bookpagedev

Arts & Culture

Review

Review by bookpagedev

It is often only after the death of a great author that the scope of his unpublished writings is appreciated. In the case of Robertson Davies, two new collections underscore his remarkable literary and artistic range. The Merry Heart illustrates Davies’s fascination with the writing and reading of literature, while Happy Alchemy brings to light his diverse musings on theater, opera, and music. Included in Happy Alchemy are speeches, diary entries, critical essays, interviews, and dramatic scenes. The collection’s title is a reference to a couplet by English poet Matthew Green and is best explained by Davies himself in the book’s opening essay on theater. “What alchemy really means is something which has attained to such excellence, such nearness to perfection, that it offers a glory, an expansion of life and understanding, to those who have been brought into contact with it.” The pieces in this collection are about that pursuit of artistic excellence not only in the theater and the opera house, but in the imagination of the dramatist and the workshop of the librettist. In 33 chapters, the writing included here covers a lot of ground. Whether discussing the virtues of a playwright, the strength of a particular production, or the skill of an actor, Davies writes with energy and enthusiasm.

As a commentator on the performing arts, Davies concerns himself with the creative process as well as the finished product. His love of opera is demonstrated in his thoughtful analysis of Hamlet. In one of the finer sections of Happy Alchemy, he explains why operatic composers repeatedly fail to render it successfully. “It is too complex; its mingling of political and dynastic arguments with the spiritual agonies of the deeply introverted, philosophical hero cannot be accommodated to the chief necessity of an opera libretto, which is simplicity.” In informal, light prose, the critical writing included here is generally appreciative and inquisitory, rarely caustic. In his theater notebook, excerpted here, Davies writes, “I sincerely believe that I have been a good playgoer, and that is something better, perhaps, than having been a well-known critic. Critics often do not like the theater; I have never liked anything better.” Reviewed by Jeremy Caplan.

It is often only after the death of a great author that the scope of his unpublished writings is appreciated. In the case of Robertson Davies, two new collections underscore his remarkable literary and artistic range. The Merry Heart illustrates Davies's fascination with the writing…

History

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Rarely can a single volume fundamentally change one’s view of a major part of the planet and its complex history, but this epic account of the hundreds of states and thousands of colorful leaders who have figured in 5,000 years of turmoil and achievement on the Indian subcontinent is that invaluable exception. Not one educated, concerned, intelligent American reader in 10,000 knows a tenth of the information packed into this zesty history. That’s a safe bet, and so is this: Despite the very occasional thin passage, when the historical record is bare or a succession of patricidal nawabs becomes repetitive, John Keay grabs the reader by the throat on virtually every page with another vivid portrait of an unforgettable warrior or thinker, luminous evocation of art or bejeweled pageantry, or charge of elephant troops across a blasted plain.

In short, India: A History is seductive storytelling that reveals unexpected worlds of information, beginning with fairly recent discoveries about the Harappans, who may have invented writing and the wheel well before any other culture, and continuing through a myriad of Hindu, Greek, Mongol, Moslem, and other rulers through the British Raj down to the creaky but functioning federalism of today’s Indian Republic. Taking his story from Himalayas to Indian Ocean, as cultures rise and fall or destroy one another all over the subcontinent, Keay brilliantly renders tangled history into lucid narrative. Still, the 39 maps keyed to his story will be of great benefit to any reader.

Perhaps India: A History is most surprising in its introduction to Western readers of numerous personalities who clearly bestrode their times like colossi, such as the great lawgiver Ashoka of the third century or the admirable sultan Ala-ud-din a thousand years later.

Throughout his lengthy but never overlong story, Keay also illuminates religious differences, political movements and the eternal push-pull between Indian nationalism and regional aspirations. India: A History is a novelistic saga that provides Westerners with millennia of new experiences.

Charles Flowers, who lives in Purdys, New York, is writing a book about the fall of the Aztec empire.

Rarely can a single volume fundamentally change one's view of a major part of the planet and its complex history, but this epic account of the hundreds of states and thousands of colorful leaders who have figured in 5,000 years of turmoil and achievement on…

Business & Finance

Review

Review by bookpagedev

A broader critique of the American style of capitalism is offered in Juliet B. Schor’s The Overspent American: When the Cost of Lifestyle Overtakes the Value of Life. Six years ago, Schor, a Harvard University economist, made a big splash with the best-selling The Overworked American. In it she lent academic credence to a gut feeling shared by many but not widely articulated at the time: that Americans across a broad swath were being asked to devote more time and energy to work in a pattern that many found less rewarding and more exhausting. In this latest book, Schor takes on hyper-consumerism and less successfully (for one thing, this book’s themes are more familiar) makes the case against competitive buying.

