This novel tells the story of the expedition of Lewis and Clark across early 1800s America, but not from the usual perspective. It doesn’t use the point of view of Lewis or Clark, but those of John Colter and George Shannon, two Privates on the expedition.
Colter is an experienced mountain man and hunter, and Shannon is an inexperienced graduate of West Point, who tries, unsuccessfully, to get promoted to Lieutenant. The two Privates have an on and off relationship, ranging from tolerating each other to, figuratively, wanting to kill each other. They also have reasons for wanting to be away for a long time.
The expedition is one day after another of very hard work, rowing or pulling their boat upriver, hauling supplies down the side of a waterfall, or walking for days without seeing another person. Shannon’s paralyzing fear of deep water is no help. Colter seriously considers abandoning the expedition, and joining a much more lucrative one, but his conscience gets in the way (he made an oath to the expedition). Also holding him back is another member of the expedition, Sergeant Ordway, who seems to have made it his personal mission to make Colter’s life a living hell.
Some of the Native American tribes encountered along the way, who Colter would rather avoid at all costs, are decent and reasonable, while others are simply bloodthirsty thieves. Among the former are the Mandans, near whom the expedition makes camp for the winter. It seems to be almost a point of honor among the Mandans for their women to be intimate with the "paleskins" (the men of the expedition are happy to oblige). Against his better judgement, Colter meets, and falls very hard for, a recently widowed woman named Fragrant Grass.
Every waking moment of Colter’s life, after the expedition continues on its way, is filled with thoughts of Fragrant Grass. Several chances to desert present themselves, but Colter’s conscience again gets in the way, along with Sergeant Ordway. They reach the Pacific Coast, spend a miserable winter there, and Colter gets back to Fragrant Grass, only to discover that she is no longer "available."
This is a fine piece of writing. The author does a good job with the characters, and with showing a famous bit of American history from an uncommon perspective. My only criticism about this book is that the length could have been reduced by at least a few pages. I understand what the author was trying to do, and this is the sort of story that takes a long time to tell, but, personally, this book did not have to be 671 pages long. Don’t let that get in the way of reading a really interesting story.
How to Teach Your Baby to Read, Glenn Doman and Janet Doman, Gentle Revolution Press, 2002 According to this book, little children (0-5 years old) are more intelligent and capable of learning than previously imagined. After it is understood that they have a huge amount of curiosity about the world around them, the authors strongly recommend enriching a child’s environment by teaching them to read. The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (the group behind this book) was begun to see if it was possible to teach brain-damaged children to read. In this case, "brain-damaged" means children whose brains were normal at conception, but were damaged through injury or disease. After discovering that the answer to their question was a resounding Yes, the same method was tried on well children, with the same result. For the average child, being able to explore their world, through crawling or walking, is vital to their development, so sticking them in a playpen with a bunch of toys, while understandable, is a bad idea. There is no “wrong” way to teach a child to read; the authors present their method, which involves writing words on flashcards in very large and bold print, and showing them to the child several times a day, for a few seconds at a time. It is never too early to start, even with children less than 1 year old. Do not be concerned if you cannot go "all the way" in teaching your child to read; even partial progress will help your child in the long run. Most importantly, the process should be joyous, and never a chore, for parent and child. If either one is cranky, or having a bad day, save the words for another day. This is an excellent book. Written for parents, it is very easy to understand, and shows that it is never too early to expose your child to the world of reading. It was also first published in the 1960s, so they must be doing something right. It is very much recommended.
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Making Change Stick: Twelve Principles for Transforming Organizations, Richard C. Reale, Positive Impact Associates, 2005 It is easy for the head of any company, large or small, to decree Change Is Necessary. It is much harder to actually do it, and make it stick, from top to bottom. This book, written for executives, is meant to make that process of change not so difficult. The first principle is to know where you are going. Dust off your company’s mission statement and start putting it into practice (if your company does not have a mission statement, why not?). Do not be afraid to challenge your thinking. Just because the executive suite has successfully "changed," do not assume that all parts of the company will be as successful. There is no such thing as too much internal communication about the change. Silence from the top will invariably be filled with rumor and innuendo from the bottom, usually negative. Take a hard look at your company culture. If you are a strict, by-the-book company, any change may have a hard time being implemented. Perhaps cultural alterations should come first. Some people will have a real problem accepting change, not just because they like the present system, but they will treat it like a funeral, mourning the “death” of the old system. Even partial improvement toward the company goal is better than nothing, so do not fixate on 100% improvement. Be honest when it comes to measuring progress toward the goal, because numbers can be fudged in any direction. When people are caught doing something right, be sure to reward them. This is a much-needed book for executives of any size company. The chapters are short, in keeping with short executive attention spans, it is mercifully light on the buzzwords, and even non-business people can get it. It is very much worth the time.
