Book Nook Club: US History

Showing posts with label US History. Show all posts

February 8, 2012

Black Mahler: The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story by Charles Elford

This is the life story of turn of the century English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Coleridge was born in 1875 to a black father and white mother but raised by an adoptive mother in the London suburb of Croydon. He started playing the violin at a very young age and turned out to be an exceptional musician. By the time he was 15 an opportunity arose for him to go to the Royal College of Music and with the help of his teacher and some others looking out for him he was able to attend and there turned his focus to composing. At the Royal College is where he met his best friend William Hurlstone, a fellow composer, and his future wife Jessie. After college Coleridge had a very busy life filled with teaching, conducting, but mostly composing. He always sold his work outright and though he managed to pay the bills, he always struggled financially. His chance at success came when he composed ‘Hiawatha’, which was an instant hit. But being a great artist didn’t mean he always made the best business decisions, and so this too he sold outright to the gain of the publisher and his tremendous loss. For the rest of his life Coleridge tried to outdo himself as a composer leaving some great works along the way.

I absolutely loved reading this man’s story! In fact, I immediately had to go listen to his music. He was a great influential person not just in the music world, but also as a face for blacks all over the globe. I felt terrible for him when he got cheated out of the success of his greatest work, even when laws changed because of him. I also liked the back and forth style of the book. The author goes between a concert held in his honor where family, friends, others along his life were present and participating to the chronological story of his life. The only issue I had with this book is that though sometimes the transition between present and past were seamless and obvious, other times it was random and awkward. 3.5 stars
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November 27, 2011

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

While the title The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, it is the perfect description of the content of this nonfiction book.

I don't read a lot of nonfiction but when I do I like them a little edgy. Each chapter of this book tackles a specific poison from arsenic to carbon monoxide. The chapters cover the poison's history, its chemical properties, what exactly it does to the human body, and tells a few cases were the poison was used. It simultaneously describes the efforts of the newly formed forensic pathology office in New York and how these professionals pioneered countless advances in this field.

I really enjoyed this book. While decidedly episodic in nature, it seemed to work because of the over-arching theme of the lives of the medical examiners. I learned a lot reading this, especially about the politics of the Prohibition era. I would have liked to have seen photos from some of the cases described, especially when the author went into great detail about specific photos published in newspapers. Keeping in mind that the book occasionally goes into gory detail, I recommend this book to anyone interested in history, medicine, real crime, or just some of the more macabre parts of New York's past.

Five stars

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May 22, 2011

Women and Other Monsters

Enter into the twisted mind of writer Bernard Schaffer in his collection of short stories, Women and Other Monsters. The collection consists of 5 short stories that are each different, dark and deserving to be read. Each story is written with lots of character and beautiful descriptions. You actually feel like you're there; you can hear the voices, feel the temperature in the room even. And yet, that is all that connects these stories, as they are each unique from one another.

1. The Reluctant Death: This is the first short story in the collection. It is placed pre-civil war, on a plantation farm. Folklore, mysticism and darkness rule here, but there is still a hidden gentleness that emerges. I found this one to be beautiful and mysterious.

2. Codename: Omega: This story was wild, adrenaline pumping and tricky. An American soldier is killed in action during World War 1... only, he's not really dead. He's a superhuman who becomes a secret agent, bent on kicking some serious Nazi tail. Basically, if you liked Quentin Tarantino's, Inglorious Basterds, you'll enjoy this too!

3. Room Service: This story will make you laugh out loud and root for the underdog (for a change). With all these good-guy-vampire books out now, it's refreshing to read the opposite. When Rob's stripper girlfriend goes missing after a "home call", he decides to investigates and doesn't like what he finds. Having nothing to lose, he decides to take his revenge. This story was my personal favorite... good fun.

4. Cold Comforts: A married couple struggles to find intimacy with one another after the death of their unborn child. While she searches for answers at any cost, he finds comfort with another. This story made me do a double take... how twisted can you get, Mr. Schaffer? ;)

5. Nazareth: This story is written very well. It unravels slowly and has a shock factor that will make you want to re-read it. Two alien researchers are studying Earth and the human life form. They discover DNA and decide to change all of humanity with one simple act. Although this story will take you by surprise, you will also find yourself taken by Schaffer's cleverness and satirical humor.

So if you like folklore, history, war, vampires, family dramas or sci-fi, this is the book for you! There really is something for everyone!

Overall, this collection is great. You will peel through it, just to see if the next one can possibly be better than the last. And, as I said before, since they are so vastly different from one another, it's hard to compare. The only thing that was not in my taste, was that once he gave you the shock factor, the story ended. There was no wind-down or conclusion... just an open end for your own imagination to conclude. Like at the end of a great movie, when you go, "WHHHAAAT?!" (Inception, anyone?). Other than that, it was flawless.

5 stars

*This book is currently only available in e-book format*

I was given a free copy of this book to review. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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April 22, 2011

Oskaloosa Moon by Gary Sutton

Often the life of a reviewer can be tedious. We agree to review books because the description sounds interesting, and because it's actually available in paper form (which is getting rarer and rarer). Then it arrives and we realize maybe it wasn't what we'd hoped, but we'd agreed to write a review. So we trudge on through, throwing covetous glances at the stack of neglected books in our To Be Read piles. Why? Because we live with the hope that one day, one of these books that arrive in the mail will finally be worth it. It's like Edison looking for the right filament for his incandescent bulb. Or Darwin, measuring finch beaks on the Gallapagos. Only slightly more glamorous.

I did say "slightly."