Schor writes that an upscaling of competitive consumerism has settled on the land. Many people no longer merely try to keep up with the Joneses (they lived down the street and didn’t have much more money than us, anyway). Now, Schor posits, we compete with idealized “friends” we meet on television or through advertising. The lifestyle depicted and of most influence is decidedly upper middle class. This leads to buying beyond our means, leaving stress, too many possessions and too little satisfaction.

Even in an up economy, it’s a no-win, circular game. Schor writes: “The more our consumer satisfaction is tied into social comparisons . . . the less we achieve when consumption grows, because the people we compare ourselves to are also experiencing rising consumption.” Schor also spends some time with “downshifters,” people who have chosen to step off the perceived work-and-spend merry-go-round. They’ll accept less income and fewer things for less stress and more time to smell the flowers. Schor aptly points out that such choices aren’t automatic entrees into carefree, more genuine lives. One woman, for example, frets that she can no longer spend as much as other family members on holiday presents.

Give Schor credit for swimming against the tide. The buoyancy of financial markets combined with many years of low-inflation economic growth has many Americans feeling pretty complacent about their finances. They’ll happily indulge the urge for another wide-screen TV. But Schor offers a counter-argument to the recent glories of the gross domestic product. She writes that the GDP “fails to factor in pollution, parental time with children, the strength of the nation’s social fabric, or the chance of being mugged while walking down the street.” But what happens to economic growth if everyone takes Schor’s advice and significantly cuts consumption? After all, two-thirds of the GDP consists of consumer spending. Schor devotes a few pages near the end of the book to argue not all that convincingly that growth and much lower consumer spending can co-exist.

Reviewed by Neil Lipschutz.

A broader critique of the American style of capitalism is offered in Juliet B. Schor's The Overspent American: When the Cost of Lifestyle Overtakes the Value of Life. Six years ago, Schor, a Harvard University economist, made a big splash with the best-selling The Overworked…

Biography

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Three decades after his first book was published in England, James Herriot’s charming tales of life as a country vet in Yorkshire continue to delight readers. His nine original books have inspired television shows, children’s books, and special collections. All told, his works have sold more than 60 million copies and been translated into 20 languages. As his son observes in this heartfelt, affectionate memoir, Herriot wrote with such warmth, humour, and sincerity that he was regarded as a friend by all who read him. Wight assures readers that his father was every bit the gentleman they thought him to be, a self-described run of the mill vet who remained completely modest, even during the height of his success. The author recalls one evening when he and his father were having drinks with two farming friends. Although Herriot had been to Buckingham Palace the day before, he never once mentioned his audience with the queen.

James Herriot was a pseudonym used by James Alfred Wight, who graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939 and soon began his practice in the farming town of Thirsk (better known to readers as Darrowby). He would remain there for some 50 years, immortalizing a bygone era of veterinary medicine that he described as harder, but more fun. First as a small but very proud assistant, and later as a colleague in his father’s practice, Wight met many of the characters evoked so beautifully in Herriot’s books. Wight describes these real-life personalities fondly, with a flair that recalls his father’s remarkable storytelling abilities. Readers will delight in Wight’s portrayal of the mercurial, charming, impossible Donald Sinclair, aka Siegfried Farnon, whose advice to him included such aphorisms as Paint a black picture! If you say a case is going to recover, you could be in trouble if it doesn’t. As research for this memoir, Wight reread all his father’s books, looking for writing tips. Instead, he found himself being drawn into the stories. I always end up in the same state the book on the floor and my head back, crying with laughter, he says. What better tribute could his father have asked for? Beth Duris works for the Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Virginia.

Three decades after his first book was published in England, James Herriot's charming tales of life as a country vet in Yorkshire continue to delight readers. His nine original books have inspired television shows, children's books, and special collections. All told, his works have sold…

Business & Finance

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Webonomics: Nine Essential Principles for Growing Your Business on the World Wide Web by business writer Evan I. Schwartz is not so much a critique of the economy as a guidepost to its possible future. In case you’ve been dwelling in a cave of late, the Internet is hot. Sizzling hot. The mere “.com” in a company name or announced plans by an established concern to enter the Internet fray is often enough to send a stock price skyrocketing. This despite the distinct lack of profits exhibited by many newer Internet-oriented companies.

