remained on the island had to buy land from the plantation owner by working for him. This was his way (and the way of others) to continue slavery. In fact there are some African Americans who continue to work for plantation owners today to pay for minimal housing and income.

The southern coastal plantation owners knew what they wanted before they bought slaves. They specifically desired Africans who were from the Western African countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia. The coastal sandy and marsh areas of the southern U.S. are the same as the coastal areas of the African countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia. The plantation owners knew these Africans knew how to plant, grow, and harvest the principal crops they wanted to grow, notably rice, cotton, and indigo, as well as food crops including sweet potatoes and beans.

After the plantation owner died, his descendants sold much of the island land to the State of Georgia, including some of the land that had been purchased by the Africans in return for their continued labor after they were freed. Some of the Africans, including the authors ancestors were allowed to keep the land they had purchased with their labor. (The descendants sold some land to the state land which they had previously sold to freed slaves.)

Over the years, a number of the Africans moved from the island to the mainland, but some, including the author continue to live there. While a young woman, the author traveled with others back to visit their native Sierra Leone. They were amazed to find people who look like themselves and who have the traditions and talk as they do.

The author has provided us with a marvelous account of the cultural history of these people. Her ancestors' language combined features of the English they learned in America with some of the language they spoke in Africa. The book is rich with their Christian religious heritage which they combined with native beliefs. This account includes their strong belief in God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man. Dr. Buzzard and the Bolito Man embraced the early settlers beliefs in Voodoo, magic, and their reliance on the medicine of herbs.

I am also fascinated by traditions that continue to be practiced today by our African American friends here in North Carolina, including the midnight worship services at the beginning of each year.

Our choir, The United Voices of Praise, is a mixed race group of friends. About half are Black and primarily worship at a church in Durham, NC. The other half are mostly white and worship at a church in Chapel Hill, NC. We worship together when our joint choir performs at each of the churches. Together this happy group of folks sing African American Gospel music. They've been singing together for more than 10 years in North Carolina and at several locations in Europe where folk love this music and turn out in numbers to swing, sway and clap their hands with the choir.

Presently we are jointly participating in workshop seminars throughout central North Carolina which are dedicated to eliminating racism. The closer we become, the more barriers of the past fade away.

I've only provided highlights of this fascinating book of cultural heritage. I hope you will order this book and read it and that you'll visit Sapelo Island.

February 2011

2011-02-03T09:20:00.022-05:00

Here is a review of the books I read in January 2011.

The Soloist is a memoir by Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez. This is an awesome book, a quick read. I also read the great book Colonel Roosevelt, but I considered The Soloist to be the most relevant and important book I read in January 2011.

Never assume you know the intellect, condition, or reason for a person being homeless and living on skid row. While walking in downtown Los Angeles, Lopez heard Nathaniel Nathan Ayers playing classical music on the only two remaining strings of his old violin. The homeless man was sitting on the opposite side of the street. Lopez stopped and listened for some time. He was finally moved to walk across the street and sit on the bench next to the man. Over the next two years of ups and downs, these two men became close friends.

Some years before, Ayers had completed two years at the famous Juilliard School of Music in New York. He was one of the few African Americans enrolled at Juilliard at that time and he attended just before the arrival of the famous Yo Yo Ma. Ayers was considered by his Juilliard instructors to be potential super star material. This was before he was suddenly afflicted by the disease paranoid schizophrenia. He dropped out of Juilliard and went home to Cleveland where, following the death of his mother he lived on the street. He then found his way to Los Angeles where his father lived. When he couldn't find his father, he took up residency on a sidewalk on Los Angeles skid row.

Prepare yourself to learn about this man of music, who even in his illness knows the great works of Beethoven, his favorite, and many other classical music composers. He still plays beautifully, hitting most of the notes of the music that he can also discuss in detail. He resists help, preferring to play his violin on a street near a Los Angeles thoroughfare tunnel. He knows his place well. When it’s time for bed, he goes to his sidewalk on skid row, picks up and disposes of all litter on the street corner, including cigarette butts (which he detests), and sweeps the corner clean with his whisk broom, just before pushing his shopping cart against a building and spreading out his sleeping bag. It is a place where he could be attacked and killed. But Nathan is neither afraid or bashful. He hates smokers and drunks, and if they try to sleep near him, he screams at them to get away. He keeps a stick handy to tap, tap, tap the rats away as he sleeps.

Lopez writes a series of articles about Ayers in the Times. People are greatly moved and send him instruments. Ayers soon has a new violin with all of the strings. Soon his most desired instrument, a new cello, arrives along with a string bass and ultimately a piano. But he can’t keep these instruments on the street. Lopez has them stored for him at a shelter where he’s trying to lure Nathan to move. He tells Nathanial he must walk to the shelter to play the instruments in the courtyard, and if he absolutely must, return to the street to sleep. Nathan considers the street to be his freedom. He resists moving to the shelter. He doesn't want to "associate with the cigarette smoking and drunken thieves that live at the shelter." He says they would steal his cart, his instruments, and every damn thing owns.

Lopez has to learned to be patient as he tries help and become Nathan’s friend. He could easily give up, but he doesn’t. He manages to get himself and Nathan admitted to rehearsals and concerts at the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Walt Disney Concert hall, which is located downtown a few blocks from Nathan’s corner. He plays his violin for members of the orchestra. They are amazed by his abilities. "Either you have it in you or you don't, and he has it."

Lopez never knows what to expect. At one concert the audience is asked to remain silent because the music will be recorded. Yeah. Nathan jumps up and screams, “Bravo!” On one visit Lopez arranges for Nathan to meet a person who might help school him. Nathan loses it and cusses the person out. Steve says to himself, “Be patient.” Later, Lopez arranges for Nathan to meet Yo Yo Ma who welcomes him to his dressing room and over a period of time he becomes a friend.

Now this is when amazing things happen and the book really gets interesting. You need to read this book; some may reconsider they think they know about people who live on the street.

Colonel Roosevelt is another Theodore Roosevelt biography by Edmund Morris. This writing details history from 7weeks following his nearly two-term presidency until his passing. At 766 pages, this is a major work. The book includes 570 pages of narrative, 147 pages of numbered notes, and a 33 page index and some additional references. The narrative includes a Prologue and two parts of history.

Roosevelt was the 25^th Vice President of the U.S. and became the 24th President when President McKinley was assassinated. He served from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909. Since he finished another president’s term and was only elected to office once, he could have run for a third term. Roosevelt died January 16, 1919 as a result of multiple illnesses, but some said he died of a broken heart over the death of his youngest and favorite son Quentin, whose plane was shot down in World War I.

Theodore Roosevelt was imposing, impressive, and surpassed an ordinary person in size and scale. People great and unknown were drawn to him and he made himself accessable to all. His listening to the plea of an ordinary, but extraordinary Indian woman, Natalie Curtis, who came to Washington to talk to him, led him to press Congress to strengthen the Bureau for Indian Affairs. On another occasion, after his presidency, she appeared on one of his trips insisting that he get to know the Indians better. She led him to attend an Indian religious ceremony. During the ceremony he was asked to lie on the floor with his back quite close to 100 slithering copperhead snakes, while Indian men tickled the snakes with a feather to keep them away from him.

Married to Edith Kermit Roosevelt, they raised a family that included daughters Alice and Ethel and sons Kermit, Ted Jr., Archibald (Archie) and Quentin. Theodore was Franklin Roosevelt’s 5^th cousin. Theodore Roosevelt pursued huge personal goals. You might see him as a big kid. He was robust, emotional, demanding, and starved for attention.

The Roosevelt’s lived in a mansion on Sagamore Hill, overlooking Oyster Bay on Long Island, New York. In earlier years Roosevelt had served as New York State Assemblyman and New York Police Commissioner before becoming the Governor of New York.

Theodore Roosevelt was a supreme intellectual. This man read the greatest works of literature and so much so that he would recall and quote passages of literature and poetry at will. He was a tremendously outgoing man. Friends called on him at the White House and at his home. However busy politicking and making speeches, he found time to apply himself to the task of writing. He wrote 45 published books. You can peruse the list of Roosevelt’s book titles at http://www.frfrogspad.com/writings.htm. Born into a wealthy family and use to having what he wanted, Roosevelt continued to write volumes after being the President, as he claimed not to be wealthy and that he had to write to support his family.

The book Prologue covers the years 1909 to 1910. The action begins soon after the Roosevelt’s return to Sagamore Hill from the White House. He soon gathers enough money from their limited assets to leave Edith behind for a year to launch a big game hunt in Africa. Off he goes with son Kermit to kill the beasts of the jungle. The photograph of Teddy, with rifle in hand, standing behind a dead rhino illustrates the largeness of this character Roosevelt. His skill in shooting and the number of his kills were amazing. His justification was to supply the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History with enough specimens to meet their needs. But after he shot as many as he thought necessary, he decided to keep shooting more animals just to make sure they had enough. Is this blood lust? If you’re like me, you’ll start wishing him to lay down his rifle and go home to Edith.

Part One covers the years 1910 to 1913. This part includes the travels of “The Greatest Man in the World.” In his grand tour of Europe his presence is sought by Kings, Queens, and heads of State. Roosevelt is in great demand wherever he goes. He is a hugely respected President who was adored by our allies.

When he returns home he believes his accounts require him to start writing again and to make speeches. Everyone, it seems, wants Teddy (a nickname he hated) to come and make a speech. They cheer him and welcome his presence and his speeches to the degree that he begins to think of himself to make another run for the presidency (and he keeps chasing this dream throughout the book).

It is difficult for me to imagine there ever being a Progressive Republican, but Roosevelt was. The more conservative Ohioan, William Howard Taft was the president after Roosevelt. Teddy and his fellow Progressives believed their cause would die with Taft and a number of them decided to bolt the party. When he didn’t get the Republican nomination to run after Taft, who was nominated to run for a second term, Roosevelt founded the Bull Moose Party. They held their convention in Chicago soon after the Republicans Chicago convention. Roosevelt would be nominated to run against Taft. While rehearsing his acceptance speech, he was shot by a mentally ill gunman. With a bullet in him and blood seeping into his clothes, Roosevelt still rose to the platform to accept the nomination. Actually, his vest, the thickness of his coat, and the thick sheaves of paper which contained his speech in his coat pocket saved his life. The bullet made it through his coat, put a hole clean through his speech, and entered his body but not his heart. Immediately after completing his speech, he was hauled off to the hospital. The bullet was never removed. This offers proof that the old Rough Rider, Teddy Roosevelt, was a tough old bird!

Roosevelt was soon out of his bed and out on the campaign trail giving speeches and running for president, but it was clear to him from the beginning that he would not win in a three party race. He suffered a major defeat, but he continued to speak out for progressive ideas throughout Taft’s second term and that he might just run for president again in 1916.

Part Two of Colonel Roosevelt covers the years 1914 to 1916. Roosevelt sets out with Colonel Candido Mariana da Silva Rondon, a Brazilian military officer, in 1914, on their great scientific expedition and exploration of Brazil’s Dùvida River (which Rondon later renamed the Rio Roosevelt). Once again, Teddy undertook the adventure with his son, Kermit. This was an arduous trip where father, son, Rondon, and the exploration party hacked their way through the jungle and portaged over rough spots to float again.

The books gets so exciting that you do not wish to put it down. The author provides a detailed account of this expedition to chart the Dùvida to the conclusion of the great Brazilian expedition. From there, the author writes the important details of World history which brings the U.S. into World War I. You need to read this book to expand your understanding of this to become a part of this great history.

I’m not sure which picture was the stronger. The picture of Theodore with rifle standing above the rhino he killed in Africa or the picture of the pall bearers nearly falling over as they pull Roosevelt’s casket up through the dark snowy woods to his preferred burial spot on Sagamore Hill.

January 2011

2011-01-04T05:43:00.019-05:00

Here is a review of the good books I read in December 2010.

*****Unbroken, A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010) is the biography of Louis Zamperini, written by Lauren Hillenbrand.

Louis is age 12 when Hillenbrand begins telling his story. He was a troublemaker, thief, and destined to be a failure when his older brother, Pete, intervened. Pete was determined to turn Louis' life around. He acted when the high school principal was about to make Louis ineligible for athletic and social activities. Pete's alternative was to get Louis involved in a high school sport where he could get recognized for doing something right instead of the recognition he was getting for getting in trouble. The principal balked. Pete asked the principal if could live with allowing Louis to fail. It's great that a teenager would challenge the principal to do what was right. The principal relented.

Track turned out to be the sport that motivated Louis. He ran faster than anyone had ever run before. He set the record for running a mile in two seconds over 4 minutes at Torrance High School in California. He held the record for 15 years. Were it not for his service in World War II, Louis would have undoubtedly set the record for running the mile in less than 4 minutes, instead of Roger Bannister.

Louis' story moves into high gear with the start of World War II. He is moved to enlist in the Army Air Force and he quickly becomes an officer and a bombardier. With the crush of war already on us, our troops, including Louis, were moved too quickly from training to fighting the war. Also, our aircraft were very poorly made. Initially, more of our pilots died from accidents than in engagements with enemy aircraft.

Zamperini's crew crashes one airplane quickly, and the crew is assigned to another plane. Soon the crew's forced to ditch the second plane over the Pacific. What's left of the crew, including the pilot (Louis's best friend Phil), and another crew member end up lost at sea in an inadequate and poorly outfitted life raft. They set a record for the number of days anyone had survived at sea (47 days) by fishing, capturing birds, and eating raw meat. The reader might begin to think the raft segment will never end, but in my mind, it was necessary for the author to provide deep coverage of the survival ordeal so that the reader feels the desperation and magnitude of the crew's effort to survive. The raft is continually attacked by sharks, and then with guns from Japanese planes. Although the guys later counted 540 bullet marks, miraculously none of the bullets punctured the raft. You'll read about many more miracles before this drama is complete.

Ultimately the raft drifts over 2,000 miles from the place the guys hit the water. When they see land, they know they must swim to the island even though it is occupied by the Japanese.

Now the reader must be prepared to read about Louis's and Phil's lengthy term of imprisonment and the extent to which they suffered all manner of deprivation including starvation, beatings, and other violence at the hands of Japanese guards. The tortuous treatment was so bad that at one point in the book I announced to my wife "I'll never again buy anything made in Japan." We'll, my wife reminded me, we get over such horrors as we have long since forgiven the German people for the horrible violence and death they carried out under the rule of Adolf Hitler.

You'll read about our dropping the atom bombs and the destruction we delivered to the people of Japan. Louis was in a prisoner of war camp when the bombs were dropped.

As horrible as the American prisoners were treated, the reader mustn't give up when the going gets worse. Keep reading, for Louis Zamperini will lead you to forgiveness by his resilience and redemption.

There are some people who must be saved. Like Louis. His post war trauma about kills him, but his wife never gives up. When it looks like there is no hope, after a number of false starts, Louie goes to the tent when the now famous preacher is very young and just starting his crusade in Los Angeles. It is interesting to read that at first, this preacher preached to an empty tent before people started coming. This turns out to be the miracle Louis needed. What happens after this experience, when Louis's nightmares and the torment is driven from his mind ... when Louis acts ... is when the healing and redemption begins.

What will absolutely surprise you is that Louis Zamperini, who was scheduled to be executed just before the big bombs are dropped, physically and mentally recovers to become a new person in mind, body, and spirit. You'll marvel at some of the silly, incredible, and happy things Louis has done in his old age. I love the picture of Louis taking a fast ride on a skateboard at 81.

Louis Zamperini is alive as I write this review of his life story. He must be 94 now. Lauren Hillenbrand, who also wrote Seabiscuit, has done an amazing job of telling Louis's story.

***** French Dirt, The Story Of A Garden In The South of France (1991) by Richard Goodman. This book is just what I needed after reading the gut wrenching book, Unbroken. This is a light and engaging little volume that will stir your passion to grow a garden. Goodman took a year off of work, rented a little stone house in the South of France, borrowed a little patch of ground, and grew a large garden. Work your way through the experience. Reality will tame your fantasies as you must expect both success and failure. The dreaded drought and hard work will be offset by the harvest of tasty green beans and tomatoes. Imagine how good those vegetables will taste when prepared by French neighbors and by Goodman and his Dutch girl friend, Iggy. Rejoice in savoring the vegetables and the wine the rich soil provides. If you're hungry for this goodness when you finish reading this book, go to my cooking blog to get the recipe to prepare a pot of my Country Ham, Bean, and Collard Greens Soup!

December 2010

2010-12-06T10:25:00.010-05:00

Here is a review of the books I read in November 2010

A. Lincoln (2009) is a fascinating biography written by Ronald C. White, Jr. You’re likely to enjoy reading this reporting of history because the writing is engaging and because the book contains interesting personal details about Lincoln not previously reported. Slip on some comfortable old shoes and jeans, lean back in your recliner, pick up this book, and put yourself in the time of Abe Lincoln. You might just feel like one of the early Hoosiers and Illinoisan settlers of Abraham Lincoln’s youth. The narrative begins in 1854 and continues through the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination.

The state and federal election process was certainly different than it is now. Politicians for state and congressional offices traveled together on horseback, over the river and through the woods, to give speeches in front of local shops and on court house steps. Candidates and their opponents stayed at the same hotel or boarding house. More often than not there was just one place to stay and--you get the picture--they were none too fancy. The candidates didn’t have a lot of money and often shared a room. Get this. Sometimes the opponents for an office slept in the same bed. Imagine lashing out at your opponent’s ideas in a speech in the afternoon and then curling up in bed with the man who spoke on the same platform just before or after you. The author provides a lot of colorful writing to put you right there in the time and place.

My early ancestors were from Kentucky and many migrated north. Since I’m an old Hoosier, this book took on special meaning for me as I read about the flat land, dense woods, and the pot belly stoves of the old log homes in rural Indiana. Many years later I lived in Chicago and sometimes traveled through Springfield, so this story also stirred my imagination of early Illinois.

Lincoln’s presidency was starkly different than those of our generation of leaders. You may already know that Lincoln appointed a team of rivals for his cabinet. For example, Lincoln appointed his rival Democratic presidential candidate, Salmon P. Chase, to be his Treasury Secretary. He didn't appoint a single Republican to his cabinet. The Republican party was none too happy about this.

White’s detailed writing of how Lincoln’s cabinet worked stirred my imagination when I considered the strategic aspects of this approach. You can imagine the ups and downs of Lincoln’s relationship with his cabinet. He had to develop a strategic approach to every cabinet meeting and he really had to work to get his ideas accepted.

As I considered Lincoln’s tenure in the White House and learned about how he worked with his opponent cabinet members, I started to think about the opponents that Barack Obama might have appointed to his cabinet. For example, how would it have worked if Obama had appointed John McCain to serve as his Secretary of Health? Can you imagine the fireworks that would have sprayed in the sky above the White House if Obama would have installed Kentucky’s Republican Senator, Mitch McConnell, to be his Treasury Secretary! (Who might Obama have selected to be his Education secretary? Guess. I won’t go there.)

Lincoln was savvy in appointing a cabinet of people who had fought him and his policies through a number of state and federal elections. They fought him in his cabinet meetings until they and he came to terms with his decisions. In the process, they ultimately developed tremendous respect for Lincoln.

Lincoln had to sell his cabinet on his ideas and get their support. For their part, cabinet members criticized Lincoln in the hall to their buddies, but they couldn’t criticize his decisions to the citizenry because they were a party to his formulating and making decisions. After discussing possible solutions to problems with the president, they had to support the president's solution or convince him to change his approach. The cabinet members were on the spot to live with the results.

I liked Lincoln's scrap paper approach to organization. When struck by thoughts or got ideas, he wrote notes on small pieces of paper. At the end of the day, he organized the papers, made necessary changes, and then developed his plan to act.

As great as many of us believe Lincoln was, it is clear from this writing that he had some weaknesses. For example, while he was slick in developing strategies, he was too soft in managing people. It’s a miracle the North won the war. He could have and should have fired General McClellan and other poor performing Generals long before he did. His failure to act sooner likely caused tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths and injuries on the battlefields. But the Union didn't have a strong army then, so Lincoln’s greatness, in spite of his bumbling, came about from his interest in and quick study of developing strategies to fight a war. He was a commander in chief that actually directed the war On one hand, it took a lot of appointment failures, but Lincoln finally found the right soldier to direct and win the war over the Confederate army.

A bachelor, James Buchanan, was the president before Lincoln and he left the White House pretty much of a mess. In fact, it seems the White House cloth was frayed and the furniture rickety when the Lincolns moved in. We learn from this reading that Mary Lincoln had a lot of work to do to make the White House a respectable, if not fancy, place to live.

Security didn't exist in those days. The president had to entertain callers who just walked into the White House at will to see him. And Lincoln just walked out of the White House unaccompanied whenever he wished. He frequently walked down the street and at other times rode a horse to his destination without security. From earlier reading about Harry Truman, I remembered that security wasn't much better many years later when Truman became the Vice President of the U.S. Were it not for a couple of DC policemen, a would be attacker would have walked into the Blair House, climbed the stairs to his bedroom where he lay on a bed, and shot Truman dead. This was when Congress acted to strengthen the Secret Service.

A. Lincoln is a great read. Now I’m ready to tackle the reading of the new biography about the Colonel and president Theodore Roosevelt.

We Took to the Woods (1942) is a memoir by Louise Dickinson Rich. This book got rave reviews and was a bestseller in 1942 and 1943. Now more than 60 years later people are still checking it out of the library and bookshops continue to sell more than a thousand copies a year.

Louise Dickinson was walking through the woods in a remote spot in northwestern Maine, near the New Hampshire and Canadian borders when she met the woodsman, Ralph Rich. She stayed and they married, and they lived in the remote area in Maine until Ralph passed away. This is a wonderful love story and homesteading memoir.

The Rich’s had a large rustic summer home and a small winter home in the woods in the remote Middle Dam and Lower Richardson Lake. Do a Google map search for Middle Dam and you’ll get an idea of the location. There were Louise, Ralph, daughter Sally, son Rufus and Rich’s “hired hand” Gerrish living at the homestead. An older daughter, Sally, lived away from the compound so she could go to a regular school. Rufus was raised in the woods with Ralph and Louise and his mother became his teacher. They had a few neighbors who lived about 3 miles from them.

There was no electricity nor were there any modern conveniences. However, they did have a telephone. The only kitchen was in the winter home and it offered Louise a wood burning stove for cooking. There was a river, the lake, and a pond for bathing. There were several outhouses to take care of the necessities. Their food supply came from what they could grow in a garden, fish they caught from the lake and river, or animals they shot in the woods. Since there was no refrigeration they hung a deer carcass in a shed and cut off and cooked a hunk of meat when it was needed. Louise also canned meat. I never knew you could can meat, but Louise explains in the book how she did it. Grocery stores were not within easy reach. The Rich’s had to wait until someone boated out or drove from the only narrow road to the nearest highway. It was mighty cold there so the Rich’s had to rely on wood burning stoves for heat. They had several old vehicles that Ralph patched up so they would continue to run, including an old Marmon.

When you read this wonderful book, you’ll be amazed at how the Rich’s got by, stayed in love, and entertained themselves in the woods. This is a great story.

Louise Rich wrote a number of books before she passed away. I’ll want to read more of her good writing.

Hotel Pastis (2009) is a novel by Peter Mayle. This is another of Mayle’s easy to read, fun books that you need to read for pure entertainment. You know the living is easy and the food, Pastis, and wine will be superb! This is a great romp that starts in London and of course continues in Mayle’s favorite place, Provence. So recline in your reading chair and head out to the Luberon with Mayle for a jolly good read.

November 2010

2010-11-04T11:31:00.015-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in October 2010

***** The Blueberry Years, A Memoir of Farm and Family (2010) by Jim Minick. What possessed two young schoolteachers to buy 90 acres of woodland, located off the beaten path in beautiful Floyd County, Virginia? It’s about the American dream that many of us have dreamed: to quit our jobs, move to the country, and live off the land. Jim and Sarah Minick made the leap, and it seems to me their lives have been enriched by the toil, sweat, bruises, cuts, sore muscles, and yes, even the copperhead snakebites. Imagine receiving a phone call from the driver of a 14-wheeler telling you that he has your 1,000 Michigan blueberry bushes in the back of his rig and he wants you to meet him in a town 12 miles away to help him find your farm. You rush to meet him and you lead him over back roads until the blacktop runs out. He stops at the gravel and tells you it’s as far as he’ll go. He says “Y’all need to help me unload the bushes right here at the side of the road. It’s up to you to get the bushes from here over the next 2 miles of gravel to your farm".

You’re thinking, how’em I going to haul 1,000 blueberry twigs packed in peat containers to the farm? You’ve already had to clear over an acre of land that had wooded over to create a field that you still have to plow and then enrich with organic material. (You’re determined against all odds that these berries will be organic.) And you know you’ll have to wait two years before harvesting your first small crop, and that the biggest crops likely will not be realized for five more years. But first you must plant those bushes, one bush at a time. Sit down. Dig a nice big hole in the plowed soil. Set the bush in the hole. Combine soil with a lot of peat moss and organic fertilizer to properly set the bush. Then plant 999 more. This reader is feeling it in his back!

These young folk did what they had to do with very little cash, lots of courage, and bank loans. A few years later they were harvesting beautiful blueberries, some as large as quarters. Folks began driving up the lane to the “Pick your own blueberries” farm, but an awful lot happened between the days of planting and the days of harvest. You need to read all of the details of this beautifully written and inspiring story.

Jim steps you through many chapters of life experiences such as meeting Joe, the neighbor, a funny old guy who grows strawberries. He tells the Minicks to put their organic religion aside and lay down some of his good fertilizer in that soil. Despite their differences, Jim and Joe learn to coexist and become good neighbors. I like the chapter “College of Mulch and Sciences” because of the rich details provided. The Minicks also put in a garden to grow as much of their food as they can. When a fungus attacked their plants, Jim explains the dilemma in a chapter “Spray or Pray.” You already know what neighbor Joe advises him to do.

How does one find a suitable church way out there in the country? It’s a real challenge to walk into a tiny country church with mostly empty pews. At one church, with some trepidation, the Minicks picked an empty row near the back. They were pretty surprised when a little old lady tapped them on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, but you’re sitting in my seat.” No, she didn’t even say howdy! Do the Minicks ever find the right church? You need to read the book.

The book contains rich stories about the hundreds of pickers who come to the farm every year and how Jim and Sarah engage these folk and their children. It tells how they managed their business and made ends meet. The farm did not supply all of their needs, and we learn that farm income does not meet all of the needs of lots of farmers. Jim describes their sidelines which include teaching in local schools and colleges, selling berries at farmers’ markets, writing articles for newspapers, and even making and selling baskets. Finally there comes a time when their bodies have taken a beating and they consider their future.

This the kind of a real life story that I love to read. The Blueberry Years and the great book Goat Song, by Brad Kessler, are two of the best books I’ve read this year. Both are likely to appear at the top of the best books I’ve read in 2010. I’ll report on this in the January 2011 book report.

*****Let The Great World Spin (2009) is a National Book Award novel by Colum McCann. I agree with my wife that this book is beautifully written. However, I found myself less than satisfied with the construction of the novel, which I felt made it difficult to read. But read it again I must, for in our discussions of the content, I came to a fuller understanding of the richness of this writing. In the past three years I’ve learned the benefits of giving good books a second and even a third reading. This is a very good book.

The novel consists of a number of short stories about the challenging circumstances of several New York City residents at the time a breathtaking news story is taking place in this great metropolis. The real life story of Phillipe Petit’s tightrope walk on a thin wire between the World Trade Centers in August 1974 is the catalyst for the fictional stories of the cast of characters in the novel. It is important for the reader to know the stories will come together at the end of the book, at time after 9/11. The reader can then reflect on similarities of how events and the grind of everyday life in a megacity influences the outcome of a life journey. The stories tell of the ongoing crisis in a slice of the life of people who live in the city.

The author begins to tell you a story. But without ending the story, he suddenly shifts the focus to another developing story. One story is taking place in a housing project; meanwhile another story is taking place in the lives of artists. There are also the stories of immigrants, such as the story of the woman from Guatemala who works in a hospital. The numerous ongoing stories make it difficult for some readers, like me, because another new life story begins to unfold without my being told what is going on in the stories already in progress. The transitions are difficult for me. I’m a bit slow in understanding that the author is momentarily leaving one story to start telling you a story about what is happening in other people’s lives. Ah, but herein lies some of the brilliance of this book. The reader is supposed to begin to see the matrix of lives which are unfolding during an event in the city.

The brilliance of the novel comes about when the author weaves together the lives of these characters after 9/11, giving the reader a deeper understanding and appreciation of life journeys.

These are the reasons for why I must read the book again to savor the work and to enlighten me about life events which occur in the cast of characters which are replicated over and over again in real lives in a megacity that suffers more tragedy than most of us will ever be close to in our lives.

The novel offers the reader stories we can appreciate as the real stories of real people in New York. If you’ve walked the streets of Manhattan, you’ve seen the faces of people who’ve come there from all over the world. They walk briskly up and down the sidewalks of the broad avenues full of cars, cabs, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Many have weathered faces and wear looks of concentration, tension, sadness, and expectation. Few smile. There is a lot of noise and action. Street vendors are selling. People are ducking down the subway entrances. There are a lot of sirens. I always wonder about what is going on in the life of the people I see walk past me, and this novel addresses the question. The novel chronicles the struggles of immigrants, prostitutes, law enforcement officers, actors, artists, nurses, doctors, hospital workers and others.

There are few books written with the excellence of Let the Great World Spin. This book is a wonderful achievement of the author, Colum McCann.

*****A Pig In Provence (2007) is a memoir by Georgeanne Brennan. This was my second reading of this book. I’m amazed by how much I forgot about the content of this book and once again realize the value of giving a book a second reading.

Georgeanne is an award-winning cookbook author and operator of a cooking school in Provence. She teaches Provencal cooking in the U.S. and is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier. But she is more than a chef, writer, and teacher; she might also be considered a farmer. She and her husband bought an old farmhouse in Provence in the south of France in 1970. The two set about to raise pigs, goats, and to learn how to make goat cheese, which they were actually able to sell. In the process they become friends with their neighbors. They already knew how to speak French, so this allowed them to hit the ground running. After a few years, they returned to the U.S. to live in California, where they accepted teaching positions. They have, however, continued to return Provence for short periods every year. These escapes allow them to enjoy their old friends and gatherings for festive eating and drinking which are well-known to people who’ve lived in Provence.

Among others, there is one friendship in particular that I greatly enjoyed reading about. This would be the friendship of M. Bruno and family, for M. Bruno was the expert on the Marseillais recipe for preparing the great Bouillabaisse. Recipes for Bouillabaisse abound, but the people of the south of France will tell you there is only one authentic great Bouillabaisse and it is the Marseillais recipe, and it must be done just so! Non. You must not mess with this recipe. The Bouillabaisse is a highly seasoned Mediterranean soup or stew which is prepared with abundant quantities of a number of kinds of fish and shellfish with tomatoes and leeks, and richly seasoned with saffron and herbs.

You will read about how to prepare this dish, along with other Provencal dishes. However, a significant difficulty that you and I would have in making the real Bouillabaisse is to get the exact fish in the exact quantity needed to correctly make this extraordinary stew. But of course, we could make what we would consider to be a reasonable facsimile. I’ve not done it. Yet. However, as I read my Julia Child cookbooks, I’m inclined to do more French cooking as I age. (Especially now that I've learned that you can order Pastis online.)

