Top 10 Nonfiction Titles

After my post on All The Tea in China, I started thinking about nonfiction. I read a lot of nonfiction. I think I would say that at this point in my life I prefer nonfiction. Not saying that I don't love to get lost in some imaginary world, but I'm a sucker for a book that will both teach and entertain me. So here are my Top 10 favorite nonfiction titles.

1. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
I read this book of Weiner's study of happiness and the places it can be found, and then immediately passed the book on to my sisters. The NPR correspondent looks at different scales of happiness and then sets out to visit the places that have been listed the happiest on earth (and a few of the least happy). Not only did the book introduce me to the concept of biophilia, but it made me want to travel to places like Iceland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. His study of the different cultures is fascinating and I walked away thinking a lot about happiness and what really makes me happy in the end.

2. The Hive by Bee Wilson
I picked up this book, subtitled The Story of the Honeybee and Us, randomly in a tiny bookstore in Omaha. I read a lot of natural history books and this one was interesting. I had been wanting to eventually set up my own apiary. This book was so beautifully written and provided such an interesting history of bees that I read it over a two day period. Wilson shows how bees have been intertwined with our politics, sex, life, death, and of course food throughout history. A "bee"utiful book.

3. The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage
The only book on this list that I don't own, but I can't think of a nonfiction title that has more impacted the way I look at the world. Standage looks back through human history through the lens of beverages. Through beer, wine, tea, coffee, spirits, and cola, he traces how humans have been changed as these drinks rose to prominence. His last chapter, about the rising importance of water, changed the way I looked at the environmental movement for the better. One of the best books I've ever read. Period.

4. Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson
Larson might be my favorite nonfiction writer out there. At the insistence of my mother I've read almost all of his books. He makes history come alive in a way that I've never encountered before. Isaac's Storm, about the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, tells three stories. The first is about the actual hurricane, how it arrived and what it destroyed. The second is about Isaac Cline, the meteorologist in Galveston that year and how his lack of understanding caused some of the larger damage. It's through Cline's letters and journals that we get the most intimate picture of the catastrophe. And the last story is the story of meteorology itself, from a bunch of guesswork to a somewhat scientific study. All three stories wrap together to make for one exciting and informative read.

5. Longitude by Dava Sobel
This is really a story about sea travel, about the difficulties of sea travel, and about the perfect device that managed to make it less difficult. For centuries sea farers could tell with some accuracy where they were latitudinally but they had no idea what longitude they were at. They could tell how close to the equator they were, but not how far east or west. It was a perilous issue. This book chronicles the invention of the chronometer, which finally allowed sailors the chance to know where in the world they really were. A short, elegant read for anyone interested in travel, history, or inventions.

6. The Medici Giraffe by Marina Belozerskaya
Throughout history, animals have been used by man. Some for food, some for work, and some (as this book discusses) for status. This well researched and beautifully written book looks at how people have used exotic animals as symbols of power and status. It chronicles the early animal trade where exotics were brought back to live in private menageries or paraded down the streets for the people's pleasure. I had never really thought about how animals had been used that way until I realized how often animals are still given as gifts to heads of state. An eye-opening book.

7. The Road of Dreams by Bruce Junek
One of the more obscure titles on this list, although I have several friends who had read this travelogue before I had. The book follows Bruce Junek and his wife Tass Thacker as they bicycle around the world. I've read many "around the world" books but this one was the first to really feel like the authors were getting heavily into the cultures surrounding them. Focusing mostly on North America, Europe, and Asia, this book gave me my first glimpse into traveling lightly yet immersing oneself into a place. I was spellbound by the read as has everyone I've ever lent the book to.

8. Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
After I started scuba diving, I started reading a bit about the history of the pursuit and about successful and unsuccessful dives. Of all the books I've read though, none of them kept me on the edge of my seat like this true story of a group of divers, working on a U-Boat they discovered off the coast of the US. Their tales of the dives they take to discover the identity of the sub and to explore it are gripping. While reading the last chapter I literally forgot to breathe and ended up taking gasping breaths as I flipped pages. Incredibly exciting reading.

9. You Just Don't Understand by Deborah Tannen
This is hands down one of the best books I've ever read about human communication. Tannen explores how and why men and women seem to speak differently. Giving clear examples she shows what each sex is trying to convey in their discussions. While I'll admit that not every woman or man fits a stereotype, this book really changed the way I look at why I say the things I say and what I really mean.  It shaped the way I speak and the way I listen.

