Aphrodite Book 2 by Pierre Louys

Aphrodite Book 2 by Pierre Louys

This book is beautiful in many ways, but is disappointing at times. The combination of Louys' text and Manara's art in volume 1 is a sure winner. Originally published in France with the original French text, this English version chooses an anonymous, but wonderful, translation from the 1920's. Following a long tradition of publishing this work with sensuous illustrations, Humanoids, a French publisher, took a 19th century erotic novel by Pierre Louys and divided it into four hardbound books, each illustrated by a different artist. This first volume contained 15 full-page watercolors by Milo Manara, an artist better known for his adult comics. Those expecting Manara to have converted Louys' sensual story into a graphic novel may be surprised that this is not the case. Where Manara shines as a comic artist, his watercolors are uneven. While some are outstanding, the painting of the statue of Aphrodite is a disappointment. The illustrated binding and layout is sumptuous. In Book One Demetrios, a famous sculptor of ancient Alexandria, met and was smitten by Chrysis, a temple prostitute he met. She challenges him to commit three specific crimes to win her love. As he ponders the situation the next day, we see him struggle between his emotions and his reason as he faces his challenging tasks. The overpowering desire is strong and he seeks to understand its hold over him. In Book Two the illustrator is Georges Bess. He is an excellent choice and his eighteen full-page color illustrations are exceptional at setting the mood for the sensual nature of the text. All are of women in various stages of arousal and done in shades of red and saffron. Unlike Manara's illustrations for Book One most of these do not illustrate particular scenes in the book, but rather illustrate the time period and the costume of ancient Alexandria. The Bess illustrations compliment the text and make this volume of the series a success. Louys' writing in this English translation from the 1920s captures well the pagan sensuality he wanted to portray. This promised to be a beautiful set with Claire Wendling slated to illustrate volume 3. It is wonderful to see Louys' work getting this lavish treatment. The text is still vibrant enough to take on the sensual artwork of these modern artists.

Aphrodite Book 1 by Pierre Louys

Aphrodite Book 1 by Pierre Louys with illustrations by Milo Manara

This book is beautiful in many ways, but is disappointing at times. The combination of Louys' text and Manara's art is a sure winner. Originally published in France with the original French text, this English version chooses an anonymous, but wonderful, translation from the 1920's. Following a long tradition of publishing this work with sensuous illustrations, the publisher has come up with a new approach. They will publish an original one volume novel in four volumes and illustrate each with the work of a different artist. This first volume contains 15 full-page watercolors by Milo Manara, an artist better known for his adult comics. Those expecting Manara to have converted Louys' sensual story into a graphic novel may be surprised that this is not the case. Where Manara shines as a comic artist, his watercolors are uneven. While some are outstanding, the painting of the statue of Aphrodite is a disappointment. The illustrated binding and layout is sumptuous. This promised to be a beautiful set with Georges Bess and Wendling slated to illustrate volumes 2 and 3. It is wonderful to see Louys' work getting this lavish treatment. The text is still vibrant enough to take on the sensual artwork of these modern artists.

Return to Ukraine

Return to Ukraine by Ania Savage

From the Carpathian Mountains to the Black Sea, a great description of independent Ukraine. Ania Savage has written a wonderful book describing her journey to Ukraine during the time Ukraine was gaining its independence from Russia. The story of her family fleeing Russian persecution when she was six years old and her growing up in the USA with her mother's fond memories of home adds depth to her visit to the towns of her youth. Her description of her visits to both Western and Eastern Ukraine gives the reader a great sense of the cultural and geographic differences in this large Eastern European country. She works in a urban university and a rural school and her descriptions of the people she meets are respectful but insightful. She provides a lot of historic background to the places she visits and her bibliography in the back of the book is a valuable resource for further reading. This is a great book to read if you want to find out about Ukraine at the moment this great country gained its independence. The last chapter tries to bring the reader up to date for the year 2000, but it is only able to update us on the characters. It only briefly covers events in the first eight years of Ukrainian democracy and left me yearning for more.

The Incomplete Amorist

The Incomplete Amorist by Edith Nesbit

Edith Nesbit was a social and political liberal who wrote some of my favorite children's novels. So I looked forward to reading this adult novel. It was published in 1906 and tells the story of naive Betty Desmond who, after her mother died, grew up with her unemotional vicar stepfather in a rural parish. Bored with country life and the chores of a parsonage, she is out drawing one day when she meets Mr. Vernon, a painter who courts women as a harmless game. Vernon also has little to do, and they start meeting with their art supplies in the forest. He paints her portrait and helps her with her artistic skills. Their attraction to each other alarms her prudish stepfather who sends her off to a French boarding school. Mr. Vernon and Betty meet again in Paris where a complex love quartet forms with a former lover of Vernon's and his best friend. Each of the four people think they are in love with the two people of the opposite sex and must make up their mind which is their true love. Intrigue, miscommunication, love, guilt, and jealousy all mix with Nesbit's charming writing style to produce enjoyable characters in a dilemma that kept this reader interested to the last page. The novel is a comedy of manners that relies more on charming characters than witty ones. The general good will gives the book an innocence that comes easily to an author who wrote primarily for children.

