Wednesday, December 24, 2008

RACE TO THE POLAR SEA : THE HEROIC ADVENTURES OF ELISHA KENT KANE
by Ken McGoogan

Not willing to stay at home, hang up a shingle and practice medicine, Elisha Kent Kane was more interested in adventuring around the world. Even though he had heart problems, he had already been involved in death-defying experiences: being dropped in a volcano in the Philippines and almost getting stabbed in a fight in the Sierra Madre. But, when he went on an expedition, serving as the assistant surgeon on a ship, searching for the lost British explorer Sir John Franklin, in the Arctic, he knew he had found his calling.
In 1853, Kane sailed with his own men to look for the Open Polar Sea and Franklin. Eventually, they would be trapped in the ice, but Kane's enduring friendship with the Inuits taught him how to survive in the extreme cold.
Kane and his team would abandon the ship and escape by sledge, dogsled and then open boats, traveling 1,300 miles in eighty-three days.
Who would have thought that a young, thirty-three year old man, from a prominent Philadelphian family, would return home not only as a hero, but as America's greatest explorer.
In Race to the Polar Sea Ken McGoogan has written a fantastic thriller. From the Prologue to the last page, you are caught up in the story. What is really amazing is that Kane's manuscripts were lost for 150 years. A friend of the author, who owns an antiquarian bookstore, acquired Kane's collection from the descendants of his brother.
There are photographs and drawings (Kane did all of his own illustrations).
A book not to be missed.
Highly recommended.

Friday, December 19, 2008

FABERGE'S EGGS : THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE MASTERPIECES THAT OUTLIVED AN EMPIREby Toby Faber

When you see or hear the name Faberge, what comes to mind, today, is toiletries. But, the family, originally, were jewelers and their pieces were designed with the utmost quality and exquisite craftsmanship.
Carl Faberge was known as the "egg guy." Hs firm created fifty eggs, from 1885 to 1917, for Russia's czars to give as Easter presents for their czarinas. What made them so special were the surprises hidden inside each one, such as the 1911 Bay Tree Egg, which has a singing bird emerging from the top of a tree when a jewel is pressed. Others have miniature portraits, a clock, a model train, etc.
Unfortunately, the extravagance of the Romanovs led to their demise and after the Russian Revolution, the eggs disappeared.
In Faberge's Eggs Tony Faber has written a marvelous tale about art, Russian history and wealth of a bygone era.
To round out the book, besides the family trees of both the Faberges and the Romanovs, there is a complete list of all the imperial eggs, a glossary, notes, an extensive bibliography with websites, and an index.
A terrific read.
Highly recommended.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

EMILY POST : DAUGHTER OF THE GILDED AGE, MISTRESS OF AMERICAN MANNERS
by Laura Claridge

In 1922, Etiquette : in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home debuted, written by a middle-aged woman, whose name would be recognized as one of the most important Americans in the 20th century.
Emily Post was born a few years after the Civil War ended, the only child of renowned Baltimore architect, Bruce Price and his rich wife, Josephine Lee (her money came from anthracite), whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower.
After attending numerous balls as a young lady, Emily would meet and then marry Edwin Post, hoping she would have the kind of marriage her parents had. Instead, it ended in divorce with published details in the newspapers.
She now had to support herself and so began the process of writing.
Laura Claridge's Emily Post is a fascinating biography of an authority on good manners, who lived from the Gilded Age through the 1960s and whose book reflected, through numerous revisions, what was expected of people in society.
So, if you want to brush up on etiquette, check out this book. You might learn something.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

HOMETOWN APPETITES : THE STORY OF CLEMENTINE PADDLEFORD, THE FORGOTTEN FOOD WRITER WHO CHRONICLED HOW AMERICA ATE
by Kelly Alexander and Cynthia Harris

Before James Beard and Julia Child, there was Clementine Paddleford, the most important food writer that nobody has ever heard of. Born in Kansas, on a 260-acre farm, in 1898, she became a most formidable journalist, eventually writing for the New York Herald Tribune and This Week magazine. Clementine wrote in "florid prose" about regional American food and eventually traveled 800,000 miles, in the United States and later, overseas, visiting housewives in their kitchens for "word-of-mouth hand-downs from mother to daughter" recipes.
In 1953, Paddleford was named "Best-Known Food Editor" by Time magazine.
She had her own inimitable style of fashion wearing capes, hats and a velvet choker around her neck with a tube attached. In her thirties, she had throat cancer, but that didn't stop her. She continued working and searching for the best recipes for millions of her readers.
Hometown Appetites is fascinating and a delight to read. Recipes are immersed throughout every chapter. Photographs of Paddleford and samples of menus that she kept (700 to be exact), plus how the two authors got together in the first place makes the book even more interesting.
Highly recommended for all food enthusiasts.