10. Rowing to Latitude by Jill Fredston
I've read a lot of books about swimmers and rowers lately. I'm not sure what about the water fascinates me so much but I've been smitten. This book follows Jill Fredston and her husband as they row (as in rowboat) around some of the coldest and inhospitable places on Earth. In winter Fredston is an avalanche rescuer in Alaska. In summer, she and her husband row around the edges of Greenland, Norway, Alaska... to name a few. The writing is beautiful (I copied out tons of quotes), the locations are fascinating, and the interactions between the couple and the world around them makes me want to spend more time outdoors. Great read.

For All the Tea in China

Most people who know me know that I'm a huge coffee drinker. Even after going decaf a couple years ago I still drink a large amount of coffee. But I really should say that I'm a hot beverage person. I drink not just coffee but tea, cocoa, hot cider, mulled wine, and even just hot water. If it's a warm beverage, it's for me. I love tea. There are so many varieties, and unlike with coffee I can easily tell the difference between flavors. And this week I'm inspired to try even more different types of tea.

I just finished the book "For All the Tea in China" by Sarah Rose and was blown away by how much I learned in a scant 250 pages. The book follows Robert Fortune, a botanist in the 1800s who was sent by the East India Company to China to steal tea. Up until that point tea was only grown in China and Britain was becoming dependent on the drink. So the East India Company wanted a source that they could control. So it was decided that tea should be planted in India, a country already under the company's control.

Over three years Fortune was able to gather and smuggle out of China enough tea plants that India was able to produce a crop and in a short period of time nearly end Britain's reliance on Chinese tea. Rose describes it as one of the greatest industrial thefts of all time. It was one of the first instances of industrial espionage which nearly destroyed the Chinese economy. Especially since India was still shipping thousands of pounds of opium to China (If you haven't read about the Opium Wars, they are a fascinating topic.).

Reading the book made me even more curious about the East India Company, a company I knew something about but never really realized the full horror of what it did. Can you imagine having a for-profit corporation in control of your government? All your basic services at its whim? While we talk about corporate control here in the US I still don't have to rely on Wall Street for my fire protection or schools. Rose spends some time talking about the Honourable Company (as it was sometimes called) but left me wanting more, the mark of a great nonfiction book.

But the book also made me more curious about tea. I read a section about the Assam teas from India and was excited to realize that I had just picked up a Golden Assam from our local tea merchant, Gong Fu. The book talked about the Darjeeling teas, which I realize I've never had a great example of. There was a small discussion of monkey-picked teas, something that I had always been curious about (and now won't be trying). Suddenly I want to run down to Gong Fu and try all their teas. I want to sample them and write tasting notes the way people do with whiskey and scotch. A fascinating book. But be warned, it will make you crave tea. I don't want to think about all the cups I drank over the last two days of reading it.

Brady and Grant

A year or so ago I wrote a rather tragically maudlin post about passion and madness and showed a photograph of Charles Baudelaire that I'd always loved. You can find that post here. I was thinking about that photo again because I stumbled across another photo that I've loved all my life and can't tell you why.

I'm reading a book about writers and artists and dignitaries crossing paths in the past. The friendships that developed from a chance meeting or a business arrangement between two famous authors that is rarely known. An 8 year old Henry James sits for a portrait by Mathew Brady because his father wants a photo. A literary critic happens upon a lunch with Walt Whitman. And the current story is about the collaboration between Mathew Brady (photographer extraordinare) and Ulysses S. Grant. The first photo show is the one below. One of General Grant at his base camp.

From the Britannica 

I saw this image decades ago and instantly became fascinated with Grant. Perhaps it is Brady's skill as a photographer that made me want to know more about this man. Perhaps it's the dark but bold look on Grant's face. I've seen other pictures of the General, many of them by Brady, but none affect me the way this one does. I remember clearly looking at the picture and instantly having a gut reaction of fascination. I have a copy of Grant's autobiography waiting to be read. He was a deeply flawed individual but those often make the most interesting people. I've read accounts of his life but I've never read his own words. I know that he died days after finishing it. When his name was mentioned as a book lover my ears perked up. But before I knew all that, I was still fascinated. That one image was enough to make want to know more about a very unusual man. That says a lot about a photograph.

Yes I Am That Geeky

I was sorting through some old pictures recently when I came across this gem of a picture and thought I'd share. This was my college dorm room. I was living there alone so all the pictures are exclusively my taste. Yes, I am that much of a geek. Original Star Wars poster. The poster right below is for The Professional with Jean Reno, a very young Natalie Portman, and Gary Oldman. Blade Runner is a sure sign of a geek. What you can only barely see in the mirror was my Raider of the Lost Ark poster. The other images came from magazines and mostly I just liked the image or the idea behind them. I remember all of them fondly. I still to this day pull out images that interest me. This room was totally me. And totally geeky. I just had to share.

