Review: Battle Cry of Freedom

Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a very well-written, readable, comprehensive single-volume compendium on the Civil War. McPherson begins in the mid-19th century detailing the events leading up to the war including Lincoln's rise in politics, the Dred Scott decision, and Harper's Ferry. He covers the causes, the political and social climate, and the economic outlook of the times. Interspersed between the various battles of the war, McPherson covers specific side information such as conscription, medical needs, POW prisons, and data on retention and desertion of troops.

This is a great go-to book on all things related to the Civil War that I'm sure I'll reference many times.

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Review: A Map of Days

A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy this strange series by Ransom Riggs. This is the fourth installment of his Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. I thought the last book was the final one but he has continued on and has certainly left the story open for more installments. I also thought the last book was my favorite but this one outdoes it.

In this story, Jacob, Emma and a few of the other peculiars settle in America for a short time. While visiting Jacob's home preparing to blend in with the normals a few of the gang visit Jacob's grandfather's home and stumble across a secret den that reveals the work that Abe was doing in order to help peculiars around the world. This leads Jacob, Emma, Bronwyn, Millard, and Enoch on a secret mission that reveals itself along the way. All they know is that there is someone that they need to save. They encounter many peculiar people along the way that help them figure out their mission, as well as some people who are intent on keeping them from their intended task.

I love this series. I love the idea of the author taking some bizarre photos he has found in places like rummage sales and antique shops, and building a whole series of books around these pictures. How creative! It's a little bit history, a lot of fantasy, and a bit of horror wrapped up into a very...peculiar...story.

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Review: Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sarah Smarsh grew up in the 1980s and 1990s in rural Kansas, just outside of Witchita. Her family life was pretty typical of poor rural midwestern families who lived day to day, surviving off of what work they could find and hope that each year's crops would get them through another year. She also came from a long line of women who became mothers at an early age and shacked up with the next guy that seemed like they could pull them out of their sad circumstances. The men usually ended up being abusive and uncaring, leading many to multiple divorces and broken hearts. Sarah vowed to end the cycle and pull herself out of poverty, forgoing a family for a college degree. This story is not just Sarah's. In fact, it is more the story of 3 generations of women before her and the economic causes that kept them in rural poverty.

Smarsh's memoir examines the causes behind generations of mid-western rural women who seem to find themselves locked into a cycle of teenage motherhood and broken marriages. It's hard for many to believe that this cycle continues for many in our era of technology. Having grown up not far from where Smarsh lived, I understand the circumstances she reflects on and remember many women who had big dreams of independent success but ultimately ended up following in their mother's footsteps, having children young and a string of men in and out of their lives.

Smarsh used an interesting technique of addressing her story to an unborn child. It is a technique similar to Ta-Nehisi Coates' letter to his son in his book Between the World and Me. However, I don't think Smarsh's use was as successful. Her idea was to write to the child that might have been, had she continued the cycle of her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. It kind of bothered me until the end when she makes a point of saying goodbye to this child that would have been born in poverty. This child will never be because she broke the cycle and has become a successful woman. I think if she had teased that information at the beginning and then reference back to it at the end it would have been better.

Overall, it was an interesting read that made me reflect back on my own mid-western childhood and the circumstances of many rural people I knew growing up. I don't think this book is for everyone. There are no major insights or revelations that come out of it, but the ending does provide a bit of understanding of why poverty exists in small-town America.

I received this book gratis through Goodreads Giveaways.

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Review: Hi Bob!

Hi Bob! by Bob Newhart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an Audible book that I enjoyed listening to on a recent trip. Bob Newhart interviews several standup comedians that he is friends with. The notables include Judd Apatow, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Conan O'Brien, and Sarah Silverman. They all tell stories of how they have met, how they got into the business, and they wax nostalgic on some of the projects they've worked on together. There's a great chapter on Don Rickles, who was Newhart's best friend.

