Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts

Founding Mothers: The Women who raised our nation.

By Cokie Roberts

As you can probably tell this book is about the women behind the men known as the Founding Fathers of our nation. Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Betsy Ross, Dolley Madison and Mercy Otis Warren just to name a few. Roberts thoroughly explores the maxim - behind every great man is an even greater woman. By using excerpts of letters to each other, family members and their husbands, Roberts is able to paint a portrait of vivacious, intelligent, caring, ardent patriots that made the work of their more famous husbands possible. At one point Roberts states that if it hadn't been for their husbands, history would have forgotten or never known these women. Her point being, they didn't do anything out of the ordinary for their time and yet their lives were extraordinary. In a time when women were not expected to do much of anything by societal norms, these women and hundreds - thousands of women like them - defended their homes from the British, ran business, plantations/farms, supported the Revolution in spirit and physically in the form of donations of money, time, supplies and on more than one occasion by joining in the fighting. My favorite person is by far Abigail Adams. As her husband was off signing the Declaration of Independence, in Paris working on the peace treaty, being Vice President and then President, she kept the home fires burning. She managed their financial matters and often advised her husband on political matters. She often understood the political climate and events better than her husband (the President) and could predict quite reliably what would happen. She wasn't afraid to tell her husband what she thought and let him know she was upset with him. On more than one occasion in letters to anyone who would listen, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, her husband, she advocated the education and equality of women. She was feisty, independent and deeply loved her country and her husband.

If you have any interest at all in women's history or even early American history this book is a must read. Roberts' style of writing is easy to read and entertaining. It's more like talking to a good friend who happens to know quite a bit about early Revolutionary women.

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

In March, my Social Studies book club will be making selections for the next year's books. And this is my pick. In fact, I intend to lead a full-scale campaign for this one to be chosen because it sort of puts the "A" in Awesome.

Timothy Egan's The Big Burn tells the story of the beginnings of the National Forest Service and the fire that "saved" its very existence. Did you know Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and John Muir basically started the entire conservation movement in the United States? Did you know a lot of people were against conservation and the National Forest Service? Did you know that in 1910 hundreds of people died or were injured in a crazy giant wildfire that wiped out most of the Lolo National Forest in Idaho? Did you know that Roosevelt's chief forrester, Gifford Pinchot, maintained a spiritual love affair with a dead woman for most of his life? You could learn all this, and more!, if you read Egan's book!!

Egan's writing style is fast and fluid--reminding me a lot of David McCullough's narrative style; he includes a lot of interesting details that add character and life to the story. The historical tale itself is amazing and much of it seems like the stuff of movies--but its all true! And its crazy to me--a history teacher--that I had never even heard of most of this stuff before I picked up the book. And really, you should pick up the book. Fabulous.

A

P.S. What do you think? Will I convince the others to make this one of the book club picks?

Mr. Darcy broke my heart

I debated about posting this review because it's long and because of the book but I suppose my better judgment was overruled.


Mr. Darcy broke my heart - Beth Pattillo

I've been reading Les Miserables and really enjoying it but my dear friend Victor can be a bit on the heavy side. So when I went into Barnes and Noble last weekend I wanted something light and fun that I could get through quickly without the urge to mark passages and make notes in the margins. I was perusing the new fiction table and I noticed this book because of the cover. There is a woman in a pretty red dress...what can I say, I like pretty dresses!

I read the back and the first few pages and was intrigued. Now, here comes the disclaimer - even though I really hate to have to put one, I know I need to. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on modern representations of Jane Austen and actually devoted an entire chapter to Chick Lit - a term that just rubs me the wrong way. It irritates me that it's an actual literary term but so it is. What was I saying...ah yes...thesis. I was looking at how Austen has been used and maybe abused by authors today in a myriad of different ways. It's interesting to see that what is being said usually says more about the person saying it than Austen herself. It's something that still interests me a great deal so when I see a book that has anything to do with Austen I take a look. I've read it all. Continuations of Austen's novels, retellings and works "inspired" by Austen's novels. Some are quite entertaining and others are glorified fan-fiction with sex, duels and heaving bosoms. But I digress...

Pattillo actually surprised me with this story. What could have been more of the same - glorified fan fiction and heaving bosoms intrigued me. It takes place in one week while the main character, Claire, is attending a summer seminar at Oxford on Jane Austen. Claire has recently lost her job, she has a boyfriend that is less than enthusiastic, her parents died when she was 18 and she has been taking care of her younger sister ever since. While there she just happens to meet an old woman who just happens to be a direct descendant of Austen through one of Austen's brothers. And this woman just happens to have the lost manuscript of First Impressions - what would later become Pride & Prejudice.The plot is ridiculous but it's just what keeps the characters moving. Claire, of course, meets a good looking, mysterious man while there but it's not what you think it would be.

