Category: NonFiction

Climate of Treason

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Climate of TreasonBoyle, Andrew. The Climate of Treason. London: Hutchinson, 1982.

Maybe it was a bad idea to read Treason at the same time as Children of the Souls: A Tragedy of the First World War. I started to get the accounts confused when Treason started mentioning Cambridge and All Souls. Of course there would be overlap. Of course there would be similarities. Both take place during World War I, after all. What I didn’t expect what the recruitment of Cambridge students. But, even that should have made sense to me. Soviets would want intellectuals for their spies. The smart boys.
Treason does have funny moments in between the seriousness of Communism and spying. One such spy was subject to a shake down and described the moment as thus, “all three men made a dive for it, spreadeagling themselves across the table. Confronted by three pairs of buttocks, I scooped the scrap of paper out of my trousers, a crunch and a swallow, and it was gone” (p 155). I could picture the moment and had a good laugh out of it.
Something I hadn’t considered before reading Treason  was the duality of a spy’s life. A “controlled schizophrenia” (p.190). To avoid detection, to be as underground as possible, the outside world must view the traitor’s political thinkings, cultural ideals and patriotic enthusiasm to be on par with their own. The traitor has to exert enough energy to convince both sides he is on their side and their side alone.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the ever-funny chapter “Spies and Spymasters: The Really Real Unreal World of Intelligence” (p 223).

Children of the Souls

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MacKenzie, Jeanne. The Children of the Souls; a Tragedy of the First World War. London: Chatto & Windus, 1986.WW2

When I first read about Children of the Souls; a Tragedy of the First World War in Book Lust I was excited to read it. Nancy Pearl described it as a book that “looks at the effects of World War I on a group of upper-class intellectuals” (p 251). Thanks to Tufts University I was able to borrow this book for a month and I needed a month just to even get into the story. Children of the Souls is sectioned into two parts. Part one sets up the lives of the intellectuals, The Souls. For the first 137 pages there is barely a mention of tragedy and even less of war (and the book is only 262 pages long). Like Pearl said these are the wealthy, the upper-class of England and author MacKenzie goes on and on about their schooling (all at Cambridge), their parties and socialite psychologies. I had a good laugh over the language when thinking of it in 21st century terms, “no one has molested me at all yet,” (p33) and, “I think there is something obscene about him, like the electric eel at the Zoo…” (p106).
It was hard to think of these people as tragic when one of their weddings was described as such, “With eight bridesmaids wearing dresses copied from Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’ the splendour was almost regal and overwhelming” (p112) and the description of their social lives is as follows- “parties of all kinds were now the warp and woof of their lives.” (p132)

Parts I and II are separated by photographs of the Souls. I studied their faces, thought about their lives. I couldn’t relate. They lived in a time I’ll never see, in a country to which I haven’t been. Their pictures were as foreign to me as green skinned aliens. I couldn’t even imagine a conversation between us. I’m sure it was the wealth, the high society that built the barrier and limited my imagination.

Part II introduces the politics behind World War I. Let the seriousness begin! What surprised me the most was how quickly everyone died. The first half of the book doesn’t mention the war and the second half is spent killing everyone off, one by one. I was disappointed I didn’t have more about how they experienced the war. Did their intelligence help them? Their wealth couldn’t save them.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust and the straightforward chapter about, “World War I Nonfiction” (p 251).

36 Children

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36 childrenKohl, Herbert. 36 Children. New York: New American Library, 1967.