Saturday, November 22, 2008

QUEEN OF THE OIL CLUB : THE INTREPID WANDA JABLONSKI AND THE POWER OF INFORMATION
by Anna Rubino

Wanda Jablonski was an investigative reporter who unraveled the secret world of oil from the 1950s through the 1980s. She was nicknamed the "midwife" of OPEC and was very influential, behind the scenes, in its creation, due to her sources.
A petite woman, Wanda boldly went to exploration sites in the Middle East, the Venezuelan jungle, entered male-only boardrooms in London and New York and interviewed King Saud in a Saudia Arabian harem. She was able to retrieve information from CEOs of the oil giants and high political figures in such a way that had never been done before by anyone.
In 1961, Jablonski started her own newsletter, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, which was dubbed the "bible" of the oil world.
Queen of the Oil Club is a fascinating story of a remarkable woman who by the power of information was able to influence the petroleum industry.
A great story and an important read.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

TITANIC'S LAST SECRETS : THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHADOW DIVERS JOHN CHATTERTON AND RICHIE KOHLER
by Brad Matsen

In August of 2005 shipwreck divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler discovered new evidence on what had sunk the Titanic. Working with a forensic marine analyst they were able to uncover archival information that had never been seen by any historian.
Brad Matsen writes a meticulously, spell-binding story of the great ship's construction and of its demise. There were compromises made that would, in the end, doom most of the passengers and the crew.
The conclusion is a real shocker.
Matsen did his own research, which can be found at the end of the book, by the Notes and the extensive Bibliography he used.
Titanic's Last Secrets is a terrific read.
Highly recommended.


Saturday, November 15, 2008

THE FORSAKEN : AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY IN STALIN'S RUSSIA
by Tim Tzouliadis

There is a photograph, from 1934, of young men on a baseball team. They are all from cities across America. One team is the Foreign Workers' Club of Moscow and they're playing against the Autoworkers' Club from nearby Gorky. They smile for the camera.
Thousands of families left the United States for the Five-Year Plan of Soviet Russia in search of a better life. Being unemployed during the Great Depression they were lured by the promise of jobs, plenty of food, a place to live.
They thought they were going to the "Promised Land."
Four years later most of these men will be arrested along with the rest of the Americans and become victims of Stalin's Terror. Some will be killed immediately. Others will be sent to labor camps where they will starve and be worked to death.
The book is an indictment of both Communism and the American government. Roosevelt was deaf, dumb and blind when it came to his dealings with the Soviets. His American Ambassador, Joseph Davies, was totally clueless, naive and oblivious who totally admired Joseph Stalin.
The Forsaken is a superb story of forgotten history. Tsouliadis captures the horrors, the guilt and the innocence in a meticulously researched epic tome.
Highly recommended.


Thursday, October 23, 2008

WALKING THROUGH WALLS : A MEMOIR
by
Philip Smith

Lew Smith was an interior decorator for the rich and famous in Miami during the 1960s. He was well known for his designs and anybody who had money (including the president of Haiti) wanted their residences decorated by him. But this was not his true calling. His real work was as a psychic healer who cured thousands of people. Exorcisms, seances, talking spirits were daily occurrences.
In Walking Through Walls Philip Smith describes his unusual coming of age story of a father with supernatural powers. It is hilarious, bizarre, and a terrific read.
Highly recommended.

Friday, October 17, 2008

THE GIRL FROM FOREIGN : A SEARCH FOR SHIPWRECKED ANCESTORS, FORGOTTEN HISTORIES, AND A SENSE OF HOME
by Sadia Shepard

Half-Muslim, half-Christian, Sadia Shepard grew up in Boston, the daughter of a Protestant father from Colorado and a Pakistani mother. Her parents had plenty of stories to tell her about their backgrounds and customs. But, her maternal grandmother's legacy was the most complex. She was not Muslim, but had started her life as Rachel Jacobs, descending from the Bene Israel, one of the lost tribes of Israel, who were shipwrecked in India thousands of years ago. Before her grandmother dies, Sadia promises her that she will travel to India to learn about her ancestors.
Armed with film equipment, she takes off for Bombay.
The Girl from Foreign is a fascinating tale of three cultures. Shepard, seamlessly, weaves together the story of her grandparents' secret marriage and a little-known Jewish community. At the same time, she is trying to discover where she, herself, belongs.
I absolutely loved this book. It is so beautifully written. From the prologue to the end, you are swept away into its clutches.
Very highly recommended.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

