Thursday, June 01, 2017
[BOOK REVIEW] HILLBILLY ELEGY by J.D. Vance
Nonfiction/Memoir
I am going to admit I was very skeptical to read this because so many customers had asked about it or asked me to read it. I thought surely it could not be that good. I mean, several times when a book is so good and named a bestseller, I have not liked the actual book.
Anyway, I am glad to be mistaken about Hillbilly Elegy, the bestseller by Appalachian native, J.D. Vance. The author claims this book is not recounting his own triumphs and accomplishments but it is about the trials, tribulations, and victories of his mother’s parents, Mamaw and Papaw.
Like the author, I was blessed to have a wonderful relationship with my own maternal grandparents whom I also called Mamaw and Papaw. They also came from a poor, humble background but always wanted for their descendents to push hard and strive for upward mobility.
This memoir is well-written in the fact Vance relays stories about his childhood (some heartwarming stories, some heartbreaking tales) but also peppers the book with grim, cruel truths about Appalachia.
This book will either break your heart or else it will warm your soul. Whichever happens does not matter because most likely you will not forget the Vance family.
Labels: Memoir, Nonfiction, Reviews by Andrea K., Staff book reviews
Monday, April 17, 2017
[Book Review] The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
Marilyn U. reviews THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD by David McCullough (Simon and Schuster, 1968)
David McCullough has written a thoroughly researched book accounting the Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania. The author is able to hold the reader's attention by recounting stories from survivors. I enjoyed reading this captivating story.
Readers of this book will realize two things: a 70-foot wall of water is a powerful force and one the most destructive forces of nature is a flood. When a wall of water and flood were combined by man-made dam, one of the greatest disasters in the United States occurred. On May 31, 1889, the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania was wiped out by a dam collapse. In The Johnstown Flood, author David McCullough has explored the building of the South Fork dam, its maintenance, and eventual collapse, which led to the destruction of Johnstown and a national response to over 2,000 deaths.
Marilyn U., Staff
Labels: Disasters, History, Nonfiction, Reviews by Marilyn U.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
[Book Review] Jesus Before the Gospels by Bart D. Ehrman
Philip reviews Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of The Savior by Bart D. Ehrman (Harper One, 2016)
Bart Ehrman, Chairman of the Department of Religion at the University of North Carolina and noted New Testament scholar, has written several fascinating books about Jesus and the history of the New Testament, including Misquoting Jesus, Jesus Interrupted, Forged, and How Jesus Became God. They are very interesting and engrossing books, but the arguments and contentions he makes about Jesus and the books of the New Testament and their authors are ones that many Christians, in particular Fundamentalist Christians, must find abhorrent.
In his past books, Ehrman has argued that many of the Books of the New Testament were not written by the authors they are ascribed to; that they were in fact “forged” by unknown authors, who were pretending to write in the name of other authors, including Paul and Peter.
Ehrman has also contended that the books of the New Testament contain many contradictions and inconsistencies. He has also said, contrary to what many may believe, there are no original copies of New Testament writings in existence. What we have are manuscripts which are copies of copies of copies of the original writings. And, none of the copies, he has contended, are accurate because they were “inadvertently and/or intentionally” changed by the scribes who copied them.
And, though, Jesus came to be recognized by the early Christian Church, three centuries after his death, as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, and thus God Himself, Ehrman has made the argument that Jesus himself never made the claim that he was God on earth.
Readers who did not like his past books are not going to like Jesus Before the Gospels either. If they disagreed with his contentions and arguments in has past books, then they will disagree with his contentions and arguments in Jesus Before the Gospels.
Read more »Labels: Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams, Staff book reviews
Friday, March 11, 2016
[Book Review] Hooked by G. Bruce Knect
Nonfiction
Marilyn reviews HOOKED: PIRATES, POACHING, AND THE PERFECT FISH by G. Bruce Knecht
A captivating tale of the creative marketing of a fish, the overfishing of the animal, and a dramatic chase on the Antarctic high seas is Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish by G. Bruce Knecht.
Knect uses flashbacks to describe the first moments of an overseas chase, introducing readers to the Patagonian toothfish--a fish which was previously thought to be inedible. Lee Lantz “discovers” the toothfish, changes the name, and creates a market in North America. Under the skillful marketing of Lantz the Patagonian toothfish, renamed Chilean Bass, is served in major cities of the United States and becomes an endangered species from overfishing. From this opening passage one of the longest chases in Maritime history begins in the Australian waters when the Southern Supporter patrol ship sees an unmarked fishing vessel in the Australian waters.