I read this one in two days. Not only is it a short book, but it’s a simple read; a good read. As I read it I wondered if anyone ever tried to make a movie of it. Everyone loves those “based on a true story” dramas and this one has all the tantalizing details. Kohl is white and young and thinks outside the box when teaching (think Dead Poets Society). His students are angry black teenagers from wrong side of the tracks (if you can call poverty stricken East Harlem the “wrong side”). Kohl reaches them through creativity, sensitivity and an unwillingness to conform. There’s even romance involved since it was at this time Kohl meets his future wife. It takes him time to earn the students’s trust but…by the time he does his bonus is friendship. The kids respond to him; soon the teaching and learning works both ways between students and teacher. One of my favorite parts was when the kids put together a newspaper and distribute it school-wide. When they receive criticism (narrow minded, of course) they continue to produce the paper. They just don’t distribute it to the powers that be.
Another unique detail of 36 Children that I adored is Kohl’s inclusion of his students’s letters and stories (complete with illustrations). He gives them vitality and personality by including more than his view of them. It’s as if to say “you don’t think these kids are talented? Don’t take my word for it. Read for yourself, then!” There is imagination and intelligence…and potential in every word.
It’s not a fairytale story. It doesn’t have the happily-ever-after ending. Kohl learns that one year with the students isn’t enough. The “System” is bigger than he bargains for and it can easily undo all the good (= trust) he has established. In some cases that’s exactly what happens. It’s win-some, lose-some.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the chapter called, “Teachers and Teaching Tales” (p 231).

About Time

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Davies, Paul. About Time: Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.

About TimeI am often snagged by great one-liners. Here’s one of my favorites from About Time. “We are slaves of our past and hostages to the future” (p23). It’s a standard idea. Nothing too dark or deep. What I liked was the mental imagery of being tethered to the past. I have this particle theory and it somehow applies.

I have to admit, I categorized tagged this book on librarything as “attempted” because after 88 pages I sent it home. Maybe I’m too distracted by the other books I’m reading. Maybe I’m too distracted by all things work. Maybe I’m just too distracted. Period. Whatever the reason, I am bored by this book. There are parts that fascinate me. Einstein’s “twin” theory is amazing. But, for the most part it’s like watching paint dry. It doesn’t interest me the way it should. This is the first book I’m using the “50 page Rule” on. See Rule #2.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust‘s chapter called “Science Books for the Interested but Apprehensive Lay Person.” Pearl elaborates on p. 212 saying, “About Time…makes a mind-boggling topic as understandable as it can be for nonphysicists. (If you only had time to read it.) Well, I attempted to make the time!

6 Nightmares

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6 NightmaresLake, Anthony. 6 Nightmares. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 2000.

The subtitle to this book is, “Real Threats in a Dangerous World and How America Can Meet Them.” Yikes. What was even more yikes for me was the fact that this book was written in 2000…October. Not even a year before the attacks of September 11th, 2001.  It gave me such goosebumps to read this Book Lust pick. Lake states things like, “If such an attack occurs [wmd], we must be able to say, looking back on this period, that we did everything we could to prevent it and to deal with its devastating consequences. The hard truth is that we are not doing so” (p. 21). While the U.S. hasn’t been hit with the kind of weapon of mass destruction Lake means, it’s sobering to think commercial flights were turned into weapons with “devastating consequences” less than a year after those words had been published.

In addition to scaring the bejeezus out of me, Lake writes lyrically and with humor. “The collapse of the Soviet Union and its empire has lifted the lid on a seething cauldron of suppressed hostilities” (p113). I loved this imagery. Seething is one of my favorite words, probably because I do the verb so often. This passage reminded me of Natalie Merchant’s song, “This House is on Fire” (2001) from her album, Motherland. In it she states, “you go passing wrong for right and right for wrong. People only stand for that for just so long.” There’s that seething again.
The humor came with a little pun-intended remark, “…in this case we wanted to saddle up, and Chirac did not put Descartes before our horse” (p.150). It made me giggle at an otherwise tense moment. Comic relief? There were hundreds of little tongue-in-cheek gigglers. I just liked that one the best.

Lake pointed out many different opportunities for the U.S. to be at risk. He lists past enemies as well as potential future ones, giving careful reason for each threat. He doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but he certainly gives us something to think about.

BookLust Twist: From chapter 9/11 in Book Lust. Pearl recommends this as “background reading” (p172).

Is There a Nutmeg in the House?

