Category: NonFiction

Jemez Mountains

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Swetnam, Thomas W. The Jemez Mountains: a Cultural and Natural History. University of New Mexico Press, 2025.

Reason read: As a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing I get to review really cool books. This is one of them. I chose this book because I have long been fascinated with the Southwest. My sister has big dreams of settling in Taos, New Mexico. Me, I am not so sure.

There is a lot of love and respect in the pages of Jemez Mountains. It is abundantly clear that Swetnam cares deeply for the culture, history, and natural beauty of the region. He will take you to the hot springs that rival Saratoga’s. He will describe the first automobile in Jemez Springs. He will spend a lot of time at the Soda Dam. There are stories of bears, hippies, and abusive priests. He will give you a historical and scientific perspective of land use through the ages with photographs to illustrate each point. He has a serious concern about climate change and the damage it has already done to the region. There is a great deal of information packed in each essay so it was a relief when Swetnam explained that the essays of Jemez Mountains need not be read in sequential order.
As an aside, I felt a huge connection to Jemez Mountains not only because of my previously disclosed love of the Southwest, but because I uncovered other commonalities with the narrative. Swetnam matched photographs taken at the turn of the century with current ones. My hometown did something similar to illustrate how little it has changed in the last one hundred or so years. Swetnam refers to this matching of photographs as “then and now.” Inspired by the photography of my hometown, I put together an art show at my college with old photographs overlaid with current photographs and I called the project “Then and Now.”

Disclaimer: I make comments based on the assumption that special features to a book, like the same photographs, maps, or illustrations will be in the final published copy. That being said, the cover to Jemez Mountains is gorgeous. Swetnam has mentioned that there are more than one hundred photographs, maps, and drawings. My favorite photograph was of a Mack truck coming through one of the Guadalupe Box tunnels. It is impressive.

Book trivia: Jemez Mountains is set to be published in April 2025.

Author fact: Swetnam is a retired University of Arizona professor.

Small music: “O Fair New Mexico”

In Sicily

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Lewis, Norman. In Sicily. Thomas Dunne Books, 2000.

Reason read: there is an almond blossom festival that takes place every March in Sicily.

Norman Lewis fell in love with Sicily and its environs in the mid 1950s. In Sicily is a remembrance of that long-gone era. The mafia does not have the grip it once had, but Lewis has his memories and heartbreaks tied up in the violence and terror of wartime yesteryear. He married a mob daughter, after all. Sicily is a place of long-held corruption; of falling down palaces and open-air lovemaking and Lewis does not miss a single detail. In Sicily is an open love letter, full of crime, mythology, superstition, and passion.

As an aside, Lewis reported that Italians have a difficult time pronouncing the letter H. I can attest to that. My friend, born and raised in Rome, cannot pronounce my name.
Another aside. I am in love with the Dancing Satyr of Mazara. It’s now on my bucket list.

Quote to respect, “There are many lessons to be learned, the first being that as a black he had become invisible” (p 125).

Author fact: Lewis wrote a bunch of interesting books. I am reading a total of five of them for the Challenge.

Book trivia: the dedication is surprising. I have not seen one of its kind before.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the simple chapter called “Sicily” (p 209).

Truman

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McCullough, David. Truman. Simon and Schuster, 1992.

Reason read: on honor of Presidents Day, celebrated the third week of February.

Because Truman’s life is well-documented around the time of his presidency, it is no surprise that McCullough’s biography thinly covers Truman’s childhood and coming-of-age stage of life. The bulk of the biography centers around Truman’s careers; starting with his early venture as a clothing store owner, an eastern judge, a senator, and of course, finally, president of the United States. Having said that, I appreciate biographies that peel back layers of a person’s lifestyle and personality, for better or worse. To know that Truman harbored bigoted thoughts and beliefs was startling but logical, considering the time of his upbringing. Even though he thought of himself as a good-for-nothing American farmer, he also believed he would amount to something great one day. Indeed, he would go from being a businessman with a failing men’s clothing store to earning a seat as an eastern judge and then state senator before becoming president. Not bad for a good ole boy.
As a president, Truman faced enormous difficulties, trials, and tribulations. Only seventy-seven years ago, this sitting president had to endorse anti-lynching legislation (essentially anti-murder legislation, if we are being honest). We can’t forget his decision to definitively end World War II, how he handled Palestine, the threat of communism, and our nation’s involvement in Korea. Not to mention he survived a pretty serious assassination attempt.
McCullough’s coverage of the second campaign, where Dewey was the well-known favorite, was riveting and read like a thriller. Also, it should be noted that McCullough wrote with astounding detail. I could picture Stalin drawing the heads of wolves with a red pencil while talking with Secretary Marshall, trying to save Western Europe.

