March 31

"The Crown"
The Complete First Season on DVD

As I am recovering from pneumonia, I had a rare opportunity to binge-watch "The Crown".  Although I have viewed only the first 6 (of 10) episodes, it has been a fascinating walk through history that, so far, covers only the first few chapters of Our Times (March 30).

In the 4th episode, the queen is preparing for her coronation ceremony; it is vested with tradition and she is reminded by her grandmother, Queen Mary, of her responsibility before God.  Her husband, Prince Philip, has been given the chairmanship of the coronation committee and wants to buck tradition, to a certain extent, by inviting representatives of trade unions and bringing in TV cameras.  As she picks up the crown for the first time, she is struck by the weight of it.  And this, to me, symbolizes her life: the weight of it.  While it's easy to look at the royal family and think they have a cushy life living in beautiful palaces, dressing in exquisite fashions, and traveling around the world - the weight of responsibility laid on a young woman (she was 25 when her father died and she became queen) was enormous.  In the first few episodes, the series highlights some of the particular family challenges:

• a husband, Philip, who reeled against playing second fiddle (he wanted the children to have his surname of Mountbatten, not the Windsor family name - and what work can he do?)
• a complicated relationship with the Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the throne in 1938 to marry a twice-divorced socialite, yet wants a larger living stipend from the royal family, and wants his wife to be named a "royal"
• a sister, Margaret, who has fallen in love with a member of the royal household, Peter Townsend - also a war hero - who was married at the time of their romance.  While he was later divorced, the royal family still look down on bringing a divorcee into the family circle.

Other challenges revolve around Elizabeth's relationship with her first PM, Winston Churchill.  He had been a close personal friend of Elizabeth's father, and was actually portrayed as helping her learn her new duties, especially around the red boxes from Parliament, that greet the queen each morning.

While I love reading a good biography, it's a treat watching this series, which visually recalls the Great Britain of the late 1940s/early 1950s:  the run-down condition of post-war London (not the thriving city of today), the ever-present cigarettes - even the King, dying of lung cancer, is shown as chain smoking, the fashions: shirtwaist dresses, cardigan sweaters, baggy trousers.

The young queen is set to bring new hope to a nation still reeling from years of war and deprivation.

March 30

Our Times: The Age of Elizabeth II
By A. N. Wilson

Nearly 350 years after the death of Elizabeth I, a second Elizabeth would become queen of England.

In this social biography, the author starts with a preview of the monumental cultural changes during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1952-2008 [time of publication]): mass immigration to the UK, loss of empire, disappointing politicians, fading church of England.  Wilson spends a lot of narrative on the royals' social lives, especially discussing the courtship of Elizabeth and Philip of Greece.  He discusses each of the prime ministers in turn; starting with Winston Churchill, first PM with whom Elizabeth collaborated.  Wilson does not have many positive words about the next eleven PMs.  He does offer an excellent analysis of Islamic terrorists in the UK, and an interesting discussion of faith.  Because Queen Elizabeth has served for such a long time, and because of England's relationship with so many other nations, this book gives a great picture of the broad brush of history throughout the 2nd half of the twentieth century and beyond.


Just to update the book, Elizabeth now serves with Theresa May, a 13th PM.  She is now the longest-serving British monarch, narrowly edging out Victoria as of this writing.

March 29

Behind the Mask: The Life of Queen Elizabeth I

By Jane Resh Thomas

Although geared to young adults, this biography will appeal to adults as well.  The author includes many accounts from Elizabeth's unhappy early years that help the reader see how circumstances shaped her career (her mother's early death, a succession of caregivers and stepmothers, etc).  The reader comes to see what a thin line Elizabeth walked as she took the throne, eg., keeping the uneasy peace between Catholics and Protestants, convincing those who thought a woman incapable of governing a country.  Quotes from contemporaries make this bio more accessible without resorting to the imaginary dialogue of some mid-century biographies of Elizabeth.  References to contemporary politics, diet, and social customs set Elizabeth in a clear historical context, while speculation on her sexual and political encounters maintain her aura of mystery.  The first sentence in this book, published in 1999, refers to Elizabeth's death as "less than four centuries ago", outdating the book in less than five years - so the reader will have to take note that Elizabeth actually died in 1603.