The Emperor of All Maladies

It's something that has touched every single one or us in one way or another. It's the dreaded "C" word, something whispered about in families in the early centuries. It's been the focus of decades of highly specialized research and public outcry. It's cancer, the emperor of all maladies. I haven't posted much this past week because I've been lost in a good book. I've been lost in a world of clinical trials, aggressive treatment, genetics, surgery, and research. A week or so ago my dad lent me The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee and I haven't been able to put it down. For such a depressing topic, Mukherjee really makes the topic fascinating. I haven't wanted to leave the book.

This "biography" looks at the history of the disease and the treatments and research that has been done to find the cure for cancer. It includes Imhotep's first mention of cancer (breast cancer) all the way to the most recent research being done on different types of cancer. And it's an incredible history. Galen (A Greek in AD 160 Rome) believed that cancer came from black bile building up in the body which would have to be drained. Not surprisingly this was disproved. In the mid 1800s Dr. Halsted believed that radical surgery was the only way to "cure" breast cancer. These surgeries would often remove whole sections of the chest cavity. Again this was proved false...after a couple hundred years. In the 1970s and 80s the cure was radical chemotherapy a practice of killing off any cell in the body that divided, cancerous or healthy, and then injecting healthy cells back in. All of these have been stepping stones in the War against Cancer. And all of them have changed medicine for the good or the bad.

If it had just been a history of the treatment and research I would have found the book interesting, but Mukerjee intersperses stories of patients who he has treated. He talks about the psychological effects of cancer, on both patients and doctors. He delves into cancer activism to see its effects on the national dialogue. And he discusses which cancers are being treated and which we are still looking to find some sort of solution for. He discusses the national obsession with a "cure for cancer" and the humility, hubris, hope, and despair that has gone alone with that search. He talks about doctors who can't see past their own arrogance and doctors who risk everything to find a medication that will work. He details the stories of drugs created, clinical trials failed, and every step on the road to where we have finally arrived.

There is now miracle drug at the end of this book. Mukherjee is quick to point out that cancer, is not simply one disease, so there can't be only one cure. But he condenses and distills centuries of history into a complete look at how we have failed and succeeded in finding treatments for the various different types of cancer. From the earliest treatment from Leukemia to the protein targeted drugs of today, this was simply riveting. I don't remember the last time I read something this technical, this detailed, and still found it both informative and entertaining. A great read. And a great history.

Follow the Red Brick Road

I live on Grand Avenue on the west side of Des Moines. I work on Grand Avenue on the east side of the city. So everyday I drive Grand the entire 15 miles (yeah I'm spoiled) that it takes me to cross the city and get from home to office. Des Moines is a small city, in both population and size.

Grand Avenue though is picturesque. It's one of the prettier streets in the city, passing by some fantastic historical mansions, gorgeous churches, a college, and even the Governor's mansion. I pass some beautiful architecture on my commute.

The street is being resurfaced right now though. For about fifteen to twenty blocks it is what the city calls "rough road". That means that all the smooth asphalt has been stripped away and the road has been graded. It's a bouncy couple of blocks. But when I was driving in this morning I noticed something that I hadn't before. Under all the asphalt is brick. Grand was once a brick road.

I'm not sure why that surprises me. It's one of the oldest streets in the city. And brick paving was the only paving for nearly a century. But I'd never seen the bricks. I never thought about how beautiful the street would have looked paved with those even square red bricks. The masonry work is very good, very even (at least of what I can see). All this got me thinking though about all the history that is buried right under my feet. Not just on Grand but in general. I'm standing on centuries of history every moment. Each piece of land has a story to tell. I'm not sure why I never noticed.

All these years of driving down Grand, twice a day, and I never thought about how it had been paved before. I wish I had seen it totally brick paved. It would have been stunning. But I'm glad I got to see those bits of bricks. They made the rough road worth it.

Whole Lotta Shakin'...just not here

I'd been meaning to write a book review (and had even started it) but a friend's email sent me in a complete other direction. She'd sent me a story from our local news source about a smaller (3.5) earthquake that just hit Nebraska. It touched on Southwest Iowa and the shaking was only for a couple seconds. But still, it was an earthquake!!

