The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough

David McCullough's name has become synonymous with bringing history to life.  Several of his books have won major awards, including his biographies of Presidents Truman and John Adams, which won Pulitzer Prizes.  His latest book, The Wright Brothers, tells the story of these two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who changed the world with the power of hard work and great ideas.

Everyone knows Wilbur and Orville Wright pioneered powered human flight.  McCullough tells their story, emphasizing the power of their achievements in an era when people all over the United States and Europe were trying to accomplish the same thing.  Some other efforts were well-funded with government money and major investors.  It's simply remarkable that "they had no college education, no formal technical training, no experience working with anyone other than themselves, no friends in high places, no financial backers, no government subsidies, and little money of their own."   The fact that, all of that being true, they managed to accomplish what no one else had, and, in doing so, change the face of human civilization, boggles the mind.

McCullough writes about their start in Dayton, going into business together with a bicycle shop (which was quite cutting edge at the time), then developing their glider, and adding motorized flight.  They were known for their personal integrity, their humility, and their hard work.  Even living in Europe, treated like royalty (and in some cases, hanging out with royalty), they never seemed to lose the grounding of the Midwestern pastor's home in which they were raised.  I thoroughly enjoyed McCullough's detailed, colorful telling of these two amazing men's story.



2016 Reading Challenge: A book by David McCullough
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Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child, by Boris Vujicic

Several years ago I first read about Nick Vujicic, a man born with no limbs, and have read several of his books, such as Life Without Limits, his first book, and Love Without Limits, is which he and his wife write about their courtship and marriage.  For another perspective on Nick's life, his father, Boris Vujicic, has written Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child: Facing Challenges with Strength, Courage, and Hope.

Vujicic tells some of the same stories that Nick tells in his books, but coming from the point of view of the father, the stories take on a different vein.  All parents will appreciate Vujicic's book, but parents of children with disabilities will especially benefit.  Vujicic begins with an honest admission.  Any parent who has a child with a disability, whether the disability is discovered in utero, is evident at birth, or develops or is discovered later on, can relate to the Vujicic's shock and surprise upon seeing newborn Nick with no arms or legs.  They had no indication of Nick's condition during the pregnancy.

The Vujucics were devastated.  They had no framework for processing this.  They had serious doubts about whether they could care for a child with a disability.  Some counseled them to consider adoption, which they did in earnest before making the decision to keep him.  With some regret and pain they told Nick this story later on.

Vujicic has a lot to offer for parents raising disabled children.  Although Nick's condition is rather unique, there are plenty of aspects of living with disabilities that are shared no matter what disability a child has.  Speaking of Nick's relationship with his siblings, Vujicic writes that having Nick first helped his younger siblings to be comfortable with Nick and not bothered by his disability.  They never knew life without Nick.  Vujicic said that he and Nick's mother had to be careful not to show favoritism, though.  Just because he might have difficult doing chores doesn't mean they can't find something for him to do around the house!

I especially appreciated the Vujicic's stubborn insistence that Nick attend mainstream classes with his peers, rather than being in a segregated school or classroom.  The Vujicic family began a movement in Australia which led to desegregation of schools, placing disabled children in mainstream classes everywhere.  Vujicic's thoughts on inclusion are short and sweet: "Sooner or later, Nick would have to live and work among the general population. Our feeling was the more he learned to deal with the real world, the better."  Amen, brother!  Thank you for standing up for the rights of children.

Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child has great parenting advice for any parent.  Parents of children with disabilities, however, should take note.  Nick is now a much sought-after speaker, traveling the world, inspiring people to live a "ridiculously good life." A major factor shaping him into the inspiring leader that he is, is the no-nonsense way in which he was raised.  Parents of a child who has a disability should especially consider Vujicic's practical wisdom.


Thanks to Blogging for Books and the publisher for the complimentary review copy!

Avenue of Spies, by Alex Kershaw

I never get tired of reading about people sticking it to the Nazis.  Who's with me?  One of the greatest manifestations of human evil in modern history--who doesn't love to see these guys lose?  In his book set in Paris during the Nazi occupation, Alex Kershaw shows the dark side of Naziism (with, admittedly, some brighter spots among the Germans).  He tells the story of Sumner Jackson, an American doctor whose heroism during the war, assisting the Allies, rescuing Jews, and aiding the Resistance should be remembered.

In Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris, we meet Dr. Jackson.  After heroically serving in the Great War (WW1), he and his Swiss wife settle in Paris, where he is director of the American hospital.  They live on Avenue Foch, home to many elites from France, Europe, and around the world.  As the Nazi occupation moves in, the Germans descend on Avenue Foch, taking over the mansions of the wealthy, most of whom have fled.  So the Jacksons end up as neighbors to the Germans, included the headquarters of the SS.

Kershaw paints a bleak picture of the French tendency to lay down and let the Gerrmans take over.  They occupied France without having to fire a shot.  Thankfully, many Germans were francophiles, enamored with Paris.  As a result, the famous sites and structures of the city were spared.  Inevitably, however, the Jacksons were not spared.  Allowing their apartment to be used by the resistance as a safe house to exchange information and harbor fugitives, the occupiers finally saw through their cover.  They were sent to concentration camps, experiencing the worst horrors of the war first hand.  Dr. Jackson's wife, Toquette, saw in a guard named Kratz "the embodiment of Nazism, utterly involved, sociopathic, sadistic, taking perverse pleasure in women's terror," as he gloried in telling the women and the following day "everyone will go on the transport to Germany. . . all to die . . . all to die."