Lucky Bucky in Oz

Lucky Bucky in Oz by John R. Neill
I just finished rereading Lucky Bucky in Oz and found myself laughing throughout the text. Neill does not write as tight a story as L. Frank Baum, but he does create characters as delightful as any developed by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Davy Jones, the wooden whale who befriends Bucky Jones and starts him on his quest, is one of the best. As with all Oz stories, getting there is all the fun. Bucky and Davy have a great time and so will you. Neill was the illustrator of Oz books for 40 years and this book contains the last views that he gave us of this magical land. If you love reading Oz books, this one will not disappoint you. From the Volcano Bakery to the Emerald City, go along for the ride. You won't regret it.

Queen Salote of Tonga

Queen Salote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900-1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem
Tonga is a unique place in being the only Polynesian kingdom to maintain its culture and government through the colonial period that brought down similar cultures in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific. Queen Salote adds to this uniqueness by being the ruling queen of Tonga in the first half of the Twentieth Century, an era dominated by male chauvenism. This story of her life and reign provides a wonderful view into the culture and history of this island kingdom. For papalangi (the Tongan word for people of Western society) this is not an easy book because there is a lot of Tongan names, geneology, and customs necessarily involved in the biography of their queen. Yet the very things that make it difficult also make it a rewarding book to read. What makes the book most enjoyable is the portrayal of this marvelous woman who ruled Tonga for almost 50 years. She ruled without use of force during a time of dissent from rival nobles and emerged one of the most revered leaders in Tongan history. She convinced her British advisors of her ability to rule and her island adversaries that their independence depended on her rule. I can recommend this book without reservation to anyone interested in women's studies, international biography, Polynesian history, or British colonial history.

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud Von Le Fort

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud Von Le Fort The story of 16 Carmelite nuns guillotined during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. Olga Marx's 1933 translation does not hold up well to the passage of time making the book less accessible to the modern reader. A fine, but one-sided, portrayal of the nuns' story, their motivation, and faith. Interesting use of a fictional character, the nun Blanche, to contrast the fear an average person would feel in this situation with the conviction and courage of these historical martyrs.

Paris by Emile Zola

Paris by Emile Zola Paris is the third volume of The Three Cities Trilogy that began with Lourdes and continued with Rome. Published in 1898, Paris is Zola's summation of the 19th Century and his predictions and hopes for the 20th Century. In this work Zola gives a splendid portrayal of social life in Paris at the end of the century. He takes us into the lives of men and women of the upper classes, the working class, and even revolutionary Anarchists. This work is of particular interest to readers today who face the future of a new Milennium since Zola looks at the accomplishments of his century and projects his hopes for a new century ruled by Reason and Justice. We can see how the 20th Century has failed and succeeded in bringing Zola's vision of the future to life. Zola spent his career portraying 19th Century France through the lives of his characters. In this final work of the century, he uses his story telling powers to create a portrait of the end of the century (Fin de siècle) through the lives of his characters.

Rome

Rome by Emile Zola Rome is the second book of a trilogy that started with Lourdes and concludes with Paris. Often called The Three Cities Trilogy, the books could also be called Faith, Hope, and Charity. Rome picks up the story of a disillusioned priest as he goes to Rome to defend his book which is to be placed on the Index of Prohibited Books. The story explores his hope for a new Christianity that will meet the needs of modern society and his confrontation with a religious organization unable to change with the times. Zola's critical description of Papal bureaucracy will not endear this work to devout Catholics, but his description of the inner workings of the Vatican is informative and fascinating.

Bird Brains

Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays by Candace Savage (Author) This is a wonderful summary of the latest findings and theories on Corvidae behavior and intelligence. I read the book because I wanted to find out why crows acted the way they do and have come away with a deep appreciation for this wonderful family of birds. In addition to the fabulous text, the book is filled with large, gorgeous pictures that are awesome. This must be read by anyone interested in birds.

Carpatho-Ukraine in the Twentieth Century: A Political and Legal History

Carpatho-Ukraine in the Twentieth Century: A Political and Legal History by Vincent Shandor Shandor tells the modern history of a section of Ukraine now known as the Zakarpatskaya Oblast. This is the fascinating story of a country that has been a part of five different nations in the 20th Century and whose people today live in six different countries. It was a part of the Hungarian Empire until the end of the First World War. After the war it was promised autonomy as Subcarpathian Ruthenia, the third part of Czechoslovakia, but this was never realized until the break-up of this country in 1938-39. Then for three days in March of 1939 it was the independent country of Carpatho-Ukraine, until the Hungarian Army crossed the border to reclaim it. In 1945 the Czechs and Russians agreed to make it part of the Ukraine without consulting its people. Shandor was the Ruthenian delegate in Prague between the two wars and has quite a tale to tell. Occasionally, the reader is swamped with names and details mentioned to prove Shandor's point of view. The presentation could have been more balanced, but overall it is fascinating reading.

Lourdes by Emile Zola

LOURDES tells the story of a four day pilgramage to the famous shrine in the late 19th century from the point of view of an abbe who has lost faith. He accompanies a childhood friend and her father as they seek a cure for her paralysis and pain. The abbe is no believer in miracles and his story is about the faith of those who have no where else to turn. Still powerful today, as many turn from a science-based medical establishment, when it offers no cures, to faith healings which heal, if not always the physical symptoms, the anguish and pain of hopelessness, this book explores the hearts and minds of the faithful with respect and insight. Zola's descriptions of trains and hospitals full of the diseased hopeful are overwhelming to read. His mixing of the political, the spiritual and the personal is well-balanced and provides a great tale. You will find the story of Bernadette and the Lady of Lourdes here, but if you are looking for inspirational reading about miraculous cures, you should look elsewhere. This book is about the very human side of a place usually known only for its miracles.