Here is a woman who set the bar for a female in leadership.  While she was not England's first queen in her own right (she was preceded by her sister Mary), Elizabeth led her country for 44 years, earning respect from other nations through military successes and naval exploration, and seeing the flourishing of English drama and architecture during the Elizabethan age.

March 28

Charlotte Gray
By Sebastian Faulks

A young Scotswoman goes to London to help the war effort in 1942.  There she meets and falls in love with an RAF pilot who has already survived many battles.  When he disappears in France, Charlotte takes a job as an undercover agent and looks for him.  Most of the book covers Charlotte's search for Peter in France.  It is crucial that she present herself as a French national; thus her fluency in French is as important as her willingness to put herself in a very dangerous place.  While London may have been in blackout mode, France was occupied by Nazi troops and Charlotte could not even risk writing notes in English; every order, every code must be committed to memory. There is never a time when she can let down her guard; she is perpetually in danger even as she teams up with a French architect and tries to save some children from deportation.  Like the more recent The Nightingale (January 3), Charlotte Gray gives a helpful, if disturbing, perspective on life in Vichy France.  This is one of the best World War II novels I've read - and I've read quite a few!

March 27

Me Before You

By Jojo Moyes

I'm not sure what the title means; I'd be more likely to switch around the subjects and call it You Before Me.  I read this book by flashlight during a winter storm when we lost power; I couldn't put it down.

This is a heartwarming novel about a  young woman with very low expectations and few hopes or dreams.  Louisa lives at home with her parents, but needs a job when her place of employment, a small cafe, closes.  She applies to be a caregiver for a young quadriplegic who can't accept the limitations that robbed him of his active successful life as a London businessman.  Will had it all: good looks, wealth, a great career - until he is run over on a busy London street.  Louisa is a homebody and, even though she is inexperienced as a caregiver, she tunes into Will's needs, and over time, becomes a devoted and caring friend.  She is devastated to learn what his future holds.  While she is not the one who was injured, it is her life that is most affected by their relationship.  Good story for discussion.

March 26

Every Other Monday: Twenty Years of Life, Lunch, Faith and Friendship
By John Kasich

At the time I read this book, Gov John Kasich of Ohio was a Republican Presidential candidate.

John Kasich relates the story of a group of guys who have met faithfully for over 20 years.  When they first had the idea to meet, they saw a need for a group of friends to get together for conversation and support, and asked a pastor friend to help initiate a men's group.  Over lunch they have wrestled with questions of faith, always in light of scripture, and grown in relationship to the Lord and to one another.  Also serves as a good "how-to" book for starting such a fellowship group.

My husband could write a similar book; it would be entitled Every Saturday Morning: Fifteen Years of Conversation, Coffee, Faith and Friendship.

March 25

The Ramsay Scallop
By Frances Temple


I'd like to do the Camino one day, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.  This young adult book recounts the journey of a young couple from their village in England to Santiago.

Elinor, orphaned daughter from an English estate, has been betrothed to Thomas, who has just returned from the Crusades, broken and disillusioned.  At 14, she is about 10 years his junior, and neither anticipates the idea of marriage with much eagerness.  The wise Father Gregory sends the two on a pilgrimage to atone for the sins of Ramsay, their village.  Through dangers and the meeting of fellow travelers, Elinor and Thomas learn to depend upon and care for one another.  Good historical fiction.

March 24

Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, the Women who Fought for Them and the One Who Never Returned
By Alvin Townley

This is an amazing story of eleven men who survived seven years of torture, much of it in solitary confinement, in Hanoi's Hoa Lo Prison (aka The Hanoi Hilton).  Nearly all eventually acquiesced to forced "confessions" - but only after weeks of torture that left many with broken bones, infections, and mental anguish.  In the first years, they were allowed little communication with each other and none with the outside.  In one coerced, televised confession, one prisoner blinks the word "torture" in Morse code; other coded messages help keep the home front apprised.  But with little information to go on, several wives eventually mount a campaign to make their plights known, and get them back.  Not only were all of their lives changed, but they were to discover that life at home had also changed, and some marriages did not survive.  Note that an 12th POW did not survive and the circumstances surrounding his death remain murky.

These men are the real heroes, who were ready to sacrifice their lives for freedom and country.  Senator John McCain is one of the eleven.   Today he is a rare politician who works in a bipartisan way for the good of the entire country, even as he battles cancer.  Thank you, Senator McCain.