As an aside, I found myself bonding with Truman just a little. We both studied piano (although while he kept with it, I gave up too early). Truman was an avid letter writer with the desperation to have someone write him back. Me too. Additionally, “he didn’t like the telephone under any circumstances” (p 81). Me neither! Even today, I find some commonality: he read Douglas Southall Freeman. I am currently reading Douglas Southall Freeman; a different book, but same author. Truman also studied the relationship between my favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, and General George B. McClellan. Truman wanted to know more about the Lincoln-McClellan crisis to inform his decisions about McArthur.

As another aside, I think it would have been fun to have known Cactus John Garner for his snarky view of the role of vice presidents.

Monhegan Six Degrees – in 1948 a painting by Andrew Wyeth called Christina’s World was all the rage (and made a mention in Truman). Andrew was Jamie’s father and Jamie is my neighbor.

Author fact: I am reading a total of five books by McCullough. Besides Truman I have only John Adams left on the Challenge list. I finished Johnstown Flood, Mornings on Horseback and Path Between the Seas.

Book trivia: There is a good selection of black and white photographs included.

Music: Andy Kirk’s “Clouds of Joy”, Bach, Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique, Benny Goodman, “Cieto Lindo”, Chopin’s Funeral March, Bennie Moten Orchestra, Count Basie’s Kansas City Seven, “One O’clock Jump”, Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate”, “Dixie”, “Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think”, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save”, “Faith of Our Fathers”, Fanny Bloomfield Zeisler, Felicien David’s “La Perle du Bresil”, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”, “Goodbye to Broadway, Hello France”, “Hail to the Chief”, “Happy Days are Here Again”, Hot Lips Page, “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight”, “It’s a Most Unusual Day”, “I’m Just Wild about Harry”, Jerome Kern’s “They’ll Never Believe Me”, Josef Lhevinne, “Keep the Home Fires Burning”, Julia Lee, “Last Rose of Summer”, Lena Horne, Lionel Hampton, Liszt, Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words”, “Mother Machree”, Mozart’s Ninth Sonata, “My Old Kentucky Home”, the Nighthawks, Opus 111, “Over There, Over There Send the Word”, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”, Paderewski’s Minuet in G, Pee Wee Hunt’s version of “12th Street Rag”, Polka Brillante, Scarlatti’s Pastorale and Capriccio, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, “Tipperary”, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Von Weber Rondo Brillante amd Polacca Brillante, Weber and Grieg, “Woodland Sketches”, Walter Page’s “Blue Devils”, and “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Presidential Biographies” (p 192). Also from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Midcentury: from World War II to Vietnam” (p 167).

Lee’s Lieutenants: Volume 2

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Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command. Volume Two: Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1946.

Reason read: to continue the series started in January in honor of Lee’s birth month.

Whenever I read Douglas Southall Freeman’s books my senses come alive. In my mind’s eye, I can see the battlefields and the courage of young soldiers. I can hear the cannons volleying across enemy lines; the men yelling their battle cries. I can smell gunpowder, blood and mud. The campaigns from Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville took place between 1862 and 1863. I can feel the pounding of the horse artillery’s hooves. I swear I can taste the victories and losses as Freeman describes every detail. Like Freeman’s first volume, Manassas to Mulvern Hill, Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville is a minute by minute, battle by battle recounting of the Civil War. Every detail is well researched and described; using military papers, scrapbooks, memoirs, letters and official correspondence, court martial orders, and diaries and journals. A great deal of the narrative relies on Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson’s journals and official papers. As an aside, one of the most difficult passages to read was the death of “Stonewall” Jackson after his amputation. He had just become a new father and was well respected by his troops. his death was a blow to Robert E. Lee’s armies.
As another aside, Can you imagine being saved from a sure death by a hardened biscuit, baked without salt or fat, that caught and stopped a bullet meant for your heart?