Schwartz offers a knowledgeable guide to this new terrain. His essential point about this fledgling medium for commerce is a good one: you have to remember that the Internet is different. Start-up company and established retailer alike must deal with an audience, attitude, and set of expectations already established on the Web. Simply mimicking in cyberspace the way a company does business in the actual world is not likely to cut it.

Another key point stressed by Schwartz is that sellers of goods and services need to remember the Web is interactive. People want to participate, contribute, ask questions, and get quick answers. He writes: “Although great masses of people use it, the Web is not a mass medium and never will be. It’s an interactive medium, a niche medium, and ultimately a personal medium in which every user’s experience is different than every other’s.” Schwartz also writes insightfully about the products and services that lend themselves most easily to the Internet (those that are “information-rich”). He talks about Web currencies, branding, consumer data, and a host of other subjects. Like all books about dynamic issues, the informed reader will know of certain developments that took place after the book was printed and bound. Still, Schwartz’s vision transcends the occasional shifting detail and maintains its relevance even in the face of further technological change. This is quite a useful guide to where a lot of businesses may be headed.

Reviewed by Neil Lipschutz.

Webonomics: Nine Essential Principles for Growing Your Business on the World Wide Web by business writer Evan I. Schwartz is not so much a critique of the economy as a guidepost to its possible future. In case you've been dwelling in a cave of late,…

Biography

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Three decades after his first book was published in England, James Herriot’s charming tales of life as a country vet in Yorkshire continue to delight readers. His nine original books have inspired television shows, children’s books, and special collections. All told, his works have sold more than 60 million copies and been translated into 20 languages. As his son observes in this heartfelt, affectionate memoir, Herriot wrote with such warmth, humour, and sincerity that he was regarded as a friend by all who read him. Wight assures readers that his father was every bit the gentleman they thought him to be, a self-described run of the mill vet who remained completely modest, even during the height of his success. The author recalls one evening when he and his father were having drinks with two farming friends. Although Herriot had been to Buckingham Palace the day before, he never once mentioned his audience with the queen.

James Herriot was a pseudonym used by James Alfred Wight, who graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939 and soon began his practice in the farming town of Thirsk (better known to readers as Darrowby). He would remain there for some 50 years, immortalizing a bygone era of veterinary medicine that he described as harder, but more fun. First as a small but very proud assistant, and later as a colleague in his father’s practice, Wight met many of the characters evoked so beautifully in Herriot’s books. Wight describes these real-life personalities fondly, with a flair that recalls his father’s remarkable storytelling abilities. Readers will delight in Wight’s portrayal of the mercurial, charming, impossible Donald Sinclair, aka Siegfried Farnon, whose advice to him included such aphorisms as Paint a black picture! If you say a case is going to recover, you could be in trouble if it doesn’t. As research for this memoir, Wight reread all his father’s books, looking for writing tips. Instead, he found himself being drawn into the stories. I always end up in the same state the book on the floor and my head back, crying with laughter, he says. What better tribute could his father have asked for? Beth Duris works for the Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Virginia.

Three decades after his first book was published in England, James Herriot's charming tales of life as a country vet in Yorkshire continue to delight readers. His nine original books have inspired television shows, children's books, and special collections. All told, his works have sold…

Biography

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Portrait of a flawed and fascinating idol Most of all, Kate Burford says in Burt Lancaster: An American Life, Burt Lancaster wanted to be an intellectual. It’s a dubious ambition and in connection with Hollywood borders on the oxymoronic, but of any film star of his era, he may have had the best mental equipment for it.

His physical equipment, however and I am fully aware of all that might imply put him on the more lucrative and esteemed path to megastardom. He was impossibly handsome, had a build a Greek god would die for, and moved with fluid grace across the screen. Everything, in short, to buckle the knees of filmgoers and apparently, of some of his female costars.

Plus, he could act. This is the most dubious of the artistic gifts, and not absolutely necessary to celluloid success, but in combination with a build and brain, it made him an unstoppable force in Hollywood for more than 40 years.

The life stories of film celebrities, especially in the studio area, were so often such a web of half-truths, myths, gossip, and outright lies constructed to protect (or destroy) careers that a biographer could be considered lucky to extract a bare skeleton from its threads. Buford manages to give us a fully formed human being, though not quite a full sense of the man. This lack may not be entirely her fault, not so much because the facts were so slippery, as that Lancaster was so complex. Eternally loyal to those who had helped him, he was also, one screenwriter said, capable of a kind of gratuitous cruelty born of years of Hollywood power.