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Use History Like a Tool, Steven Levy, Silver Lake Publications, 2003 History, that bane of many a high school and college education, is presented in a different and much more interesting way than in school. History is more than just names and dates; it is about the motion of people and events. This book also looks at a series of "laws" that anyone can use in their daily lives. An important aspect of history is that it is best studied while it is moving. Real life is always in motion, whether it is your life, politics, economics or problems before the local Board of Education. But, do not mistake motion for movement. Movement means things are actually being done, while motion makes it look like things are being done (meetings are held, reports are filed, etc, but nothing more). Through crystal clear hindsight, we can see that a certain decision or policy was a terrible idea, and assume that the people making that decision could also see it. Bad ideas are usually hard to spot, and all we can see is the result of one decision. Maybe there were no better alternatives at the time. The best way to slow progress on a certain issue is to appoint a committee to study the issue. To sidetrack an issue for a long time, use the Law of Co-Equal Adversaries, and have two committees counteract each other. The next stage after non-movement is ossification, where everything grinds to a halt. The Law of Attendance says that being present is more important than doing anything productive. The Law of Editing comes into force when the person on top changes the rules in the middle to prevent change from happening. A good way to bring things to a halt is put all of a group’s resources behind solving the wrong problem; switching from a problem that Can be solved to one that Cannot be solved. Don’t ignore the "classics," like What’s In It For Me? This is a fascinating book. It also makes a good business book; if you recognize your company in here, Beware. Those who enjoyed history class in school will enjoy this book. Those who hated history class in school should also read this; it does a good job of showing that history is a lot more than names, dates and dead people.
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Red Flash, Kiva Wolfe, Draumr Publishing, 2005 Dominick Stanovic is a handsome former triathlete who is part of the family gem business in present-day Colorado. He learns that his young nephew was killed by the Russian Mafia, and stumbles upon a smuggling operation involving his family, the Russians and the Brazilian Mafia. Older brother Serg Stanovic is head of the family gem business, built with help from the Russian Mafia. The insurance company is asking unpleasant questions, which makes the Russians nervous. If the growing tension between Serg, and their mother, Berta, and her pet ocelot, isn’t bad enough (the phrase "gasoline plus lit match" comes to mind), an extra complication to Dominick’s life is Mala Cole, Serg’s woman. She is a Brazilian beauty in her early 20s, and Dominick has fallen for her, very hard. Mala has a past of her own, unbeknownst to the Stanovic family, a past which involves never going back to Brazil, because she killed an Important Person. A shipment of very rare Brazilian colored diamonds has gone missing, so Dominick convinces Serg that he (Dominick) should go to the Brazilian Amazon to straighten things out. Maybe this will convince Serg that Dominick should be given more responsibility in the family business. Serg doesn’t suggest or ask that Mala go with him as translator, Serg tells Mala to go with him as translator. Mala thinks that if she got her hands on the diamonds, it would go a long way toward smoothing things over with the people in Brazil who want her dead. This is an excellent thriller. It has all the required elements: international intrigue, murder, sex, the Mafia, obsession, betrayal and large amounts of money. It would also make a really good movie. This is well worth reading.