The comments on the news site are all worried. After all, we do live on the New Madrid Fault, one of the largest ones in the country. The fact that it hasn't done any serious moving or shaking since 1812 doesn't seem to reassure people. The comments (nothing good ever comes from reading the comments-PVP), all seem to say that this will be the end of the world. I have to admit that my first response to the story was not fear. It was excitement. If Nebraska can have an earthquake, we can. And I've always wondered what it feels like.

Now I'm not inviting quakes on the same size as the 1812 one. Those (there were four within a three month stretch of time) rang church bells in Boston and Washington DC. All of them were over 8.0 on the richter scale. Those could easily destroy sections of the city. Although we don't have a ton of skyscrapers, our builders aren't really built for earthquakes. But I wouldn't mind feeling a bit of a 3.5 quake. I'm just curious what it would be like. I've done a ton of reading about quakes and other natural disasters and always wonder what they are actually like. So perhaps we'll eventually feel a small one. Something like what my in-laws informed me hit St. Louis. A bit of shaking in the middle of the night to wake everyone up. Heck if Nebraska gets one, shouldn't we?

Poetry and Politics

I realized last week that I haven't done a Poetry Friday in many many weeks now. I've either been bad about posting and then trying to catch up, or I just haven't been in the poetry mood. But a poem that keeps popping up on TV has me thinking about Whitman. And a bit peeved.

I'm sure by now you've seen the black and white Levi's commercials which include a video montage of either young people or scenes from America. Over these images is a scratchy voice reciting poetry, in particular Pioneers, Oh Pioneers and America both by Walt Whitman. The ads are unique in using poetry to sell a product. The mood they create is young, patriotic, and excited. In that sense they are successful.

The first time I saw these ads I was shocked. Not only was I hearing snippets of poetry, but that Levi's was again touting their American-ness. Now I understand that is the bedrock of the company's brand. They are the American jeans company. And they are all about American values. The funny thing for me about that is that Levi Strauss shuttered the last of their American manufacturing plants back in 2003 (most though had closed in the late 80s, early 90s). They no longer have any Canadian manufacturing either. Those were also closed about the same time. The only thing American about the Levi Strauss company is the headquarters. So I guess they can say that their designs are American, just not their actual make-up. I'm curious that these ads are so overtly American values based considering how recently they shut their last plant.

But the real thing that fascinated me was the narrator. That scratchy voice that seemed so old and yet spoke of youth. And then just recently I listened to an NPR interview with Neil Gaiman on audio books. He was talking about early audio and he played a click of America. The same scratchy voice. The same inflections as the commercial. And I realized what I'm listening to. That's Walt Whitman. Supposedly Whitman recorded four lines of America on a wax cylinder for a phonograph (early phonographs used cylinders instead of records). Pioneers is done by an actor since Whitman never recorded that one. Here is the kicker though, this would have been recorded in 1890. There is still discussion of whether it is actually his voice but most scholars agree that it is. And I'm intrigued. This is history. I'm actually saddened that it took a commercial to point me to The Whitman Recording. And a little saddened that is being used to sell jeans. But I guess if it spreads the word about his poetry and the recording, they are doing some good.

And that is a long introduction to finally bring you the poem which is much smaller. This is the full text of America by Walt Whitman.

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear'd, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair'd in the adamant of Time.

To listen to the recording check out the Walt Whitman Archive or Poets.org.

Isaac's Storm

They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Isaac's Storm is a perfect example of this.

About two years ago I read Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City at the insistence of my mother. Now that is noteworthy for the fact that my mother is not much of a book reader. It is rare that she makes recommendations so I tend to read them. The book told the juxtaposed stories of the construction of the World's Fair in Chicago, and the story of H.H. Holmes, a brilliant serial killer who supposedly killed more than 27 people. The stories may seem odd bedfellows but Larson intertwined them in ways that just make sense. And kept me fascinated. I devoured the book and started seeking out more of Larson's books. I bought Isaac's Storm but it ended up relegated to my shelves until this past trip. I figured with a hurricane just missing the Yucatan Peninsula where I was going, this would be perfect beach reading.

Isaac's Storm also tells multiple stories. The first is about the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. The storm has been considered one of the worst natural disasters to ever occur on U.S. soil. It killed over 6000 people and almost leveled the entire city of Galveston. The reason the hurricane was so devastating is mostly because the town never had any indication that it would be hit. The storm simply wasn't predicted. And that leads to the other stories in the book. Larson also tells the story of Isaac Cline, the chief weather observer for Galveston and provides a history of meteorology and hurricane prediction. In the early 1900s the Weather Bureau in the US was just starting out and so many of their predictions were based on the current knowledge. The "law of storms" as it were. And the "law" stated that no hurricanes ever went that far into the Gulf of Mexico. Because of that Galveston never built a seawall to protect itself from hurricanes. Because of the known "law of storms" the chief meteorologist never noticed the classic signs of a major storm. And because of this arrogant ignorance, a town nearly was destroyed.