One thing that probably shouldn't have surprised me but did is the amount of time it took for the Allies to liberate Paris.  I guess in my mind, after D-day the war was pretty much over.  But it was a couple of months after D-day that Paris was liberated, and several months beyond that that the German's surrendered.  In the meantime, people like the Jacksons suffered in camps, and the Germans became even more sadistic, want to eliminate evidence of the war crimes committed in these camps.

Not only did Jackson serve heroically in Paris, treating people in the American hospital even as the Germans invaded, he assisted Jews, downed Allied pilots, and other enemies of the Germans by helping them to escape.  In the concentration camp, he continued to treat patients, at risk of his own health.  He did not survive when his prisoner transport ship was shot.  Thankfully his son lived to tell the tale, and thankfully Kershaw has brought the tale to life in such a compelling way.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challenge: A book about the Second World War
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An Armadillo in New York, by Julie Kraulis

Arlo the armadillo is world traveler. His grandfather Augustin paved the way, leaving some journals for Arlo as he sets out on adventures of his own.  In Julie Kraulis's An Armadillo in New York, Arlo follows his grandfather's advice, seeing the most famous sites in the city that never sleeps. His visit culminates with a date with New York City's most famous lady, Lady Liberty.

Arlo visits Central Park, the Top of the Rock, the Brooklyn Bridge, and many other famous sites.  Kraulis's illustrations perfectly capture New York, in an idealized, softened way, the way we picture it in our imaginations (and the way the New York City Office of Tourism wants us to picture it!)  Just as Grandfather Augustin shows Arlo the way, Arlo shows us the way.  I'm ready for a visit to the Big Apple!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The Eighth Day, by Joseph John

Shawn Jaffe isn't who he thinks he is.  But who is he?  Joseph John finally answers that question in The Eighth Day, but not before the bodies start piling up and Jaffe goes on the run.  From New York to Texas and back, Jaffe wants to find answers, but the men in black suits keep showing up.  The more Jaffe discovers about himself, the more he realizes he has the physical and mental abilities of a super human. John writes with a fast-paced, action-packed style that made me think of the Jason Bourne books, but had enough weirdness to remind me of Philip Dick (But not as weird as his books.  Only as weird as some of the popular movies based on his books.  Dick readers will understand.)

John's story telling is efficient, packing more action and development into 250 pages than most 400 page novels.  It's a style that leaves the reader a little breathless.  Some of the jumps in action are jarring, but John fills in the backstories and blank spaces adequately.  As enjoyable as The Eighth Day is, it did have a bit of a derivative feel, as if scenes were pulled from a blockbuster movie.  I don't mean this as a huge criticism, just a note that The Eighth Day reflects and fits into a particular genre.

As complete as John's ending is, I could see Jaffe taking off into a series of novels.  He is an unusual person with no background and super powers, the perfect set up for a vigilante or superhero.  I, for one, hope John continues to hone his writing skills and treats us to a sequel.


Thanks to Mr. John for the complimentary review copy!

To the Left of Time, by Thomas Lux

Here's what I hope for when I read poetry: words that capture and convey emotion in a way that prose simply can't.  Descriptive passages that describe nature in ways that bring flora and fauna and landscapes to life, again in a way that prose can't or simply doesn't.  Turns of phrase that use language in unexpected ways.

Thomas Lux's new poetry collection, To the Left of Time, hints at some of that, but only in a tepid way.  The dominant theme, if there is one, is the humor of daily life, with a touch of nostalgia.  One example is "Ode to the Fire Hydrant," in which Lux reflects on his summer of painting fire hydrants to pay of a juvenile debt to society.

Lux's poems are cute, sometimes memorable, but not anything I'd want to read over and over again.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challenge: A book of poetry
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Anything for a Vote, by Joseph Cummins

Turn on the news, listen to talk radio, open the papers, watch the debates, and I can guarantee you will not be impressed with the field of presidential candidates from either party.  You might ask, "How did it get so bad?"  As Joseph Cummins reminds us in his book Anything for a Vote: Dirty Tricks, Cheap Shots, and October Surprises in U.S. Presidential Campaigns, it didn't get this bad.  It's pretty much always been this bad.

Cummins doesn't aim to make the candidates look good.  (However, it may have just been my own bias, but he seemed to take more pleasure in making conservatives look bad. . . .)  Presidential campaigns have long been full of lies, dirty tricks, and bad character.  Cummins takes each presidential election, from George Washington (unopposed) to Obama v. Romney.  (The book was first published in 2007, updated in 2015.)

Anything for a Vote is history as anecdote, written more as entertainment than as history.  Cummins definitely delights in the tawdrier elements of campaigns; that's no surprise.  He makes some entertaining observations and asides, like, "Warren G. Harding was the most libidinous candidate to run for president until Bill Clinton waltzed in from Arkansas seventy years later."  (Although I wonder where JFK ranks among libidinous presidents?)

Have some fun with history.  Anything for a Vote won't take the place of serious histories of presidential elections.  But who wants to read one of those?  Cummins reminds us that presidential candidates are just as flawed as anyone else, probably more than most.  Whether you lean red or blue, you will find plenty not to like about your favorite presidents.


Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challenge: A historical book
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