This biography of Hannibal is perfect in so many ways. In just a few hundred pages, Freeman outlines his life story, particularly in the context of hiThis biography of Hannibal is perfect in so many ways. In just a few hundred pages, Freeman outlines his life story, particularly in the context of his role as the Roman empire's greatest threat. His admiration for Hannibal as a planner, commander, strategist and Carthaginian patriot shines through -- all the more an achievement as many of the surviving sources about him are Roman, and thus, not exactly unbiased.
Chapters are arranged around major battles and troop movements, which helps put these names into context (I think). I'm not the biggest fan of military history -- things like flanks and centers and different types of formations don't always make sense to me. But Freeman doesn't get bogged down in the details, but keeps things at a simple level, and thus held my interest. Freeman's service is to the larger story of Hannibal as a person and his role as champion of his people, so the minute details aren't that important here. There is a timeline and list of characters to keep the characters straight -- important in cultures that seemed to have a limited pool of name options! But - just a general map of the Mediterranean or even just Italy with the major battle locations highlighted would have been helpful. I found myself jumping out of the story quite often to scan the internet for a bit of geographical context.
A great book on this topic - a quick read. Plus -- elephants....more
A fascinating and heartbreaking story about a trans man's fight to keep a family title and what the suppression of his case meant for development of tA fascinating and heartbreaking story about a trans man's fight to keep a family title and what the suppression of his case meant for development of trans rights in the UK.
Ewan Forbes' story starts in the early 20th century. His astute (and wealthy) mother realized that there was something different about her child and went to great lengths seeking out treatments across Europe to make him healthy and happy. At some point, Ewan was able to get his birth certificate changed, and he went on to a career as a physician and a farmer, living on his family lands in Scotland. But when his older brother died, and Ewan inherited the family title of Baronet, his cousin objected, and took him to court. The entire case was held in secret and most records of it sealed, since it might have an affect on future cases involving trans people and inheritance within the British peerage system.
Playdon digs into this history, and uses it to illustrated the horrible way the medical, psychiatric and legal systems in the UK (and elsewhere) have treated trans people. There are a lot of groups and acronyms to track, but Playdon does show how inadequate the law is in keep up with actual social change, and how the House of Lords has torpedoed legislation that could improve people's lives, all in the name of preserving their place and traditions....more
I think maybe the title is a bit bait-and-switchy. The book purports to be about Jemima Boone, but she and her story are more of a starting point arouI think maybe the title is a bit bait-and-switchy. The book purports to be about Jemima Boone, but she and her story are more of a starting point around which the larger conflict in the late 1700s among Native Americans, Britain and American settlers are explored. Her story is compelling, but the kidnapping wraps up pretty early in the book.
What Pearl does so well is to illustrate the complexity of the relationships among these groups and the individuals that shaped them. At times, native people are treated as enemy, at others as family. Pearl makes the case that many of the native leaders and perhaps some of the settlers were seeking a middle way around settlement, one in which the natives could continue their nomadic existence, while the settlers could still move in to the area, coexisting more or less peacefully. It's a pretty good case.
Daniel Boone is more of the hero of this book than his daughter Jemima. And the author acknowledges his flaws as well as his skills as a hunter, soldier and negotiator. This is a good history of the tumultuous time and place in American history....more
Man, this book really sucked me in from the get-go.
Gilmour is a natural writer and can really spin a story, even one of such a personal nature, which Man, this book really sucked me in from the get-go.
Gilmour is a natural writer and can really spin a story, even one of such a personal nature, which can't have been easy. The book begins with his wife bringing home a magpie chick, found in the gutter. As the bird grows (and grows on him and his wife), Gilmour learns that his biological father, with whom he has barely had any contact, raised a jackdaw in a similar situation at a similar age. Through the book, caring for and observing "his" bird helps him explore and work through some of the intense feelings surrounding his father and the concept of fatherhood.
This guy had a rough life, much of it, it turns out, similar to what his own father went through -- feelings of abandonment, substance abuse, mental health crises and legal troubles. But he grows immensely during the few years covered in this book, as does Benzene the magpie.