Author fact: I just discovered that Freeman was born in 1886. The end of the Civil War was not that long before his birth. I imagine he heard a great deal about the conflict growing up.

Book trivia: As with volume one, Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville has great black and white portraits of some of the soldiers.

Music: “Old Joe Hooker”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Civil War Nonfiction” (p 58).

Ends of the Earth (Antarctic)

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Spufford, Francis (Ed.). Ends of the Earth: An Anthology of the Finest Writing on the Antarctic. Bloomsbury, 2007.

Reason read: Ernest Shackleton was born on February 15th, 1874. Read in his honor.


The Antarctic is a place of mystery. In The Ends of the Earth (Antarctic) Spufford curated a collection of writings so detailed you can almost feel the biting wind, blinding snow, and vast emptiness of snow-covered landscape. Like a siren, it drew explorers like Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott to its icy region. What attracted these men to this forsaken place? Discovery. But, they weren’t the only ones fascinated with the South Pole. Historians, scientists, explorers, tourists, and naturalists have continued to flock to experience the Antarctic for themselves. We armchair travelers get to benefit from the words of writers like Amundsen, Mawson, Byrd, Ackerman, and Diski, to name a few, thanks to Spufford’s collection.
Confessional: I have always held a special place in my heart for the Antarctic. My father was stationed there on an ice cutter while in the Coast Guard. I have always known the gist of the Antarctic Treaty of 1961, but never really understood how it all came about. I like the idea of an ecological quarantine; a suspension of territorial claims for the sake of research.

As an aside, I am not a wine drinker (I prefer porters, stouts, sours, mezcal, and vodka. Thank you very much.). But! I did not know you are supposed to store wine on its side so that the liquid keeps the cork from drying out and ruining the wine. Who knew I would learn that from reading Ends of the Earth?

Quotes to quote, “There is something extravagantly insensate about an Antarctic blizzard at night” (The Blow by Richard Byrd p 114) and “In a strange world hardened by routine, the rub between the fantastic and the mundane creates a spellbinding itch” (p 188).

Author Editor fact: Spufford is a writer as well as editor. He has written quite a bit of fiction and nonfiction. I only had The Child That Books Built on my Challenge list which I read back on 2013.

Book trivia: Ends of the Earth (Antarctic) is bound with Ends of the Earth (Arctic). To tell them apart, one text is upside down.

Music: Elvis, “Blue Skies”, Glenn Miller, “Mood Indigo”, Beethoven, Pink Floyd’s “One of These Days (I am Going to Cut You Into Little Pieces”, Debussy, “I am a Little Teapot”, Haydn, and Bach,

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the obvious chapter called “To the Ends of the Earth: North and South Pole” (p 230).

Ends of the Earth (Artic)

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Kolbert, Elizabeth (Ed.). Ends of the Earth: An Anthology of the Finest Writing on the Artic. Bloomsbury, 2007.

Reason read: Ernest Shackleton was born on February 15th, 1874. Read in his honor.

Straight away, as soon as you open this anthology, you know it is going to be different. The very first story is one of suspected murder. Was Charles Francis Hall murdered by Bessells? Hall’s biographer travels to the North Pole just to dig up his remains and perform an abbreviated autopsy. (As an aside, lethal amounts of arsenic were found in Hall’s body tissue…Food for thought.). Then there is the mystery of Robert Peary. Did he actually make it to the North Pole? We cannot forget that there are the humorous bits, as well. Rockwell Kent drew up a list of supplies for his time in the Arctic. It included a sketch of a young girl. Ask and you shall receive…[As an aside, Rockwell Kent was an artist who spent a great deal of time on Monhegan Island. I would have been his neighbor had I been born during his residence on the rock.]

Quote to quote, “Birds tug at the mind and heart with a strange intensity” (The Land Breathing by Barry Lopez, p 147).

