Author Topic: Non-Fiction (Read 439739 times)

ANNIE · « **Reply #1640 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:01:01 AM »

TO NONFICTION BOOK TALK

What are you reading? Autobiographies, biographies, history, politics?

Tell us about the book; the good and the bad of it.

Let's talk books!

Discussion Leader: HaroldArnold

You are right, Babi! I meant JoanK. Sorry about that!

pedln · « **Reply #1641 on:** April 03, 2011, 10:25:38 AM »

Good morning, I don't get here often, but thought you might find these lists interesting.

From Shelf Talk by the Seattle Public Library -- “If you could suggest one book to someone who thinks nonfiction is boring, what would it be?” we asked our readers. What a surprise in the answers. Even a non non-fiction reader like me found several I’ve read and several more to go on my list.

Non-fiction 1

Non-fiction 2

roshanarose · « **Reply #1642 on:** April 03, 2011, 10:40:04 AM »

Pedln : So many good suggestions on books to read. Thanks. Ευχαριστώ παρά πολύ.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #1643 on:** April 04, 2011, 06:32:55 PM »

Wonderful list, Pedlin, I've read many of them. I think of all of those the best, the very best, is Beryl Markham's book WEST WITH THE NIGHT, written long ago. Truly beautiful writing. Ernest Hemingway stated that she put him to shame as a writer.

WE've discussed several of those here in the past. I'll list them:

Devil in the White City
Zeitoun
Into Thin Air
Unadaunted Courage
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

UNBROKEN is recent, great book. They are all good books. RIVER OF DOUBT is very good as is Henrietta Lacks, a recent book.

Years ago I read Malcolm X, think I'll re-read it.

My library sends designated books to a person who signs up for a particular genre; they do this each month. So, I get the latest NYT's nonfiction. How Libraries have changed in the last 20 years!

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1644 on:** April 04, 2011, 10:06:55 PM »

There's a new Malcom X book coming out. The author just died before it could be published.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/02/books/malcolm-x-biographer-dies-on-eve-of-publication-of-redefining-work.html?_r=1.

I taught the first session of the women's history seminar today. The books on the bibliography and the website i used for todays' content are:

A History of Women in Americaby Carol Hymowitz and Michaele Weissman. A well- written, easy to read survey of women in America;

Ladies of Liberty: Women Who Shaped Our Nation and Founding Mothers both
by Cokie Roberts.

Great reading. I used the section about Deborah Franklin, poor woman, Ben got all the press,
Deborah kept their businesses going. The discussion that was here on SL, or on Seniornet, is in the archives. .... Jean

Webography: www.njwomenshistory.org/index.htm

Babi · « **Reply #1645 on:** April 05, 2011, 08:44:30 AM »

How exciting, JEAN. I hope you and your 'students' have a great time.

pedln · « **Reply #1646 on:** April 05, 2011, 10:46:10 PM »

Most of us enjoyed last year’s film about Julia Child, Julie and Julia, with all its insight into Julia Child’s early cooking experience in France. Was there a book of the same title? I don’t remember.

Now there is a new book about Julia and Paul Child and their life before the days in Paris. A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS. At age 32 Julia McWilliams had no job and had never been out of the USA. At 6’ 2” she was rejected by the WACs as being “too long,” but she ended up in Ceylon working for the OSS (the forerunner of the CIA). And there she met Paul Child.

The author, Jennet Conant, is the granddaughter of former Harvard president James Conant, and is married to 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft. She’s described as “more a storyteller and journalist than a proper historian.” The book describes their early years together and also the period in the 1950’s when they were caught up in the McCarthy investigations. It sounds like a winner, and here’s the link to the USA Today review.

A Covert Affair

Babi · « **Reply #1647 on:** April 06, 2011, 08:20:48 AM »

"Julie and Julia" was originally a book, PEDLN, and I didn't like it. The author..the Julie...came
across to me as very self-centered. I found myself most annoyed by her attitudes.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #1648 on:** April 06, 2011, 09:24:00 AM »

Pedlin, I didn't know Conant was married to Steve Kroft. She, Conant, wrote two books about the history of the atomic bomb - one I recently listened to (an audio book) was about Robert Oppenheimer. Although I had read about him before, he was a fascinating scientist and the whole bunch of them at Los Alamos is an amazing story in American history. This book was more personal than other material I had read about him.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #1649 on:** April 06, 2011, 10:47:12 AM »

Two books I have on reserve at my Library - Judi Dench's Memoir and The Social Animal by David Brooks. It's been awhile since I have read a good nonfiction book, so I am hoping I have found at least one.

JoanK · « **Reply #1650 on:** April 07, 2011, 03:46:10 PM »

I love to find old obscure non-fiction books that no one know existed. I used to haunt used bookstores for this, but with limited mobility, it's hard. Now I use my kindle! I choose BROWSE, NON-FICTION, one of a dozen categories, and flip a lot of pages to get past the popular ones.