He was born Burton Stephen Lancaster November 2, 1913, in New York City’s East Harlem to a family of respectable poor. Though his publicity always said he had little schooling, in high school he received an education that prepared him academically better than most of today’s college graduates, and he later entered New York University. But then he ran away to join the circus.

Lancaster spent most of the 1930s traveling with circuses as a trapeze performer, always playing smaller than small time. His first wife, June Ernst, was a fellow circus performer. She didn’t last as long as his acrobatic partner, Nick Cravat, who ended up on Lancaster’s Hollywood payroll for decades.

After World War II, during which he performed overseas for troops, came two of those amazing lucky breaks that make you think some people are simply darlings of the gods. Though hardly an actor then, in the fall of 1945 he got a role in a New York play that lasted barely two weeks. That was long enough for him to be seen by Harold Hecht, who became his agent and got his foot in the door of Hollywood.

The second related lucky break was that his first movie, The Killers (1946) was an incredible success. It was an extraordinary debut for a complete unknown, Buford writes. Overnight he was a star with a meteoric rise. He remained a star until his death in 1994, despite the fact that he dropped off the popularity barometer forever in 1964. And despite the fact that, other than Airport in 1970, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1957 was his last truly popular movie. He’s still a star, really. The Chiclets teeth, the sneer, the grin, and the laugh, as Buford encapsulates him, are nearly as recognizable now as they were when the star was at its zenith.

Infrequently the author dips her pen in the purple ink. The body armor nature gave him like a surprise bonus would encase the wary child within makes you want to wince for that poor wary child. But she covers all of the ground Lancaster’s public and private lives, his aggressive success as an independent producer (with Hecht and later, James Hill); his wholesale womanizing; his liberal battle against the House Un-American Activities Committee; the often troubled existence with his alcoholic second wife, Norma Anderson, who bore his five children.

She is especially good at capturing the movie shoots, such as Sweet Smell of Success, which Lancaster struggled to bring out as an independent production in 1957. A critical and commercial disaster when it came out, it is now widely admired. Despite his many human flaws, so is Lancaster.

Roger K. Miller is a freelance writer in Wisconsin.

Portrait of a flawed and fascinating idol Most of all, Kate Burford says in Burt Lancaster: An American Life, Burt Lancaster wanted to be an intellectual. It's a dubious ambition and in connection with Hollywood borders on the oxymoronic, but of any film star of…

Biography

Review

Review by bookpagedev

The Langhorne sisters of Virginia were notable for many reasons, not the least of which was their hell-bent determination to use their polished social skills to flee the South and the down-on-its-luck heritage that had subjected them to near poverty in the early years of their lives.

All were born between the late 1860s and the early 1880s to Chillie and Nancy Langhorne, well-off parents who lost everything in the aftermath of the Civil War. With time, Chillie rebounded and made a fortune as a railroad entrepreneur, but his success had little effect on his daughters’ desire for expatriation.

Perhaps the most successful of the sisters was Nancy, who married a Boston millionaire, bore him a son, then divorced him in 1903 and moved abroad, where she married the richest man in England, Waldorf Astor, later second Viscount Astor. Lady Astor, as she was known, made history and news by becoming the first female Member of Parliament. Then there was Irene, the most beautiful of the sisters, who married Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the Gibson Girl, which in the 1890s and early 1900s was the stand-bearer for fashion. Lizzie, the oldest sister, was the only one who married a Southerner, electing to stay in her native Virginia, a decision she probably regretted after the death of her husband in 1914 when she became increasingly dependent on her well-married sisters for financial assistance.

Nora, the youngest sister, accepted many marriage proposals, but finally married Paul Phipps, a British architect. Unfortunately, Nora possessed what today would be called a sexual addiction of prodigious proportions, and her marriage eventually crumbled in the face of a series of very public affairs. Eventually, she married a silent movie actor named Lefty Flynn.

Phyllis, the fifth sister, married well, divorced, then married Bob Brand, a British economist and intellectual considered one of the architects of modern European society. Author James Fox is the grandson of Bob and Phyllis Brand, and he undertook this history of the Langhornes after finding a trunk of letters that had been carefully preserved by his grandfather after Phyllis’s untimely death. These unpublished letters are both the strength and the weakness of the book.

