The Works of Flavius Josephus (set of 4), translated by William Whiston (HC, various years: 1974-1980, set of 4, in wonderful shape, $20 for the set)
Wow, these look like they have never been read. It would appear that the first volume was actually bought later than the other three, as it is dated the latest, and has a different front design, though the spine 's design and lettering are the same as the other three.
Josephus was a Jewish priest who turned against his people in CE 70 while Jerusalem was under siege by the Romans. When Jerusalem had fallen, he followed Titus back to Rome. These writings were his attempt to educate the Romans about the history and traditions of the Jewish people. (Since Jerusalem had by now been destroyed, and the Jews dispersed, his attempt may have been a little too late.) His histories were put in a Roman library and forgotten. The Jews cared nothing about his works. Only by a sort of fluke did these works survive at all. In Antiquities XVIII iii Josephus writes 12 lines about "a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works..." These 12 lines, the only historical record of Jesus' existence, made The Works of Flavius Josephus essential for Christians to preserve.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947, were probably written by the Essenes, a Jewish sect. Josephus's works are "the major primary source for information concerning the Essene sect, as well as the sects of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." So, once again, people are studying Josephus.
Josephus himself was an amazing man. When he was only 14, the Jewish chief priests would ask his opinion. At age 19 he chose to become a Pharisee. When 26 he was sent to Rome to ask for the freedom of some fellow priests. He survived a shipwreck, was befriended by Nero's wife, went home, joined the Jewish revolt, was captured, made a prediction about Vespasian that strangely came true, was released by Vespasian, went to the besieged Jerusalem, and told them to surrender. No one there was amused. Feeling unappreciated, Josephus tootled off to Rome after Jerusalem fell.
The question remains, did he actually write those lines about Jesus? Some scholars say "no way"! Some scholars say, "Of course he did!" And some think he did write something, but it was altered by scribes somewhere along the way. My own opinion, for what it is worth, and that is not much, leans more toward the second or third option. Why would Christians preserve works that had never mentioned their Messiah? We will never know for sure.
Look for this beautiful collection in the sets section.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Bibles!
More Bibles arrived today, including one with side-by-side translations of English and Japanese.
More free stuff!
Last week I filled up the bookcase in the hallway with lots of free books. There are still a lot left for you to check out. Of course, as always, coming in to buy something from the store is never forbidden.
Only, please leave the shelves neat after you are done. From those of us who end up doing the straightening, we thank you. (Oh, do we thank you!!!)
Only, please leave the shelves neat after you are done. From those of us who end up doing the straightening, we thank you. (Oh, do we thank you!!!)
US Foreign Policy
Our new donation included a bunch of books on foreign policy. Most are from the 1990s. Most are TPB. Look for them in the American history section, in a box on the floor marked "Blogged".
Sunday, February 26, 2012
YOU solve the crimes!
Solve-Them-Yourself Photo Crimes, From the Files of Inspector Black of Scotland Yard (HC, 1983, $2.50)
If this is not the coolest thing! Inspector Henry Black believed that only education would make a good detective, and he took it onto himself to provide it to new recruits. He took some of his cases from the 1930s and made them into a slide show. The recruits would then have to discover the culprit, and explain how they had figured it out. When Black died, his slides were moved to the attic and forgotten till his great-nephew came upon them. He updated the slides into photos, included the clues, and left us the fun of figuring out for ourselves these "who-done-it" criminal puzzles.
Have fun! Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/29. (GNF)
If this is not the coolest thing! Inspector Henry Black believed that only education would make a good detective, and he took it onto himself to provide it to new recruits. He took some of his cases from the 1930s and made them into a slide show. The recruits would then have to discover the culprit, and explain how they had figured it out. When Black died, his slides were moved to the attic and forgotten till his great-nephew came upon them. He updated the slides into photos, included the clues, and left us the fun of figuring out for ourselves these "who-done-it" criminal puzzles.
Have fun! Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/29. (GNF)
Genesee Gorge and the Bergen Swamp (1946)
Proceedings of the Rochester Academy of Science, June 1946 (Journal, $3.50, which is 1/3 the internet price)
Herman Leroy Fairchild, Geologist, by J. Edward Hoffmeister (4 pages)
Quantitative Petrology of the Genesee Gorge Sediments, by Harold L. Alling (59 pages)
The Vegetation of Bergen Swamp, by Walter C. Muenscher (52 pages)
I. The Vascular Plants
All this is WAY over my head.
Look for it in the local section, avail. 2/29
Herman Leroy Fairchild, Geologist, by J. Edward Hoffmeister (4 pages)
Quantitative Petrology of the Genesee Gorge Sediments, by Harold L. Alling (59 pages)
The Vegetation of Bergen Swamp, by Walter C. Muenscher (52 pages)
I. The Vascular Plants
All this is WAY over my head.
Look for it in the local section, avail. 2/29
German Typography **SOLD**
German Typography Today: An Exhibition of the German Liaison Committee of The Type Directors Club of New York (TPB, 1987, published in West Germany, $10, which is 1/3 the internet price.)
"Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading, adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters." - Wikipedia
OK, here we go again. I have studied the art here, and I still don't get it. I don't get it at all. Once again I rely on someone out there to explain it to me. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/29. (art)
"Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading, adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters." - Wikipedia
OK, here we go again. I have studied the art here, and I still don't get it. I don't get it at all. Once again I rely on someone out there to explain it to me. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/29. (art)
Candles in Christian Fellowship (1943)
The Use of Candles in Christian Fellowship, by Rev. William H. Leach (HC, $1.50, (ex-lib., with a mangled 1/2 inch of spine at the top) which is 1/3 the internet price)
Included here are a lot of strange candle facts-
During mediaeval times candles were HUGE. In 1517 the Paschal candle in Salisbury Cathedral was 36 feet high!
There was a feast of purification on candlemas day, when people would bring their candles to a priest to be blessed.
"Very early the church saw a close analogy between the [candle] wax and Jesus. He was born from the virgin mother; so wax is produced by virgin bees. The wick in the candle tells of the son of God enclosed in the human body, while the light symbolizes the light that shines to all men."
This book also advised to give the congregation small drip cards along with candles. I can tell you this advice still holds true. I went to a Christmas Eve service at a not-to-be named church where drip catchers were reused. Both the lady next to me and myself did a lot of twisting to line up our cards just where those drips were flowing. We may also have said some words unusual for a Christmas service. Still, though we went home with burns on our hands, there was still joy in our hearts!
Look for this book in the religion section, avail. 2/29.
P.S. For those of you "ignorant" ones (like myself), Paschal means Easter!
Included here are a lot of strange candle facts-
During mediaeval times candles were HUGE. In 1517 the Paschal candle in Salisbury Cathedral was 36 feet high!
There was a feast of purification on candlemas day, when people would bring their candles to a priest to be blessed.
"Very early the church saw a close analogy between the [candle] wax and Jesus. He was born from the virgin mother; so wax is produced by virgin bees. The wick in the candle tells of the son of God enclosed in the human body, while the light symbolizes the light that shines to all men."
This book also advised to give the congregation small drip cards along with candles. I can tell you this advice still holds true. I went to a Christmas Eve service at a not-to-be named church where drip catchers were reused. Both the lady next to me and myself did a lot of twisting to line up our cards just where those drips were flowing. We may also have said some words unusual for a Christmas service. Still, though we went home with burns on our hands, there was still joy in our hearts!
Look for this book in the religion section, avail. 2/29.
P.S. For those of you "ignorant" ones (like myself), Paschal means Easter!
Gospel Art of Solentiname
The Gospel In Art by the Peasants of Solentiname, edited by Philip Scharper (HC, 1984, $3)
On one end of Lake Nicaragua are the islands of Solentiname. There the peasants gathered into a spiritual community. On Sundays a chapter from the Gospels was read, and the peasants would reflect. The islands of Solentiname had little contact with the world. Their comments on the Gospels reflect that, and with their simplicity and directness can teach us much. Included in this book are not only their comments, but also their amazingly colored paintings.
In 1977 Somoza's National Guard burned the colony to the ground, but the islanders rebuilt after Somoza was overthrown in 1979. The commentaries here are pre-1977, the paintings from the early 1980s.
I had heard the term "liberation theology", but knew little about it. Looking at these paintings and commentaries made me realize liberation theology was more than a bunch of words. I hadn't planned to be moved by either the words or the art, but I was. For these peasants, the Gospel did not only happen then and over there, but was also happening now and right here. We can learn much from these people. (As I write this, I still have goosebumps, and I am not a particularly emotional person.)
I hate having to figure out where to put a book. It feels like I am trying to put the book in a cage, and this book, in particular, wants to be free. Art, religion, sociology... the book belongs in all those places, but since I have to choose, it will be first on the new non-fiction table, and eventually in the section on religion. Avail. 2/29.
On one end of Lake Nicaragua are the islands of Solentiname. There the peasants gathered into a spiritual community. On Sundays a chapter from the Gospels was read, and the peasants would reflect. The islands of Solentiname had little contact with the world. Their comments on the Gospels reflect that, and with their simplicity and directness can teach us much. Included in this book are not only their comments, but also their amazingly colored paintings.
In 1977 Somoza's National Guard burned the colony to the ground, but the islanders rebuilt after Somoza was overthrown in 1979. The commentaries here are pre-1977, the paintings from the early 1980s.
I had heard the term "liberation theology", but knew little about it. Looking at these paintings and commentaries made me realize liberation theology was more than a bunch of words. I hadn't planned to be moved by either the words or the art, but I was. For these peasants, the Gospel did not only happen then and over there, but was also happening now and right here. We can learn much from these people. (As I write this, I still have goosebumps, and I am not a particularly emotional person.)
I hate having to figure out where to put a book. It feels like I am trying to put the book in a cage, and this book, in particular, wants to be free. Art, religion, sociology... the book belongs in all those places, but since I have to choose, it will be first on the new non-fiction table, and eventually in the section on religion. Avail. 2/29.
False Images of Islam
Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam, by Paul Findley (TPB, 2003, $3)
Congressman Paul Findley went on a trip to South Yemen, but it would turn out to be only the first stop on a journey that would take him 25 years.
"He chronicles his far-flung trail of discovery, the false stereotypes of Islam that linger in the minds of the American people, the corrective actions that the leaders of American's seven million Muslims are undertaking, and the community's remarkable progress in mainstream politics."
Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World, by Edward W. Said (TPB, 1981, $2)
Written before 9-11, this book is even more pertinent now.
"In the West, academic experts, corporate and governmental policymakers, and the media see 'Islam' as representing everything from anti-Americanism to good business to an inferior culture, a dangerously enthusiastic religion, and bad values. In response to this, Islamic countries use 'Islam' to strengthen state structures or to rally masses, thereby papering over the diversity beneath the Islamic cover."