Author Editor fact: Kolbert was a staff writer for the New Yorker at the time of publication.

Book trivia: Because there is a great deal of overlap with this book and others I am reading for the Challenge, I am opting to skip excerpts in Ends of the Earth.

Music: “Oh, Susanna”, “Napoleon’s March Across the Alps”, “Boston Burglar”, “Handsome Cabin Boy”, “Mr. Tambourine Man”, Marilyn Monroe’s version of “Diamonds of a Girl’s Best Friend”,

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the obvious chapter called “To the Ends of the Earth: North and South Pole” (p 230).

Of Time and Turtles

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Montgomery, Sy. Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell By Shattered Shell. Illustrated by Matt Patterson. Mariner Books, 2023.

Reason read: my sister gave this to me as a Christmas gift. I have long since broken my rule about non-Challenge books, especially ones given to me by my sister. She is, after all, the one responsible for the Challenge in the first place.

If you remember (and it is okay if you don’t), my sister gave me another Sy Montgomery book called Soul of an Octopus. This time it is a book about turtles, my absolute favorite creature on the planet. Sy Montgomery and her friend and illustrator, Matt Patterson, spend some time volunteering with the Turtle Rescue League (TRL is not be be confused with the MTV show Total Request Live). This TRL is a Massachusetts-based organization with the sole purpose of rescuing and rehabilitating (when possible) turtles of all kinds. Think of Montgomery’s Of Time and Turtles as a love story; a memoir about her time volunteering with TRL making friends with people and rescued turtles instead of a scientific deep dive into the biological and physiological makeup of the species. She repeatedly falls in love with various snappers and sliders so much so that their stories become an integral part of the narrative. You want to know what happens to each and every rescue.
As an aside, Matt Patterson’s illustrations are fantastic.

As an aside, while I appreciated Montgomery’s openness surrounding transgender and transsexual people (she spent several pages on the topic), if she is going to talk about it, I would have liked to see her dive into the gender specifications and sexual preferences of everyone in her story: Cris, Matt, Michaela, Clint, Emily, and Heidi. I read a good blog

Author fact: Montgomery has written a plethora of books. The only other one I have read is The Soul of an Octopus given to me by, you guessed it, my sister.

Book trivia: Of Time and Turtles has a great collection of illustrations (by Matt Patterson) and a small section of photographs.

Music: Slayer, and “Sweet Home Alabama”.

Coal

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Freese, Barbara. Coal: a Human History. Perseus Publishing, 2003.
Freese, Barbara: Coal: a Human History. Narrated by Shelly Frasier. Tantor Media, Inc., 2005.

Reason read: February is Science Month.

From soup to nuts, this is the history of coal at breakneck speed (with some global warming/climate change lectures thrown in for good measure).
I will be one hundred percent honest. Before Freese’s book I had never really given thought to coal. It is an interesting topic. Every Christmas there is the joke about coal in the stocking and once in a while a coal mine collapse will make the news. I did know that it has always been a dirty fuel responsible for massive pollution in cities across the world like London and Pittsburgh. However, I don’t know anyone who burns coal for heat or locomotion. I don’t think I even know what a coal stove looks like.
After reading Coal readers will know there are different types of coal and their uses will vary. Historically, coal was used for making jewelry and as currency, in addition to being a heat and energy source. Once the dangers of mining coal were fully realized, companies put animals, children, and immigrant laborers to work in the mines. The illnesses and deaths resulting from working with coal were difficult to read. Despite being less than 300 pages, Freese reserves a good section of Coal for explaining the environmental repercussions of using coal. The statistics are staggering and eye opening.

Author fact: at the time of Coal’s publication, Freese was an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Minnesota. As an aside, I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall when Freese sat her husband down and said, “I think I want to write a book about coal.”

Book trivia: there are a few black and white photographs in Coal: a Human History.

Narrator trivia: Shelly Frasier sounds like a little like Dolly Parton. I have no idea why.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the simple chapter called “Science 101” (p 195).

Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow

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Whiteley, Opal. The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow: the Mystical Nature Diary of Opal Whitely. Penguin Books,

Reason read: I was supposed to read The Diary of Opal Whiteley in honor of Oregon becoming a state in February, but it became too much of a pain in the ass to find the original. I settled for Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow and hope that it is considered a decent substitute. Another version is The Story of Opal: the Journal of an Understanding Heart. I will be 100% honest. I am not taking the time to learn of their differences.

Benjamin Hoff, author of The Tao of Pooh, was fascinated by Opal Whiteley. Indeed, Opal Whiteley was, and still is, a conundrum. Critics still want to know who is this child? By 1903, at six years old, Opal allegedly had written a masterpiece on paper bags and leaves and hidden the pages in a rotting log. Over one hundred years later she is considered a Cascadia pioneer who truly loved the land. In her precocious yet controversial diary, Whiteley concocted elaborate names her animals and wrote passages in French and Latin. She spoke to potatoes, gave funerals for mice, christened pigs, and listened to sap rising in the maples. She was frequently whipped by “the mama” (who she denied was her real mother), punished by teachers who didn’t understand her abilities, and was often lonely with only her beloved animals, a few neighbors, and the trees to converse with. She is forever thought of as innocence personified. Yet, to read her diary, it is full of intelligent joy. Even when she was weeding the onions, watching the baby, bringing in the firewood, washing the dishes, tending to the chickens, scouring the pots and pans, churning the butter, sewing, or sweeping the floor she was seeing to these chores with a certain level of cheerful lightheartedness. The controversy lies in the belief that Opal wrote her diary when she was much older. The only word I can use to describe Opal’s diary is sweet, even if it is fraudulent. The caveat to all this is that Opal Whitely was mentally ill. She was committed to a hospital when she was 50 years old and lived there until her death at age 92.
As an aside, obviously Opal got to Hoff as well. He tried on numerous occasions to see Miss Whiteley without success.

Quote I adored, “And when I grow up, I am going to buy her a whole rain-barrel full of singing lessons” (p 192).
Sweetest moment: Opal lost a toad in class. A classmate rescued the amphibian and returned it to Opal’s pocket without the teacher seeing a thing.

Author fact: Whiteley also write The Fairyland Around Us (1918) for children.

Book trivia: Opal’s story was published in serialized form in the Atlantic. Later, the Atlantic Monthly Press published it in book form as The Story of Opal: the Journal of an Understanding Heart. You can also find an online version from the University of Oregon.

Music: “”Ave Maria”, “Chant d’Automne”, “Gloria Patri et Filio”, “Nearer My God to Thee”, “Rockabye Baby”, and “Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus”.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Living High in Cascadia” (p 148). As an aside, I have no idea why this wasn’t in the chapter called “Child Prodigies” (from More Book Lust p 43). Even though there is skepticism that Whitely wrote her diary at age six, inclusion of her book would make more sense than The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Nine Year Cycle

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Jones, Trevor. Nine Year Cycle: a Memoir. Self Published, 2024.

Reason read: As a member of the Early Review program for LibraryThing, I get to review amazing books. This is one such book.

If I had to give Nine-Year Cycle a one word review it would be Grace with a capital G. Grace and civility, if I were to add another word to the mix. Trevor Jones writes about a theme everyone can relate to: love or rather the desire to be loved. At face value, Nine-Year Cycle is about Trevor Jones and his two great love affairs, each lasting nine years. Digging deeper, Nine-Year Cycle is a commentary on what it meant to be a gay man at the very start of the AIDS epidemic and later, the unpredictability of online dating. These are two very dangerous ventures for homosexuals.
Jones lost his first great love to AIDS. He handled the tragedy with a considerable about of grace. Thirteen years went by before he tried to find love a second time, this time on the internet. His second relationship was far more complicated, involving immigration and religion. I don’t think it is a spoiler alert to say I was nervous for him when he first met “Angelo”. The entire time I was worried it would be a scam; that Angelo had an ulterior motive. [As an aside, I watched a documentary on a serial killer who preyed on gay men by posing as a potential lover on internet dating sites. Scary stuff.]
Readers who want a happy ending will have to make their own judgement about Nine Year Cycle. Jones is far more forgiving than I could ever be.