Some I've enjoyed : "Talking Dirty Yiddish" (written by a Rabbi), a book on the war tactics of the early Vikings, memories of traveling on the first transcontinental Australian railroad, a book of funny stories about the chemical periodic table, one on the search for the deepest cave, a book of fairy tales with a forward by Theodore Roosevelt, the speech Thoreau made in defense of John Brown, the autobiography of the real slave that "Uncle Tom" in Uncle Tom's Cabin was based on, etc.

You can get free samples, and see if the author is interesting without paying anything. Most of them are very cheap anyway (I wonder why?).

Frybabe · « **Reply #1651 on:** April 07, 2011, 04:47:15 PM »

If you want obscure, don't forget to look at Project Gutenberg's stuff JoanK. They have versions for most of the e-books. I download my selections to the computer and then copy them into the book folder on my Kindle. The only thing I don't see on PG anymore are pdf forms of the books. Some come in audio book form, though. I have an old knitting book on my Kindle now and have just downloaded several volumes about Native American life by Charles Alexander Eastman (aka: Ohiyesa). Unfortunately, Gutenberg does not have his autobiography listed. I think you will find his bio interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Eastman

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1652 on:** April 08, 2011, 12:50:12 AM »

Ella - David Brooks is going to be on Booktv this weekend. I don't have the time in front of me but if you google booktv yoy can get the schedule. You probably know that already.

JoanK · « **Reply #1653 on:** April 09, 2011, 03:14:26 PM »

FRY: WOW, you sent me on quite a journey. thank you.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1654 on:** April 10, 2011, 12:20:04 PM »

Frybabe - that's an interesting story. I liked the way they said "he was the first NA to receive a European-style medical degree", or something similar. Wefrequently read that Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman doctor in the U.S. Well, of course, women had been "doctoring" for centuries, many of them very effectively and as a professional livlihood. Not having a degree from a European- style, male-controlled, medical school degree didn't inhibit them. I have read opinions that many of those women, concerned about alleviating symptoms, did a better job for their patients then licensed male doctors of the 19th and early 20th centuries, who were more concerned w/ expounding learned - tho often wrong - theories abt the origins of diesase.

As we learn more and more abt women in history we find over and over again that women had a hand in many accomplishments, especially wives, who were invisible and never got any credit for sharing in their husband's accomplishments. This was good reporting by the wiki-writer. ...... Jean

CallieOK · « **Reply #1655 on:** April 10, 2011, 05:00:35 PM »

Information for those who participated in - or lurked in - the Book Discussion on "Empire of The Summer Moon.."
The book has received the 2011 Nonfiction Award from The Oklahoma Center For The Book (a state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress). "The awards recognize books written the previous year by Oklahomans or about Oklahoma". Although the author is a Texan writing in Austin, "Empire of the Summer Moon..." qualifies as one of the latter.

Jonathan · « **Reply #1656 on:** April 11, 2011, 10:15:50 AM »

That's nice to hear, Callie. It is a most interesting book on the subject, well written and deserving of every prize it gets. And it's a pleasure to remember the discussion we had.

roshanarose · « **Reply #1657 on:** April 11, 2011, 09:46:04 PM »

Jean - Very true about women being the real healers in those days. I remember reading somewhere that many of those women healers were accused of witchcraft, both in Europe and the US, because the male doctors were losing business, or at least having their treatments undermined, quite frequently by women healers using natural means.

I would like to read others' comments on this.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #1658 on:** April 12, 2011, 04:32:46 AM »

Roshanarose - I don't know about then, but we used to have a lovely little cottage hospital - one half was for geriatric respite care and the other half for maternity. The nurses and midwives ran the maternity unit and only called in a doctor if they felt it necessary. Every woman I know loved that hospital - the midwives were very experienced, lovely people. The people in the geriatric unit loved seeing the new babies. The building was in a beautiful garden, very quiet. The food was cooked on the premises, and included home made cakes every afternoon. It was also very convenient for families to visit - much better than trailing 25 miles into the city hospital.

The senior partner of the local GP practice was a huge supporter of the hospital. he had been there for many years and was the doctor for the mountain rescue service as well. He actually came into the hospital and delivered my son when he (the baby that is) was "stuck".

BUT the senior partner eventually retired. The rest of the GPs in the practice did not support the maternity unit at all - they seemed unable to cope with what they perceived as the "risks" that they might be called in to deal with. They wanted every woman to have a high-tech birth in the city hospital, "just in case". I should add that all women who wanted to deliver in the unit were carefully assessed beforehand - one of my friends was unable to have her baby there because of some complications in pregnancy, for example - but another great thing about the hospital was that if you did have your baby in the city hospital, you were able to leave after 24 hours and go back to the unit, and there spend a week being cossetted by the lovely staff - particularly important, I think, for new mothers. The staff there had the time to help you with breastfeeding, show you what to do, etc.