Galveston after the hurricane

Larson weaves these stories together beautifully. This well researched book reads like a novel in parts, and a detailed history in others. I learned a ton about the early history of weather prediction, about the signs and warnings of a hurricane, and about the people and the city of Galveston. All personal accounts are based on letters and on Isaac's own accounts of living through the hurricane. The Weather Bureau at that time used telegrams to convey current conditions and predictions so Larson had a treasure trove of documents that allowed him to map the storm out. In many of the chapters we follow the path of the storm as it grows and moves east into the Gulf. We learn how the Cubans tracked the storm perfectly but because of an arrogant director at the Weather Bureau, those reports were not read. This was a book for me about devastation that possibly could have been avoided. It was about willful ignorance and arrogance and the feeling that humans could control nature. And it was particularly poignant after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

As I mentioned at the beginning, those who fail to learn from history are destined to repeat it. We see a city like New Orleans, very much like the city of Galveston. It was built below sea level. It was built without a high enough levee to fight off rising waters. It was a city built on arrogance that a storm could never be powerful enough to destroy it. And one did. And many people lost their lives and their property because of it. I know I'm up on my soapbox here but I see them rebuilding New Orleans and I hope that this time they get it right. Building in a flood plain is risky and arrogant. And for some reason we keep doing it. No matter what the consequences. I hope fervently that the government of New Orleans rebuilds with the worry of another storm. I hope they rebuild smart. Or if they won't, then they shouldn't rebuild.

Forgotten Bookmarks

One of the interesting things about blogger is that when you hit the main page, there is a listing of blogs of note. I don't check them very often but when I do I'm always rewarded with an incredibly interesting site. They do their homework and only seem to highlight blogs that are updated regularly and with unusual material. Yesterday after I posted and logged off I clicked through the blogs of note. And found what could be my new favorite blog.

Forgotten Bookmarks is an unusual blog in that the site features objects and items left in books. The writer works in a used bookstore and checks each of the books for left materials. And there are some interesting things left behind in books. I have not been through the entire archive yet but I will. There are postcards from family members, letters of apology, photographs, recipes, and tons of other interesting bits of ephemera. The blog's author always includes both a photo of the item found and the cover of the book it was found it.

Some of these items are pretty old, going back to the 1800s. The librarian in me is just fascinated by this collection of odds and ends history. As a reader I'm always excited to find notes or dedications in the used books I pick up. I have found the occasional library slip in some of my library books and find that fascinating. But this is a wonderful hodge-podge of personal items that somehow got overlooked. Some are old, some are new. Some are very personal, some are just advertisements. And of course even more interesting is which books they get left in. Below is a great example. The boar picture is actually a card that used to be included in cigarette packs.

I am truly excited about this blog. I've always loved found art and this has something of that appeal. I know that I tend to use whatever I have lying around as a bookmark. I'm not sure if I've left things in books although I try to check. But there is something incredibly personal and interesting about what other people just happen to use and then forget. I'll be adding this to my virtual bookmarks and checking out the great history that people have left behind. For those readers, librarians, or historians out there, here is an odd little blog that's definitely one to check out.

Thunderbolt Kid

I'm apparently on a Bill Bryson kick. Last week I read Shakespeare: The World as Stage and this week I just finished Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. I think I've read all of Bryson's books now and have enjoyed every single one of them. One of the better humor/travel writers of our times. I learned a lot from the Shakespeare book but I laughed a lot more with Thunderbolt Kid. While Shakespeare took me a couple days to work through, Thunderbolt Kid was gone over the weekend. I couldn't stop reading it.

Bill Bryson tells a hilarious story of growing up in the 1950s in Des Moines. As a Des Moines native myself this book is wonderful for all the great history. I know many of the places he talks about. The downtown Younkers building that he speaks of so affectionately was where I had my first job out of college. And not on the sales floor. I was working up in advertising and got to spend a lot of my time in the bowels of the building. It was an interesting building. Many of the streets he talks about are my current daily commute. (Grand or Ingersoll) Some of the houses he mentions in the South of Grand area are still standing. Some things may have changed but some things (like my love of Bishops cafeteria) will never die.