They are important because they include correspondence with notables such as George Bernard Shaw and because they chronicle, in great detail, the sisters’ exuberant and sometimes wicked adventures. They are a weakness because Fox quotes too readily from them, thus slowing down the pace of the book. The most energetic parts of the book are those about Nancy’s son from her first marriage, Bobbie. As Nancy was preparing for a well-publicized trip to Moscow with George Bernard Shaw, Bobbie was arrested for homosexual offenses and sent to prison. Five Sisters is a fascinating book, but probably not for the reasons envisioned by the author. Fox sees this book as a romantic tale of sisters who seek to better their lives by leaving the South in pursuit of marriages to men outside their culture. You get the feeling that he considers escaping the South to be every Southerner’s secret dream.

Native Southerners will probably read this book with a different perspective. Most likely, they will see the Langhorne sisters as traitors to their Southern birthright, women who exchanged their affections for money and high social prominence in British society. They will see tragedy instead of nobility.

Either way this book is read, it offers insight into the pre-modern female mystique and documentation that the sexual revolution and the struggle for women’s rights began long before the social upheavals of the 1920s and the 1960s. In that sense, the Langhorne sisters were ahead of their time.

James L. Dickerson is the author of Dixie’s Dirty Secret and Women on Top.

The Langhorne sisters of Virginia were notable for many reasons, not the least of which was their hell-bent determination to use their polished social skills to flee the South and the down-on-its-luck heritage that had subjected them to near poverty in the early years of…

Fiction

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, outdoor/conservation writer Rick Bass attended Utah State University to study wildlife management but later switched to petroleum engineering because it seemed more practical. That did not last. His connection to nature and his desire to be in it caused him to hop into a pick-up truck with his wife one day and just start driving, not knowing where they would end up. Their search led them to the Yaak Valley in northern Montana where Bass now lives and works. This valley formed the foundation for the stories that unfold in his beautiful first novel, Where the Sea Used to Be.

Where the Sea Used to Be is, first and foremost, a character study. It does not thrust you immediately into a tightly wound plot, but instead slowly reveals the many layers of the main characters. This is the story of a clash of wills the story of the struggle between a father and daughter, and two men: his proteges, her lovers. Old Dudley is a wildly successful oil prospector with a system. He delights in taking a raw, young geologist and breaking him, eventually molding him to his will and in the process invariably crushing him. Matthew represents one of his greatest successes, having found innumerable oil fields, but he is nearly broken, approaching the end of his usefulness. He is also the somewhat estranged lover of Old Dudley’s daughter, Mel. Wallis is Dudley’s newest project. After putting Wallis to work with Matthew in Houston, Old Dudley sends him North, to a remote and isolated valley in Montana the same valley where Mel lives and studies wolves.

What follows is a gradual unveiling of life in the valley. Each chapter contains separate vignettes of the valley’s way of life, held together by a peaceful narrative. Bass’s descriptions of the valley illustrate the intertwined nature of humans and their surroundings, as well as the struggle between nature and intrusion of humankind. His writing, like that of Thoreau or Aldo Leopold, is the voice of someone who is at peace with the world in which he lives. He does not write about nature so much as feels it, and the most beautiful part of the book is that he is able to convey to the reader that sense of understanding, of awe and wonder. Where the Sea Used to Be is a serene and languid book. It does not urge you to finish, but rather to enjoy the experience, to savor the descriptions and to become one with the valley and its people. Reading Where the Sea Used to Be is like taking a slow hike through the hills, or canoeing down a lazy river. In no rush to get anywhere, you are able to enjoy the sights, the sounds, the smells. Bass reminds us that we should do this more often, and after reading the Where the Sea Used to Be, you will most likely agree.

Reviewed by Wes Breazeale.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, outdoor/conservation writer Rick Bass attended Utah State University to study wildlife management but later switched to petroleum engineering because it seemed more practical. That did not last. His connection to nature and his desire to be in it caused…

Memoir

Review

Review by bookpagedev

J.D. Dolan’s latest autobiographical work exposes the author’s journey from a young child’s dream world of innocence and extreme brotherly adulation into the sobering, bitter realization and loss associated with adulthood and tragedy. Dolan was born into an all-American family, though 11 years younger than his brother. Along with his two older sisters, his brother practically raised him. As a result, the brother became for Dolan an idolized figure along the lines of John Wayne. But as American idols live large and hard, occasionally, so too do they fall. Sadly, this is the case with Dolan’s brother. From the beginning, everything he sees in his brother is the definition of cool the Corvette, motorcycles, the Marlboros and Old Spice, the guns, and the girls and Dolan’s infatuated recollections of him are to the point and real. In my earliest memories of my brother, writes Dolan, he’d seemed to me a gigantic figure, a grown-up, an inscrutable god. His vivid descriptions of family life and growing up in the shadow of a restless soul give readers a glimpse of this larger than life figure coming of age, being shipped out to Vietnam, and returning home more mature, quieter, older. Suddenly, the deep brotherly bond becomes an almost painfully mute relationship.