Truthfully, I wish to have my own, and more likely, a very short term homesteading experience in France.

October 2010

2010-09-30T10:13:00.020-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in September 2010.

My Life in France (2006) by Julia Child, is a memoir of Julia and Paul Child’s life in Europe and in the U.S. About 2/3rds of the book is about their life in France where Julia learned to master the art of French cooking. Every day was a celebration of gourmet food and fine wines. Those two knew how to live well. They placed a priority on good food and wine. For many years their housing was simple.

Paul Child was a photographer and he worked for the U.S. government. He was responsible for setting up U.S. exhibits in Europe, first in France and later in Germany.

Julia and Paul managed to find some great apartments. Some of them had terrific views. All were located near special food and wine markets. During these many years Paul made the effort to set up Julia’s kitchens in rented living quarters just as she wished them to be. The Childs bought their first home in Cambridge, Massachusetts many years later when they returned to the U.S. from Europe. It was in this home that they constructed Julia’s dream kitchen.

Julia began doing her famous television shows when they returned to the U.S. In these glorious years the Childs built a second home in Provence, where they loved to entertain guests including the famous chef James Beard. They bought the land from one of Julia’s Paris cooking friends (and co-author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking) and her husband, Jean and Simca (Simone) Beck. Their home was in Paris but their second home was in Provence. The two couples entertained each other at every opportunity when in Provence.

There is considerably more to this memoir than Julia's discussion of learning to cook and in developing some of her best known recipes. Julia and Paul had a wonderful romance. Much is written about their social life with friends and about special events in their lives. Whether you cook or not, I think you’ll enjoy reading this memoir.

The Childs placed great importance on eating well (and drinking wine) from the beginning of their marriage, even during the time when Paul earned little as a low-level U.S. government employee in Paris. Their wonderful restaurant meals and selections of wine are covered in detail in the book. It was these experiences which led Julia to develop an interest in cooking. It was during their early years of living in Paris that Julia decided to go to cooking school. One of her teachers, Chef Max Bugnard, became her mentor and the Childs' friend. Their friendship and collaboration with Max continued throughout their life.

From the beginning Julia was a stickler for detail and she prepared recipes over and over again to perfect them before writing them into the draft of the major cookbook she developed with two friends, Simone (Simca) Beck and Louisette Bertholle. Julia and her friends offered cooking classes in Paris and later in Provence. Their school offered them the opportunity to collaborate on cooking.

Louisette and Simone had started writing a cookbook, but weren’t able to bring the project to completion. When Julia became involved she became the major contributor, principal writer, editor, and the force behind the publishing of these great books. Louisette lost interest in the book early on, but Julia decided that her name should continue to be credited as a co-author. Simca stayed marginally involved and often tested recipes Julia sent to her for comment. When you buy these volumes, you’re really getting Julia Child’s recipes that she prepared over and over again and mastered before she would commit them to the book. And it was Julia who persevered against all manner of rejection to find a publisher and get the book published.

The cookbook eventually became so large it became necessary to split it into two books, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One and Volume Two. I bought both cookbooks at the same time I bought Julia’s memoir. When Julia talked about the development of a recipe in the memoir, I looked up the final recipes in the cookbooks. The book is beautifully printed and distributed by the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house. These cookbooks made Julia famous and ultimately resulted in her being signed to produce her television shows. Many of us remember her enthusiastic and jolly performances, including her style of slurring her words. I enjoyed her habit of sipping glasses of wine during her television shows as she cooked. Selecting the appropriate wine to accompany a meal was as important to the Childs as Julia’s selection of foods to prepare. As you read these books, and I hope you will, you may be as amazed as I at the copious amount of wine that Julia and Paul consumed. They thought nothing of polishing off two bottles for lunch.

You can buy CDs of some of Julia Child's television shows. I intend to buy some!

Thieves of Mercy (2005) is an adventure novel written by James L. Nelson. This is a real blood and guts adventure thriller about the Civil War. The thing that sets this book apart, other than the fact that it is well-written, is that is “A Novel of the Civil War at Sea.”

The inside flap of the book cover speaks of the story having wild characters and being a heart-pounding story. The promoters are not fooling. My heart did a lot of pounding when I read this book. The great characters include the wild and woolly Mississippi Mike Sullivan, a shipping boat captain. His ship, the General Page, was fitted out to be a gunship, as befitting its hard-drinking and oft fighting captain. It eventually becomes the ship Confederate Captain Samuel Bowater and his troops use to fight the war. The construction of Bowater's new Navy ship had not been completed when the Union soldiers moved in to destroy the shipyard. This leads Bowater and his troops to find transportation. They meet Mississippi Mike and his crew. The captain and his shipmates become part of Bowater’s troops in fighting mighty battles with Union ship forces. The adventures start in New Orleans and continues up to Newport News Virginia.

A beautiful Confederate spy and her niece are also major characters in this adventure novel. These women, whom the reader first assumes to be just delicate and beautiful, turn out to be a couple of tough characters who can shoot a gun and skillfully fight off and even kill male attackers. Their part of the thriller begins with the niece, Wendy. She is trying to meet up with her lover, the aforementioned Captain Bowater. Meanwhile, he is fighting his way to Newport News to meet her. Wendy’s stops by to see Aunt Molly on her way out of town, and drags Wendy into her role as a Confederate spy. While on their journey be sea the women are ordered aboard a Union Navy ship where President Lincoln is meeting with Navy brass. The president is not fooled by their story and he gives them a tip that eventually trips Molly and puts both women in danger of being captured.

Captain Bowater, Mississippi Mike, Wendy, and Molly, become major involved in bloody Civil War confrontations on land and water. The overriding question in the story that is paramount in the readers mind is, will Wendy get her man? Rest assured you’ll not know until the author brings the story to its completion.

Most of us are familiar with the history of the great land battles of the Civil War, but this novel results in people becoming familiar with the battles took place on the sea.

Now I want to get James L. Nelson’s non-fiction writing, Reign of Iron, about the story of the first battling ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack. I also want to get a copy of the author’s award winning novel Glory in the Name.

Tide, Feather, Snow (2009) A Life In Alaska, is a memoir by Miranda Weiss. This is an honest account of the author’s life of the time when she and her boyfriend moved from their homes on the east coast to Homer, Alaska. They established a home together in Homer and begin teaching in public schools. The memoir tells the story of their adventures as they become involved in gardening, fishing, kayaking, skiing, skating, camping, and becoming close to the flora and fauna of Alaska. Bring on the bears, the salmon, and the sea life.

There are great times, good times, and unhappy times. It is a good study of a modern day pioneering experience. The couple have to make do with what they can find to meet their daily needs, as goods and services are not always affordable or readily available. One experience results in their catching enough salmon to fill their freezer and provide them with enough food to last the winter. I will say that as much my wife and I love salmon, I think we’d have a difficult time eating it as often as they did that winter.

One of the most interesting and amazing new things I learned from reading this book is that there are a number of Alaskan villages whose population is mostly Russian immigrants. These folk are U.S. Citizens of Russian descent, but many of them speak Russian, and some continue to worship as Russian Orthodox Christians. After reading about these people I did some Internet research to learn more about the villages. The villages include Nikolaevsk, Vozneseka, Razdolna, & Kachemak Selo. “The village's roots date back to the early 1900s, when Old Believers were seeking a place to worship openly in the way of the Old Rite Russian Orthodox (Staro-Obrachestvo). They journeyed into China, then on to South America, Oregon and Alaska, as well as other points around the globe.”

The conclusion of the story is not the one you might expect, but Miranda’s adventure as an Alaskan continues. Miranda continues to live in Homer, Alaska. The open sea rolls up to her backyard.

September 2010

2010-08-30T08:57:00.039-04:00

Here is a report on the books I read in August 2010

***** The Vintage Caper (2009) is a novel by Peter Mayle. This is a fun book to read, especially if you're on vacation, as I was. We were at a comfortable lodge in the beautiful and peaceful Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. The Woodberry Inn http://www.woodberryinn.com/ is a great place to stay. It's located on Virginia 758, less than 1/4th mile off the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Meadows of Dan. There's no marking for the inn on the parkway. Just turn when you see a tiny sign for the Rocky Knobs housekeeping cabins and you'll soon see the pretty inn located on the right on the road to the cabins. Virginia 758 is just a couple of miles north of the Parkway oasis Mabry Mill and not far from Floyd, VA, a.k.a. "The Republic of Floyd." Visit The Country Store in Floyd on a Friday night and you can sit and tap your toes to fiddles, banjos, and guitars. The store also hosts a public mountain music jam session most Sunday afternoons.

I read The Vintage Caper while sitting by the pond in a lawn chair under the shade of a great cedar tree on the inn's beautiful lawn. Our daughter and a grandson fished the pond, and I caught sight of them catching a couple of blue gills. Do this for a week, and you'll know you've rested. It's mighty fine to be reading about French food, then look up to see the inn's dining deck, and know that you'll be eating some very good food.

The Vintage Caper is what I'd call a softball mystery. Sam, who is the young, single, and well-off private investigator, gets a call from a former lover, Elena. She is an insurance company executive in charge of settling a claim for a $3-million-dollar wine collection that has been stolen from a Hollywood lawyer's wine cellar. The mean-spirited, mouthy lawyer is demanding payment for his over-insured wine, but the insurance company just now realizes it is likely worth no more than $2 million. Obviously the miserly insurance company doesn't want to cough up the $3 million. Elena even wonders if the insured has arranged to steal his own wine.

Sam is a former thief who left the world of crime to become an insurance investigator. He asks Elena if the insurance company will cover his expenses to travel to Europe to find the wine and catch the thief. Elena says no, but she finally agrees to reimburse him on the back end if he is successful. No problem. It takes a thief to catch a thief. Right?

What we get then is a lively and lovely adventure in France. The story is embellished with descriptions of mouth-watering gourmet food and tasty wines, served in abundance to Sam and his newly hired assistant, an attractive European female friend. Do they find the $3 million collection of rare wine? What do you think? It's a fun romp, especially when you're sitting on the lawn in front of a pretty pond on a summer day.

***** Maiden Voyage (1989) is a memoir by Tania Aebi. When I finished reading the The Vintage Caper, I moved my lawn chair a little closer to the pond knowing that I was about to read a hair-raising water adventure. Maiden Voyage exceeded my expectations.

Somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, Tania was sailing with her father and two brothers when her father asked her what she was going to do with her life. Her reply was something us ol' folks might expect. Well, when we get back to New York, she says, I guess I'll return to my job as a messenger, and somewhere along the line I'll figure out what I want to do. She was one of those young messengers I used to see while driving in Manhattan, wearing a well-worn mail bag over her shoulder and riding her bicycle hard, weaving in and out of traffic. She got to be so good she said, that she could cross the width of Manhattan in little more than 11 minutes. From my experience, she could be seen moving swiftly beside the car in the next lane or between cars. This messenger, Tania, had finished high school and was unsure what she'd do next.

Her father had a plan. You'll quickly understand him to be a tough bird who has experienced a lot of adventure. He's an artist, and must be a darn good one, for he is about to pony up the cash needed to offer his daughter an insane challenge. He gives her two choices; he'll pay her way to go college on the condition that she graduates, or he'll buy her a sailboat on the condition that she sails it around the world. He tells her it will be a good boat, but it won't be equipped with electronic navigation devices. This, he says, will teach her to find her way in life. He wants her to navigate using the stars and charts to guide her as she makes her way to destinations around the globe. More than a few people believe he is putting his daughter at great risk.

Tania's father surmised she didn't want to go to college and decides his alternative offer will an alternative education. He wonders if she'll accept the challenge. Tania begins some serious thought about the challenge of sailing around the world, for she's has already decided she doesn't want to go to college. Although she likes the idea of sailing, she is scared to death of the notion of sailing around the globe alone. Tania also knows within that she doesn't have the skills required to undertake this adventure. She also knows her father well enough to know, that she better make the journey if she accepts the boat. After hours of agonizing over the choices Tania decides to take the boat.

Dad buys a 26ft Contessa sailboat that Tania names Varuna. Ancient Indians said Varuna was the deity who presided over the waters of the heaven and ocean as the guardian of immortality. Wow. How did she come up with this name? She doesn't tell us, but I wondered if her worldly father, who is an experienced sailor, might have given her the idea. Tania, however, had little more experience in the art of sailing than occasionally being a passenger on her Dad's boat.

Friends, the people of New York, and before you know the World learned soon learned that a 18 year-old woman was soon to sail around the world by herself. A lot of people tried to talk her out of doing it. The day of her departure arrived, but before shoving off, she first had to make a major appearance. Already on the boat, a limousine arrived to whisk Tania off to the NBC studios to talk to Jane Pauley on the Today show. Between the bright lights in her eyes, worry about her departure, and Jane Pauley trying to talk her out of making the trip, Tania was a total wreck. The pressure has only begun to build and gets worse as she goes about the business of figuring out how to get out of the traffic of the New York Harbor. Tugs, tankers, and ocean liners were crossing on all sides of her boat. Then her engine failed before she was out of the harbor. She finally figures out that she should raise her sails. After all, she discovers, this was to be a sail around the world.

This is when she and we begin to realize the huge gap in her preparedness to begin this trip. She didn't have the skills to sail, navigate, or deal with what will become all manner of crises which amounts to intense difficulty, danger, and troubles. She does decide however to take her cat for comfort and company. Soon after leaving New York, reality smacked her when she encountered her first big storm in which water from enormous waves filled her boat, flooded her cabin, and she discovers, a leak in the boat. We've only begun this adventure; hang on to the book and your seat. There will be more difficulties, dangers, and troubles than you can imagine. Start with her being way out in the ocean, far from her first destination and experience discomfort with Tania when she considers her situation of being surrounded by water and asks herself, how am I going to figure out how to find Bermuda? And when she figures she's near, she's wondering how to navigate to the island and stresses over being in a position to see a speck of land on the horizon.

Tania will be rewarded with all manner of discoveries; learning to sail while doing it; figuring out how to fix broken equipment and experiencing the joy of actually doing it; finally seeing a speck of land; learning how to navigate to the speck, figure out where to go in a strange harbor, and getting through obstacles such as the Panama Canal; making discoveries about life, nature, and people in incredible places like the Galapagos Islands; meeting all kinds of people, making many friends, encountering languages she doesn't know, getting through a variety of customs and immigration processes, learning how good people are about helping each other through difficult circumstances, and meeting and falling in love with a man she will someday marry. We also learn the value of having a Bible handy when traveling. The Psalms calmed her and taught her when she most needed help, resolve, and strength.

Tania endures many storms, fear, and the discovery of the joys of travel and adventure for 30 months and 27,000 miles. She started her cruise at age 18 and completed her journey at 21.

You're about to read an extraordinary adventure.

***** Captive (2010), My Time As A Prisoner of the Taliban is a memoir by Jere Van Dyk. Van Dyk is a journalist. He has written for the New York Times and reported for CBS.

As he contemplated our latest wars, Jerry Van Dyk's intuition was that we weren't getting a complete story of our involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He already knew a lot about Afghanistan, but wanted to understand the motives of the U.S., the Pakistan government, and the Taliban. He wanted to get the facts first hand and tell the American people the truth. So Van Dyk just up and decided to walk into Pakistan, talk to the folks, ask the big questions, and learn the truth himself. He thought it was possible to do this. Huh?

Unfortunately, Van Dyk is captured by the Taliban just 20 minutes after crossing the Afghan border into Pakistan. Bingo. He had a rifle at his head and thought he'd soon be dead.

I wonder (and wondered from the day I opened and started reading this book) how any American would actually believe he could just walk in there, get the real story, and walk out with his notebook in hand. But, when I got into the book and learned about his past experiences in both countries and about the many friends he had in the area, I better understood why he might have thought he could get away with this. I still think he was crazy for believing it worth the risk. But hey, he's a reporter. They'll do anything to get a story. I think most of us would have not taken the risk.

Still, he was darn lucky to have only been a prisoner for 44 days, and to walk back into Afghanistan to safety.

Van Dyk suffered, but he was fed regularly and he was not tortured. Except for the constant discomfort of being a prisoner and the ever-present fear of being hit by a bullet or beheaded, he did well. In the end, his friends in Afghanistan and a few hundred thousand dollars got him out of his jam.

He did learn a lot about what is taking place and this book reports what he learned. You'll better understand the Taliban and should know it will continue to exist. Van Dyk will tell you he learned that the Pakistani government is dealing from both ends of different decks (but who among us would be surprised). Also, wait until you read Mr. Van Dyk's belief about the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden. It is an interesting story and you'll better understand why things are the way they are.

I must say that I've believed from the onset of the war in Afghanistan that we ought not be there. I'm even more convinced after reading this story. No one will convince me that this war has been or ever will be worth the human toll or the extraordinary cost.

August 2010

2010-08-03T14:04:00.035-04:00

Reporting on books monthly since 2008

Here is a report on the books I read in July 2010

***** Matterhorn (2010) is a novel by Karl Marlantes. The author wrote this book over a period of 30 years. The result is spectacular. My wife read the book in June and I read it in July and both of us came to same conclusion. This is the best novel ever written about Viet Nam war. It is an epic, a beautifully written 598 page story.

The primary focus of the book is a series of battles on a mountain the author calls Matterhorn. He is a Marine and Viet Nam veteran and the book is about Marines. Marlantes is passionate in his writing about how young people are sacrificed in wars created by people in power. As many were on their way to certain death or being maimed, the kids lived in horrible conditions.

When you read Matterhorn, you may feel the leeches sucking blood from your leg, and/or in worse places. You'll likely feel, as I did, the mud-caked clothes that had been worn 24-hours a day for so many miserable days that the guy’s skin seemed to become part of the fabric and mud. I could relate to their exhaustion, when the word came down that the company was going to be airlifted in an hour or to another place on the mountain. There they would be ordered to dig a hole at the drop site to sleep in that night, after having just dug a hole where they were at, and after having not slept for several days. Do this on an empty stomach, as they sometimes did, and knowing they had nearly run out of meals ready to eat (MRE's). Their buddy might have had a can of peaches left in his pack but they had nothing in theirs. Worse yet, the company was about out of ammunition when an enemy attack would be expected as they dropped out of the helicopter. Since the mountain is often fogged in, their brain was processing the fact there would likely not be a drop of supplies the next day and maybe not the next, and likely not for a week.

Taking our comfort and safety for granted, how good are we about waiting for food, clean clothing, and shelter? We take a run to the grocery out of fear we'll not have enough sugar for icing on our cake.

When supplies finally come, new kids often leap out of the helicopter first. They're there to replace the kids in body bags or those hurt to bad to continue fighting. Those who remain help load the body bags on the chopper after supplies are unloaded. They also help load badly injured buddies who are lucky enough to be medevacted to a field hospital. It's safer, but not totally. My cousin Jimmy was recovering at a field hospital. He was a day or two away from returning to the front lines and he was the only guy killed when the enemy dropped a bomb on the hospital.

One Marine whose uniform was caked in mud said to a new kid dressed in fresh, clean greens, "I'm outta here in 23 days if I can live that long." The new kid knows where he's arrived and he knows he's got to survive a year in the jungle before he'll get a break. Are you readers feeling desperate yet?

Its bad enough being there, but having a lot of social stuff to deal with makes matters worse. It didn’t take long to be tuned in to lifer officer's games, as they try to make a name for themselves so they can move up in rank and have the power to lead more guys. The author did a good job of weaving this thread into the story. Marlantes also did an good job of laying out racial strife as civil rights were as big of issue in the war as at home. It was comforting when guys reconciled as they learned to care for each other and lasting friendships developed. Power in the military is another thread in telling the story, exposing the thinking and actions of officers acting to advance their rank and power. The pressure is always applied to count and report dead gooks. The score counted.

What is spectacular about the book, Matterhorn? You feel the war. You feel like you're with the Marines in every battle. It's real. You feel like, "I've been there." I heard the noise and steady stream of machine gun bullets coming at me. I felt the impact of the bullets whizzing past my body. I could see the grenade rolling down the hill toward me. I was in the soldier’s body when he kept his head down, running toward a gook in an uneven pattern, to keep the gook's gun-sight moving to keep from being killed or wounded. That's when I saw the gook throw the grenade and saw that sucker rolling down the hill toward me.

It was real when the Marine killed a gook and when a gook killed a Marine. Some of the gooks looked to be 16-year old kids. Many of our guys were barely out of high school. A lot of kids were rushed into the jungle with not enough training. So many kids died soon after pushing their way into the bamboo grass. Cousin Jimmy was older when he was drafted and served in the Army's Big Red One. He was 25 and he didn't last long. He went into the jungle in May, was transported into battle in July, and was dead on October 27, 1967. His body was returned home in a bag and was buried just before Thanksgiving.

58,193 Americans were killed in Viet Nam. 303,704 Americans were injured bad enough to require hospitalization and 150,375 more sustained injuries not requiring hospitalization. You'll feel it when you read, "Jesus, I'm going to die today," and then he did.

I don't know how you'll feel, but after reading this book and considering all of the reading I've done through the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, I don't want our country to put kids in these conditions again unless our country has been attacked or in immediate danger of being attacked. I don’t want the president to tell me why our kids have to die or become skilled in killing others for any other reason. When I read a soldier in Matterhorn say, "I wan'ta kill a lot of gooks today," it occurred to me we're teaching kids to murder. I for sure don't want hundreds of thousands of people to be killed or injured because we don't approve of their political ideology.

*****40 Acres and a Goat (2002) is a memoir by Will D. Campbell. Will is now in his 80s and we presume, still living on his farm in Tennessee. This was my second reading of this wonderful book. Some think of Will as being preacher and leader of "The Church of 40 Acres and a Goat."

Some will think of Will being an irreverent man. He occasionally uses slang when he talks. Some may think it to be profanity. He drinks a brew or a glass of bourbon when he chooses. He conducts services and observes sacraments that some by-the-book church-going folks think to be strange or even offensive. I think of him as being an unvarnished, authentic Christian.

William D. Campbell, aka Will, was ordained a Southern Baptist preacher in his native Mississippi when he was 17. He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate divinity college degrees. Afterward, he turned out to be a short-timer in pastoring a couple of conventional churches. He quickly determined he was not destined to serve under the steeples. He and his wife bought a few acres of farm and an old house in Central Tennessee. When his neighbors moved out of neighboring farms they asked him to buy their land and buildings. Soon in was a farm of 40 acres, with enough buildings to take care of folks in need. All they needed was a goat that turned out to be smart, intuitive, and a loving side-kick.

They reflected on the fact they were living in Andrew Jackson country. When they came by a goat that was given to them, and the goat rode to the farm with the family their old Mercedes sedan, Will's kid's thought it good when he named the goat, "Jackson." But he quickly realized he needed to distinguish and complete the name and made it Jackson A Goat.

Will found work with the Committee of Southern Churchmen. While becoming a revolutionary for reconciliation and love, Will met T.J. Eaves.

Will says this was a defining moment that changed his life forever. This was the Rev. T. J. Eaves who was a black Baptist preacher who also put aside traditional ways to follow Jesus as an authentic Christian. The two quickly became best friends and spent a lot of time on the farm, traveling together to march for civil rights, conducting civil rights meetings, speaking to groups who invited them, and to perform very special services for folks who came to them out of need. T. J. and Will spent a lot of time together discussing thoughts about scripture and theology, drinking a brew or two, as they enjoyed hours of jawboning and having fun with each other.

You'll love the T.J. and Will relationship. T.J had a double image. Most of the time he'd talk straight, but when it suited, he'd go into "his act," when he would talk like white people thought to be the way all blacks talked. Will wouldn't wait long before he'd look up at T.J, smile, and say, "cut the act."

If you read the book as I did, you too might also come to respect Will and T. J. as I do. Respect is the key word. Mutual respect is the basis for love. The two were totally authentic Christians.

While working with a young woman who came to the farm looking for help, she said "Rev. Campbell, you don't understand, I've committed so many more sins that I've yet to ask Christ to forgive", Will looked at her and said, "I believe he's already taken care of those," and went on to pray with her for her need.

I loved his reasoning when he married an unwed mother to the father of the infant in her arms and that he baptized the baby at the same time in a single ceremony, with Jackson A Goat, standing next to the couple as a sponsor. The groom was in prison and Will got the groom out of prison for the hours it took to marry the couple and baptize the baby, plus a few hours for the couple to celebrate their marriage. All the while, the prison guards were standing with their shotguns at the ready. Will also helped young conscientious objectors flee to Canada during the Viet Nam conflict and provided sanctuary at his farm to help folks in trouble.

Will regularly got telephone calls asking for his help. For example a mother asked him to help her son who was a conscientious objector. The kid arrived at the farm a short time later. Will instructed him about what he should do to get into Canada and about exactly what he should say to border guards to walk into Canada. He got the kid his bus tickets. Then Will flew to Canada to meet up with him and help him and other kids who gave up their citizenship to this country. I recognized his way is loving and helping folks as they are.

Campbell's greatest contribution to this country was his leadership during the civil rights era and, in fact, his message is still bringing about racial reconciliation. He was the only white man present at the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was one of three men who shepherded the Little Rock Nine through an angry white mob before the National Guard was federalized. He was a friend and confidant of Martin Luther King, Andrew Young, John Lewis and others, and worked as a strategist and negotiator at every major civil rights campaign of the movement.

This book has been republished over and over and has uniformly drawn 5-star reviews from readers in every walk of life. I understand that Will Campbell's autobiography, Brother to a Dragonfly, is also a great 5-star reviewed book. I'll be reading it in August.

*****Zeitoun (2009) is a true story written by Dave Eggers, the author of What is the What? and a number of other bestselling books. The principal character, Abdulrahman Zeitoun (pronounced "Zay-toon") is a U.S. Citizen who immigrated to the U.S. from Syria many years ago. He is a devout Muslim who prays to God at six regular times every day. His wife is an American woman who was born into a Southern Baptist family and was a Southern Baptist herself until she converted to the Muslim faith years before meeting and marrying Abdulrahman. They have four children. Once introduced, for the sake of simplicity, the author refers to Abdulrahman as, Zeitoun.

The author provides important details about Abdulrahman and his wife's background that help the reader appreciate these people for the good folk they are.

Eggers describes Abdulrahman's boyhood, during which he lived on the Aakward Island off the coast of Syria. The men in his family were fishermen, but after their boats were caught in storms and broke a part, his grandfather told his sons they needed to get off the water and work on land. You'll learn a lot about his refined, peace loving, and well-to-do family members are still living in Syria. They build fine homes. Zeitoun worked in the family construction business before he came to America. You'll know that he and his people are as good as you consider yourself and your family to be.

Mrs. Zeitoun's life story will help you understand how and why this Southern Baptist converted to the Muslim faith. Eggers describes her faith journey and explains enough about the Muslim faith to help us understand that Muslims serve the same God that Christians, Jews, and others serve. They believe in the Old Testament. They believe in the New Testament. They believe in Jesus. They also believe that a prophet, Muhammad, came along later, and that God inspired writing of the Quran.

Mrs. Zeitoun met and married Abdulrahman a number of years after she became a Muslim. You'll learn about their marriage and get to know their family. There story is a traditional American success story.

Together, the Zeitoun's operated the highly respected company Zeitoun A. Painting Contractors in New Orleans. They also owned a number of rental houses at the time hurricane Katrina aimed its fury at New Orleans. Just before the hurricane struck, Mrs. Zeitoun and the kids fled the city to stay with relatives and friends until the effects of the storm were over. She tried to talk her husband into fleeing with the family, but based on the past history of storms, he felt he would be safe staying to look after their home, business, and rental houses.

After the storm, Zeitoun had to sleep on the roof of the house. While up there surveying the damage, he remembered he had bought a used canoe for $75 on a lark, thinking that the family might someday use it for fun. When it also occurred to him that other people might be in need of being rescued, he climbed down to his garage, found the canoe, and rowed his way through flooded streets, surveying the city, and looking for stranded people. He rescued a number of people from their upper floors and roofs, including some people he knew. Zeitoun also He discovered many starving animals that were stranded on the upper floors of their houses. He emptied his freezer and shared the meat with people and animals and began daily deliveries to beings in need. He had a cook stove on his roof and others found a way to cook too.

Some days later, the mayor of New Orleans announced a mandatory evacuation, but Zeitoun still felt he was in no danger and could continue to help others. He was surprised by news reports from his wife that lawlessness had begun to take place in the city. He hadn't seen any as he moved about the city in his canoe. He knew there were still people who needed help and he also knew from news reports that volunteers were coming into the city to help with rescue and law enforcement agencies. He decided to stay and help stranded people and animals.

I don't want to reveal any more of this story, for I think every American needs to read it and be concerned about how the government deputized untrained volunteers, including some with questionable backgrounds, to be police. Some of the rag-tag bunch of deputies grossly violated citizen's constitutional rights in the aftermath of Katrina. To make matters worse, federal officials didn't act to correct injustices for far too long. You’ll sadly learn much about the latest round of white Americans acting out their prejudice against of people of color, immigrants, and of people who are of the Muslim faith.

July 2010

2010-06-30T09:33:00.020-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in June 2010

Excellent

Diamond Ruby (2010) is a novel by Joseph Wallace. Thanks to my high school classmate and author Jim Halverson for suggesting this wonderful book. Joseph Wallace was a student of Halverson when Jim taught school in New York City. I totally concur with Jim's recommendation to me:

"I hasten to say that I only recommend it to you because it's a book that deserves all the acclaim I think it's going to get--from good sales to movie version: "Diamond Ruby" by Joseph Wallace. Not only is it a ripping good read from start to finish, but it's a fully researched story inspired by a real girl who pitched for a minor league team in the '20s and garnered enough fame to have the Yankees schedule an exhibition game against her. She proceeded to strike out Ruth and Gehrig consecutively, needing only seven pitches to do so.”

The story begins in 1913 in New York City when Ruby was 7 years old. Her remarkable story embraces notable events in New York, beginning with the 1918 to 1920 Spanish flu epidemic. The epidemic came to America from abroad, killing over 50 million people and making it one of the world's greatest natural disasters. From there the story continues through the era of poverty, prohibition, rum running, gangsters, the Ku Klux Klan, and the flappers of the roaring '20's, as well as the great American sports of the time including baseball and boxing. Wallace's writing is so crisp that I could see myself there in tweed cap and knickers on the streets of New York and feel the action as the story moved to its conclusion. (I love big cities and wished I could have been there then … but, of course, love being here now.)

We get to enjoy the vibrant personalities and accomplishments of sports heroes Babe Ruth, Lou Gerhig, and Jack Dempsy. Adding to the enjoyment is the story of the life of a thumbs-up bright, smart, loving, and sassy woman who refused to take guff or be threatened by mean, abusing, and criminal men. I loved it when Dempsy told Ruby that all she needed do was give an abusing male a quick, short, stiff punch to his nose to make him back off and feel intolerable pain. She goes a step further and destroys them with her brains.

