Full review: "The Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919"

My maternal grandmother contracted the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1918/1919 - when she would have been about twenty years old - and survived, unlike perhaps as many as 50-100 million others. The only thing she ever mentioned to me about it was that her hair fell out and it grew back in completely white, but there must have been a lot more to the story.

The Spanish flu (a misnomer - it was a worldwide pandemic and did not originate in Spain) killed by causing hemorrhaging and severe lung fluid accumulation (one story told of coughing up "quarts" of sputum), followed often by pneumonia, and oddly the number of fatalities among young, healthy people was extremely high. We know now that this was a result of a "cytokine storm" - a particularly severe immune system reaction. Younger people with more robust immune systems had more severe cytokine storms and were thus more likely to die.

So it was with great interest that I picked up this book, a collection of academic papers on the subject edited by Maria'-Isabel Porras-Gallo and Ryan A Davis, from the University of Rochester Press in their Rochester Studies in Medical History collection. It divides into three parts: the science of the flu pathogen, epidemiological responses to the pandemic, and the resulting cultural upheaval from these (sometimes counterproductive) activities. World War I spread it more widely than would have otherwise occurred, and along the way there were many wrong turns. At first no one knew whether it was a bacteria or virus that caused the illness, and for a time excessive aspirin dosages were even blamed for some of the symptoms. News suppression during the pandemic grew into sensationalism later as movies and books speculated not only on 1918/1919 but also whether it might happen again. A good part of the book concentrates on under-reported findings from Europe (including, paradoxically, Spain) and Latin/South America.

Some of this - particularly the scientific findings in the first part - will be difficult for the lay reader to parse, but give it a try anyway. There's a lot here, you can read around the jargon, and it's still really, really relevant.

Highly recommended.

I received a pre-publication copy of this book in exchange for a review. The image above links to the book's Amazon page.

Full Review: "Peaceful Neighbor"

I had hoped that this book - Peaceful Neighbor, by Michael G. Long - would be a biography of the beloved children's television host, Mr. Rogers. It's more of an analysis of how the TV show itself matched up with a pacifist's view of cultural events.

Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister, and Long makes a pretty good argument that Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was essentially his ministry, and his flock all the children watching. Several episodes are recounted in lengthy detail, and the author spends a lot of text making connections between those episodes and news items of the time (Vietnam, the civil rights riots of the '60s, police brutality), along the way insisting how "radical" those notions were. That may be true, but some of the connections between episode beats and radicalism are exaggerated. One gets the impression at times that Long is putting words in Rogers' mouth, straining to match him with ideological pacifist purity, and he doesn't need to - that Rogers was a deep-thinking, committed pacifist Christian and innovative teacher is obvious and admirable.

The reader does get some good biographical information in the second half of the book, including clearing up some myths about him. For example, I had read numerous accounts of how Rogers had come to his point of view after serving as a bomber pilot in the war (and then horrifed, turned his back on it). Turns out he was never a bomber pilot, although he did learn to pilot a plane.

In short, flawed, but worth a read.

I received a free copy of this book frofm Netgalley in return for a review. The image above links to the book's Amazon page.

Full Review: "Airplane Rides"

The unreliable narrator is a cornerstone of fiction - the storyteller who lies, fails to fully understand, or misrepresents (perhaps unwittingly) the story he tells. The author of Airplane Rides (Jake Alexander - a pseudonym) insists his ten stories from airplane trips are true, but even so it seems early on that he doesn't fully understand either them or himself.

The prologue begins with a dinner table conversation that leads to a one night stand with a potentially underage model, introducing the lonely and appetite-driven life he leads as a road warrior.  In the first story, a mediation on his Catholic upbringing morphs into a plane conversation with an Orthodox Jew who calmly insists that disowning a daughter who married out of the faith (she would be dead to me, he says) was just as appropriate as insisting on monogamy in any couples relationship. Alexander has no meaningful response to this nonsense, and actually seems to buy the argument. In the second story he gives a hand job - under a blanket, right on the plane - to a professional woman who is unhappily married but newly excited by a couple of recent extramarital affairs. The dialogue could have come from a movie.