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics by Denis Kitchen & Paul Buhle

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics
by Denis Kitchen & Paul Buhle

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman is a large-format well-illustrated overview of Harvey Kurtzman's work. The book is divided into 5 chronological chapters based on major periods in his life. Each chapter is illustrated with rough sketches from Kurtzman's personal archives and other half-finished pieces or sections, as well as at least one finished work from the period.

Chapter 1 is entitled "Hey Look! It's the '40s" and is an outline of his earliest work in cartooning. Included are six of the 150 "Hey Look!" one-page comics he did for Stan Lee's Marvel.

Chapter 2 reviews his work with Bill Gaines' E.C. Comics, mostly doing war comics. There is a 7 page section where his story "Corpse on the Imjin" (from Two-Fisted Tales #25, January 1952) is reproduced in black & white drawings.

Chapter 3 is the heart of the book and devoted to his pioneering work with MAD magazine. Over 30 MAD covers are reproduced as well as the complete "SUPERDUPERMAN!" comic (from MAD #4, April 1953).

Kurtzman left MAD after disagreements with Gaines; and Chapter 4 covers the period in Kurtzman's life when he put out three other magazines: Trump, Humbug and Help! Two Trump covers, 14 Humbug covers, and 15 Help! covers are included as well as a complete 11 page cartoon called "The Grasshopper and the Ant" (from Esquire, May 1960) featuring a beatnik grasshopper and a workaholic ant.

Chapter 5 is mostly about Kurtzman's 25 years producing "Little Annie Fanny" comics for Playboy. A three page "Little Annie Fanny" origin story, which traces her life from a childhood in Al Capp's Dogpatch, through her growing up in "Peanuts" and "Little Orphan Annie," and ending with one-panel affairs with "Dick Tracy," "Beetle Bailey," and "Mandrake the Magician," appears here for the first time. Also reproduced is the Little Annie Fanny "Americans in Paris" (from Playboy, August 1967) and two cartoons on Dracula and Women that he did for French alternative comics.

This book, with its cartoonist-at-work sketches, roughs and thumbnails, will appeal especially to readers interested in Kurtzman's creative process. It may not be the best introduction to Kurtzman, but its finished pieces will provide enough for someone new to Kurtzman to grasp the importance of the man to the 20th century comics industry.

Ten Nights In A Bar-Room, And What I Saw There

Ten Nights In A Bar-Room, And What I Saw There
by Timothy Shay Arthur
Having been raised myself in a bar next door to the author's home town of Fort Montgomery, I am fascinated to read what is called the best Temperance novel of the 19th century. Set in the 1850s, this morality tale portrays the evil of alcohol in the story of a mill owner who sells his mill to build a tavern in town. Told by a visitor to the town who stays at the tavern for ten days over a period of ten years, he shows how customers and owner are all too weak to resist the temptations of demon rum. An interesting look at pro-temperance literature of the 19th century.

The People From Nowhere: An Illustrated History of Carpatho-Rusyn

The People From Nowhere: An Illustrated History of Carpatho-Rusyns by Paul Robert Magocsi

Both my parents are from a small town near the Carpathian Mountains in what is now Western Ukraine. In the last 100 years this small town has been in the following countries: Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Carpatho-Ukraine (for one day on March 15, 1939), Hungary, USSR, and Ukraine. They speak a language (or dialect) they call Ponashemu (which I am told means "what we speak") but is officially called Rusyn, and they call themselves names like Rusyns, or Ruthenians, or Carpatho-Rusyns, or Slavish, or Byzantines, or the "ponashemu" people. They are what Paul Robert Magocsi calls in this book "The People From Nowhere."

The title comes from Andy Warhol (originally Warhola), a famous Rusyn-American, who often said he was from Nowhere. The place he was from is the Carpathian Mountains and his people are the Rusyns who are the subject of this book. Their homeland stretches through south east Poland, north east Slovakia, western Ukraine, eastern Hungary and northern Romania. Various voluntary and forced movements have created large communities in Serbia, Czech Republic, USA, Canada and Australia. I have found people with my mother's unusual maiden name in Brazil.

Dr. Magocsi is Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto and the leading expert on the Rusyn people. He has written many books both scholarly and popular about them. I have found this to be the most scholarly of his popular books with pictures on every page and a good survey of the history of this people and their land. It was published in Uzhhorod (or Uzhgorod), the major city of the region, simultaneously in three different language editions: English, Rusyn and Ukrainian. The book is chronological and focuses on major male figures and historic events. His mastery of the subject is evident and the pictures are well selected. While this will mostly be of interest to Rusyns, it is a good book for getting a brief overview of their history for anyone who wants to learn about them or this region.