Ruby's sidekicks are her little nieces. She becomes their single parent. Their mother dies in the epidemic and their father, Ruby’s brother, becomes a hopeless alcoholic. Ruby shoulders the enormous responsibility while still a child herself. She loves them and, as best as she can, during a period of enormous poverty, she provides food, clothes, a home, medical care, and education to the girls. Ruby is a terrific woman who suffers, loves, laughs, knocks out gangsters with her brains, and throws mostly perfect 90+ mile per hour pitches in the strike zone right over home plate. She strikes out her male colleague professional baseball players in the tough professional minor leagues of the day as well as major league players Ruth and Gehrig in a thrilling exhibition as Ruby wipes out the competition. There's a lot of mystery in this book too as crooks try to bribe her to throw games.

I never knew there were women in professional baseball in the early1900's, but in fact there were a number of women playing baseball then. I wonder who was the real woman in this story? Could it have been Lizzie Stride? This is my guess. I'm not sure, but I want to know more about the real story. This book has to be made into a movie, and I'll be in line to see it.

This book is so good that I expect many of you will be stepping out to buy it before the end of the week. This would be a great weekend for bookshops to have a stack of these books on a display table by the register.

Conquering the Sky (2009) by Larry E. Tise is a book of well-researched history. Tise is an author and historian, and although he lives in Philadelphia, he is the distinguished Wilbur and Orville Wright Professor at East Carolina University.

This book is so nicely written that you'll feel at home moving through the story with great interest and appreciation of the personality, travel, and accomplishments of the famous Wright brothers. There were at that time a number of flight pioneers in Europe who were knowledgeable about the Wrights work and who were trying to beat them to flight. One notable French pilot attained short flights in the early 1900's and was noticed in the press. There were military interest brewing here and abroad as the Wright brothers worked to make the transition from gliding to motorized flight. I was surprised to learn that Wilbur and Orville were traveling to Europe by ship to fly their planes at events in Paris and in England. However, throughout this era, the Wrights went to great lengths to keep the press at a distance to protect their aircraft inventions. As a result, potential buyers of the planes didn't get information that would have improved the Wright brothers chances of getting defense contracts to build planes.

Playing it close to the vest resulted in terrible errors in press reports. Reporters at Kill Devil Hills were kept in a woods, away from the open test area. Desperate reporters were forced to get information from locals who assisted Wilbur and Orville in their test flights. The brothers used the local beach life-saving team to assist them in building their workshop hanger and to pull the planes back up the hill after test flights. Well of course these local boys were only too glad to feed information to the press. They concocted wild tales and great exaggerations. The reporters, unable to confirm the life savers observations, bought their stories lock, stock, and barrel. Since reporters had their own informers, their combined stories resulted in a lot of conflicting information, since each guard made up his own story. In fact, early pictures of the planes were often crude sketches up to and including the most famous photo which appeared in Look magazine.

Somewhere Inside (2010) by the sisters Laura Ling and Lisa Ling. This is a classy book of recent history. The book is about Laura Ling’s being held a prisoner in North Korea and her eventual release. The authors were well-known journalists before Laura was captured by North Korean soldiers. Laura was captured on Chinese soil while developing a story about North Korean women who are defecting to China. After Laura inadvertently stepped a few feet into North Korea soil and quickly left, North Korean soldiers crossed the river into China to arrest her. Laura was then taken to Pyongyang where she was held prisoner for months, taken to court, and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a gulag in North Korea.

Laura was vice president of Current TV's investigative journalism series Vanguard, and also served as an on-air correspondent for the show. The Current TV network was started by Al Gore when he left office. Gore is the chairman of the board and is prominent in the story. However, it's his former boss, President Bill Clinton, who flies to North Korea to secure Laura's release. Clinton's formidable entourage included a number of secret service personnel, aides, and advisors who accompanied the former president on the trip. His participation was extremely sensitive, not only because he is a former president of the United States, but also because his wife, Hillary is the U.S. Secretary of State. President Obama had to approve the mission. He had only been in office a short time and was involved behind the scenes in securing Laura's release.

Laura’s sister, Lisa, is a correspondent for the Oprah Winfrey Show. She had a broad circle of high-level people to draw on for support in securing her sister’s release. Lisa led the effort to keep the story in the news, communicated with her sister while she was in captivity, and contacted and conversed with high level government leaders including the Clintons. Lisa also supervised the family letters, telephone calls, and parcels that were sent to Laura while she was in captivity.

Bill Clinton was amazing in orchestrating the release. This included the act of withholding his famous smile and remaining totally stoic as he deplaned in Pyongyang, while he conversed with various North Korean leaders, and when he met with the head of the state Kim Jong Il. Can you imagine Bill not smiling when Kim Jong Il rushed to meet him, shook his hand, smiled, and happily announce that he had always wanted to meet him? This seemed to be the reason the North Koreans demanded that it be Bill Clinton to come to North Korea to discuss Laura's crimes and negotiate her release.

There is another amazing story within about how Lisa and her captors came to know each other and how the characters interactions apparently had a dramatic effect on how she was treated while being detained. This is as you have guessed a sensational story.

Note: I’ve already begun reading the blockbuster novel Matterhorn, which is reported by my wife to be the best novel to date about the Viet Nam war. The author, Viet Nam veteran Karl Marlantes, wrote this book over a period of 30 years. I can already ready report to you that it is beautifully written. Stay tuned as I will review it in my August report.

June 2010

2010-06-01T09:23:00.012-04:00

Here is a report on the books I read in May, 2010

Excellent

Sky Burial, An Epic Love Story of Tibet (2004), by Xinran, a journalist and the author of The Good Women of China. The book is based on a true story as told to the author by the principal character, Shu Wen. In Chinese, surnames are placed before the first name. Shu Wen’s first name is therefore Wen and she is addressed as Wen in the narrative.

Thanks to Aileen Niessen of Sotcha, Switzerland for suggesting that I read Sky Burial. I greatly appreciate hearing from readers and your suggestions for books you believe I would enjoy reading.

This is a beautiful love story. It is also a very informative book about Tibet, its people, customs, and the primary religion, Buddhism. The events in the life of Wen Shu including her love and her marriage to Wang Kejun took place in the 1950s in their native country, China. Wen and Wang met in Medical School. Wang had already enlisted in the People’s Revolutionary Army. So when they graduated from medical school it was necessary to apply to the Communist Party to get permission to get married. The couple were aware that Wang would soon be deployed to serve as an army doctor. Wen was already working as a dermatologist in a hospital. Permission was granted, but the couple only had a short time to be together as husband and wife before Wang was sent to Tibet to serve as a battlefield doctor.

It wasn’t long and Wen received a notice from the military headquarters that Comrade Wang Kejun died in an incident in the east of Tibet on 24 March 1958. When Wen couldn’t get more information and Wang was not returned to her for burial, she believed the death notice was in error. Within her heart she believed that Wang was still alive so she decided that she would not rest until she found him or what happened to him. The Chinese military was short of doctors so Wen went to military officials and volunteered to serve as a doctor in Tibet if they would give her permission to search for Wang. With this background, Wen tells the story of her search for Wang in Tibet. It is an incredible adventure.

When Wen is separated from her military unit in an encounter with Tibetan soldiers she soon meets an extraordinary Tibetan woman who, upon learning Wen’s story, promises to help her look for Wang. The women find a way to be separated from their Tibetan captors. As circumstances then put them in an isolated and unfamiliar territory and without of food and money, the two women are invited to live with a nomadic family. Over a period of years with the family as they tend to their herd of animals, Wen learns enough of the Tibetan language and ways that she begins to act more like a Tibetan and therefore in less danger than she had been as a Chinese person in Tibet.

Having done further reading, I understand the hatred that Tibetan and Chinese have had for each other as a result of years of war, which makes Wen’s acceptance into this nomadic family, her Tibetan friend, and people she meets along the way a testimony to human understanding that transcends prejudice and war. And as an American who was raised to hate Communists, it was useful for me to read a story that transcends politics, prejudice, and war. In the end, Wen finds what she sought in a very moving way.

Overboard!, A True Blue Water Odyssey of Disaster and Survival (2010) is a reporting of a true story by Michael J. Tougias. This book delivered everything it promised!

The author reports on two sail boat journeys that unexpectedly encounter a towering sea. Both boats, the Almesian and the Trenton, are headed to Bermuda from different points of origin. At the onset, the weather was beautiful. Suddenly both boats sail into an enormous storm that just won’t quit (in May, 2005). The author is reporting on two stories as the boats were several hundred miles apart. Each boat was caught in the same devastating storm in the Gulf Stream.

This book is definitely a heart stopping page turner. The small sail boats were being tossed about in a stormy ocean hundreds of miles from land. The Almesian sail boat was a 45 foot pleasure craft. Suddenly the boat encounters rough waves that are 40 and more feet high. The boat rapidly rises to the top of a wave and then drops fast to the bottom. And these waves keep coming for hours. At times, the boat actually turns upside down in the water, then rights itself while the crew hangs on for their life.

The characters of each boat are top notch sailors with an unlimited reservoir of knowledge, courage, and guts. The people who will become the hero’s of this story are the United States Coast Guard, especially the sailors and pilots assigned to the Coast Guard Station at Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

The author skillfully introduces beginning of the journey of each boat and identifies the circumstances of both boats as they encounter the storm. He finishes the story of the second boat, the Trenton. Then he picks up the story of the Almesian and the remaining pages of the book detail its terrifying journey and the extent of the rescue. This terrifying journey involves a ship that is breaking apart, crew who’ve gone overboard, and crew that were forced to remain on the sailboat that is falling apart.

This story was made into a movie. I’d like to see the movie even though I’ve noticed the reviews are not quite as good as the reviews for the book.

Good

Unbound, A True Story of War, Love, and Survival (2010) by Dean King. It is ironic that I would happen upon this book without knowing the extent to which it fit with my reading of Sky Burial. This is a history that predates the years of the story Sky Burial, but provides more information about the ongoing conflict between the Chinese and Tibetans.

Unbound is the story of the Chinese Communists Long March that took place in China and into parts of Tibet between 1934 and 1937. This book provides a history of the beginning of Communism in China and the characters include a number of China’s future Communist leaders (including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Zhou Enlai). The writing details much of the fighting between the Communists and the Chinese Nationalists commanded by the General, Chiang Kaishek. The history also explains the early link between Russia and China.

This history offered me an understanding of the origins of Communism that I didn’t have. Essentially, the peasants of China were extremely poor, without food and home, uneducated, and without an understanding of any other system of government except the one that had kept them in feudal servitude and impoverished. The peasants and people who will become future leaders of China believed this to be a plan that would make their life better. The Long March was a treacherous 4,000 mile march through rugged terrain; a journey of incredible struggle, war, famine, illness, and death.

The First Army was comprised of 86,000 men and 30 women and fewer than 30,000 survived the march (this number includes many new recruits that joined the First Army along the way, so the number of deaths of those who began the journey was extraordinary). This book also details the Long March routes and activity of The Fourth Army, The Second and Sixth Army Groups, and The Twenty-Fifth Army. The various army routes and troops come together at various places in the journey.

There are many estimates of the miles marched, but the most accurate reports are something close to 4,000 miles over rugged terrain and up and down huge snow capped mountains, including territory the is called “the rooftop of the world.” There are also a number of terrifying water crossings. In describing this journey the author has done meticulous research which includes interviewing surviving marchers. In this respect he has done a remarkable job and writing the book is a significant achievement.

The author attempted to establish a focus on the 30 women who marched with the First Army and it is useful that he did this. “Unbound” refers to freeing women from bound feet with an opportunity to become beautiful. These women would have opportunity which was not allowed in their feudal servitude. The focus on the 30 women of the First Army adds to the difficulty of trying to follow many characters. The author provides a perforated pullout bookmark to help the reader with the women’s names, but I didn’t find it very useful as references to their names were infrequent and at times he called them by last name, at other times by their first name, or even by their nickname (Cai, Wu, Li, Liu, Shorty, Little Sparrow, etcetera). Mix all of these names with the names of many other characters such as Xi, Xu, and such and your memory is constantly tested. Obviously, you’ll have no trouble remembering who Mao is. But the book also includes a reference listing of the predominant characters, pronunciation guide, a list of useful terms, 34 pages of text referenced notes, a list of interviews, a bibliography, and a detailed index and you have a textbook.

There are lots of war, killing, and horrific injuries to read about and pitifully few survivors. I never found a detailing of love as promised on the book dust jacket (other than few details about soldiers who got married along the way). There was not detail to get to know or understand the characters or of the relationships between characters. And keeping track of which army that you are reading about at any given time; The First, Second, Fourth, or Twenty-fifth Army, makes the read more difficult chore.

This book is dry rendering of history. This is one of those books that you start to read and have invested so much time in reading that you feel like you can’t toss it aside, but begrudgingly plow ahead wishing the read to finally be over.

The good news is that with recent acquisitions I have a fantastic stack of new books that I can’t wait to read!

May 2010

2010-05-01T14:15:00.008-04:00

Here is a review of books I read in April 2010

Excellent

Goat Song (2009) is a memoir by Brad Kessler. When I saw the picture of a goat and the title, Goat Song, on the dust cover I knew this book would be mine. This would be so in spite of the scholarly subtitle, A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Goat Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese. Now I can report to you that this is a wonderful book.

The author, who is an award-winning novelist, and Donna, a photographer, lived in New York City, but yearned to live in the country and bring to the table food from their own farm. Their dog, Lola, is a loved companion and a interesting character in this story.

Since reading as a teen, Brad had held in his heart Thoreau’s dream of self-reliance, cabin on the lake, and meticulous list of peas and beans. Perseverance in pursuing their dream led Brad and Dona to a farm on a dead-end road in the western part of Vermont. I love books about homesteading in Vermont, having read and reviewed all of the late Noel Perrin’s books.

After settling into their new home, Dona began photographing neighboring farms. As a result, the Kessler’s discovered and nurtured a love for goats and they slowly began the adventure of becoming goat herders. We find ourselves in beautifully written pastoral scenes as Brad and Dona learn about and eventually purchase two does from Mary Beth Boulduc, a local expert in raising goats who also becomes a tutor and friend.

Once the couple developed skills in caring for their does, the time came to take a doe in to Boulduc’s farm to be impregnated by a sex-starved buck, Sonny. What a torrid scene! You’ll love it.

This leads us to wonderfully written scenes of birthing baby goats. We learn that does do not lactate until after they’ve birthed. However, the baby goats are not allowed to nurse from their mothers; they would become wedded to her teats. So the farmer must keep the babies near enough for the mother to hear their cries for food, but not in a position to suckle. The farmer must learn to milk the goats, train the babies to take a nipple, and then feed the babies from a baby bottle. The plentiful excess is then used to make cheese.

Now that the operation is under way, we read about growing a family of goats, learning to make cheese, making cheese, and even goat history, starting with the Bible. Brad takes a journey to France to further develop his skills in making quality cheese in the traditions of the French.

There is mystery in this book, too, when a pack of coyotes shows up. Brad learns to track the coyotes and then defend his herd with the help of the family’s marvelous dog, Lola. By this time, the Kessler’s have already begun growing vegetables so they are well-fed with goat milk, cheese, and vegetables.

There is an especially important 5-page chapter titled Raw. Every American should read this exposé on what we’ve lost through the process of pasteurizing—and the health benefits the Europeans have gained by not pasteurizing.

Finally, there are spiritual blessings to be gained from this book. We learn Brad, who is Jewish, once lived in the basement of a monastery in Europe. You’ll discover that he is well-versed in both Old and New Testaments. When he visits a monastery high on the notch above their farm and learns of their routine, Brad recalls what the monks are doing up there, in the same time frame that he is completing various tasks in the long process of making tomme de Savoie (cheese).

I strongly recommend that you read this marvelous book!

Heat (2006) a memoir, biography, and a tutorial on cooking by Bill Buford. This man has guts! A staff writer for The New Yorker, where he was the fiction editor for eight years, this man leaves the world of journalism and enters the bottom run of working in a commercial kitchen where he washes dishes, preps vegetables, learns how to make short ribs, and one step at a time, reaches the point of becoming a line cook. I must say, that as much as I love to cook (see my blog at http://grandpashomecooking.typepad.com/ ), I do not think I could hold up to the long hours and the rigors of working every day in a restaurant kitchen.

Buford doesn’t get hired at just any kitchen. He is hired by the famous restaurant owner and chef, Mario Batali. During his tenure with Batali, Mario goes to Tuscany to live with a family to further develop his skills in making and preparing pasta. Buford writes about Batali’s experience and later goes to Tuscany himself to live and work with Italians to develop his skills.

The subtitle of this book is An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany. You’ll have a front row seat to the making of a line cook as you read Heat.

While on vacation on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, I read this book in the sunny yard of a cottage which is next to the lighthouse. It was great to read and occasionally look up and gaze at “Silver Lake” and the boats.

March (2005) is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Geraldine Brooks. This accomplished and award winning author is a wonderful creator of historical novels. This book focuses on the Civil War, but more so about the life and struggles of a minister who becomes a Civil War chaplin and about the impact on his family as he struggles to defend the cause of equality. I’ve enjoyed all of Brooks’ historical novels. This one is excellent, but not my favorite. It’s hard to decide, but my first choice would be People of the Book, closely followed by Year of Wonder. March is a moving story, but I confess that I tired of Mr. March’s struggles, and I felt from early in the story that his health and life would decline to a poor ending.

A Walk in the Woods (1998) is a memoir by Bill Bryson. I bought the book believing that I would read an adventure story about walking the entire Appalachian Trail. Bryson didn’t. But then again, it is a bit unrealistic to expect anyone to walk the more than 2,000 mile trail (you’ll read that the exact mileage is an estimate and that various sources report differing numbers). Fewer than 25% of people who set out to walk the entire trail accomplish this feat. However, Bryson walks many more miles than most of us could achieve, especially considering the conditions that he and his hiking buddy experienced.

They started their hike at the beginning of the trail in Georgia, walked through North Carolina, and finally left the trail at Gatlinburg, Tennessee. That’s a long way to walk. They went home for a rest and later returned to the trail to hike from Roanoke, Virginia, skipping the huge section of the trail between Gatlinburg and Roanoke. They ended their hike while still in Virginia at Ft. Royal. Finally, the hiking buddies get back together for a long hike at the end of the trail in Maine.

Bryson’s spirit, adventures, and sense of humor offer readers a very good time, as well as thoughtful meditations on the wonders of the Appalachian mountains.

April 2010

2010-03-31T12:16:00.012-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in March 2010.

Year of Wonders (2001) is a historical novel by Geraldine Brooks. When I stood in the bookshop and read the back cover of this book, I was undecided about buying it, fearing it would be a dark read. I finally decided to buy it because I had heard of the great plague, realized I knew little of it, and knew Geraldine Brooks to be a great writer.

The story is set in 1665 in the remote English village of Eyam. It is the year of the plague. In the novel, the plague seeds (fleas) are brought to the village in a bolt of cloth by a tailor who has traveled there from London.

According to historical records, a box of laundry detergent was brought to Eyam by a traveler in 1665. The detergent was found to be infested with fleas, and the epidemic started. Eighty percent of the village people died. The results could have been worse were it not for the courageous Eyam rector named William Mompesson. He persuaded the residents not to flee the village and in doing so spread the infection, but instead to stay until the plague had run its course.

In the novel, the courageous rector has the fictional name Michael Mompellion. He is a radical, but one who is much loved by the villagers. There are three principal characters in this book: Michael, the rector; his wife, Elinor; and a servant, Anna Frith.

The story is absolutely beautifully written in old English prose by Geraldine Brooks. I recommend you read the book for the writing alone.

But brace yourself. From one page to the next, you’ll wonder who will die next and what will be the grizzly circumstances. But in the darkness of the story you'll experience a great blessing from the compassion of the people in the village as they help each other survive the ordeal. Ah, and in the next breath I must say that you’ll also read of the great sins and dastardly deeds of some villagers, who become evil under the strain of the plague. In the end, it is Faith that carries the few who live to live a new life.

There is one part of the book which was pretty incredible for this old guy to read. When the village midwife dies, Anna, the rectory servant, is forced into helping with a birth. The detailed description was startling to me, but it was a beautiful rendering of how a woman is able to help another woman birth a child. As the story unfolds, Anna learns midwifery from having to do it again and again. She and Elinor also learn the healing arts of herbal treatments by collecting herbs, reading of their healing properties, concocting the treatments, and applying the treatments to villagers who are in need of healing. Other town folk must also learn new skills as the village’s experienced tradesmen die.

And finally, here is an interesting aside. In further readings about the plague, I learned that a song about the plague is still sung by children today. It is written that the song "Ring-a-ring of Roses" (or as I remember the tune, "Ring-around-the-rosie") originated in England and the original words described in detail the symptoms of the plague, ending with "All fall down." The last word, "dead," is omitted today. We do not read about this tune in the novel, but we are well aware of those who fall dead.

I hope that many of you will read this book. And now I will prepare to read March by Geraldine Brooks.

Blood Done Sign Thy Name (2004) is a true story written by Timothy B. Tyson. You might say that Tim Tyson is a neighbor, for he lives in this area and is presently a visiting professor at the Duke Divinity School here in Durham. Tim Tyson grew up just north of Durham in Roxboro, North Carolina. At age 10, he became part of the dark history of the town when in 1970, a local, Robert Teel, and others with him brutally murdered a local African American veteran, Henry Morrow. Tyson learned of the killing from a playmate (a son of the murderer) who came to Tyson’s house to shoot baskets soon after the incident. The murderers were acquitted of the crime and released from jail. When Tyson went back to the town years later to do research in writing the book, no one wanted to talk about what happened and local court records and newspapers for the period were gone missing.

Tyson’s father, Vernon Tyson, is a Methodist minister. At the time, he was assigned as the pastor of the Methodist church in Roxboro. His father was an early leader in speaking out for justice, integration, and racial reconciliation. He continues to be a leader for racial reconciliation. He spoke here recently (on Sunday, March 21) at the Duke Divinity School.

From father and son, we learn through this book about much of the terrible and violent history of racism both before and after the murder of Henry Morrow in North Carolina. And we learn a great deal about how this event affected local African Americans, the town, the state, and the author.

While I was already aware of much of the history of racial prejudice in this country, the book provided details about local events and of the actions of local people, giving me new insight into the sin of prejudice, greater understanding of the suffering of African Americans, and a feeling of great shame about what has happened.

In the past, I’ve often reflected on what it must be like to be a German and live with what they did through the influence of Adolf Hitler. Never once did I think about how I and we, the white people of America, regard our treatment of African Americans. Now I think about this and perhaps how the German people may feel about their role in the Nazi atrocities.

As my daughter Stephanie says, "Tyson reminds us that all of us are a mixture of grace and fear. Reading this book calls forth the grace to overcome our fear of the other and acknowledge the part we have played in oppressing another."

Timothy Tyson was courageous in writing this book and it is a book that all should read. The movie of the same name was recently released. I want to see it. But if you see it, make sure you also read the book.

Parnassus On Wheels (1917) is a novel by Christopher Morley. It’s actually told to Morley by the character Helen McGill, who tells all about how Roger Mifflin ended up with his Brooklyn Bookshop, which Morely writes about in The Haunted Bookshop.

Parnassus On Wheels is a bookshop on wheels, a caravan pulled through the countryside by Mifflin’s beloved horse. Mifflin is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable bookseller until he decides he’s had enough of it and ought sell his Parnassus and return to his home in Brooklyn to write the book he has in his mind. When he acts on this conviction, he drives his bookshop to the farm of the writer Andrew McGill, with the idea of selling Parnassus to him. But McGill is away and Roger is instead greeted by McGill’s spinster sister, Helen. When Helen learns of Mifflin’s purpose, she makes an instant decision to write a check for $400 of her $600 savings and buy that rig herself. She's tired of baking and ironing for her brother. He has had all of the adventures, and she's sick and tired of being the one to keep her brother's game going while she does all of the dirty work!

Now we have the makings of a fine and delicious story you ought to read. This is fun reading. It’s pure delight. You’ll dance along with Mifflin as he shows the new owner the ropes of hand selling books. Helen’s adventures really begin when Mifflin finally turns the caravan over to her so he can journey home to Brooklyn. Well, I’ll not say more. You must read this for yourself to see what a gem it is. You need to search the Internet to find used copies of The Haunted Bookshop and Parnassus on Wheels. Read Parnassus first. Why is it that so often I read the right things but in reverse?

The Boys of the Old Glee Club (1907), a song of poetry by James Whitcomb Riley. Ah, what a fine volume this is. I own copies of all of Riley’s books of poetry and they’re a delight to read. It took me a good many years to find all of the books. You can still find them. In fact, it’s easier now than it was when I collected them, thanks to the Internet.

March 2010

2010-03-01T07:59:00.010-05:00

March 2010

Here is a review of the books I read in February 2010.

Excellent

Stones into Schools (2009) is a memoir by Greg Mortenson. This an update on Mortenson’s work of building schools in remote areas of Pakistan, where there are no schools, as reported in his first book, Three Cups of Tea. The purpose of Stones into Schools is to report on his current work to build schools in the remote areas of northeastern corner of Afghanistan, while continuing to build new schools in Pakistan. He continues to build most schools for girls, but also builds some schools for girls and boys.

Mortenson reports that teaching girls to read and write greatly reduces ignorance and poverty. Once educated, women find work which increases the family income. Working women channel more of their resources into the health and schooling of their children. Men who may not be in a position to go to school, often learn reading, writing, and other skills from the educated women in their families.

Once working solo, Greg now has a team of colleagues who work on the ground in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and a small organization in the U.S that he started to handle contributions and to help him make decisions. Mortenson is Director of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), which is based in Bozeman, Montana where he lives. Working together, he and his colleagues have built and provide the money to operate 131 schools under the direction of the CAI.

We learn from Stones into Schools how his team operates and about environmental and man-made difficulties which have impacted recent projects. One project takes us to “the flower in the farthest corner of the garden” -- the most logistically difficult of all projects in “the old Kirghiz burial grounds, located in the heart of the Afghan Pamir’s Bam-i-Dunya,” which Mortenson calls “the Rooftop to the World.” You’ll also read about the team’s incredible adventures in the midst of war, following a major earthquake, and about the personal lives of his colleagues. And finally, you’ll read about the personal toll of the work on staff, including the sacrifices and joy that the Mortenson family experiences in this work that consumes their lives.

Every project begins with Greg having at least three cups of tea with village leaders. He continues to believe that people must develop a personal relationship before they can begin working together. Over a cup of tea, he listens to local leaders to determine their needs and to learn about how the leaders and the people of the village work together. This helps him understand how he must work with the leaders in their culture to get results.

When he started his work, he looked for areas of greatest need. He took the time to meet and have tea with village leaders, before they discussed the possibility of building a school. Now village leaders invite him: “Please come to our village and build a school for our children.”

He writes about how he and one of his colleagues were resting one evening in the dessert. All of the sudden, in a dust cloud at the horizon, he saw a group of men riding in fast on their horses and they turned toward him. When they stopped in front of him, one of the men said, “Are you the man who builds schools?” They had been sent by their village leader to find him and to ask him to promise to come to their village to build a school. Before they left, the men got a promise from Greg to come to meet and talk to their leader.

Schools are built to teach kids reading, writing, mathematics, biology and relevant languages. Village leaders must agree that religion, politics, and fighting will not taught be in a CAI school.

Greg’s philosophy is that peace will not be won with guns and air strikes, but with books, notebooks and pencils, which are the tools of the socioeconomic well-being of people. He reports that in spite of fatwas issued against him, despite threats from the Taliban and other extremists, he has and will continue do everything he can to build schools where none exist to improve the life of people who live there.

In spite of the incredible work being done by Greg and the CAI, there are still millions of children in the World who do not have a school. For example, I can report from my experience working with a Guatemala support group, that more than 95% of the children in the Mam, Mayan language group, who live in a rural area of Guatemala’s western highlands, do not go to school. There are a variety of reasons, which may include not having a school or teachers in the rural area where they live. The more than one million Mam Indians are one of 22 language groups within the family of Mayans whose origins have been in Mesoamerica for over 5,000 years. Most of their children do not have a school available to them. There is a need for more Greg Mortenson’s.

I especially like what we learn in this book about the importance of listening. After a massive earthquake in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Greg was asked by the government to help erect temporary schools to restore classes until new buildings could be built. The CAI usually does not work with governments, but in this case, the CAI responded by putting up tents and providing materials to get classes restored.

However, many children did not immediately return to school. Greg was at one tent school and sat down with a little girl and asked her, “Why aren’t the kids coming back to school?” She said, “There are no desks.” It figures, in a child’s mind, there must be books, pad, pencil, and desk. Greg got men of the village to gather lumber from the rubble and quickly build desks. When the desks were in place, the kids returned.

This is a fabulous book. I hope that many millions of people will read it. Three Cups of Tea has already sold 2.5 million books in 29 languages. It is still on the best seller list. Stones into Schools is sure to sell as many copies and hopefully more.

Life in the Wrong Lane (2009) is a memoir by Greg Dobbs. Thanks to Chicago friend, Patti Lenters, for suggesting that I read this book!

This is a great action packed read. Greg Dobbs has traveled all over the globe to report on events. You’ve likely seen Dobbs report news on location for ABC for more than 23 years. He’s still reporting the news and working with Dan Rather on HDNet Television. Rather’s recommendation appears on the cover.

When you and I saw Dobbs standing over a dead body in a war zone, it may not have registered that this reporter was not living the good life while reporting the news. More often than not he had but a few hours from the time his boss called before he had to be on an airplane to fly half way around the world. Business travelers usually know when they will return. He didn’t. Sometimes he would get a call at a hot spot he was covering and be directed to immediately fly to another part of the world. He didn’t have the liberty of worrying about what clothes he had or didn’t have. In fact, he sometimes lost his clothes and other possessions to get out of a place in a hurry.

Doing this work, Dobbs sometimes found himself dodging a few or even many bullets to file a report. You’ll learn about the dangers he faced, and at times, how he worked without creature comforts you and I take for granted. Imagine, for example, your bed being the top of an old television console. Then sleep on top of that television for more than a week.

As he says, when thousands wanted to get out of an area, he and his colleagues wanted to go in. When they weren’t wanted, they successfully thought of ways to sneak in. He tells interesting stories of maneuvering around authorities who were trying to keep them out. In some cases, reporters would clandestinely climb through holes in chain link fences and swim across rivers, or do whatever they must to get into places people were dying to leave. True, reporters doing this work thrive on the adventure, danger, and the recognition.

One of the chapters that was especially interesting to me was about being under the watchful eye of Russian police. Greg writes about one of the ways that Soviets were able to keep their eyes on people during the cold war. Soviet police were on every street corner in Moscow, and they were able to immediately spot a foreign visitors, know what country they were from, and even know their names. Their process of identification was simple.

Here is an example of how slick they are. He tells a story about the Moscow ABC bureau chief. Out of the many cars that were driving past a highway exit one afternoon, a cop spotted her new car. We imagine him saying to himself, “Aha, Miss Casby, the Moscow bureau chief for the U.S. ABC News.” Keep in mind they pulled this off before there were computers. He turns his siren on and pulls her over. When she rolled her window down, he said, “Miss Casby, you have missed your exit.” She was flabbergasted that a cop sitting beside the highway would not only recognize the car she just picked up, but actually know her name and the hotel where she was supposed to stay that night. But why would the police want to make sure she stayed where she was supposed to stay, other than to let her know she was being watched? Here’s the scary thing. She wasn’t supposed to be at that exit for hours and continued past the exit because it was so early she decided she could make it back to her apartment in Moscow before dark. Are these police quick, or whut?