IN THE LAND OF INVISIBLE WOMEN : A FEMALE DOCTOR'S JOURNEY IN THE SAUDI KINGDOM
by Quanta A. Ahmed

Before 9/11, Ahmed, a British-born Muslim of Pakistani origin, leaves the U.S. and goes to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to practice medicine. It was an opportunity that she couldn't pass up. She believes that because she is Muslim, she will have no problem fitting in. Instead, she finds an environment filled with contradictions and a clash between modern and medieval.
The book opens with Ahmed's first patient, an elderly Bedouin woman lying naked on an examining table, with her face veiled, which is required by the Kingdom.
Women must be covered at all times in public even in the hospital where Ahmed worked as a doctor. It is a suffocating and oppressive existence.
Men are free to go wherever they please, to drive, to walk around. Not so for women. They must be always chaperoned, are not allowed to drive, have to be careful no matter where they are.
Ahmed lived in Saudi Arabia for two years and learned how to re-create herself. In a society that is extremely racist and intolerant, she found honesty and love.
In the Land of Invisible Women is a journey that most people will never take, but it's important to know about.
A fascinating and revealing memoir.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

MY FATHER'S PARADISE : A SON'S SEARCH FOR HIS JEWISH PAST IN KURDISH IRAQ
by Ariel Sabar

For 2700 years a community of Kurdish Jews lived in the mountainous area of Zakho, Iraq. They lived peacefully with their Christian and Muslim neighbors.
In the 1950s the Jews of Zakho were airlifted to the new state of Israel. Within no time, their exotic culture would soon be extinct as they tried to blend into their surroundings.
Ariel Sabar didn't really know much about Yona, his father. And, he didn't really care growing up in Los Angeles. He just thought his father was strange, holding on to the past. Even though Yona became a renowned authority on the Aramaic language, it didn't phase Ariel. Not until the birth of his first son.
In My Father's Paradise Sabar writes about his family's history in four generations. It is quite a saga. With his skills as a journalist, he pens an incredible tale.
A terrific story, wonderfully told.
Highly recommended.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

MAY AND AMY : A TRUE STORY OF FAMILY, FORBIDDEN LOVE, AND THE SECRET LIVES OF MAY GASKELL, HER DAUGHTER AMY, AND SIR EDWARD BURNE-JONES
by Josceline Dimbleby

Andrew Lloyd Webber collects art by Pre-Raphaelite painters. One of the portraits, in his home, is of a beautiful, haunting young woman painted by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. The subject of the painting is Amy Gaskell, the author's great-aunt, who had died young "of a broken heart."
Josceline Dimbleby always wanted to know about her family's past and sets out on a quest to discover the secrets. She comes across unpublished letters from Burne-Jones to May Gaskell, her, unhappily, married great-grandmother. The correspondence is passionate, adoring, intimate and continues for six years. Through paintings, family photographs and writings mysteries and tragedies of the Gaskell family are revealed.
May and Amy is a riveting memoir of the Victorian era. Great sleuth work.
A highly, enjoyable read.


Tuesday, August 26, 2008

THE LOST SPY : AN AMERICAN IN STALIN'S SECRET SERVICE
by Andrew Meier

Isaiah "Cy" Oggins was an undergraduate at Columbia University when he joined the Communist Party in 1920. Soviet intelligence recruited him in 1926 and that is when his travels and undercover schemes began.
In Berlin he posed as an antiquarian dealer so that he could run a safe house.
While he was in Paris he spied on the Romanovs.
He went to China and Manchuria spying on the Japanese occupiers and their puppet emperor, Pu-Yi.
Despite his long, devoted service to the Soviets, he was arrested and sent to an Arctic gulag and languished there for eight years. Then, on orders from Stalin, he was brutally murdered.
Author Andrew Meier began his quest in 2000 while researching information for his previous book about post-Soviet Russia and heard about an American from elderly camp survivors.