Also, see the book blogged on 2/19:
How Does It Feel To Be A Problem? Being Young and Arab in America
How many of us know the different types of Islam? Or which type of Islam is a majority in which country? How many of us have ever even picked up a Koran, much less read from it? Which is more important to Muslims, their religion or their culture? And how can you separate culture and religion? If we could only all be like Congressman Findley. He went to Yemen to try only to obtain the release to an imprisoned US citizen. He ended up on a journey to free Muslims from our false stereotypes of them, and to free us from our ignorance. Start your own journey by reading one of these books, all the be found on the new non-fiction table.
Congressman Paul Findley went on a trip to South Yemen, but it would turn out to be only the first stop on a journey that would take him 25 years.
"He chronicles his far-flung trail of discovery, the false stereotypes of Islam that linger in the minds of the American people, the corrective actions that the leaders of American's seven million Muslims are undertaking, and the community's remarkable progress in mainstream politics."
Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World, by Edward W. Said (TPB, 1981, $2)
Written before 9-11, this book is even more pertinent now.
"In the West, academic experts, corporate and governmental policymakers, and the media see 'Islam' as representing everything from anti-Americanism to good business to an inferior culture, a dangerously enthusiastic religion, and bad values. In response to this, Islamic countries use 'Islam' to strengthen state structures or to rally masses, thereby papering over the diversity beneath the Islamic cover."
Also, see the book blogged on 2/19:
How Does It Feel To Be A Problem? Being Young and Arab in America
How many of us know the different types of Islam? Or which type of Islam is a majority in which country? How many of us have ever even picked up a Koran, much less read from it? Which is more important to Muslims, their religion or their culture? And how can you separate culture and religion? If we could only all be like Congressman Findley. He went to Yemen to try only to obtain the release to an imprisoned US citizen. He ended up on a journey to free Muslims from our false stereotypes of them, and to free us from our ignorance. Start your own journey by reading one of these books, all the be found on the new non-fiction table.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
"Out There" (WWI)
Out There, by Charles W. Whitehair (HC, 1918, with 16 illustrations, $5)
"We are at the Front. 'Zero' is Thursday morning- Tomorrow morning. The big push is now on.
Long after midnight we crawl into our bunks; but sleep is impossible, because of the clanking, stamping feet of the thousands of men who are marching by. The men marching past are 'going in'...
'Coming out' is another story."
Thus starts Whitehair's story of life in the trenches. There is no way of knowing for sure, but I suspect the story he tells is his own.
The 20th Century started with a swell of pride in new technologies, and the belief that they would lead to a better world. Hope for a bright future would soon shatter. A shocked world would not recover till the end of the century when we would again have hopes, till the Towers fell.
After it was over, people called WWI "The War to End All Wars". Never, never, it was thought, could another war like that happen. People used books and movies to tell the whole story of war's carnage, so we would learn the lesson, and never wage war again. (I used to collect stereoviews, those double photos on cards that you could view in 3D. Those WWI photos could not have been more disturbing- bloated dead horses, bloated dead boys.)
As everyone knows, war would come again, and soon. Even now, have we learned anything? Who decides what is a righteous war, and what is not? Have we always worn the white hat? What has to happen for it to be worth it to risk people's lives and emotional well being? Will there ever be a time when there is no war, and therefore no need to ask those questions?
Look for this book in the military section, avail. 2/29.
"We are at the Front. 'Zero' is Thursday morning- Tomorrow morning. The big push is now on.
Long after midnight we crawl into our bunks; but sleep is impossible, because of the clanking, stamping feet of the thousands of men who are marching by. The men marching past are 'going in'...
'Coming out' is another story."
Thus starts Whitehair's story of life in the trenches. There is no way of knowing for sure, but I suspect the story he tells is his own.
The 20th Century started with a swell of pride in new technologies, and the belief that they would lead to a better world. Hope for a bright future would soon shatter. A shocked world would not recover till the end of the century when we would again have hopes, till the Towers fell.
After it was over, people called WWI "The War to End All Wars". Never, never, it was thought, could another war like that happen. People used books and movies to tell the whole story of war's carnage, so we would learn the lesson, and never wage war again. (I used to collect stereoviews, those double photos on cards that you could view in 3D. Those WWI photos could not have been more disturbing- bloated dead horses, bloated dead boys.)
As everyone knows, war would come again, and soon. Even now, have we learned anything? Who decides what is a righteous war, and what is not? Have we always worn the white hat? What has to happen for it to be worth it to risk people's lives and emotional well being? Will there ever be a time when there is no war, and therefore no need to ask those questions?
Look for this book in the military section, avail. 2/29.
Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery
Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery (1913-1988), by Elizabeth Brayer (oversize HC, 1988, $4)
"Since 1872 the Rochester Art Club had searched for a permanent home for exhibitions. In 1904 Rush Rhees, the university's president, had a master plan drawn that included an art gallery." Emily Sibley Watson, the mother of the architect James Averell who died young, was convinced to give the university an art museum to memorialize her son.
Here is the story of the MAG. Enjoy it. You can find it in the local section.
"Since 1872 the Rochester Art Club had searched for a permanent home for exhibitions. In 1904 Rush Rhees, the university's president, had a master plan drawn that included an art gallery." Emily Sibley Watson, the mother of the architect James Averell who died young, was convinced to give the university an art museum to memorialize her son.
Here is the story of the MAG. Enjoy it. You can find it in the local section.
Poston's "The Dark Side of Hopkinsville"
The Dark Side of Hopkinsville: Stories by Ted Poston (TPB, 1991, $1.75)
"Ted Poston became the first black career-long reporter for a major metropolitan daily... and served as a member of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'Negro Cabinet' in Washington in 1940." These are stories of his childhood in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. What is the meaning of the title's "dark"? Read and find out. Look for it in the African American section. Avail. 2/29
"Ted Poston became the first black career-long reporter for a major metropolitan daily... and served as a member of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'Negro Cabinet' in Washington in 1940." These are stories of his childhood in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. What is the meaning of the title's "dark"? Read and find out. Look for it in the African American section. Avail. 2/29
Religion, Rocks, Monkeys and K. Mather...
Science in Search of God, by Kirtley F. Mather (small HC, 1928, $3.50, which is 1/3 the internet price.)
In reading this book, I was struck by Mather's kindness and optimism. The inside jacket stated he was one of the scientific experts at the Scopes Monkey Trial. (The judge would rule the experts' scientific testimony inadmissible.) After researching his life, I found that was only one of his life's high points. This man was amazing. At the time of the trial he was a professor of geology at Harvard, well known for his loyalty, his belief in religious, gender, racial, and political tolerance, his curiosity, and his Christian spirituality. He believed in passing on both knowledge and values to his students, and to Americans in general. He would write and to give talks long into his retirement. He was even one of the first to use the new medias of radio and movies to bring knowledge to the general public.
He strongly believed theology and science worked together. He advocated the teachings of the Social Gospel, with its mandatory taking of responsibility for others, along with the belief that education and knowledge were mandatory for successful democracy. His scientific area of expertise was determining the ages of rocks and fossils, but what made him really special was his stubborn, courageous humanity. He spoke out against the evils of Nazism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Communism. He also spoke out in favor of equal education for women. These were not popular ideas at the time. Throughout it all, he maintained his strong Baptist beliefs.
In reading this book, I could not see its specialness until I took into account its being written in 1928. His brother would quote from this book at Mather's funeral, "God is no longer hiding behind the gaps in our knowledge... The more we know about the world in which we live, the better is our understanding of him, the truer is our comprehension of his character." He was an amazing scientist, American, and Christian. Read this book, only one of the 1,200 he wrote in his quest to bring knowledge to the world. Look for this book in the geology section, avail. 2/29.
In reading this book, I was struck by Mather's kindness and optimism. The inside jacket stated he was one of the scientific experts at the Scopes Monkey Trial. (The judge would rule the experts' scientific testimony inadmissible.) After researching his life, I found that was only one of his life's high points. This man was amazing. At the time of the trial he was a professor of geology at Harvard, well known for his loyalty, his belief in religious, gender, racial, and political tolerance, his curiosity, and his Christian spirituality. He believed in passing on both knowledge and values to his students, and to Americans in general. He would write and to give talks long into his retirement. He was even one of the first to use the new medias of radio and movies to bring knowledge to the general public.
He strongly believed theology and science worked together. He advocated the teachings of the Social Gospel, with its mandatory taking of responsibility for others, along with the belief that education and knowledge were mandatory for successful democracy. His scientific area of expertise was determining the ages of rocks and fossils, but what made him really special was his stubborn, courageous humanity. He spoke out against the evils of Nazism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Communism. He also spoke out in favor of equal education for women. These were not popular ideas at the time. Throughout it all, he maintained his strong Baptist beliefs.
In reading this book, I could not see its specialness until I took into account its being written in 1928. His brother would quote from this book at Mather's funeral, "God is no longer hiding behind the gaps in our knowledge... The more we know about the world in which we live, the better is our understanding of him, the truer is our comprehension of his character." He was an amazing scientist, American, and Christian. Read this book, only one of the 1,200 he wrote in his quest to bring knowledge to the world. Look for this book in the geology section, avail. 2/29.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Gregg Shorthand (1916-1919)
We frequently get shorthand books, but not a collection like these:
(They are priced from $1.50 to 2.50)
Gregg Shorthand
Gregg Speed Studies
Gregg Shorthand Dictionary
Graded Readings in Gregg Shorthand
The most fun looking one is Graded Readings. All those marks on the page mean something, and I haven't a clue what. Curiosity is killing me.... Can anyone translate for me? Look for these in the reference section
.
(They are priced from $1.50 to 2.50)
Gregg Shorthand
Gregg Speed Studies
Gregg Shorthand Dictionary
Graded Readings in Gregg Shorthand
The most fun looking one is Graded Readings. All those marks on the page mean something, and I haven't a clue what. Curiosity is killing me.... Can anyone translate for me? Look for these in the reference section
.
Sidney Sheldons
We received several more Sidney Sheldons to add to our collection. The new ones are all HC, but we also have some PB that were already here. The PBs (surprise, surprise) are in the fiction PB section, and the HCs are in the fiction room.
John Fox (set of 5 from 1909)
5 volume set by John Fox.
1. A Mountain Europa, and, A Cumberland Vendetta
2.Crittenden, A Kentucky Story of Love and War
3. Christmas Eve on Lonsome, and, "Hell Fer Sartain" and other stories
4. The Little Shepherd of Kingsom Come
5. The Kentuckians, and, A Knight of the Cumberland
(All are HC, 1909, $10 for the set of 5)
The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come is his most famous, and oddly enough it is the one in the best condition. Just this book alone is offered for $15 on the internet, so this set for $10 is a great bargain.
I knew the John Fox because when I was a youngster my former babysitter gave me a copy of The Little Shepherd for my birthday. I remember loving it, but hey, I adored her, so I loved anything she gave me.