You’ll enjoy reading about all of Greg Dobbs adventures and wish there were more war stories to read. Read this book and you’ll know what it is like to be a television network news reporter.

Unfortunately, you’re not likely to find this book at your local independent bookshop, chain bookshop, or even your public library. This is a self-published work. You’ll have to order it online. I’m surprised, with his background, that he doesn’t have a literary agent who would have gotten him a mainstream publisher to print and distribute the book. It’s a well-done hardback with a very attractive dust cover.

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (2008), is a humorous, romantic novel by Nicolas Drayson. Thanks to my daughter, Stephanie, for bringing me her copy of the book to read. This is a book to read and enjoy between the reading of two heavyweight volumes. Think of the Ladies #1 Detective Agency Series of stories which are set in Botswana. This story is set in Kenya.

Here we have a great adventure that takes place among birdwatchers, who are the participants of the East African Ornithological Society, Tuesday morning bird walks. The main characters are the members of the all male Asadi Club, including two old boys who are chasing the old widow, Rose Mbikwa, who is the leader of the weekly bird walk in the park. You need not be afraid to buy this book. It is a gem!

February 2010

2010-01-31T11:34:00.015-05:00

Here is a report on the books I read in January 2010.

Excellent

Half The Sky (2009), Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, is a current events report by Nicolas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Kristof is a New York Times columnist and WuDunn, his wife, has been a business editor and foreign correspondent in Tokyo. Together they are Pulitzer Prize winning authors (China Wakes and Thunder from the East). The title Half The Sky comes from a Chinese Proverb: Women hold up half the sky.

The authors traveled to a number of places in Africa and Asia to research and report on the needs of women. They became friends and sponsors of a number of women and they maintain contact with the women they sponsor to help them achieve success.

The personal stories of many of these women are reported in the book. It’s important to read beyond the grim evidence of slavery, torture, and death and all of the disturbing supporting data, and listen to the needs of women as illustrated by their stories.

The book addresses the compelling need for free men and women to act to stop the killing, disappearance, enslavement, and abuse of million of women. Girls are sometimes aborted simply because they are girls. Thousands of those who are born disappear. Some girls are sold as slaves and trafficked for sex (and more often than not forever enslaved as prostitutes). Millions of women are abused or treated as inferior to men. If I’ve omitted a crime or injustice suffered by millions of women, suffice it to say that men are still treated as superior throughout the world.

The personal stories contained in Half the Sky support the need to free women and to provide them with equal education and employment opportunities. There is a need to change the mindset of people who treat women as inferior beings.

Recent news stories report that women in the United States will soon (within the first quarter of 2010) comprise over 50% of the U.S. workforce. The same result needs to be obtained by women throughout the world. When you read Half the Sky, you will understand why education and employment of the world’s women will not only help women achieve equality but also will help bring about world peace.

Every man and every woman in the free world should read this book and then act to support the needs that it describes. Hopefully readers will act before the details drift from their minds. At the conclusion of Half the Sky, Kristoff and WuDunn list four steps you can take in ten minutes to begin. Nancy and I sat down at a computer and followed some of the suggested steps to act together. Now the task is to keep responding to a variety of opportunities.

Note: "Educate women and change the world" is the powerful theme in Greg Mortenson’s new book, Stones Into Schools, which I’ll review in the March 2010 report (Mortenson is the author of Three Cups of Tea).

People of the Book (2008), is a very cool historical novel by Geraldine Brooks. The book takes the reader on the journey of the treasured Sarajevo Haggadah, traveling from Sarajevo and Bosnia to Austria, Spain, Australia, and ultimately back to Sarajevo. The odyssey of the mystery involves the restoration of the ancient rare books; telling of its creation; its movement through peace and during wars; it’s being given, sold, and being returned first to Israel and then ultimately back to its rightful owner, the National Museum of Bosnia in Sarajevo.

A Haggadah is a Jewish religious textbook which describes the order and exact steps necessary to celebrate the Passover Seder. Jewish fathers are required to read the Haggadah to their children when the family celebrates the Passover Seder meal. Leaders read the Haggadah at communal meals. What at a coincidence it is that I would pick up a copy of this book from a used bookshop at this time of year—just before the start of Lent.

The Sarajevo Haggadah written about in this historical novel is an ancient and very valuable Haggadah that is housed in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. It contains priceless illustrations and beautiful hand script.

For me, a significant part of the Sarajevo Haggadah history is during the Spanish Inquisition. This was also one of the most difficult periods in reading People of the Book, because the reader suffers from learning about the torture of people of one religion by the people of another religion to “protect the purity of their beliefs.” I was thankful to be done reading the part of the book that describes the tortures, including the medieval form of water boarding. However, I admit that it was important to my understanding of what I eventually learned were four major inquisitions in world history.

Through a side journey to Wikipedia while reading People of the Book, I learned more about the Medieval Inquisition (1184-1230s); the Spanish Inquisition (1478 – 1834); the Portuguese Inquisition (1536 – 1821); and the Roman Inquisition (1542 -1860). I had been unaware of the gory details of the activities of people of religion in torturing and murdering people of other religions (all in the name of protecting their religion).

You sometimes have to force yourself to continue reading a book until the very end. In this case, this novel has a brilliant and way cool ending! If you love mystery novels, you're going to love People of the Book!

Sarah (2004), is a historical novel by Marek Halter. This is the first book of the trilogy which includes Sarah, Zipporah (see the January 2010 book report), and Lilah. By mistake, I discovered a copy of Zipporah and bought it first, so I went ahead and read it first. Make no mistake, you should read Sarah first, then Zipporah, and finally Lilah. To put these writings in perspective, Sarah is the wife of Abraham and Zipporah is the wife of Moses. This is an outstanding novel, as was Zipporah, for these works help bring together and illuminate the Biblical history of the periods described. I now have and will read and report on Lilah (and find out who she was). I consider these books to be excellent and enjoyable reads.

January 2010

2010-01-01T17:15:00.018-05:00

Here is a review of the books I read in December, 2009:

Excellent

Zipporah, Wife of Moses (2005) is a novel by Marek Halter. It is the second book of a Canaan trilogy which includes the books Sarah, and Lilah. Marek Halter is a French-Jewish novelist. He was born in Poland in 1936. During WW II he and his family escaped the Warsaw ghetto and later settled in France. In addition to the Cannan trilogy, he has written books about Abraham, Jesus, and other Biblical subjects.

What I determined to be truth, fiction, or possibly truth and/or fiction and what you may determine to be truth or fiction may well be different. I do not wish to enter into a debate about what is truth and what is fiction. After all, there are different versions and/or interpretations of the Bible, the Torah, and vast writings about Jewish traditions.

Here is what I learned from reading Zipporah, Wife of Moses:

Reference: Numbers 12: 1

1Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. [English Standard Version]

1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. [New International Version]

Here is how we understand Numbers 12: 1. Zipporah was the Cushite woman Moses married. The Cushites are people from an ancient region of northeast Africa [Ethiopia] where the biblical descendants of Ham settled. Zipporah, wife of Moses, was an Ethiopian. In other words, Moses, a light skinned Hebrew, married a black woman, Zipporah. They had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The author writes that Gershom was light skinned like his father. Eliezer was dark skinned like his mother. This seems like a reasonable conclusion to me.

Jethro, a Midianite, but also a Hebrew, was likely Zipporah’s adoptive father. Her sisters were Jethro's biological daughters. Zipporah was raised a Hebrew as were her sisters. She was her father’s right hand person, whom he favored because of her intelligence and wisdom.

I am an English (white) man. When I was a boy in the 1940s, my Sunday school teachers never told me that God called a black woman to marry Moses whom we considered to be white. My Sunday school teachers didn’t tell me that God arranged, ordained, and blessed this interracial marriage. Nor did they tell me that Moses first got the Word from Zipporah that he ought to do what God ordained him to do (to return to Egypt and lead the slaves to the Promised Land). When Moses did get the Word directly from God, while he was on Mt. Horeb, he remembered what he had already heard from Zipporah (whom God spoke to in a dream before God spoke to Moses on the mountain).

The author writes that Moses lay with Zipporah and gave her two sons before they were married. This may be truth or fiction, but it sounds reasonable based on the novel. Zipporah told Moses she would not marry him until he agreed to do what God asked him to do (to lead the slaves out of Egypt).

A number of things I learned from this novel are based on facts that we can learn from a careful study of the Bible. For example, from reading Numbers 12:1, we know how Moses' sister Miriam, and his brother Aaron, reacted when they met Zipporah. They immediately did not like her because her skin was a different color and because she didn't look Hebrew. Perhaps we didn't think twice about their dislike of Zipporah because we had already learned to be prejudiced of people and religions that were not of our own. Also, Miriam and Aaron didn’t know or understand that Zipporah was raised a Hebrew.

It’s amazing the many things folks do not understand and/or do not discuss when they prefer not to address uncomfortable information (truth).

Anyway, though this novel is chock full of Biblical fact (do Google searches for Zipporah and read all of the referenced scriptures). It is a novel because the author added a lot of human details to help us better understand the Bible story. In other words, he tells us the story of Zipporah and Moses in a way that helps us understand what it was like to be (or be with) Zipporah and Moses, Jethro (Zipporah’s adoptive father), Aaron, Miriam (Moses brother and sister), Joshua, and many other characters we immediately recognize from reading the Bible.

I was raised by a wonderful group of people (family, church folk, and friends) whom I very much love and treasure to this day. If some who have passed were alive today, it is possible they would come to understand this story, as I have, as well as a lot of things they didn’t understand and/or didn’t speak of back then, when I was a boy.

It was very cool to read this book after reading, Moses, Man of the Mountain by the late African American Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston was the daughter of a Baptist preacher, and she wrote her wonderful story of Moses as a black person would read and understand it.

Same Kind of Different as Me (2006) is a memoir by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (with Lynn Vincent). This book is about “a modern-day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together.”

This is an unbelievable and inspirational story of modern Christians.

From my daughter’s high school American history textbook, I learned that slavery didn’t end when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Slave owners simply devised and implemented schemes to keep their slaves.

From this memoir I learned that the slave Denver Moore was still picking cotton on a plantation in Red River Parish, Louisiana “way past the time that a president named Kennedy got shot dead in Dallas." Denver slept in a shack not much bigger than the shed in which to keep your garden tools. He was provided a little food, a minimum supply of work clothes, and the meager food supplies he required to live. However, he never received a paycheck.

While Denver was picking cotton on the day the president was shot, Ron Hall was a student at Texas Christian University in Dallas. On that day, he and three of his friends piled into Ron’s baby blue car and went to meet up with sorority girls. He found himself driving directly behind President Kennedy’s motorcade in Dallas, heard the shots, and saw the president fall. The beautiful blond girl whom Ron was on his way to meet, Deborah, would later become his wife and the central character in this memoir. She was the person who would bring Ron Hall and Denver Moore together as friends.

After he and Deborah were married, Ron become an international art dealer. While Ron was getting rich selling the works of painters like Picasso, Denver got fed up with being a slave, jumped on a train passing through Red River Parish, and ended up homeless. Desperate in trying to survive with no money and no education, Denver become a hardened criminal, which got him ten years in Louisiana’s Angola prison. When he got out of prison, he ended up homeless in Ft. Worth. There, Denver ate meals downtown at the Union Gospel Mission.

While Ron was traveling and making lots of money buying and selling art he got himself involved in an extra marital affair. Meanwhile, his wife was home with the kids and getting involved in their church. Ron confessed his sins to Deborah. After at lot of discussion, she agreed to work on forgiveness if he would promise to stop the affair, give his heart to God, and work on becoming the husband he had promised to be.

As a part of her faith journey, Deborah started serving lunch every Tuesday at the Union Gospel Mission in downtown Ft. Worth. (This is why Denver Moore came to trust her, "for most rich folk don't last more than a few weeks.") There, she came in contact with him and got to know Denver. She figured he needed a friend to help him get on his feet. With a lot of work, she convinced her husband to go to the mission, meet Denver, and work at becoming his friend. As you might expect, this friendship didn't happen over night. I was amazed and happy when I read that Ron picked up Denver at the mission and took him to a Starbucks for coffee. This was the beginning of a "forever friendship."

You should not miss reading all of the details of this friendship and how it changed the lives of Denver Moore and Ron and Deborah Hall. This way cool story is a miracle.

The Haunted Bookshop (1919) by Christopher Morley. This was a great Christmas read! I started reading the book on Christmas Eve and finished it on Christmas Day. The story is set in a used bookshop in Brooklyn in 1919. If you read it, you’ll not only enjoy a terrific mystery but you'll also learn about the proprietor’s favorite reads. The book contains wonderful pen and ink sketches of the old bookshop, the characters, and major events as the story unfolds. As a former bookshop owner, I got a special thrill from reading this story. This book will find its place in my permanent collection, for I’ll want to read it again and again.

Now and then you stumble onto these gems; this is one of the many joys of reading. I picked up a copy of a 1919 hardcover for $2.98 at a used bookshop in Chapel Hill, NC. You can find used copies online.

Lost in Translation (1998) is a novel by Nicole Mones. This is Mones first novel and it’s quite good. The story is set in China and includes references to real people and events to give the fiction some historical reality.

The story takes us on an archaeological dig for the bones of "the Peking Man," which was believed to be one of the first men who evolved on earth. The story follows the path of the real dig by the French Catholic priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who wrote The Phenomenon of Man. This priest got in trouble with the church for trying to bring together the scriptural account of creation with the study of evolution. Mones creates a fascinating fictional dig to mirror the earlier dig of the priest.

December 2009

2009-11-30T08:29:00.035-05:00

Here is a review of the books I read in November 2009

Excellent:

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind (2009) ...creating currents of electricity & hope, is a memoir by William Kamkwamba (with Bryan Mealer). This is a book for everyone. This would be a fantastic book to buy as a holiday gift for an adult or a elementary or high school student.

There is more to learn from reading this book than how we might harness energy from the wind. For example, you'll have a better understanding of how subsistence farmers in Africa suffer when their crops fail; feel the hurt when family and friends die of starvation; and learn about Malawi culture and religion. You'll be so inspired by this boy's success in overcoming poverty that you'll need Kleenex to wipe the tears of joy from your eyes.

This is the inspiring story of a boy raised in on a small subsistence farm in Malawi, Africa. Armed with curiosity and determination to figure out how things work, he conducts rudimentary experiments and uses the knowledge to tackle bigger and more complex projects.

The family farm sometimes provides enough food for the family to eat and occasionally with a little money left to cover other family needs. But there was never enough money left to pay the $80 a year tuition required for William or the other children to go to the one room village school. After being turned away from the government school, William stays home to keep working in his family's field. In his spare time, he invents and implements experiments to figure out how things work. For example, William studied the parts and circuit board of an old transistor radio to figure out how it works as his first effort to understand electricity.

William and his cousin Geoffry visited the village library. There they sort through the all of the books contained in a single bookcase. William discovers two textbooks of interest. One book is Explaining Physics and the other, which was almost hidden on the bottom shelf next to the Malawi to English dictionary, is Using Energy. Although handicapped by a lack of schooling, William first studied Using Energy, then moved along to study, Explaining Physics. He repeatedly checks these two books out of the library and often reads them by oil lamp in the dark room where he slept on a mat.

When you get to the thrilling climax of this story you'll be thrilled with how William uses old and sometimes rusted parts or creates parts from junk that he finds at the village scrap yard or, for example, PVC pipe dug from the yard of an abandoned home. When his first tiny light bulb lights, you might jump out of your easy chair and shout "Wow, this is great!"

William is celebrated by the people in his village and then, of course, he is discovered throughout Africa and beyond. He is sent to international conferences and enrolled in schools at no charge. Wait until you read his words of shock when he walks into New York City. You're about to celebrate the life of William Kamkwamba.

After considering what you've read, you might decide to send a child from a developing country to school. In most cases the cost of tution is as small for you as it is great for the childs parents. Here's an idea. Put a coffee can in the center of your kitchen table. Dump your loose pennies, nickels, and dimes into the can at every meal. You might discover that your family can send more than one child to school in some far off land.

The Last Chinese Chef (2007) is a novel by Nicole Mones. You'll quickly discover that Mones is an exceptional writer. This was my second reading of this novel and I suspect I will read it again. The book has a good plot, but for me the real attraction is the excitement of learning about a broader range of Chinese food, including gourmet Chinese cooking, and in learning more about the richness of Chinese culture. Some Americans routinely picture the Chinese in terms of the peasants of 50 or more years ago. There are still peasants in rural China, but were we to visit China we'd gather from this book that we'll find modern cities, a culture of successful business people and students, and exquisite Chinese cuisine. The cuisine of China is much broader than the narrow choices offered by American Chinese restaurants. When you finish reading this book it wouldn't be surprising if you look for a gourmet Chinese cookbook. I would like to have the experience of eating a lot of the food I read about in this book.

I want to call to your attention the quotes from Liang Wei, The Last Chinese Chef, (the grandfather of the novel character, Liang Cheng). These quotes from old Wei appear at the beginning of each chapter. They are so well done I Googled the Internet to see if I could find a copy of what I believed to be the actual cookbook. The quotes are fictional, written by Nicole Mones for this book and they illustrate her broad experience and exposure to China.

Nicole Mones is an American who now lives in Portland, Oregon. She is a frequent contributor to Gourmet Magazine. She started a textile business in China at the end of the Cultural Revolution and she operated her business and lived there for 18 years. Her first novel, Lost in Translation, is at the top of my to be read stack. I'll review it next month.

The Glass Castle (2005) is a memoir by Jeanette Walls. This book is the winner of numerous awards and was on the New York Times best seller list for three years. I suggest you read the author's new true story novel, Half Broke Horses, first (see my November 2009 book review) before reading The Glass Castle. This is the life story of the author's grandmother and grandfather. The author wrote Half Broke Horses from the stories her mother spoke to her. Her mother and father live homeless on the streets of New York City. The author lived on New York's Park Avenue and now lives with her husband on a horse farm in Virginia.

You'll discover the author, her sisters, and brother lived in poverty and were grossly mistreated by their parents. It is unbelievable to me how parents could suffer their kids through the way they chose to live. "When sober, Jeanette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his kids imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly." You'll also read about his dark side which was totally destructive.

Ultimately each of the kids follow the lead of the eldest sister who is the first to run away. One by one they travel alone by bus to New York City where they find jobs. When they arrive they live with the eldest sister and then as they can support themselves they move to live in a place of their own. The parents eventually follow them to New York but choose to live on the streets.

Do you need to read this story? I needed to read it and I suspect that you'll agree that you needed to read it. Before reading it, I had little understanding of the extent to which kids suffer at the hand of their parents. The mother, who is the daughter of the pioneer mother (Jeanette's grandmother) written about in the biography Half Broke Horses. One of the grandmother's kids, the author's mother, could have been expected to have excelled from her upbringing. She instead met and married a real screwball.

Know this is not a fun read, but you'll have insight into the decisions people make to commit themselves to living on the street. Kids living as these kids lived should have been rescued years before they ran away.

Cool Sides

The Balthazar Cookbook (2003) by Keith Mcnally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hanson. I bought the beautiful hardback edition (it is only published as a hardback). This book includes an interesting Foreward and an Introduction that tells the story of New York's Balthazer Restaurant and it's owner (McNally) and his Co-Chefs (Riad and Hanson). What follows is one of the most beautiful and interesting cookbooks I've seen. It includes color photographs and the recipes for the restaurant's celebrated dishes.

I'd like to prepare the Plateau Des Fruits De Mer for a gathering (perhaps a fund raiser). This is a three-tiered display containing a variety of fresh seafood (oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp, lobster, etc.) with three dipping sauces. The book includes the recipes for making the sauces. All of the seafood is beautifully arranged on beds of ice. You can order one of these creations at the restaurant for a large party. Oh yeah, bring it on!

I also want to prepare the French pomme frites just as they are prepared in Paris. In contrast, American French fries which are once fried, the far tastier twice-blanced French pomme frites taste much better. And among the other recipes, I want to prepare the roasted chicken for two (which will actually serve 3-4), even though my family is quite content with eating my rosemary roasted chicken.

The Supper of the Lamb (1967) by Robert Farrar Capon. This is a book about food and cooking. More people know of the author as the highly respected Episcopalian Priest, Father Robert Farrar Capon. He is the author of more than 50 books about religion, including Bible commentaries. I recently purchased my umpteenth copy of The Supper of the Lamb (with previously purchased copies ending up who knows where). Buying a new or used copy of this book to give as a holiday present for friends or family could be a remembered and treasured gift You might want to buy yourself a copy and read it before deciding to buy a copy to give as a gift.

The lead story is, Lamb for Eight Persons Four Times ("is not simply a recipe. It is a way of life."). This material is presented in 52 pages and offers the reader a bit of an enjoyable, but perhaps a curmudgeonly diatribe on understanding the difference between ferial (frugal) dining and festal dining (never serve a whole anything), the economies of buying a whole leg of lamb ("It does produce thrty-two servings from a single leg of lamb."), a parable, the right way to cut the vegetables, and finally the recipe for the suggested lamb dishes.

I especially love Chapter 8, Water in Excelsis, which is of course about the vicissitudes of "earth's old September love revived: C6H12O6=2C2H5OH+2CO2." Oh come on now, we're not talking about an alchoholic beveridge here; we're talking about wine. A lot of things we consumme have in them some acids and alcohol. Father Capon says that Martin Luther himself would turn over in his grave if he knew that Welch's Grape Juice has replaced wine, which was the approved communion for 19 centuries after the institution of the Eucharist. "Do they seriously envision St. Paul, Calvin, or Luther opening bottles of Welch's Grape Juice in the sacristy before the service?"

There is a significant portion of the book dedicated to his family recipes, both within the text of various chapters and in a significant end section of the book. I especially like Father Capon's recipe for Chicken Paprikash and Indian Lamb Curry. Both are delicious!

November 2009

2009-11-03T10:46:00.023-05:00

Here is a review of books I read in October 2009

Excellent:

Half Broke Horses (2009) is a novel biography by Jeannette Smith Walls. The author calls this a "true life novel," because she wrote the biography of her grandmother's life based on the stories her mother, Rosemary, spoke to her about her grandmother. The story is told in the voice of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. Lily says, "I was born in a dugout on the banks of Salt Draw in 1901." Salt Draw is a town in New Mexico, and Lily informs us she was born on the banks of the Salt River.

I first learned of people living in dugouts when reading Willa Cather's wonderful book, My Antonia. In the old days, on lands where there was very little lumber, folks dug a big hole in the side of a hill to be their home. They used lumber to board up the front of the cave, with a door, and perhaps a window too. Ceiling, walls, and the floor of the abode were dirt. It is difficult for me to imagine living in such a home.

In this case, Lily's father, who was born on a ranch in Hondo Valley, New Mexico, in 1868, dug out a hole in the side of the river bank. "The dugout had one room, a packed earth floor, a wooden door, a waxed-paper window, and a cast-iron stove with a flue that jutted up through the sod roof." We're further informed, "The worst thing about it was that, from time to time, scorpions, lizards, snakes, gophers, centipedes, and moles wormed their way out of our walls and ceilings. Once, in the middle of an Easter dinner, a rattler dropped onto the table. Dad, who was carving the ham, brought the knife right down behind that snakes head!" What a beginning, but the rest of the story provides a great adventure about what it was like to be raised in the Southwest in the early years of our country. (As a point of reference, William McKinley took office in March, 1898, was assassinated in September, 1901, and Theodore Roosevelt took office.)

The family farmed and in addition to their garden raised cattle and horses. They broke wild horses and sold them to farmers. Lily became the family expert at breaking horses, including her horse, Patches. Lily rode her horse to her teaching jobs throughout Arizona. Years later, Lily would buy and drive a car, then learn to fly and become a free-lance pilot.

The Smith's moved to Arizona early in her life. Lily grows up with less than a high school education, but at that time with just enough schooling to get positions teaching in one-room school houses in little Arizona towns. She eventually moved to Chicago.

Lily completed her high school and college education as she moved to new destinations. She married a two-timing bum in Chicago. She thought him to have work out of town, but in reality he was alternating stays with two wives. Lily ends up divorcing him and going back to the Southwest where she marries a good man. He is a mechanic that operates a garage. She teaches and for a time sold boot leg whiskey out the back door of their house to help make ends meet. When the time came to run, they had saved enough money to buy a ranch and they become successful ranchers. The adventures of the ups and downs of ranch life continue, including the beginning of the story about her mother, Lily's daughter, Rosemary. Rosemary is the author's mother.

This story is meaningful to me as my father was born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1914. Grandpa and Grandma moved back to Indiana shortly after dad was born, when grandma crawled into bed one night and discovered she was in the company of a rattlesnake that was coiled under the sheets.

Half Broke Horses is a marvelous story of the old Southwest. If you haven't already read the previously written biography of the author, it is a great time to read Half Broke Horse before reading the author's New York Times best-selling memoir, The Glass Castle. I'm reading it now.

Very Good

Benjamin Franklin, An American Life (2003) is a biography written by Walter Isaacson. This is another of the 500 plus page biographies you'll find about our founding fathers and presidents in your local bookshop. This book is well-written, however, while it is often engaging, it is at times tiresome reading. I had to work to stick with it, taking frequent rest breaks as I read. I confess near the end I was thinking, "I'll be glad when I have finished reading this book". Overall it is a very good book and I encourage you to read it, because Franklin is a fascinating and a very important character. He was "America's best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist. He alone was a contributing writer, shaper, editor, and signer of all of the four of our founding papers including The Declaration of Independence, the treaty with France, the peace accord with Britain, and the Constitution."

Franklin "proved by flying a kite that lightening was electricity, and he invented a rod to prove it. He devised bifocal glasses and clean burning stoves, charts of the Gulf Stream, and theories about the contagious nature of the common cold." He was a great experimenter. I especially enjoyed reading about his experiments that prove that oil smooths rough waters. He also "launched various improvement schemes, such as the lending library, college, volunteer fire corps, insurance association, and matching grant fund-raiser." He proposed plans for uniting the colonies, helped to develop the model for a national government, and was steadfast in politicking leaders of the colonies to join together to become a union.

Franklin was a middle class guy who was a leather-apron tradesman. As he progressed into politics he became a world traveler and diplomat (and was eventually awarded a number of honorary doctors degrees for his achievements). Franklin was often very cheerful and self-depreciating. With a big smile and twinkling eyes he reached out to all he met. He didn't bear grudges to his enemies, reaching out to all but his son, William, a British loyalist who fought American independence and in doing so fought his father.

Old Ben was a ladies man who seemingly couldn't chase too many women at one time. He was married to Deborah, but he had convenience partners nearly everywhere he traveled. He was a live in partner to two women and their families in Paris (which was clearly his favorite place to be). Ben was big on having a big time, making sure that he had all of the pleasures that were important to him. However, he was also generous in giving to others, including significant care for his children and his partners children. On the other hand, Franklin was not without faults (in addition to womanizing). He owned two slaves and didn't support the abolition of slavery until he had a change of heart late in life. He finally authored an important paper that promoted the abolition of slavery.

It is interesting to me how biographers treat their subjects. In his book, John Adams, David McCullough, who has been criticized for making his books too readable at the expense of reality, left me with a bad feelings about Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. To the contrary, Walter Isaacson opened my mind to the faults of John Adams, portraying him to be self-centered and often a whining and nasty man, while trumpeting the qualities of Franklin. He also elevated my opinion of Jefferson, writing about the cordiality and goodness of his interactions with Adams and Franklin. However, the fault of Jefferson that to me is unforgivable, was his use of a slave woman who bore his child. He used her as his wife after his wife died and when he died, although bankrupt, he left her and the child nothing (when he could have left her with much to sustain her and the child). Adams is the only one of the three men who never owned a slave and he was against slavery throughout his life.

The Gift of the Magi (1906) and other short stories by O. Henry. This book also includes The Cop and the Anthem, Springtime a' la Carte, The Green Door, After Twenty Years, The Furnished Room, The Pimienta Pancakes, The Last Leaf, The Voice of the City, While Auto Waits, A Retrieved Reformation, A Municipal Report, A Newspaper Story, The Ransom of Red Chief, A Ghost of a Chance, and Makes the Whole World Kin.

These are great stories from a gifted writer who is well-known for injecting his "twists in the tale." My Grandson, John Curran, loves the tale, The Ransome of Red Chief. My favorite is The Gift of the Magi.

Who do you think O. Henry is? Where do you think he came from? I had heard of him, but I don't know what I thought, except I thought of him as a mystery (and perhaps a European who lived in the middle ages).

Born William Sidney Porter in 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina, O. Henry migrated to Texas and where he worked on a ranch. He then became a bank teller in Austin, Texas, and later a reporter for the Houston Post. In 1896 he was indicted for the embezzlement of bank funds and sentenced to prison. He started writing stories in prison. When he was released, he moved to New York and wrote many stories for the newspaper, The New York World. He died a pauper but left a legacy through his stories. After reading these stories I bought the Modern Library book which contains all of his short stories. I'll provide a review of this collection at a later date.

October 2009

2009-10-05T13:04:00.012-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in September 2009

Excellent:

True Compass (2009) by Edward (a.k.a. Ted and Teddy) Kennedy. This book is well written and reveals much about the life of Ted Kennedy. The book doesn't answer the questions that people have about the Chappaquiddick tradgedy.

The history is presented in four parts. Part One is about family and the details of Ted's life from childhood to his early years at Harvard. It was interesting to learn what it was like for him to be the little Teddy, the youngest child of the Kennedy clan. His older brothers, John and Bobby, and his father, Joesph P. Kennedy, took a real interest in teaching Teddy. For example, John spent a lot of time teaching Teddy how to sail. And he learned a lot about politics and serving his country from both John and Bobby. His father was articulate in teaching the kids moral values.

Teddy was a cheerful little fellow even as he worked to overcome what I perceived to be a learning disability. The letters he wrote to his father when he was the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, were typical of kids who have difficulty reading, writing, and spelling. It’s obvious that his dad loved getting his notes and encouraged him to write often.

My memory of earlier reading is that Winston Churchill described Ted’s father as a man who spent every night in London bars and cheated on his wife, Rose. Ted provides enough specifics about his father's character that I am skeptical of the image Churchill portrayed. Kennedy resisted the U.S. becoming involved in World War II until it was necessary and Churchill blamed him for it.

Part Two, Brotherhood, details Ted's experiences helping brother, John, in his presidential race, and his involvement in his brother's administration. He also detailed his efforts in campaigning for brother, Bobby, in his run to become president. As you would expect, this part provides a lot of detail about the assassinations of his brothers and how he and his family coped with the tragedies. Part of this history brought back memories of my youth, especially of the Cuba “Bay of Pigs Invasion,” when President Kennedy called up 16,000 Air Force Reservists to active duty. I was one of the 16,000. His action worked. After I was inoculated against world diseases and stood at the ready to fly into all sorts of interesting hot spots, I in fact never left Indiana's Bakalar Air Force Base. In fact, we were released the day before Thanksgiving, serving only two months of active duty. This part of the book revealed the details to help me better understand the call up.

My favorite reading in this part was of the time the new senator, Ted Kennedy, called on the old powerhouse Senator James O. Eastland, of Mississippi, to ask him for his preferred committee assignments. Ted didn't have to ask. Old Eastland was ahead of the curve. Kennedy describes the humor and way in which Eastland gave him exactly what he wanted, but with a demand for each assignment that Ted had difficulty swallowing. I won't tell you about Eastland's demand because it would spoil the fun of reading about it.

