As you may know I love non-fiction. I enjoy a good biography. I didn't always love non-fiction.
I used to wade through books on subjects I was interested and I it squelched any interest I may have had. Too slow, too detailed, too academic. Interesting but having to wade though too much to find that nugget.
Somewhere, once upon a recent (last decade) time, I read the hint that if you want to learn something and the adult version is above your head start with the juvenile version.
Now, I didn't start there. I started, back in my more school at home moments, checking them out for the kids. Then if the kids were interested I'd read them to the kids. Even now, I theoretically, ask the kids if they are interested in listening to the books. Unfortunately, they are still too close to the being forced to listen times that they say no and are shocked when I'm ok with that.
Recently, I've given up that pretense and only checked out what I'm interested in. Left them in the library basket for the kids to pursue or not and then read them myself. The interesting thing is that dh is picking them up and asked me to keep one of the below titles even though I'm finished reading it because he'd like to read it. Remember my dh isn't a "reader". Never enjoyed reading as a kid, young adult, student. Reading was always something that he had to be forced to do. And I don't know that he grew up with the love of history that I did. I'll have to ask him when he gets home.
Now onto the books.
 |
| From 2009 January |
Behind Rebel Lines. A Great Episodes Book. By Seymour Reit X-I
A fun quick read. If I have the opportunity I will read more about Emma Edmonds.
In 1861, when war erupted between the States, President Lincoln made an
impassioned plea for volunteers. Determined not to remain on the sidelines,
Emma Edmonds cropped her hair, donned men's clothing, and enlisted in the Union
Army. Posing in turn as a slave, peddler, washerwoman, and fop, Emma became a
cunning master of disguise, risking discovery and death over and over in order to
secure valuable information. The young spy was in constant danger: illness,
injury, or a slip of the tongue could reveal her true identity. And Emma's
secret had to be kept at all cost."
 |
| From 2009 January |
April 19, 1775: The Day the American Revolution Began
Let it begin HERE!
by Don Brown
XP 973.3311
I like the rough style of the drawings. They are a bit graphic. Example: the drawing of a shot having been fired and going through a body with blood spurting out the back. And other bloody drawings. And the notation and drawing about Ammi White a local man who "raced to an injured soldier on the road, splitting the redcoat's skull with a hatchet, to the horror of Yankees and British alike."
The book doesn't gloss over the revolution or glamorize it.
All in all I'm interested in reading, viewing, other books by Don Brown to get a better feel for my feelings about his style.
 |
| From 2009 January |
The Cuban Missile Crisis by EJ Carter XU 972.91064
20th Century Perspectives click here for a complete list of the books in the series.
I felt like the Cuban Missile Crisis was glossed over in my AP American History class in the 1980's, as was Vietnam. They were things that, if they were covered at all, were presented as less important because they would have taken place towards the end of the school year, after the AP test.
This book does read like a text book but with lots of photos and insights. This is the book that dh asked me to keep so he could read it.
It was written in a manner that has me excited to check out more books in the series. First off I want to read the series' book on the Great Depression. Jerick is into WWI & WWII and for that reason I plan to check out the books on those subjects. To offer to him but more for me to read so I can have a better understanding of the subject that interests him so much. The Causes of World War I. Key Battles of World Way I. Weapons and Technology in World War I. The same 3 books are offered for WWII.
 |
| From 2009 January |
I am listening to this on the computer via OverDrive Media and the local public library. I am revisiting this title in the hopes of gleaning additional insights.
I don't usually "listen" to books but for a revisit of a title or a first glimpse of title I'm not sure about this gives me the opportunity to experience without having to be engaged enough to read it in book format for pleasure.
Next in my listening que is Pilgrim's Progress by Paul Bunyan. It has come up multiple times in my recent reading so it is time to glean it.
 |
| From 2009 January |
I found this book on the "New" shelves in our local library. I don't usually enjoy or read poems. I did a "flip and read" and found it interesting. The author is a neighbor, a local, was a coworker and then a boss of mine and now has moved onto a new position. I figured that if I was ever to find understanding or pleasure in reading poetry it would be from a poet that I had so much in common with. I'm on page 8 :) so far so good.
 |
| From 2009 January |
This book is next up in my reading que :). As an aquarian, who's middle name is Maia I was drawn to the title. The subject of the end of the world being 2012 came up at a park day recently also had me interested along with the beautiful cover photo.
According to the ancient Mayan Calendar, time as we know it will stop on
December 21st, 2012. But what does this actually mean?
Rebecca Larson, senior dolphin behaviorist at Sea World, San Diego, has a
theory. She believes that the cooperative way dolphins live is the very reason
they have thrived on earth for millions of years. What's more, she sees the end
of the Mayan calendar as a moment when humans may truly begin to integrate these
same peaceful behaviors.
Dr. Try Wallace, a pioneer in the study of dolphin echolocation, is
convinced that he is on the verge of an incredible scientific
breakthrough. Recent research suggests that dolphins may send
three-dimensional sonograms to each other, and Dr. Wallace hopes to be the first
to decode and view these images.
As handsome as he is shallow, Southern California television celebrity Ryan
Ericson finds himself on a path that inte4rsects with the lives of Dr. Wallace
and Rebecca. Together they are thrust into a mystery of coincidence and
discovery connecting the Mayan Calendar end-date, dolphins and the very fate of
humanity.
No comments:
Post a Comment