Author fact: Jones is known for his theater work, but he has also done movies and television appearances.

Book trivia: because I had the e-book version that I was reading on my phone, I could not see the cover design.

Playlist: Jose Carreras, the Beatles, Duran Duran, Spandeau Ballet, George Michael, Mozart’s Alleluia from Exsultate Jubilate, and Stacey Kent’s “I’m Putting All My Eggs In One Basket”.

Trekking in Shangri-la

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Seward, Daniel K. Trekking in Shangri-la: the Manaslu Circuit. Amazon, 2024.

Reason read: As a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing, I get to review interesting books. This is one such book.

A mere 90+ pages (including a few full-page color photographs), Trekking in Shangri-La is way too short. Seward could have gone on for a least a few more chapters about his adventures while trekking with his sister and brother in Nepal. Seward writes in such a humorous and honest way I was able to read the entire book in one sitting, but be forewarned – he does not delve too deeply into what he sees or hears along the trek. If you are looking for a serious travel book to learn more about Nepal culture, environment, or people this is definitely not the book for you. The photographs describe more than the narrative. Think of it as the private journal of a well off American experiencing the Himalayas for the first time with his siblings.
Confessional: I would like to know what beer Seward is drinking. 6% abv is nothing when it comes to craft beer! As an aside, I found Seward to be a bit immature. The feeling was strongest when he went looking to see if there would be a territorial squabble between the French and Germans over seats in the dining room, (and was disappointed when there wasn’t). The feeling grew when he was looking for people to bad mouth the French and bonding with them when they did. The entire group was like spoiled brats when they couldn’t get the ice cream that they wanted.

Author fact: Seward used to be a teacher.

Book trivia: Trekking in Shangri-La has some big, beautiful, colorful photographs. I would have liked to see more.

Setlist: Hank Williams’ “Hey, Good Lookin'”, Rihanna, and “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix (confessional: I cringed when I saw Seward’s spelling of the genius’s name: Jimmy Hendricks. Obviously not a fan.).

Hunters in High Heels

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Rodriguez-Lopez, Omar. Hunters in High Heels. Akashic, 2025.

Reason read: This is a very overdue Early Review from LibraryThing. I think I was supposed to receive it in December or January. Nevertheless, it is here and I am glad I got to review it.

When it comes to photography books without narrative, I try not to dwell on the mystery. I am not one for trying to figure out what each picture means. I like to study the photography briefly and gauge my acceptance of them without thinking too much about the message (if there even is one). I can’t read the photographer’s mind, but after enjoying Hunters in High Heels, I came away with an understanding that Rodriguez-Lopez, as well as his subject matter, is complicated. Contrasts abound everywhere. The photography is at once obscured and detailed. Intimate and anonymous. Violent and gentle. Gritty and polished. Visions of chaotic and exhausting travel interspersed with brief moments of stolen stillness and respite. Boredom amidst busywork. Hurry up and wait. Timeless yet specifically incapsulated. The life and relationships of a touring rock band.
My favorite pictures were the ones that revealed the creative process at work. The mixing board, guitar pedals, mixed tapes, tools of the trade strewn across the floor in utter organized chaos. Drums in the shower!

Author fact: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is a member of the band, Mars Volta.

Book trivia: Steph Celaya wrote the introduction.

Deep Work

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Newport, Cal. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Grand Central Publishing, 2016.

Reason: professional development in 2025.

Newport may seem like he is giving advice that everyone should know, but it is much more than that. It is difficult to shut out noise and concentrate on one thing at a time, but if you can do it, according to Cal Newport you will be more successful. Did you know there is such a thing as a mental athlete? I had no idea there are some world class mental athletes out there able to memorize tremendous amounts of material.
As an aside, I am also reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and there is some overlap with the advice regarding setting up routines and developing rhythms. All good stuff!

Confessional: I had to look up where Alan Lightman spent his time writing. When Newport said it was a “tiny island” off the coast of Maine, I knew it was not Monhegan Island, but was still very curious. Not to disclose the location, I will say I knew people from that area (they have since passed).

Author fact: Newport has a plethora of material out there. YouTube, blogs, Wikis, you name it.