Part Three, On My Own, provides details about Senator Kennedy's peer relationships, as well as his experiences working with the presidents he served. It’s interesting history but not as lively as other parts. His reporting of the Nixon years was very interesting. For example, we learn that Nixon was ruthless in authorizing spies whom he ordered to find dirt on the people on his infamous “enemies list.” Kennedy was one of Nixon's biggest enemies. From other reading I learned the Secret Service didn’t find the dirt Nixon hoped for. It's in this part that Kennedy gives us his account of the accident at Chappaquiddick.

Part Four documents Ted Kennedy's renewal which includes writing about his wife, Vicki, the woman he says changed his life. He also accounts his fighting for political survival as the mood of the country began to change during the Regan years, as well as his experiences during the Clinton and Bush years and being a part in President Barack Obama’s successful campaign. And in the end, Kennedy details his perseverance in living well as he waited to die of cancer.

The best writing about his final days comes to us in the book Prologue. It’s clear that he wrote of the end of this life's journey with the faith about the journey after life.

Across the Endless River (2009) is a novel by Thad Carhart. This is an excellent historical novel set in places and in a time that is unique to what some of us have read. The subject is the Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, son of the Shoshone Indian woman Sacagawea (a.k.a. the bird-woman) and her French Canadian husband and fur trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau. With her knowledge of a number of Indian languages she was able to translate to Toussaint in the Indian language he knew and in turn, he served as the translator for Lewis & Clark in their expedition. Afterward, the boy’s parents asked Captain William Clark to assume responsibility for getting their son properly educated. As a result Jean-Baptiste leaves the frontier at an early age to live with the Clark's in St. Louis and receive much of his schooling there. However, he travels with his parents when he is not in school. On the frontier he learns the ways of the Indians, the beauty as well as the hardships of the wilderness, and about animals, hunting, and trading fur and skins. He learns French from his father and a number of Indian languages from his mother.

As Jean-Baptiste journeys in the wilderness, along comes a European Duke from the country of Wiirttemburg (now part of Germany) who has come to the American frontier to gather samples of flora and fauna, learn the ways of the native Americans, and while doing so acquire Indian memorabilia. Jean-Baptiste becomes his guide and teacher. When the Duke is ready to return to Europe he asks Jean-Baptiste to accompany him to help him document his collection and establish a museum. This affords the Jean-Baptiste the opportunity to learn the ways of Europeans, more languages, and to enjoy romance with women in Wiirttemburg and Paris.

This well-researched story offers the reader the excitement of the wilderness, including an incredible buffalo hunt, as well as a marvelous look at 1800's Europe. This is a fascinating historical novel which stands apart from what we usually find in bookshops.

This first novel establishes Thad Carhart, the writer of his bestselling memoir, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, as a first-rate novelist.

Strength in What Remains (2009) is the incredible story of Deogratias Niyizonkiz (a.k.a. Deo) by Tracy Kidder. Kidder is the author of many best-selling non-fiction books, including Mountains Beyond Mountains, the inspiring story of Dr. Paul Farmer.

Deo is an African who miraculously escapes a war in his native Burundi and eventually ends up in New York with only $200 in his pocket. He had been a medical student in Burundi when he found himself on the run in the war between the Hutu's and Tutsis in both Burundi and Rwanda. His escape from certain death was a miracle in itself, but surviving on the streets of New York without money, necessary language skills, and in a world so vastly different than Africa, was nearly as bewildering and terrifying as his escape from Africa. After living as a homeless person who slept in Central Park, Deo meets and even tries to dodge a well-meaning ex-nun who never gave up in her determination to help this poor man. She proves that dedicated caregivers make a difference! She ultimately finds a home for Deo and with a lot of help from her friends he ends up enrolling at Columbia University. Following his undergraduate work, Deo is once again enrolled in medical school. You'll never guess where he ends up! I'm not telling and revealing the surprising development that is likely to result in your leaning back in your recliner and saying, “What a wonderful coincidence.” You're about to become a believer in miracles!

Good

The Optimist's Daughter (1969) is a novel by Eurdora Welty. It's a classic written by a highly esteemed and much loved writer. It is a good yarn, and about an all too believable relationship between a step-daughter and step-mother as they are forced to work together to bury dear old dad. Some will find this book to be a heart breaking but at the same time humorous conclusion to the splendid life of Judge McKelva of Mount Salus, Mississippi. Some might even think, as I do, that this is an all too believable old time, small-town Mississippi scenario. How in the world did the judge ever get mixed up with the likes of his second wife, Fay? The poor old boy was lonesome after the death of his first and treasured wife and he ends up getting hooked by a real carpetbagger! That's my say.

September 2009

2009-09-03T12:16:00.002-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in August 2009.

Excellent

South of Broad (2009) is a novel by Pat Conroy. As far as I am concerned, this book is a fine work of art. The art begins with the prologue, in which the author uses words as brilliant brush strokes of luminous color to describe Charleston (SC), or as he calls it, “The Mansion on the River.” I immediately wanted to become part of the soul of this city. I did, and you will too, because Conroy makes the reader part of the city he loves.

This big book is delivered in five parts.

Part One: (June 16, 1969). Conroy introduces the main character and narrator, Leopold Bloom King, and each member of his family. His mother, Dr. King, is a former Roman Catholic nun who is tougher than nails. Leopold is usually called Leo unless he is in trouble with Dr. King. Then he is called “Leopold Bloom King!” His mother is intellectually devoted to James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, which Leo describes as being perhaps the worst novel ever written. She is a Joyce scholar and also Leo’s high school principal. Leo’s super father, Jasper, is a science teacher who reports to his mother at school and at home. Father and son are often in trouble, generally hang together, and they are the best of friends.

The author also introduces Leo’s many school friends in this chapter. There are a lot of characters, but it wasn’t a problem for me to keep track of them. Conroy brings together a diverse set of characters that are young and old, rich and poor, beautiful and not so beautiful, black and white, straight and gay. They include the sons and daughters of Charleston aristocrats, orphans, African Americans, and the school bully. All are equally special.

The remaining chapters of Part One take us through Leo’s high school years. I especially love his description of his newspaper route as he makes his way on his bicycle through historic Charleston.

Part Two: We move forward to the characters’ adult lives and careers. Leo is a famous and highly respected newspaper columnist for the paper he used to deliver. Most of his friends are doing well, and Leo continues to be involved with them. When they learn that one of their high school friends has disappeared and is dying of AIDS, the friends come together to try to find him with the hope of helping him. In the process, they become part of a mystery involving the father of the dying man and his sister.

Part Three: Some of the friends travel west and find themselves in a run-down San Francisco neighborhood where people dying of AIDS go to a silent death. As they look for their dying friend, they become deeply involved in a mystery that will keep you riveted to the plot until you finish the book.

Part IV: Conroy gives us a rude awakening when he shifts the story back in time to high school events that cemented the relationships between Leo and his friends. It is hard for the reader to accept getting yanked away from the great mystery that is unfolding in their adult lives, but this part well worth reading. It includes an exceptionally exciting high school football season, along with other events that ultimately strengthen the characters resolve when the going gets tough in San Francisco.

Part V: Fasten your safety belts and get ready to live through the chase in San Francisco, returning home to live through Charleston’s great hurricane and the thrilling climax to the mystery.

I love this book. I read it while on vacation in the North Carolina mountains. Family members that shared a quaint mountain cottage with us will tell you they heard me chuckling and sometimes laughing loudly as I read this book. They also noticed me wiping a few tears from my eyes. This novel is so good it’s worth the price of the hardback edition. I know I’ll read it again.

Bean Blossom Dreams (1994) is an excellent memoir by Sally J. Murphey. It was interesting for a guy like me to read this book about Chicagoans who moved to Indiana, as I was born in Indiana and moved to Chicago. The ten years or so that that we lived in Chicago’s near north side were so wonderful that I’ll always consider myself to be a Chicagoan.

Although the Murpheys don’t pinpoint the Chicago neighborhood they lived in, I’d gather it to have been the near north and near my favorite haunts. After their daughter Charley was born, the Murpheys wanted her to be raised in the country. They dreamed the dream of so many people—to buy and live on a farm where they could live off the land. Unlike most dreamers, they actually did buy a farm in beautiful Brown County, Indiana. This book is a very special rendering of what it was like to make that leap and the joy this family experienced in learning to be first class organic farmers (before organic became cool).

Nashville and Brown County State Park have a special place in my heart. My Dad and Mom took my brother and I there often, especially in the fall to see the colorful autumn leaves in hills ‘o Brown. We loved to go to the Nashville House Restaurant on Sundays to eat baked ham, sweet taters, green beans, and hot biscuits with lots of melted butter and big dollops of Nashville House homemade apple butter.

Sally’s farm recipes and instructions for making homemade Christmas gifts are included in the appendix. I was thrilled to discover that she was able to get and print the recipe for the Nashville House apple butter. I can’t wait for the fall apples to start arriving at the market. My daughter, Stephanie, and I are going to make and put up a couple dozen jars of apple butter!

Good

Keep Going (2006), The Art of Perseverance, by Lakota Indian James M. Marshall III. This book documents powerful native American wisdom that the author learned from his grandfather. Reading the great truths contained in this book is not to be rushed. Every paragraph is chock full of wisdom that must be reflected on before moving on. (You might want to install a book rack in your bathroom and have this volume at the ready for reading and silent meditation.) When you’re finished reading this book, you’ll need to start again at the beginning. I dare say you might end up reading it over and over again, maybe for the rest of your life, until all of the great truths sink in.

Far Appalachia (2001) is a memoir by Noah Adams, of National Public Radio. Mr. Adams travels by canoes, raft, and on foot along the New River, from its source in the North Carolina Mountains, through Virginia, and on to its West Virginia mouth. Adams is a native of Kentucky, and he ponders his heritage as he meets the people in Appalachia and listens to their stories.

August 2009

2009-07-30T11:42:00.005-04:00

Here is a review of books I read in July 2009:

Exceptional

The Piano Shop on the Left Bank (2001), Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, is a memoir by Thad Carhart. When we become part of his story, the author is following up on his childhood passion of playing the piano. In the process he discovers a wonderful piano shop in his Paris neighborhood. When he first walks in, there is just a small room with piano tools and piano parts. When someone opens a door from another room to speak to him, he learns that the business is not set up for casual walk-in trade. To get beyond the entryway and into the guts of the building where used pianos are meticulously restored, one must get a referral from an existing customer. When he finally succeeds in getting a referral, Carhart discovers the private door leads to a sunny, glass-roofed cement courtyard where, Luc, the owner, restores and sells pianos. Behind this space is yet another room full of pianos. The pianos come to Luc through his network of friends and often come with a remarkable history.

After numerous visits to find a special piano that would fit into his small Paris apartment, Thad agrees to buy a piano recommended by Luc. This becomes the beginning of a wonderful friendship with Luc and with Luc’s friends, who are primarily other customers. Thad visits the shop often to chat, have a bite to eat and lift a glass of wine at impromptu parties in the shop. Luc is always keen to show off his new acquisitions and generally offers Thad the chance to sit down to play them. Readers are also treated to the author’s experiences in learning to play the piano well after many years of not playing, as well as his descriptions of the intricacies of getting his piano tuned.

I don’t play the piano, but I love pianos. We have a wonderful 1924 baby grand piano, and I love to be my wife’s audience as she treats me to her music. This is my second reading of this book, and I’m quite sure I’ll read it again. I have read other books about pianos including Grand Obsession by Perri Knize (see my review below) and Piano Lessons, by Noah Adams, which I’ll read for the second time in August and post a review next month.

Carhart does not reveal the location of the shop. He promised Luc he would not reveal the location because the owner does not want to have to deal with tourists or walk-ins. I believe that I may have been in the shop on several occasions before the book was published. I thought it strange there were no pianos in the small room that is accessible through a sidewalk door. See my photo in the left column.

The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951) is a memoir by John Steinbeck. This book details the author’s 4,000 mile voyage around the Baja peninsula into the Sea of Cortez. The purpose of the voyage was to collect, identify, categorize, and preserve samples of sea animals. What you get, in addition to fascinating descriptions of the sea animals, is great reporting about the adventures and good times shared by Steinbeck and the other 6 persons in the crew. You might imagine him to be the crew chief, but in reality, I believe Steinbeck’s friend, the marine biologist Edward F. Ricketts, was the expert. He would later use the knowledge and specimens at his Monterrey Beach California laboratory. This often amusing man was previously written about as the character ‘Doc’ in Steinbeck’s great novel Cannery Row.

I suggest you read both the introduction and the appendix of The Log from the Sea of Sea of Cortez before you start reading Chapter 1. The memoir itself is only 224 pages, but it is so packed with information and insights that it requires a long time to read. It’s well worth the time, though, for a great learning experience. I found myself running to my computer to look up words, maps, and color photographs of the sea animals.The publisher classifies this memoir in the genres of Literature and Science. I’d add Philosophy and Religion, for the reader will get plenty of Steinbeck’s thinking on both.

The Voice at the Back Door (1956) is a novel by the accomplished Chapel Hill, NC author Elizabeth Spencer. Set in the fictional town of Lacey, Mississippi in the 1950s, this mystery reveals how the lives of blacks and whites are intertwined as they live and work in a rural community. In this story, the town grocer becomes the interim sheriff and then runs for election against some tough customers. The result makes this book a thriller that’s hard to put down. A reviewer describes this novel as technically brilliant. I agree.

Good

The Places in Between (2004) is a memoir by Rory Stewart. Stewart writes about his walk across Afghanistan in January 2002, soon after the U.S. invasion. What a harrowing and dangerous journey he had walking through mountains covered with up to 9 feet of snow and through hamlets which had been burned and emptied by the Taliban. He picks up a canine companion, Babur, during his walk, which adds to the enjoyment of his struggle to survive. He beds down on the floor of villager’s huts, even in places where he was told it would be much too dangerous to travel. He had to be willing to eat what he could find or what was offered by villagers. He also had to be willing to live without hot showers and clean clothes. The story is interesting and well written, but you might wish the presentation to be livelier.

July 2009

2009-06-30T15:39:00.014-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in June 2009

Exceptional

The Girl of the Sea of Cortez (1982) is a wonderful novel by the late Peter Benchley. Before I tell you what a fabulous beach read this is, I should tell you the book is out of print. The good news is that you can buy used copies on the Internet. I just bought two to give away, for I’ll not surrender mine. I bought my hard copy edition at Kroch’s and Brentano's in Chicago’s Water Tower Place when the book was first published in 1982.

It was appropriate that I read this book just before Father’s Day, for this story details the very special relationship between a daughter and her father. Unfortunately, the good father’s son is one of the story’s villains.

The father initially pairs his daughter with his wife so that she can to learn how to cook and clean house, while he pairs himself with his son to teach him everything he knows about the sea, its great beauty, and how to respect sea life. But the son isn’t interested in learning. The father returns him to the house to learn from his mother and takes the daughter to the sea instead. The daughter is a willing pupil. She learns as much as she can from her father before he is killed in a violent chubasco storm (look it up on http://www.wikipedia.com/). These storms occur suddenly and without warning. Anyone caught in a chubasco at sea stands no chance of surviving.

This story then becomes the beach story of all beach stories. Bury the point of your umbrella deep within the sand, open your chair, and then relax and read this book until you’ve turned the last page. If you love the book as much as I, you might want to read it every year.

The story is set at and within the depths of the beautiful Sea of Cortez (refer to the map in the left column). An experienced diver, Benchley seduces the reader with his vivid descriptions of sea life. You’ll note that he was an environmentalist long before it was cool to be one (read his biography on Wikipedia). He said he regretted writing Jaws in a way that villainized sharks, which he later appreciated as beautiful animals that more often than not swim away from humans.

Mudbound (2008) is an award winning novel by Hillary Jordan. Thanks to Wanda Jewell, the Director of the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Association (SIBA) for suggesting I read this book and the other two finalists for the SIBA 2009 award for fiction (http://www.sibaweb.com/). I’ll consider reading the other two finalists in July.

Mudbound tells the story of a white farm family and a black sharecropper family whose lives are brought together on a cotton farm in Mississippi. Get ready to put your foot in the wet soil and become mudbound. The sons of the farmer and the sharecropper return to the farm after serving in World War II, only to face the war of hatred going on at home. The parents are living out the distrust and hatred created by prejudice. The sons are there, but not really there, as they slip off to drink themselves to oblivion to ward off their traumatic nightmares of the terror and killing they experienced in the war. You’ll get sick from all the violent war memories that are described.

At first, the families work together as well as can be expected, as each family strives to respect the standards for racial prejudice as set down by their Mississippi community. But as the story moves forward, the families move further apart as their relationship is tested again and again. As you’d expect, it gets mean, and then violent. While continuing to try to protect each other, the sons are drawn in and eventually become the objects of the violence.

This is a good read, but having said that, I’ll say I’d have preferred to see the characters come to love and help each other, rather than the reverse. But perhaps we do need to be reminded of the hateful past.

The author succeeds in showing the reader how bad it was and makes you glad you’re not living the life of the characters. Loving is a whole lot better!

Very Good

Trail of Crumbs (2008) Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home. This is a memoir by Kim Sunée. Okay. Where do I start on this one? On one hand, you’ll get sick and tired of Kim’s whining and self pity. It’s “poor me” over and over again. On the other hand, most of us were not abandoned in a Korean marketplace with a couple of biscuits mashed in our hands and left to wander about trailing crumbs for three days before we were carted off to an orphanage … and then adopted by Americans and dragged off to “New Awlins.” Add to this the fact that she apparently felt like she truly bonded with only one of her parents. (I’ve read that her adoptive mother has not spoken to Kim since she wrote this book.)

I hasten to add that I find her life to be fascinating (except for the part where she throws good fortune to the wind). I’ll tell you what, if I was her, I’d still be ensconced in the fabulous mansion in Provence where she eventually ends up, with its luxurious kitchen and the bountiful supply of food that is available at the village markets. I’ve been there, so I know what those markets offer! I also loved the local characters. I think I’d be glad to cook for a big table every night, but who knows, maybe I’d tire of it in the same way she did. I guess I can’t blame her for leaving the boyfriend who owned the place if she didn’t love him.

If you love to cook as I do, I think you’ll love this book and all of its recipes. The New York Times calls it “a compelling, confessional memoir.” They got that right. It is compelling and way too confessional. Man-o-day, this lady lets it all hang out!

Good

Olive Kitteridge (2008) is a novel by Elizabeth Strout. Actually the book is a collection of 13 short stories that come together as a novel. Each story reveals the eccentricities of one or more characters in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine. Olive is the main character and she surfaces in all of the stories. Some might excuse her by saying, “Oh, you know, Olive is just a real character.” For most of the book she is a real grouch. In the end, Olive becomes sort of nice. You’ll love her husband, Henry, and in the end, I’m guessing you’ll sort of love Olive too.

This book is a winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. As I have said before, the fact that it won a Pulitzer doesn’t necessarily make it a prize. I could have picked many other works of fiction that I’ve liked much better than this book. However, it remains that the Pulitzer board of 77 journalists and academics picked this book as the best work of fiction in 2009. So what can I say? Well, there are two very funny chapters (stories) that make this book, so I guess I can recommend it to you.

June 2009

2009-06-02T15:44:00.010-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in May 2009:

Exceptional ('My Rating' is explained in a left column text box.)

The Blue Sweater (2009) is an inspiring memoir by Jacqueline Novogratz. This book is a great read because the author shares 1) lessons learned in starting and building her career; 2) the ways she integrated herself into the culture and life of the countries where she was working and living; and 3) details about making friends and traveling in the countries to enjoy their natural wonders.

When Novogratz was a child in the 1970’s, her Uncle Ed gave her a soft blue sweater with an African motif printed across the front. The sweater made her dream of places far away. Little did she realize then how that sweater would become a part of her life story. She loved that sweater and wore it all through middle school and into her freshman year in high school until it hugged her curves. When a boy pointed and commented on the picture of the mountain—Kilimanjaro—she promptly donated the sweater to the local Goodwill store. Years later, when she was 25 and jogging in Kigali, Rwanda, a little boy appeared out of nowhere—and he was wearing her sweater. She was sure of it. She ran to him, hugged him, and while at it turned down the collar. Sure enough, there was her name as she had printed it on the tag. Somehow, the sweater had traveled thousands of miles over a decade from Alexandria, VA to Kigali, Rwanda. She must have known at that moment that God was in her journey.

Novogratz was in Rwanda to help establish a micro finance institution for poor women. While doing this and other projects to help lift people out of poverty, she learned that one needed to do more than hand money to someone who had an idea and asked for a loan. She learned to ask questions to determine if the idea was viable, if the person had the experience and skills to ensure the project would be successful, and whether the person had a workable plan. There is much to be learned from this book, especially if you’re involved in charitable projects.

Novogratz tutored both grantors and grantees on the fine points of making and paying back loans. She helped women start their businesses. Some were successful enough to employ other poor people who needed work. I loved her story about The Blue Bakery. She taught a group of women about baking, management, sales, accounting, and leadership skills. At the same time, she learned the necessity of letting the women make their own decisions, and when she needed to pull back and leave them to run their business—and when and how often to pass back through to see how the women were doing and offer advice if they needed and wanted it. While living in the countries where she was working, she lived in neighborhoods, often walked to shop, and made friends where she lived.

I loved reading about her adventure of climbing Mount Nyiragongo, one of Central Africa’s tallest volcanoes in Zaire. She and a male friend from Canada set off on this journey because of their love of hiking and climbing. They had quite a time getting across country borders and through military checkpoints. On one occasion a couple of soldiers jumped into the back seat of their car at a border. With AK-47 rifles across their laps, the soldiers demanded the couple to take them to a place and buy them beer and salty peanuts. There is plenty of armchair travel as the author describes the her adventures, especially the beauty of Africa.

The book takes you through her more than 30 years experience in helping lift significant numbers of people out of poverty in Rwanda, Pakistan, and India. Her experience includes starting a development bank that was then managed by poor women. Later she moved along to demonstrate that no project is too complicated or too big when you build brick by brick—including building clusters of homes for families that desperately needed them.

Novogratz is the founder and a director of the Acumen Fund, which loans money to people who have the ideas and the skills to lift themselves and others out of poverty (http://www.acumenfund.org/).

As a book cover flap promises, the book is a call to action that proves that everyday people can change the world—which is what Jacqueline Novogratz insisted she wanted to do when she graduated from college. This is such a fascinating book. I urge you to read it. This will be among the best books I’ve read in 2009.

Very Good

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009), is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. This is part of the Ladies #1 Detective Agency series, which is one series I don’t avoid. The books are light and bright and especially nice to read between heavy reads. These novels are set in Botswana. Smith was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he taught law in Botswana. He is now the professor emeritus of law at the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Scotland and likely makes a lot of money in retirement from this and several other serial novel series. His books are gentle renderings which speak to lessons many of us learned in life (but ones we sometimes forget).

It occurs to me that the respectful language and way the Botswanians interact with each other is one of the reasons these books are so appealing. The main character, Precious Ramotswe, is the owner of the detective agency which is located in a building adjacent to her husband’s garage. He is none other than Mr. J.L B. Matekoni, the upstanding owner of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors and one of Botswana’s most talented mechanics.

In this volume, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni determines that Mma Ramotswe’s wee old White van is no longer repairable and she is going to have to give it up for a newer car. Fortunately so much is happening that she is eased over the trauma of giving up her beloved van. For one thing, she is helping her assistant, Mma Matkutsi, loose her fiancé from the grip of her notorious arch enemy, the beautiful but wicked Violet Sepotho. However, the two of them are presented with the major detective challenge of finding out why their Gaborone, previous league leading football (soccer) team, is suddenly losing games to the weakest of African teams. Might there be a traitor within the team who is fixing the matches so her client’s team will lose? Mma Ramotswe has never been to a football match in her life, so she and her assistant have much to learn. They have learned, however, there are few cases they can’t solve by using their tried and true techniques (not to mention women’s intuition). As always, taking a time out for cups of African Red Bush tea is a sure remedy to come up with answers. I’ve come to like a cup of Tazo African Red Bush Tea myself now and then, especially when reading the Ladies #1 Detective Agency books.

Good

A Homemade Life (2009) is a memoir by Molly Wizenburg and one which captures rich family memories, especially those related to food. She serves the food up with recipes she has found and modified to her taste. The reader will be struck by Ms. Wizenburg’s deep love for her father, the late Dr. Morris J. Wizenburg, M.D.

I was pulled into this book because of my love of Paris, where the book jacket says she left graduate school to develop cooking skills before returning to her apartment in Seattle. Thus far, I’ve only had enough time to try one of her recipes; one for slo-roasted Roma tomatoes. They were very tasty when roasted for four hours, rather than the suggested 4 to 6 hours. (I made them twice and roasted them on one occasion for four hours and another time for 6 hours.)

The truth is that I’ve already written some of my family memories, which include my favorite recipes. However, I am not a regular contributor, like Molly, to Bon Appétit, nor has my writing been featured on NPR.org, PBS.org, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, and the Seattle Times. Therefore, I suspect I’ll have a difficult time snaring Simon & Schuster to publish my book as she did. My oldest daughter and I have decided to write such a book together, so we’ll give it a shot to pick up Workman, Simon & Schuster, or similar nationally recognized publisher.

I was a bit surprised at about how forthright Molly is in writing about her former lovers, just before she writes about her husband, Brandon. I am quite sure that my wife would not permit me to write in detail about my escapades prior to our marriage.

All the Living (2009) is a novel by C.E. Morgan. This book contains beautiful writing to describe Kentucky people, farms, tobacco farming, country church life, and Kentucky weather, including drought, cloud formations, storm fronts, and a tornado. However, the narrow focus of the story is the abysmal union of the characters, Aloma and Orren. He spends from sunup to sundown working in the fields and has little to say when he comes home to dinner before heading to bed. She spends her days alone, endlessly cleaning his late parents old farmhouse and dreaming about how life could be if she were a thousand miles away in a normal marriage and an up-to-date house in a big city with a husband who isn’t a farmer. She eventually gets a job playing the piano for a country church, but the book flap-promised scenario of her falling in love with the preacher and vice versa really never develops into a serious attachment. The story line is a true-to-life situation involving some backwood folk. But the well-written story is pretty much of a downer.

May 2009

2009-05-04T07:53:00.010-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in April 2009:

Exceptional

The Well and the Mine (2007) is a wonderful first novel by Gin Phillips. Warmly endorsed by Fannie Flagg, author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, it’s my view that this book would be a sensation without Fannie’s endorsement. I want also to add my compliments to the small publisher, Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts, of Portland, Oregon, for this book is exquisitely designed and beautifully bound. I understand the rights have been sold to Penguin. I’m not surprised, because, this book is so good it deserves a big publisher’s distribution and marketing efforts to make it a bestseller.

This is an inspiring story of a coal miner’s family living in a small company town in Alabama during the Great Depression. Surely Gin Phillips has written a biography of her family and added enough mystery to the story to call the work a novel; I don’t know how one could write about these family interactions without having lived them. I like the author’s approach of making every member of the Moore family a narrator. The first speaker, Tess, is the youngest daughter. In my mind, Tess is Gin Phillips. Follow the margins of the book carefully so you’ll recognize changes in speakers when they occur. The other speakers include Tess’ sister Virgie, brother Jack, the extraordinary mother, Leta, and the father, Albert.

The book begins with a mysterious death. Tess is tucked away in a corner of the back porch of their house, a place she loves to sit after dark on a hot summer night. While sitting there listening to the crickets, she sees a woman approach the far corner of the porch with a bundle in her arms. There is enough moonlight for Tess to see what is happening. The woman looks one way and then another, but doesn’t see Tess. Then she unwraps the bundle. Tess sees that it’s a baby and she watches in horror as the woman drops the baby down the Moore’s well. How, she wonders, could a woman throw her very own baby down a well? Tess hears the splash, but she is too scared to make a sound.

From there, you’ll follow the mystery and become engaged in the close knit Moore family life in rural Alabama. The Moores are dirt poor, albeit a little better fixed than some town folk because their place is a small farm where they grow crops and keep animals. Still, food is scarce, and the Moores have to make what food they grow stretch. Their cow provides milk and cream for churning butter, and they have chickens that provide eggs. Potatoes are abundant. Imagine getting a biscuit from your mother’s morning baking and a cold baked potato in your lunch box just about every day. I guess it’s not too hard for me to imagine, for when I was a boy, I carried leftover food or a cold bologna sandwich to school.

The mother, Leta, often gives up some of her food to make sure the family gets what they need. The father makes sacrifices too, like working long days and extra shifts in the mine. After being below ground for 12 hours, he comes home to work in their field. The family works together to take care of the animals.

Albert is extraordinary in being both a labor leader, an excellent father, and a man who reaches out to be a respected friend to fellow miners, including his working partner in the hole, Jonah, an African American. Considering this is the 1930s and in Alabama, Albert takes some heat for being a friend to Jonah.

In one of their conversations, Jonah tells Albert his feelings about the kind of person who might have dropped her baby in the Moore’s well. Albert thinks Jonah has rare insight in to the minds of people. In the end, Tess and Virgie set out to study what happened and who did it. The baby in the well is not the only worry of the Moore family. There are the dangers of the mine to be considered. When an accident occurs, the resulting search and outcome bring a lot of people together. There is also a hit-and-run accident that hurts a member of the family and upsets just about everyone in town. The book contains enough suspense to keep the reader a bit tense, but I found myself not wanting the story to end.

Second Person Rural (1980) is a book of 28 essays by Noel Perrin. This completes my reading of Noel Perrin’s books. The volume is chock full of rich farm stories by the former city dweller.

I especially liked ‘Cow Highway #3’, ‘The Birds, Bees, and Cows’, and ‘Vermont Silences'; in which you’ll learn the subtle communication of non-verbal glances, and short answers. As I look through the contents, I confess there are many other essays I could label as my favorites. For example, ‘The Natives are Restless’ and ‘Maple Recipes for Simpletons’ will bring you closer to Vermont culture. I’ve lived in suburbs and in the heart of one of the best big cities in the world (Chicago). But I confess to wishing I could now live on a small farm to round out my life experience.

Very Good

This Child Will Be Great (2009) is a memoir of the remarkable life of Africa’s first woman president, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

You’ll not only learn about Ms Sirleaf’s amazing life and rise to power but also a great deal about the history of her country, Liberia.

The first thing you’ll learn, I’ll bet is that some of America’s early leaders, including Thomas Jefferson, and their American Colonization Society (ACS) were responsible for Liberia becoming a country. They contributed the money necessary to deport freed blacks to what is now Liberia, which was not a country at that time. The indigenous tribal leaders gave up the land in return for money, trinkets, and alcohol (not really understanding the magnitude of what they gave up forever and the impact on their children).

The truth is that Mr. Jefferson and his friends, including Bushrod Washington (George’s nephew), Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, James Madison, James Monroe, Stephen Douglas, John Randolph, William Seward, Frances Scott Key, General Winfield Scott, John Marshall, and Roger Taney were members and leaders of this organization whose goal it was to return all freed slaves to Africa (because they were afraid of blacks being integrated into American society). Ms. Sirleaf provides some of the names, and I have expanded the list based on subsequent research. Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner and prominent in the founding of the organization.