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

Part of a series based on the retirement years of Sherlock Holmes and his young wife Mary Russell, this volume is the first of a two volume story that is completed in The God of the Hive.
Holmes and Russell come home from seven months abroad to find one of his bee hives has died out and that he is the father to a grown man. Waiting for them is young Surrealist artist Damian Adler, Holmes' son by Irene Adler, who was his opponent in Arthur Conan Doyle's story "A Scandal In Bohemia." Having outwitted Holmes in the Doyle short story, Laurie King creates this account based on the premise that Irene outsmarted Holmes a second time by keeping from him the existence of their love child Damian.
This first volume outlines the rocky beginnings of a relationship between the three unlikely family members, a retired detective, his young protégée and wife, and his war-scarred son. Damian needs his father's help and Mary gets drawn in to a family that keeps growing as we learn of Damian's wife Yolanda and 3 year old daughter Estelle. Yolanda's involvement in spiritual pursuits draws the newly united family into a confrontation with a religious leader whose penchant for human sacrifice threatens all their lives. Holmes brother Mycroft also plays a significant role in this family drama.
If you have followed the relationship between Holmes and Russell since their first meeting, this is a wonderful addition that adds depth to their characters and an exciting adventure that King fills with details of the time and place. Just be prepared to face the words "to be continued" as the story reaches a climax. The God of the Hive will be required reading for anyone who enjoys this book.

Aunt Jane's Nieces on Vacation

Aunt Jane's Nieces on Vacation by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne

Aunt Jane's Nieces on Vacation is the seventh of a ten volume series written under the pseudonym Edith Van Dyne by L. Frank Baum. The series chronicles the adventures of three young women who are all nieces to John Merrick, a rich childless industrialist. Uncle John takes an interest in their upbringing because they will be the heirs to his vast fortune, and the books chronicle his adventures with them.

In On Vacation, the three nieces, Louise, Elizabeth and Patsy, return for the summer to Uncle John's farm in the upstate New York village of Millville where they decide on a whim to start a newspaper. Rich Uncle John buys them all the equipment they will need, setting up a modern newspaper print shop in an empty building, and the three nieces learn what it is like to put out a daily paper.

The description of an early 20th century newspaper from set up to production makes this an interesting story. Add in some local intrigue with a new paper plant, immigrant workers and a local politician. Season with a talented Bohemian female artist and a mysterious vagabond with amnesia. Stir well with Baum's talent for positive prose, and you have a delightful tale for a young woman of 100 years ago.

While we today may marvel at Baum's depictions of the locals, foreign workers and the members of polite society, these archaic portrayals are useful in getting a view of social structure and perceptions in 1912 just before the start of World War I.

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu: Being a Somewhat Detailed Account of the Amazing Adventures of Nayland Smith in His Trailing of the Sinister Chinaman
by Sax Rohmer

The first of a 13-volume series by Sax Rohmer, this is one of the most racist books I have ever read. Asians or Asia are always mentioned with a racist or pejorative adjective. An Amazon reviewer says of the Fu-Manchu series: "thematically, Rohmer serves as a literary bridge between Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and Ian Fleming's James Bond." Complete with a doctor sidekick to chronicle the adventures, Rohmer tells the tale of Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. John Petrie as they struggle to oppose Dr. Fu-Manchu's exploits in London working for a shadowy Chinese organization whose goal is world domination. A brilliant scientist and leader of a band of devoted non-White slaves, Fu-Manchu's goal is to kill Western imperialists who stand in the way of Chinese advancement. The "seductively lovely" Kâramanèh, who is Fu-Manchu's Egyptian slave, provides a forbidden love interest when she becomes infatuated with Dr. Petrie. A rousing adventure, with Fu-Manchu killing people all over London as Smith and Petrie slowly come to grips with the powers they are up against, the book displays much of the European fear and misunderstanding of The East at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Pistols, Petticoats, & Poker. The Real Lottie Deno: No Lies or Alibis

Pistols, Petticoats, & Poker. The Real Lottie Deno: No Lies or Alibis
by Jan Devereaux

The sensational exploits of "Lottie Deno" have been well documented in The Story Of Lottie Deno: Her Life And Times by J. Marvin Hunter, and Lottie Deno: Gambling Queen of Hearts by Cynthia Rose. Jan Devereaux looks behind the legend to piece together the facts. Her research is impressive and her writing is relaxed. Not being a native of the Southwest, it took me a while to get used to her narrative style, but I was rewarded with what she calls in her subtitle "The Real Lottie Deno, No Lies or Alibis." Devereaux is an amateur historian like Hunter, and she is wise to not give up her day job in the healthcare field. She has excellent local credentials and her work, while lacking academic polish, shows thorough research.

The Rebel Girl: An Autobiography

The Rebel Girl: An Autobiography, My First Life (1906-1926) by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

The Rebel Girl is a memoir by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn of her early work as a Socialist labor organizer for the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). The first chapter tells of her life growing up in an Irish-American family. Her mother was an Irish nationalist and a feminist while her father was a Socialist. When she was 16 Elizabeth gave her first speech at a New York Socialist meeting on the rights of women.

She was so good at public speaking that it became her life's work, traveling all over the US while still a teenager. Mining towns in the Rockies and Minnesota, lumber camps in the Northwest, textiles strikes in Massachusetts and New Jersey are all places she went to help workers fight for safe working conditions and living wages.

Later on she talks of ideological struggles within the IWW leadership, her two marriages and raising a child, World War I, and the oppressive atmosphere in the US after the war against the Left. The Rebel Girl ends with the trial and appeals for the two Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti.

The book was meant to be the first volume of her autobiography covering 1906 to 1924, her years before joining the Communist Party, and was first published in 1955. She died before she could complete the second volume which was to cover the 35 years she spent as a Communist.

Flynn is a great writer and tells her story of the early 20th century labor movement well. As a first person account, it is full of detail and personal perspective. At times I longed for a more objective account of some events for balance and this book has encouraged me to read further about the events described.

Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society by Edith Van Dyne (L. Frank Baum)

Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society is the 5th in a series of 10 novels written by L. Frank Baum under the pseudonym Edith Van Dyne. The series is about 3 nieces of their rich uncle John: Louise, Beth and Patsy who met in the 1st novel of the series when they were invited to visit their dying Aunt Jane so she could decide which of them, who she had neglected all their lives, she would leave her fortune to. After her death, the nieces are cared for by their rich uncle John Merrick who, having retired from industry, takes them on various adventures which are detailed in the books of the series.

In this the 5th volume of the series, published 100 years ago in 1910, Baum contrasts the simple goodness of the nieces to the pretentiousness and artificial values of high society. Louise's social climbing mother asks John to see if he can use his connections to get the three nieces introduced to New York's fashionable society. John loans money to a prominent socialite and asks his help. This man's daughter Diana sees this as an opportunity to gain influence with the rich financier and takes the three girls under her wing. All goes well and the girls are accepted at their debut and a charity ball. However Diana's cousin Charles Mershone, a socialite sociopath and one of the darkest characters Baum ever created, is smitten by Louise. When Diana takes a shine to Louise's suitor Arthur, she plots with Charles to separate the naive Louise from her fiancé.

Baum creates a good adventure with a delightful new character while shining a light on the artifice of society. Today's reader will find interesting the limitations the three nieces had to work within as young women in the early 20th century.

Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy.
Looking Backward, while written over 120 years ago, is about what the author envisioned the 21st century could have been like if the USA had embraced Socialist principles. Very popular when it was written (right up there with Uncle Tom's Cabin and Ben Hur), it is about a young 19th century upper class white man's surprising re-introduction to society when he wakes up from a 113 year nap at the dawn of the 21st century. Similar to Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" and Woody Allen's Sleeper in plot structure but told without parody or humor, in Looking Backward the world has changed dramatically while our hero slept.

Bellamy's hero is awakened by a retired doctor and his wife and daughter when they find him sleeping in a chamber under their garden. This family slowly introduces him to the wonders of a modern Socialist state where the nation is the only employer and the people's army works for the common good. Each chapter explores a different aspect of this modern cooperative society. Chapter 15 describes Bellamy's vision of the future of publishing, 16 discusses art, 19 is devoted to law, and 20 to education. The ideas are mostly presented through dialogs with the doctor with few actual visits and interactions. Economic progress is stressed over technological change.

Written before the Great Depression, Communism, National Socialism, two World Wars and the Holocaust, Bellamy's book blames much of the world's problems on social inequality and the pursuit of personal gain. He envisions the United States leading the world into a just brotherhood where humans work together for the common good. It is interesting to read today Bellamy's vision of looking back from an alternative world that never came into being although fervently desired by many at the time. For Bellamy and his readers the enemy was Capitalism and salvation was to be had in Communism and National Socialism. He envisions a world where these ideas were embraced by the USA instead of Stalin and Hitler and led to a Utopian society.

The 1909 novel Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne, is the fourth volume in the Aunt Jane's Nieces series. The three young women, Louise Merrick, Beth De Graf, and Patsy Doyle, met in the first volume of the series on the estate of their Aunt Jane, who was dying and trying to decide which niece would receive her inheritance.

In this fourth book of the series Kenneth Forbes, the young man who inherited Aunt Jane's estate, is now running for the state legislature, in what he thinks will be an easy election against a corrupt politician. He is the richest man in this poor district but inexperienced in the ways of the world. When he starts to have a rough time, and it looks like all hope is gone, his three cousins decide to go to work for his election They show up with their rich Uncle John and, even though women can't vote in 1909, they organize an effective campaign. This is an interesting story that describes the type of political maneuvering of 100 years ago. Baum's mother-in-law was the famous women's rights activist Matilda Joslyn Gage, and I feel she would have been proud of her son-in-law's characterization of these three young political women.

Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang

Yunte Huang was born in China, came to the US in 1991, and is now an English professor at UC Santa Barbara. Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese police detective created by the White American author Earl Derr Biggers, who wrote six popular Charlie Chan mystery novels. Biggers based Charlie Chan on a real Honolulu Chinese detective named Chang Apana who was a respected member of the department. Hollywood made 47 Charlie Chan movies with White actors in "yellowface" makeup playing the Chinese detective. Many Chinese find these movies to be racist and offensive.

In this book the author looks at Chang Apana, and the literary and film versions of Charlie Chan, and puts them into the context of very negative American attitudes and perceptions of the Chinese over the past 150 years. This survey of America's troubled relationship with its Chinese population is what gives this book its broad value. It also sets into context the stereotyped Chan and the use of "yellowface" actors to portray him in the film industry. When seen against the much more negative images and attitudes that also existed at the time, the author makes Charlie Chan seem like a positive portrayal of the Chinese in American popular media.

This book leaves unasked an interesting question. Are the original Charlie Chan novels fatally flawed because they were written by a White American author? The White American author James Patterson writes novels about a Black Washington DC detective Alex Cross. His books have been made into movies with Morgan Freeman playing the lead. Could a Chinese actor play Charlie Chan in a way that would reflect the racial tensions of the 1920s?

Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne is the third book in a series written for young girls. It was originally published in 1908. The three nieces are Louise Merrick, Elizabeth De Graf, and Patsy Doyle and in this book they go to a fictional upstate New York town called Millville for the summer with their rich uncle John who has gotten a farmhouse there as payment for a bad debt. Much of the novel deals with the vast cultural differences between the small town farmers of the town and the rich "nabobs" living in the summer house. Soon after moving in the three young women sense a mystery in the sudden death of the previous owner of the house, a seaman named Captain Wegg, and the disappearance of his fortune. Suspecting murder and theft, each of the nieces has her own theory as to what happened and who may be guilty. The plot develops nicely providing a pleasant mystery/detective book with a happy ending.

Austin and Mabel is an amazing record of 19th century adultery. Austin Dickinson was the older brother of Emily Dickinson and the chief financial officer of Amherst College, as well as a leading citizen of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts. He was married and had three children. When the college hired a new astronomy professor, David Todd, along with him came his lovely young wife Mabel Todd. She was an artist and loved socializing. Austin and Mabel fell in love and maintained an intimate relationship while both stayed married. This book tells their story and prints their 13 years of letters, providing a detailed history of their love. Through these letters we see Austin, who is 27 years older than Mabel, grow old and die, while Mabel matures into an accomplished writer, editor and lecturer. "No love story approaches it" Mabel said of their relationship. While reading over 200 pages of love letters can get repetitious at times, Mabel and Austin are both wonderful people and their story is impressive.

Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad by L. Frank Baum (writing as Edith Van Dyne)

With the fabulous success of his Wizard of Oz books, L. Frank Baum finally found himself financially well off. He and his wife Maud used their new wealth to take a trip overseas. On 7 April 1906 they were witnesses to a major eruption of Vesuvius. This experience becomes the background for Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad which takes the characters to this same event and makes the novel interesting reading.

Baum portrays the three young girls and their Uncle John as nationalistic Americans, extremely proud of their culture and values, who are always making comparisons with how much worse Europeans are in all they say and do. This adds humor to the story which is basically an adventure tale that centers around the mysterious men they meet in their travels. Filled with detail from Baum's own travels, the book ends up being a cautionary tale for Americans traveling abroad.

The Wish Express by Ruth Plumly Thompson

Originally serialized for the Philadelphia Public Ledger in 1916, Ruth Plumly Thompson's first novel The Wish Express starts when a boy named Berens, discontented with his math homework, wishes he was someone else somewhere else. The next thing he knows, a giant Discontented Bug with 19 arms and 17 legs has grabbed him and his dog Rags and is flying him to the wish trolley ... and Rags can talk! The trolley is filled with other discontented wishers, both human and animal who must make what Thompson calls "the perilous journey on a wish through Talktown and the State of Discontentment to the misty city of Somewhere Else" to have their wishes granted.

The publisher, Hungry Tiger Press, calls it "a tale of self-discovery, talking animals, amazing little towns, great new friends, and a happy ending!" The book definitely shows the delightful play of words and interesting characterization that Thompson will later display writing 21 novels as L. Frank Baum's successor to the title of The Royal Historian of Oz.

Never before printed in its entirety, the Hungry Tiger Press paperback features a flip-book Wish Express Trolley created by Eric Shanower that moves along the top of the pages as you read. If you flip through the pages you can watch it move. Also included are the original illustrations by Public Ledger artist James Hammon. The Wish Express is a delightful illustration of the proverb "Be careful what you wish for because it might come true" that has lost none of its charm in the 95 years since its first publication.

The Forest: A Personal Record of the Huk Guerrilla Struggle in the Philippines
by William J. Pomeroy


Bill Pomeroy came to the Philippines as an American soldier in World War II. During the war, Philippine Huk Guerrillas battled Japanese occupiers. One of the Huk was Celia Mariano. After the war the Huk continued fighting for the freedom of the people against the Philippine government and oppressive landlords. Celia and Bill married and Bill joined the Huk movement.

In 1950 Celia and Bill left Manila to join the Huk guerrillas in the Sierra Madre mountains as they struggled to free the islands from foreign influence and the power elite. The Forest tells the story of their two years living with the Huk and training them in revolutionary theory in various mountain camps. It has short chapters in chronological order with months marked out as if it was a journal. As a personal account by the only American in the Huk movement it is a valuable inside look that can help us understand what it was like in such a group at the time.

Mary Louise and Josie O'Gorman by Emma Speed Sampson is the eighth of a ten volume series of Bluebird Books for young girls featuring two young amateur female detectives. Originally started by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne, the series was continued by Emma Sampson after Baum's death in 1919. While Baum favored Mary Louise, Sampson continues the series focusing more on Josie,the young detective, and treats Mary Louise as a minor character. In this book, Mary Louise donates the house she inherited from her grandfather and a significant sum of money to the local orphanage. Two new orphans attract the attention of Josie O'Gorman who begins to investigate the mystery of their missing parents and the strange young woman who abandoned them. This was an enjoyable novel of the post-war years written with a strong female character which is a pleasant light read.

Mary Louise Solves a Mystery (1917) by L. Frank Baum

This is the third in a series of girl detective novels L. Frank Baum created featuring Mary Louise Burrows and her friend Josie O'Gorman. They appear fairly late in the book with the beginning given over to the sad story of Alora Jones. Her wealthy mother dies when she is 11, leaving Alora and her inheritance in the care of her ex-husband, who Alora had never met. He is sullen, secretive and unsupportive, and Alora is neglected for several years while her father forces her to live in seclusion with him in a remote Italian villa. Mary Louise meets Alora and her father while traveling with her grandfather in Italy. Befriending Alora, Mary Louise senses there is a mystery, and seeks to find out what is behind the strained relationship between Alora and her father.
Baum's young adult novels usually involve class issues and this book is as much about class as it is about mystery. While the novel is almost 100 years old, the detective work is well crafted and will keep the reader interested.

Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls, by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne

The Mary Louise series is about a girl amateur detective and were written for teenage girls. Set in World War I, Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls explores the themes of patriotism and dissent in wartime. Mary Louise is 17 and teams up with her friends aged 14 to 18 to form the Liberty Girls to help out the war effort. They start with helping to sell bonds, but, when anonymous letters opposing the war appear, the girls go searching for the treasonous pro-German people of the town. Are they traitors or are they just voicing their right to disagree?

Being in the Public Domain you can find a copy of Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls in Project Gutenberg.

The Emerald Wand of Oz, by Sherwood Smith.

Sherwood Smith is an award winning author who was contracted by Byron Preiss to write 4 novels as the new Royal Historian of Oz for the L. Frank Baum Family Trust. This is the first of 2 novels published by HarperCollins as part of that agreement. The second book, Trouble Under Oz (2006), continues where this book leaves off. A third called Sky Pirates of Oz was written, but Preiss's death in 2005 & subsequent bankruptcy put the future of that book and the fourth book into doubt.

The story is about Dorothy Gale's modern day grand nieces Em and Dori who are transported to Oz by a tornado where they get caught up in adventures with local Oz characters new and old. Like Dorothy, they live in Kansas in an unhappy household. Their parents are separated and they respond to the stress in opposite ways. Em is practical and realistic like her namesake Aunt Em, while Dori is disorganized and imaginative, dreaming of the fairy land her namesake Dorothy once visited.

Every Oz story has a visit to at least one strange place filled with amusing but dangerous inhabitants. Dori and Em start their Oz adventure in Unicorn Valley, which is reminiscent of "My Little Pony" with brightly colored unicorns living with children who spend their days grooming and decorating the vain animals. The girls want to get home to Kansas to let their mother know they are alright, so they decide to visit the castle of Glinda the good witch of the south. Only the unicorns, needing groomers, will not let them go. Teaming up with a boy named Rik, and with the help of a freshwater mermaid, they escape Unicorn Valley. However they can't escape an ominous cloud with barely visible faces that seems to follow them.

When they arrive at Glinda's castle Dori and Em find out that a witch named Bastinda, the niece of Dorothy's Wicked Witch of the West, has ransacked the castle for magical tools and used an emerald wand to magically steal Glinda's smarts, leaving her and everyone in the castle laconic and dazed. Scraps the Patchwork Girl tells Em that Bastinda has stolen Ozma's smarts as well, casting an evil spell on all the people of the Emerald City. Meanwhile, Dori discovers that Rik is after magical tools for his own purposes. Dori and Em must team up with Scraps and other famous non-human Oz characters who are free of the spell in a three-way struggle with Bastinda and Rik to get the emerald wand and break the enchantments.

Sherwood Smith devotes 75 pages to Unicorn Valley which makes the first half of the book slow, but the pace picks up and never slackens once the girls leave. This is a wonderful book for anyone who has read L. Frank Baum's early Oz books or seen the movie. Smith is marvelous at character development and her characters Rik, Bastinda, and Bastinda's Giant Gecko Guards are complex and rewarding. They fit in well with her recreations of such Oz personages as Scraps, Scarecrow, Jack Pumpkinhead and the Glass Cat.

This Brief Tragedy: Unravelling the Todd-Dickinson Affair

by John Evangelist Walsh

I picked up this book because I was interested in whether the sexual relationship between Emily Dickinson's married brother Austin and Mabel Todd, wife of an Amherst professor, had any grounding in the Free Love movement of 19th Century USA.
The Free Love movement’s goal was to prevent the state from legislating sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery, claiming that these were personal issues of the people involved, and no one else. In the United States there were several 19th century Free Love advocates who lectured to packed houses. While Free Lovers argued for the rights of women, they were often rejected by the leaders of the first wave feminist movement.
Both Austin and Mabel, and her husband David, do seem to feel they are engaged in activities that should not be judged by the community, yet John Evangelist Walsh looks on their activities with a Puritanical eye. He spends most of the book portraying Austin's wife Sue as a wronged woman and Mabel as a home wrecker and opportunist. While Walsh quotes often from Mabel's letters journals and diaries to build his case, he never uses Sue's writings, leaving this a very one-sided presentation. There is a sub-plot of how Mabel Todd became, after Emily Dickinson's death, the first editor of Dickinson's poetry and letters which is also marred by this one-sided attack on her character.
While the story of the Dickinsons and the Todds is a very interesting one, Walsh's telling of it is lacking in depth, and will appeal mostly to those interested in protecting the sanctity of heterosexual marriage.

Nikola The Outlaw.
Ivan Olbrecht

Nikola the Outlaw is set in the Ruthenian region of Czechoslovakia just after World War I. This area is now the Zakarpatska province of Ukraine, but at the time it was part of a newly formed nation. Nikola and his Ruthenian friends, who were in the Austrian army, return from the war and decide it is easier to be outlaws than to fit into a new social order run by Czech soldiers and Jewish shopkeepers. Living in the mountains with the secret support of many of the townspeople, they evade capture and become local heroes. However, as the village settles into its new life, the outlaws find it harder to maintain their existence. Rich in cultural details, the novel provides a detailed look at Ruthenian life in the newly formed country of Czechoslovakia.