March 23

The Body: Being Light in Darkness

By Charles Colson

In today's political world, the word "evangelical" signifies a very different meaning that its original intent.  When we think of some of the early evangelicals, I think of those who, convicted by their faith, were led to make a difference in the world.  Take, for instance, the abolitionists of the early nineteenth century, the reformers who worked to make better lives for needy children, or the missionary doctors who were/are called to work in underserved and developing countries.  Chuck Colson, convicted in the Watergate investigation of the Nixon era, served time in prison, and was then motivated to start Prison Fellowship to provide outreach to inmates.

The Body is a great "manual" for any believer and any church seeking to fulfill their biblical mandate.  Colson and co-author Ellen Vaughn cite dozens of examples (contemporary and past) of churches and individual Christians who are true to their calling and making a difference in the world.

March 22

Absent in the Spring
By Mary Westmacott

While she is the most published of crime writers, Agatha Christie also wrote contemporary novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott.

Joan Scudamore is a wealthy solicitor's wife in 1930's UK, and is returning from a visit to her daughter who is living in Iraq. When her train home breaks down, Joan is stranded at a desert guest house for 4 days.  During the forced furlough, she examines her life and gradually comes to some very different perspectives on how she has lived her life and related to others.  She sees herself as a very selfish woman and vows to change - but will she be able to stick to her resolutions once she is back in familiar surroundings?

This is really a very sensitively-written story.  Part of its charm is its setting in time and place.  The reader will have mixed feelings about Joan.

March 21

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa: A Novel
By Nicholas Drayson

The book is slender for field guides, which usually contain all the birds of a region, with drawings or photos of each bird, along with description and maps.  No, this is a sweet novel with a bird theme.  For fans of the Ladies Number 1 Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, this will be a pleasant way to spend some time.

The 'action' follows some birdwatchers in Nairobi who meet each Tuesday morning for a bird walk led by one Rose Mbikwa.  It seems that two of the birders have taken a shine to Rose and each wishes to ask her to accompany him to an upcoming Hunt Club Ball.   Readers will want to root for Mr Malik, a quiet widower, over the flashy Harry Kahn.  In their men's club, friends come up with a friendly competition to see which one should get the privilege of escorting Rose: he who sees the most bird species in one week.

We follow each man's adventures as he birds around greater Nairobi, learning some bird names and a little about the geography of the area.  Flashy Henry hires some birders whereas Mr Malik birds on his own, but each man has challenges along the way, be they automotive, legal, or even political.

The chapters open with an adorable pencil drawing of a Kenyan bird.  These are reminiscent to field drawings that birders made and the type that Mr Malik draws in his little notebook, which we find out, contains much more than bird observations.

In the natural world, the flashy male bird always is the most successful.  You'll need to read this book to find out if that is also true for humans.

Guest review by my sister, Jean Warneke, a veteran bird watcher!

March 20

Loire Valley Sketchbook

Paintings by  Fabrice Moireau, Text by Jean-Paul Pigeat

On this first day of spring, the weather still feels like mid-winter.  I was just looking through this delightful sketchbook and dreaming of a walk along the Loire.


Watercolorist Moireau and historian Pigeat have created a breathtaking travelogue of landscape and chateaux along the Loire, with informative historical and geographic commentary.  They begin their way upstream in Anjou, gradually making their way to Orleans.  Along the way, we encounter Boumois, Fontevraud, Usse, Azay-le-Rideau, Blois, and many other noble chateaux.  Hand-written captions highlight architectural features, statuary, and gardens, as well as historical notes on time periods and rulers.  This is a book to be savored slowly, allowing time to take in each area before moving on.  I'm ready to pack my bags and spend a few weeks in the Loire Valley.

A page from the book.
Boumois, a 15th century chateau in the Loire Valley
Sketch by Fabrice Moireau

March 19

We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese
By Elizabeth Norman

Not all who served in World War II carried weapons.  Elizabeth Norman writes about a group of incredibly brave and dedicated nurses serving in Bataan and Corregidor.  While these nurses weren't actually in combat, they experienced horrible conditions working in makeshift hospitals and lacking basic medicines and equipment. These 70 or so nurses (10 navy, the rest serving in the army) were eventually captured by Japanese soldiers and taken prisoner in the San Tomas Internment Camp in Manila.  Despite worsening conditions, they continued to nurse, but were often so weak, due to starvation and illness, that they could hardly stand up.  Though all survived, all were forever moved by their wartime service and felt the most difficult part of their experience was having to leave their patients, not knowing if they would be cared for, when they were evacuated.  Written compassionately by a fellow nurse.