In the third chapter, however, he starts to glimpse outcomes of this behavior, as he chats with a famous defense lawyer who ruined a good marriage with too much high-paying work of questionable moral value. And then in the fourth chapter he plays therapist to a serially adulterous younger woman who had been sexually manipulated as a teenager, trying to convince her to not let the same thing happen to her own daughters.

Alcohol, religious guilt, transient relationships, a couple interludes of self-loathing, and a description of a neighbor (female!) who delighted in seducing naive women into his bed. Is this any way to live? Brief recollections of people who really meant something to him leak into these conversations, but in the initial stories we think that there are no roots or traditions for him to lean on, no meaning or ultimate goal.

But slowly, still interwoven with chess moves, suspicion and casual sex, his behavior starts to change. He keeps in touch with a minister he met who was having a crisis of faith. He insists that a young runaway return home. He comforts a woman who had recently escaped an abusive marriage.

I'm astonished people talked to him so candidly on plane flights, so I'm still not sure these stories are true, but the writing is skillful, evocative, eloquent at showing what a life like this must be like, and also what a transition like this must be like. (Come to think of it, would an investment banker really write so well? Hmmm...) The narrator, in short, remains unreliable, but he's beginning to wake up, and whether or not these stories are "true," they are certainly thought-provoking.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. The image above links to the book's Amazon page.

Short Review: "Sourdough"

I occasionally make sourdough bread, although not enough to maintain a continuously fermenting starter (it usually ends up forgotten for a couple weeks in the refrigerator and then I have to throw it out.) That may be about to change. Sarah Owens has written an impressively thorough book on using sourdough leavening not just for bread, but for many different kinds of baked goods, some with rising times and some without. There are quick breads, fried pancake-like breads (latkes), and crackers in addition to more traditional sourdough loaves.

After an exhaustive treatment of tools, pantry staples, and even a bit of bread chemistry, she presents a collection of unusual recipes in three categories: breads, savories, and sweets. Interestingly, most of the ingredient measurements are expressed in weights (grams) instead of traditional volume measurements, so you'll need a kitchen or postal scale that reads metric. First thing I'm going to try is Bleu Cheese and Walnut Crackers, followed by Apple Hand Pies with Cheddar Crust.

My only complaint is that there is no simple, plain sourdough bread recipe here - they're all fancy things like Pomegranate Za'atar Spiced Focaccia, and Candied Bacon Cornbread. Yes, yes, I know I can just look that up in another cookbook or online, but it would only have taken a page.

Gorgeous photographs, beautifully laid out.

Highly recommended, particularly in print form (the ebooks are readable, but - perhaps because of all the photos - not suitable for the Kindle, and even a little awkward on Adobe Digital Editions in epub format.)

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. The image above links to the Amazon page for the book.

Short Review: "A Sherlock Holmes Devotional"

 Creativity often means juxtaposing unlike objects or ideas to see what new insights might arise at the intersection, so the notion of a Christian devotional inspired and clarified by a beloved fictional detective is initially intriguing. (I'm very familiar with both the Holmes stories and the Bible).

 The author (Trisha Priebe) does indeed go back and forth between excerpts from Holmes and references from the Bible, but I'm not sure it works completely, mostly because you could remove either piece and the other would still work for the devoted reader.

 For example, the first pairing presents this quote from A Study in Scarlet - "There is nothing like firsthand evidence" - alongside the author's observation that the Bible is full of exhortations to know God personally, and use prayer and Bible reading to gather facts in order to increase this knowledge. 

Well yes, but no new light comes from joining those two. Holmes is talking about knowing from physical evidence, and the Bible about knowing from religious evidence. The connection is minor. They stay separate. I found no new insight by combining them. You could take the Holmes quote/discussion out altogether and the treatment of knowing God would still make the same kind of sense without gaining or losing value. Interesting idea, but doesn't work for me.