The book serves as an introduction of the loss of fish species from overfishing because of the world’s appetite for fish. Hooked also is a reminder to me of the fragility of the ocean. When a fish does not meet human needs, mankind hunts for another one and therefore depletes the oceans. I saw this book as a warning.
I especially enjoyed the author’s re-creation of the chase. G. Bruce Knecht did extensive interviews with participants from both sides of the patrol chase. The reader will be caught up in the thrill of the chase and interested to know if toothfish is eaten in Memphis. With a little research I found that Chilean Sea Bass was served in Memphis restaurants from a food critic's reviews in the Commercial Appeal published in 2000, 2002, and 2004. Even today the toothfish is still an endangered fish.
Hooked is a good exciting read.
Marilyn, Central Library
Labels: Nonfiction, Reviews by Marilyn Umfress, Staff book reviews
Monday, January 04, 2016
[Book Review] The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Nonfiction/History/Biography
Philip reviews THE WRIGHT BROTHERS by David McCullough (Simon and Schuster, 2015)
From the first chapter to the last, I found David McCullough's account of the lives of the two brothers who changed history by inventing the airplane a fascinating read. McCullough is a gifted writer who does a wonderful job of telling Wilbur and Orville Wright's story. McCullough includes many passages from the Wrights' letters, diaries and notebooks, as well as passages from letters by their sister Katherine, their father Bishop Milton Wright and from others who knew the famous brothers. So, McCullough often uses Wilbur and Orville's own words, as well as their family members and friends own words, to tell the story of the two fathers of modern aviation.
In an interview published in Air and Space Magazine about The Wright Brothers, McCullough was asked if Wilbur and Orville had notable weaknesses or flaws. He replied that they really did not. They were hard-working, virtuous men. Men of determination and resilience. Though neither man had a college degree both men were geniuses. That the two unassuming bicycle mechanics could accomplish in creating their "flying machines" what human beings over the centuries had only dreamed of, and what many thought impossible, is one of the most remarkable feats in human history.
We learn in the book how important their father Bishop Milton Wright and their sister Katherine were in the brothers's lives. It was their father who fostered an intellectual curiosity in his sons and who provided them access to his great library of books on a wide range of subjects. And it was Katherine who was always there for them, who always encouraged and cared for them, and who they loved dearly.
It is interesting to learn, in the book, that while they read the literature on aviation written by the early aviation pioneers of their day, that an important part of their learning how to fly came from reading about birds and how they fly, and by spending hours observing birds in flight. They saw that birds have vaulted wings which is what gives them control and balance in flight. This observation led them to do a slight warping of the wings of their flying machines to help them maintain a controlled and balanced flight.
It was also interesting to learn about Charlie Taylor, whose contribution makes him an important figure in the Wright Brothers story and the history of aviation. Taylor was also an unassuming man, a machinist in Dayton, hired by Wilbur and Orville to run their bicycle shop while they conducted their experiments with their flying machines at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It was Taylor, after the brothers learned to fly their flying machines and were ready to add a motor to their final one at Kitty Hawk, who built, according to Wilbur and Orville's specifications, a four-cylinder, aluminum cast motor from scratch for it.
And as so many are well aware, on December 17, 1903, the first flight of a heavier than air machine in the history of the world was made by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.
Philip Williams, Cordova Library
Labels: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams, Staff book reviews
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
[Book Review] The Universe Within by Neil Shubin
Philip reviews THE UNIVERSE WITHIN: DISCOVERING THE COMMON HISTORY OF ROCKS, PLANETS, AND PEOPLE by Neil Shubin (Pantheon Books, 2013)
In The Universe Within, Neil Shubin says that we encounter bodies, rocks, and stars every day of our lives. But he says if we train our eyes each of these entities can reveal deep realities about the nature of our existence and can become "windows to a past that was vast almost beyond comprehension, occasionally catastrophic, and always shared among living things and the universe that fostered them." Inside each of us and inside rocks is the history of the universe, Shubin asserts, and of the events that shaped the natural world and us.
