Showing posts with label american history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label american history. Show all posts

Missing May Review

Missing May
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I'm not an adult, but I still enjoyed this story. Summer had an unconventional home: she lived with her great-aunt and uncle. She was content, until her aunt May died. Suddenly, Summer and her uncle Ob were wraiths of their former selves. Cletus, an eccentric classmate of Summer's, began visiting them and took their minds off May. But Ob was slowly losing the joy of living. In a quest to find closure, Summer, Ob, and Cletus went to find a spiritualist to help them communicate with May. Unfortunately, the medium too was dead. Somehow, though, they found a way to carry on. I liked the writing style, except for many run-on sentences that got annoying to read. The characters were pleasant people with pleasant names and sounded real enough to live next door. However, I didn't understand what brought back Ob's will to live as quickly as he had lost it. But I guess that happens sometimes in real life, on the roller coaster called grief. I reccomend this book to almost anyone, especially those who have lost loved ones.

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The Aerialist: A Novel (Sewanee Writers' Series) Review

The Aerialist: A Novel (Sewanee Writers' Series)
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THE AERIALIST begins ordinarily enough - with two hapless guys, one who dodges responsibility and the other dying of cancer, taking a joy ride in a car that's obviously a murder scene - but once this novel gets going, it takes an extraordinary leap. Gary joins a circus by whim and by accident, and later pulls his buddy Dave aboard. What they experience there (particularly what Gary, our narrator, does) becomes something both larger and more gritty than a circus show. Schmitt takes his readers through Gary's various jobs in the circus as well as describing a variety of others, giving me the impression, whether false or not, that Schmitt knows his material. From bull prodder to aerialist, Gary becomes the circus with all its quirks and desperate moments, its glitz and its manure, the odd comraderie behind the scenes as well as the machinations that make the audience ooh and aah. Gary and the supporting characters are well-drawn and compelling in their off-beat ways.
This debut is a literary gem. Its originality, well-written prose, and the deftness with which the characters are drawn will assure Richard Schmitt of a solid following.

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Inside Box 1663 Review

Inside Box 1663
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Much has been written about the technical and scientific work done at Los Alamos, but this book tells about the human side of the effort, from the perspective of a wife of one of the scientists who was recruited for the project. It paints a tale of a families uprooted from their homes, living in conditions that would be considered intolerable by contemporary standards, completely isolated from their relatives. It describes the horrific hours of work by the scientists and other workers as well as numerous other sacrifices, by people who *knew* that they might possibly be the only obstacle to totalitarian world domination.
One of the thoughts I couldn't help but consider after reading this is that Americans in the 1940s were made of tougher stuff than we are today. I'm far from confident that, in this day and age, we'd rise to the occasion in the same manner as the heroes of '1663'.

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As the author herself put it, this is "the lives of men and women who lived and worked in grimsecrecy to hasten the end of the war." It is the story of stressful lives, cryptic conversations between husbands and wives, leaky faucets and water shotrages, censored mail, and sharing a post office box with every other person in town- PO Box !1663, Santa Fe, NM. Life was filled with difficulties, but it was also filled with determination to overcome the hardships and reach a goal. Tying it all together was a sense of pride, of patriotism, and communal spirit that surpassed anything they knew before or after those days of the manhattan Project.

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Along the Trail with Lewis and Clark Review

Along the Trail with Lewis and Clark
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I travelled the entired L&C trail 2 years ago and used an earlier edition of this book and an earlier edition of Julie Fanselow's guide book to the trail. Fifer's book has beautiful maps, but in all other ways, I felt that Fanselow's guide book was much better. The Fifer book was lacking a lot of information on sites, hotels, and campsites that the Fanselow book had. Also- my copy of the Fifer book started to fall apart after a few days on the road- the binding wasn't very secure- this makes big difference when you're referring to a book every day for several weeks! Additionally, the Fifer book had a lot of ads and the Fanselow book didn't. Some of these problems might have been corrected in the new edition, of course. I'm glad I had the Fifer book on the trail- the maps were helpful at times. But if someone is looking to purchase just one book to travel the L&C trail, Fanselow's book is definitely superior.

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By the Great Horn Spoon Review

By the Great Horn Spoon
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When I was nine, I read this book. At age 40, I read the same copy to my children, ages ten and eight. As much as I enjoyed reading it the first time, reading it out loud was a much richer experience.
The writing flows naturally, and encourages a great variation in expression. The adventure truly comes out in the reader's voice. I am an actor, but I felt that this story would bring out the actor in anybody.
The story was so exciting and surprising that long reading sessions never dragged. At several points, my children threw themselves down on the floor and yelled, "Oh my gosh!"
This experience brought it all together for me, if I may speak personally: books, performing, involvement with my children, a classic story that I relished as a child myself. Those evenings added up to the happiest time of my life.
The plot concerns a boy who runs away during the California gold rush--with his butler!--to try to get his family out of debt. The adventures along the way are episodic, and each episode is an amazing and believable story in itself. Every step in the journey is given full attention: the voyage from Boston to San Francisco, the trip to the gold fields, the experiences among the miners. There are plenty of colorful characters, and plenty of opportunities for the two main characters to grow. There are also several threads that run through the whole story, maintaining suspense. Their resolution is unpredictable and satisfying.
There was very little in the book that could make a parent squirm, and very little that sounded out of date. But there were three moments that made me pause: 1) There is a fist fight, though it is handled in a light-hearted way. 2) There is a reference to corporal punishment when an adult threatens to "take a hairbrush" to a child. 3) There is an expression used once that might be innocent for all I know, but sure doesn't sound that way: "That's mighty white of you."
Minor reservations, I hope you'll agree. So plunge in and have an experience you and your listeners will never forget.

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Night Wings Review

Night Wings
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The Native American Abenaki people have a legend about a huge flying creature called Pmola. It lives in the mountains, guards its treasure, and punishes trespassers harshly.
To thirteen-year-old Paul, this legend has always been little more than a scary story, until the dreams start haunting him. Then, he and his Grandpa Peter run afoul of a ruthless treasure hunter who has heard the legend of Pmola. Soon, Paul's nightmares are taking on an even deeper meaning than he could have ever imagined.
NIGHT WINGS is an exciting story that blends an ancient legend with modern criminals. It gives the reader heroes to cheer for and villains to hiss at, and something scary that literally goes bump in the night. What's not to like?
It also offers a fascinating peek at some Native American traditions and beliefs from an author who is himself of Abenaki heritage.
NIGHT WINGS is recommended for readers who like a scary story told in an engaging style. It is a fairly short novel, which makes it especially appropriate for younger readers. Older readers might be left wanting a longer tale, however. They are probably used to more character development and multiple plot lines, both of which are largely lacking in this book.
Nevertheless, NIGHT WINGS is an engaging story about a fascinating Native American legend that should have appeal for horror fans.
Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan

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Cracker Ingenuity: Tips from the Trailer Park for the Chronically Broke Review

Cracker Ingenuity: Tips from the Trailer Park for the Chronically Broke
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I began Cracker Ingenuity with high expectations after reading and enjoying P. T. Elliot's last book, 100 Proof. I was not to be disappointed. Cracker Ingenuity is hysterical. The content is totally true blue redneck America with an eye for appreciation of this side of our culture rather than condescension. Many of the "ingenuities" had me actually laughing in my seat as I read and the illustrations seem to fit the authors' ideas perfectly. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a bit of insight into a part of the U.S. that, while somewhat rough around the edges, is likely in all of us.

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