Pattillo does something that I haven't encountered with other Austen spin offs. She uses the larger than life character of Mr. Darcy as a vehicle for self discovery for her heroine. The story isn't really about Claire's love life or who she will or won't end up with. It's about her finally coming to terms with her parent's death and letting go of her little sister. It's not the best novel I've ever read but I was pleasantly surprised with it. The sections that took place in the classroom were fun for me because it reminded me of my own Austen Seminar Senior year. This definitely isn't a book for everyone but it was a good antidote to Hugo and his heavy handed metaphors and suffering.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

I think most of us are at least familiar with the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There are movies, TV shows and even a Broadway musical based on the story. In fact, it was the musical that made me want to read the original source material (it's good!). I went to my local Barnes and Noble and got it for about $8 (I love the B&N Classics Series). Excitedly I sat down to read, looking forward to the suspense, mystery. Murder! Mistaken Identities! Good vs. Evil! A real page turner, right? Hm...not so much. It's not a full novel but rather a short novella...about 60 or so pages. I got to the very end where Dr. Jekyll explains what he did and I didn't even want to read it. I wasn't attached to the characters, I didn't care what happened to them or what Jekyll's reasons/motivations where. I just did.not.care. If you're looking for an exciting story with a little mystery, don't bother. However, if you're looking for a story that kind of sort of looks at Victorian morals, this may be the story but probably not.

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown (4 of 5 Disguised Pyramids)

Tom Hanks...I mean Robert Langdon, is out saving the world again from secret societies and crazy villains. In typical Dan Brown style he has marketed the novel to the widest base of readers as humanly possible. You'll be hooked by Brown's book if you are interested in any of the following: secret societies (the Masons), Washington, DC landmarks, wealthy families, emerging sciences, Ivy League schools, religion, politics, new technologies, exotic animals, attractive women, tattoos, Europe, family disputes, psychology, airplanes, black op government agencies, fast cars, secret tunnels, codes, symbols, US history, libraries, guns, art history, mathematics, romance, iPhones, computer hacking...uh...did I miss anything?...oh yeah, lap swimming.

Don't get me wrong. Like the rest of Dan Brown's books, I enjoyed The Lost Symbol enough to read 500 pages in under 48 hours. I felt it was kind of obnoxious though how Brown was perhaps tainting the book by packing so many things into it just to sell more copies. Did anyone else feel that way? And all that religious preaching at the end...that was new. Does anyone see Brown being the next L. Ron Hubbard?... :)

My primary connection with the book was its setting in Washington, DC. Having spent last summer out there doing an internship, I was pretty familiar with all of the locations that Brown described. I was a little disappointed though that there weren't more locations mentioned. The only one I hadn't seen in person was the Smithsonian Support Center. Has anyone been there? From Google Maps it looks like it is outside of the DC limits, southeast of the Mall.

While Angels and Demons was definitely more absurd than The Lost Symbol I enjoyed the former more for just that reason. Part of the fun of reading A&D was seeing just how far Brown would push the limits of his book...anti-matter bombs under the Vatican? Jumping out of helicopters without a parachute? Artificial insemination? Was anyone else disappointed to see how the movie version removed these crazy plot twists? TLS also lacked the prominent "time lock" that A&D had. While both novels had the midnight deadline for pending world catastrophe, A&D was constantly reaffirming the necessity of catching the villain each hour. TLS only mentioned the deadline a few times, which allowed the tension to dissipate somewhat during the middle of the novel.

Oh well. So it goes. Props to Dan Brown for making the book as good as it was. I just think it could have been much better. What did the rest of you think of it of The Lost Symbol?

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

I've finished a number of books recently but not felt a great need to review them here. This one, however, was different. Maybe it was the massive length of my copy--625 pages!--or maybe it was just the amazing nature of this story, but I do think everyone needs to take some time out of their lives and read the story of this extraordinary man's life.

Nelson Mandela is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of South Africa. He is also a former anti-government terrorist and prisoner of South Africa. And it was that second part of the story I didn't know as much about. Long Walk to Freedom is Mandela's own retelling of his remarkable life. He doesn't shy away from much and the story is really fascinating. Scattered in between the facts, Mandela shares his own insights into leadership, politics, and life in general. One reviewer on Amazon.com referred to it as "a Manifesto for life!" and though I wouldn't gush that much, I was inspired by much of what I read. The sacrifices Mandela made, the trials he went through, the choices he made--good and bad, and how he came out of all of it in the end--make for a truly fascinating story.

I give it a solid A--even though it is a mighty long book to read.

The Autobiography of a Slave - Juan Manzano (3 of 5 Collections of Poetry)

Juan Manzano was a slave born in Cuba in 1797 to a wealthy plantation owner. As a house slave he was able to listen in on the classes of the white children as he cleaned. During his early adulthood he began write poetry. A rich white writer named Del Monte stumbled upon the poetry of Manzano and recognized the slave's potential to support the abolitionist movement in Cuba. Through a series of letters Del Monte guided Manzano through the process of writing his autobiography. The proceeds from the book helped Manzano to buy his freedom. He continued to write until his death.

The book has become popular in the last ten to twenty years in academia. As far as we know this is the only autobiography written by a slave during the time of slavery in the Caribbean. The original text was written in Spanish. It was then translated into English a few years later and distributed in England. For many years the book was out of print. It was resurrected in Cuba during the communist revolution.

The book did have some interesting details about slavery in the Caribbean, but remember that it was was picked up more for its historical significance rather than literary merit... It's pretty choppy due to the limited abilities of Manzano as a self-taught writer and the translation into English.