Look for these books in the sets section.
1. A Mountain Europa, and, A Cumberland Vendetta
2.Crittenden, A Kentucky Story of Love and War
3. Christmas Eve on Lonsome, and, "Hell Fer Sartain" and other stories
4. The Little Shepherd of Kingsom Come
5. The Kentuckians, and, A Knight of the Cumberland
(All are HC, 1909, $10 for the set of 5)
The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come is his most famous, and oddly enough it is the one in the best condition. Just this book alone is offered for $15 on the internet, so this set for $10 is a great bargain.
I knew the John Fox because when I was a youngster my former babysitter gave me a copy of The Little Shepherd for my birthday. I remember loving it, but hey, I adored her, so I loved anything she gave me.
Look for these books in the sets section.
Biographies of the Great and Famous
Living Biographies of Famous:
Novelists
Women
Men
Americans
Living Biographies of Great:
Poets
Scientists
Philosophers
Composers
Living Biographies of American Statesmen
These are all by Henry Thomas (HC, 1946, set of 9, $12 for the set, or $1.50 each)
Novelists
Women
Men
Americans
Living Biographies of Great:
Poets
Scientists
Philosophers
Composers
Living Biographies of American Statesmen
These are all by Henry Thomas (HC, 1946, set of 9, $12 for the set, or $1.50 each)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Liberating Anger?
Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, by Carol Tavris (TPB, 189, $1)
I remember when my relative was dying, she once screamed at me "I am not angry". I forget exactly what the conversation was about, but I remember feeling frustrated that she could not say she was angry that she was dying, and feeling awful, and that she was angry for having ALS. Everyone knows that ALS is an awful disease. Everyone knows that someone dying of ALS will be angry at dying, and from ALS. Yet my relative couldn't say the words. She couldn't even think the words, but it colored the relationships with those around her.
Soon after all this happened, I found this book. Reading it brought me comfort.
Writes Tavris, "There are different angers, involving different processes and having different consequences to our mental and physical health. No single remedy fits all. Sometimes suppressed hostility can aggravate stress and illness, but sometimes suppressed hostility is the best thing for you."
If this book, or this blog, does nothing else, hopefully it will get you to think about anger and how it affects you and the people you care about. Deal with anger, and life gets easier, at least it did for me. Good luck in your life journey. Look for this book in the self-help section, avail. 2/28.
I remember when my relative was dying, she once screamed at me "I am not angry". I forget exactly what the conversation was about, but I remember feeling frustrated that she could not say she was angry that she was dying, and feeling awful, and that she was angry for having ALS. Everyone knows that ALS is an awful disease. Everyone knows that someone dying of ALS will be angry at dying, and from ALS. Yet my relative couldn't say the words. She couldn't even think the words, but it colored the relationships with those around her.
Soon after all this happened, I found this book. Reading it brought me comfort.
Writes Tavris, "There are different angers, involving different processes and having different consequences to our mental and physical health. No single remedy fits all. Sometimes suppressed hostility can aggravate stress and illness, but sometimes suppressed hostility is the best thing for you."
If this book, or this blog, does nothing else, hopefully it will get you to think about anger and how it affects you and the people you care about. Deal with anger, and life gets easier, at least it did for me. Good luck in your life journey. Look for this book in the self-help section, avail. 2/28.
I Hate... ***SOLD***
The I Hate the 21st Century Reader: The Awful, the Annoying, and the Absurd- from Ethnic Cleansing to Frankenscience, edited by Clint Willis (TPB, 2005, $2.50)
The I Hate Corporate America Reader: How Big Companies from McDonald's to Microsoft Are Destroying Our Way of Life, edited by Clint Willis (TPB, 2004, $2.50)
I am only blogging about these books because of the titles. "Hate" in the title catches the eye, but personally I hate the word hate. Hate to me makes me think of irrational and out of control anger. Anger is many times irrational, but not necessarily out of control. Anger is an uncomfortable feeling, and can cause pain, but in the long run can be possitive. Hate, on the other hand, is never anything but destructive. (As always, this is only my personal opinion.) Look for these books on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/28 (Event. in the gen. NF, and financial sections,.)
The I Hate Corporate America Reader: How Big Companies from McDonald's to Microsoft Are Destroying Our Way of Life, edited by Clint Willis (TPB, 2004, $2.50)
I am only blogging about these books because of the titles. "Hate" in the title catches the eye, but personally I hate the word hate. Hate to me makes me think of irrational and out of control anger. Anger is many times irrational, but not necessarily out of control. Anger is an uncomfortable feeling, and can cause pain, but in the long run can be possitive. Hate, on the other hand, is never anything but destructive. (As always, this is only my personal opinion.) Look for these books on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/28 (Event. in the gen. NF, and financial sections,.)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Frankie Valli and The Jersey Boys (**SOLD**)
Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, by David Cote (oversize HC, 2007, $3.50)
First there were Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Then came Jersey Boys on Broadway.
This is the story of both. Look for it in the media section.
First there were Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Then came Jersey Boys on Broadway.
This is the story of both. Look for it in the media section.
The Children of the Civil Rights Movement
The Children, by David Halberstam (oversize HC, 1998, 783 pages, $4)
Halberstam writes of the early days of the Civil Rights movement, "as seen through the eyes of the young people- the Children- who met in the 1960s and went on to lead the revolution."
Sometimes ordinary people change history with their vision and courage. For these eight their journey would go public during the days of the Nashville sit- ins. "They came together as part of Reverend James Lawson's workshops on nonviolence, eight idealistic black students whose families had sacrificed much so that they could go to college. And they risked it all, and their lives besides, when they joined the growing civil rights movement.... Martin Luther King, Jr. recruited Lawson to come to Nashville to train students in Gandhian techniques of nonviolence."
Halberstam also catches us up to date with what happened to The Children since the 1960s. Look for this book in the African American history section, which is now in the bank vault.
Halberstam writes of the early days of the Civil Rights movement, "as seen through the eyes of the young people- the Children- who met in the 1960s and went on to lead the revolution."
Sometimes ordinary people change history with their vision and courage. For these eight their journey would go public during the days of the Nashville sit- ins. "They came together as part of Reverend James Lawson's workshops on nonviolence, eight idealistic black students whose families had sacrificed much so that they could go to college. And they risked it all, and their lives besides, when they joined the growing civil rights movement.... Martin Luther King, Jr. recruited Lawson to come to Nashville to train students in Gandhian techniques of nonviolence."
Halberstam also catches us up to date with what happened to The Children since the 1960s. Look for this book in the African American history section, which is now in the bank vault.
Trotsky and Stalin, no longer the best of friends. ***SOLD***
The Revolution Betrayed: What Is the Soviet Union and Where Is It Going?, by Leon Trotsky (TPB, 1972, $2.75)
Reading the title gives you a general idea of what Trotsky thought about Stalin. Trotsky may have organized the October Revolution, and founded the Red Army, but he was not happy when Stalin took over power. Says Trotsky, "The present Communist 'leaders' ... have suddenly discovered the enormous advantages of opportunism, and have seized upon it with the freshness proper to that ignorance which has always distinguished them. Their slavish and not always disinterested kowtowing to the upper circles in the Kremlin alone renders them absolutely incapable of revolutionary initiative. They answer critical arguments no otherwise than with snarling and barking; and, moreover, under the whip of the boss, they wag their tales."
History is so peculiar and exciting. Lenin knows he is dying, and writes in his will that Trotsky should take control of Russia after Lenin dies. But, oops, Stalin's wife works in Lenin's private office, and lets Stalin in on the plan. Stalin manipulates the other Russian leaders to get control. Trotsky accuses Stalin of being a dictator, and no longer working toward world revolution. Stalin accuses Trotsky of being devisive. Trotsky wants Lenin's will to be publicized. The leaders vote not to, and Trotsky is exiled. Hmm....., where will he go? Famous people working toward world revolution are not the most popular people in the world, so he has a problem finding a country that will let him in.
This book,originally published in 1937, was one of three where Trotsky informed the world of his feelings about Stalin. Stalin, never a shy man, ordered Trotsky assassinated in 1940, and what Stalin wanted, Stalin got. Look for this book in the Russian history section.
Reading the title gives you a general idea of what Trotsky thought about Stalin. Trotsky may have organized the October Revolution, and founded the Red Army, but he was not happy when Stalin took over power. Says Trotsky, "The present Communist 'leaders' ... have suddenly discovered the enormous advantages of opportunism, and have seized upon it with the freshness proper to that ignorance which has always distinguished them. Their slavish and not always disinterested kowtowing to the upper circles in the Kremlin alone renders them absolutely incapable of revolutionary initiative. They answer critical arguments no otherwise than with snarling and barking; and, moreover, under the whip of the boss, they wag their tales."
History is so peculiar and exciting. Lenin knows he is dying, and writes in his will that Trotsky should take control of Russia after Lenin dies. But, oops, Stalin's wife works in Lenin's private office, and lets Stalin in on the plan. Stalin manipulates the other Russian leaders to get control. Trotsky accuses Stalin of being a dictator, and no longer working toward world revolution. Stalin accuses Trotsky of being devisive. Trotsky wants Lenin's will to be publicized. The leaders vote not to, and Trotsky is exiled. Hmm....., where will he go? Famous people working toward world revolution are not the most popular people in the world, so he has a problem finding a country that will let him in.
This book,originally published in 1937, was one of three where Trotsky informed the world of his feelings about Stalin. Stalin, never a shy man, ordered Trotsky assassinated in 1940, and what Stalin wanted, Stalin got. Look for this book in the Russian history section.
224 pages on Paint?
The Complete Book of Paint: a sourcebook of techniques, finishes, designs, and projects, by Lynne Robinson (Oversize HC, $3)
Those who know me, know enough to keep paint cans away from me.( I tend to paint more floor than I do walls, and it is usually only the walls that need painting.) I am not sure that this book helps careless people like me, but it certainly will help anyone else.
Look for this in the home improvement section.
Those who know me, know enough to keep paint cans away from me.( I tend to paint more floor than I do walls, and it is usually only the walls that need painting.) I am not sure that this book helps careless people like me, but it certainly will help anyone else.
Look for this in the home improvement section.
True Stories of Stupid People
The Darwin Awards: Survival of the Fittest, by Wendy Northcutt (small HC, 2003, $2.50)
"A new volume commemorating individuals who improve our gene pool... by removing themselves from it."
This is the third in a set of 3. I read the first one and laughed guiltily the whole way through. I laughed because it was so funny, and felt guilty because I am a compassionate person, and laughing at these fools showed a total lack of compassion. Oh, well. No one is perfect.
Look for this book in the comedy section.
"A new volume commemorating individuals who improve our gene pool... by removing themselves from it."
This is the third in a set of 3. I read the first one and laughed guiltily the whole way through. I laughed because it was so funny, and felt guilty because I am a compassionate person, and laughing at these fools showed a total lack of compassion. Oh, well. No one is perfect.