Shubin traces these events in this book. He offers explanations and descriptions of the Big Bang, the formation of the Solar System, the creation of the moon, of the global carbon cycle, of catastrophes that during different periods of the history of the earth have caused mass extinctions of life forms, of plate tectonics, and of other natural events, which have shaped our planet and us. And he does so from the expert view of a scientist but in language comprehensible to the lay reader.
I found the book engrossing and very enjoyable. It is a book dealing with complex scientific subject matters but one that is actually a fast read because of the clarity of Shubin's writing style. It is a profound book because it explains how we can know the reasons why the natural world is as it is and why people are as they are.
I highly recommend this book, as well as Shubin's other book, Your Inner Fish : A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body.
Labels: Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams
Monday, November 16, 2015
[Book Review] At Home by Bill Bryson
Marilyn reviews AT HOME: A SHORT HISTORY OF PRIVATE LIFE by Bill Bryson (Doubleday, 2010)
Have you ever questioned why England so powerfully influenced our private lives and where our social customs originated? Have you ever wondered what foods, plants, and building materials the British Empire, which ruled the oceans, brought into our lives? At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson explores the changes in our houses and cities that the British Empire invented or nurtured.
Bryson, who lives in an English Victorian Parsonage, takes us on a tour of his home. The tour is not a personal tour of a home, but a history of the decorations, furnishings, and the customs of each room. The book is a journey through the history of the ordinary things in our lives that we, many times, take for granted. The reader discovers the forgotten designers, events, and social customs that shape our private lives.
I especially enjoyed the chapters, “The Dining Room” and “The Garden”. Bryson details how our dining customs evolved as new foods came to British tables. The Dining Room came about because guests would wipe their hands on the expensive upholstered furniture. As a teenager, I wondered where our dining customs came from and how we discovered spices from others lands. This chapter answered many of my questions and allowed me to explore trade routes of the British Empire.
In the chapter entitled “The Garden” I discovered the origins of modern landscaping and the native habitats of many garden plants. I also learned about Fredrick Olmstead, whose sons (The Olmstead Brothers) would design the Memphis Tennessee Park System. Many plants that the British found in their empire would be transported to England and the United States. Many of these plants now inhabit the parks, lawns, and gardens of Memphis, Tennessee.
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson is a wonderful source for answers to the origins of our building materials, clothing, customs, food, and furnishings.
Marilyn Umfress, Central LibraryLabels: Nonfiction, Reviews by Marilyn Umfress, Staff book reviews
Thursday, July 23, 2015
[Book Review] Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery by David Gibson and Michael McKinley
Philip reviews FINDING JESUS: FAITH, FACT, FORGERY: SIX HOLY OBJECTS THAT TELL THE REMARKABLE STORY OF THE GOSPELS by David Gibson and Michael McKinley (St. Martin’s Press, 2015)
Who is Jesus? This is the question explored in Finding Jesus. It's authors emphasize that the question must be asked in the present tense because there are hundreds of millions of Christians today who believe Jesus is alive and in Heaven, where he reigns over the universe.
Almost all that is known about Jesus comes from the Gospels and other early New Testament writings, none of which can be considered unbiased, impartial historical sources. Aside from a couple of short passages about Jesus in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus (one of which is likely an addition made by a later Christian writer) what else exists that can provide a direct link to Jesus and shed light on his life?
What the authors explore are six Christian artifacts that may indeed provide that direct link to Jesus. There have been countless Christian relics and artifacts that were proven to be fakes since the time of Jesus. But the six artifacts explored in this book are, the authors assert, "themselves of the natural world," which "have the capacity to take us out of ourselves, to transport us to a time and place not our own as we hope to discover something about Jesus that is not filtered through the distorting lens of time and our own desires."
The artifacts explored are: 1) the bones of John the Baptist, 2) the James Ossuary (could James have been the brother of Jesus?), 3) the Gospel of Mary Magdalene (really just some text on a piece of papyrus but the text raises the possibility that Mary Magdalene may have been the wife of Jesus, 4) the Gospel of Judas (this was a gospel from ancient times but one not selected to be one of the canonical books of the New Testament, 5) a piece of the True Cross, and 6) the burial shroud of Jesus known by most people today as the Shroud of Turin. It is fascinating to learn about these artifacts and to know that they may be direct links to Jesus and to consider what they may tell us about Jesus.