Eight years later, he has written a masterpiece.
The Lost Spy is a tremendous story.
Highly recommended.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A ROMANCE ON THREE LEGS : GLENN GOULD'S OBSESSIVE QUEST FOR THE PERFCT PIANO
by Katie Hafner

He was a perfectionist to the extreme. When he played not only was it important for the sound to be beautiful, but the touch of the keys had to feel right. Searching for the best piano became Glenn Gould's manic obsession.
Gould was considered one of the twentieth century's most gifted musicians, albeit bizarre. He was just as famous for his eccentricities: refusing to shake hands for fear of germs, wearing a hat, gloves and coat during the summer months, humming while he played, and taking his creaky, sawed-off chair with him wherever he performed.
In A Romance on Three Legs Katie Hafner writes about Verne Edquist, Gould's nearly blind tuner; the history and science of tuning; the Steinway factory during World War II; CD 318.
It's a marvelous story about genius, craftsmanship and drive.
Highly recommended.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

BOMBAY ANNA : THE REAL STORY AND REMARKABLE ADVENTURES OF THE KING AND I GOVERNESS
by Susan Morgan

The Rogers and Hammerstein 1950s musical The King and I conjures up unforgettable memories. We envision Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner dancing together amongst the people of Siam.
The movie was supposed to portray real life events at that time, but in truth it was mostly fictionalized. But, then again, Anna's life was an invention, too.
Anna Leonowens was born as a mixed-race army brat and lived with her family, in extreme poverty, in India. When she went to work for the King of Siam to teach his children and wives English, in the 1860s, she was not British, as she claimed. That was her first invention. She stayed for five years and then reinvented herself as an author, journalist, teacher, and lecturer living in the United States and Canada.
Bombay Anna is a densely, detailed biography which took author Susan Morgan ten years to research and who found facts that had eluded other writers.
The book has quite an extensive bibliography, an index, two appendices and black and white photographs.
A fascinating account of a remarkable woman.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

SEE YOU IN A HUNDRED YEARS : FOUR SEASONS IN FORGOTTEN AMERICA
by Logan Ward

Imagine what it would be like to walk away from the twenty-first century and give up telephones, computers, electricity, cars, supermarkets; everything that is familiar and taken for granted.
Logan Ward and his wife, Heather, after becoming worn down from their rat race life in New York, pull up stakes and move to rural Virginia to live as dirt farmers, but in the year 1900.
They learn how to cook on a wood stove, milk their two goats (Heather becomes quite adept at making cheese), harvest their crops, can food to store in their root cellar, how to drive a wagon, and use tools that were available back then.
See You in a Hundred Years is a wonderful book and beautifully written.
Highly recommended.

Friday, July 25, 2008

THE ASSASSIN'S ACCOMPLICE : MARY SURRATT AND THE PLOT TO KILL ABRAHAM LINCOLN
by Kate Clifford Larson

Three days after John Wilkes Booth murdered Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Mary Surratt was arrested on April 17, 1865. She was a Confederate sympathizer who ran a boardinghouse in Washington. There the conspirators met, along with her rebel son John, to plan the assassination. In less than three months, Mary became the first woman ever to be executed by the federal government of the United States.
The Assassin's Accomplice reveals Mary's deep involvement in the plot via interviews, testimonies of the court and confessions.
The book is extremely well written and a great read.

Monday, July 14, 2008

THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE
by Douglas Preston

In August of 2000, Douglas Preston, along with his wife and two young children, moved from their farmhouse in Maine to a tiny town in Italy. Douglas, who is a journalist and murder mystery writer, was planning on writing a novel about a lost painting. While doing research, he was introduced to Mario Spezi, who was known as a famous crime reporter in the Tuscany region. Spezi told Preston that between 1974 and 1985 seven couples were brutally murdered while making love in parked cars in the hills of Florence.
The case has never been solved and the murderer has never been found.
Preston and Spezi work together to seek out the truth and to track down the killer.
The Monster of Florence is suspenseful, chilling and shocking.
Great writing by a masterful author.
Highly recommended, but not for the faint-hearted.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

PIG CANDY : TAKING MY FATHER SOUTH, TAKING MY FATHER HOME
by Lise Funderburg

Lise Funderburg, a mixed-race woman, was raised in an integrated neighborhood of Philadelphia. While growing up, she could never understand her father; why he was so strict, so demanding, never around. The only thing she knew about his past was that he had grown up in the Jim Crow South and had fled its oppression.
When Funderburg is in her forties, her father is diagnosed with terminal cancer. From this point on, the two of them travel, on several trips, from Philadelphia to Jasper County, Georgia, his hometown.
In Pig Candy the author writes about the rural South, pecan groves, farms, families and pork.
Her relationship with her father has its moments, but they become closer.
A beautifully written story about living life to its fullest.
Highly recommended.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