Look for this book in the comedy section.
The Woman Who Rides the Beast
A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days, by Dave Hunt (Oversize TPB, 1994, $3)
Revelations talks not only about the coming Antichrist, but also, according to Hunt, about "a mysterious woman who rides the beast." Hunt "sifts through biblical truth and global events to present a well-defined portrait of the woman and her powerful place in the Antichrist's future empire". Look for this in the religion section.
Revelations talks not only about the coming Antichrist, but also, according to Hunt, about "a mysterious woman who rides the beast." Hunt "sifts through biblical truth and global events to present a well-defined portrait of the woman and her powerful place in the Antichrist's future empire". Look for this in the religion section.
Benjamin Franklin's words on wealth and finance ***SOLD***
The Way to Wealth and Other Writings on Finance, by Benjamin Franklin, edited by Walter Isaacson (HC, 2006 edition, $2)
"Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it."
(Witty man!)
Here are a lot of fun pithy sayings, but also some longer pieces. Find this book in the financial section.
"Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it."
(Witty man!)
Here are a lot of fun pithy sayings, but also some longer pieces. Find this book in the financial section.
Photographs/ Photographis '72
There are some new books on photography just in. The best of the lot so far:
Photographis '72, edited by Walter Herdeg (oversize HC, 1972, $13, which is 1/3 the internet price) This book has the text written in 3 languages, English, German, and French.
According to the introduction written by Allen Hurburt, editorial influence over photographs printed as ads in magazines started in the 1930s with the publishers of Vanity Fair and Vogue. By the time this book was written in 1972, editors and photographers were battling over control. Hurbert writes here of the irony that as editors take more control over magazine photographs, there are fewer and fewer photo magazines, and therefore fewer editors. In 1972 Look no longer exists, and Life is in trouble.
Are there any photography magazines still out there? Do you know of any, because I don't. Which is a shame, because I still miss Life. Why I liked it so much more than Look I don't remember, just that I did. Some Best of Life photo books are still available on line. ( I know because I bought some.) Look for this book in the photography section.
Photographis '72, edited by Walter Herdeg (oversize HC, 1972, $13, which is 1/3 the internet price) This book has the text written in 3 languages, English, German, and French.
According to the introduction written by Allen Hurburt, editorial influence over photographs printed as ads in magazines started in the 1930s with the publishers of Vanity Fair and Vogue. By the time this book was written in 1972, editors and photographers were battling over control. Hurbert writes here of the irony that as editors take more control over magazine photographs, there are fewer and fewer photo magazines, and therefore fewer editors. In 1972 Look no longer exists, and Life is in trouble.
Are there any photography magazines still out there? Do you know of any, because I don't. Which is a shame, because I still miss Life. Why I liked it so much more than Look I don't remember, just that I did. Some Best of Life photo books are still available on line. ( I know because I bought some.) Look for this book in the photography section.
Twins that hate and love in silence **SOLD**
The Silent Twins: A true story of love and hate, dreams and desolation, genius and destruction, by Marjorie Wallace (HC, 1986, $2)
Almost all identical twins become independent of each other. The Gibbons sisters, June and Jennifer, tragically never could. They were born with speech impediments, and would only talk to each other and their dolls. Gradually they spoke less and less, seemingly able to communicate with each other using only gestures. For awhile they were thought only to be shy, but eventually teachers realized their problem was something much, much worse, even if no one quite knew what it was. The twins' first connection with the world was through their writing. They had been given diaries, and wow, did they write. They wrote poems, short stories and novels. By this time they were entering adolescence, would experiment with drugs, alcohol, sex and criminal behaviors. After being arrested, they would stay in "remand" for months, be tried, and sentenced to a psych. hospital for 14 years. There they would be put on anti-psychotics and separated. By the time they "conformed" to the staff's expectations, their creative spark was gone.
Marjorie Wallace had reported the Gibbon's trial. After becoming interested in them, she interviewed their parents and was shown bags and bags of their writing. Over a three year period she would meet them, and gain their trust, using their writing as the key.
Wallace wrote, "June and Jennifer emerge, through these diaries, as two human beings who love and hate each other with such intensity that they can neither live together nor apart. Like twin stars, they are caught in the gravitational field between them, doomed to spin round each other for ever. If they come too close or drift apart, both are destroyed. So the girls devised games and strategies and rules to maintain this equilibrium."
June Gibbons is still alive. Jennifer died suddenly the day they were discharged from the hospital. According to Wallace, they were certain in order for one to live, the other had to die. How strange that Jennifer would die when she did, not from any drug, but from sudden heart inflammation.
This is one creepy story! You can find this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22. (event. in biography)
Almost all identical twins become independent of each other. The Gibbons sisters, June and Jennifer, tragically never could. They were born with speech impediments, and would only talk to each other and their dolls. Gradually they spoke less and less, seemingly able to communicate with each other using only gestures. For awhile they were thought only to be shy, but eventually teachers realized their problem was something much, much worse, even if no one quite knew what it was. The twins' first connection with the world was through their writing. They had been given diaries, and wow, did they write. They wrote poems, short stories and novels. By this time they were entering adolescence, would experiment with drugs, alcohol, sex and criminal behaviors. After being arrested, they would stay in "remand" for months, be tried, and sentenced to a psych. hospital for 14 years. There they would be put on anti-psychotics and separated. By the time they "conformed" to the staff's expectations, their creative spark was gone.
Marjorie Wallace had reported the Gibbon's trial. After becoming interested in them, she interviewed their parents and was shown bags and bags of their writing. Over a three year period she would meet them, and gain their trust, using their writing as the key.
Wallace wrote, "June and Jennifer emerge, through these diaries, as two human beings who love and hate each other with such intensity that they can neither live together nor apart. Like twin stars, they are caught in the gravitational field between them, doomed to spin round each other for ever. If they come too close or drift apart, both are destroyed. So the girls devised games and strategies and rules to maintain this equilibrium."
June Gibbons is still alive. Jennifer died suddenly the day they were discharged from the hospital. According to Wallace, they were certain in order for one to live, the other had to die. How strange that Jennifer would die when she did, not from any drug, but from sudden heart inflammation.
This is one creepy story! You can find this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22. (event. in biography)
Weird History 101 (Or who was President For A Day?)**SOLD**
Weird History 101 (My Dinner with Attila the Hun, I started WWI, Watching Custer's Last Stand, and other tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior), by John Richard Stephens (TPB, 1997, $2)
This is a combination history, trivia, and literature book. Some are personal accounts of famous, or weird events. (ie. Charles Dickens writing about seeing a death by Guillotine. What it is like to be an opium addict in 1822) Some are a collection of stuff you never knew (ie. Some uses for Egyptian mummies over the years- medicine, wrapping paper, fuel.) Some give good (?) advice on strange subjects ( Ben Franklin's advice on picking a mistress: pick an older woman, and Mark Twain's advice on.... well, sex. I'd better not be too specific here.)
My favorite section was on the US Presidents. For example, did you know:
1) John Quincy Adams "liked to go skinny-dipping in the Potomac. On one occasion, someone stole his clothes and he had to ask a passing boy to run to the White House to get him some more."
2) You probably all know that FDR was related to TR, but do you know that FDR was actually related to 11 of our presidents?
3) And my very favorite, President David Rice Atchison. "What, what", say you.... "Who is he? Not a president of this country." Except, yes he actually was, even if it was only for March 4th, 1849. (Atchison later revealed that he had slept most of the day.) Luckily on March 5th, Zackary Taylor allowed himself to be sworn in.
Want to read more? This is quite a book. I found it fun to read even on the second go-round. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22.
This is a combination history, trivia, and literature book. Some are personal accounts of famous, or weird events. (ie. Charles Dickens writing about seeing a death by Guillotine. What it is like to be an opium addict in 1822) Some are a collection of stuff you never knew (ie. Some uses for Egyptian mummies over the years- medicine, wrapping paper, fuel.) Some give good (?) advice on strange subjects ( Ben Franklin's advice on picking a mistress: pick an older woman, and Mark Twain's advice on.... well, sex. I'd better not be too specific here.)
My favorite section was on the US Presidents. For example, did you know:
1) John Quincy Adams "liked to go skinny-dipping in the Potomac. On one occasion, someone stole his clothes and he had to ask a passing boy to run to the White House to get him some more."
2) You probably all know that FDR was related to TR, but do you know that FDR was actually related to 11 of our presidents?
3) And my very favorite, President David Rice Atchison. "What, what", say you.... "Who is he? Not a president of this country." Except, yes he actually was, even if it was only for March 4th, 1849. (Atchison later revealed that he had slept most of the day.) Luckily on March 5th, Zackary Taylor allowed himself to be sworn in.
Want to read more? This is quite a book. I found it fun to read even on the second go-round. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
John Hersey, the first "New Journalist"
Into the Valley: A Skirmish of the Marines, by John Hersey (HC, 1943, first edition, $4)
John Hersey was born in China to missionary parents. He spoke Chinese before he learned English. His parents moved back to the States when he was 10. He went to Yale. One summer he worked as a secretary for Sinclair Lewis, and hated it. When he got an offer to become a foreign correspondent, he grabbed it. He would go on to report on WW II. He was with the troops when they landed at Sicily. (That's when he survived four, yes four, plane crashes!) From there he went in with the marines at Guadalcanal, where there weren't any plane crashes, but plenty of everything else. The Secretary of the Navy gave him a commendation for helping evacuate the wounded there. I doubt most journalists end up with navy commendations, but he was clearly unique.
This is the true story of an three day long "insignificant battle". "But the battle... illustrated how war feels to men everywhere. The terrain, the weapons and races of war vary, but certainly never the sensations except in degree, for they are as universal as those of love. This book is an attempt to recapture the feelings of Rigaud, his men, and myself, when we went into that jungle valley. If people in the homes could feel those feelings for an hour, or even just know about them, I think we would be an inch or two closer to winning the war and trying like hell to make the peace permanent."
New Journalism got its name in the 1970s, but Hersey was using "storytelling devices of the novel... fused with non-fiction reportage" much earlier. His truly amazing book was Hiroshima, but he won the 1945 Pulitzer for A Bell For Adano. (I have always loved that book, and have had a copy in my library for 40 years.) (Ye gads, don't I now feel old!) Look for this book in the classics section, avail. 2/22.
John Hersey was born in China to missionary parents. He spoke Chinese before he learned English. His parents moved back to the States when he was 10. He went to Yale. One summer he worked as a secretary for Sinclair Lewis, and hated it. When he got an offer to become a foreign correspondent, he grabbed it. He would go on to report on WW II. He was with the troops when they landed at Sicily. (That's when he survived four, yes four, plane crashes!) From there he went in with the marines at Guadalcanal, where there weren't any plane crashes, but plenty of everything else. The Secretary of the Navy gave him a commendation for helping evacuate the wounded there. I doubt most journalists end up with navy commendations, but he was clearly unique.
