The best book by far I have ever read on this subject. Hope Jaren was told she had to teach a college class on climate change and she groaned. She wasThe best book by far I have ever read on this subject. Hope Jaren was told she had to teach a college class on climate change and she groaned. She was stuck with it though. So how to do her job?
She decided to start with pure facts. These are the ways in which our world has changed in her life time (since 1969). In simple terminology this Minnesota small town girl takes us through the changes in farming, ranching, fishing, what we eat, the energy we consume & where it comes from, etc. and does it without preaching at us. It’s just the facts.
Then she moves into only a very few chapters on what it all means, what can be done, etc. I appreciate that she recognizes not everyone is a “believer” in climate change and the importance of not pushing a political agenda with fear.
At the end she includes several appendices that discuss ways we can make small personal changes.
I’m buying this one. It’s approachable for & respectful of skeptics. ...more
An incredible powerful book written by three Lost Boys from the Sudan. Benson, Aleppo, & Benjamin fled their homes in a night of terror when they wereAn incredible powerful book written by three Lost Boys from the Sudan. Benson, Aleppo, & Benjamin fled their homes in a night of terror when they were less than 7yo. They were separated, starved, beaten, and walked and walked and walked. For years. YEARS. But this is about thousands of young boys just like them who grew up amid the Sudanese Civil War.
Want to know what it’s like to be a child refugee? Read this book. ...more
One of the best books on Vietnam I’ve ever read and I’ve read many. The story alternates between the 30s and 70s, before and after the Vietnam War andOne of the best books on Vietnam I’ve ever read and I’ve read many. The story alternates between the 30s and 70s, before and after the Vietnam War and the earlier period is told to the granddaughter as stories of the family. This family suffered so much loss. War is such an evil thing. Not an easy read but it’s beautiful. It’s obvious that the author is a poet. ...more
This is an incredibly tough read. Halima shares with us her idyllic childhood in the Zaghawa tribe surrounded by family and friends. But all of that cThis is an incredibly tough read. Halima shares with us her idyllic childhood in the Zaghawa tribe surrounded by family and friends. But all of that changes when war comes to Dafur. As a doctor, Halima sees the absolute worst of what men can do to each other. An amazing memoir of one woman’s strength and resilience.
Warning: contains violence against women and children and descriptions of female circumcision....more
This is a heartbreaking read. Dong-ho, a 15yo South Korean boy, is killed in the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. The book is a factionalized account of a reThis is a heartbreaking read. Dong-ho, a 15yo South Korean boy, is killed in the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. The book is a factionalized account of a real boy and a real event. Each chapter follows the perspective of a different person from Dong-ho’s friends, an editor, a prisoner, a factory girl, and a mother.
I found it especially interesting the reference to crowd dynamics. So often we hear the negative side of that: violence, looting, etc but there is also a positive side. Sometimes the barest thread of courage is knit together in the crowd.
Agreeing with an earlier reviewer who mentioned that the only perspective missing was that of the soldiers.
Fair warning that this book contains graphic descriptions of death, torture, & one sexual assault.
I thoroughly enjoyed this journey into the Underland. From burial caves to hidden worlds under the soil, from catacombs to unground rivers, from ancieI thoroughly enjoyed this journey into the Underland. From burial caves to hidden worlds under the soil, from catacombs to unground rivers, from ancient ice cores to the tombs awaiting nuclear waste this book has it all.
“Into the underland we have long placed that which we fear and wish to lose, and that which we love and wish to save.”
This is a book for lovers of nature and beauty and stories. ...more
This book throws open the doors to the Syrian war. No longer do we see from afar; we are thrown right into the lives of regular Syrians in their proteThis book throws open the doors to the Syrian war. No longer do we see from afar; we are thrown right into the lives of regular Syrians in their protests, their dreams, their loss, and their hope.
Marwin Hisham shows us how politically apathetic citizens become the ping pong balls in a game of table tennis between religious & secular factions who are all backed by foreign interests. The Syrian people’s feeble voices are never heard as factions scramble in the dirt for coins.
Given four stars only because a timeline and list of major groups & leaders would have been helpful.
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