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David, Elizabeth. Is There a Nutmeg in the House; Essays on Practical Cooking with More Than 150 Recipes. New York: Viking, 2001.Nutmeg

Elizabeth David writes with humor. She also writes about cooking. My kind of book. Sorta. In the rules of the Book Lust Challenge, I said that I wouldn’t read cookbooks from start to finish. I would read the intros and “skip” the recipes. I didn’t want to try every recipe; didn’t want to be David’s version of a Julia Child fanatic. Here’s the issue I have with Nutmeg. Essays run seamlessly into recipes and commentaries. I end up reading about how to make mayonnaise (my archenemy) step by step.
Nevertheless, I have learned interesting things such as:
          *the potato is an aphrodisiac, capable of advancing a man’s “withered state” (p. 73). I kid you not.
          *Nutmeg is underrated and people should carry graters with them to utilize this spice more often (p. 93). 
          *David hates garlic presses as much as I do (p.51). 
Probably one of the best things I’ve learned from reading David’s Nutmeg isn’t really a lesson. It’s more of an affirmation – to “not to despair over rice” (p.139). While I don’t despair over any kind of rice per se thanks to Alton Brown and a whole episode dedicated to the grain, David’s words ring true with me on a deeper level, “Every amateur cook, however gifted and diligent, has some weak spot, some gap in her knowledge or experience which to anyone critical of her own achievements can be annoying and humiliating.” This statement even knocks the great ones down a notch. Ever seen Bobby lose a throw down? You get what I’m talking about.

BookLust Twist: Nancy Pearl adds this to her “Food for Thought” chapter in Book Lust (p.91) and goes on to say, “…Elizabeth David not only shares her love of food and cooking  but writes so evocatively that you can smell and taste the ingredients and dishes as she describes them.”

The Blue and the Gray

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CommagerCommager, Henry Steele, ed. The Blue and the Gray: From the Battle of Gettysburg to Appomattox.2nd ed. New York: Merridian, 1994.

I’ve never been overly excited by historical novels, especially ones that spit out fact upon arid fact. To say that I was not looking forward to reading Commanger’s Civil War book was an understatement. To my surprise, I am delighted with the reading. It is a delicious combination of letters, journals, diaries, newspaper reports and so forth. With all the first-hand accounting, it lends itself to a very voyeuristic snapshot of one of the most widely studied wars of our time. Rereading the Gettysburg Address didn’t make me feel like I was back in high school. I enjoyed discovering the origin of the speech. “David Wills asked Lincoln to make “a few appropriate remarks” and the result was the most memorable of all American addresses” (p.59). Wish I knew that in 7th grade.

Some of the more pondersome passages: “I could stand by and and see a man’s head taken off I believe – you get so used to it here” (Cornelia Hancock, nurse in Gettysburg p.187). Makes you think. “We called all hands and gave three cheers and a tiger!” (Captain George Hamilton Perkins, p. 212). What exactly is a tiger? All I could think was, “They’re Grrrreat”, the Tony-The-Tiger exclamation. Something to look up later.
PS~ In addition to being a fascinating read, Commager includes maps of significant battles, although they are hard to follow. Maybe because I have the paperback version? (Not the edition pictured here.) The images are cramped and  blurry.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust (p. 58) under the category of “Civil War Nonfiction.”

Among the Tibetans

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Bishop, Isabella Bird. Among the Tibetans.New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1894.Isabella Bird

Holding this egg fragile book is amazing. I know there is a 2003 edition out there, but this 113 year old edition is certainly more tantalizing, magical even. What is it about an old book, with it’s tired binding nearly gone, its cover frayed and faded, its thin pages brittle and yellowed? Even the illustrations in Among the Tibetans are glorious in their ancient detail. I know I’ve said it before, but a book that is a pleasure to hold is even more enjoyable to read.

From the very beginning, I loved the narrative of Tibetans. Bird seemed like someone I would have loved chatting with over tea. With statements like, “…of whom the less that is said the better…” (p.9) and, “…was prepared to ‘wink’ at a moderate amount of dishonesty, so long as it affected only myself.” (p. 23) I formed an instant opinion that I would liked her. The fact that she carried a pistol at all times only bolsters my opinion.