This is the true story of an three day long "insignificant battle". "But the battle... illustrated how war feels to men everywhere. The terrain, the weapons and races of war vary, but certainly never the sensations except in degree, for they are as universal as those of love. This book is an attempt to recapture the feelings of Rigaud, his men, and myself, when we went into that jungle valley. If people in the homes could feel those feelings for an hour, or even just know about them, I think we would be an inch or two closer to winning the war and trying like hell to make the peace permanent."
New Journalism got its name in the 1970s, but Hersey was using "storytelling devices of the novel... fused with non-fiction reportage" much earlier. His truly amazing book was Hiroshima, but he won the 1945 Pulitzer for A Bell For Adano. (I have always loved that book, and have had a copy in my library for 40 years.) (Ye gads, don't I now feel old!) Look for this book in the classics section, avail. 2/22.
Being Young and Arab in America
How Does It Feel To Be A Problem: Being Young and Arab in America, by Moustafa Bayoumi (TPB, 2009, $2.25)
"Moustafa Bayoumi's portraits of seven young Arabs living in Brooklyn asks the same question W.E.B. DuBois posed a century ago to African Americans. How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? manages to not only be humorous, intelligent, and filled with fantastic storytelling- it is also essential reading for those hoping to understand the unknown, unsung causalities of terrorism." - Samantha Hunt, the Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22. (Event. anthro.)
"Moustafa Bayoumi's portraits of seven young Arabs living in Brooklyn asks the same question W.E.B. DuBois posed a century ago to African Americans. How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? manages to not only be humorous, intelligent, and filled with fantastic storytelling- it is also essential reading for those hoping to understand the unknown, unsung causalities of terrorism." - Samantha Hunt, the Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22. (Event. anthro.)
Poetry, selected by Field Marshal Viscount Wavell
Other Men's Flowers: An Anthology of Verse, selected and Annotated by A. P. Wavell, Field Marshal Viscount Wavell (HC, 1945, $2)
Written on this book's front cover is "The poems that have meant most to one of the outstanding soldiers of our day". How interesting a description, as Wavell always kept getting himself replaced as a commander in WWII.
After WWII, Wavell was promoted to Field Marshal and given the title of Viscount. He had won his early battles against the Italians, but lost against Rommel. He was replaced, and sent to India, where he again lost, this time to the Japanese in Singapore. He was again replaced. He would eventually become Viceroy of India, but again was replaced when he pressed Churchill to grant independence to India. (Churchill never did respect him, but ironically Rommel did, both as a soldier, and as an author. Wavell was a scholar before entering Sandhurst Military Academy. He loved poetry, and loved to recite it. This book is a collection of his favorite poems.
Look for this book in the poetry section.
Written on this book's front cover is "The poems that have meant most to one of the outstanding soldiers of our day". How interesting a description, as Wavell always kept getting himself replaced as a commander in WWII.
After WWII, Wavell was promoted to Field Marshal and given the title of Viscount. He had won his early battles against the Italians, but lost against Rommel. He was replaced, and sent to India, where he again lost, this time to the Japanese in Singapore. He was again replaced. He would eventually become Viceroy of India, but again was replaced when he pressed Churchill to grant independence to India. (Churchill never did respect him, but ironically Rommel did, both as a soldier, and as an author. Wavell was a scholar before entering Sandhurst Military Academy. He loved poetry, and loved to recite it. This book is a collection of his favorite poems.
Look for this book in the poetry section.
Mars needs Moms!
Mars Needs Moms!, by Berkeley Breathed, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Bloom County (oversize children's HC, 2007, $3)
"Mothers. Milo often wondered what was so special about them..."
He gets his answer when a Martian spaceship lands and looks for moms to capture. (Moms, you see, can't be found on Mars, so they must be imported.)
Look for this delightful book in the children's section. (I loved the drawings!) Avail. 2/22.
"Mothers. Milo often wondered what was so special about them..."
He gets his answer when a Martian spaceship lands and looks for moms to capture. (Moms, you see, can't be found on Mars, so they must be imported.)
Look for this delightful book in the children's section. (I loved the drawings!) Avail. 2/22.
The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog?
The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog, by Nancy Ellis-Bell (HC, 2008, $2.75)
Nancy's husband gave her a "Parrot Weekend Experience" as a gift. They already had dogs and cats, so maybe she would like to try something different. She decided she wanted an African Grey, a mild mannered small parrot. Who she ended up with was Sarah, a two feet tall, mean, one-legged macaw who liked to scream out "It's crap", even when Nancy was on the phone with her editor. Sarah ate the dogs' food, washed in their water dishes, destroyed their toys, and started annoying the neighbors with her "barking". And this was all before she was given the freedom of the entire house!
"Touching, eye-opening, and laugh-out-loud funny, The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog is a tender tale of two worlds colliding, two lives enriched, and two souls restored. It is also a rewarding reminder that love can come from the most unexpected places."
Personally, this "worlds colliding" stuff is not for me, but then I don't handle chaos very well, which is probably why I have never had a pet. Well, I did have goldfish for a few weeks when I was really little. After the fish died from my excessive love, and overfeeding, my parents never tried again. (Actually that was likely because they didn't handle chaos any better than I did!) This book about a family who does thrive on chaos, can be found in the pets section, avail. 2/22.
Nancy's husband gave her a "Parrot Weekend Experience" as a gift. They already had dogs and cats, so maybe she would like to try something different. She decided she wanted an African Grey, a mild mannered small parrot. Who she ended up with was Sarah, a two feet tall, mean, one-legged macaw who liked to scream out "It's crap", even when Nancy was on the phone with her editor. Sarah ate the dogs' food, washed in their water dishes, destroyed their toys, and started annoying the neighbors with her "barking". And this was all before she was given the freedom of the entire house!
"Touching, eye-opening, and laugh-out-loud funny, The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog is a tender tale of two worlds colliding, two lives enriched, and two souls restored. It is also a rewarding reminder that love can come from the most unexpected places."
Personally, this "worlds colliding" stuff is not for me, but then I don't handle chaos very well, which is probably why I have never had a pet. Well, I did have goldfish for a few weeks when I was really little. After the fish died from my excessive love, and overfeeding, my parents never tried again. (Actually that was likely because they didn't handle chaos any better than I did!) This book about a family who does thrive on chaos, can be found in the pets section, avail. 2/22.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
A Good Night's Sleep?
The Harvard Medical School Guide to A Good Night's Sleep, by Lawrence J. Epstein (TPB, 2007, $2.50)
I was a night worker for 17 years, and loved it, most of the time. The winter was the best part of my year because when it is dark, it is easier to sleep. For me, the sun was the enemy. Now that I am retired, I am still up at night. So, per chapter 3 of this book, I am neither standard, nor a lark, just an owl. Well, I already knew that.
I recommend the chapter on sleep myths. I also recommend the chapter on snoring and sleep apnea. You may not know about sleep apnea, but it can still kill you. Many people don't even know they have it. Either you think it is just snoring, or you sleep alone and don't even know you snore. I stayed over night with a friend after knee surgery, and noticed she would snore, and then would become quiet, on and on during the night. This is sleep apnea, and should be checked out.
Look for this book in the medical section, avail. 2/22
I was a night worker for 17 years, and loved it, most of the time. The winter was the best part of my year because when it is dark, it is easier to sleep. For me, the sun was the enemy. Now that I am retired, I am still up at night. So, per chapter 3 of this book, I am neither standard, nor a lark, just an owl. Well, I already knew that.
I recommend the chapter on sleep myths. I also recommend the chapter on snoring and sleep apnea. You may not know about sleep apnea, but it can still kill you. Many people don't even know they have it. Either you think it is just snoring, or you sleep alone and don't even know you snore. I stayed over night with a friend after knee surgery, and noticed she would snore, and then would become quiet, on and on during the night. This is sleep apnea, and should be checked out.
Look for this book in the medical section, avail. 2/22
Friday, February 17, 2012
New Age Stuff
We just received a bunch of books on new age topics. Most are PB. All are to be found on the new age shelf of the religion section.
What did Jesus really say?
The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus (What Did Jesus Really Say?), by Robert Funk, Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar (oversize TPB, 553 pages, 1993, $5)
Have you heard of the Jesus Seminar? For six years, bible scholars of the Jesus Seminar "inventoried all the surviving ancient texts for words attributed to Jesus. They then examined those words in the several ancient languages in which they have been preserved. They produced a translation of all the gospels, known as the Scholars Version. And, finally, they studied, debated, and voted on each of the more than 1,500 sayings of Jesus in the inventory. The Five Gospels is a color-coded report of the results of those deliberations. It answers the question 'What did Jesus really say?' within a narrow range of historical probabilities."
The critics of all this complain the Seminar scholars were all liberals, of similar opinions. Whatever, this is quite an accomplishment.
For those unacquainted with liberal scholarship, the inclusion of Gospels Q and Thomas may be a new idea, perhaps even offensive. The idea of voting to determine what Jesus really might by itself be offensive. As I always say, read about it and make up your own mind. Look for this in the religion section. Avail. 2/22.
Have you heard of the Jesus Seminar? For six years, bible scholars of the Jesus Seminar "inventoried all the surviving ancient texts for words attributed to Jesus. They then examined those words in the several ancient languages in which they have been preserved. They produced a translation of all the gospels, known as the Scholars Version. And, finally, they studied, debated, and voted on each of the more than 1,500 sayings of Jesus in the inventory. The Five Gospels is a color-coded report of the results of those deliberations. It answers the question 'What did Jesus really say?' within a narrow range of historical probabilities."
The critics of all this complain the Seminar scholars were all liberals, of similar opinions. Whatever, this is quite an accomplishment.
For those unacquainted with liberal scholarship, the inclusion of Gospels Q and Thomas may be a new idea, perhaps even offensive. The idea of voting to determine what Jesus really might by itself be offensive. As I always say, read about it and make up your own mind. Look for this in the religion section. Avail. 2/22.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Doctor Brinkley and His "Eternal Youth" Goats
The Roguish World of Doctor Brinkley, by Gerald Carson ( HC, 1960, $2)
Doctor John Brinkley "revived the old dream of eternal youth on a spacious scale, and devised a goat-gonad operation which, he promised, would make any oldster once again a marvel of sexual potency. Six thousand goats gave up their virility for his patients, netting the doctor twelve million dollars. He owned the most powerful radio station in North America, and had his own busy hospital. He was a guest at the White House, a 32nd degree Mason, and the owner of a vast fleet of Cadillacs, three yachts, and a palatial Texas estate." He even ran for Governor of Kansas, and almost won. Actually he would have won if he had entered the race early enough to have his name put on the ballot, instead of being a write-in candidate. Unfortunately he had done business through the US mail, and was arrested for federal mail fraud.