The local health authority also - of course - wanted to close the unit, as presumably it is cheaper for every woman to deliver in one place. In the end - and despite a vigorous campaign of which I was a part - the authority and the GPs won; it was a sad day.

I had to have my daughters in the city hospital. It was huge, noisy, too busy, impersonal and generally the compete antithesis of the country unit - even though I have to say at once that the midwives were still extremely nice people - but you never saw the same one for more than a couple of hours. You got no sleep and went home feeling terrible.

I see this as an inexcusable disempowerment of women - the staff and the mothers. The staff were made to feel that no-one trusted them to do their jobs, the mothers were made to feel that their choice was not only irrelevant but downright reckless.

Rosemary

Babi · « **Reply #1659 on:** April 12, 2011, 08:13:29 AM »

ROSEMARY, your cottage hospital sounds lovely, ..but I can't imagine a week of post-natal
hospital care. My experience was that if mother and child are doing well, ship 'em home
the second day!
While I don't like the doctor's attitudes, I can understand them. In these days of eager,
money-seeking litigation, everyone has become very cautious about exposing themselves to
any risk.

nlhome · « **Reply #1660 on:** April 12, 2011, 08:49:14 AM »

I wonder if I could ask a favor. Our community just completed a "community read" of Stones into Schools. It was extremely successful for a first time of such a program, and it was an intergenerational project. Even the schools and a group of homeschoolers participated. We were fortunate to have a family from the Afghan/Pakistani border area who joined the group.

So now we are looking toward a second project, for next winter. One topic that was brought up was the Civil War, because we are just beginning the 150th "anniversary" of this event. However, there is a wealth of material, and a wealth of fiction as well. Do any of you have a particular book with some aspect of the Civil War that you think could be read by a number of people for a good discussion, one that could lead to there being related books that would fit in with younger readers as well? We're also hoping to partner with the historical society and with geneaolgy groups, and of course, we're considering Wisconsin's role in the war. No battlefields here, but lots of soldiers. Anyway, I'm just looking for some books to consider, to give a start to this.
Thanks.

CubFan · « **Reply #1661 on:** April 12, 2011, 11:06:01 AM »

nlhome - You might be interested in reading the following book as background discussion information. The book is not sufficiently available in hard cover for a large number of people to access at the same time but I found it very interesting. It's supposed to be available online but this morning I couldn't get it to come up. Mary

Wisconsin Women in the War Between the States

Ethel Alice Hurn collected and classified the work done by Wisconsin women during the Civil War both at the military front and at home. Using information found in correspondence, reminiscences, pamphlets, newspapers, and interviews with survivors, Hurn reconstructs the activities and lives of Wisconsin's women.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1662 on:** April 12, 2011, 12:30:37 PM »

CubFan, was this the site you were trying to access? http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=94 I was able to get in a few minutes ago. I like the frontispiece photo. Too bad Project Gutenberg doesn't have it, or anything by that author. I checked.

CubFan · « **Reply #1663 on:** April 12, 2011, 04:09:29 PM »

Yes, Frybabe.
This morning the site came up but when I clicked on the document link it wouldn't load. It's working fine for me now too. It is a fascinating book about all the things that the women were doing locally. I also found it interesting which locales were most active then. In some cases they are the same ones that can be counted on in this day & age.
Mary

roshanarose · « **Reply #1664 on:** April 12, 2011, 09:09:36 PM »

Rosemary - I am not all that surprised about the male doctors' attitude towards maternity, and it doesn't have anything to do with malpractice. Unfortunately, witchhunts continue, only by different means.

I was really shocked to see on local TV one episode where the Opposition were sprouting their stuff: our PM is a woman, and someone with a placard right in front of the screen, depicted her as a witch bitch. When will they ever learn, I wonder? What really bugs me though is when their wives and womenfolk join in just because their husbands say so. Who needs enemies? Grrrrrrrr......

nlhome · « **Reply #1665 on:** April 12, 2011, 10:42:15 PM »

I read a bit on the site. Very interesting, but more as background information and setting.

A friend was rehabbing an old house in a town in the western part of the state. There was a picture of the house in better times, dating back to the Civil War - the lawn was used as a staging area for troops to gather to get ready to leave. I was standing in the window overlooking that staging area - I imagine that the scene was similar to some described in the first pages of that book.