March 18

How the Irish Saved Civilizaton: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

By Thomas Cahill

According to Cahill's interpretation (and it seems quite reasonable to me), the Irish became the keepers of learning during the chaos that followed the fall of the Roman Empire.  When Patrick was kidnapped by Irish pirates in the 4th century, he brought the Christian faith (the message of hope and salvation that was a welcome change from the religions of fear practiced by the early Celts) and literacy.  The new Irish Christians were eager to practice their faith, including learning to read and write the scriptures.  Eventually, these scribes went to Britain and the continent, where they kept alive not only the scriptures, but also histories and other learned works.  Patrick is the pivotal figure in the saving of civilization, and he was followed by Columalle and Columbanus, who continued the spread of his ministry. 

March 17

The Graves are Walking: The Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People
By John Kelly

The Irish potato famine resulted in ~1 million deaths and ~2 million emigrations, reducing the country's population by one third.  Kelly shows that the famine, although based on a potato crop failure in 1845-46, could have been prevented had the British government not used food as a tool to try to change Irish work habits, had the British government not exported so much grain from Ireland, and had the British landowners let the Irish stay on their land rather than evict them from their homes when they were unable to provide payment in crops to the English lords who had taken over their land a couple of centuries earlier.  A truly tragic story.

Today, many of those who immigrated to America make up one of the largest and most successful ethnic groups in the United States.

When I visited Ireland in 2010, I was awed by the number of ruins that still dotted the countryside, mostly stone cottages whose thatched roofs had long ago been eroded by the elements when their occupants fell victim to starvation.

March 16

Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores
By Dominique Gilliard

A few weeks ago, I heard Gilliard speak at a local church.  I was surprised to hear of the high numbers of inmates now in our prisons compared to a few decades ago, by the many conduits that put them there, and by the lack of compassion (in general) shown by the church.  I bought a copy of the book and it was an eye-opener.

The author, an ordained pastor, has ministered to inmates, mostly in the San Francisco bay area, and this is partly what led to his research on incarceration.  He cites some troubling developments, including the huge increases in the US prison pollution in recent decades; the US, with 5% of the world's people, has 25% of the world's inmates. [Are we really that much more criminal than the rest of the world?]  He attributes the rise to several factors:
1) the closing of mental health institutions, which has left many people with mental illnesses not in medical facilities where they can be treated, but in prisons because their behavior is not acceptable, making prisons the new asylums,
2) private, for-profit prisons that mandated (by law) a minimum number of prisoners to run a profit (these are now being abandoned),
3) immigration crackdowns, resulting in more than doubling the number of inmates arrested for immigration offenses from 1998-2011,
4) drug crackdowns, one of which took place near Gilliard's college and resulted in the death of an innocent 92-year-old African American woman, and
5) the "school-to-prison pipeline" resulting from the zero-tolerance policies that mandated suspensions, 95% for non-violent offenses like disruptive behavior and violating dress codes.

Gilliard also notes the high proportion of black inmates, a fact since the civil war ended, and Jim Crow laws called for incarcerating any black who was unable to find employment for more than a 2-3 week period.  Women's prison population has also gone way up in recent decades.

Especially concerning to me was the church's response to mass incarceration, with white evangelicals being among the most supportive of the death penalty, among church populations also including catholics, mainline protestants, hispanics, blacks and various permutations (e.g., black protestant).  Gilliard interprets the church's outlook as "penal substitution" or retribution, giving "criminals" what they deserve - yet without extending any of the grace with which evangelicals would also be "lost".  Instead, Gilliard advocates justice that restores and concludes with a chapter suggesting ways the church can work at reconciliation and restoration with those in prisons, e.g., offering seminary courses in prisons or jobs training to prepare for the transition after release.