When they gave up the land, the indigenous people gave up the leadership to the new settlers. The settlers had originally come from other countries in Africa when they were sold into slavery. That the new settlers would hold the leadership and much of the wealth of the country for many years resulted in a cleavage between people that fostered many civil wars. Ms. Sirleaf is the first descendent of an indigenous family to become president of the country. However, her skin is a bit lighter than most of the indigenous people, a result which she had to explain to indigenous supporters during her election campaign. Her maternal grandfather was German. Germany was one of Liberia’s trading partners and a number of German expatriates came to Liberia in the twentieth century to become involved in exporting. There is a cleavage between the indigenous blacks and settler blacks which has amounted to racism, a problem that the country is trying to overcome.

Much of the book is a history of the many civil wars fought in Liberia. These wars resulted in long-term dictatorships that heaped much misery on the people. The future now looks bright. It appears that democracy will survive.

The Poet and the Donkey (1969) is a tale by May Sarton. The book is, according to the New Yorker, “a small sophisticated, elegantly sentimental journey though a New Hampshire Summer.” This in fine print on the cover is what grabbed my attention when I picked up the book at a used book shop. I’m very big on reading New England farm tales, having just read all of Noel Perrin’s essays.

However, when I sat down to read this book and learned it was about a poet who had lost his muse (his inspiration), I found the first few pages not to my liking. I tossed the book aside and ultimately gave it to my daughter, Stephanie, who was also attracted to it being a New England tale. Stephanie called me a week later and said, “Dad, you need to read this book beyond the first 20 pages. It’s excellent.” So Stephanie brought the book back to me, and I’ll be doggoned, I suddenly started liking the book on page 24. And from there the book got better and better.

This is an engaging tale about an old poet who lives alone on a small farm. You discover he needs a muse not just for writing, but for companionship. His spirits are up or down depending on whether or not he has a muse to lighten his life. In desperation for a muse, he remembers a fine donkey that belongs to a neighbor and he pictures the donkey gracing his meadow and living in his barn. Eventually he is struck by the idea of asking his neighbor if he can borrow the donkey for the summer. His neighbors are very poor and he thinks it might be an advantage to them for him to care for and feed the animal for a spell. This is where the tale becomes splendid. The old poet and the donkey become an inseparable pair that enjoys each other’s company. And, indeed the donkey becomes his muse for writing poetry. This turns out to be a wonderful book. The book looked brand new when I picked it off the shelf at the used book shop. I wonder if the original buyer gave up to soon.

April 2009 Report

2009-04-01T11:23:00.016-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in March, 2009

Exceptional

To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) by Harper Lee, is a classic and in every way a beautiful story. If the author was set on describing a moral character, she succeeded by telling the story of Atticus Finch. Finch is a small town lawyer who practices his trade in the 1930s from a poorly equipped office next to the courthouse in the fictional town of Macomb, Alabama. Atticus is middle-age, widowed, and the exceptional father of two children, Jean Louise (aka Scout) and her older brother Jem. Scout is the book's narrator, and her heart and personality make this a sweet read.

Together with his motherly black housekeeper, Culpurnia, Atticus provides teachings and examples to help the children learn about honesty, fairness, and faith. Of course the kids don’t always practice their father’s preaching. Now and then they cover their tracks to keep from getting caught doing something they know to be wrong. But when it counts, these kids demonstrate their father’s goodness.

The focal point of the story is a significant trial concerning race and racial justice. Atticus is selected by the lone judge in Maycomb County to be the public defender of a black man accused of raping a white girl. The judge is heroic in trying to protect the rights of African American defendants. Atticus is a state legislator, lawyer, and an honorable man. The judge knows he can effectively represent the defendant, Tom Robinson. Many of the town folk who know otherwise and respect Atticus resent his participation. The trial is sensational. The reader is given good reason to believe in Tom’s innocence, and the reader clearly wishes for a fair outcome. But the reader is equally drawn in by the poverty and poor living conditions endured by the victim. You wish for her to be considered and healed. That both characters have been mistreated would render either verdict, innocent or guilty, to be a gut wrenching decision.

Oh, but there is so much more to be gained in reading this masterpiece! You’ll love the Finch's small-town neighborhood. Their neighbors include genteel characters, places for a nice visit, and a home away from home for the kids. A next door neighbor delights in giving Scout and Jem slices of her famous Lane Cake. Across the way is a dilapidated house which is thought by the kids to be haunted. Bo Radley lives there but is never seen to leave the house, although the kids do everything they can think of to lure him out. At the same time, they’re scared of what he might do. Then there are the hillbilly villains who live in shacks in the country.

You’ll come to love Atticus’ housekeeper, Culpurnia, and the beautiful people in her church, folk who practice what they preach. You’ll get to know Atticus’ sister and brother, who are called on to help raise Scout and Jem. The kids also have a special playmate, Dill, who shows up every summer. This adventurous little leader keeps Jem and Scout always on the edge of getting into big trouble, but he is loved and sorely missed when he’s not around.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a brilliant work!

My 14 year-old grandson, John Phillip Curran, also read this book in March. He wrote an essay about it for a contest and won first prize ─ $ 250.00! John’s essay compared the fairness of his father, Phillip, to that of the character Atticus; and he compared his own pride to that of Jem and Scout.

Third Person Rural (1983), Further Essays of a Sometime Farmer, by Noel Perrin. This is smooth-as-silk writing by the late Dartmouth College professor of environmental studies, writer, and sometimes farmer. Perrin lures you into life on his Vermont farm, stepping you through the country calendar. He makes you an eyewitness to birth in the pasture, tells all about farm flowers, and describes low technology in the maple sugarbush. I felt like I was there as I read his essays. Perrin also makes his confessions about how to farm badly (and why you should), challenges your thinking with a beef cow’s plea to vegetarians, and describes his approach to nuclear disobedience.

You’ll have to do a used book search on the Internet to find a copy of this book, but I assure you it’s worth the effort! If you’ve even had occasional dreams about living in Vermont to experience America’s best throwback to the good ol’ days of nature, skiing, covered bridges, and simple farm life, you’ll dream again. But if you go, don’t look under the covered bridges, for what you might discover is that they are now held up by steel girders instead of timber.

I want to be there in his old farmhouse and to sit in the front of his wood stove and sip wine, wiggle my toes in my stocking feet, and listen to his farm stories. In my fantasy, I can smell and see a blueberry pie his wife is pulling from the oven and smell the coffee brewing for our after dinner desert, and as I prefer to imagine it, just before Nancy and I retreat to our farmhouse across the road.

Perrin was successful in converting his beautiful Vermont farm into a protective trust so that it will never be developed. If you check him out on Wikipedia, you’ll learn that Perrin received a masters degree from Duke University and then served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict, where he earned a Bronze Star as a forward observer in a field artillery unit.

First Person Rural (1978) is the first of Noel Perrin’s essays of a sometime farmer. You’ll need this book if you have any notion of becoming a small farmer in Vermont, or even Indiana, for that matter. In this volume we first learn about the grades of maple syrup and later how to do sugaring on $15 a year (although this amount may have changed a tad since 1978). It is notable that Perrin does not start above his means in relationship to the size of his endeavor (as some of us have been known to do).

There are 20 essays in First Person Rural. You’ll learn, among other practical matters, about how to barter, how to buy a chainsaw, how to find perfect fence posts, and how to make fresh butter in your kitchen. You might need to know the particulars of things you should be aware of before you buy a pickup truck, and Perrin covers this subject in detail. There is much attention to the need for good horse sense and plenty of humor for your reading enjoyment. Finally, you will savor his descriptions of the beautiful state of Vermont.

John Pipes may be interested in knowing Perrin’s view of why its best to start farming with sheep instead of a goat (in fact, two sheep as opposed to sheeps). And to my friend DeeJay, I’ll add … baa, baa, sheep, sheep, bah!

You might prefer to start with First Person Rural, move along to Second Person Rural, and then read Third Person Rural. There is also a Last Person Rural and a Best Person Rural, as well a host of other titles. I just received Second Person Rural in my mailbox, so I’ll be reporting on it next month.

Very Good

Madame Bovary (1857), by Gustave Flaubert. Here we have the story of a farmer’s daughter who is suddenly taken as a wife by a country doctor who comes to the house to care for her father. No, she is not kidnapped, nor wooed. The doctor is swept away the first time he sees her. He approaches her father who is immediately interested in getting his daughter married to a doctor, and they make a gentlemen's agreement. Afterward, the doctor asks the girl to marry him and she says yes.

She wants off the farm and my goodness, she thinks, how can I go wrong by marrying a doctor? It doesn't take long though, before the beautiful farmer’s daughter becomes bored with the good man she married.

This book could be called the adventures of a selfish and unfaithful wife, but this would ignore the fact that the doctor is dull, too good for his own good, and horribly naïve in encouraging his wife to have adventures that result in her suffering the effects of adultery again and again. She has affairs with two men that I believe most women would agree are complete jerks. She also comes to this conclusion, but after it’s too late.

The writing is superb, but dense to the point that it takes much longer to read than most books of its size. It is said that to be a great writer, once must be a great observer. I will say that this writer is the best observer I have ever read.

Pick up a copy of the 1992 translation published by Penguin. While in the bookshop, open the book to page 182. Read the paragraph that begins “Behind four galloping horses …“ (and know that you are riding in an open carriage). I think you will agree that this is beautiful writing.

The Lost City of Z (2009) is both history and a memoir by David Grann. This is the compelling true story of pioneer explorers who tried to find the illusive lost city of ‘Z’ deep in the Amazon jungle. The book is primarily about the history and writings of the notable British Explorer, Percy Fawcett, who was obsessed with finding the Lost City of Z. Grann also provides a history of other explorers who competed with Fawcett in trying to find the treasure.

Z is the kingdom of El Dorado, supposed site of an ancient and so-called advanced civilization. The early explorers sought to find the mythical city with the hope of finding gold and historical treasures in the wilderness. One by one they braved on, one after the other, for years and years, through a jungle infested with deadly insects, wild animals, and wild indigenous Indian tribes, some of which practiced cannibalism.

Now many years after the early explorers efforts failed to achieve the result, the author decides to try to find the lost city. Aided by all of his research, including Fawcett diaries made available to him by Fawcett relatives, he replicates Fawcett's journey through the Amazon and then presses on to see what he can find.

It’s a great adventure book, but I had expected the writing to be less scholarly considering that the author is a well-published reporter and writer. At times he digresses from the story of the exploration to, for example, provide a history of the Royal Geographic Society and the war experiences of the major explorer, Percy Fawcett. These diversions illustrate the tenacity and drive of the explorer, but I still found myself wanting to get back into the jungle. I also wish the author had provided much more information about his personal journey through the Amazon.

I think that most readers will be absorbed in the adventure and that this is a book well worth reading. You might discover it useful and intriguing to use Google Earth to search for the villages and rivers in the Amazon as you read the book. Some of the views are excellent (albeit dense tree cover sometimes prevents close examination).

Good

A Girl Named Zippy (2001) is a memoir by Haven Kimmel. I’ve had more than a few people tell me “You have to read this book,” I guess, because I was born and raised in central Indiana. I will say that it is a fun read that brought back a lot of memories. After all, before reading this book, I didn’t know anyone other than my great grandfather who used the slang expression, “That’s slicker than snot on a door knob.” So, if I add my assessment of this book, “its Hoosier goods, ” I hope you’ll not think I am a snoot (for I do not want you to think this of me).

The writer captures the innocence of a very smart little girl who is raised in the very small town of Moreland, Indiana. I thought I had travelled through every hamlet and town in Indiana on my job in my early years (before moving from Indianapolis to Chicago and then on to North Carolina). I confess I had to do a Google search to find Moreland. I discovered that, lo and behold, I must have passed through there a number of times while Haven was a little girl. As you will discover, Moreland is not a town that is likely to be remembered. It is, in fact, “Just a stone’s throw … as the crow flies,” from where my maternal great-grandmother was born in Peru, Indiana (which was formerly the winter home of a number of circuses).

You should encourage your sons and daughters to read this book, so that they will defy your parenting, learn a lot, and grow up to be successful and live in Chicago, New York, or even Paris.

March 2009 Report

2009-03-03T08:35:00.012-05:00

Here is a review of the books I read in February, 2009

Exceptional

The Help (2009) is a remarkable novel by Kathryn Stockett. As you read this book, you’ll soon come to understand that you are reading a story about the writing of a book that contains the story of the book you are reading. Way cool. Miss Skeeter, the main character, is a young idealistic white woman who has graduated from Ole Miss. She goes home to the cotton plantation to live, and gets harassed by her well-intentioned mother, while she figures out what she is going to do with her life. She wants to be a writer. Skeeter gets the idea to write a book that reveals startling truths about the time, the 1960’s, when blacks are struggling to become free from segregation and are being treated as inferior. Skeeter decides to write a story about how black maids are treated by the white women who are living out their cultural roots of believing they are superior. Skeeter has been a good and thoughtful observer of her white friends, especially her white friend Elizabeth Leefolt.

Aware that each of the young mothers has to have a black maid and seeing how they interact with their maids gives Skeeter the idea for her book. She understands the women are not totally bad people, but they say and do mean things in their relationships with their maids. The women are also totally oblivious of the fact that their maids hear them talk to each other about them, and how their remarks and deeds hurt their maids. In their rush to do all of the things they perceive to be their civic duty, these women also sometimes fail to provide attention, care, and love to their children. Meanwhile, the white children grow to love their black maids who do actually care for them and truly love them.

Skeeter decides the best way to get the story is to interview the maids. She decides to expose the treatment of the maids to help people see and understand their actions, and at the same time, establish herself as a serious writer.

Skeeter must first convince Aibileen, the maid of her white friend Miss Leefolt, to a tell-all interview. Then she has to get Aibileen to convince other maids to be interviewed and to tell the truth. Aibileen is a smart, spiritual, and a well-read maid who is herself a darn good writer. After a lot of comisseratin,’ Aibileen says, “I reckon I on to do it.” She then becomes an important partner in the writing of the book. Soon we begin to see another important impact of this story. As the two women begin to work on this project and get to know each others heart, they develop a warm and loving friendship. Sometimes Skeeter comes to Aibileen’s house just to sit at her table to have tea and talk.

The story is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960’s. Medgar Evers, a great civil rights leader of the time, was assassinated in Jackson Mississippi on June 12, 1963; Martin Luther King gave his I have a Dream Speech on August 28, 1963; and John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. All of these events take place within the heart of this book’s story. These events reinforced the maid’s courage to write a book to expose the nation to the treatment by their white employers.

When they get going good, Miss Skeeter and Abilene convince the angry, and the most likely to upset maid, Minny, to sign on to the scheme. The first thing you know, Skeeter and Aibileen have all of the Jackson, Mississippi maids talkin’ plenty, with the promise their names will be changed and a fictional city will be used for their place of employment.

While the maids are working on the book, Medgar Evers gets shot dead in Jackson, just a few blocks from where Aibileen lives. While working up their courage, this event also scares the maids, for they understand what might happen to them if they get caught. They fear if their real identities are discovered, they will all get fired and not be able to get another job. They also fear physical harm by white men, who will see the book as a way to make whites look bad. As they tell their stories and then look at the pages of copy that have been written, they begin to realize their stories are so well-defined that there is a serious danger of being discovered when the book is published. The women are especially fearful of Miss Hilly, who is the President (read dictator) of the Women’s league and the worst old bag Southern Belle of the bunch.

The first time author of this book, Kathryn Stockett, is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, who moved to New York, and now resides in Atlanta. Even in this day, it is understood the author has taken a risk in writing this book. This book is brilliant and the odds are it will be the best book you read this year. I got in on the front end of what will be its success, because I acted on a tip and preordered the book before it was published. The New York Times reviewed the book the day after I finished it, and the reviewer said this book is a “soon to be wildly popular novel.” I promise you will cry, smile a lot, and at times just about fall out of your chair laughing.

Very Good

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) is a novel by Mark Twain. I would have loved reading this book when I was a boy. As an old boy, I’ll have to say I loved most of it.

If you have read the book, Tom Sawyer, also by Mark Twain, you might have seen Huckleberry Finn as a rag-tag loser and Tom is as the boy who’s with it. In this book, I discovered Huck to be enthusiastic and carefree, as well as a thoughtful, caring, and loving friend.

This story finds Huckleberry off on a long river raft journey with the black slave, Jim, who is running off to become a free man. Huck is intent on helping Jim escape. Together they start out on a whimsical raft journey on the river to their intended destination, Cairo (pronounced “Kay-ro”), Illinois. Cairo is safely within the slave-free territory. The original plan is for Jim to get off the raft and settle there. Huckleberry and Jim travel at night and sleep during the day so that Jim will not be seen as a runaway slave and returned to his owner. However, night travel on the dark river makes it very difficult to see Cairo, and the adventurers become lost. When they discover they have passed Cairo, they decide to ride the raft all the way down to “New Awlins.” Before you know it, Huck and Jim are having such a fine time fishin’ and talkin’ to one another that they become serious friends. They also have a lot of adventures as they look for food, cook up feasts, run into obstacles, and glide on down the river under the cover of darkness. They have so much time to get acquainted that they grow to love each other as if they were born brothers. Old Jim even starts calling Huck ‘Honey.’

Along the way they pick up a couple of strays, the “Duke” and the “King,” a couple of no-count con men who start pulling Huck and Jim along in their schemes to defraud folk in towns along the way. Jim has to stay hidden in the willows and cottonwoods, but Huck finds himself being the gopher as the two mean act out their theatrical schemes to earn big bucks. Unfortunately the hucksters eventually steal Jim and sell him off, and he finds himself chained up in a cabin and held for ransom as a runaway slave.

Very near the end of the story, Huck is desperately trying to find and rescue Jim. When he finds Jim, Tom Sawyer shows up to visit his Aunt Sally. There he finds Huck, posing to be her nephew (Tom Sawyer). Jim is locked up in one of Aunt Sally’s out cabins. This is where the author, Mark Twain, pulls out all of the stops and in doing so makes the story one that kids will love. Huck draws Tom into the scheme to free Jim . Unfortunately Tom takes charge and over does the rescue. At my old boy age, I would have much preferred for Huck and Jim to work out the end without the interference of Tom. Instead, the climax seems to me to be an overcooked farce. The book is an amazing writing by a great author, especially when you consider the book was written in 1885.

The Savior (2007) is a novel by Eugene Drucker. As a musician and member of the Emerson String Quartet, Drucker has won eight Grammy’s, the Avery Fisher Prize, and three Gramophone awards. He is also a good writer. This story is set in the last days of World War II. The main character, Gottfried Keller, is a German concert violinist. He escapes becoming a soldier in Hitler’s war by getting a medical deferment. Keller is then forced by the Nazis to travel to prison camps to play his violin to lift the spirits of the prisoners. Ultimately, the head of a concentration camp requests his services to play the violin to Jews who will soon die. The performances are a part of the German General’s experiment to see if beautiful violin music can get a rise out of the condemned, to make them feel better about their fate. It is a gruesome experiment. It is obvious that the author wishes the reader to understand both the classical music he is playing and the horror experienced by the Jews, and to feel the Jews pain as they move from the concentration camp to the fiery furnace.

Good

The Girl at the Lion D’or (1989) is a novel by Sebastian Faulks. This is the second book in Faulk’s war trilogy, set in the period between World War I and World War II. In this book the author aims to show the reader how much WW I hurt people’s lives and the fear they experienced knowing that Hitler’s war would return. The story is about a girl alone and adrift in life after the first war. The orphaned girl is trying to make ends meet and to find a life for herself, but she falls victim to people who use her as a poorly paid laborer and to men who wish to use her as a lover. It’s a well-written but sad tale. As a result, this book falls below the expectations set for it by Faulks’ other great and exceptional novels, Birdsong and Charlotte Grey.

Winter in Madrid (2006) is another novel about the period between World War I and World War II. Set in Spain, the novel highlights the poverty of Spaniards as the country struggled to free itself of the ravages of war and to find a government that the people could support. During this time, some Spaniards wanted Communists, others wanted a fascist state under the authority of the King Franco, and others wanted Hitler to invade to make Spain part of the Nazi regime. Great Britain tried to influence the outcome by carefully controlling the shipment of food and supplies that had been promised to help stabilize the country. The British ulterior motive is was to keep Spain from entering another war. The main character, Harry, is a British spy. Winter in Madrid a big book (530 pages) and you may find it to be a bigger story than you want. It is well-written and interesting, but it does not compare to the work of Earnest Hemingway and Sebastian Faulks, as some reviewers claim. All in all, it is a sad tale of the struggle to survive. I am glad I read the book though, for it made me conscious of the impact of the wars on Spain and on the lives of those who survived the war.

February 2009

2009-02-02T13:30:00.017-05:00

Here is a review of the books I read in January 2009:

Exceptional

Charlotte Gray (1998) is a novel by Sebastian Faulks. This is brilliant writing. The author has reported his characters’ personalities, desires, and actions to a depth readers seldom get. This is the third work in Faulk’s war trilogy. The first, Birdsong, takes place during World War I, which I know precious little about. The Girl at the Lion d’Or, is the second book in the trilogy, about life and times in Europe between the World Wars. Charlotte Gray, the final work in the trilogy, is about World War II. The stories follow the lineage of some of the characters included in the previous volumes.

Charlotte Gray is a Scottish lass who moves away from her mother and dad, and immigrates to London during the war (dad, by the way, is the character Captain Gray in Birdsong). A new friend discovers Charlotte to be highly educated and fluent in French. He works to recruit her to move to Nazi occupied France to aid in the resistance. When Charlotte discovers that the man she loves, a British pilot, has been downed and lost in France, she accepts the offer to go undercover to aide in the resistance, but also with her own agenda to search for her lover. You will learn that many French people were glad for their country to be occupied and helped Nazis gather up French Jews, put them in prison, and send them off to Germany to be executed. The author reports details that we need to know but that some may resist knowing. I felt a strong need to keep reading every word of this book, one of the best books I have ever read.

Birdsong (1993) is about World War I and may be the most widely known of Faulks’ books. It is also brilliant. I appreciated the way Faulks reports in depth on what is mostly a ground war. There is a wide variety of characters who you come to know and understand. In this book, as in others, he reports primarily on action within France. I must admit I was previously unaware of the horrible details of the ground fighting and the severity of the casualties. It would be easy to resist the temptation not to know, but we need to know the extent of the human sacrifices that were made so that we might be free. Also, I had not been aware that the allies and the Germans dug reinforced tunnels (similar to coal mines) deep beneath the front lines to blow up unsuspecting ground troops above ground. It is shocking to learn how suddenly these soldiers were separated from their bodies and their families. I hope that faint hearts do not shy away from reading this book, for this is a great book.

The second book in Faulks’ trilogy, The Girl at the Lion d’Or is in my stack of books to be read. I’ll cover it in my March report.

The Return of the Prodigal Son, (1994) by the late Henri J. M. Nouwen, is a book about art and religion. Nouwen, a priest and Biblical scholar, relates how he became illuminated by God’s truths as revealed by Rembrandt in his painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son. Mr. Nouwen spent considerable time studying this painting and reading about the artist’s life. On closer look, he saw Rembrandt’s self portrait in the face of the prodigal son, in the elder son, and even in the face of the father. As Nouwen learned about the artist’s troubled life, he came to understood why the artist depicted himself in each of the three. Nouwen went on to see how his own life, and Christ’s life, and all of our lives might be alternately be reflected in the faces and bodies of the three figures in the painting. (He provides notes at the end of the book which include a chapter by chapter Bible references for his observations.) In his study of the painting and the parable, Nouwen also reached a particular understanding of what he perceives as the burdens of being the oldest child. I guess that every eldest child who reads this book will gain the satisfaction of finally feeling understood.

This book of fewer than 150 pages revealed more truth of the love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit than anything I’ve read, because so many Biblical truths are revealed in this single painting and interpreted in the book’s pages. Listening to the book’s message within the framework of your own life can lead to a feeling of inner peace and a greater understanding of life’s purpose, and more focused feeling of inner peace in the joys of life.

If you buy this book, I recommend the Image paperbound edition because its glossy cover provides a beautiful image of the Rembrandt painting and the same image on an overleaf which is folded inside the book. As you open the book, fold out the overleaf, and then open the pages of the book. The image, held in your left hand, remains constantly visible as you turn the pages to read the text panels. Very cool. If your lighting is good, you will be further rewarded by fine details of the painting as seen by the author.

Nouwen was born in the Netherlands and was ordained there into the priesthood. He taught at Notre Dame University, Yale Divinity School, and Harvard Divinity School. He left Harvard to become the pastor of students at a school for the mentally handicapped in Canada (the L’Arche Daybreak Community. He has written many books which have been widely read by both Protestants and Catholics.

Many thanks to my ‘old’ college friend Ron Clark, who teaches in the English Department at a university in Indiana, for suggesting this book, as well as the Sebastian Faulks novels reviewed above.

The River of Lost Voices (1998) is a collection of short stories by Mark Brazaitis. This book won the Iowa Short Fiction Award for 1998, juried by the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Thanks to my daughter, Stephanie Curran, for finding and buying this book for me for a Christmas present.

All of the stories are set in Guatemala and are about Guatemalans that I believe he came to know well. It is obvious that this author is a an expert observer and a highly skilled writer. Having some knowledge of Guatemalans, I can tell you that he understands and captures the spirit of at least the Spanish and Ladino Guatemalans. There are a variety of stories in this book which all speak to the challenge of living and surviving in this developing country. Brazaitis did not write stories about any of the millions of aboriginal people in Guatemala who belong to 22 Mayan Indian Language Groups (he probably would not understand the many dialects). I would love to read some stories about the very poor and deeply spiritual Mayans who live in the western highlands. (Bill Peck, you could do this for at least the Mam dialect.) One story takes place in Santa Cruz, a place near the beautiful Lake Atitlan (there would be Mayans who live within this community). I’ll never forget the day that I sat with a group of fellow travelers at the edge of this lake and experienced a solar eclipse, while listening to the drums of the Indians reverberating in the mountains above the lake. The deeply religious Indians were at once afraid and certain that God was speaking to them through this natural wonder. We experienced a sunset, total darkness, and a sunrise in the middle of the afternoon on a beautiful clear day.

When you consider the author has provided his stories primarily for your entertainment, you must appreciate his great talent in telling stories. You will love some of the stories more than others, but this is a first rate reporting of interesting people in an interesting land.

Good

American Lion (2008) by Jon Meacham, is a history of the life and presidency of Andrew Jackson. My rating of “good” will no doubt ruffle some feathers. Mr. Meacham is the editor of Newsweek and a highly skilled writer. But remember, my ratings are assigned on the basis of what a book means to me.

Now that I know the man better through the reading this book, I must say I do not think highly of President, Andrew Jackson. I appreciate that his leadership kept the fragile Union together at a time when it was in grave danger of being irreparably broken up by states that wished to secede. However, Andrew Jackson owned many slaves and he had no desire to end slavery. Mr. Jackson was also responsible for moving the American aboriginals off of their lands and for containing them to Indian reservations.

January 2009

2008-12-31T15:19:00.010-05:00

Here is a review of the books I read in December 2008:

Exceptional

The Cup of Wrath (1996) is a historical novel by Mary Glazener. The story is about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s resistance to Hitler. Dr. Bonhoeffer was a great German theologian and pastor who rose to prominence in the Confessing Church of Germany at the same time that Adolph Hitler rose to power as the Fuhrer of Germany. When the German church hierarchy allowed the government to take control, establish policy, and direct the work of the church, Dietrich refused to accept Hitler’s intervention. Bonhoeffer was absolutely committed to following Jesus Christ. He withdrew from the German church to start a small seminary in a rural setting. Already a well-known author and respected theologian, he found the backing to establish the seminary which he directed outside of the control of the church and the government.

Dietrich’s father, Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer, was a prominent Berlin psychiatrist. He headed a large family that ultimately played a significant role in a movement to overthrow Hitler. Dietrich’s brother-in-law, Hans, was part of a powerful group of government officials and military officers inside the government who worked undercover as members of the resistance. As the SS and the Gestapo tracked down Bonhoeffer and tried to shut down his seminary, Dietrich’s brother-in-law recruited him to participate in the movement to overthrow Hitler.

Hitler was examined and diagnosed by a psychiatrist to be severely mentally ill. Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer confirmed his peer’s diagnosis. Many people within the government and the military considered Hitler a lunatic. There were numerous unsuccessful coups as well as assassination attempts. As you may know, Hitler ultimately committed suicide, but not until after thousands of resisters were tried, convicted, imprisoned, and ultimately murdered.

The author provides a chart of the Bonhoeffer family tree which helps readers keep the family characters straight. I wish every book would provide a glossary of characters.

This is an absolutely incredible story. If you are a person of faith, regardless of your church affiliation, this story is likely to deepen your faith. I want to know more about Bonhoeffer and expect to find and read some of the books he authored. This is one of the best books I’ve read in 2008.

A River Runs Through It and Other Stories (1976) is a novella and two short stories by Norman Maclean. At seventy-three, Maclean was the William Rainey Harper Professor of English at the University of Chicago when he published this book. In his youth, he had worked for the U.S. Forest Service, and it’s a good bet that these stories are based on his actual experience. The stories describe marvelous outdoor adventures in the Montana wilderness.

The first of the three stories is the well-known A River Runs Through It, which was made into a movie. This is a superb fishing tale, but I think all who love wilderness stories will like it even if they are not fishing persons. The second story, Logging and Pimping and Your Pal Jim, details the rugged life of foresters who live and work together in the wilderness. Jim was Maclean’s cross-cut saw partner as they cut great trees. I especially liked the third story, USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky. This is a wild west story complete with forest adventure, card sharks, and a bar room brawl. These were lonely adventures, but ones that brought man and nature together in ways not known today.

Hope Was Here (2000) is a young adult novel by Joan Bauer. I read this book by accident, as it was not in my stack of books to be read. I had just suffered reading nearly a third of the way through three books that I tossed aside as “junk” (and therefore did not review) and was desperate to read something good. I needed something light-hearted and uplifting. I pawed through the shelves of our library and found this book, which my wife had bought at a used book shop.

I highly recommend this book to the young adults in your family and yes, even to you. It’s a wonderful story of a teenage girl who is being raised by an aunt. The father was unknown and the mother asks her sister, the aunt, to raise her daughter because she does not feel capable of being a parent. The aunt, who supported herself by working as a cook in a restaurant, raises the girl in a way you’ll find refreshing. The story moves into high gear as the aunt and the girl move from New York City to run a diner in rural Wisconsin. The resulting adventures build on a strong work ethic to give the girl the example she needs to become a good adult. There is hard work, mystery, and romance aplenty, not to mention a character who believes in healing and works his cancer into remission. I believe you older children will love this story.

Very Good

1776 (2006) is a history book by David McCullough. It’s good writing and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize, although I did not find the story to be as rich in detail as McCullough’s marvelous biographies John Adams and Truman (which I reviewed in September and October). This book chronicles the very beginning of the Revolutionary War, during which George Washington suffered a lot of defeats and few victories. You will admire the General and his too few, untrained, and under-equipped troops as they suffer through a freezing winter of sickness and defeat. In spite of all they endured, they ultimately managed to hold their own against thousands more well-trained and better equipped British troops. The story takes place before the U.S. Army and Navy were formed and at a time when Congress was learning how to be a Congress and did not provide the funding needed to support Washington’s troops. This is where the strength of our nation began. This story ought to be read along with the biography John Adams.