This is indeed a most interesting and thought-provoking book. I found it engrossing and I learned much about all of these artifacts, most of which I was not familiar, the Shroud of Turin, along with most people, I am sure, was the one I knew the most about.
To me, though, there seem to be too many questions about these artifacts and their authenticity, which are raised by the authors in their analyses of these artifacts, for them to provide the historical confirmation of the life of Jesus or to shed more light on his life.
But readers may very well find fascinating at what the authors believe these artifacts may tell us about Jesus.
Philip, Cordova Library
Labels: History, Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams, Staff book reviews
Monday, June 08, 2015
[Book Review] On This Day in Memphis History by G. Wayne Dowdy
Marilyn reviews ON THIS DAY IN MEMPHIS HISTORY by G. Wayne Dowdy (History Press, 2014)
On This Day in Memphis History is a
wonderful read for someone seeking a dose of Memphis history a day at a time.
We’ve all heard the phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Well, a dose of Memphis history whets the reader’s appetite for more
Memphis history.
G. Wayne Dowdy has reminded
readers that Memphis history is not all politics in his book. For each
day of the year a person can read about a fascinating event. The
365 entries are composed of moments in time in the lives of citizens, hilarious
happenings, the ever-changing music styles of the Bluff City, and the thrill of
sports along with the world of city government and politics. Also the book
reflects that Memphis is the birthplace of all types of agencies and
organizations. The pages are composed of well-researched occurrences,
which when necessary contain some background information.
I enjoyed just reading the book
and discovering little known people from all economic classes and occupations.
Many of them influence Memphis, Tennessee even today. Whether this book
is enjoyed over the course of one year or as a straight through reading, the
reader meets Memphians of all walks of life and occupations in both the 19th
and 20th centuries.
Bon appétit, readers. Enjoy
these morsels of Memphis history.
Marilyn Umfress, Central Library
Readers can simply read this book or use this book as a guide to visit historic sites and share them with us during Explore Memphis 2015.
Visit Explore Memphis to learn how you can win great prizes this summer. You can sign up at any library branch or participate online at explorememphis.org
Visit Explore Memphis to learn how you can win great prizes this summer. You can sign up at any library branch or participate online at explorememphis.org
Labels: Memphis History, Nonfiction, Reviews by Marilyn Umfress
Thursday, May 21, 2015
[Book Review] Thirteen Soldiers by John McCain and Mark Salter
Nonfiction/History/Military/Biography
Philip Williams, Cordova Library
Philip reviews THIRTEEN SOLDIERS : A PERSONAL HISTORY OF AMERICANS AT WAR, by John McCain and Mark Salter (Simon & Schuster, 2014)
There have been 13 major military conflicts that the United States has been engaged in since its birth as an independent nation. 13 Soldiers offers accounts of the military service of 13 different individuals, 11 men and 2 women, each of whom served in one of the 13 conflicts. Written by United States Senator John McCain and his former aide Mark Salter, the book is not a political work. The authors’ aim is to share the stories of 13 people who were all willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Most of the individuals themselves left personal accounts of their experiences, and McCain and Salter use their accounts as the basis for their stories of these men and women. The authors also offer an exploration of what each of the individuals shared in common, even though they each served in conflicts years apart from one another. McCain himself served in combat during the Vietnam War as a Navy Pilot and personally experienced what someone under enemy fire faces.
The authors talk of the hardships, such as lack of food and water and enduring freezing or boiling temperatures, that each of the individuals faced. They talk of the intensity of the friendships that the 13 individuals made with those they served with; and make the point that only someone who has served in combat can understand the intensity of friendships made during such a stressful time of trial. They talk of the 13 individuals seeing the unimaginable results of the horrors of war, sights such as men being blown to pieces, of seeing brains oozing from skulls, and of seeing men trying to hold their intestines inside of their bodies, after they have been wounded. And they talk of each of the 13 individuals facing the fear and terror inherent in any military conflict.
Each of the 13 men and women were truly remarkable people. There is the story of Joseph Plumb Martin who joined the Continental army and remained a soldier in it for the duration of the American Revolution. Martin left a memoir of his experiences that is a primary source for historians of the American Revolution. Sadly, despite his sacrifices, Martin had to fight hard to see that the Congress awarded pensions to the surviving Continental soldiers after the War.
