In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of
closely observing nature, Elisabeth Tova Bailey shares an inspiring and
intimate story of her encounter with a Neohelix albolabris-a common woodland
snail. While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that
has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace
and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater
understanding of her own place in the world. Intrigued by the snail's molluscan
anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making, hydraulic locomotion, and
courtship activities, Bailey becomes an astute and amused observer, offering a
candid and engaging look into the curious life of this underappreciated small
animal. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a remarkable journey of survival and
resilience, showing us how a small part of the natural world can illuminate our
own human existence, while providing an appreciation of what it means to be
fully alive. (amazon.com)
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
The extraordinary New York Times bestselling
account of James Garfield's rise from poverty to the American presidency, and
the dramatic history of his assassination and legacy, from bestselling author
of The River of Doubt, Candice Millard.
James Abram Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, a renowned congressman, and a reluctant presidential candidate who took on the nation's corrupt political establishment. But four months after Garfield's inauguration in 1881, he was shot in the back by a deranged office-seeker named Charles Guiteau. Garfield survived the attack, but become the object of bitter, behind-the-scenes struggles for power—over his administration, over the nation's future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic brings alive a forgotten chapter of U.S. history. (amazon.com)
James Abram Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, a renowned congressman, and a reluctant presidential candidate who took on the nation's corrupt political establishment. But four months after Garfield's inauguration in 1881, he was shot in the back by a deranged office-seeker named Charles Guiteau. Garfield survived the attack, but become the object of bitter, behind-the-scenes struggles for power—over his administration, over the nation's future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic brings alive a forgotten chapter of U.S. history. (amazon.com)
Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe
Fragments is an event―an unforgettable book that will
redefine one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century and that, nearly
fifty years after her death, will definitively reveal Marilyn Monroe's
humanity.
Marilyn's image is so universal that we can't help but
believe we know all there is to know of her. Every word and gesture made
headlines and garnered controversy. Her serious gifts as an actor were
sometimes eclipsed by her notoriety―and by the way the camera fell helplessly
in love with her.
Beyond the headlines―and the too-familiar stories of
heartbreak and desolation―was a woman far more curious, searching, witty, and
hopeful than the one the world got to know. Now, for the first time, readers
can meet the private Marilyn and understand her in a way we never have
before. Fragments is an unprecedented collection of written
artifacts―notes to herself, letters, even poems―in Marilyn's own handwriting,
never before published, along with rarely seen intimate photos.
Jotted in notebooks, typed on paper, or written on hotel
letterhead, these texts reveal a woman who loved deeply and strove to perfect
her craft. They show a Marilyn Monroe unsparing in her analysis of her own
life, but also playful, funny, and impossibly charming. The easy grace and
deceptive lightness that made her performances indelible emerge on the page, as
does the simmering tragedy that made her last appearances so affecting.
(amazon.com)
The Unmasked Tenor: The Life and Times of a Singing Wrestler
by Sam Tenenbaum
Equal parts showman and artist, hustler and faithful
son, trained tenor and fast-talking raconteur, Sam Tenenbaum is—to
paraphrase Whitman—large, he contains multitudes. In this inspirational
and quintessentially American “song of himself,” we see Sam pick himself
up by the bootstraps of an awkward childhood in mid-20th Century
Birmingham, Alabama, and forge an unlikely path through the
roughriding, anything-goes early days of professional wrestling in
the American South—all while nurturing his faith and pursuing, on the sly,
his rst true love: operatic singing. In the end, we learn what Sam
learned early on: how to live large, fear nothing, and never give up
on your dreams. (amazon.com)
In 1978, the first group of space shuttle astronauts was
introduced to the world -- twenty-nine men and six women who would carry NASA
through the most tumultuous years of the space shuttle program. Among them was
USAF Colonel Mike Mullane, who, in his memoir Riding Rockets, strips
the heroic veneer from the astronaut corps and paints them as they are --
human.
Mullane's tales of arrested development among military flyboys working with feminist pioneers and post-doc scientists are sometimes bawdy, often comical, and always entertaining. He vividly portrays every aspect of the astronaut experience, from telling a female technician which urine-collection condom size is a fit to hearing "Taps" played over a friend's grave. He is also brutally honest in his criticism of a NASA leadership whose bungling would precipitate the Challenger disaster -- killing four members of his group. A hilarious, heartfelt story of life in all its fateful uncertainty, Riding Rockets will resonate long after the call of "Wheel stop." (amazon.com)
Mullane's tales of arrested development among military flyboys working with feminist pioneers and post-doc scientists are sometimes bawdy, often comical, and always entertaining. He vividly portrays every aspect of the astronaut experience, from telling a female technician which urine-collection condom size is a fit to hearing "Taps" played over a friend's grave. He is also brutally honest in his criticism of a NASA leadership whose bungling would precipitate the Challenger disaster -- killing four members of his group. A hilarious, heartfelt story of life in all its fateful uncertainty, Riding Rockets will resonate long after the call of "Wheel stop." (amazon.com)
Welcome to Bryson City, a small town tucked away in a fold
of North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains. The scenery is breathtaking, the home cooking
can’t be beat, the Maroon Devils football team is the pride of the town, and
you won’t find better steelhead fishing anywhere. But the best part is the
people you’re about to meet in the pages of Bryson City Seasons. In this joyous
sequel to his bestselling Bryson City Tales, Dr. Walt Larimore whisks you along
on a journey through the seasons of a Bryson City year. On the way, you’ll
encounter crusty mountain men, warmhearted townspeople, peppery medical
personalities, and the hallmarks of a simpler, more wholesome way of life.