BOOKS : A MEMOIR
by Larry McMurtry

Larry McMurtry is not only a prolific writer of forty books, such as Lonesome Dove, The Last Picture Show, Terms of Endearment, etc., but he has become one of America's most established bookmen.
In Books: A Memoir McMurtry writes about his passion for books, traveling all over the United States as a scout and collector to eventually open up stores for his rare finds in Texas.
He grew up in a ranch house that was bookless. His parents never read him any stories, which is why, he said, he's made up so many.
1942 was the year that changed his life, when his cousin Robert Hilburn, on his way to enlist in the war, gave him a box of nineteen books.
There's interesting trivia, gossip, anecdotes, crazy characters and observations about authors and literature.
The chapters are small comprised of either one or two pages, but they each pack a wallop of information.
A charming work that is both revealing and extremely satisfying.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

TO THE HEART OF THE NILE : LADY FLORENCE BAKER AND THE EXPLORATION OF CENTRAL AFRICA
by Pat Shipman

Born in Transylvania, in 1845, Florence Szasz became orphaned during the Hungarian Revolution and was raised in a harem in the Ottoman Empire. When she was fourteen, she was sold, to the highest bidder, in a white slave auction. Samuel Baker, a wealthy Englishman and adventurer, was one of the assembled men, in the room and felt compassion and empathy towards her. He boldly abducted Florence and they escaped, in a carriage, through Central Europe.
In To the Heart of the Nile Pat Shipman deftly reconstructs letters, journals, documents and private papers to tell the amazing story of these two stalwart people. They travelled to Africa and stayed there for four years, where they confronted disease, starvation, hostile natives, betrayal, bloodshed and human cruelty. Four years later, the couple returned to Africa as Samuel was given the position of governor-general and told to eradicate the slave trade on the White Nile.
The book is an engrossing tale of bravery, determination and unshakeable love.
Heartily recommended.




Tuesday, June 24, 2008

THE SHAMELESS CARNIVORE : A MANIFESTO FOR MEAT LOVERS
by Scott Gold

According to the American Meat Institute, Americans consume 218.3 pounds of beef, chicken, turkey, and pork per person annually.
Human beings, though, are not really carnivores. We are omnivores, which means that our bodies and digestive tracts can process all kinds of foods, including meat.
In The Shameless Carnivore, Scott Gold attempted to eat 31 different meats in 31 days. He made up a list and brought it to his favorite butcher in Brooklyn. Whatever could not be purchased at this shop, Scott bought at www.exoticmeats.com.
Between squirrel hunting in Louisiana; attending the Testicle Festival in Missoula, Montana; Gold's cooking experiences in his friends' kitchens (he does not have an oven in his apartment); becoming a vegetarian for one week makes for one entertaining read.
There's recipes, a guide to cooking steak, descriptions of primal cuts, grass-fed vs. grain-fed cattle and all other sorts of interesting tidbits.
The author has a great sense of humor and his foraging adventures are absolutely hilarious.
Check out www.theshamelesscarnivore.com for even more fun-filled stuff.
I totally enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who is passionate about meat.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

SWALLOW THE OCEAN : A MEMOIR
by Laura M. Flynn

As a child Laura Flynn had quite an imagination. She and her two sisters would play with their Little Women dolls creating adventures that would take them far away from reality.
They had to because of their mother. Sally Flynn, once a strong, vibrant woman, started to become unhinged. She analyzed dreams for messages, had rules about what her daughters should wear (she made them hideous clothing), told them what they could eat (Hunt's tomato paste, yes; Del Monte, no), forced them to stay inside, cut off from other people.
The living conditions deteriorated with mail piling up, dirty dishes covering the sink, rotten fruit sitting out, circled by flies.
The girls knew that she was sick, but didn't know that there was a technical name for the illness. Their father told them after he filed for divorce and fought for full custody: paranoid schizophrenia.
Swallow the Ocean is a captivating memoir that hits you right in the gut. The writing is absolutely beautiful.
Highly recommended.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

THE ANATOMIST : A TRUE STORY OF GRAY'S ANATOMY
by Bill Hayes

Gray's Anatomy is one of the most famous books in the English language and is the only medical text that most people know by name. In the United States, it is in its thirty-ninth edition, has never gone out of print and has sold five million copies.
2008 marks the 150th anniversary of this publication.
In The Anatomist Bill Hayes writes a fascinating story of how this book came to be.
Henry Gray, a brilliant anatomist, did not leave behind any of his own scribblings. His collaborator, H.V. Carter, who drew all of the magnificent anatomical illustrations, had a dearth of letters and diaries, from which Hayes was able to richly, detail the relationship between these two men and what they brought to the world.
To better understand the human body, Hayes takes a course in classical gross anatomy and performs his own dissections. His descriptions of the adult human skeleton's bones, the muscles, the joints, etc., makes for engrossing and fun reading.
A wonderful tale by a terrific writer.