But the book is not just Des Moines history. This is the story of Bryson's family but also about the outside world in general. His discussion on nuclear energy and our plans for it in the fifties are enough to make me cringe and laugh at the same time. As he puts it, we were apparently indestructable. I guess at one point the government was even looking into rocket mail delivery. This was the time when some of my favorite SciFi writers were really ramping up. Space travel, Mars colonies. Bryson describes all of the scientific fever of the day brilliantly.

The Thunderbolt Kid was Bryson's alter ego in the book. A superhero who develops x-ray vision for the purpose of looking under clothes. (and even removing restricting clothing) The fact that it can vaporize annoying people was just a side bonus. So Bryson goes through the book vaporizing stupid people, growing up, and exploring his city. So much of this book was laugh out loud funny. His stories about his family were odd and wonderful but I could also identify with them. All families are quirky in their own way. One of his closing stories, about a bomb one of his friends built, had me literally on the floor laughing. This book is a love story to a changed city but also a humorous reflection on what it meant to be a kid in the fifties. Well worth a read.

Don't Know Much About...Shakespeare

Like most kids I was first introduced to one of Shakespeare's plays in my freshman year of high school. We were required, like pretty much everyone else, to read Romeo and Juliet. The play was good but mostly I remember that I was forced to read it and how much of a joke we all thought it was at the time. In my Junior year I took advanced literature and we read Julius Caesar. Except we read it in modern translation. For some reason "Friends, Romans, Country people, listen to me" just doesn't have the same ring as "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend me your ears." It was an even bigger joke. I actually got in trouble for following along in the old English.

It wasn't until I actually sat down on my own and read Twelfth Night that I fell in love with Shakespeare. I took a course in college where we dissected at least 8 of his plays. I loved reading them in the old translation and understanding the jokes and asides behind them. What they didn't teach me in high school was that Shakespeare was funny and insightful and political. I was just told that he was a classic and that I had to read him. And he is a classic and his plays should be read. But not just because he is listed as a classic. Shakespeare's work is some of the most copied or used works ever. His plays define the most common plot styles. More words and common phrases have come out of Shakespeare's work than any other writer in history. Yet we know almost nothing about him. I certainly didn't learn anything about his life in high school or college.

So this past week I picked up Bill Bryson's Shakespeare: The World as Stage with the desire to learn a little bit more about his history. I was in for a rude awakening. We don't really know that much about him in general. There are large periods of time in his history that we have no idea what city he was even in. We can't say for certain what day he was born. We know a little bit about his father who was not the provincial that every claims he was. We know some of the plays that he wrote but we are missing a few. We know he acted in all the plays he wrote, although we will probably never know the order in which he wrote them. We don't even really know what he looked like.

The sonnets, some of Shakespeare's most romantic poems, were written for a young man although we don't know his relationship to that young man. We know he was married and that he had two daughters but we have no idea what sort of relationship he had with any of them. For a while I guess there was a claim going around that Shakespeare didn't own any books. The sad fact is that other than two houses, a couple beds, a sword, and a silver bowl, we have no idea what sort of things he owned. We aren't even sure if the will he left is his own. Or really how to spell his name. (He himself spelled it six or seven different ways).

Bryson of course does touch on the statements that have been made that Shakespeare didn't write the works that are attributed to him. I waited for most of the book to hear his take on the controversy. And Bryson delivered. It was interesting to learn the history of where these accusations have come from. Most of the people who came up with these theories were either completely loony (actually the last name of one of the accusers) or basing the accusation on no actual evidence. For most of the people doubting, it is based entirely on an idea that Shakespeare wasn't smart enough to write the plays. And my favorite point was that no one, for the first 100 years after Shakespeare's death, questioned his authorship. Many praised his work during his own time. I would think that would be proof enough.

I've read a lot of Shakespeare's work, some in classes, some on my own. I've marveled at his turn of phrase and fantastic flair for the dramatic. The soliloquies in Hamlet, the staging of Macbeth, the humor of Much Ado About Nothing. The man was an amazing writer. I bet he was a good actor as well. Sadly, the world will never know.

Calling on the Carnegies

Every profession has its heroes. Those people who have done more for the profession than others. Strangely librarians have an odd hero to thank. The profession, particularly public librarianship, was changed more than anything by a man who wasn't a librarian. Nor was he really that interested in libraries. And we, both librarians and American citizens, owe him a debt of gratitude. 

Andrew Carnegie didn't start out to build libraries. In fact the idea of a public library, which was city funded and free for the community, was still something of a novel idea. But Carnegie was asked to do something for one of his towns. (a town populated mostly by his workers) So he built them a community center. And then he built them a library. I'm not sure where the idea started that Carnegie was handing out money for libraries but people started writing him letters. Hundreds of letters. Letters from Mayors and rotary clubs and private citizens and investors. 