The progression from a healthy, happy family in the midst of the American dream into years of self-imposed silence and growing distance between members is told as if this fate is common to all families to a certain degree. The innocence of youth and physical health steadily decompose, and readers are left feeling the tragic loss which has been Dolan’s all too real experience. Phoenix: A Brother’s Life captures the love and admiration some brothers feel for each other, as well as the changes they undergo as they mature into individuals with separate lives. It would be more comforting in the end (though certainly less realistic) to see something rise out of the ashes, something other than a relief that suffering is finally over, and only a numb feeling of loss remains. Jamie McAlister writes from his home in Charleston, South Carolina.

J.D. Dolan's latest autobiographical work exposes the author's journey from a young child's dream world of innocence and extreme brotherly adulation into the sobering, bitter realization and loss associated with adulthood and tragedy. Dolan was born into an all-American family, though 11 years younger than…

History

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Contrary to widespread public opinion several years ago, war in Bosnia was not inevitable. But once the war began, peace, or at least an end to hostilities was not inevitable either. It took a long, arduous, complex journey from shuttle diplomacy among warring parties to the signed Dayton Peace Accords. Richard Holbrooke, the U.

S. diplomat who was both chief negotiator and the primary architect of the Accords, recounts the experience in his important new book, To End a War.

Considering the formidable obstacles Holbrooke and his colleagues had to overcome, the wonder is that any kind of viable peace was realized at all.

The negotiators dealt directly with the leaders of the countries engaged in war. Commenting on his conversations Slodan Milosevic and Alija Izetbegovic, Holbrooke writes, “They both expressed surprise at the dimensions of what they had unleashed. Yet neither man had made a serious effort to stop the war until forced to do so by the United States.” U.

S. involvement came only after Holbrooke and others on his team convinced officials at the State Department and White House, and especially at the Pentagon, that it was the right course of action. There was strong resistance from the military and the American public to send American troops there. From the beginning, too, at least some European leaders felt that the war was a European problem that should be resolved by Europeans. But after ineffective efforts by the European Union and the United Nations, it became clear, however grudgingly, that U.

S. leadership, through NATO, was needed. The largest military action in NATO history was launched, which, with many other efforts, eventually led to productive negotiations.

Holbrooke is remarkably candid. He does not hesitate to point out that some of his team’s judgments were mistaken. He also shares the thinking behind major decisions and relates the inner workings of his carefully chosen team. This extraordinary book offers us the rare opportunity to see how complex issues of contemporary foreign policy are debated, decided, and implemented. Holbrooke closes with these words: “There will be other Bosnias in our lives areas where early outside involvement can be decisive, and American leadership will be required. The world’s richest nation, one that presumes to great moral authority, cannot simply make worthy appeals to conscience and call on others to carry the burden. The world will look to Washington for more than rhetoric the next time we face a challenge to peace.” When that time comes, a careful reading of this book may be helpful in deciding on an appropriate response.

Reviewed by Roger Bishop.

Contrary to widespread public opinion several years ago, war in Bosnia was not inevitable. But once the war began, peace, or at least an end to hostilities was not inevitable either. It took a long, arduous, complex journey from shuttle diplomacy among warring parties to…

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Review

Review by bookpagedev

k History Month: Children’s inspiration and celebration Black History Month has been celebrated since 1976, but its origins date back to 1926, when a high school teacher named Carter G. Woodson first proposed setting aside a week to study the history of African Americans. February has now become a nationwide celebration and time for reflection. It’s also a chance to explore new books for children. Transporting readers from the Outer Banks to a contemporary village in Uganda, this year’s new titles offer something for kids of all ages.

On the night of October 11, 1896, the E.

S. Newman got caught in a hurricane and began to sink off Cape Hatteras. In an astonishing rescue feat, the African-American crew of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station tied two men to a line and sent them into the raging sea to rescue each sailor, one at a time. Not a life was lost. One hundred years later, the members of the Pea Island crew were awarded Gold Life-Saving medals posthumously by the U.S. Coast Guard for their courageous actions.