There is the story of Edward Baker, an African-American, who served with distinction in the Spanish-American War. Baker, a former Buffalo soldier, was a member of a regiment of other African-Americans soldiers who had been protecting settlers from attacks by Native Americans in the American West. When his regiment was ordered to Cuba, to help fight the war against Spain, Baker in particular, but also members of his regiment, played a major role in making Teddy Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill the success it was. But Baker and his regiment never received the credit they deserved for the important role they played.
The stories remind us of the debt of gratitude we owe to these 13 individuals and to all members of our military for the sacrifices they have made for their country.
Philip Williams, Cordova Library
Labels: Biography, History, Military, Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams, Staff book reviews
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
[Book Review] COUP by Keel Hunt
Marilyn reviews COUP: THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS OUSTED THEIR GOVERNOR, PUT REPUBLICAN LAMAR ALEXANDER IN OFFICE EARLY, AND STOPPED A PARDON SCANDAL by Keel Hunt (Vanderbilt University Press, 2013)
Coups have been known to happen in foreign countries, not in
the United States. Nevertheless on January 17, 1979 at 5:55 p.m. in the State
of Tennessee of the United States of America, a coup happened: Governor-elect
Lamar Alexander became Governor Lamar Alexander three days early.
The events leading to the early inauguration of Governor
Alexander became the subject of the book Coup by Keel
Hunt. The book is a fantastic read of the behind the headlines events of the
Tennessee Pardon Scandal of 1979. The scandal held national attention for the
few weeks leading to Governor Lamar Alexander’s early swearing-in.
The whole scandal begins when a man in a black Chrysler
Cordova approaches lawyer Jack Lowery. Lowery’s client, Will Midget, was requesting
executive clemency while serving a prison sentence. For a certain amount
of money the man told Lowery that Midget would be released. Jack Lowery reports
and writes a summary of the encounter to Marie Ragghianti, Chairman of the
Board of Pardons and Paroles, who shows it to the assistant U.S. Attorney. The assistant
U.S. Attorney shows the summary to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Thus,
the selling of pardons is exposed.
More corruption is spotted by newspaper reporter Lee Smith,
who published a small article on the back page of the Tennessean
Journal newspaper after he sees convicted murderer, Roger Humphreys,
working freely in the public. The state news media republishes the story and
the scandal becomes national news. Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton adds fuel to
the fire when he announces that he is going to pardon Roger Humphreys, who
killed his ex-wife and boyfriend. Humphreys is pardoned on January 15, 1979 and
more pardons are scheduled, according to an FBI informant, before Governor Ray
Blanton leaves office on January 20th. The investigation by the FBI was
in full swing but powerless to stop any more pardons. U.S. attorney Hal
Harding felt powerless to do anything but with this knowledge, he picks up the
phone and calls state officials. The ouster is started.
Keel Hunt thoroughly interviewed participants and researched
the ouster of Governor Ray Blanton. He was able to see the whole perceptive
because he was teaching a class at Vanderbilt University on the day of coup.
Earlier he had worked on Lamar Alexander’s gubernatorial campaign. He writes in
a suspenseful, engaging style that builds into the four hours of the coup with
background information on the participants, achieving his purpose of telling
how the coup unfolded.
Of special interest are the roles played in the coup by
Memphians like former Memphis city councilman Lewis Donelson, and the capture
of former Tennessee Highway Patrolman Fred Taylor who was recorded talking
about obtaining pardons and the release of some notorious criminals in
Tennessee prisons. Hunt also makes references to the Crump-McKellar and
Clement–Ellington political machines.
I enjoyed the intriguing political maneuvering part Memphis
played in the coup, and the courage shown by those who executed the coup. For
readers who do not remember Gov. Ray Blanton or the pardon scandal, this tale
is a suspenseful read into Tennessee politics and a reminder to all that
Memphis’s influence extends beyond the borders of Shelby County.
Marilyn, Central Library
Labels: Nonfiction, Politics, Reviews by Marilyn Umfress, Staff book reviews, Tennessee History
Friday, January 16, 2015
[Book Review] David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Nonfiction/Psychology
Phillip reviews DAVID AND GOLIATH: UNDERDOGS, MISFITS, AND THE ART OF BATTLING GIANTS by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown and Company, 2013)
If you enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell’s previous books, The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, you will enjoy David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and The Art of Battling Giants. It is just as interesting, thought-provoking and engrossing.