And Carnegie started handing out funds. His institution built more than 1600 libraries across the country. Mostly because people asked for money. He personally spent $40 million dollars for these buildings, not a small sum in the early 1900s. For many small towns this was the only way they could get a library. There were stipulations to the money though. The town would have to maintain the library and provide upkeep. The town would also have to match a certain amount of funds. It was one of the first times that libraries were designed to be financed by the city. Carnegie built the building, but the city had to do the rest. 

I love libraries. I've been in tiny libraries and massive multi-story libraries and haven't found one yet that I didn't love. For library lovers out there, or even book lovers, check out this page from Curious Expeditions. It includes some of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Some of them can be found in Cynthia Hofer's stunning book entitled Libraries (pictured below) but many of them are simply photos gathered from many different sources that showcase just how incredible libraries can be. I mean it, check it out. You won't be disappointed. 

There were over a hundred Carnegie libraries in Iowa and although some have been torn down, I am vowing to go visit (and photograph) all the remaining ones. This will give me a chance to get into some of the smaller Iowa towns and the excuse to visit some interesting libraries. And maybe even preserve some history before it gets torn down. So although you may not care, expect to start seeing library pictures, hopefully soon.  

Source:Life

Google has been doing some amazing things in the last couple of years. And I'm not just talking about the new data center they are building here in Iowa. (my office helped bring the company in). Des Moines was recently added to the street view images which is pretty incredible. I can literally walk down any of the streets in Des Moines all from the comfort of my desk. Here for example is my favorite lunch place. When I talk about Lucca for lunch, this is where I mean.

Google has also been great about putting book content online. Bookstores and publishers are grumbling, but I still say that the more information that is out there, the better. Education and knowledge are simply the most important resources we have. Without education, society simply isn't possible. So all of these books are now becoming increasingly available online, thanks to Google and it's gigantic servers. (the environmental aspect of servers and data centers I won't get into)

But my favorite new thing that Google has done recently is Life. The company has posted thousands of old Life Magazine photos on their image search. These are original pictures pulled straight from the magazine and searchable by all. To find old Life images, go to Google, click on image search, type in your subject words, and then type source:life. This will search only the Life Magazine pictures. You can also access the entire archive from the image search page. This is a rather impressive archive and a wonderful treasure trove for a history fan.

As I'm a huge Walt Disney fan I searched for him in the Life photos. And luckily, no single person, spent more time getting photographed for Life than Disney did. All interesting shots. Here is perhaps the most famous one going around. This is mostly because it shows Disney smoking. Since the man was a pack a day or two pack a day smoker, I'm only surprised that more photos don't show him that way.

Here are some great photos of early Disneyland and the building of Disneyland. I was in history heaven.

And here is perhaps my favorite picture I've ever seen of Disney. This reminds me of why he was a creative genius. Even if he didn't draw Mickey Mouse (Ubb Iwerks did most of those drawings) he still had a hand in everything. He was naturally curious and just loved what he did.

Plantings and Peanuts

While I was down in St. Louis this past weekend, my father-in-law and I headed out to the History Museum while Jeff was sleeping. This is a beautiful museum in the middle of Forest Park and I'd been there a couple times before. The main exhibit this trip was on George Washington Carver and I have to say I learned more in the couple hours we were at the museum than I have in a long time. Carver was a fascinating man.

Now I know what you're thinking. Peanuts. I must have learned all about the peanut. That is of course what Carver is known for. And it is true that before Carver, peanuts had primarily been used as hog feed. No one was growing them to eat. He really introduced how valuable a crop peanuts can be. But he also did the same thing with the sweet potato and the soybean.

I was fascinated by this exhibit because most of the issues that Carver talked about are issues that are affecting Iowa right now. When Carver, who was an Iowa State graduate, went down to Alabama he noticed that the only thing people were planting was cotton. And the soil was dying. Cotton, like corn, leeches the nitrogen from the soil. Carver realized that in order to survive, the soil needed crop rotation. If you live in the upper midwest this discussion should sound familiar. If it doesn't...well it should. We have been focusing on King Corn for a while, the same way Alabama focused on King Cotton. And the soil is dying.

Carver learned that crop rotation was the key but no one wanted to plant other crops. They didn't know what to do with them. So he taught them. He found 300 uses for the peanut, including oils, plastics, and of course food. He didn't invent peanut butter but he did make it better. He found hundreds of uses for the soybean. He taught out of the Tuskegee Institute which had no money for lab equipment. Carver worked with his students and took his ideas around the countryside, teaching the farmers. And farms prospered.