Good

The Old Neighborhood (1980) is a novel by Avery Corman. You may remember Corman as the author of Kramer vs. Kramer, which was made into a successful movie. This is the story of a young New Yorker who achieves success in advertising and when he gets it, wonders if it is worth having. This is a somewhat typical real-life story of the 1970s when a lot of mothers entered the work force and families suddenly found themselves divided in trying to manage two careers. The book is full of lively writing with a lot of humor and yet, when I was halfway through the book, I wondered if I wanted to finish it. I pressed on and discovered the story to be well worth reading. When the father finally decides to chuck his career, he suddenly finds happiness when he returns to his old neighborhood and becomes the person he wants to be.

Every Tongue Got to Confess (2008) is an amazing collection of African American folk tales by Zora Neale Hurston. These warm, sometimes bittersweet, and often hilarious stories were gathered from folks living in the Gulf States in the 1920’s. They include God tales, preacher tales, devil tales, witch and haunt tales, tall tales, and more. This is fun reading. Keep this book handy for occasional light reading while commuting or to read between other books that you read from start to finish.

December 2008

2008-12-02T16:23:00.006-05:00

Here is a review of the books I read in November 2008:

Exceptional

An Irish Country Christmas (2008) is a novel by Patrick Taylor, M.D., who was born and raised in Bangor County Down in Northern Ireland. For a number of years Dr. Taylor practiced medicine as a rural general practitioner in Northern Ireland, where he lived the experiences that he writes about in his novels through the character Doctor Fingal Flahertie O’Rielly. The first book in his series is An Irish Country Doctor. The second is An Irish Country Village, and his new release is An Irish Country Christmas. Yet another book, An Irish Country Girl, is to be released in February 2010.

Dr. Taylor has created a delightful cast of country characters including his housekeeper and cook, Mrs. Kinky Kincaid, and his associate, Dr. Barry Laverty, M.B. The three live in a wonderful old house at 1 Main Street in the fictional town of Ballybucklebo, located in County Down, Northern Ireland. At the moment, the widower, Dr. O’Rielly, and his young assistant, Barry, have set their Irish eyes upon two dear lassies, Miss Kitty O’Hallorhan and Miss Patricia Spence. At this point in the continuing drama, Miss O’Hallorhan has a firm grip on Dr. O’Rielly. But as for Barry, well, his Miss Spence has been away studying engineering at Cambridge. Meanwhile some country lassies have their eyes on young Dr. Laverty.

Throughout the story, a whole host of delightful village characters regularly visit “the surgery” for their medical attention. (We would call the surgery “the doctor’s office”). Some patients only need a bit of the tonic (a shot of B-12 in the rear), but others have injuries and a variety of ills and diseases. We lay folk learn a great deal about the diagnosis and treatment of these ailments. Some patients lay their private lives upon the doctor as they’re being treated. Often, one or both of the doctors takes the problems to heart and arranges solutions.

You’ll get hungry for the many special Irish dishes prepared by Mrs. Kincaid. The author shares some of her recipes in the back of each book. He also provides a glossary to help you translate the special language of the Irish. For example, an ‘eejit’ is an idiot and a ‘guttersnipe’ is a ruffian. Sometimes Fingal lovingly calls his dog, Arthur Guinness, ‘a big lummox,’ which is slang for ‘a stupid creature.’ I love the language, but I especially like the humorous and loving way the slang is delivered. I love the fact that Dr. Taylor delivers us from the history of the fighting that occurred in a few places of Northern Ireland to reveal Presbyterians and Catholics who live and work together in harmony. This is a great series of books that I highly recommend. Light a log in your fireplace, pour yourself a “Hot Irish,” lean back in your recliner, and read these happy books.

Churchill’s Triumph (2008) is a historical novel by Michael Dobbs. This is the third book in Dobbs’ series about Winston Churchill. The total focus of this book is the 5-day meeting between Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin in Yalta (on the Black Sea in Russia) in February 1945. The novel provides significant factual details to support the Indianapolis Star story with the headline, “The Booze Flowed, FDR Glowed, and Uncle Joe Made Hay,” which I read some years later when I was a boy in Indiana. Dobbs calls his book “A Novel of Betrayal,” and the betrayed were the Eastern bloc nations that were handed to Stalin on a silver platter, principally by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in exchange for his getting the promised United Nations. Churchill didn’t trust Stalin, but it appears that Roosevelt did. Churchill made a strong effort to save Poland, but in the end he signed the documents that gave Stalin everything he demanded. As a result, the people of a number of nations ended up living under the grip of Communist dictators appointed by Russia.

The U.S. and British lodgings at Yalta were bugged by the Russians, so “Uncle Joe” was always one up on the Americans and British in developing a strategy for getting what he wanted. In the beginning of this book you’ll also learn a bit about the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who transported Churchill on the famous Onassis yacht, the Cristina. For example, Onassis always got all of the women he ever wanted for wives, including Jacqueline Kennedy.

The Road Home (2007) is novel by Rose Tremain. It is a powerful and irresistible story about immigrants and the huge challenges they face to provide for their families. (I would have preferred, however, that the author not use so much slang (gutter language) and descriptive sexual situations, which I believe are not required to tell a compelling story.)

This is the story of a poor and uneducated man, Lev, who lives in an isolated village near the town of Baryn in the Ukraine. His young wife dies. Soon after, he loses his job at the village sawmill because all the trees in the area have been cut down and the mill has closed. He is left with the responsibility of supporting his daughter and his mother, but no jobs are available in his village, in Baryn, or anywhere close by. Even if there were, wages paid for his level of skill are so low that he has little chance of earning enough to support the family. Lev pockets a small amount of money, puts a few clothes in a cloth bag, and begins a bus journey that takes him to London. He believes the city will provide him the opportunity to earn enough money to support a family, but harsh reality replaces dreams upon his arrival.

Lev only speaks Russian, and without a job, he doesn’t have enough money to find a place to sleep, eat, or sustain life for his family. Like others, he sleeps outdoors wherever he can find cover; otherwise, he faces the alternative of being picked up and jailed by the London police. He eats whatever he can find on the street. From this perilous beginning, Lev finally gets a job, finds a place to live, makes friends, and begins his journey back to Russia to support his family and make a new life for himself. This is a courageous story and one that illustrates what can happen when a person works hard to survive and grow. We need to know these stories, for when folk complain about immigrants, they ought to know the other side. There must be a way for all people to turn their situations around and integrate themselves into a place that is big enough to offer hope, opportunity, and work. Perhaps we, like others, should befriend those who need a little help.

Very Good

A Broom of One’s Own (2008) is a memoir by Nancy Peacock. This is a wonderful story of a woman who only wanted to write for her life’s vocation, and who did what she had to do to survive as a writer. Nancy has proved that you can live your dream if you put your mind to it and, for the most part, be happy while doing it. Nancy has sustained herself by working as a baker, bartender, and maid, to name a few of many the jobs she tackled to survive. For a complete list of the jobs Nancy has held, go to her website http://www.nancypeacockbooks.com/.

While doing the tasks necessary to earn a living, Nancy reserved enough free time to write. Her first novel, Life Without Water, was selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Nancy does not have a college degree. See what you can do if you believe in yourself and try. What a leap!

In her memoir, we learn what it is like to be a maid. Being a maid is back-breaking work. Nancy’s back ultimately forced her to find another way to survive. Those of us who have written books or sold them in bookshops know there is little money to be made unless you become one of the very few privileged authors, such as J. K. Rowling, who have many best sellers. However, Nancy Peacock is an exceptional writer, and she ought to be read. And the bottom line is this: writers really want to be read more than they want fame or fortune.

So what did Nancy do to replace the income she formerly earned being a maid? She started teaching others to write. If you go to one of her free seminars, as I have, you’ll appreciate how she writes beautiful and flawless pages of words in just 15 minutes, while the rest of us struggle to write just one page. Then you may want to go to her fee-for-service writing workshops, or maybe you’ll want to hire her to do a line–by-line critique of your writing. In the process, Nancy will earn income and you’ll learn to be a better writer. The challenge is to learn from her suggestions and her liberal words of encouragement. Way to go, Nancy!

Step By Step (2008) is an autobiography by Bertie Bowman. This is an incredible life story. Bertie Bowman was born black in South Carolina in 1931. Son of a sharecropper, Bertie walked off the family farm in 1944, bought a train ticket, and at 13 years old rode that train all the way to Washington, D.C. When he got off the train, he walked to the U.S. Capitol and looked up his state’s senator, Burnet R. Maybank. Bertie had stood behind a crowd at a political gathering at home and heard the senator say, “Drop by to see me if y’all come to Washington.” While standing in front of the senator, he had asked, “Does this include me?” Senator Maybank had answered “Yes it does.”

When Bertie showed up at the senator’s office in Washington, the senator shook his hand, welcomed him to Washington, and then gave him a job sweeping the Capitol steps for $2 a week. From there, Bertie got hired as a Capitol janitor, and over many years he worked his way up to head up the staff serving the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He even became a friend and respected worker on the staff of arch segregationists such as Strom Thurmond and Jessie Helms. One continues to wonder how these men could on one hand be good to Bertie but then turn around and be so mean-spirited to blacks in general. I’m still scratching my head to understand. But I’ll tell you what: Bertie Bowman is a great man. You ought to read his incredible life story.

Good

Dubliners (1914) is a book of short stories by James Joyce. It’s one thing to read modern Irish country novels like by Patrick Taylor and quite another to read short stories about people living in Dublin before 1905. The stories in the Dubliners offer a glimpse of life on the streets of Dublin in that time and a fascinating study of the people of that day. You need two bookmarks: one to mark your place in your reading and another to mark your place in the story notes at the back of the book, for the notes explain words in the text that you would otherwise not understand. I could not have enjoyed the stories without those notes. And I did enjoy them.

November 2008

2008-11-01T14:57:00.006-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in October 2008:

Exceptional ('My Rating' is explained in a left column text box.)

Child Rhymes (1890) contains poetry by James Whitcomb Riley. I read Riley’s Child Rhymes every October to celebrate home, harvest, and Halloween. In this volume, we are treated to the classics “Little Orphant Annie,” “The Raggedy Man,” and other treasured poems for children. “The Circus-Day Parade” always reminds me of Peru, Indiana, which was the winter home of the Ringling Brothers’ Barnum, and Bailey Circus. It was also the home town of the composer Cole Porter and my great grandmother, Margaret See. You also have to love the poem “The Bear Story,” which will surely scare the pants off all the kids. In all, this volume has 188 pages of poetry. I own and treasure each of Riley’s hardcover editions of poems. The volumes are beautifully illustrated with the drawings of Hoosier artist Will Vawter. If you can’t scare up copies of the old illustrated editions on the Internet, bookstores offer a huge paperback book that contains all of Riley’s poems (The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley).

Churchill’s Hour (2004) is a historical novel by Michael Dobbs. This book is bloody marvelous! I learned a lot of history I didn’t know and was mesmerized by the feeling of being in London during World War II. Who did I like the best, Winston Churchill or his humble servant, Sawyer? Of course it would be Winnie, but one surely has to love ol’ Sawyer, who slaves away for what seems to be 24 hours a day to provide his master with much care and a bit of wisdom as well. One wonders though, how Winston functioned so brilliantly considering the amount of whiskey he consumed morning, noon, and night (not to mention Champagne, wine, and brandy). You might also be surprised by our U.S. diplomat Averill Harriman’s dalliances with Pamela Churchill (Randolph Churchill’s wife) which eventually resulted in their marriage. Winston knew of what was going on, but counted on Pamela as a friend and adviser.

Based on this and other books about the war, I am amazed that our Congress and Mr. Roosevelt waited so long to come to aid of Britain. We were painfully aware of the genocide of the Jews and that nearly all of Europe was lost. Although a number of our merchant and military ships had been attacked and quite a few sunk, our leaders continued to look the other way until Pearl Harbor was attacked. If the Japanese were to have attacked the British colonies in Asia instead of Pearl Harbor, as was expected, the U.S. probably would not have become involved in the war. Britain could not have defended itself against both Germany and Japan and as a result, Germany would likely have ruled all of Europe and the Japanese all of Asia.

The author says in the epilogue that it appears that either Roosevelt or Churchill had prior intelligence that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor, but did not notify the other. In the novel, the author writes about his belief that Churchill decoded an intelligence message and determined it would happen, but sat on the presumption because he needed the U.S. to become involved in the war. I wouldn’t doubt it, for from everything I’ve read, Churchill was a brilliant strategist.

Mirror to America (2005) is the autobiography the great historian, John Hope Franklin. Franklin was born into poverty in 1915 in rural Oklahoma. You’ll feel what it was like to be an African American then and throughout the years to come. Mr. Franklin was one of the first blacks to earn a PhD from Harvard. He had a stunning career as a distinguished professor of history at numerous universities. He was a frequent lecturer at Cambridge and Oxford, he headed the history department at the University of Chicago, and he served presidents of both parties as an emissary and diplomat to numerous foreign countries. How badly was he treated through the years because of his color? Badly. When he was in his 80s, a rich white woman approached him as he was leaving a dinner where he was being honored, handed him her coat check, and instructed him to get her coat! Here we are, 147 years after slavery was abolished and some still react from learned bias. Dr. Franklin is now in his 90’s and lives near our home in Durham, NC. He may well experience a real miracle in his great life on November 4, 2008. Every American should know about the goodness and accomplishments of John Hope Franklin. I highly recommend this exceptional book.

The Work of Wolves (2004) is a novel by Kent Meyers. One reviewer called it “the best western-based fiction I’ve read since Lonesome Dove and Plainsong.” I’d go one step farther and say that Kent Meyers is one of the best storytellers in America. This story, like The River Warren (see my July 2008 Report), is set in South Dakota. It’s about Carson Fielding, a boy who is an expert in training horses. His family lives and works on the land owned by his grandfather. He and his father struggle to continue to operate the farm and make ends meet when grandfather dies. His father agrees to provide Carson’s services to train wild horses for a rich rancher, who has been buying up land from poor farmers and in the process dominates everyone he can. Carson doesn’t want to do it, but finally agrees because he knows they need the money. Carson resists the rancher’s control from the first day on the job. He also demonstrates his skill in training horses. The rancher then asks Carson to teach his beautiful wife how to ride. Carson is not anxious to get involved but eventually agrees and is the process they fall in love with each other. The story moves into high gear when the rancher’s cruelty gets out of control and friends from the nearby Indian reservation help him go after the scheming and mean-spirited villain. There is no doubt that Kent Meyers’ specialty is writing about the great northwest. He is a great writer with a clear, distinctive, and energetic voice. What else must he do to get the recognition he deserves, work out of New York, Paris, or London? This book and The River Warren should be best sellers.

Very Good

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (2008) is a novel by David Wroblewski. As I read the first 459 pages, I was thinking “this is a magnificent book; it ought to become a classic.” The story is set in rural Wisconsin, a place I love to visit. It’s about a farmer who loves dogs and decides to operate a breeding kennel on his farm. The farmer, John Sawtelle, his wife, and their son Edgar work together to birth and train dogs and carefully place them with owners who will treat them well. The son can hear, but he cannot speak, and this adds an interesting dimension to the story. Early on, Edgar learns to communicate with his family using sign language. He teaches and dogs to understand and use sign language to communicate with him. Do you believe that dogs can use sign language? My daughter, Jennifer, who works with dogs, tells me they can. This story is magical because the writer brings you into the loving heart and soul of the trainer and, in turn, the dogs. I was astonished to learn so much about the birthing (whelping) of dogs. I couldn’t put the book down; it is a great story. So you may be wondering why I don’t rate it “exceptional.” I have to be honest; I would have preferred the story to end at or not much beyond page 459, rather than continuing for another 103 pages. I was troubled about my strong feeling, so I looked at other reviews of the book on the Internet, where I discovered that a number of other people felt the story should have ended sooner.

Angels & Demons (2000) is a novel by Dan Brown. I bought the illustrated paperback edition and the beautiful color plates of the art, cathedrals, and history of Rome are a fabulous addition to the text. The cost difference is small compared to what you get. The story focuses on bringing together the biblical creation story and the science of evolution. I learned a lot about the cutting edge of science and in particular the important discoveries being made by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). http://public.web.cern.ch/public/. I also learned much about art, history, and the Catholic Church. This was the aspect of the book that I really loved.

The novel has a classic end-all sort of plot. If evil wins, the Vatican and all of its history, art, and legendary rituals will be destroyed. As in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the ending was over-embellished and the end of the story was stretched a good deal beyond where I wished it to end.

There are some similarities in this novel to another of Brown's novels, The Da Vinci Code (see the October 2008 book report).

By the way, the World Wide Web was developed in 1989 by English computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee for the CERN. In 1992 a friend took me to a lab at the University of North Carolina Cancer Center to show me the early Internet when it was available only to scientists and educators. Not long after, the same friend created one of the first public web sites, which he operated from the Sun computer network at his business. Most people did not see the Internet until the late 1990’s when it was made widely available to the public. Notice the CERN Internet address listed above is for “public.” This leads me to believe that they have another or other sites which are secret and available only to scientists.

Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001) is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. It is the third book in the series, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency. All of the stories are set in Botswana. Why do I love them? The stories and language of the Africans are both fresh and respectable. They are light-hearted easy reads that impart morality and wisdom. I enjoy reading them between heavier books that greatly exercise my brain. In this story, the attention of the detective, Mma Ramotswe, is pulled in different directions as her fiancé Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, the proprietor of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors becomes ill and needs care while she also has an important case to solve. Meanwhile, her assistant detective, Mma Makutsi, lands a case to investigate and identify which of the finalists in the Gaborone beauty contest can be counted on to be of high moral character. From this, one learns a great deal about the “morality of beautiful girls.” This a good read. Now I’m ready to get the fourth book in the series for November reading.

Good

Miracle at St. Anna (2002) is a novel by James McBride. Mr. McBride is the author of The Color of Water, a brilliant biography of his mother and his family (see the August 2008 Book Report. The Miracle at St. Anna is a good WWII novel about the Army’s segregated 92nd Division, which was an undermanned and under-equipped division of black soldiers sent to Italy to face an overpowering number of well-equipped Germans. The brave men were well received by the Italians. Miraculous happenings occurred even as the Americans endured many hardships and deaths. This book was the basis for the movie of the same title which is appearing now in theaters across the country.

Down the Nile (2007) Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney. This is a good travel story about the author’s short rowing trip up the Nile in Egypt. It was interesting to learn that the Nile flows north, up the continent of Africa. Ms. Mahoney was determined to have an adventure, no matter how small, even though the local men did everything they could to prevent her from doing it. She finally pulled it off, but this reader wonders if it was worth the effort. However, the author adds interest by recounting trips up the Nile by Gustave Flaubert and Florence Nightingale. The trips were made separately without the others knowledge. I learned a good deal about both Flaubert and especially Nightingale. She was a much more dimensional character than most people realize.

To Siberia (1996) is a novel by Per Patterson (translated by Ann Born). Here is yet another tale of WWII. What makes this recently translated book interesting is that it is set in the farthest northern tip of Denmark. The story concerns a relatively poor family that includes a carpenter father, his very religious wife, and a son and a daughter who are close to each other in age and spirit. The brother and sister do not identify much with either of their parents. The author brings you into the depths of their lives in this remote and frozen place. You learn about their dreams for their adult lives and a good deal about them as young people who are about to come of age. Then the war and Hitler’s troops ultimately come all the way north into their little town, to interfere with the outcome of their dreams.

October 2008

2008-09-30T08:22:00.004-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in September 2008:

Exceptional

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008), a novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This book is already on my short list of the best books I’ve read in 2008. It’s even worth shelling out $22.00 for the thin hardback. It is a warm and lovely story set on Guernsey Island, one of Britain’s Channel Islands during the German Occupation in WWII. The novel includes letters written between island residents and London author, Julia Ashton, who is looking for a subject for her next novel. The islanders, feeling the stress of the German occupation of their beautiful island, have formed a book club and called it the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The action starts when island resident and farmer Dawsey Adams writes a letter to Julia Ashton (whose book he had just read) to ask for the address of a good used bookshop in London. Well here we go. Perhaps you’re already thinking about the wonderful book and movie, “84 Charing Cross Road.” This book is similar, but it’s an altogether different story. Dawsey, and don’t you love that name, also introduces the literary society and in doing so captures the heart and interest of Julia. Other residents start writing to Julia, and before you know it, Julia has traveled to the island to meet the people who have been writing to her. Together they have wonderful discussions about books, the war, and much more. The romantic adventure that follows may stir your heart enough to make you climb on a Condor ferry boat at Weymouth, England or St. Malo, France, and go see Guernsey Island for yourself. I mustn’t say more. You need to read this book. It might lead you to discover some old books to add to your reading list. For example, it caused me to seek and find a copy of the complete writings and poems of Charles Lamb.

Thanks to Stephanie Curran for recommending this book to me! And thanks to Janie Freeman for her recommendation. I’ve bought the book and it is in my to-be-read stack of books.

84 Charing Cross Road (1970), Correspondence by Helene Hanff. This was my third reading of this book, encouraged by my reading of “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” If you do not have this book, do a Google search and find a used hardback edition. This is a true story which is also set in WWII. Helene Hanff is the New York writer of letters which begin in 1949. She initially corresponds with Frank Doel, a London bookshop manager, to buy used books which are better in quality (beautiful vellum paper and leather-bound editions) and lower in price than those in New York. Soon Hellene is also corresponding with other staff in the bookshop. Helene sends her new friends care parcels of food, hosiery, and other items not readily available in war-torn London. It is a rich and lovely story that has encouraged me to pick up paper, put pen in hand, and write thoughtful letters which can and perhaps will be read year after year. Email is too fast and sometimes written when one is in a state of emotion.

Anne Bancroft stars in the movie 84 Charing Cross Road. You might want to find a used VHS copy of this movie, for it might not be available in years to come. The movie has a different ending, but book and movie are both good.

Truman (1992), a biography by David McCullough. Absolutely marvelous! Don’t let the size of the book scare you. I read the 992 pages of text in 8 days (with reference material, there are 1,117 pages). In addition to reading about good ol’ Harry, Bess, and Margaret, you will read about some of the greatest characters of that time (and of my lifetime) including Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Acheson. I was only three years old when Harry Truman was the Vice President and sworn in to become the president on the day Roosevelt died, April 12, 1945. Harry Truman was immediately faced with making some of the most difficult decisions about war and our economy that a new president could face, and all of them had to be made in a very short period of time. Harry was up to the task when those around him had differing ideas and demands.

Then there was the election of 1948. At that time, Dad, mother, and my brother, Jerry, and I lived in one side of a double house and on the other side lived my great grandmother, grandmother, and my aunts, Barbara and Janet (who were the same age as my brother and I). At that time, Janet, and I (both 7 years old) stood up for Thomas Dewey and my brother Jerry and Aunt Barbara (both age 11) stood for President Truman. See the photo inset of the characters in the left column of this review. Given our ages, none of us really knew what was going on and what was at stake, although I am sure that Jerry and Barbara would dispute this. I remember listening to the election results on our old radios. Dewey supporters listened at my house and Truman supporters listened at grandmother’s house. Every time the lead changed, we would jump over the rail that separated our front porches to torment the two who were now on the losing side. In the wee hours of the morning Truman won what was supposed to be a Dewey landslide.

Well, people change over the years and I have changed a good deal. I would now have supported Harry Truman. And after reading this book, I understand so much more about that time in my life and about the greatness of Truman. I’m amazed at the living conditions, pay, and security for the president then as compared with today. Did you know there was an assassination attempt on Truman on November 1, 1950? Did you know that he and Bess were living in the Blair House then, because floors of the White House buckled and the entire interior of the house had to be gutted?

The book contains a rich amount of detail about both World wars, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, the Korean conflict, and life in our country during those times. As I read about characters such as Dean Acheson I could picture their faces even before their photograph appeared in the book.

Robert McCullough writes great history books. Now that I’ve read “John Adams” (see the September 2008 report) and “Truman,” I am ready to move on to read “1776.”

The Da Vinci Code (2003), by Dan Brown. This is a fast paced and heart stopping murder mystery set in Paris in and about the Museé Louvre. This book must have been sold by everyone imaginable; my Toyota dealer had a floor display of the book in the parts section of his service department a couple of years ago, next to his displays of tires, hats, racing jackets, and gizmo wrenches. Since this was the only book he was selling, I presumed it had captivated him enough to order a slew of them to sell to his customers. But alas, I still didn’t read it. Recently, my wife found a brand new hardback copy at a library book sale for 45 cents!

This book is so captivating that I found my eyes racing over the words to find out what would happen next. I had to deliberately slow my pace so as not to miss anything and in fact reread pages where I thought I had moved too quickly. I’m sure some folks will find the biblical history provided in this book of fiction to be controversial. Fear not, if you are well-grounded in your faith. There is some well-documented truth in this book that scholars have learned about Bible history and other ideas that are disputed by some scholars. Noted scholar, Bart D. Erhman, the distinguished James A. Gray Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, covers some of the issues in his books “Misquoting Jesus” and “Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene.”

My Antonia (1918), a novel by Willa Cather. This is a wonderful romantic novel. With its clean, clear, and beautiful prose, it is and will always be a classic. The book is set in the newly occupied Nebraska plains way back in 1918, when people lived in dug-out’s and sod house’s and worked like dogs with little money, heavy debt, mules, horses, and rough tools to break the sod and plow new crops. I never realized these prairie lands were originally occupied by Swedes, Bohemians, Russians, Norwegians, French, Italians, Irish, and all manner of immigrants who traveled west to claim land and make a home. Do you know what a dug-out looks like? I did a Google search and found a pen-and-ink drawing of one. Amazing! Wood was so scarce in the plains that folks dug out caves in hillocks; then boarded up the front to include a window and a door. Those primitive houses had dirt floors, dirt walls, hand-made furniture, and oil lamps. Some folk that had more funds to work with put down wood floors and used lathing and plaster to make interior walls. The book will fill you in on the details, but suffice it to say, these folks lived in ways we wouldn’t dream of. Luxuries and eventually better housing came about through the hard work of this generation and the generations that followed. As the story continues, conditions improve dramatically with each generation to the point that the reader begins to feel right comfortable in the Wild West. This is a gem which I know I will read again.

O Pioneers! (1918), a novel by Willa Cather. This is another classic novel of the opening of the Nebraska prairie, and also a great love story. While the setting is similar, this is a completely different story. The book moves you quickly from the original farm to better days. It would be hard for me to say which of the two novels I liked best. I will say that Alexandra in this story would be easy for a man to love, for she is an amazing woman who civilized the men in her life. When her daddy died, she was the oldest and had to take charge of her three brothers. The two grown brothers were not up to her level of skills and, to be sure, her mother needed someone to make the farm work. Having now read two of her books, I’d say you can’t go wrong with any of the books written by Willa Cather.

Taft, (1994), a novel by Ann Patchett. This is a thoroughly modern story about extraordinarily complex characters written in clear prose that is a joy to read. Ann Patchett writes about people who are often overlooked and not understood. She reveals them to you as people whom you would like to know, even if you have avoided such folk in the past. In this novel, Patchett writes about an African American jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. He quits the band and takes a regular job as bartender and manager of a Memphis bar. His wife leaves him and takes his son to Miami, but John keeps working and continues to support his family. His life changes dramatically when he hires a young white woman. She and her brother have been through hard times, and together they greatly complicate his life. If you think the story is in high gear, wait until his son and ex-wife return to Memphis from Florida. The novel turns into a heart-stopping mystery that keeps you turning pages even when you know it’s time to call it a night and go to bed. You can depend on anything written by Ann Patchett to be good.

And finally, Very Good (Something must be in a category besides “Exceptional”)

Never Surrender (2003) a historical novel of Winston Churchill by Michael Dobbs. This volume (Volume I) is about the start of WWII, when Germany had quickly marched through Belgium and advanced with little resistance through France. England had its back to the wall and thus far, Roosevelt had yet to provide any assistance to England. The king threw old Winnie into the job of Prime Minister at a time when King Edward and most of the parliament didn’t like Churchill. The King made the difficult choice because Neville Chamberlain couldn’t deal with the war and the king couldn’t think of anyone else who might be able to rise to the occasion. Winnie was in deep do-doo and had to fight like a tiger, against great odds. Surprisingly Joseph P. Kennedy acted like a real scoundrel and did everything he could do to ruin Winnie. But Winnie failed to remove “bugs” that his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain, had planted in the telephones and habitats of some of his colleagues and people he didn’t trust, Kennedy included. So Michael Dobbs had some rich documented history to work with in writing this novel, and it is quite good.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) is a novel by Mark Twain. This was my second reading of this book, the first being so many years ago that I had forgotten most of the story. You can’t beat these adventures. The book ought to be read over and over in our second childhood to remember how much fun we had in the first.

A note about reading:

I was born in 1941 and progressed through school with great difficulty because of a learning disability. When I finished a chapter of a book, or even an entire book, I couldn’t tell you what I had just read. I read books in school, but none more than necessary. Even today, when teachers and parents alike know about dyslexia and other childhood learning difficulties such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), most teachers and schools are not equipped to give these children the help they need. I could write a book about what I went through and how I finally overcame the difficulty. A friend recently told me he was a little surprised that I am now reading some books that he had read in high school. Well, now you know why. If you would like to help millions of children who have learning challenges, contact the Hill Center, 3200 Pickett Rd, Durham, NC 27705. They expect to break ground on a World-Wide Teacher Training Center to train public school teachers in how to teach kids who are dyslectic and/or suffer from ADD or ADHD. The Hill Center is currently seeking pledges to raise $12 million to build a center for “Sharing The Solution.” Our daughter, Marta Maria is a student at the Hill Center and she is making wonderful progress. We live in a great time.

September 2008

2008-09-02T11:14:00.008-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in August 2008:

Exceptional

Grand Obsession (2008), a memoir by Perri Knize. Exquisite! The author writes about her search for a piano that touches her soul. When the piano is delivered, Ms. Knize discovers the instrument no longer has the soul she heard in the piano showroom. Disheartened, but not defeated, Perri begins a journey here and abroad to restore her piano to greatness. The book’s “prelude” lures you into the journey as she beautifully describes a forest in the Alps where expert foresters cultivate, care for, and select trees that are of the right age and quality to make soulful piano boards. Then in chapter 1, we begin Perri’s quest to find a piano that fits her limited budget and one that will fit in the small living room of the Knize’s two bedroom bungalow in Missoula, Montana. This book is rich in detail and offers the reader an education in the making of pianos, the tuning of these instruments which can produce the sound of an orchestra, and the advanced art of voicing that some require to establish a signature sound. Perri wants her piano voiced to glorify the richness of the compositions of Shubert. We’re treated to a rich travelogue that ultimately takes us to storybook villages in Europe. Never mind that I do not play an instrument or read music, or have knowledge in physics or metaphysics. I was able to understand much of the material and it advanced my understanding of such things.