David and Goliath deals with Gladwell’s exploration of the nature of the underdog and how many people faced with what would seem insurmountable challenges find ways to overcome them. One of Gladwell’s main points is that someone who is perceived to be the underdog may not be the underdog at all.
Gladwell offers his analysis of the classic underdog story, that of David and Goliath from the Bible. Gladwell offers a compelling case as to why it was David who had the advantage over Goliath and that it was really a foregone conclusion that David would defeat Goliath.
He explores the cases of people who have dyslexia, the brain disorder that prevents a person from being able to read at all or only with great difficulty. Not really being able to read should have kept David Boies from even going to law school, much less being able to practice law, but Boies is now one of the most famous trial lawyers in the world. His way of overcoming his dyslexia was to develop extraordinary listening skills, and Gladwell also tells how other dyslexics overcame their challenges to become great successes.
Gladwell also talks of how Dr. Martin Luther King and his team faced an entrenched segregated society in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, when they fought for the civil rights of Black people there. King and his team were up against Eugene “Bull” O’Connor, the powerful Public Safety Commissioner who had the will and power to block any attempts to end segregation in Birmingham. King faced what seemed overwhelming odds but in the end he and his team, using creative and unorthodox strategies, were able to strike a blow for the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham.
Gladwell offers other fascinating accounts of people who faced other, different kinds of challenges, who seemingly should have failed in life but did not. Gladwell offers the reasons why they did not fail and instead prevailed.
A truly fascinating book and one which many readers I am certain could not put down.
Philip Williams, Cordova LibraryLabels: Nonfiction, Psychology, Reviews by Philip Williams, Staff book reviews
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
[Book Review] Six Months Off by Lamar Alexander
Marilyn reviews SIX MONTHS OFF: AN AMERICAN FAMILY’S AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE by Lamar Alexander (Morrow, 1988)
How does a father and former governor of Tennessee reconnect with his family, who had been living in a governor's mansion which occasionally has tourists roaming through it? The solution: take time off.
While he was governor of Tennessee, Lamar Alexander, father of four children, had drifted away from his family’s lives. Now, with the end of his second term in sight, he noticed at the dinner table that three of his children had their chairs slightly turned toward their mother. From this setting begins Alexander’s idea of taking six months off, chronicled in his book, Six Months off: An American Family’s Australian Adventure.
"It just came up one night at supper. I remember that the sun was still hot through the big windows, even though it was six o’clock so it must have been midsummer, and it must have been 1985.
We were sitting at our places around the breakfast-room in the Mansion. I was at the head. Honey commanded the other end, guarding the only exit to the television set. The children sat two on each side..."
The family conversation turned from the children not eating their food to getting away for six months in a foreign country; one of several countries named was Australia.
The idea intrigued Lamar and his wife, Honey. Both agreed they needed a rest and started making plans. They found out that other families were thinking of doing the same thing. Lamar and Honey also wanted to take time away to transition from a governor’s family to a normal family.
According to Alexander, the landscape of Australia is a contrast of breathtaking wildernesses to modern coastal cities. With most of the population living near the seacoast, he reveals that some Australians rarely visit the interior of their country. But the book is more than a tour of Australia; it’s about a family getting to know one another, a father involving himself in his children’s lives, and Lamar Alexander’s observations of the similarities and differences between Australians and Americans.
Six Months Off is a humorous book that had this reviewer chuckling throughout the pages.
Labels: Memoir, Nonfiction, Reviews by Marilyn Umfress, Staff book reviews, Travel Writing
Monday, December 01, 2014
[Book Review] Fierce Patriot by Robert L. O'Connell
Philip reviews Fierce Patriot: the Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman by Robert L. O'Connell (Random House, 2014)
Robert L. O'Connell offers a very readable biography of an important figure in American history, William Tecumseh Sherman. Without Sherman's contributions as a military leader and strategist during the Civil War, the United States could have lost the War. As General of the Army, after the War, he oversaw the suppression of the remaining Native American tribes, west of the Mississippi, to ensure the completion of the Trans-Continental and other railroads. With the railroads, Sherman knew the rest of the future United States would be settled by Americans thirsty for new lands.