Three stars out of five.

I obtained a free copy of this book in return for a review. The image above links to the book's Amazon page.

Short Review: "Marsh Mud and Mummichogs"

 If I wanted to vacation along the Georgia coast, I might take this book with me.  It is a rigorous description of the flora and fauna (on land and in the water) in this area, including which things are poisonous and where they might be found. Very thorough - dense even, like a textbook, from bacteria to alligators to egrets, but with the occasional lyrical observation or recollection. The author is a scientist who studied the area some years ago, and she has noted not only the ecology, but also how that ecology changes as the climate does. She provides an elaborate reference list and  two useful appendices, one on "Where to Go to Enjoy Georgia Coastal Wildlife" (hiking/ birding/ beaches/ nature organizations, etc) and one on  "Methods for Collecting and Inspecting Coastal Biota."

The only thing that might put off the casual reader is the large amount of biology jargon, particularly when the author (Evelyn B. Sherr) lapses into scientific journalese and its relentless passive voice. More pictures would have been helpful as well. Still, it's a text that inspires thought about the myriad lifecycles, shapes, and interlocked lives of living creatures.

I liked it. Four out of five stars.

I received a free copy of this book in return for a review. The image above links to the book's Amazon page.

Full Review: "Young Homeless Professional"

Let me start off by saying this is an excellent premise. How much does anyone actually need to live? Particularly someone who has a decent job ought to be able to thrive much closer to nature than most of us do. There is actually a growing movement toward "tiny homes" - check out this intriguing project in that line by a science professor at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, TX, who renovated and lived for a year in a dumpster.

Granted not everyone could be homeless - consider the spectacle if Manhattan tried it - there might be enough restaurants, but certainly not enough bathrooms or parking or room in parks for sleeping bags. That's not the point, though. This is a trial run of an idea, and it's worth a look.

The first problem with the book, however, is that the author, Kenny Peavy, isn't really homeless. He has a large vehicle equipped with the basics - he just sleeps or entertains outside sometimes. The content is unfortunately rather shallow and off-topic, too. Yes, a home isn't just a house (as the author tells us), but we already pretty much know that. Yes, there are people who don't know where their food comes from, but the author tends to dine out in restaurants rather than forage or buy at local markets or grow anything in a community garden. There's too much extraneous material that doesn't illuminate the premise. A lot of text is spent talking about parties, friends, and dates, which is undoubtedly supportive and fun (everyone needs a family or tribe of some sort), but isn't really very interesting to a reader not in that group, and doesn't really dig very far into the notion of either home, homelessness, or living close to nature.

In short, lots of potential, but not enough thought in this thought experiment.

Cannot recommend.

I received a copy of this book in return for a review. The image above links to the book's Amazon page.

Full Review: "How to Get Dressed"

One of the things I've always wanted is someone to dress me in the morning, or at least lay out my clothes so I know what to wear. I do OK with colors, but combining separates and appropriately accessorizing them to create a good looking style just baffles me. (One of my college room mates was studying to be a fashion designer, and I can't count the number of times she rolled her eyes and said "my God, what do you have on??" before rooting through my closet to try and improve matters.)

"How to Get Dressed" is not the definitive book on pulling yourself together sartorially, but it's a very good start. The author, Alison Freer, is a costume designer in the movie business, and she lets us in on some secrets. Did you know, for example, that most of style is proper fit? A liberating concept, because it inverts the usual requirement for a particular weight or body type or hair color. The clothes should fit the body, not the other way around. She goes into depth on jeans as an example, showing how different "rises" best match particular shapes, and then discusses what actually makes a good fit in skirts, blouses, jackets, and even bras.

There are chapters here on dumb fashion rules and how not to follow them, laundry (including how to avoid dry-cleaning), underwear (you don't need as much as you think), and vintage shopping. Those readers who can sew will find this book particularly useful - the rest of us may need to consult a tailor or learn some alteration techniques. Most good-fitting clothes require some alteration.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books in return for a review. The image above links to the book's Amazon page.