In her everyday world, Ms. Knize writes for such diverse publications as The Atlantic Monthly, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, Condé Nast Traveler, and Outside. I hope my friend, John Hartwell, will read this book. He will especially enjoy reading the very cool chapter on physics and metaphysics, including an explanation of how vibrations are heard and translated by the brain. My audiologist, Dr. Winslow, will cherish Ms. Knize’s description of the complex design and working of the human ear. Those interested in management and human relations will want to read about how workers in Germany excel in building the Grotrian piano; for the excellence of production management and the development of the work family that results in advancing their achievements to become master artisans. Those who love violins will also want to travel to a village in the Austrian Alps to visit one of the world’s greatest violin craftsmen and learn how he puts love into the instruments he makes.

I love books about pianos and this book is now on my list of favorite piano memoirs, which include Piano Lessons by Noah Adams (of NPR) and The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thad Carhart. (I believe I know the ‘secret’ location of the shop.)

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1939), literature by Victor Hugo. (You’ll find the best edition of this book in the Modern Library section in your local bookshop.) Some of you may curse this glorious review until the author begins to move you to the story’s conclusion. Soon after the book begins, you’ll discover this book is not the easiest of reads. Don’t give up! At some point, you’ll realize this book is a masterpiece. You may conclude that God spoke through Victor Hugo to teach us to love.

You need to know there is a book within this book. (There are two chapters without dialog.) You’ll be temporarily pulled away from the story. Book III provides a detailed description of the Notre Dame Cathedral and its art and a phenomenal written description of the geographical layout of Paris. Pull out your Michelin pocket map of Paris and follow along with the writing. Book IV brings the reader back into the story. However, the author occasionally detours from the story to give you a better understanding of life in the middle ages. Hugo seems to enjoy stopping a heart-throbbing scene to, for example, take you to another location in Paris to warble on and on about something that you wish him not to write so much about (such as his detailed description of a clerk going over expenses with the King). Just relax and read this great book. (It is easy for me to say this now that I have finished the book.)

When you’re finished, you may think this story should have been made into an opera. It was. It is The Phantom of the Opera!

John Adams (2001), a biography by David McCullough. Don’t let the size of the book scare you. This is a nice and easy read. This is a Pulitzer that is worth the prize. The story begins in 1776. John Adams and his friend, the shoemaker John Bass, are riding horses through the snowy woods. They have just begun a 400-mile journey from Braintree, Massachusetts to Philadelphia. There John will begin serving his first term in the U.S. Continental Congress. Within the time frame of this story you’ll learn more about U.S History than you did in school.

As I read this book, I began to question that the great soldier George Washington was the father of our country. Might this notion have resulted from the romance of war and from our winning the war? I argue that if we won the battles of the day but did not have the framework for governing a union, there would not be the country we know today. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but this document does not provide the structure for governance. Therefore, one must consider the accomplishments of others who provided leadership.

John Adams was a plain living but industrious man of great integrity (even if he was a bit pompous). He was a great reader. His study of the great leaders inspired him to determine the best structure to govern a free country, and one that would provide equality and freedom for all. His wife, Abigail Adams, inspired him with her brilliance of understanding and ideas. John thought out and began selling their ideas to his fellow congressmen. He provided the input to document the structure, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. His writing of the Massachusetts Constitution later established him as a writer. This document became the standard for the writing of other constitutions in this country and abroad.

Adams input to the U.S. Constitution included John and Abigail Adams desire to abolish slavery. But the Congress chose to side step the issue because most of them owned slaves. The Adams did not own slaves. Thomas Jefferson talked to Adams like he was against slavery, but he owned more than 200 slaves. He never gave up his slaves and it is reported that one slave replaced his late wife’s comfort and bore some of Jefferson’s children.

In addition to being our 2nd President, Adams served our country in many other capacities in the years leading up to his presidency. For example, he represented our infant union in Europe as the U.S. representative to Britain, France, and Holland. He also was responsible for negotiating crucial loans from Holland; money that was necessary for us to continue and eventually win the Revolutionary War. Adams was the leader to recognize we could not win the war and preserve our independence without a Navy. He was the founder of the U.S. Navy. Meanwhile, for most of these years, Abigail was left to run the farm and raise the children.

There is so much history in this book apart from Adams. The book includes significant detail about his parents, Abigail and their family (including John Quincy Adams), Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the leaders of foreign countries of the day. McCullough’s descriptions of housing, moving the centers of government, and conducting the business of the Congress and the President, are essential to a fuller understanding of the history. Then too, the book’s detail about the travel of the day by horse, carriage, and ship, is enlightening.

It’s a great time to read this book as our election process plays out. Dirty politics was rampant then as now. The book reports that Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, and others were guilty of dirty politics and were not supportive of Adams when he became the president. Thomas Jefferson was an on and off friend to Adams, but I question his ever being a true friend of anyone but himself. When Jefferson died he left a negative net worth, and did not will any his prize posessions to the slave that comforted him and bore some of his children.

Now that I have read this book, I consider John and Abigail Adams to be worthy of being called the father and mother of our country.

Run (2007) a novel by Ann Patchett. Like Bel Canto (see the August report), Run is a fast moving and beautifully written story. This novel is all about adoption. The former white mayor of Boston and his wife, who have a grown son, adopt two black boys (brothers) from a local agency. The family live in a big old home in an established Boston neighborhood. From stories that appeared in a newspaper soon after the adoption, the boy’s mother determines that it was the former mayor and his wife who adopted her sons. She also discovers she lives within walking distance of the mayor’s home. As her sons grow up, while not overtly trying to see or spy on them, the mother and her daughter often see the boys walking to school and in a neighborhood park.

The story is focused on real life issues that adoptees and parents must come to terms with. A time comes when adopted kids want to know, “Who am I”? The birth parent revisit their decision to give the child up, “Did I do the right thing”? They wonder and fret about where their child is and how they are being raised. Adoptees want to know why a parent gave them up. The birth parent fears the child will not understand why they were given up. Adoptive parents worry what about the result of the birth parent or the child finding each other. The birth parent and the adoptee wonder if they should try to find the other. What will happen if they meet each other? The questions, worries, and fears are many, but such people who do someday meet under sesirable circumstances, discover there is much to be learned about who they are and how similar they are to the one who gave them up. You’ll be amazed at the twists and turns in this story and of the result. This book is terrific whether or not you’ve been involved the adoption process.

Very Good

Dog Day (1997) is mystery novel by Alicia Gimenéz-Bartlett. This is a way cool mystery book that I received in the mail from my brother, as a result of an Internet book swap among book friends. In fact, my brother, Jerry, has a literary agent and may soon be a published writer of a mystery book series. I loved reading Dog Day and now I want to get more books written by Alicia Gimenéz-Bartlett. This book is full of mystery thrills, twists, turns, romance, and very interesting details about the nature of the animals, as well as the work of the police, those who raise and care for dogs, and the perpetrators of the crime. It is a wonderfully entertaining read. The story is set in Barcelona. The author was born in Almansa, Spain, and now lives in Barcelona.

Baker Towers (2005) a novel by Jennifer Haigh. This story is set in the 1940’s. It is about coal miners who work and live in Bakerton, a company mining town located in Western Pennsylvania. It’s about immigrants from the old country who live in neighborhoods that include Little Italy, Swedetown, and Polish Hill. It’s all about the struggles of being poor and living in company houses, and struggling to live. It’s about black lung disease, mining accidents, and management and union squabbles. It is also about how some children of miners end up working in the mines, about those who leave to live and work in other places, and about some of those who leave, but return to work in other jobs because they can’t give up the town and its people. This is the story of what really happens a little towns and generations of its people that we only briefly learn about from television news, in the aftermath of a coal mining accident. This is a well told story of love and sorrow and one that I think many readers will enjoy.

Good

Tears of the Giraffe (2002) a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. This very nice read is another of the series, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I love these stories. They are pleasant reads to enjoy between heavy works like John Adams and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. These comfort books call for a recliner, a fleece throw to cover your body, a cup of Irish tea, and a plate of cookies. Cuddle up with the Tears of the Giraffe or Dog Day and you've got pleasure! In this episode, Precious Ramotswe, who is the “cunning and sensible proprietor of the only ladies’ detective agency in Botswana”, demonstrates her skill in revealing the truth and/or catching the guilty, developing her first assistant detective, and discovering love. What comes next? I’ve got to immediately buy the next book in series to find out and to have another comfort book to read while reclining in my comfortable old chair.

Sweet Mandarin (2007) a memoir by Helen Tse. The author and her sisters own the Sweet Mandarin restaurant in Manchester, England. Cousin Pipes, have you been there? This is the story of three generations of Chinese women and their family who lived in a farming village near Guangzhou China in the early 1900’s and migrated from there to Hong Kong, and finally on to Manchester, England. Cooking has been the lifeblood of this family from the making of soy sauce in the first generation, when the father travelled to Hong Kong and sold the sauce on the street to food stalls. Eventually he opened a food stall. Years later a daughter migrated from Hong Kong to a village in England (near Manchester) and opened neighborhood "take aways" and restaurants. It is an interesting story of how women survived in a family that had no sons, in China, a country that places value on sons and little to no value on women. When the second generation daughter moves to England, she initially endures the prejudice of the village where she was the first of Chinese ancestry to live. After opening, she ultimately earned the respect of locals with her good food, reasonable process, and generous service. Helen, one of three third generation daughters, studied law at Cambridge University and went on to work as a finance lawyer in London, Hong Kong, and Manchester. But she couldn’t get the family joy of cooking out of her system, so she quit practicing law and recently joined her sisters in opening the restaurant Sweet Mandarin.

Read!

Who needs television, especially the addiction of tabloid cable news with their talking heads, breathless analyzers, nabobs, and nincompoops? I’d rather read! When there is a need to view the ‘telly’ during this election year, do not forget C-Span. There you will see all of the event and hear only what the participants have to say, without the constant interruption and the interference of the nincompoops. These people may have a lot to do with why we are such a divided people in this nation. I think the telly is best kept in the back room where does not become the focus of the family.

August 2008

2008-07-31T20:52:00.011-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in July 2008:

Exceptional

The Color of Water (1996), a memoir by James McBride. This is a black man’s tribute to his white mother. If you haven’t read this book, go at once to your local bookshop, buy it, and read it before the week is out. This is one of the best books I’ve read in 2008 and one of the most inspiring memoirs I’ve ever read. It’s about the abused daughter of a Jewish rabbi who emigrated with his family from Poland to Virginia in 1921. The father ultimately opened a grocery in a black neighborhood in Suffolk, Virginia. Those of you who are my age must have an idea of what it was like for Jews and blacks to be living in Suffolk, Virginia in the 1920’s and 1930’s. When life was at its worst for this teenager, her brave and abused mother arranged for Ruth to move to New York. At first, she worked for a barber in Harlem who hired women to do nails and then used flattery and monetary incentives to get them to work in his other business, prostitution. But before it was too late, she met a black man who counseled her to quit her job. She married her counselor, became a Christian, and the two started a church in their tiny apartment in the Brooklyn Red Hook housing project. Ruth and Andrew McBride had 8 children. He passed away. Ruth’s struggle to raise her kids was intolerable until she met and married another black man, Hunter Jordan. This man used his life savings to buy the family a house in New Jersey, which the family moved into in 1957. Ruth had 4 more children with Hunter. When he died in 1972, she had 12 kids to raise. Both husbands had given Ruth wonderful love and care. As a result, Ruth McBride never wavered from her faith. Despite great poverty and turbulent events in her life, she successfully parented the 12 children, moving them from difficult life choices through college. Some of them continued their education to earn graduate degrees. All 12 have had successful careers. Always trying to come to grips with his identity, the author once asked his mother what color God was, and she said, “God is the color of water.”

Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), a novel by Zora Neale Hurston. When I finished reading The Color of Water, Moses Man of the Mountain was the next book on my stack. For me, this reading experience was like living on ice cream and cake for nearly a week. All I can say is that you would be blessed to do it yourself! Zora Hurston opened my eyes to the importance of Moses to African Americans, as he led Hebrew slaves out of Egypt to the River Jordan, which was the entrance to the Promised Land. I didn’t say he led them into the Promised Land, because God called him home to the top of the mountain. Before he climbed the mountain to meet God, Moses directed his sidekick, Joshua, to complete the journey, by leading the Jews across the Jordan River into Canaan. Zora took the story of Moses from the Old Testament and carefully stayed with the scripture to expand the story into a great novel. Now I have a clearer understanding of Moses and his life. I hope you’ll buy this book while you’re at your local bookshop buying The Color of Water, and that you enjoy both as much as I did.

Bel Canto (2001), a novel by Ann Patchett. Reading this was like having more ice cream and cake. Gifted, talented, and rich folk (the hostages) live for an extended period of time with the poorest of poor (their Indian captors). We soon discover that the “terrorists,” including gun-toting children, have gifts and talents that would never have been discovered and nurtured were it not for the relationships developed during the siege. As might be expected, people fall in love in captivity without regard to their status in the outside world. The resounding moral of this story is that within impoverished communities far and near, love denied and gifts never to be discovered oft times result in revolution. Although the Indians in this book were native to South America, I was reminded of the Indians living in the Lacodan rainforest in Chiapas, Mexico. These Indians (Zapatistas) who are led by the former college professor, Subcomandante Marcos, are also considered “terrorists.” Some of them surely have the potential to be great singers, writers, or leaders. The gap between the rich and poor in this world is too great.

The House on Mango Street (1984) by Sandra Cisneros is a wee book of sweet, joyous, and sad vignettes that popped up in my to read stack right after Bel Canto. The vignettes are from the heart and in the rich street language of Latino children, expressing and amplifying hopes and dreams which far exceed what is expected of them. Unfortunately, the desired outcome is often not within their grasp. Here again we see the opportunity to provide for needs and nurture kids who are full of joyous notions waiting to be fulfilled. The words of these kids leap into your life to be heard and to be remembered. What could I do? I asked myself. I answered my question by sending a copy of this book to a woman in Chicago, who upon getting her counseling degree wishes to help kids like those on Mango Street to realize their dreams. Books are a huge blessing to be shared. What else might we do?

Imperial Life in the Emerald City (2006) is a reporting of news by Rajiv Chandrasekartan. Fasten your safety belts, because you’ll learn more than you want to know about the mistakes our government has made in our occupation of Iraq and our efforts at reconstruction. In the process, our government has wasted billions of dollars. The book is a National Book Award Finalist and was recognized by the New Times Book Review as the best book of the year (2006). The book was praised by every book review I could find, up to and including the Wall Street Journal review, which said, “A daring reporter with an eye for detail, Mr. Chandrasekaran has written a lively account of American ordeals in Baghdad after Saddam's fall. It would be an entertaining read if it weren't so depressing.” Sometimes books are not fun to read, but “the truth shall set us free”…right? You really do need to read this book.

Very Good

A Long Way Gone (2007), is a memoir by Ishmael Beah. Once again, books are not always fun to read, but they are sometimes necessary to enlighten us about horrible things that are happening in our world. In this book, we learn about, and try to understand, the horrors of children who are forced by their captors to fight in wars. This is a memoir of a boy soldier in Sierra Leone, Africa. Ishmael was one of many African children who have been traumatized, hopped up on drugs, and given and expected to use AK-47’s to kill people. That Ishmael lived through the terror he experienced, was then forced to participate in the terror, and was finally rehabilitated is a miracle. Another miracle occurred when a well-to-do sponsor selected him to travel to New York to become part of her family. Truthfully, it was often hard for me to continue reading the detailed descriptions of violence in this book, but I sensed that I must continue to know the truth. You might have heard about some nit-picking by literary types in regard the data contained in the book, but remember that this is a boy’s recollection of the events of his life and not a history book. I learned about the book when one of our ministers described the story, and I immediately went to a bookshop to buy it.

Telex From Cuba (2008), a novel by Rachel Kushner. When I see novels that are set in Cuba, I nearly always buy them. This is a historical novel. The author’s mother grew up in Oriente Province, Cuba, in the village of Nicaro. The author’s grandfather was the chief executive of the U.S. government operated nickel mining operation located in that village. Her mother also spent much of her time in the nearby village of Preston, where the U.S. United Fruit Company operated a 300,000 acre sugar plantation. In writing this novel, the author draws from extensive interviews with her mother, relatives, and others who worked for the companies. After reading the book, I think the story is more truth than fiction. It’s an excellent read. This seems to me another case in which the oppressed (the Cuban natives) come together to revolt with the hope of getting fair treatment and compensation for their labor. I hope that I can someday travel to Cuba to see this beautiful land and to visually experience the Havana haunts of Ernest Hemingway.

Good

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (2002), by Alexander McCall Smith. This happy little book is set in Africa. After reading a couple of horror stories (Imperial Life in the Emerald City and A Long Way Gone) I noticed this book on the top of my wife’s stack of books to be read. I needed to something light-hearted and fun to read. Since my wife was deep into reading the voluminous George Eliot classic, Daniel Deronda, I offered, “Might I temporarily borrow 'The No. 1 Ladies’? and she replied with a smile, “Sure, I’ve heard it is enjoyable and there are several more books in this series." It was fun and exactly what I needed. I’m now looking for volume 2, 3, and 4, but so far have not been able to find them. I’ll do an Internet search and there they are sure to be found.

Our living room is our music center and reading room. Most evenings my wife and I find pleasure in listening to music on the stereo, enjoying music from our baby grand piano, which she plays beautifully, and by reading books which are housed in bookcases that line the walls of the room. Our TV is tucked away in the back of our house and, thankfully, seldom watched.

July 2008

2008-06-29T11:00:00.007-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in June 2008:

Exceptional

A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), a novel by Khaled Hosseini. A Thousand Splendid Suns reveals much about the sordid treatment of women in Afghanistan, from the collapse of the monarchy in 1973 through the governance of the Taliban and on into the U.S. invasion following 9/11. The author, who is also a physician, was born in Kabul (where this story begins), and he lived in Afghanistan for much of his childhood. His family moved to the United States in 1980. The novel tells the story of two women who were brought together when both were forced to become the wives of an old shoemaker in Kabul. The man beats the women anytime they fail to obey an unreasonable order. Their lives become worse during the reign of the Taliban when women were closely monitored. This is a must read for all people who are concerned about human rights. There were times I thought I couldn't continue to read this story, but I'm glad I did. It is a beautifully written and important work. Hosseini also wrote the Kite Runner, which I reviewed last month.

Pray to God that the Taliban never again rises to power, for their ignorance and brutality to people, especially to women and children is beyond comprehension.

News Update, June 28, 2008 (From the NC News & Observer) Afghanistan Report Is Grim: "The Taliban have regrouped after their initial fall from power in Afghanistan, and the pace of their attacks is likely to increase this year, according to a Pentagon report that offers a dim view of progress in the nearly seven-year-old war."

The Good Earth (1931), a novel by Pearl S. Buck. I was 14 years old the first time I read this book. This was my second reading of this wonderful classic. This epic novel is set in China and speaks to every Chinese proverb one can think of. The Good Earth ought to be read at least twice, for in reading it you relearn life lessons you forgot. We are reminded of what often happens to dirt poor people who work themselves until they achieve great wealth only to die poor in spirit. Pearl Buck was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia. The daughter of Southern Presbyterian missionaries, Pearl lived much of her amazing life in China. It will enhance your reading experience to read about her life on Wikipedia.com. We've often driven by her childhood home in West Virginia, while on our way through the Monongahela National Forest in route to our favorite ramp harvesting spot on a partular hill by the Little Williams River. You ever dig ramps? Near Easter and for several weeks thereafter, you'll find these spring greens by the bushel.

The River Warren (1998), a novel by Kent Myers. The author is the Associate Professor of English and Writer-in-Residence at Black Hills State University in South Dakota. This is a way cool story and on my short list of the best books I've read this year. The story begins with a semi truck driver wheeling his rig recklessly down a great hill and on to Main Street in a small South Dakota town, crashing the rig against several buildings and ultimately driving through the plate glass window of the town's barber shop. In the process he kills himself and his wife and a bunch of Leo Gruber's hogs, hogs he was supposed to be hauling to market. Did he do this on purpose? Now as you would expect in a small town, folks have different ideas about what happened and what's going on in town in general. The revealing of each character's notions and actions is the genius of this story. Every chapter is in the voice of one of the town characters. They speak from their mouths to tell it straight...or at least what they believe to be true. You howl in laughter if you react as I did to Luke Crandell's intellectually stimulating dissertation about "b--- s---." This reminded me of several characters in my life who would say, "Now, don't you ever try to b--- s---- the b--- s----er!" There's a whole lot of truth in this and all of the other chapters of this book about humans and human relations! In the end you might smile real big and agree with me that this is one of the most interesting novels you've read in a while. It's one of those books that should have made it big, but didn't. It appears the book is out of print, but if you hurry, there are at least 17 used copies available on the Internet.

Evensong (1999), a novel by NC author Gail Godwin. This book literally fell into my hands from a grocery bag of books my wife bought at the Durham (NC) Public Library Annual Book Sale. It's exceptional! The book tells the story of Margaret Bonner, the priest of the fictional High Balsam, NC, Episcopal Church. Margaret's husband is Father Adrian Bonner, an Episcopal priest who is the headmaster of a school for troubled children. Don't put aside this book because you think it is only about religion, for it is a lively and interesting tale. This story is rich in so many ways, including mysteries and the skillful rendering by the author of a priest's daily work, Margaret's priestly interactions with family, friends, and town folk, some cool homilies and confessions, and even some scholarly reporting of Bible passages. I thought the author must be a priest until I saw the detail of her research in her acknowledgments at the end of the book. In addition, you will love the old monk, Tony, and Chase, a troubled boy from Adrian's school. You may even come to love Grace Munger, the overbearing daughter of a former High Balsam Free Will Baptist church minister who returns to town to lead a Millennium Birthday March for Jesus.

For me there is the additional benefit of continuing to learn that there are many more wonderful churches than the one I was raised in and the one I currently belong to. The Episcopal church comes across as one that is rich in history, form, and substance. Perhaps it would please God if we might learn that regardless of the name on the door, that we are truly all one in the Spirit.

The Shipping News (1993) a novel by E. Annie Proulx. Quick! Before you look it up, where is Newfoundland? Yeah, it's just below Labrador. Know where that is? You'll learn a lot about this cold land by reading The Shipping News, which is the fictional newspaper of the fictional town of Killick-Claw. The first time I picked up this book, I read the first few chapters and tossed it aside. That was a mistake. Early in June, my wife retrieved the book from our library, handed it to me, and said, "You really ought to try reading this book again and stay with it, for I think you'll love it once the real adventure begins. I did. And this is an exceptional book. In fact, this is one of those stories that you wish wouldn't end. Get used to the short, clipped sentences. Once you get into the rhythm of the way these folks talk, the story flows with a fun cadence. Now I'd like to visit Newfoundland.

Very Good

Saving Grace (1995), a novel by Lee Smith. This is a realistic and detailed telling of the life of snake handling religious folk in Appalachia. The story is set in North Carolina and Tennessee. In beautifully written prose, Lee Smith takes us on a journey with the family of a preacher who moved from place to place, "wherever God tells me to go." You feel the passion of the preacher who apparently believes (or he wouldn't do the things he does) but you also come to understand that his backward ways and earthly desires also lead him to back slide! Both traits become a way of life that brings much suffering to his family and others and leads many into his way of worship, "as told in the scriptures."

This story closely parallels the memoir Salvation on Sand Mountain, Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia, (1995) a true story by Dennis Covington, a former New York Times reporter. Covington covers the trial of a minister who was convicted for trying to kill his wife with poisonous snakes. He visits some of the churches to get a broader perspective of these religious groups, and he and his wife become members. There is a part in this book that I'll never forget, a time when Covington is invited to preach. He is cautious in his delivery, pausing again and again to ask the pastors who share the stage, "Am I in the Word?" He then continues only after they respond, "You are in the Word, brother!" This works until he preaches one of their favorite scriptures, in which Jesus returns from death and tells Mary to "Go spread the good news," for this is seen by Covington (and others) as the occasion when Jesus ordains a woman to be the first minister! But literalists sometimes choose not to accept the literal, and this was clearly the case when the preacher's answered, "You are NOT in the Word!" Covington walked away from the pulpit and soon after left the fold.

Good

Summer Crossing (thought to be lost for over 50 years, the book was first published in 2005): a novel by Truman Capote. This is a nice breezy read about a rich teenage girl who lives on New York's Fifth Avenue with her family. The parents go to Europe for a summer and leave the daughter home. As is sometimes the case, she despises living up to the expectations of her family and desires to do as she pleases. She is driven to be different. Soon after the folks leave on the ship, she falls into the back seat of her convertible with a parking lot attendant, a Jewish boy from the Brooklyn. They soon find their way into the parent's penthouse to have a party, the streets and bars, and even into the Jewish mother's home in Brooklyn. You can about imagine what you are going to be reading, including the result of this relationship.

Fugitive Pieces (1996), a novel by Anne Michaels. This is her first novel which has been highly praised and was an international best seller. The story begins during the Holocaust. A little boy hides in the mud to keep from being captured by German soldiers. He is presumed to be dead. When overlooked by the soldiers, he is subsequently found and raised by a Greek geology scholar, Athos. The story didn't move smoothly for me until the adoptive father and his son, Jakob, move to Toronto where Athos becomes a revered professor. Truthfully, I struggled with the reading of this book to the end, for the mysteries contained in the story were sometimes difficult for me to unlock and understand. The final mystery and the most difficult for me was the introduction of a new character, Ben, very near the end of the book. We're not told who he is. You must know before you start reading this book that this character, Ben, is not related to Jakob. He is a new professor at the university where Jakob teaches and is a revered writer. Ben and his wife meet Jakob and his wife and become enthralled by Jakob's life and writings. In the end, Ben travels to Greece to see if he can find some of Jakob's notebooks. I do not like to read book introductions because they far too often give away the end of the story. An introduction was not provided in this book, but when I became totally lost and was about to toss the book aside, quite close to the end of the story, I went online and found an introduction that unlocked the mystery. I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read the introduction before reading the book. Anne Michaels is a poet, and her poetic wording in this novel is quite beautiful. This was not an easy read for me, but it is a good story.

June 2008

2008-06-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

Here is a review of the books I read in May 2008:

Exceptional

The Kite Runner (2003) a novel by Khaled Hosseini. This is a beautifully written story of an Afghan family, with the focus on the life of two boys, Imir the son of a prominent family of Kabul and Hassan, the son of their servant, as told from the final days of the monarchy through the wars that followed. I was so overcome with grief after an attack in the beginning of the book that I nearly put the book aside. As I went to bed, I wondered how I would sleep, but I was rescued from my restlessness by what I had learned from reading two other books this month, Amish Grace and The Shack. Then I slept well. The next day, at the first opportunity I picked up The Kite Runner and continued reading. It would have been a mistake not to finish reading this masterpiece. The reader comes face to face with ethnic prejudice, religious hate, living in a war area, and the resulting violence. Now I can’t wait to read Hosseini’s newest novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958), a novel by Truman Capote. The surprise includes more than the enjoyment of this story as the Vintage Publishing edition also includes three Capote short stories. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a New York apartment house story, and the characters who live in this building unite for fun and adventure. The tale brings back to mind my adventures living on the north side of Chicago in the Lincoln Park neighborhood where I eventually met my wife, the adventure culminating with our eloping in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. I have so many memories of that time I’m moved to write a string of short stories, but I’m afraid my wife would not approve. A real bonus to this book is that the reader also gets the short stories House of Flowers, A Diamond Guitar, and the fabulous heartrending story, A Christmas Memory! I want to read this masterpiece to my daughter, Marta, and to my grandchildren every Christmas.

The Shack (2007), a novel by William P. Young. You’ll discover this to be a controversial book with some people applauding it and others (literalists) condemning it. I applaud it and I believe there is much truth to be gained from reading this story. If you can't understand why God allows cyclones in Burma, earthquakes in China, or endless wars to kill and maim tens of thousands of innocent people, you might benefit from reading The Shack. If you are overcome with grief about evil acts or suffering and death from sickness or an accident, surely you’ll find comfort in reading and believing the truths contained in The Shack.

This is another book that requires you to first read about a horrific death before you discover the healing. The story begins when a child is abducted on a family camping trip in Oregon near Multnomah Falls (a very beautiful place). The writing is so frighteningly real that tears may flow. It is terrifying to read about the search for the child, especially when the truth of the child’s death is revealed. After the tragedy, the main character is lured back to the shack of death where he meets Papa, Yeshua, Sarayu (the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Oh yes, the author also weaves in the wisdom of Sophia, who plays her role beautifully. William Young wrote this story as a gift to his six children, never intending it to be published and never dreaming that he would become a published author. If you want to understand the controversy, read this USA Today story which explains it http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-05-28-the-shack_N.htm.
I encourage you to read The Shack and decide for yourself what you believe to be true. That I read The Shack, Amish Grace, and The Kite Runner in the same month seems pretty amazing to me, given how the stories connect with one another.

Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934), a novel by Zora Neale Hurston. This is Hurston’s first novel. In it, we read of John, the child of a slave and the birth son of a plantation owner. Ol’ John grows up to be an excellent and powerful Baptist preacher… and uh…a lover of many women. Oh yeah…this is a classic tale of the man who wants it all. Of course there is the faithful wife, Lucy, who bears his burdens and saves his tail until it can no longer be saved. But in the end ol’ John is saved again, and after all of his ups and downs he returns to the pulpit and we ‘gits’ the sermon of a lifetime…the entire way cool sermon of nearly 7 pages. It’s great! You gotta read this and Hurston’s other books. I’ve got yet another in my stack for next month’s reading. I consider Zora Neale Hurston to be the most brilliant author I’ve read … yes I do! See also my May 2008 reviews of Seraph on the Suwannee and Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Very Good

Islands in the Stream (1970), a novel by Ernest Hemingway. Originally written as four acts, with each act being a period of the character’s life. The fourth act, which was written in 1951, was removed and published in 1952 as the novella, The Old Man and the Sea. The remaining three acts were held and published posthumously in 1970 as Islands in the Stream, by the author’s widow, Mary Hemingway. The first act, Bimini, is a story of a painter, assumed to be the author Hemingway, whose three sons come to visit him in Bimini. Here we read the greatest fishing tale I’ve ever read. I made notes on my bookmark of Hemingway’s references to neighborhoods, restaurants, and painters who were part of their lives in Paris. Then I did internet searches on each and got even more enjoyment in learning from my reading. The second act, Cuba, describes the character’s darkest years of drinking. Then the character emerges in act three, At Sea, as an intelligence agent for the U.S. military during the great war.

Old Man and the Sea (1952), a novella by Ernest Hemingway. This was my second reading of this book. I still have the hardback copy I bought and read in 1952 when I was 13. I had forgotten much of the story and it was a pleasure to read it again.

Amish Grace (2007), a work of non-fiction by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher. This is an excellent account of how the Amish were moved to forgive the killer of the Amish children at a schoolhouse near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. You must read this book to believe the quickness of forgiveness, the gifts of forgiveness, and the reasons why forgiveness is at the very heart of Amish religion. You will be amazed at how much you will learn from the Lord’s Prayer, Christ’s last words on the cross, and the Sermon on the Mount. I’m glad to better understand the Amish, but more than anything else to understand why I must forgive before I can be forgiven. You’ll also want to read After the Fire, The Destruction of the Lancaster County Amish (1992) by Randy-Michael Testa, which I reviewed in May 2008.

Good

Murder on the Orient Express (1934) a novel by Agatha Christie. It’s a good yarn with an intricate over the top plot. You’ll never guess who done it and when you find out, you’ll shake your head in wonder.