O'Connell does a superb job of chronicling the life of a complicated and controversial man. Most of the book is devoted to Sherman's role in the Civil War, but O'Connell offers a detailed account of Sherman's complex relationship with his foster father, the politically powerful Thomas Ewing, and with his foster Ewing siblings, including Ellen, who he took as his wife, and with his brother by blood, John Sherman.
It is a well-written, fascinating book, one hard to put down. It is a good introduction to the life of Sherman for anyone not familiar with him. But also one the student of Civil War history would find valuable.
One criticism of the book those readers already familiar with Sherman could have is that O'Connell is too sympathetic to Sherman. Sherman was ruthless and cruel in many ways, and some readers may find O'Connell too forgiving of the man whose policies had tragic consequences for Native Americans and for the millions of bison he ordered slaughtered to eliminate them as a food source for Native Americans.
Philip Williams, Cordova
Labels: American History, History, Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams, Staff book reviews
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
[Book Review] Stress Test by Timothy F. Geithner
Nonfiction/History
Philip reviews STRESS TEST: REFLECTIONS ON FINANCIAL CRISES by Timothy F. Geithner (Crown Publishers, 2014)
Stress Test refers to the plan that Timothy Geithner, President Obama’s first Treasury Secretary, had to end the financial crisis that began in 2008. Geithner, though, must also have meant the title to refer to what he faced during the frightening times that could have seen the complete collapse of the United States Finance System. A collapse would have caused a subsequent global depression that would have caused unimaginable suffering for millions in the U.S. and worldwide.
Geithner played a major role, as head of the Federal Reserve New York Bank, before becoming Treasury Secretary, in stabilizing the Financial Crisis. This memoir of his experience during these frightening times is engrossing, and possibly surprising to some, even riveting in parts. His account is very frank and candid and Geithner does not hesitate to talk about his shortcomings and the mistakes he made. But he makes a compelling case for why the actions he took, though politically unpopular and widely criticized by members of the right and left, ended the Financial Crisis and the possibility of a worldwide economic crisis.
Perhaps a book many might suspect to be a difficult read, it is not. In fact, it is a fast read, and Geithner makes comprehensible to the lay reader what leveraging, derivatives, hedge funds and other financial activities are and how they or their misuse contributed to the Financial Crisis. This is certainly an important book, one that all people who want to understand what happened to our Financial System should read. Readers will have to make their own judgments on whether Geithner was right or wrong in his actions and if his advice on how to prevent future financial crises is sound.
Philip, Cordova Branch
Labels: History, Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams, Staff book reviews
Thursday, October 16, 2014
[Book Review] Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie
Marilyn reviews DREADNOUGHT: BRITAIN, GERMANY, AND THE COMING OF THE GREAT WAR by Robert K. Massie (Random House, 1991)
Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War by Robert K. Massie was a good read on the political and military history of Great Britain and Germany before World War I, also known as the Great War. Robert Massie wrote an in-depth history of the rise of Germany and Great Britain’s reaction to the German nation’s alliances, acquisition of colonies, and development into a naval sea power.
Robert K. Massie starts his work with Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and the rise of Germany into a world power. The book also recounts the personal lives of Queen Victoria, her children, and grandchildren. Her son, Edward VII, and grandson, George V, would become kings of the United Kingdom. Another one of her grandsons would become Kaiser William II of Germany, while her daughters would marry the rulers of Europe.
Of interest to me were the personalities of the ambassadors, prime ministers, naval personnel, and king. I was intrigued by the choice of alliances between countries, the changing of their navies from sailing to coal-driven turbine Dreadnought ships, and Great Britain’s move from a policy of isolationism to forming alliances with countries in Europe. The depth of the secrecy of Germany’s alliances, which it continued to make and change in the later part of the 19th century, was a fact of which I was not aware. In the twentieth century came the emergence of the Dual Alliance and Triple Alliance and, as a result, the stage for World War I is set.
Marilyn, Central Library
Don't forget the World War I Monday Lecture Series taking place in the Memphis Room of the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
The last two dates are October 20 and November 10, 2014. Call (901) 415-2742 for more information.
The last two dates are October 20 and November 10, 2014. Call (901) 415-2742 for more information.
Labels: History, Library Events and Programs, Nonfiction, Reviews by Marilyn Umfress, Staff book reviews