Carver started his life in Missouri but his time in Iowa is what interested me the most. At a tough time for African-Americans he found a college (Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa) who accepted him. He graduated with a fine arts degree. He painted and played multiple instruments. Then he went on to Iowa State where he became an on campus sensation for his fantastic ideas not for the color of his skin. He could have easily stayed to teach at ISU but Tuskegee offered him the job and he had to go help. The man only took one raise in his life. He loved sharing his ideas and never once patented his inventions. Truly a modern day Renaissance Man. And a man who's ideas are still pertinent today.

Election Fever

I know you're all tired of hearing it but if you haven't had a chance to get out and vote, do it. I went this morning at 7:15 and was the 80th person through my polling place. My hope is that this means that there will be a good turnout. I've had smaller elections where I went at 6:00 pm and was the 80th person. In Des Moines we don't tend to get the huge crowds that some of the polling places in New York seemed to have today. The lines around the block have been encouraging.

Now I don't tend to be a political person. My idea tends to be that the less the government does, the better. My dad once told me that the best situation is to have a Democratic president and a Republican Congress or vice versa. Less gets done that way. Cynical I know but that seems to be the overwhelming response before this election. Suddenly everyone is excited about politics and I have to admit that I have been swept up in the fever. My plan for this evening is to go home, turn on the TV and watch the results roll in. I've never done that with any election before. Now I'm not going to say that the computer won't be on during the whole thing. I'm sure Jeff will talk me into playing some WOW. But Tuesdays are traditionally my knitting night. But I don't really want to go tonight. And everyone who normally knits with me says the same. They want to stay home tonight and watch. History is about to be made, no matter who wins.

And today is a proud day to be an American. I love election day. The actual election process gets old fast but election day is wonderful. This one started almost two years ago and has been the focus of more media coverage than any other before it. I get three or four political campaign calls a day and I hate those. But election day is special. I get to go and cast MY vote for who I want. I get to stand in line with my fellow Americans (and that is one of the few days we call ourselves that) and make my small voice heard. I get to do something that some countries' citizens don't get to do. And for that I'm proud. I don't care who you vote for, I don't want to know. That's between you and the voting booth. But if you want to complain during the next four years about who our president is, make sure you've said your piece and cast your vote.

Forgetting to breath and handmade pages

This is two blog posts in one because it has been a rough two day stretch for me. I've been forgetting to breath. Not literally but I've been so stressed recently that I have been at people's throats. I also haven't been sleeping which is odd. Normally I close my eyes and am out like a light. Although I used to think I was a deep sleeper until I met Jeff. He literally slept through our smoke alarm one night. 

I finally finished my application for the Minneapolis job but that had been weighing on my mind a lot. I know that it is not due until the beginning of October but I hate job applications enough that they severely stress me out. I have a project at work that is half a month overdue (bad Cat) and a presentation to write that I have to deliver at the end of the month. That is the one that is stressing me out the most. I hate public speaking. When they called asking me if I would do these hour-long sessions I was so flattered that I said yes. Then I actually thought about what they were asking. Now I'm terrified. My least favorite part is that my hands sweat and the moment I am done speaking I will have no idea what I just said. Bleh. 

So to make up for all this negative energy I decided to post some of my favorite pages. The British Library has a segment of their website called Turning the Pages. This beautiful area includes a number of books that have been scanned into the system and allow readers to turn the pages of their favorite books to see the wonderful illustrations or handwritten notes. These are the original works created by the author. My favorite has to be the Alice in Wonderland that is handwritten with little images of Alice and the characters. 

The main site is http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html. Be warned, to see the pages you will need to have Shockwave installed on your computer. But the images are worth it. Here is an example of a page, written in Lewis Carroll's handwriting with one of his drawings. I love this kind of thing. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books and it is wonderful to get to see it as Carroll wrote it. 

I have also added a screenshot of the Elizabeth Blackwell's Herbal. This beautiful book includes hand-drawn illustration of plants along with their medicinal uses. The book was published in 1737 and was written to pay off Blackwell's husbands debts and free him from debtors prison. It was unheard of for a woman at that time to write, particularly something of a serious natural text. These are just two examples of the books available for your perusal. I would easily recommend checking out the site. It includes images from Leonardo Di Vinci's notebooks, The Diamond Sutra (the oldest book in the world A.D. 868), the first full atlas (done in the 1500s), and many others. Shockwave is free so that shouldn't stop you.