Saturday, March 1, 2014

Finally! Time to Read


(Bing Images:  Fotofolia_38547366)
Four book selections have earned the praise of our contributors. They span fiction, historical fiction/biography, and nonfiction choices.

Fiction:  THE MAISIE DOBBS MYSTERIES   Pearl suggests the Maisie Dobbs mysteries.  She says, "My daughter Susan turned me on to a wonderful mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear.  They take place in England, and begin around WWI.  I have found them easy to read with detailed descriptions of British class differences along with descriptions of clothing, housing, transportation, and other interesting details about life in England."

Fiction:  COMMAND AUTHORITY(2013). Tom Clancy's final novel again visits Jack Ryan, the US President, his son, Jack Jr. and recurring characters from earlier works who are sent by Ryan to fight international threats.  Reading Clancy's final work now is particularly relevant with the growing international concern about the Ukraine.  Ryan's past connects with son Jack's present, bringing back memories of a KGB assassin from 30 years ago and linking to current political corruption and military threats of turmoil in the Ukraine.(Expert Book Reviews in GoodReads.com).

Historical Fiction/Biography: Joan H recommends  THE INVENTION OF WINGS  by Mary Monk Kidd.  Published this year, the book recounts the lives of Sarah Grimke and her sister, as they grow up in the South and develop a revulsion for the institution of slavery while those around them accept it  as usual, necessary, and even a God-given right.

Sarah and Angelina Grimke play pivotal historical roles in the abolition of slavery and the women's rights movement.  And their stories are intertwined with that of  the  fictional slave, Hetty, who grows up with Sarah.  Her birth name, "Handful," describes her well. Hetty's fierce determination to assert her dignity and to struggle for freedom illustrate the slave's existence in Charleston during the 1800s.
Nonfiction: Eric suggests EMPIRE OF TRUST: How Rome Built-and America is Building-A New World (2008) by Thomas F. Madden.   With so much negativity in the media today, we forget that there could be hope for a  more optimistic view.
 
"Does America face the same destiny endured by ancient Rome? Is the U.S. military overextended? Does the separation of church and state strengthen or weaken a geopolitical powerhouse? Is the United States just another Empire of Conquest being corrupted by its own power? Of late, it is not only historians who have been asking these questions."(GoodReads.com)

"Thomas Madden, an award-winning professor of history, now shows almost everything we thought we knew about Rome to be wrong, and revolutionizes our understanding of what a good world empire can be" (GoodReads.com). Madden sees the United States as a possible 'Empire of Trust'. And "Madden is on a mission to get pundits, candidates, and... all of us to recognize this profound duty"(GoodReads.com)

Special thanks to Pearl, Joan H and Eric for these recommendations.


 
 

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