Amazing, just amazing! Look for this book along with the others.
Doctor John Brinkley "revived the old dream of eternal youth on a spacious scale, and devised a goat-gonad operation which, he promised, would make any oldster once again a marvel of sexual potency. Six thousand goats gave up their virility for his patients, netting the doctor twelve million dollars. He owned the most powerful radio station in North America, and had his own busy hospital. He was a guest at the White House, a 32nd degree Mason, and the owner of a vast fleet of Cadillacs, three yachts, and a palatial Texas estate." He even ran for Governor of Kansas, and almost won. Actually he would have won if he had entered the race early enough to have his name put on the ballot, instead of being a write-in candidate. Unfortunately he had done business through the US mail, and was arrested for federal mail fraud.
Amazing, just amazing! Look for this book along with the others.
The Cons of Philip Musica
Magnificent Masquerade: The Strange Case of Dr. Coster and Mr. Musica, by Charles Keats (HC, 1964, $2)
Philip Musica had been "sentenced to Elmira Reformatory for a cheese swindle- his sentence commuted by no less a person than the President of the United States! Then there had been a human-hair hoax, which cost banks on three continents a million dollars. Given a suspended sentence, Philip Musica calmly crossed the Bridge of Sighs from the Tombs to the D.A.'s office, where he was hired as "William Johnson, Special Investigator" by the same D. A.'s staff that had prosecuted him."
From there he takes on the name Dr. Donald Coster, and builds up a drug manufacturing empire. He was even urged to run for President!
He made himself a fortune, "borrowed millions of dollars from banks on inventories that did not exist, stored in warehouses that did not exist, sent abroad in ships that did not exist. Wizardly transactions- a shipment to Australia by truck rolled Down Under, for example- were questioned by no one."
You would think these stories were fiction... but they aren't. Look for this book with the others.
Philip Musica had been "sentenced to Elmira Reformatory for a cheese swindle- his sentence commuted by no less a person than the President of the United States! Then there had been a human-hair hoax, which cost banks on three continents a million dollars. Given a suspended sentence, Philip Musica calmly crossed the Bridge of Sighs from the Tombs to the D.A.'s office, where he was hired as "William Johnson, Special Investigator" by the same D. A.'s staff that had prosecuted him."
From there he takes on the name Dr. Donald Coster, and builds up a drug manufacturing empire. He was even urged to run for President!
He made himself a fortune, "borrowed millions of dollars from banks on inventories that did not exist, stored in warehouses that did not exist, sent abroad in ships that did not exist. Wizardly transactions- a shipment to Australia by truck rolled Down Under, for example- were questioned by no one."
You would think these stories were fiction... but they aren't. Look for this book with the others.
The 12,000,000 Acre Land Swindle
The Baron of Arizona: The Great 12-Million-Acre Land Swindle, by E. H. Cookridge (HC, 1967, weak spine, $1.50)
James Reavis' job was to handle land claims. Some of the ownership documents looked pretty questionable, which gave him the idea to forge his own. Eventually he got really good at this "other" job.
"He produced a claim to a gigantic property in Arizona and New Mexico, worth half a billion dollars in today's money, which had ostensibly been granted by the crown of Spain in the 18th century to one ' Don Miguel Nemecio Silva de Peralta y de la Cordoba.' To bolster his claim, he 'discovered' a direct descendant of the Peralta family and married her, calling himself thereafter Baron de Peralta y Cardoba; actually she was a part-Indian from California, upon whom he performed a Pygmalion act so successfully that he passed her off as genuine in the royal courts of Spain and England."
His land ownership claims were supported by senators and tycoons, and even the Southern Pacific Railroad itself. Over the years he made a fortune on rents he collected. When the Surveyor General of Arizona reported him as a fraud, Reavis immediately sued the US government for $11,000,000!
Truth sometimes is stranger than fact. Look for this in the box of fraud books, on the floor in front of the general non-fiction.
James Reavis' job was to handle land claims. Some of the ownership documents looked pretty questionable, which gave him the idea to forge his own. Eventually he got really good at this "other" job.
"He produced a claim to a gigantic property in Arizona and New Mexico, worth half a billion dollars in today's money, which had ostensibly been granted by the crown of Spain in the 18th century to one ' Don Miguel Nemecio Silva de Peralta y de la Cordoba.' To bolster his claim, he 'discovered' a direct descendant of the Peralta family and married her, calling himself thereafter Baron de Peralta y Cardoba; actually she was a part-Indian from California, upon whom he performed a Pygmalion act so successfully that he passed her off as genuine in the royal courts of Spain and England."
His land ownership claims were supported by senators and tycoons, and even the Southern Pacific Railroad itself. Over the years he made a fortune on rents he collected. When the Surveyor General of Arizona reported him as a fraud, Reavis immediately sued the US government for $11,000,000!
Truth sometimes is stranger than fact. Look for this in the box of fraud books, on the floor in front of the general non-fiction.
Frauds, Hoaxes, Conterfeiters, and Rogues
Stories of frauds, hoaxes, conterfeiters and rogues,
especially-
The Gentleman Was a Thief: The Colorful Story of Arthur Barry, a 1920's Rogue, by Neil Hickey
( He stole an estimated $10,000,000 worth of jewelry!)
The Rascal and the Road, by Robert Crichton
(The continuing story of Ferdinand W. Demara, the Great Imposter)
The Art of the Faker: 3,000 Years of Deception, by Frank Arnau ($3)
Most of these are HCs, @ $2 each, and can be found on the floor of the general non-fiction section, in a box marked "blogged"
especially-
The Gentleman Was a Thief: The Colorful Story of Arthur Barry, a 1920's Rogue, by Neil Hickey
( He stole an estimated $10,000,000 worth of jewelry!)
The Rascal and the Road, by Robert Crichton
(The continuing story of Ferdinand W. Demara, the Great Imposter)
The Art of the Faker: 3,000 Years of Deception, by Frank Arnau ($3)
Most of these are HCs, @ $2 each, and can be found on the floor of the general non-fiction section, in a box marked "blogged"
Will the Japanese Emperor Surrender?
The Fall of Japan: A Chronicle of the End of an Empire, by William Craig (HC, 1997, $3.50)- Avail. soon, maybe the 22nd. (I have decided to reread it myself first)
During the final weeks of WWII Japan had to decide whether to surrender or fight on to the bitter end. The first atomic bomb had been dropped, with the mission going perfectly. Now it was The Fat Man's turn to be dropped over Nagasaki, and nothing went right. Among other things, there was a thick fog over the targets, all of them, and their fuel was low. Would they make it home?
The Emperor, the generals, and his cabinet were gathered to decide about surrender. Amazingly I felt compassion when Hirohito announced his wish that Japan surrender, with "I cannot bear to see my innocent people struggle any longer." For sure, not all of them were innocent, but a lot of them were.
Meanwhile a group of young officers had attempted to overthrow the government and continue the war. Of course the surrender did take place, but did you know the plane taking the Japanese delegation, and the surrender papers, back to Japan had to crash land in the ocean? Those delegates were not having a good day.
What did Admiral Perry's 1853 flag have to do with all this? And how, logistically, did the allies take over control of Japan? How did the arriving Americans feel, and what about the Japanese? This is all fascinating stuff. I know, because I ended up reading the whole book. I didn't plan to, but it was impossible to put down.
Look for this book in the WWII section.
During the final weeks of WWII Japan had to decide whether to surrender or fight on to the bitter end. The first atomic bomb had been dropped, with the mission going perfectly. Now it was The Fat Man's turn to be dropped over Nagasaki, and nothing went right. Among other things, there was a thick fog over the targets, all of them, and their fuel was low. Would they make it home?
The Emperor, the generals, and his cabinet were gathered to decide about surrender. Amazingly I felt compassion when Hirohito announced his wish that Japan surrender, with "I cannot bear to see my innocent people struggle any longer." For sure, not all of them were innocent, but a lot of them were.
Meanwhile a group of young officers had attempted to overthrow the government and continue the war. Of course the surrender did take place, but did you know the plane taking the Japanese delegation, and the surrender papers, back to Japan had to crash land in the ocean? Those delegates were not having a good day.
What did Admiral Perry's 1853 flag have to do with all this? And how, logistically, did the allies take over control of Japan? How did the arriving Americans feel, and what about the Japanese? This is all fascinating stuff. I know, because I ended up reading the whole book. I didn't plan to, but it was impossible to put down.
Look for this book in the WWII section.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Soseki Natsume's "I Am A Cat"
I Am a Cat, by Soseki Natsume (PB, 1992, $1.50)- Avail. 2/17
"A nonchalant string of anecdotes and wisecracks, told by a fellow who doesn't have a name, and has never caught a mouse, and isn't much good for anything except watching human beings in action."- The New Yorker
In 1905 Soseki had meant to write only a short story, but his tale was so loved he wrote nine more about the cat and his master, a schoolteacher living in upper middle class Japanese society during the Meiji era. This book includes the translations of Soseki's first three chapters. Look for it in the PB fiction section, shelved under "s" for Soseki.
"A nonchalant string of anecdotes and wisecracks, told by a fellow who doesn't have a name, and has never caught a mouse, and isn't much good for anything except watching human beings in action."- The New Yorker
In 1905 Soseki had meant to write only a short story, but his tale was so loved he wrote nine more about the cat and his master, a schoolteacher living in upper middle class Japanese society during the Meiji era. This book includes the translations of Soseki's first three chapters. Look for it in the PB fiction section, shelved under "s" for Soseki.
The White Nile
The White Nile, by Alan Moorehead (oversize TPB, 1983, $3.50)- Avail. 2/17
Filled with numerous drawings and 21 color plates, this lushly illustrated history of the Egyptian/Sudan region covers from 1856 to 1900. Herodotus had looked for the source of the Nile, and failed. Nero also tried, and failed. Even as late as 1856 the center of Africa was still uncharted. The Nile was a mystery. "No one could explain why it was that it should rise and flow over its banks in the Nile Delta in September, the driest and hottest time of the year... nor how it was possible for the river to continue... for well over a thousand miles through one of the most frightful of all deserts without receiving a single tributary and hardly a drop of rain." The men who would followed the Nile to its beginning had to travel all the way to Lake Victoria, both by boat and by foot where the river was unnavigable.
This is also the story of the Sudan, which Egypt claimed from 1819 on. Mixed in this history of Egypt and the Sudan are the British, the Ottomans, and a Sudanese Islamic leader/ warrior named Mahdi. The British cared about the area because of the Suez Canal, the slave trade, Egypt's claim to the Sudan, and eventually the race by European countries to accumulate new colonies in Africa.