This little-known true story serves as the inspiration for Storm Warriors, Elisa Carbone’s absorbing and meticulously researched historical novel for young readers about a boy who wants to be a storm warrior himself. With likeable characters and exciting storm sequences, Storm Warriors is sure to capture the attention of readers and shed light on a fascinating way of life and the unsung heroes who lived it.

John Henry swims better than anybody I know.

He crawls like a catfish, blows bubbles like a swamp monster, but he doesn’t swim in the town pool with me.

He’s not allowed. So relates Joe, the young narrator of Freedom Summer an outstanding first picture book by Deborah Wiles, illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue. Set in the South in 1964, this poignant story explores the friendship between two boys, one white and one black. Joe and John Henry spend their summers together, playing marbles and swimming in the creek. They can hardly contain their excitement when they learn the town pool is about to open to everyone, regardless of skin color. But though their innocence is shattered by what happens next, their hope is not. Based on true occurrences, this is a wonderful book to share and discuss with young readers and a sober reminder that racism affects all children.

Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger, illustrated by Teresa Flavin, is a picture book biography of the first African American to earn a pilot’s license. Born into a large family in rural Texas in 1892, Bessie Coleman spent her childhood in extreme poverty. During World War I, Coleman learned of women pilots in France and determined to learn to fly. Unable to find anyone to teach her in this country, she saved enough money to attend flying school in France. Although Coleman flew for only a few years before her death in a plane crash in 1926 at the age of 34, her legacy survives.

Hurry Freedom: African Americans in Gold Rush California, by Jerry Stanley, is fascinating and informative nonfiction at its best. Filled with period photographs and accompanied by an index and bibliographic note, Hurry Freedom tells the story of black Americans in California before the Civil War.

Stanley’s book is especially effective in threading the story of one man against the backdrop of California history and the experiences of other African Americans. Mifflin Gibbs arrived in San Francisco in 1850 with 10 cents in his pocket. Despite an uncertain and sometimes dangerous racial climate, Gibbs prospered as a businessman. But he was less successful in his battles to win civil rights for blacks. In 1858, with a bill pending that would have prohibited African Americans from entering California, Gibbs and more than 200 other black citizens chose to emigrate to Victoria, British Columbia. He eventually returned to the U.S., earned a law degree and became ambassador to Madagascar. In Hurry Freedom, Jerry Stanley makes the complex historical events of pre-Civil War California come alive. Another nonfiction title, Catherine Clinton’s The Black Soldier: 1492 to the Present provides an overview of the involvement and accomplishments of black soldiers in America. Perhaps because it covers such a wide time period, the book does not leave much room for the detailed telling of many individual stories. Nevertheless, with its short chapters and accessible prose, this title should prove to be a valuable resource for students interested in this subject. Attractively illustrated with photographs and drawings, the book includes a bibliography and index.

For older readers, Milton Meltzer’s There Comes a Time: The Struggle for Civil Rights examines the key issues and events of the Civil Rights movement and includes a calendar of events, a bibliography and index. Of course, Black History Month isn’t only about the past; it’s also a time to celebrate families today. Young children will delight in Myles C. Pinkney’s striking photographs of African-American children that grace the pages of Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children with text by Sandra L. Pinkney. As the subtitle suggests, this is an affirmation book that uses rich, poetic language to celebrate each child’s uniqueness. “My hair is the soft puffs in a cotton ball and the stiff ringlets in lambs wool.” Preschoolers will love this one, and it would be a great gift book for new parents, too.

Another title that celebrates families of all hues is called, simply, Family. Written by Isabell Monk with illustrations by Janice Lee Porter, Family tells the story of a young girl named Hope who brings a surprise dessert to the family gathering at Aunt Poogee’s farm. This simple tale celebrates family traditions. Recipes are included in case you get a hankering to try the dessert Hope brings along pickles with peppermint sticks inside! Children are sure to be fascinated by the vibrant cut-paper collage art in Grandma’s Purple Flowers. Written by Adjoa J. Burrowes, it’s a story about love and loss. The story celebrates the rhythm of the seasons and the relationship between a young girl and her grandmother. The collage art, much of it in bright, primary colors, has a three-dimensional feel but also manages to be warm and inviting.

Family life in Uganda is the subject of a book called Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier, illustrated by Lori Lohstoeter with an afterword by Hillary Rodham Clinton. A true story, Beatrice’s Goatexplores the impact of the Heifer Project International on a girl whose family receives a goat. Through selling the goat’s milk, the family is able to earn enough to send Beatrice for school for the first time. The author and artist traveled to Africa to research this book, and the details of Beatrice’s daily life add authenticity to the story. Information about Heifer Project International is also included.