Steph · « **Reply #1666 on:** April 14, 2011, 06:20:45 AM »

Just picked up an interesting book.. Memoir.. It is written by a woman who is the daughter of a mixed relationship. Her Mother was white, her father a black jazz musician. She was born in 1954, so prior to the more relaxed codes now.. From the pictures in the book, she turned out much more negro than caucasian. Her Mother farmed her out to a black family that were friends of hers. She visited her Mother, but was taught to call her Aunt. Her Mother married Larry Storch and so June ( the girl) visited them and was called an adopted daughter by Larry.. Still she lived in the black community. The book is about how divided she felt in life. I really am enjoying it.

marjifay · « **Reply #1667 on:** April 14, 2011, 12:34:21 PM »

Interesting post, Rosemary, about the small cottage hospital. Sounds so nice. Too bad when they had to go to the city hospital.

My mom used to say the only time she got a nice vacation was when one of us kids were born (four of us). Back then (1930s) they kept new mothers in the hospital for a whole week.

Marj

JoanK · « **Reply #1668 on:** April 14, 2011, 03:54:18 PM »

FRY: I'm having a great time reading Charles Alexander Eastman's "Indian Boyhood", the story of his childhood among the Souix. I shared some of the stories with my 12-year-old grandson, and he was fascinated.

From now on my motto is "be like the gray wolf; look twice at everything you see."

Frybabe · « **Reply #1669 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:03:50 PM »

I'm glad you like it JoanK. I am finding a lot to like in these old books posted on Project Gutenberg. Right now I am reading a SciFi short story I downloaded from there.

PatH · « **Reply #1670 on:** April 14, 2011, 07:56:56 PM »

Don't leave me hanging, Frybabe, which short story?

Frybabe · « **Reply #1671 on:** April 14, 2011, 11:21:18 PM »

The Memory of Mars by Raymond F. Jones. The ending was a surprise. This short story was originally published in the Amazing Stories magazine in 1961 (I think I remembered that right).

Steph · « **Reply #1672 on:** April 15, 2011, 06:15:41 AM »

I love free book on the IPAD, but I have no idea why they are convinced that everyone wants the same free books that they download when I loaded the apps..

Emily · « **Reply #1673 on:** April 19, 2011, 02:45:30 PM »

Since Greg Mortenson's book 'Stones into Schools' and his other one 'Three cups of Tea' have been mentioned here and discussed, you might be interested in a segment on 'Sixty Minutes' on the author.

I have not read either book, but I do look into the 'non-fiction' forum occasionally to read. Here is a link to the video of the 'Sixty Minutes' piece. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on 'Play CBS video'.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/18/greg-mortenson-60-minutes_n_850319.html?ir=Books

Emily

Frybabe · « **Reply #1674 on:** April 19, 2011, 06:26:01 PM »

Thanks Emily. I missed that part.

serenesheila · « **Reply #1675 on:** April 28, 2011, 03:36:21 AM »

A few nights ago, I watched the Chris Matthews show. He interviewed an author, who wrote: "Tangaled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America: from Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff". It includes a segment about Dick Cheny and Scooter Liddy. I found the interview fascinating. So, I ordered the book, for my Kindle.

The first chapteris about Martha Stewart, and the charges about her perjury. I do not want to put the book down. I rthink this book would make an interesting discussion.

Sheila

Babi · « **Reply #1676 on:** April 28, 2011, 08:16:36 AM »

The DL's are looking for more nominations for books discussions, SHEILA. Check the index
for 'Upcoming and Proposed' book discussions and make your recommendation. Of course,
since it's a non-fiction book, Ella and Harold might be interested in it for a discussion here.

JoanK · « **Reply #1677 on:** April 28, 2011, 03:44:22 PM »

I'm reading a book about Toni Stone, the first woman who played baseball in the Negro League. The writing is too dry and the subject too limited to make a good discussion book, but as a baseball fan, I am very interested.

She had to deal with prejudice against her as a woman on a man's team, as well as against her and her team as Blacks in an era just as baseball was becoming integrated. But she does not complain. the author has to dig up stories from others to tell what she went through. Once, she beat a teammate at a game of fancy namecalling, and her was so mad at being beat by a girl that he made the team too uncomfortable for her and she left.

I don't know what to make of this: the first manager who gave her a chance as an adult was a white manager of an all-white team (except for her) who was a member of the Klu Klux Clan!

Later she played with Willie Mays and replaced hank Aaron when he went to the major league (he admired her skill).

roshanarose · « **Reply #1678 on:** April 28, 2011, 07:36:14 PM »

JoanK - I may not read the book about Toni Stone as I know zip about baseball, but I enjoyed reading your description of her. We need more women like her - very gutsy.

HaroldArnold · « **Reply #1679 on:** May 01, 2011, 07:05:07 PM »

One subject that might get me out of my long history/biography rut might a good definitive account of the Bernie Madoff fraud. I won't be ready for another discussion until August at the earliest, but what are your thoughts about this?

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Author Topic: Non-Fiction (Read 439739 times)