His writing about scenes involving nature at his family farm are just achingly beautiful. Oh, and I don't think I've ever read a book by someone who is both the adopted son of a Pink Floyd band member and the grandson of a major in Mao's Red Army. ...more
I can't remember the last time I started and finished a book on the same day. Probably not since I was reading my dad's old sci-fi paperbacks during tI can't remember the last time I started and finished a book on the same day. Probably not since I was reading my dad's old sci-fi paperbacks during the summers in high school. But that's how I read ¡Hola Papi!
Brammer, who wrote (writes?) and advice column by the same name that originally started with the app Grindr, uses an effective structure, writing essays on various life lessons he's learned in the form of answer to questions in advice column. The questions are short -- a sentence or two -- but the essays are so... beautiful. And they answer the questions in a very in-depth and personal way. In some ways I identified closely with his stories (growing up gay in a small town, having a high-school job in a small town, having a boyfriend who clearly has some mental health issues), but in others, mostly due to the age difference, not so much.
But all the stories are fascinating. He writes so beautifully and thoughtfully about his experiences, embracing each of them, good and bad, as events that make up who he is today. So glad I read this! ...more
I knew next to nothing about James Beard before picking this up -- other than a PBS documentary I saw a few years back and that there is an award nameI knew next to nothing about James Beard before picking this up -- other than a PBS documentary I saw a few years back and that there is an award named after him that every contestant on "Top Chef" brags about if they've received it (or were even a finalist).
I had no idea that he grew up in Portland, and I had no idea that he lead such a colorful life. It seems he was constantly busy writing, cooking, traveling, stealing recipes and ogling men. Nice work, if you can get it! He seems like someone it would be fun to know, but I think that being close to him must have been very wearing. He had an underlying sadness about him that really comes though in this book.
His personal relationships, while a core part of the book, seem to have been hard to pick a part. I almost felt like Birdsall was trying to protect him a bit. Either that, or so much of what he was able to learn about them may have come from third parties. He was intensely private about his personal life, and it seems even now it's hard to get into his inner circle. Still, Birdsall is a good and thorough biographer. The final sections that deal with his decline and death are quite beautifully in written.
I'm currently watching the season of "Top Chef" held in Portland. I saw in the previews that they would be doing some sort of challenge related to James Beard during the season. I'll be interested to see if they address his gayness....more
I'm marking this as five stars (amazing) because Tina Berger is amazing.
I'm proud to say I've known her for a few decades. I've always seen her as kinI'm marking this as five stars (amazing) because Tina Berger is amazing.
I'm proud to say I've known her for a few decades. I've always seen her as kind, thoughtful, smart, funny and intense. I've never spent as much time with her, however, as I did while reading this book. And now I feel like I know her so much better.
Tina outlines the many ways in which she has reclaimed the feminine/receptive approach to life after years of focusing on the masculine/assertive paradigm -- moving from "do" to "be," as she puts it. Through stories about work, family, relationships, and
So much to think about after reading this -- always the mark of a good book and good writing. Thanks, Tina!...more
I love a horrific tale of hardship in the cold remote regions of the world, and this one certainly fits the bill. I often get through one of these stoI love a horrific tale of hardship in the cold remote regions of the world, and this one certainly fits the bill. I often get through one of these stories thinking, "Haven't I read about this before," but not this time. I had a vague idea of who William Barents was, and that there was a sea named after him, but this story seemed new and fresh.
Most of the dramatic stories of survival in the arctic regions come out of the 19th century, but this one stretches way back to the late 1500s, as the newly rising Dutch empire was seeking new markets and opportunities for trade and colonization in the east. One approach, championed by William Barents, was to travel across the north of Asia, a possible shortcut to the far east as compared to the longer trip around Africa. In the process of his three voyages, Barents helped discover Spitzbergen, Bear Island, and Nova Zembla (Novaya Zemlya). It was this last location that ended up being the stage for his longest arctic struggle as he and a group of Dutch sailors were frozen in there over the winter of 1596-97.
The horrors these ill-prepared and poorly clothed sailors endured were incredible. The unbelievable cold, storms, ice, scurvy, months of darkness and regular visits by hungry polar bears nearly did them in, but somehow they held it together. And as the spring approached with their ice-filled ship useless, they focused on rigging up some small boats to attempt to sail home. And that's when their trouble really began. I probably would have just laid down and died way before these men did.