Saturday, May 31, 2008

A WOLF AT THE TABLE : A MEMOIR OF MY FATHER
by Augusten Burroughs

All he ever wanted from his father was love, attention, concern and admiration. Instead, he was pushed away, ignored, not acknowledged.
In A Wolf at the Table Augusten Burroughs writes about the harrowing relationship he had with his sociopathic father. The mood swings, the rage that would erupt, the horrible fights between his parents, the psychological cruelty, threw the family into a perpetual state of terror.
The memoir is told with brutal honesty. Nothing is held back.
Augusten's story is very intense and you are swept in, emotionally.
Recommended, but cautiously.

Friday, May 23, 2008

THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER : A SHOCKING MURDER AND THE UNDOING OF A GREAT VICTORIAN DETECTIVE
by Kate Summerscale

A murder was committed in an English manor house in 1860. The victim was a three-year-old child, who was found on the grounds in the privy, with his throat cut.
Jonathan Whicher, Scotland Yard's finest detective, was sent to investigate. He had a tremendous career solving the most heinous crimes, always able to connect the dots.
Whicher turned Road Hill House upside down questioning the inhabitants, searching for clues, digging away until he finally reached a conclusion.
Kate Summerscale's THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER is a mesmerizing tale that keeps you in suspense.
The author includes plans of the house, photos of some of the family and investigators and a few drawings.
A great book that you just cannot put down.


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

AROUND THE WORLD ON TWO WHEELS : ANNIE LONDONDERRY'S EXTRAORDINARY RIDE
by Peter Zheutlin

Women did not ride bicycles in the 1890s. They were supposed to lead sedentary lives, take care of their families, not be independent.
Annie Kopchovsky changed all that. She was a "New Woman" who worked outside the home for a newspaper. After hearing of a bet, between two wealthy merchants that a woman could not ride a bicycle around the world, Annie rose to the challenge. She would earn money ($5,000) by selling advertising on her bike and clothing, lecturing about her adventures along the way, appearing at exhibitions.
In June of 1894, Annie left Boston on a 42-pound bicycle and would not return for fifteen months.
Peter Zheutlin's Around the World on Two Wheels is a delightful book on an unknown woman who took the world by storm and turned her into a legend. Zheutlin had never heard of her until he was contacted by a researcher in the 1990s and found out that he is a great-nephew of Annie. What's more, he's also an avid cyclist.
Well-researched and a great story.

Friday, May 16, 2008

THE DREAM : A MEMOIR
by Harry Bernstein

Harry Bernstein was twelve years old, when after years of letters written to relatives living in America, steamship tickets arrive and he and his family depart from England for Chicago. Their hope is to leave their abject poverty behind and make a new life for themselves. For a while they can savor little known luxuries: electricity, a telephone, new furniture and a parlor, with a piano, that Harry's mother had always promised her children.
But, soon, the Great Depression comes and everything changes.
The Dream, which is a follow-up to Bernstein's previous book The Invisible Wall (reviewed in this blog) captures the same charming style that was written before. The characters, though, are much more nuanced and what, eventually, happens to all of them, is so compelling that the reader is drawn, grippingly, in.
A truly, fabulous memoir.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

THE LOST RAVIOLI RECIPES OF HOBOKEN: A SEARCH FOR FOOD AND FAMILY
by Laura Schenone

An obsession to find her great-grandmother's authentic ravioli recipe takes Laura Schenone across the ocean, from New Jersey, to Genoa. She's welcomed into the kitchens and trattorias of the elders, always questioning their methods, watching and trying to remember so that she can reproduce what she has learned.
Schenone writes about what constitutes the dough; should it be hand-rolled or go the modern way and use a pasta-making machine; what kind of cheese is used (a real surprise) ; the role of chestnuts; family feuds; the immigrant experience.
The latter part of the book has a section called "Lost and Found Recipes" which are written with precise instructions, some accompanied by pictures. There's resources for cookware, ingredients, cooking classes, culinary tours, etc.
If you want a sneak preview, check out the author's website at: www.lostravioli.com.
The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken is an absolute gem. The author seamlessly weaves her family history and food together in a fabulous memoir.
Very highly recommended.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE
by Carolyn Jourdan