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Rainy Day People, Susan C. Haley with Robert J. Delany, Infinity Publishing, 2005 Widowed early, Amber is living by herself by the ocean in Florida. She has a quiet connection with nature, and a wild, reckless side, That is characterized by her enjoyment of speeding along in her silver convertible, while heavy metal blasts from the car stereo. During a trip into town, Amber meets a man in a local bookstore. There is some sort of connection between them, so they see each other a few times. They sit on a seawall feeding seagulls, instead of the "usual" activities like dinner or a movie. After hearing nothing from him for several weeks, Amber gets a letter from Texas. He (she learns that his name is Ben) is in a hospital with an undefined, but life-threatening, case of cancer. Amber immediately flies to Texas, practically drags Ben out of the hospital and brings him back to her place in Florida, where she nurses him back to health. There are the usual ups and downs, as with any relationship, but for Ben and Amber, it’s mostly up. After a period of time, they decide to go on a trip of unknown duration, to find a place to live that isn’t His or Hers, but Theirs. It has to be near the ocean, but, otherwise, pretty much at random, they get in her car and head for Maine. Staying off the interstates as much as possible, they pass through all sorts of quirky small towns. When they reach Maine, a series of coincidences lead them to a vacant stone house right on the ocean. Amber is convinced that they were led to that house for some sort of greater cosmic purpose, while Ben is much more of a down-to-earth pragmatist. The book ends with that moment where the relationship is put to the test, and will emerge stronger than ever, or be forever destroyed. From the first few pages, the reader will realize that this is not your average relationship story; it’s a lot better than that. It’s very well done, and is very much worth the reader’s time.
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Forged by the Knife, Patricia L. Dawson, Open Hand Publishing LLC, 1999 This book, actually a doctoral dissertation, looks at the world of surgical residency for women of color. Residency is supposed to be a tough, weeding out process. But female residents have several extra obstacles in their way. Most female doctors are in fields like gynecology or psychiatry. Those who want to become surgeons are encouraged to choose another specialty, because surgery is "too hard." Any patient complication will be looked at especially closely. Role models are rare; the number of female surgeons is tiny, while the number of black female surgeons is practically zero. Since surgery is very much a male-dominated field, there is the usual obstacle of women having to work twice as hard to be considered half as good. Residency does not teach a person how to keep their humanity (which some surgeons have totally lost); what to say to a family whose loved one has just been declared dead (suppressing their femininity). This book looks at the personal experiences of several black female surgeons. Their residency experiences, whether at predominantly white or black institutions, ranged from difficult to very difficult. Even though this is a doctoral dissertation, it is clearly written, easy to read, and worth reading. The next time a loved one is in the hospital, and the doctor is a woman, just remember that she probably is experiencing, or has experienced, the things mentioned in this book.
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The Monster at Our Door: The Global Threat of Avian Flu, Mike Davis, The New Press, 2005 This book is a comprehensive look at just what bird (or avian) flu is all about, and what the world is, or is not, doing about it. Influenzas are divided into three major categories. Types B & C are relatively mild, leading to the common cold, or, at worst, the winter flu. But Type A is the unpredictable, and lethal, strain that is fully entrenched among the bird population of East Asia. It is very easy for the disease to jump from migratory birds, to ducks, to chickens, to swans and egrets, and back again, mutating along the way. Until now, the human deaths have come from direct contact with infected birds. But the time is coming when that last mutation will click into place, causing it to jump from person to person. A worldwide flu pandemic, with a death toll in the hundreds of millions, is, as one
researcher put it, "late." What is America doing to prepare for the coming pandemic? Not much. Industrial chicken farms, with millions of chickens crowded into one building, are a wonderful breeding ground for diseases of all sorts, not just bird flu. Remember SARS from a couple of years ago? Among the reasons why it was contained is that the cities where it happened, Toronto and Hong Kong, are modern cities with modern health care systems. Imagine if SARS had shown up somewhere in Africa, with a much less modern health care system. The major drug companies have opposed moves to allow other countries to make cheap copies of flu vaccines, even though there are nowhere near enough doses of vaccines even for first responders, out of concern for their corporate bottom line. The Bush Administration is more interested in spending money preparing for a smallpox or anthrax outbreak, something which has much less chance of ever happening, than in spending it on bird flu, which is coming in the near future. This is a very spooky book, which I guess is the idea. It is written for the layman, and does a fine job at showing how unprepared America is for the next flu pandemic. It is very highly recommended.