While this book is nominally about Barents, it's really about the whole group, most of who remain anonymous throughout. Their teamwork, compassion and faith enabled them to pull together for this arduous journey. It's a great story, and Pitzer does a great job of telling it....more
**spoiler alert** I'd read Mcintyre's The Spy and the Traitor a few years ago. He told that story so well, so I knew this one would be good. And it wa**spoiler alert** I'd read Mcintyre's The Spy and the Traitor a few years ago. He told that story so well, so I knew this one would be good. And it was.
Ursula Kuczynski was born into a middle class German Jewish family in Berlin in the decade before WWI. She grew up rather comfortably but still gravitated to left-wing and communist causes even in her youth. She even carted leftist literature around Berlin in a wheelbarrow as a kind of portable lending library. She married a similarly minded architect and moved with him to Shanghai when he got work there. And that's where she was recruited.
Sony (her code name) became the ultimate spy -- almost undetectable due to the attitudes of the time. There was no way a young housewife with a toddler could be a spy! But spy she did, providing information to communist causes in China and Russia. She was trained as a radio operator and learned how to build, break down and operate hidden communication stations. She was sent to Manchuria on assignment -- still married to her unsuspecting husband -- and posed there as husband and wife with another -- with whom she had a child.
As WWII broke out she was in Switzerland, running agents herself and continuing her radio communications with Moscow. She married a British citizen and moved to the UK during the latter part of the war - and had a third child. There, she was instrumental in the passing of nuclear weapon secrets from the UK and USA to Moscow. Slowly, MI5 and MI6 (agencies themselves riddled with double agents) began to clue in -- thanks to another woman in their ranks who wasn't distracted by the stereotypes that affected her male colleagues. As the noose tightened, she fled with her three unsuspecting children to the new East Germany, and there lived out her life, mostly working in publishing. She died in 2000.
She really did lead a remarkable life -- calmly doing a job she believed in, and not getting caught. Turns out most spy work is far from the world of James Bond. Agent Sonya's story is all the more fascinating for it....more
This is history writing at it's best. And Virginia Hall is the greatest American hero you've never heard of.
Hall was an employee of the US State DeparThis is history writing at it's best. And Virginia Hall is the greatest American hero you've never heard of.
Hall was an employee of the US State Department in the 1920s and 30s, working in Italy, Turkey and Estonia as a clerk. Despite her acing the exams and interviews, the misogyny of the times shut her out of the diplomatic corps. When she ended up in London just before heading back home, a nacent espionage group in the UK recognized her potential. Soon, she would become the most important Allied spy in occupied France.
Originally based out of Lyon under the guise of a New York newspaper reporter, she led a group of saboteurs, radio operators and locals in attempts to undermine the Vichy government and the German occupation. She organized parachute drops of men and supplies, coordinate complicated jail breaks and managed a network of safehouses in both convents and brothels. Her instincts and resourcefulness were top notch and she never failed to impress her managers in London, even though she rarely got the true recognition and authority she deserved.
When her identity was discovered, she narrowly escaped by walking across the snowy Pyrenees in late fall into Spain -- did I mention she had a prosthetic leg? After getting to safety, she yearned to return to France, although her UK handlers wouldn't allow it. So she joined up with US espionage efforts and talked her way back in, this time ending up in the Haute-Loire region managing bands of resistance fighters.
After the war, she worked for the newly-formed CIA, but never really fit in to the cold war mold. Again, she had was supervised by men who couldn't or wouldn't recognize her skill and worth. So she quietly faded away.
Purnell does a superb job of writing this woman's life. I'm so glad I read this. The characters in the book really come to life, and I'm so glad to hear that there is a feature film based on it in the works. I'm not normally a spy thriller fan, but this real-life story really grabbed me. ...more
Johnson weaves a compelling case for the pivotal role that pirate Henry Every played in late 17th century world political development. More than just Johnson weaves a compelling case for the pivotal role that pirate Henry Every played in late 17th century world political development. More than just a dashing pirate tale, this history looks at the role that piracy played in the development of the East India Company, international relations between Mughal India and Britain, and the role that the developing press played in the creation of "celebrity."