Carolyn Jourdan was working as a high-powered lawyer, in Washington, DC, when she received a call to return home to Tennessee. Her mother had suffered a heart attack and her father, who ran a rural medical practice, needed her to fill in as a receptionist. Carolyn thought she would only be there for a couple of days, but it turned into weeks.
She learned about Medicare forms; cleaning up bodily fluids; how to say no to drug addicts who called up for renewals; helping to care for the whole crew of motley characters who came into the office daily.
Heart In The Right Place is a beautiful memoir that is funny, sad and compassionate.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

DOUGH: A MEMOIR
by Mort Zachter

Mort Zachter grew up in Brooklyn, in the 1960s, and lived with his parents in a small tenement apartment. His mother, Helen, worked in her brothers' bakery where day-old bread was sold. Nothing was ever baked in this shop. Uncle Harry and Uncle Joe kept the store open seven days a week.
The family struggled to make ends meet. Zachter put himself through school and got help, financially, from relatives and loans.
Everything changed with just one phone call.
Dough is a quirky, funny story.
A terrific read!

Monday, March 17, 2008

THE INVISIBLE WALL: A LOVE STORY THAT BROKE BARRIERS
by Harry Bernstein

In this charming memoir, Harry Bernstein writes about growing up in a small mill town, in England, before World War I. His family is very poor and there's a whole brood of children. The father works in a shop as a tailor and gives very little of his wages to the mother. Most of the money he throws away on drink, every night, at the pubs and comes home roaring drunk.
Harry's mother dreams about the whole family going to America. Perhaps they will have a better life there.
Bernstein wrote this book when he was ninety-three years old. The writing is fluid and draws you in to all of the individual characters that made up this working-class neighborhood.
It's a great read.


Friday, February 29, 2008

BOARDWALK OF DREAMS: ATLANTIC CITY AND THE FATE OF URBAN AMERICAN
by Bryant Simon

Atlantic City used to be known as the resort where middle-class Americans would vacation back in the first half of the twentieth century. Men and women would dress in their finest and stroll up and down the boardwalk or be pushed along in wicker rickshaws and feel like royalty. It was important to be seen.
They stayed in hotels with beautiful chandeliers and expensive furniture at affordable prices. In the evenings, the vacationers could attend performances of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dean Martin, to name a few.
Everything changed by the end of the 1960s.
In Boardwalk of Dreams Simon, who is a professor of history at Temple University, writes about urban decay, exclusion, greed, desegregation, racism and tarnished dreams.
The narrative is meticulously researched with a wealth of details.
There's some neat tidbits of trivia, such as who the boardwalk was named after; the creator of the Monopoly game where one of the properties was misspelled; why Reese Palley was called the "merchant of the rich."
Anyone with memories of Steel Pier, saltwater taffy, diving horses, the Breakers Hotel, the Apollo Theater would, thoroughly, enjoy this book.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

THE PALACE OF THE SNOW QUEEN: WINTER TRAVELS IN LAPLAND
by Barbara Sjoholm

In the middle of November, 2001, Sjoholm sets off from Port Townsend, Washington and travels to Lapland, where the there's only one hour of daylight and the average temperature is -13 degrees F.
She watches the construction of the Icehotel, a yearly, temporary structure built of snow and ice, created by architects and artists, before it melts in the spring; goes dogsledding and then decides it's not for her after falling off and injuring herself; attends an outdoor ice theatre to see Macbeth performed; explores the rich culture of the indigenous Sami people, who have 200 words for snow and whose way of life is being compromised by tourism.
The Palace of the Snow Queen is the power of snow, the color blue, the deep silence, and the beauty of the far North.
A captivating memoir.


Tuesday, February 12, 2008

TRAIL OF CRUMBS: HUNGER, LOVE, AND THE SEARCH FOR HOME
by Kim Sunee

When Kim Sunee was three years old, her mother abandoned her, in a Korean marketplace. Adopted by a less-than-perfect family in New Orleans, she learns about Cajun cooking from her grandfather.
In her early twenties, Sunee goes to France and becomes involved with multimillionaire Olivier Bausson, a very controlling entrepreneur. She leads a charmed life, but is not happy. Only through food does she find solace.
Trail of Crumbs is a sensuous, lyrical, intimate memoir, with mouth-watering descriptions of gorgeous meals that she prepares in Provence. The recipes are at the end of chapters.
A beautifully written book.