Prison was never far from the early Christians' experience.  Paul was imprisoned for his faith, John the Baptist was imprisoned; even Jesus was taken in by Roman authorities at the behest of Jewish leaders.  Considering how these early believers were arrested for disturbing the peace or how earlier generations of Christians were moved to change an unjust status quo, e.g., abolitionists, why are Christians so unwilling to challenge discriminatory laws today?  Martin Luther King wrote:

Things are different now.   The contemporary Church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound.  It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo.  Far from being disturbed by the presence of the Church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the Church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are. (from Letter from a Birmingham Jail)

March 15

One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment

By Mei Wong

Wong, an ethnic Chinese reporter, has unique access to the hearts and words of modern Chinese nationals.  She writes of the consequences of China's efforts to curb rampant population growth by imposting a radical law prohibiting couples from producing more than one child (with a few exceptions).  Wong includes many personal accounts of forcible abortions and exorbitant fines imposed on those who defied the law, as well as the growing burden thrust upon today's only children to support aging parents.  Fong intersperses her account of the efforts to curb population growth with her own discouraging efforts to have a child.  International adoptions and infertility treatments are also covered.  Interesting story - with repercussions to come for years.

March 14

Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

By Ji-li Jiang

Chairman Mao Zedung, founding father of the People's Republic of China, has been firmly in control of the communist party since 1949.   Ji-li Jiang is a gifted student and athlete, but in 1966 when she is 10 years old, her family is connected to bourgeois interests, and her parents are publicly humiliated.  Deeply ashamed, Ji-li remains loyal to Mao even when her home is ransacked and her family is shamed.  She writes of her family's experience and her response of embarrassment.  In the epilogue, she finally explains that she'd been brainwashed by the regime and her experience stands as a consequence of what can happen when dictatorial leaders show a lack of concern for human rights, a disregard for the family, and an indoctrination that exacts loyal party members to put government above all.

This is a book geared to young adults, but its message is for all ages.

March 13

Baba: A Return to China upon my Father's Shoulders
By Belle Yang

This unique book chronicles the memories of the author's father, Baba (Papa, in Chinese), growing up in Japanese-occupied Manchuria before and during World War 2.  As the fourth of 7 children, Baba observes the old ways (49-day funeral ritual, ancient wedding rituals, living Buddhas) give way to the contemporary.  He also witnesses famine and political turmoil, as first the Japanese, then the Russians, then civil war between the nationalists and communists tears his country and even his wealthy family apart.  Belle's lyric writing about this exotic culture is peopled with not only amusing relatives and family friends but also ancient folklore, and is enhanced by her stunning artwork that precedes each chapter.

March 12

The Good Earth
By Pearl S Buck

This tender story of Wang Lung is universal.  A poor farmer takes a wife who proves to be a humble yet extremely capable companion, working hard, serving faithfully, and very wise.  As Wang Lung becomes wealthy, however, he takes a concubine and only too late realizes the value of his wife.  But always, he is grateful for his land.  Unfortunately, his ingrate children only want money, and it's clear that they will lose all the parents sacrificed to gain, both through living luxury and through the coming revolution.  This story is set around the turn of the 20th century and signals many changes coming to China.

March 11

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

By C. S. Lewis

Lewis, possibly best known for his Narnia series, was actually a prominent scholar of literature at Oxford University, and later at Cambridge.  In this autobiography, he shares how he came to believe in Jesus, providing interesting insights into his upbringing and education.  Born in Northern Ireland in 1898, Lewis lost his beloved mother at age 10.  His father was largely absent and Clive became very close to his brother Warren.  He served in World War I, which was a time of disillusionment, Lewis was extremely erudite (most of the works he quotes are unknown to me) and he read all kinds of literature, especially works in Greek, Latin, and French.  He rejected belief in Jesus for years before finally seeing Christ was the only way to salvation.  He talks about the people and works who influenced him along the way.

March 10

Belgravia

By Julian Fellowes

Sometimes it's a treat to read a book that's not trying to teach a lesson, but is just good, well-researched historical fiction.  

Julian Fellowes, the writer of "Downton Abbey", really knows the nuances of the English class system and he also writes knowingly of the foibles of human nature in this society romance that opens in Belgium on the eve of Waterloo but takes place mostly in Belgravia, an up-and-coming London neighborhood, in the mid-19th century. The story revolves around a young man whose father dies in the Battle of Waterloo and his mother dies in childbirth 9 months later.   We meet the people who make up his family - lots of drama and mis-steps throughout - but a satisfying ending.  Fellowes provides many historical details about life in the various social classes and various trades in England.