I am pleased to announce that at long last I have found once such gem. Oskaloosa Moon isn't merely a good read, or merely a five star book. Its value is impossible to measure. In fact, its near impossible to explain, too. Before tackling this review, I read other reviews of this book and found I wasn't alone in this difficulty. This book doesn't fit into any one genre, yet it is simple. It can't be compared to anything else no matter how I stretch it, yet I can't stop trying to because it is so relatable.

Oskaloosa Moon is the story of a boy who was born with a disfigured face, but a completely normal mind and body. He grows up in a small town where he does his best to fit in, work hard, and make his family proud. But no matter how hard he tries, someone is always there holding him back. Despite this, he remains good-hearted, optimistic, and loyal. Because of this particular personality trait, some reviewers have compared him to Forrest Gump, but that doesn't quite wash. This is the basic story.

The heart of the story is that before there were laws protecting the disabled and public service announcements and children's books featuring kids in wheelchairs, the disabled - or those who are simply different in any way- found life incredibly difficult, and sometimes lived almost entirely segregated from "normal" society. Moon is the perfect poster boy for this group of people because of his disfigurement. He is also, however, the poster boy for us all, because all of us have been held prisoner in some way due to our own outward appearances.

It's one of life's big questions. Are we truly the way we see ourselves, or the way others see us? We can never know for certain, because no matter how we manipulate our appearances, no matter how hard we work to change our lives, others will only ever see us as they choose to, and act on that.

As I read Oskaloosa Moon I could easily see it as a book that will one day be standard reading in high school literature classes. I could also see it as a film. I could see Moon standing behind a film projector, the monochrome light pulsing over his hopeful face. I could see him walking down a San Bernardino sidewalk with the sunlight reflecting off his stunt helmet (before San Bernardino became mired in smog). And I could see in him every person who's ever ached to be truly seen.

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review. It was a hardcover, not something you ebook snots can appreciate. And it was signed. Twice. Which really made me feel special. :)

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February 7, 2011

Dear Mrs. Kennedy by Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis

When was the last time you sat down and wrote and mailed a real letter? Try one million letters. Ever since I visited the American History Museum in DC last year I've had a small fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy. Maybe it's because she was beautiful or a style icon, or maybe because her husband was killed. One way or another after seeing her pictures and hearing a little bit of her story I jumped at the chance to review a new book called, Dear Mrs. Kennedy: The World Shares Its Grief Letters, November 1963, by Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis.

The book is a compilation of a portion of the million letters that Mrs. Kennedy received in the few weeks after JFK's assassination. Letters from men, women, children, family members, political leaders, celebrities, and anyone else you could think of. Letters that tell the story of what happened in those months following his death.

Am I glad I read this book? Yes. Did it satisfy my Kennedy fascination, somewhat. Would I recommend this book to others? Yes. It was a quick, though slightly repetitive, read and gave me insight into one of the most compelling events and one of the most compelling families in American history.

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September 18, 2009

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I have been anticipating the release of The Lost Symbol for a very long time. I heard rumors of it being written a couple of years ago and it was finally released this week. I was most excited about the setting of the new book, Washington, D.C. I love to read books that are set in a location that I know well so that when the character sees something, I have a perfect image of what they are seeing in my mind. For the most part, Dan Brown did a fabulous job describing the scene and painting out the details of what the character was seeing throughout his adventure. *

In his new novel, Dan Brown continues the adventures of Robert Langdon, who was his main character in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. Robert is enjoying a typical quiet Sunday morning in Boston when he receives a call from the assistant of one of his dearest friends, Peter Solomon, who is the head of the Smithsonian Institute. Peter is desperate to find a last minute replacement for a speaker that had canceled on him and was supposed to speak at a major event Peter had arranged for in the U.S. Capitol. Robert agrees to help and Peter sends a private jet to bring him from Boston to D.C. Robert is running late and rushes into the Capitol building with just a few seconds to spare. He turns the corner to walk into the famous Statuary Hall where the event is to be held and immediately stops as he realizes it is empty except for a few tourists and there is no speech.

Robert is baffled as to what is going on and tries to reach Peter's assistant and as soon as the assistant picks up, Robert explains the situation. The assistant then tells Robert that he is completely careless to believe someone that he has never met before and that Peter actually has no idea that he is in D.C. The assistant then tells him that he is not actually Peter's assistant and he had kidnapped Peter and Robert had been summoned to D.C. to save his friend. Robert is told that he is the only one that can save him (very typical for a Dan Brown book if you have read any before...)

Robert must solve a very old puzzle/myth relating to the Freemasons, a very famous and historical brotherhood/fraternity, in order to save Peter. Several problems present themselves to Robert from the beginning, the biggest of which is that the CIA is after him and he has no idea how they knew what was happening moments after the phone call. Robert runs all over D.C. and is assisted by several very powerful Masons in order to get all of the clues that he needs to discover the meaning of the puzzle.

The book kept me guessing and I became addicted to the story. If you have read any of the Dan Brown books, you should definitely read this one as well. If you haven't ever read a Dan Brown book, read this! In other words, I recommend it to anyone that wants a fascinating historical suspense.

I give this book 5 stars!

*If you have ever been to DC before and are familiar with the city and especially the US Capitol building, I dare you to find the minor mistakes Dan Brown made in the details. They are minor and didn't bother me, but I did find it amusing to stop and say "wait a second that isn't right..."

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February 8, 2012

Black Mahler: The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story by Charles Elford

November 27, 2011

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

May 22, 2011

Women and Other Monsters

April 22, 2011

Oskaloosa Moon by Gary Sutton

February 7, 2011

Dear Mrs. Kennedy by Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis

September 18, 2009

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

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