As for the work of Among the Tibetans, I was drawn to images of the culture, the landscape – everything that painted a portrait of Tibet; for I imagine it to be much the same in the 21st century. I want to believe travels to Tibet in 1894 would have been similar to such a journey today and I read Bird’s narrative with that in mind. The only thing I could wrap my narrow mind around was the descriptions of polygamy. A woman marries the eldest son, always, and his younger brothers are all sub-husbands to her. While I think it’s practical to keep the land, traditions and heritage all in the same family I don’t think I could handle more than one husband. One is my limit!

BookLust Twist: Pearl appropriately calls Bird, “one of the more dashing and irresistible travelers” (Book Lust, p143). I couldn’t agree more.

PS~ Among the Tibetans is cataloged as being written by Isabella Bird. I took the author’s name from the title page where she is described as, “Isabella Bird Bishop, Hon. Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, Etc. Author of “Unbeaten Tracks in Japan,” Etc., Etc.”

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

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Hazan, Marcella. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. New York: Knopf, 1992.Essentials

I’ll admit it, I’ve never been big on expensive, take my whole paycheck cooking. While I love the authoritativeness of Hazan’s cookbook, I’m not turned on by the all-or-nothing dramatics. Take balsamic vinegar – it’s the champagne of Modena. Hazan says it’s “never inexpensive” and only sold in “perfume bottle” sized containers (p. 11). The attitude is absolutely nothing else will do. Modena or bust. Maybe so. I realize that champagne that comes from anywhere other than Champagne, France is a sparkling wine, but we still toast with the fraud and call it champagne. Same with balsamic vinegar. What we have in our pantry may not be the authentic born and raised Modena babe, but we still use it and we call it balsamic. It will do.
Aside from thinking I don’t have the right balsamic in my pantry, I loved reading through Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I enjoyed learning the classic names of techniques (battuto, soffritto & insaporire); I appreciated the education on pasta (it makes me want to make my own from scratch); I liked the conversational tone Hazan used throughout the entire book. The illustrations are beautiful and informative. My all-time favorite chapter is called, “At Table: the Italian Art of Eating” (p 649). It includes menus for elegant, classic, holiday, and rustic meals – just to name a few.

Book Lust Twist: From More Book Lust, Pearl says, “A whole category could be devoted to good books on Italian cooking, but the one you must read (and drool over, while thinking ahead to great meals) is Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking” (Book Lust, p.49). I think I’ll agree more when I get a bigger paycheck!

Top Not Chef, Definitely Loser

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I would like to think I’m not one to brag about my cooking. You shouldn’t catch me saying something about making the best anything. If I have, I probably couldn’t stop eating whatever it was and maybe, probably, I was riding high on the ego of me, myself and I.
What I am is having fun. My Knight presented me with The Biggest Loser Cookbook (Alexander, Devin. Rodale, 2006) for Christmas and I can’t stop cooking from it. Since December I have made,
For breakfast:

  • Boston-Cream-Peanut-Butter Breakfast Banana Split (best breakfast so far)
  • Warm Pumpkin Pie Cream of Wheat (a little on the weird side)
  • Better Blueberry Pancakes (with Maine blueberries!)
  • Energizing Bacon & Egg Breakfast Burrito (I’ve made this a thousand times before the cookbook)

For Snacks:Cookbook

  • Thin & Crispy BBQ Chicken Pizza Snack Wedges
  • Gourmet Roast Beef Rollups
  • Erik’s Veggie Tuna Snack Wraps

For Lunch:

  • Almost Fast Food Burger
  • Creole Turkey Burger
  • Sexy Joes (as opposed to “sloppy”)
  • Chicken Cheese-Steak Wrap
  • BBQ Pork Sandwiches
  • Pork & Black Bean Verde Stew (kicked up)
  • Thai Ground-Chicken Salad

For Sides:

  • Dana’s Spinach & Feta Brown Rice
  • Melinda’s Holiday Spinach
  • Strength Builder’s Stuffed Mushrooms (really, really good)
  • Thai Ground-Chicken Salad (made with ground turkey -still excellent)

For Dinner:

  • Spicy Meatballs with Fiery Chili Sauce (not diablo enough for me)
  • New-Fashioned Meat Loaf (I’m a BBQ freak so I’d rather use that than ketchup but we stayed true to the recipe)
  • Rosemary Grilled London Broil
  • Sweet & Spicy Pork Tenderloin
  • Competitor’s Chicken Curry
  • New Orleans Rubbed Chicken with Apricot-Mustard Sauce (loved, loved, loved this!)
  • Lori’s Lean Lemon Chicken (excellent)
  • Southwestern Chicken Pileup
  • Heather’s Mexican Rollup
  • Muscling Up Meatballs (with includes a recipe for pasta and one for sauce)

For Dessert:

  • White Chocolate Strawberry Pie-lets
  • Lisa’s Frozen Gramwiches
  • Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Here’s the thing. Every recipe is fantastic. I have enjoyed making every single one. My biggest loser complaint? The so-called spicy meals don’t have enough heat. Okay, okay. Not everyone pours the Tabasco on almost everything they eat. Not everyone wants the chipotles in adobo sauce swimming in their stew…but I do. I like it hot, hot, hot.

This morning I made the blueberry pancakes (again). This time I warmed the maple syrup with allspice and cinnamon. I wanted to kick it with cayenne but…

Box of Stars

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Tennant, Catherine. The Box of Stars. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1993.stars

When I first saw Box of Stars I thought to myself, “unique” because it is. A box with a book, plates and supposedly, maps of the hemispheres (I was missing mine). I love the plates. Each plate gives an beautiful illustration of a constellation pierced with holes to mark the stars. Hold the plate up and the holes glitter like the stars you are supposed to see in the sky. The book describes the myths and legends surrounding each constellation. Definitely a fun read.
I wish I had gotten this in the summer rather than chilly winter. Every plate makes me want to grab a blanket, find a wide open field to lie in and search the heavens for Pisces or Delphinus. There is magic in the night sky, especially off the coast of Maine. I can remember searching for satellites in a sky so laden with stars it made my head spin. “The stars were so many they seemed to overlap” said Natalie I agree. Maybe I’ll get Box of Stars again when I go on vacation. This time I’ll find a box with the maps

.

Book Lust Twist: Nancy put this under the category of “Astronomical Ideas” in Book Lust (p. 27).

Breads

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Clayton, Bernard. Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads.New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.

I wish I baked more. When I was a teenager my mother taught me how to make a white bread with a cup of mashed potatoes that was amazing. It was the most perfect carb I could create. Grilled cheese sandwiches were heaven with this bread. I always pictured my adult wholesome self, kneading and sifting on a Sunday morning, flour dust rising in clouds around me. I don’t know what happened to that “from scratch girl” but, Clayton’s book makes me want to jump in the car, rush to the baking aisle and buy dry yeast. In bulk. This 748 mammoth of a cookbook is cover to cover baking knowledge. There are no glossy photos to fill space. Even the illustrations are small and unobtrusive. It’s all about the bread. And Bread there is. From rye bread to crackers and everything in between. My favorite chapters were, “baking for dogs” (p 715), “little breads” (p 517), and “vegetable breads” (p 409). But, I can’t forget my other favorites like potato, croissant and cheese. Of course Clayton goes over equipment, technique, ingredients, and what went wrong should something go wrong, but he also includes storing, freezing, and there’s even a chapter on homemade ovens.

I would even go so far as to say this book demonstrates culture. In addition to all the different recipes Clayton gives a little history on the more unique ones, “…In Portugal, the bread is served warm or cold with a famous dish of peas and eggs, and a potato- sausage soup” (p 183). Now I want to go out and find that recipe for the soup!