March 9

She Persisted - Around the World (children's book)
By Chelsea Clinton

Sometimes a book for children offers an important message for adults as well.  Yesterday I had an opportunity to hear Chelsea Clinton read from her new book.  I joined my daughter-in-law Lilly and her two nieces for the reading and book signing at An Unlikely Story, a wonderful bookstore/cafe in Plainville, MA. Due to yesterday's snowstorm, the event at Unlikely Story ended up being the launch of Chelsea's new book.  Besides reading the book, she also answered questions about her own life and the things she was doing to change the world - first, being a mother to her two children, secondly, writing and serving on the Clinton Foundation and trying to inform people about some of the world's most pervasive health problems (e.g., dehydration as a cause of death among children in developing countries) - which, for the most part, could easily be addressed through clean water and education.  

Like her first book, She Persisted, this new around-the-world version, highlights women who have had to overcome struggles to accomplish their dreams: whether overcoming the refusal / reluctance to educate women (e.g., Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Marie Curie, Malala Yousafzai),  overcoming physical handicaps (Mary Verghese, Caroline Herschel), racial prejudice (Viola Desmond), or other obstacles.  There's just enough information on each woman to give a young child (say, 5-8 years old) a sense of the uphill battle women face (d) to gain equality with men, but not too much to lose their interest.  Alexandra Boiger's illustrations are simple but powerful, and also convey the strength and reach of these women.

Following the book signing (where over 1000 fans waited for Chelsea to write in their books), we stopped for dinner before dropping off the nieces.  I asked the older one how she might make a difference in the world.  As someone who suffers from a peanut allergy, she did not hesitate, and said she'd like to help find a cure for allergies or at least some kind of vaccine to protect sufferers.

What a great way to celebrate International Women's Day!

My new friend Chelsea and me at Unlikely Story

March 8

Things Fall Apart

By Chinua Achebe

This story about social//political change in the British colony of Nigeria takes place in the late 1800s.  Okonkwo is a powerful man in the village of Umuofia, where he live with this 3 wives and their children.  Okonkwo's father had been a drinker who never made much of his life, and the son seeks to overcome what he sees as the stigma of being the son of a ne'er do well.

As a village leader it is Okonkwo who accepts Ikemefuna, a peace child sacrificed by a neighboring tribe to atone for the death of a Umuofian woman.  Instead of killing the boy immediately, however, Okonkwo takes the boy into his home, where he becomes a respectful and beloved family member.  Okonkwo's son Nwoye grows especially fond of this new brother.   When the village elders decide that it is time to sacrifice Ikemefuna, however, Okonkwo does not resist, in fact taking part in the boy's killing.

The reader observes many rituals of village life, including the funeral of a village elder named Ezeudu.  During the ritual dancing, Okonkwo's accidentally fires and Ezeudu's young son is killed.  This murder is considered "female" accidental, and Okonkwo is banished from his village for 7 years.  He goes to live in his mother's village of Mbanta, being welcomed and absorbed into that village.  After the requisite years, he returns to Umuofia - but he learns that things have changed.  White men have come to his village, and brought their religion.  Okonkwo is unable to accept this turn of events, and tragedy ensues.

Achebe went on to write 2 more novels, now called The African Trilogy.

March 7

Ordinary Grace
By William Kent Kreuger

Frank Drum looks back 40 years to the summer of 1961, when he was 13 years old, and five deaths define not only the summer but shape him into the person he is today.  Frank's father is a minister in a small Minnesota town, which is shattered by these circumstances, and he conducts services for 3 of the 5, making the deaths even more personal to Frank.  The references to songs (Del Shannon's "Runaway" was playing on the radio) and foods ("I grabbed a Nehi from the 'fridge") really evoke the era.  Besides the emotional heartache, there's prejudice (Frank's brother Jake has a stutter, a native American becomes a suspect in a crime), humor (when young Frank overhears a couple seeing his dad for marriage counseling) and some real pain (a scene with a frog) - but very well-drawn characters, and a story I did not want to end.

March 6

An article posted by Town on Country magazine on February 28, 2018, reads:

On March 18, 1990, 13 masterpieces were stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a theft that became not only the country's largest property crime but the world's most lucrative art heist. Among the pieces that went missing were three Rembrandts, sketches by Degas, and a Vermeer that together were valued at over $500 million.  

Twenty-eight years later,  the crime remains unsolved.  See this link for the rest of the Town and Country article.  Here's a novel, published in 2012, that uses the premise that the paintings - or at least one of them - has been identified.