Culled from the author’s experiences as a young doctor settling into rural
medical practice, these captivating stories are a celebration of this richly
textured miracle called life. (amazon.com)
On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft by Stephen King
(Patron review) I have enjoyed reading Stephen King over the
decades, his books and novellas. This memoir was no exception as he
shares his early life growing up in Maine with his older brother and his single
mother (his father having long left the scene).
One of the kicks I got from reading his book was his
description of his brother Dave.
"Dave was a great brother, but too smart of a ten-year-old. His brains were always getting him in trouble and he learned at some point .... That it was usually possible to get Brother Stevie to join him in some point position when trouble was in the wind."
Several passages later:
"We each had our part to play in creating the Super Duper Electromagnet. Dave's part was to build it. My part would be to test it. Little Stevie King, Stratford's answer to Chuck Yeager.
Dave's new version of the experiment by-passed the pokey old dry cell... in favor of actual wall current. Dave cut the electrical cord off an old lamp someone had put on the curb with the trash, stripped the coating all the way down to the plug, then wrapped his magnetized spike in spirals of bare wire. Then, sitting on the floor in the kitchen of our West Board Street apartment, he offered me the Super Duper Electromagnet and bade me to my part and plug it in.
I hesitated – give me at least that much credit – but in the end, Dave's manic enthusiasm was too much to withstand. I plugged it in. There was no noticeable magnetism, but the gadget did blow out light and electrical appliance in the building and in the building next door (where my dream-girl lived in the ground-floor apartment). Something popped in the electrical transformer out front and some cops came. Dave and I spent a horrible hour watching from out mother's bedroom window, that only one that looked out on the street..... When the cops left, a power truck arrived. Under other circumstances, this would have absorbed us completely, but not that day. That day we could only wonder if our mother would come and see us in reform school. Eventually, the lights came back on the power truck went away. We were not caught and lived to fight another day. Dave decided he might build a Super Duper Glider instead of a Super Duper Electromagnet for his science project. I, he told me, would get to take the first ride. Wouldn't that be great?"
I've included Stephen King's own words because one of long
short stories from Nightmares and Dreamscapes, The End of the Whole
Mess, (page 67) channels this childhood memory. The story
was both frightening and endearing when I first read it. The tale
caught the terrible sweetness of familial ties and consequences. I
hope this piques your curiosity to check it out. There are several
other well told stories in the particular book.
King's book touches on the craft of writing - very
simply and very plainly. In essence, he outlines the toolbox of a
writer. He brings up the fundamental need to read – a lot if you
wish to become a writer.
"But TV came relatively late to the King household and I'm glad. I am, when you stop to think of it, a member of a fairly select group: the final handful of American novelists who learned to read and write before they learned to eat a daily helping of video bull---x. This might not be important. On the other hand, if you're just starting out as a writer, you could do worse than strip your television's electric plug wire, wrap a spike around it and then stick it back into the wall. See what blows and how far. Just an idea"
"Common tools go on top. The commonest of
all, the bread of writing, is vocabulary. In this case, you can
happily pack what you have without the slightest bit of guild and inferiority.
" Stephen King then provides case studies on the use of
vocabulary.
Next, he brings up grammar and bows out for "the
same reason that William Strunk decided not to recap the basics when he wrote
the first edition of The Elements of Style, if you don't know, it's
too late."
King continues later, "I am approaching the heart of
this book with two theses, both simple. The first is that good
writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the
elements of style) and then filling the third level of your toolbox with the
right instruments." In succeeding chapters, he expands on
narration, description, dialogue and plot.
At the very end of the book, he shares a list of books he
has read over the last three to four years that he suspects has had an
influence over the books he wrote. The list also helps answer the
perennial question from his "Constant Readers" on "what
do you read?" In short, King is encouraging, down to earth and pragmatic
as he weaves examples from his own life in a sincere effort to encourage
writers in this memoir.
Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk
Patricia Volk’s delicious memoir lets us into her big,
crazy, loving, cheerful, infuriating and wonderful family, where you’re never
just hungry–your starving to death, and you’re never just full–you’re stuffed.
Volk’s family fed New York City for one hundred years, from 1888 when her
great-grandfather introduced pastrami to America until 1988, when her father
closed his garment center restaurant. All along, food was pretty much at the
center of their lives. But as seductively as Volk evokes the food, Stuffed is
at heart a paean to her quirky, vibrant relatives: her grandmother with the
“best legs in Atlantic City”; her grandfather, who invented the wrecking ball;
her larger-than-life father, who sculpted snow thrones when other dads were struggling
with snowmen. Writing with great freshness and humor, Patricia Volk will leave
you hungering to sit down to dinner with her robust family–both for the
spectacle and for the food.
GENERAL DISCUSSION:
Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott
Kelly
A stunning, personal memoir from the astronaut and
modern-day hero who spent a record-breaking year aboard the International Space
Station—a message of hope for the future that will inspire for generations to
come.
The veteran of four spaceflights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly hostile to human life. He describes navigating the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight, both life-threatening and mundane: the devastating effects on the body; the isolation from everyone he loves and the comforts of Earth; the catastrophic risks of colliding with space junk; and the still more haunting threat of being unable to help should tragedy strike at home--an agonizing situation Kelly faced when, on a previous mission, his twin brother's wife, American Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot while he still had two months in space.
Kelly's humanity, compassion, humor, and determination resonate throughout, as he recalls his rough-and-tumble New Jersey childhood and the youthful inspiration that sparked his astounding career, and as he makes clear his belief that Mars will be the next, ultimately challenging, step in spaceflight. In Endurance, we see the triumph of the human imagination, the strength of the human will, and the infinite wonder of the galaxy.
The veteran of four spaceflights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly hostile to human life. He describes navigating the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight, both life-threatening and mundane: the devastating effects on the body; the isolation from everyone he loves and the comforts of Earth; the catastrophic risks of colliding with space junk; and the still more haunting threat of being unable to help should tragedy strike at home--an agonizing situation Kelly faced when, on a previous mission, his twin brother's wife, American Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot while he still had two months in space.
Kelly's humanity, compassion, humor, and determination resonate throughout, as he recalls his rough-and-tumble New Jersey childhood and the youthful inspiration that sparked his astounding career, and as he makes clear his belief that Mars will be the next, ultimately challenging, step in spaceflight. In Endurance, we see the triumph of the human imagination, the strength of the human will, and the infinite wonder of the galaxy.
Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and
thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space
exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How
much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to
you when you can’t walk for a year? have sex? smell flowers? What happens if
you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body
to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour? To answer these questions, space
agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space
simulations. As Mary Roach discovers, it’s possible to preview space without
ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of
NASA’s new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Roach takes us on
a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on
Earth.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find yourself
strapped to a giant rocket that’s about to go from zero to 17,500 miles per
hour? Or to look back on Earth from outer space and see the surprisingly precise line
between day and night? Or to stand in front of the Hubble Space Telescope,
wondering if the emergency repair you’re about to make will inadvertently ruin
humankind’s chance to unlock the universe’s secrets? Mike Massimino has been
there, and in Spaceman he puts you inside the suit, with all the zip
and buoyancy of life in microgravity.
Massimino’s childhood space dreams were born the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Growing up in a working-class Long Island family, he catapulted himself to Columbia and then MIT, only to flunk his first doctoral exam and be rejected three times by NASA before making it through the final round of astronaut selection.
Taking us through the surreal wonder and beauty of his first spacewalk, the tragedy of losing friends in the Columbia shuttle accident, and the development of his enduring love for the Hubble Telescope—which he and his fellow astronauts were tasked with saving on his final mission—Massimino has written an ode to never giving up and the power of teamwork to make anything possible. Spaceman invites us into a rare, wonderful world where science meets the most thrilling adventure, revealing just what having “the right stuff” really means.
Massimino’s childhood space dreams were born the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Growing up in a working-class Long Island family, he catapulted himself to Columbia and then MIT, only to flunk his first doctoral exam and be rejected three times by NASA before making it through the final round of astronaut selection.
Taking us through the surreal wonder and beauty of his first spacewalk, the tragedy of losing friends in the Columbia shuttle accident, and the development of his enduring love for the Hubble Telescope—which he and his fellow astronauts were tasked with saving on his final mission—Massimino has written an ode to never giving up and the power of teamwork to make anything possible. Spaceman invites us into a rare, wonderful world where science meets the most thrilling adventure, revealing just what having “the right stuff” really means.
A Russian astronaut, Svetlana Savitskaya, became the first
woman to walk in space on July 25, 1984.
Read the 7/26/84 New York Times article here.
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