It's a very entertaining book to listen to and nice to hear these people as themselves and not as the characters they portray or in "entertainment" mode. I also liked that they played clips of shows that they were talking about. These are shows like The Tonight Show that Newhart guest hosted many times, as well as his own show, The Bob Newhart Show, that Lisa Kudrow was a guest on. Great book to pass the time on while driving.

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Review: Woodstock: The Oral History

Woodstock: The Oral History by Joel Makower
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the definitive resource on the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in 1969. Utilizing oral history from many of the people who helped produce the concert, as well as the performers, concert-goers, and residents of the White Lake, NY area where the concert was eventually held, this book gives a behind the scenes look at the 3 days of peace and music that has become an iconic symbol of the 1960s counterculture. Some of the stories are nearly unbelievable, but today we have a documentary that was filmed over those 3 days to support the wild testimony of those who were there and recorded in this book.

Author Joel Makower follows the festival from the early beginnings of planning through the aftermath, including follow up on the production team, how funds were paid out and a "where are they now" on those that participated in the oral history project. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the weekend festival, with a revival slated for the same weekend in August. This is a great read for music lovers and those interested in the counterculture of the 60s. It will be interesting to compare the original festival to the upcoming revival later this year.

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Review: America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s, 3rd Edition

America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s, 3rd Edition by Maurice Isserman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

America Divided is a very thorough review of the political, social, and cultural history of the 1960s. This decade is known for being a tumultuous time of change in our nation's history. The 60s begin with a new era of democratic politics, moving away from the conservative leadership of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The young Catholic John F. Kennedy wins the presidency taking on a new age of liberalism. Civil Rights come to the forefront spearheaded by Martin Luther King, the SCLC, and SNCC. Cuba and Vietnam are at the top of the list of JFK's foreign relations concerns. After JFK's assassination, Vice President Lyndon Johnson becomes the nation's leader and the "New Left" rises in the wake of student protests and rising tensions with Vietnam taking us into an unwinnable war. A conservative revival and the war brings another change leading to the election of Richard Nixon in the latter part of the decade. This was the decade that marginal groups yearned to be heard and to gain equal rights for women, Blacks, Chicanos, and LGBT. This book covers it all and covers it well.

Although this book is intended as a scholarly read, for use as a text for history students, it is very readable and a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about this era. The book actually starts in the mid-50s, laying the ground with the mindset of the nation in the post-war era. It continues chronologically through the mid-70s and the resignation of Nixon after the Watergate debacle, but the meatiest part of the text centers on the 60s. It is a somewhat short book yet very thorough. The perfect resource for the 60s.

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Review: Marilla of Green Gables

Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many know the story of the feisty red-headed young Anne Shirley in Lucy Maud Montgomery's series Anne of Green Gables. In Marilla of Green Gables, Sarah McCoy imagines the young life of Anne Shirley's adopted mother, Marilla Cuthbert. In Montgomery's Green Gables series, Marilla is the spinster woman who takes in Anne, along with her spinster brother, Matthew. Neither sibling ever married and in their senior years, they are struggling to keep their family farm going without some young hands to help with the work. They decide to adopt an orphan child. They expected a young boy but end up with Anne Shirley. Montgomery's series focuses primarily on Anne but we get to know and understand a bit about Marilla and Matthew. Marilla is set in her ways and expects Anne to act like a young, proper lady at all times, something Anne usually finds difficult at best.

Why is Marilla so stern? Why did she and Matthew never find mates and marry? McCoy weaves a wonderful backstory of the lives of Marilla and Matthew and gives the reader an idea of what Marilla's childhood might have been like. The story centers on Marilla but also explores Matthew's life. It answers the questions as to why neither marries and also delves into the relationships each sibling has with their neighbors and friends, particularly with John Blythe and Rachel Lynde, both characters that appear in the Green Gables series.

McCoy does a very good job of matching the vernacular and rhythm of the Montgomery series, making this book a prequel that seamlessly melds into the original storyline. I'd like to think that Montgomery would have enjoyed McCoy's book and imagined a similar story for Marilla and Matthew. Although the original series is geared for young readers, Marilla of Green Gables is more adult oriented but would be a good book for tweens and older that were fans of the original series.

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