I had never heard of Mahdi's Muslim Revolt. At first the revolt was between Mahdi's Sudan Muslims and the Ottoman "sort-of" Muslims. Mahdi wanted to revive the true Muslim religion, and to liberate the Sudan. For awhile, from 1883 to 1898, he and his followers were successful. The British were arrogant, and thoroughly amazed that they continued to lose against him. Mahdi was so successful the British even withdrew for a time, because they could not afford the cost of sending a force large enough to defeat him.
During this time the Sudanese leader, Khalifa, ruled over a depopulating land. Continual wars, executions, the slave trade, endemic smallpox and syphilis, locusts, and famine killed about 75% of the Sudanese people! Even so, in 1898 Khalifa was able to raise an army of 50,000 to meet the British. This time, fighting against a crack British army and modern weapons, the Mahdis would lose. Britain would then control the Sudan until its independence in 1956. Of course, even since then Sudan has been a killing field.
This is both an uplifting and tragic tale. Look for this book in the African section.
Filled with numerous drawings and 21 color plates, this lushly illustrated history of the Egyptian/Sudan region covers from 1856 to 1900. Herodotus had looked for the source of the Nile, and failed. Nero also tried, and failed. Even as late as 1856 the center of Africa was still uncharted. The Nile was a mystery. "No one could explain why it was that it should rise and flow over its banks in the Nile Delta in September, the driest and hottest time of the year... nor how it was possible for the river to continue... for well over a thousand miles through one of the most frightful of all deserts without receiving a single tributary and hardly a drop of rain." The men who would followed the Nile to its beginning had to travel all the way to Lake Victoria, both by boat and by foot where the river was unnavigable.
This is also the story of the Sudan, which Egypt claimed from 1819 on. Mixed in this history of Egypt and the Sudan are the British, the Ottomans, and a Sudanese Islamic leader/ warrior named Mahdi. The British cared about the area because of the Suez Canal, the slave trade, Egypt's claim to the Sudan, and eventually the race by European countries to accumulate new colonies in Africa.
I had never heard of Mahdi's Muslim Revolt. At first the revolt was between Mahdi's Sudan Muslims and the Ottoman "sort-of" Muslims. Mahdi wanted to revive the true Muslim religion, and to liberate the Sudan. For awhile, from 1883 to 1898, he and his followers were successful. The British were arrogant, and thoroughly amazed that they continued to lose against him. Mahdi was so successful the British even withdrew for a time, because they could not afford the cost of sending a force large enough to defeat him.
During this time the Sudanese leader, Khalifa, ruled over a depopulating land. Continual wars, executions, the slave trade, endemic smallpox and syphilis, locusts, and famine killed about 75% of the Sudanese people! Even so, in 1898 Khalifa was able to raise an army of 50,000 to meet the British. This time, fighting against a crack British army and modern weapons, the Mahdis would lose. Britain would then control the Sudan until its independence in 1956. Of course, even since then Sudan has been a killing field.
This is both an uplifting and tragic tale. Look for this book in the African section.
Charles Dickens' Children ***SOLD***
The Children of Dickens, by Samuel McChord Crothers (HC, 1937, $8.50, which is 1/3 the internet price.)- Avail. 2/17
Beautiful book, with 10 wonderful color prints.
Crothers's first chapter, on Dickens himself, notes that though children are mentioned in Dickens' stories, they are "all mixed up with the older people". So if you want to read Dickens' stories to children, you can't. What Crothers has done is to tell the stories of Dickens' children in a form you CAN read to children.
Look for this book in the children's section.
Beautiful book, with 10 wonderful color prints.
Crothers's first chapter, on Dickens himself, notes that though children are mentioned in Dickens' stories, they are "all mixed up with the older people". So if you want to read Dickens' stories to children, you can't. What Crothers has done is to tell the stories of Dickens' children in a form you CAN read to children.
Look for this book in the children's section.
Roller Coasters!!!!! ***SOLD***
Roller Coasters, by Scott Rutherford (oversized TPB, 2003, $4)- Avail. 2/17
Okay, I should probably confess to you that roller coasters make me queasy. Today I found out I even feel queasy looking at a book about roller coasters. But I know you all are much braver than I.
Probably the first roller coaster in North America was built by Josiah White in 1827. Well, actually what he built was a railroad to carry coal. Mules would haul up the empty cars to the mountain top. After coal was loaded into the cars, the cars would travel down the winding mountain path by gravity, the mules riding in their own cars. One afternoon some brave soul asked to ride down in a coal car, and a new entertainment was born. Tourists had to pay 50 cents to ride one way, a princely sum in 1827!
There are two basic types of roller coasters- ones with wood tracks and ones with steel tracks. (Except that some wood tracks have steel supports, and some steel ones have wood supports. Hmm.) The first adult steel track was built for Disneyland in 1959)
Steel coasters "offer a more controlled ride experience than the wooden variety. The precision with which they are designed and the tight tolerances applied to steel coast trains gives steel-track rides a relatively quiet, sanitized flavor, but at the same time it allows for a far more convoluted track plan, complete with vertical loops, barrel rolls, and other acrobatics..."
Heat, humidity, and especially wind make a difference in coaster speeds. If the winds are high enough they can even cause rollbacks (where a train doesn't make it over the top of the hill.) Riding a coaster during a light rain can make the coaster speed up. (Think of oil and water mixing on top a track.)
As to where you should sit, it depends. If you want a smooth ride, sit in the middle. If you want to experience the best view, or love floating low-G moments, sit in the front. If you want a wilder, whip-like ride, sit in the back. (Or, if you are like me, avoid sitting in one at all!)
The final chapter here includes pictures of the newest rides, but since this book is almost 10 years old there are probably even worse ones now... oops, what I meant to say was "wilder" ones. Look for this book on top the glass case in the front.
Okay, I should probably confess to you that roller coasters make me queasy. Today I found out I even feel queasy looking at a book about roller coasters. But I know you all are much braver than I.
Probably the first roller coaster in North America was built by Josiah White in 1827. Well, actually what he built was a railroad to carry coal. Mules would haul up the empty cars to the mountain top. After coal was loaded into the cars, the cars would travel down the winding mountain path by gravity, the mules riding in their own cars. One afternoon some brave soul asked to ride down in a coal car, and a new entertainment was born. Tourists had to pay 50 cents to ride one way, a princely sum in 1827!
There are two basic types of roller coasters- ones with wood tracks and ones with steel tracks. (Except that some wood tracks have steel supports, and some steel ones have wood supports. Hmm.) The first adult steel track was built for Disneyland in 1959)
Steel coasters "offer a more controlled ride experience than the wooden variety. The precision with which they are designed and the tight tolerances applied to steel coast trains gives steel-track rides a relatively quiet, sanitized flavor, but at the same time it allows for a far more convoluted track plan, complete with vertical loops, barrel rolls, and other acrobatics..."
Heat, humidity, and especially wind make a difference in coaster speeds. If the winds are high enough they can even cause rollbacks (where a train doesn't make it over the top of the hill.) Riding a coaster during a light rain can make the coaster speed up. (Think of oil and water mixing on top a track.)
As to where you should sit, it depends. If you want a smooth ride, sit in the middle. If you want to experience the best view, or love floating low-G moments, sit in the front. If you want a wilder, whip-like ride, sit in the back. (Or, if you are like me, avoid sitting in one at all!)
The final chapter here includes pictures of the newest rides, but since this book is almost 10 years old there are probably even worse ones now... oops, what I meant to say was "wilder" ones. Look for this book on top the glass case in the front.
History of the Dominican Republic
Quisqueya, A History of the Dominican Republic, by Selden Rodman (HC, 1964, ex-lib., 1964)
Quisqueya is the native name of the island containing both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This book is mostly about the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic is known to be a far better place to live in than Haiti, but that is only because Haiti is one of the world's worst... and that was before the earthquake struck. This book was written in 1964 when Trujillo had been assassinated, and Bosch overthrown. There is hope of better times to come. But in 1965 President Johnson sends in the Marines to keep the Dominican Republic from becoming "another Cuba". Oh, well.
Read here about the Dominican Republic's history from the coming of the Europeans to the overthrow of Bosch. Look for this in the Caribbean history section.
Quisqueya is the native name of the island containing both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This book is mostly about the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic is known to be a far better place to live in than Haiti, but that is only because Haiti is one of the world's worst... and that was before the earthquake struck. This book was written in 1964 when Trujillo had been assassinated, and Bosch overthrown. There is hope of better times to come. But in 1965 President Johnson sends in the Marines to keep the Dominican Republic from becoming "another Cuba". Oh, well.
Read here about the Dominican Republic's history from the coming of the Europeans to the overthrow of Bosch. Look for this in the Caribbean history section.
Boating: General stuff?
Weather at Sea, by David Houghton (TPB, 1988, $1.50)
If you are going to be a top meteorologist at the British Met Office, it helps to have a doctorate from MIT. And if you are going to be a sailor, it helps to know something about weather. Houghton claims "...weather is not as fickle as it sometimes appears. There is an ordered sequence in the unfolding of a thunderstorm or the development and oscillations of a sea breeze. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms will make you a better local forecaster..."
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, by Sebastian Junger (TPB, 1997, $1.50)
(I assume this story has a happy ending. After all who would kill off George Clooney?)
The wildest part here is this storm wasn't even considered a hurricane, "just" a northeaster. Having grown up in a suburb of Atlantic City, I know about northeasters, and have heard about hurricanes. Atlantic City is actually an island joined by causeways to the mainland. Causeways, for you landlubbers, are roads built over marshes, and they flood during storms. Translation, once the storm hits, you ain't going no where no how. Margate, where I lived, was 5 blocks wide, and when a hurricane came to town, the ocean level would rise, the bay would rise, and then the sewers would back up. So even if your house wasn't under water, you still had problems. The Perfect Storm's northeaster spawned waves 10 stories high, and winds 120 mph. Sure sounds like a hurricane to me. (I am not sure the Weather at Sea book would have helped these fishermen.)
Do-It-Yourself Improvement Projects: Upgrading for Increased Enjoyment and Enhanced Resale Value, edited by Keith Lawrence (HC, 1988, $2)
I was going to shelve this under home improvements, till I realized it went along with the other sailing books.
If you are going to be a top meteorologist at the British Met Office, it helps to have a doctorate from MIT. And if you are going to be a sailor, it helps to know something about weather. Houghton claims "...weather is not as fickle as it sometimes appears. There is an ordered sequence in the unfolding of a thunderstorm or the development and oscillations of a sea breeze. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms will make you a better local forecaster..."
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, by Sebastian Junger (TPB, 1997, $1.50)
(I assume this story has a happy ending. After all who would kill off George Clooney?)