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Party Like a Rock Star Even When You’re Poor as Dirt, Camper English, Alyson Books, 2005 This book gives many ways for people to save money on their rock and roll life-style. The single best thing to do is to visit many websites as possible, for bands, clubs, art galleries, etc, depending on your interests. While you’re there, look for freebies or other discounts, but sign up for their e-mail list. The vast majority of messages received will be little better than spam, but there could be the occasional gem with a subject line like, "Free admission and free dinner." Forget clothing trends and visit your local thrift shop (the book even tells the best time of the week to visit). There you can buy a few pieces that can be mixed and matched, plus a funky T-shirt or two. Then you can go crazy with accessories. Have you visited your local public library? Aside from books (not just bestseller fiction) they also have CDs, DVDs of classic movies, and talks and lectures on a wide variety of subjects, all for free. Exercising to get rid of your ghostly, all-night-partying skin color, is a really good idea, but you do not have to spend a lot of money joining a gym. An effective, low-tech workout can be done with regular, household objects, but the first step is getting off your butt. In the area of making money, if you have something autographed or unique, sell it on eBay. Focus groups are fun and easy (after you are accepted, which is the hard part), and the pay starts at $25 per hour. Become a house/petsitter, or rent your place for movie shoots and commercials. Have you ever thought of renting yourself as a designated driver for party people, or renting your body to science by taking part in medical research studies? This is a really eye-opening book. The best thing about it is that it is not just for mid-20s slackers. The ideas in this book are for everyone, regardless of age or lifestyle (who does not want to save money, if possible?). It is very much recommended.
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Rebels Against the Future, Kirkpatrick Sale, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co, 1996 The Luddites were a loose confederation of textile workers living in 1800s England (in the same area where Robin Hood became famous) who saw their way of life destroyed by the coming of technology. They worked out of their cottages or small craft shops. There was pride in their work. There was no boss or time clock to consider, so there were occasional ale breaks. They weren’t rich by any means, but, being part of a centuries-old tradition, they made a living. Machines came along which allowed one person to do the work of many. They were housed in multi-storied factories on the edge of town. Many textile workers lost their jobs, were forced off their land, and had no choice but to go to filthy, overcrowded cities to look for work (read Charles Dickens). The Luddites (they took their name from their "leader," a mythical Ned Ludd) are thought of as some sort of anti-technology fanatics. Their problem was not with technology itself, but with technology that destroyed their way of life, technology that was for the benefit of the few, and to the detriment of the many. They rebelled in the only way they knew how, by smashing the machines that had destroyed their way of life. This went on for about 15 months, during which time no one snitched to the British Government, showing that the Luddites had a lot of sympathy among the public. The British stationed several thousand troops in the area, and eventually lowered the boom, with hanging judges, snitches, night time arrests, executing the innocent, etc, putting an end to this threat to industrial progress. Today, there is a large and growing movement of people who do not believe that technology is automatically a good thing. Some believe that the entire concept of technology and society needs some radical re-thinking, while others are actively opposing particular pieces of "progress," like asbestos, nuclear weapons, aspartame or NAFTA/GATT. This is a very interesting and well-done book. For anyone who believes in technology for the sake of technology, reading this book is a really good idea. It is time well spent.
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October Mourning: A Novel of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, James Rada, Jr, Legacy Publishing, 2006 In late 1918, World War I is winding down, but America’s major cities, like Boston and Philadelphia, are being decimated by Spanish Flu. The disease hasn’t yet reached Columbia, Maryland, where Dr. Alan Keener, fresh out of medical school, treats a young mother named Sarah. She is feeling sick and feverish, classic flu symptoms, for which she is told to go home and rest. Sarah is found dead the next day, her lungs full of fluid. The local authorities are reluctant to declare a health emergency over one death. They become convinced after the local death toll starts climbing, fast. All indoor gatherings are banned. Church services are moved outside. The local bars and taverns are forcibly closed. People start acting justifiably paranoid, afraid to leave their houses unless absolutely necessary. It becomes personal for Alan when his 5-year-old becomes one of the fatalities, and his wife almost joins her. A traveling snake-oil salesman gets the flu, and during his flu-induced delirium, he believes that he is visited by an Angel of God. Mankind is being tested; he has been given the name of Kolas, and told to spread the disease as much as possible. Those who don’t die are the new Chosen of God. After nearly infecting Alan, Kolas is captured by the police, where he is "encouraged" to give up several samples of blood to be made into a vaccine. It helps to return things back to something approaching normal. This is a very good, and very easy to read, novel about a famous, yet unknown, bit of 20th Century American history. While reading this book, in your mind, replace all mentions of "Spanish Flu" with "bird flu." Hmmm. . .