Johnson points out that, but for a few crucial coincidental events, things could have gone much differently for the history of Britain and India. He makes the best of the scant historically accurate resources to recount this story, and does it quite well....more
Macintyre writes the story of Oleg Gordievsky, a high-ranking KGB officer in the 70s and 80s who became disgusted with the Soviet system and decided tMacintyre writes the story of Oleg Gordievsky, a high-ranking KGB officer in the 70s and 80s who became disgusted with the Soviet system and decided to become a spy for MI6. Fortuitously, he was posted to the UK and rose to head the KGB office there. Some suspicions arose in Moscow and he was recalled, and operation PIMLICO, a complex extraction plan, went into action.
This book covers Gordievsky's life, the MI6 operators he worked with, and his KGB colleagues in such an interesting way. Interviews with many of the players in intense story make it come alive. The escape reads like a thriller and it's just beyond belief that it actually worked. So much fell into place just right. And even happy accidents, like a dirty diaper, played a role.
Beyond this action-packed escape, though, the reader learns a lot about spycraft -- standard procedures, lingo and the type of personalities involved in it. It was all really quite fascinating. Equally interesting is the side story of Aldrich Ames, the American CIA analyst who ratted out Gordievsky (among others) to the KGB and started Gordievsky's frightening ordeal.
This was one of those books that I found myself describing to friends that I knew probably wouldn't read it. Non-fiction espionage is not one of those categories that I would think I would be a fan of. But this was really quite good....more
Although this book bills itself as a biography of Francis Willughby as an ornithologist, it's more about his scientific partnership with fellow naturaAlthough this book bills itself as a biography of Francis Willughby as an ornithologist, it's more about his scientific partnership with fellow naturalist John Ray, their travels, and their efforts toward scientifically describing and categorizing the natural world around them, notably birds, fish and insects.
As an ornithologist himself, the author has a tendency to get a bit sidetracked with the minutiae of descriptions of various species. It's understandable, but not the most interesting for this reader. I was more intrigued with Willughby's personal life and travels.
The later chapter about Willughby and Ray's legacy is really quite well written and made me thoughtful of the way people's legacies are interpreted and change over time. Overall, the book was a bit of a slog, but I did learn quite a bit about a scientist I had known nothing about, and that's what counts. Also, I learned that modern bird watching is much less gruesome than 17th century specimen collection.
[I liked the fleurons that marked sections within chapters -- three soaring birds -- likely European Honey Buzzards, which Willughby first described scientifically]...more
Had to bail on this. While I find these sister fascinating, the author's writing style was a bit "breezy" for my taste. Topics popped in and out, wereHad to bail on this. While I find these sister fascinating, the author's writing style was a bit "breezy" for my taste. Topics popped in and out, were repeated several times, and a lot of what was revealed read as gossipy rather than factual. Kind of like a book-length article in People. I'm not this book's reader....more
An excellent examination of the lives and writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and to a lesser extent, her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, in the context of tAn excellent examination of the lives and writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and to a lesser extent, her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, in the context of the American history they lived through. Through Fraser's well-researched book, we learn how Laura's life as written in the books was presented in a way that meshed with her beliefs and ideals of how one should be, rather than how it probably occurred. We all live this way -- our own life as we perceive it and curate it for others, and our lives as seen by others and the more objective historical view.
An excellent book. If you want to read a more thorough and insightful review, you should check out what my friend Janelle wrote about it....more
Stumbled across this on the New Books shelf at one of my public library's branches while there for a meeting. I knew next to nothing about Edward LearStumbled across this on the New Books shelf at one of my public library's branches while there for a meeting. I knew next to nothing about Edward Lear, certainly not as an artist. Such an excellent example of biography!
Uglow traces Lear's life, mostly chronologically, from his middle-class upbringing in London fraught with family economic misfortunes and rather distant parents, to his life as a traveling artist and writer. Best known for his nonsense poetry (The Owl and the Pussycat) and limericks, he was also an accomplished if not very widely embraced artist. Although he got his start making finely details botanical and zoological pieces, he gradually moved toward landscapes. And to find them, he traveled widely and almost constantly, across Italy, Greece, Albania, the Middle East and India. His landscapes are strangely dreamlike, and I was quite taken with them. I especially liked his painting of Masada.