Last but not least are the sports books. Everyone knows kids eat up books about their sports heroes. And for parents whose kids just can’t get enough about basketball, two new picture books offer variations on traditional biographies. Take It to the Hoop, Magic Johnson, by Quincy Troupe and illustrated by Shane W. Evans, is a lively poetic tribute to the basketball great, with a playful, free-moving design. In Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream, by Deloris Jordan and Roslyn M. Jordan and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, Jordan’s mother and sister team up to reveal that even Michael Jordan was once a child with doubts. Kadir Nelson’s warm, endearing oils portray a family devoted to helping a child pursue his dreams.

While these titles are primarily designed for children from preschoolers to teens, the best children’s books appeal to readers of all ages. So whether you have a child in your life or not, head into the children’s section of your bookstore or library during Black History Month to see what’s on display. I can almost guarantee you’ll find something there that will enrich your own appreciation of our rich and complex history.

Deborah Hopkinson’s new books for children, Bluebird Summer and Fannie in the Kitchen, will be published this spring. She lives in Walla Walla, Washington.

k History Month: Children's inspiration and celebration Black History Month has been celebrated since 1976, but its origins date back to 1926, when a high school teacher named Carter G. Woodson first proposed setting aside a week to study the history of African Americans. February…

Review

Review by bookpagedev

I am like the armchair athlete who never played a game in his life: I can’t swim a stroke and have an inordinate fear of confined spaces, yet I am absolutely fascinated with deep-sea exploration. I can’t say for sure where this comes from, but I think it may be a result of growing up in the ’60s, a time when exploring outer and inner space had more cachŽ than it does in the superficial times we live in today. Still a few, a precious few, carry that particular torch even now thank God.

Dr. Robert Ballard is one of those few; he’s been getting wet for over 30 years, and in the process has uncovered some of the sea’s oldest mysteries as well as revealing a few new ones. In his new book, The Eternal Darkness, he goes on a new exploration: the history of his chosen profession. When you consider the extreme dangers of the realm, it’s a wonder anyone dares go, even today, with our 21st century technology. But as this book shows us, curiosity will be satisfied, no matter what technology is available. All that is required is a surfeit of courage.

Ballard briefly touches on the story of Alexander the Great, who (in 4th century B.

C.) was lowered into a glass barrel in the Mediterranean. He mentions this at the beginning of his book to draw parallels with the first real explorers of the deep ocean, who rode a tethered steel globe called a bathysphere nearly a half-mile down in the 1930s. But like so many other aspects of life in those days, events in Europe put further explorations on hold until the late 1940s. After the awful conflagration of WWII, the story reads like an underwater space race, which is what it was, but with the USA’s primary rival being the French rather than the Russians.

The final two-thirds of The Eternal Darkness deals with Ballard and his contemporaries, and he delves into the discoveries of the last 30 years, a period of break-neck exploration. He covers the innovations of the French, the geological probing of the mid-Atlantic ridge, and the deep-dives of the Americans and Japanese in the south Pacific; Ballard also reflects on his own journeys from the Titanic to shipwrecked submarines and lost Phoenician galleys, from strange new species living at the bottom of the ocean to black smokers replenishing the world’s oceans with vast quantities of minerals.

The Eternal Darkness suffers somewhat from an excess of scientific pride in what America has accomplished; a few more details about the explorations of the French, Japanese, and Russians would have been nice. Still, Bob Ballard is up front about this being a history from his personal vantage point, which is, of course, American. Overall, this is a fascinating portrait of where deep sea exploration has been and where it’s going.

The deepest James Neal Webb has ever been was through the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel while travelling in Maryland some years ago, and that was deep enough, thank you.

Recent titles by Robert D. Ballard: Return to Midway: The Quest to Find the Yorktown and the Other Lost Ships from the Pivotal Battle of the Pacific War (published 1999) with Rick Archbold National Geographic Society, $40 ISBN 0792275004 Discovery of the Titanic: Exploring the Greatest of All Lost Ships (published 1998) with Rick Archbold Warner Books, $35 ISBN 0446513857 Explorations: A Life of Underwater Adventure (published 1998) with Malcolm McConnell Hyperion, $14.95 ISBN 0786883898

I am like the armchair athlete who never played a game in his life: I can't swim a stroke and have an inordinate fear of confined spaces, yet I am absolutely fascinated with deep-sea exploration. I can't say for sure where this comes from, but…

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