Lee’s Lieutenants: Manassas

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Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command, Volume One – Manassas to Malvern Hill. Arlington Edition, 1942.

Reason read: Robert E. Lee was born in January. Read in his honor.

Freeman opens the first volume of Lee’s Lieutenants by explaining why and how he started the study in command of the Civil War. He offers suggestions as to why other authors wrote the books they did on the same subject and how his is different. His version is a well-researched biography of major and minor personalities which includes a photograph portrait, a paragraph outlining the military success of each soldier, as well as an interesting fact, such as birthdays, birth places, who had a sense of humor, who had a lisp, who needed alcohol for motivation, and who had haunting eyes (and speaking of haunting eyes, I think “Stonewall” Jackson had beautiful eyes and I found Daniel Harvey Hill most attractive). Freeman used a myriad of sources, including journals, letters and previously published interviews. From these sources, he is able to provide minute by minute descriptions of each battle; of each mission.
One of the most fascinating details of Lee’s Lieutenants was the stark contrast between the assumption of a situation at Headquarters and what was actually happening on the battlefield. Glory seeking exaggerations abounded. Who could take credit for the success at Manassas is a good example. What was so sad is that despite the lack of communication, both Headquarters and the battlefield thought that the battle at Manassas would decide and end the war.

As an aside, I am constantly comparing American football to war. The similarities are endless: both have sides or teams, both wear uniforms to tell each other apart, someone is appointed captain or general to lead the battle, both have an offense and defense, both have “battle plans” and charge down the field, both wear protective gear to keep from getting hurt, both set up positions along the playing field. When a quarterback throws a ball it is often referred to as a rocket. Both have “blitzes”. When a player has a particular skill, it is referred to as a weapon (secret or not). In both football and war, a strategy is to inflict enough pain to take someone out of play.

Quotes to quote, “Involved as all this was, it might have been simplified if it had been understood. It was not” (p 55).

Author fact: Douglas Southall Freeman died nearly 72 years ago.

Book trivia: There is at least another 200 page book just of footnotes.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Civil War Nonfiction” (p 58). What Pearl does not tell you is that Lee’s Lieutenants: a Study in Command is not one 700+ page book. There are several volumes.

Travels of Marco Polo

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Polo, Marco. Travels of Marco Polo. Edited by Morris Rossabi. Sterling Signature, 2012.

Reason read: Marco Polo died in the month of January. Read in his memory.

Travels of the World or The Description of the World as it is known in Europe, details Marco Polo’s 1271 journey from Venice to China and back again. through Jerusalem, Armenia, the Gobi Desert, around the Sumatran coast and India and the Black Sea and through Constantinople. The sad thing is that Polo’s original work did not survive time. His exact words are lost forever. These days, more than one hundred versions of Travels of Marco Polo exist. Each version altered the details of the original and like a game of telephone, it is hard to tell what is true to Polo’s narrative and what has been embellished or exaggerated beyond recognition. The details are fuzzy and key figures and geography are confused. Nevertheless, the world owes a debt of gratitude towards fellow prisoner Rusticello da Pisa for collaborating with Polo to document the traveler’s exploits in the first place. There is no debating its influence. It is rumored that Christopher Columbus and Samuel Taylor Coleridge both were inspired by the travels of Marco Polo.
If you are going to pick up any version of Travels of Marco Polo, make sure you consider the version translated by Henry Yule (1971) and revised by Henri Cordier (1903) with the Morris Rossabi introduction and afterword. The maps by Karl Ryavec and Tim Collins are beautiful. You just have to get passed the “you must know” refrain that is common throughout the text.

As an aside: the more things change, the more they stay the same. In 1271 Marco Polo was given “Golden Tablets of Authority” which secured passage through a king’s dominions – a passport of sorts.

Favorite line, “But why should I make a long story out of it?” (p 245).

Author fact: Marco Polo was a mere seventeen years old when his father and uncle decided to take him on their next adventure.

Book trivia: Travels of Marco Polo is also known as Description of the World.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “China: the Middle Kingdom” (p 60). Interestingly enough, Pearl indexes the British version while I read the American version.