BookLust Twist: One of the reasons why I love reading Book Lust and More Book Lust is quotes like this, “For me the best part of baking bread is theupper-arm exercise involved with kneading, and the times that you can curl up on the couch with a good book while the dough is rising.” Pearl goes on to say, “I’ve used Bernard Clayton’s bread books since the first one was published in 1973, and have never found a bad recipe” (More Book Lust p72).

Africa News Cookbook

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Africa News Service, Inc. The African News Cookbook: African Cooking for Western Kitchens. New York: Penguin, 1986.African cookbook

Another BookLust pick. There is something magical about this book. Maybe it’s from the introduction, “Cooking by the book is not the African way” (p.xiii). It’s romantic to learn the ingredients, forget the recipe and go with the heart; that’s what this book seems to be telling me.
On a serious side it’s crammed with interesting facts usually not associated with a cookbook. For starters there is a list of African nations and their capitals. Because this cookbook focuses on a geographical location there are maps. Because it focuses on a culture there are stories about African Women and food, and even how to eat with joy.
Probably my favorite aspect of this cookbook is the recognition of the origin of each recipe. From Malawi comes Masamba; from Algeria comes Dess b’l-besla. I think of Aubrey from Malawi who would write letters on onion paper and dream of traveling to Algeria.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust under the category of, “Africa: A Reader’s Itinerary” (p.2)

Om Yoga Today

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Lee, Cyndi. Om Yoga Today. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2004.

Lotus

I jumped to Om Yoga Today because Sunday’s sequence from Om Yoga dull to me. I didn’t relish the idea of spending time in “restorative poses” first thing in the morning, especially since Lee suggests staying in each pose for 15-20 minutes. Yikes…or maybe Yawn.

So, Om Yoga Today it was. It’s Sunday and I had the time so I jumped to the 30 minute sequence (p60). I loaded up Yungchen Lhamo into the stereo and settled in. True to Lee form every pose was demonstrated in stick. Luckily, I picked up another yoga book with photos to supplement the stick and clear the confusion (review coming later). The best thing about OYT is the clear direction for repeating certain sequences. In the 30 minute session my favorite moves were side extended angle and star pose. The poses I *still* need to work on are pigeon (I found a perfect blanket to use for support) and half moon. I know I’m not as half as I should be. I think I’m more a quarter moon, waxing or waning, I’m not sure.
Today’s yoga sequence was perfect for today. I think I’ll call it my Sunday Sequence. B+

Om Yoga

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Lee, Cyndi. Om Yoga. San Francisco: Chronicle. 2002.

Om YogaI picked up a few Cyndi Lee books to ward off falling off the practice yoga wagon. It all started when I went to a yoga instructor’s non-holiday party and ended up sharing stories of insecurity with another guest. We talked about being so out of practice, so out of shape that we were too intimidated, too insecure to go to class. How did one woman describe it? “You don’t go to class because you aren’t in shape. You don’t get in shape because you don’t go to class…and on and on.” It’s that job/experience dilemma. I decided I wanted to do something outside of class that will help me in class. Enter Cyndi Lee and her easy-easy books. I bought three.

This review is all about the “daily yoga” book because I started it today (being New Years Day and all). It’s simple to follow and very informative. I like that she requires a daily warm up. As with all routines, she walks you through every pose. Here’s Monday as an example: The sequence – Sun Salutation. The poses – Mountain-> standing forward bend -> lunge -> downward dog -> plank -> knees, chest, chin -> cobra -> child’s -> downward -> lunge -> standing forward bend -> powerful pose -> mountain. Lee requires the sequence be completed twice, paying attention to switch lunge legs each time. Each pose comes with a stick figure example that points out key body postures (lunge: “spine stays long, keep chest open” p33). Like I said, really easy to follow. One I get the sequence down, I won’t have to stare at the drawings for guidance.

My only complaints? First, sometimes the stick figures are hard to decipher. I’m not fond of Lee’s depiction of threading the needle, for example. If I were 100% clueless I would question the pose, “is this person kneeling or lying prone?” Second, Lee doesn’t use the Sanskrit terms for the poses. I really want to learn the proper names of things but I won’t do that reading Lee’s books.