But in addition to his art and poetry, he had a wide circle of famous friends and acquiantances, with whom he kept up a voluminous correspondence. He was good friends with Tennyson and spent some time giving Queen Victoria drawing lessons. During the latter part of his life he settled in San Remo, Italy, drawing, writing and visiting.
Uglow uses the artists output - his drawings, poems and nonsense limericks - to illustrate Lear's passions and many insecurities. He clearly loved many of the men he traveled and corresponded with, but was a man of his time and had no idea how to handle these thoughts and feelings - I think. Many of his most personal letters to friends no longer exist. And although he was dearly loved by his friends, it seems that he was a poor promoter of his own art and writing, and much of his output seemed to have been purchased in an effort to prop him up.
A delightful human being. I'm glad I took the time to learn more about him. ...more
A short book about Henry Worsley, modern-day relative of Frank Worsley who accompanied Sir Ernest Schackleton on his Antarctic expeditions. Grann writA short book about Henry Worsley, modern-day relative of Frank Worsley who accompanied Sir Ernest Schackleton on his Antarctic expeditions. Grann writes about Henry Worsley's desire to follow in his ancestor's footsteps and the three expeditions he makes in Antarctica: one with two other descendants of the 1907 expedition that sought to reach Shackleton's furthest south and then continue on to the pole, one retracing Roald Amundsen's 1912 route to the pole and his final attempt to do what Shackleton had attempted in 1914, a walk across the entire continent.
If you're at all interested in polar exploration, you'll enjoy this. I was struck by how little difference there was in the logistics and physical deprivations of such a journey, despite the century of advances in science and technology between the two eras. Except for the possibility of communication with the outside world and the possibility of rescue, they were quite similar.
I don't want to say too much about the particulars in case anyone isn't familiar with this story. The photography in this book is amazing....more
I love reading well-written histories, especially ones that look at events from a different angle and have a sense of humor. I really enjoyed this oneI love reading well-written histories, especially ones that look at events from a different angle and have a sense of humor. I really enjoyed this one.
The title, though, is a bit of a stretch. While the Winter Queen (Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I and thus the granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots) is a central character, and the author really tries to make her daughters the focus of the story, it's really about all of her children and grandchildren and the ties they had to just about every 17th and early 18th century famous European you've ever heard of: Louis XIV, Descartes, William Penn, James the Pretender, the 30 Years War, Oliver Cromwell, Leibnitz, and many more.
Elizabeth was called the Winter Queen because she and her husband reigned over Bohemia for a brief season before being ousted by the Holy Roman Emperor. She spent much of the rest of her life in exile in Holland, scheming to get her huband's kingdom back and placing her children strategically around Europe to eke out any political advantage she could -- nieces married into the French royal family, a nephew on the throne of England, a daughter to a Prince of Transylvania, sons sent to fight others' wars. Much of these machinations pivoted around religion, trying to keep her children in the Protestant fold, and only being slightly successful. Two of her daughters became abesses - one Catholic (and quite an artist) and one Protestant.
But her youngest daughter, Sophia, was the true politician, working behind the scenes to have herself declared the heir to the British throne throne after the reigns of William & Mary and Queen Ann. Indeed, if she'd just lived a few more months, she would have been queen. As it was, her son became George I, whose line still holds the crown today.
I felt that the trope of making this all about the daughters was a bit of a stretch -- all of the Winter Queen's children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews were involved in the complicated intermarriages and intrigues of the day. And some chapters, while ostensibly about one of the daughters, were really about history in general.
But overall, I really enjoyed this book about powerful women I never knew existed. I have a feeling I'd like Goldstone's other works as well.
Heard a mention of the musical based on this graphic novel in a podcast I've started listening to (Nancy) and remembered that I'd had this book in theHeard a mention of the musical based on this graphic novel in a podcast I've started listening to (Nancy) and remembered that I'd had this book in the back of my mind.
This is an intensely personal memoir of artist Alison Bechdel's years growing up in a family with some serious communication problems in central Pennsylvania. It tells the story of her own coming out, which happened in parallel with the slow realization that her father was also gay. The characterizations are so good, and I love how Bechdel's drawings convey the intensity, longing and confusion that marked her childhood.
I really want to see the musical Fun Home now......more
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