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The Rapture of Maturity: A Legacy of Lifelong Learning, Charles D. Hayes, Autodidactic Press, 2004 "What will people say about me after I’m gone?" "After the funeral, and after the will, how will everyone think of me?" For the average young person, such thoughts are not important. However, once a person reaches their 50th birthday, such thoughts become much more important. That’s what this book is all about. The author looks at properties of life (like the Properties option in computer software). Interesting activities make the time pass quickly, but when we are bored, or doing something we don’t want to do, time passes very slowly. A fundamental way to learn to move with the flow of life, instead of against it, is to understand change as an essential property of life. Regret is a built-in component of learning life’s most important lessons. A life devoid of passion is a life lived at room temperature; we either have passion or we don’t. Curiosity usually depends on imagination and courage to proceed; it is the spark that lets imagination burn brightly. Various aspects of human life are also considered. No matter how famous we become, we will all die someday. Instead of celebrating the differences among people, a better approach is to concentrate on minimizing those differences. When you care deeply about something, the motivation to learn about it will follow. Those who choose reason over emotion are criticized for acting too cerebral or wanting to discuss unsettled questions. How to help grandchildren (or other young people) develop an enthusiasm for learning and thirst for knowledge? People who are not learners cannot inspire others to be what they are not. Children will easily see through such pretension. Through your actions, convince your grandchildren that America’s greatest treasures are found in libraries, not shopping malls. Help them to recognize the senselessness of confusing their identity with brand-name products. Help them to understand that the greatest defense against peer pressure is often found in the courage to be different. Help them to be wary of groups and organizations that discourage questions. This a very interesting and eye-opening book. While it may be intended for people in their second half-century of life, it is very much recommended for people who have not yet reached that age. It is never too early to start thinking of the things mentioned here. Well worth reading.
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Still Life in Motion, Sean Brijbasi, Pretend Genius Press, 2004 This is a group of very short stories, practically vignettes, on a variety of subjects. A husband discovers that his wife is a shoplifter. A man walks into a hospital, asking for a refill on brain, or a new one, then discovers that he likes playing dead. Another piece consists of excerpts from unwritten novels. In a room across the street is a large, blue balloon that seems to float on its own. A married couple are living in a apartment with a picture of a tiger on the wall, which turns into a love-letter affair between a man named Stanislau Verbinsky and a woman named Elizabeth. After years of work, a man introduces a new punctuation mark called the rhetorical question mark. Imagine a pair of play-by-play announcers watching an author typing at a keyboard. Those who like "modern" writing, where stories are told in broad strokes, with little or no background information, will enjoy these stories.
On the other hand, those who like their fiction with character development, storyline, climax and all those English Literature terms, should consider looking elsewhere.
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For Sarah, Annie Harmon, PublishAmerica, 2005 In their own words, this is the story of the Welsh sisters, and their lives with Jack, their mean and abusive stepfather. Every Sunday, the whole family attended church, like the typical happy family. The rest of the week, there were beatings (with a leather belt) and molestation, for little or no reason. The family wore hand-me-down clothes.
The justice system was no help. One by one, the girls run away from home, and attempt to find their own identities, while holding on to each other. One sister dies, but there is no sense of closure for the girls, because they are not allowed to attend the funeral. Another sister waitresses at an all-night truck stop, expecting the "missing" sister to come in at any time. While living on the streets, a third sister encounters a number of people who expect you-know-what in exchange for assistance. In later years, Samantha, another sister, lives on her own, but with an extreme fear of leaving her house, practically agoraphobia. Ashlee, who goes through men the way most people go through tissues, temporarily gives up custody of Nicole, her daughter, to Amber, because Ashlee feels that she is an unfit mother. She is also convinced that she is being stalked by a man named Bruce, even though she has never actually seen him. With a policeman husband, it is felt that Amber can transfer some stability to Nicole. Later, that stability is shattered when Shane, Amber’s husband, is killed by a stray bullet on the pistol range. Amber marries two other men, who both die in freak accidents. Mother gets in her side of the story. She married young, and went through three unhappy marriages before she married Jack. The biggest thing going for him is that he promised to stay around, and he did. He didn’t leave her, or suddenly declare that he was gay, like her previous husbands. She feels that Jack is a sweet man, who is simply under a lot of pressure; she can’t understand why her girls never visit anymore, or even call her. At the end, the sisters have their catharsis, their moment of getting "over" Jack, once and for all, with help from a tornado. According to the Introduction, there is a substantial amount of non-fiction in this book, even though it is marketed as fiction. Either way, it is a gem of a story. In a way, this is pretty unpleasant reading, but it is very good and emotional reading. It is very much recommended.
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