Friday, February 8, 2008

THE GLASS CASTLE: A MEMOIR
by Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls had a chaotic upbringing. Her mother, Rose Mary, was an eccentric artist, who could care less about taking care of children and a house, while Rex, her father, was a self-made man, who was not able to keep a job and was known as the town drunk.
Walls, along with her siblings, had to be resourceful. When there was no money, they foraged in trashcans for food and used markers for their skin, so that the holes in their pants wouldn't show.
The Glass Castle is an incredible story of poverty, survival, hope, and love.
Highly recommended.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

MY LIFE AS A TRAITOR
by Zarah Ghahramani

In 2001, while walking home from the university, Ghahramani was arrested and taken to the infamous Evin Prison in northern Tehran. Her crime? Protesting against the severe regime in Iran. For the next thirty days she endured both psychological and physical torture, with grueling interrogations and sadistic beatings.
Nothing from her sheltered upbringing prepared her for such a brutal ordeal.
My Life as a Traitor is a harrowing memoir of bravery and survival.
To understand Iran, read this book.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

I'M LOOKING THROUGH YOU: GROWING UP HAUNTED
by Jennifer Finney Boylan

In the 1970's, Boylan, a Pennsylvania native, moved with her family from Newtown Square to Bryn Mawr. They settled into a mansion known as the "Coffin House." The residence dates back to the 1700's.
I'm Looking Through You is a memoir of growing up in a haunted house and feeling haunted yourself. Creaking floorboards, whispering voices, and floating blue mists are everyday occurrences.
From a cast of eccentric characters, which includes family, friends and ghostbusters, Boylan has written a marvelous story.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

THE AIRMEN AND THE HEADHUNTERS: A TRUE STORY OF LOST SOLDIERS, HEROIC TRIBESMEN AND THE UNLIKELIEST RESCUE OF WORLD WAR II
by Judith M. Heimann

While flying
in a B-24 bomber, during 1944, over the Borneo Coast, army airmen were shot down by the Japanese. The aviators were met by jungle natives called Dayaks, who were known as headhunters.
Heimann writes a gripping tale of how the tribesmen fed and sheltered the airmen and hid them from the Japanese occupiers.
A little known piece of history from World War II deserves to be read.
What a terrific book!



Wednesday, January 16, 2008

THE MASCOT: UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF MY JEWISH FATHER'S NAZI BOYHOOD
by Mark Kurzem

In 1941, when Alex Kurzem was five years old, he left his home in Russia and escaped into the forest. There he hid from the Nazis who slaughtered his family and villagers. Eventually, Alex was "saved" by a group of Latvian SS soldiers, who gave him a miniature uniform with boots. He became their mascot, but, in reality, he was used in the most horrifying of ways.
For over 60 years, Alex kept the secret of his past to himself, until, finally, he revealed the story to his son.
From the first chapter to the last the narrative is riveting. Mark Kurzem does a remarkable job.
Highly recommended!



Friday, January 11, 2008

AMERICA, 1908: THE DAWN OF FLIGHT, THE RACE TO THE POLE, THE INVENTION OF THE MODEL T, AND THE MAKING OF A MODERN NATION
by Jim Rasenberger

So many things happened in the year of 1908. Rasenberger writes, effortlessly, about what was going on in our nation one hundred years ago.
Theodore Roosevelt was president; the Wright Brothers (originally bicycle mechanics) had conquered the sky with their airplanes; the New York Giants battled the Chicago Cubs in one of the most exciting baseball games in history (Fred Merkle's nickname would, forever, be "Bonehead"); women would be cleaning their homes with a new device called a vacuum; etc.

These facts are just a smattering of what you will read in America, 1908.
If you are a history buff, or just want to brush up on some trivia, then grab this marvelous book.


Monday, January 7, 2008

HOUSE OF HAPPY ENDINGS: A MEMOIR
by Leslie Garis

Imagine growing up as the granddaughter of the people who wrote the Uncle Wiggily series, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift and numerous other books for children. Was life idyllic to match the stories?
In House of Happy Endings Garis pulls away the layers of what happened to her family. Her father, Roger, was not very successful in his attempts at writing novels, plays and magazines.
Each failure pushed him deeper into depression. His mental illness tore everyone apart.
Garis writes with unflinching honesty.
The book is a masterpiece.