The Art Forger

By Barbara Shapiro

One of the most suspenseful stories Ive ever read, this book has it all: crime, passion, lessons in how to reproduce art - and good writing.  Clare Roth is an artist who's specializes in copying art - but gets way more than she bargained for when she is asked to copy a painting supposedly stolen in the 1990 Gardner Museum heist.  Subplots involve volunteer work at a boys' house of detention and a past romance gone wrong, revealed as the story unfolds.  While the characters in this story are not paragons of excellent behavior, the story is a cautionary tale.  "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive".  

March 5

I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman of Guatemala


Although Sra Menchu's story takes place in the last century, echoes of that war still abound.  A Providence man who entered the US illegally in 1992 was just arrested for atrocities committed in the Guatemalan civil war.  See "Long Reach of Justice" by Amanda Milkovits, which appeared in the Providence Journal Bulletin this past Saturday.

The author details life from her earliest memories as a child working on the finca (coffee plantation) - impressing with the harsh treatment by ladinos (owners/soldiers/politicians) who showed no mercy to the Mayan who first lived on the land.  Rigoberta's mother had to briefly leave her work on the plantation in order to find a place to bury her young son who'd died of malnutrition, only to return to find she'd been fired for being away from her labors for 2-3 days.  Beatings, torture, death were all too common, usually resulting when Mayans tried to form some kind of working association to improve their working conditions.  Rigoberta decides to learn Spanish to be a go-between for her people and helps bring the seriousness of their plight to the world stage, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.

March 4

God on the Rocks: Distilling Religion, Savoring Faith
By Phil Madeira

This is a very well-written memoir of grammy winner Phil's experience growing up as a preacher's kid in Barrington.  While he does not have good words for everyone, Phil's love and admiration for his father shine throughout the book.   He rejects the "evangelical" moniker, but his faith in Jesus is evident and solid.  His life took a different path from his family's, but he seems to hold on to the important core of his faith.  Phil admits to mistakes (e.g., his involvement in a cult-like community) and personal pain resulting from broken relationships, but his sense of humor and - more importantly - God's grace are there from beginning to end.  Very thoughtfully written.

March 3

Still Alice

By Lisa Genova

Alice is a Harvard professor who realizes she's getting forgetful and disoriented - much more than a normal 50-year-old.  She gets up to give a lecture, and can't remember her topic.  She jogs her usual route, until she can't remember how to get home. The reader experiences Alice's increasingly frequent memory gaps - to the point she no longer recognizes her own children.  Thankfully, she has a loving supportive family - but her early onset Alzheimers disease greatly changes the life she once knew.  Very good story - heartbreaking and relevant.

March 2

The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World before the War

By Barbara Tuchman

I'd always wanted to read this account of Europe in the 20 years preceding World War I.  The author describes the activities of the anarchists (bombings in a Paris Post Office, shootings in Madrid) and it sounds like Europe today. Instead of ISIS, the perpetrators are the turn-of-the last-century disenfranchised peoples.  It was not surprising to read of the incredible wealth of the richest landed gentry vs the poverty of the poor - no wonder the anarchists rose up, though some, surprisingly, were of the wealthy classes.  Tuchman also writes of the contemporary musicians, like Strauss
and Wagner, and the influence they wielded.  I got bogged down in some of the dates and activities thought themed-tolatter parts of the book, but this lengthy, detailed, well-researched book is definitely worth reading.  Best to know about the past in order to understand the present, and hopefully to prevent some of the same mistakes.

March 1

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris

By David McCullough

I loved this epic account of American travelers to Paris in the 19th century.  Most went to study medicine (early travelers) or art; others were reporters or diplomats.  Some went for months, others for decades, some made multiple trips.  All were inspired by the art and architecture of Paris.  Probably the most fascinating story was that of American minister (ambassador) to France Elihu Washburne, the only neutral minister to remain in Paris during the siege of 1870.  He helped countless people (especially Germans) who were stranded, had no food or income, and kept a diary that serves as an account of this terrible time; he was also the only person permitted (by the Germans) to send and receive mail.  Also enjoyed the capsule bios of painters Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent and sculptor Augustus St Gaudens, etc.  You really feel the sense of awe as Americans first beheld the cathedral at Amiens or the art collection at the Louvre.