The wildest part here is this storm wasn't even considered a hurricane, "just" a northeaster. Having grown up in a suburb of Atlantic City, I know about northeasters, and have heard about hurricanes. Atlantic City is actually an island joined by causeways to the mainland. Causeways, for you landlubbers, are roads built over marshes, and they flood during storms. Translation, once the storm hits, you ain't going no where no how. Margate, where I lived, was 5 blocks wide, and when a hurricane came to town, the ocean level would rise, the bay would rise, and then the sewers would back up. So even if your house wasn't under water, you still had problems. The Perfect Storm's northeaster spawned waves 10 stories high, and winds 120 mph. Sure sounds like a hurricane to me. (I am not sure the Weather at Sea book would have helped these fishermen.)
Do-It-Yourself Improvement Projects: Upgrading for Increased Enjoyment and Enhanced Resale Value, edited by Keith Lawrence (HC, 1988, $2)
I was going to shelve this under home improvements, till I realized it went along with the other sailing books.
Sailing in 1895- Joshua Slocum ***SOLD***
Captain Joshua Slocum: The Adventures of America's Best Known Sailor, by Victor Slocum (TPB, 1993, $2.50)
Slocum led a boring life. He fished from Alaska, and from Honolulu. He traded with China. He was also the captain of the Northern Light, "which had two attempted mutinies on one voyage, and narrowly missed the Krakatoa eruption in the Sunda Strait." Then it was off to Brazil on a gun vessel to help put down a rebellion.
Of more minor note, he also sailed home from Brazil with his family in a homemade 35 by 8 foot canoe. (If my husband told me we were going 5000 miles in a homemade canoe, words would have been spoken, and they would not have been polite ones!)
Still bored, Slocum built "with his own hands a nine-ton yawl and sailed it single-handed around the world." This is the story of that voyage, told by his historian son.
By now you have figured out I was kidding about that "boring life" stuff.
Look for this in the sailing section.
Slocum led a boring life. He fished from Alaska, and from Honolulu. He traded with China. He was also the captain of the Northern Light, "which had two attempted mutinies on one voyage, and narrowly missed the Krakatoa eruption in the Sunda Strait." Then it was off to Brazil on a gun vessel to help put down a rebellion.
Of more minor note, he also sailed home from Brazil with his family in a homemade 35 by 8 foot canoe. (If my husband told me we were going 5000 miles in a homemade canoe, words would have been spoken, and they would not have been polite ones!)
Still bored, Slocum built "with his own hands a nine-ton yawl and sailed it single-handed around the world." This is the story of that voyage, told by his historian son.
By now you have figured out I was kidding about that "boring life" stuff.
Look for this in the sailing section.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Simulation of Discrete Stochastic Systems (1972)
Simulation of Discrete Stochastic Systems, by Herbert Maisel (HC, 1972, $2, which is 1/3 the internet price)
OK, if you decide to buy this book, you probably know what discrete stochastic systems are. (Something having to do with mathematics and computers?)
So, look for it in the computer section.
OK, if you decide to buy this book, you probably know what discrete stochastic systems are. (Something having to do with mathematics and computers?)
So, look for it in the computer section.
Treaty of Versailles and the Road to WWII (7 CDs)
Six Months that Changed the World: The Treaty of Versailles and the Road to WWII, by Margatet MacMillan (7 CDs, 2004, $5, note: the course book is missing)
Also included:
Excerpts from Select Titles in the Series
and
Ideas That Shaped Mankind: A Concise History of Human Thought (lectures 11-12)- probably an oops that was accidentally left in the set when it was donated.
An interesting bit of information: this author, a professor at the University of Toronto, is the granddaughter of former British PM David Lloyd George, one of the signers of the Treaty of Versailles.
Look for this in the WWI history section.
Also included:
Excerpts from Select Titles in the Series
and
Ideas That Shaped Mankind: A Concise History of Human Thought (lectures 11-12)- probably an oops that was accidentally left in the set when it was donated.
An interesting bit of information: this author, a professor at the University of Toronto, is the granddaughter of former British PM David Lloyd George, one of the signers of the Treaty of Versailles.
Look for this in the WWI history section.
Illustrated Nostalgic magazines
Those Were The Days (3 from 1972, each @$2.50, which is 1/3 the internet price)
Nostalgia Illustrated: The Pleasures of the Past (10 from 1974 and 1975, each @ $2, which is 1/3 the internet price)
Liberty: The Nostalgia Magazine (20 from 1971 through 1976, each @ $1)
See these in the reference section, in the box marked "blogged".
Nostalgia Illustrated: The Pleasures of the Past (10 from 1974 and 1975, each @ $2, which is 1/3 the internet price)
Liberty: The Nostalgia Magazine (20 from 1971 through 1976, each @ $1)
See these in the reference section, in the box marked "blogged".
Sailing laughs!
Sailing: A Dictionary for Landlubbers, Old Salts, and Armchair Drifters, by Henry Beard (TPB, 1981, $1.75)
"Sailing, 1. n. the fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense."
The Passionate Sailor, by Nat Philbrick (TPB, 1987, $1.75)
Still Wet Behind the Ears, by Lesley Black (HC, 1986, $1, spine is weak.)
Look for these in the sailing section, in a box marked "blog items" on the floor.
"Sailing, 1. n. the fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense."
The Passionate Sailor, by Nat Philbrick (TPB, 1987, $1.75)
Still Wet Behind the Ears, by Lesley Black (HC, 1986, $1, spine is weak.)
Look for these in the sailing section, in a box marked "blog items" on the floor.
WW One's "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930)
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque (HC, 1930, $4, which is 1/3 the internet price)
I remember reading this in high school, and what an effect it had on me. Weeks afterward I was still thinking about it. The weird part was that this was in 1971, while US soldiers were still fighting in Vietnam. You would have thought a book about a long ago war wouldn't have mattered much. But it did. Was it that it is a masterpiece? Or because my class was to young to be part of the draft? Or because seeing pictures on the TV screen seemed too unreal? I have no answer. I just remember it did, and so much so that I have avoided re-reading it ever since.
The book was originally published in Germany in 1929. The American version also came out in 1929. Between its first American edition (June, 1929), and this edition (February, 1930), nineteen editions had been published! Wow!
Look for this in the classics section.
I remember reading this in high school, and what an effect it had on me. Weeks afterward I was still thinking about it. The weird part was that this was in 1971, while US soldiers were still fighting in Vietnam. You would have thought a book about a long ago war wouldn't have mattered much. But it did. Was it that it is a masterpiece? Or because my class was to young to be part of the draft? Or because seeing pictures on the TV screen seemed too unreal? I have no answer. I just remember it did, and so much so that I have avoided re-reading it ever since.
The book was originally published in Germany in 1929. The American version also came out in 1929. Between its first American edition (June, 1929), and this edition (February, 1930), nineteen editions had been published! Wow!
Look for this in the classics section.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Khalid Hosseini's Second Novel
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (HC, 2007, $3)
Khaled Hosseini, who wrote The Kite Runner, writes here of two Afghan generations brought together by wars- first the Soviet invasion, then the take-over by the Taliban, and finally the post-9/11 war, "where personal lives - the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness- are inextricable from the history playing out around them."
Thinking about all this makes my personal problems seem tiny, tiny, tiny in comparison. Look for this book in the fiction section.
Khaled Hosseini, who wrote The Kite Runner, writes here of two Afghan generations brought together by wars- first the Soviet invasion, then the take-over by the Taliban, and finally the post-9/11 war, "where personal lives - the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness- are inextricable from the history playing out around them."
Thinking about all this makes my personal problems seem tiny, tiny, tiny in comparison. Look for this book in the fiction section.
Mystery Novels by Delacorta
Nana
Luna
Lola
All are PB, English language translations published in 1984, priced at $1 each.
The author Delacorta's real name is Daniel Odier. He was born Swiss, studied in Paris and Rome, and wrote about music and art before he wrote two non-fiction books, one on Taoism, and one on William Burroughs, the Beat Generation writer. He then switched to writing novels, including these three, originally published in French ( 1979 to 1983).
These are not your usual mystery. If the introductory remarks are correct, Gorodish's wife, Alba, keeps getting kidnapped by various weirdos, who turn her into an insect. Or is it just that they dress her like an insect? Or that they make love to her like an insect? Feel free to read these books and let me know exactly what is going on here.
You can find these weird mysteries in the mystery section.
Luna
Lola
All are PB, English language translations published in 1984, priced at $1 each.
The author Delacorta's real name is Daniel Odier. He was born Swiss, studied in Paris and Rome, and wrote about music and art before he wrote two non-fiction books, one on Taoism, and one on William Burroughs, the Beat Generation writer. He then switched to writing novels, including these three, originally published in French ( 1979 to 1983).
These are not your usual mystery. If the introductory remarks are correct, Gorodish's wife, Alba, keeps getting kidnapped by various weirdos, who turn her into an insect. Or is it just that they dress her like an insect? Or that they make love to her like an insect? Feel free to read these books and let me know exactly what is going on here.
You can find these weird mysteries in the mystery section.
The Last Dickens
The Last Dickens, by Matthew Pearl (TPB, 2009, $1.50)
"Boston, 1870.
When news of Charles Dickens's sudden death reaches his struggling American publisher, James Osgood sends his trusted clerk, Daniel Sand, to await the arrival of Dicken's unfinished final manuscript. But Daniel never returns, and when his body is discovered by the docks, Osgood must embark on a quest to find the missing end to the novel and unmask the killer. With Daniel's sister Rebecca at his side, Osgood races the clock through a dangerous web of opium dens, sadistic thugs, and literary lions to solve a genius's last mystery and save his own life- and the life of the woman he loves."
Dickens' death was real. His unfinished serial The Mystery of Edwin Drood was real.
This book, The Last Dickens, though, is not, but Matthew Pearl's writing and research into the period makes it feel real. You can find this book in the mystery section.
"Boston, 1870.
When news of Charles Dickens's sudden death reaches his struggling American publisher, James Osgood sends his trusted clerk, Daniel Sand, to await the arrival of Dicken's unfinished final manuscript. But Daniel never returns, and when his body is discovered by the docks, Osgood must embark on a quest to find the missing end to the novel and unmask the killer. With Daniel's sister Rebecca at his side, Osgood races the clock through a dangerous web of opium dens, sadistic thugs, and literary lions to solve a genius's last mystery and save his own life- and the life of the woman he loves."
Dickens' death was real. His unfinished serial The Mystery of Edwin Drood was real.
This book, The Last Dickens, though, is not, but Matthew Pearl's writing and research into the period makes it feel real. You can find this book in the mystery section.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Poetry (Some of them are free!)
I have just finished straightening and shelving the poetry section, also the books on writing, so feel free to come and check out the newly organized section. We really have some unique poetry books.
While sorting and shelving, there were a fair number of less than pristine copies of poetry and writing books that are now on the free shelves outside the store, and in the free area inside the store. Feel free to come in grab some freebies, and check out the rest of the store.
While sorting and shelving, there were a fair number of less than pristine copies of poetry and writing books that are now on the free shelves outside the store, and in the free area inside the store. Feel free to come in grab some freebies, and check out the rest of the store.
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