The Marvelous Land of Oz

Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's graphic novel is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's 2nd book about the Land of Oz written in 1904. Shanower does a wonderful job of taking the original novel and turning it into a comic, and Young's drawings give the characters new life. The book is the story of what happens after Dorothy and the Wizard leave Oz. So neither of them are in this story.

Baum used the first book's publishing success to turn it into a successful musical that made stars of the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow. This second book was written with the idea of a second musical using these two characters but starring a giant talking bug called The Wogglebug. While the second musical was not a success, Shanower was able to use some of the added dialog of the musical to enhance this comic.

The story is about a young boy named Tip who is living with a mean witch named Mombi and runs away with her most prized magic, the Powder of Life, that can give life to inanimate objects. He creates a pumpkin headed wooden man and a living sawhorse, and they travel to the city of Oz to see the Scarecrow who is its ruler.

A story element that was timely over 100 years ago about a revolt of the women of Oz under the leadership of General Jinjur is a bit dated today. Jinjur loses a bit of her spicy independence to be just self-centered. Over all though, this is a delightful second collaboration between Shanower and Young to bring the Baum Oz books to life for a new audience.

The Story of Lottie Deno: Her Life and Times, by J. Marvin Hunter

This book was the last biographical work of J. Marvin Hunter, an amateur historian who wrote and published magazines, pamphlets and books about the history of Texas. He had met Lottie Deno when she lived in New Mexico in 1901 under the name Charlotte Thurmond.

This work is made up of many short pieces that together tell the story of Lottie Deno, her 4 years as a gambler at Fort Griffin Texas in the 1870s, and her later life in New Mexico. By using short sketches to build the story, Hunter quotes many points of view and the focus is not only on Lottie, but also on the history of Fort Griffin and Deming, New Mexico.

During the 1870s Fort Griffin on the Brazos River was the US Army's outpost in their war with the Comanche and Kiowa people, a center for the slaughter of the buffalo, and a stop on the Dodge City Cattle Trail. These activities brought a lot of men with money to spend who were looking for a good time to the town outside the fort. That attracted people like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, Sheriff Pat Garrett and Bat Masterson to what Mr. Hunter calls The Wickedest Town on the Frontier. It also attracted a woman gambler who called herself Lottie Deno.

The author does a good job of gathering together a lot of the published materials about Lottie and Fort Griffin that appeared in magazines and books and making it available again in one place. As a result the book jumps around and repeats itself, mixes facts and legends, and is as much about Lottie's times as it is about her life.

The first chapter is his own telling of her early life in a rich family in Kentucky where her father was a prominent citizen farmer with a love of card playing. Having only daughters, he shares his love of cards with his oldest daughter Charlotte. After his death, she takes up gambling on the Mississippi river boats and New Orleans as a way to support her mother and sister, moves on to San Antonio to gamble, and then is drawn to the fast and easy money of Fort Griffin. To protect her family from scandal she takes on the name of Lottie Deno, which was a short form of the slang term "Lotta Dinaro" - Lots of Money.

The second chapter is a re-publication of a description of "Old Fort Griffin" by Don H. Biggers that appeared in his 1908 Shackleford County Sketches. Biggers focuses a lot on the lawlessness of the town. While it was an Army base, the Army's job was war with the native Americans and not civil law, so the town that sprang up outside the fort was not their jurisdiction or concern. He paints a lawless town where over 50 people were killed in a dozen years with little or no legal proceedings.

Chapter III tells the story of Lottie's arrival at Fort Grffin with a long quote from Edgar Rye's 1909 book The Quirt and the Spur. Mr. Rye calls her "a female monstrosity" and relates a story where she stayed calmly at the card table as everyone else in the room fled as two players argued and shot each other. When the sheriff sees her calmly counting her chips near the carnage, he says she has a lot of nerve and that he wouldn't have "cared to take his chances in that scrimmage." Her reply is "Perhaps not, sheriff, but you are not a desperate woman."

The next two chapters are from the point of view of John Jacobs, one of the sheriffs of Griffin, and an acquaintance of the author in the 1920s. These are followed by a chapter that quotes from Alfred Henry Lewis's 1902 novel Wolfville Nights in which his character Faro Nell is modelled after Lottie. More chapters then tell the story of Fort Griffin from and some of the men who lived and died there. Basically, after the buffalo are slaughtered, the Cherokee and Kiowa are starved onto reservations, the fort closes, the town dies, and everyone leaves. It is a story of its own that deserves telling in more detail.

In Chapter XI Lottie's life picks up again in Deming, New Mexico where the author was a reporter for the local newspaper in 1900 and she is married to a rancher named Frank Thurmond. She is a founding member of the town's Golden Gossip Club, and an upright member of the community. There are only rumors that she may have been Lottie Deno.

Little is told of the saloon and gambling room Lottie and Frank ran in New Mexico after they left Texas. Frank killed a man in self defense, and they decided to give up gambling and move to Deming. Much of the end of the book is devoted to turn of the century Deming life.

One of the strengths of this book is the early sketches of Lottie's life and Fort Griffin that Mr. Hunter is able to bring together in one place. He knew Texas history well and was able to piece together a lot of different sources. However, this approach makes the book fragmented, episodic and dated. Hopefully, a new book by Jan Devereaux, Pistols, Petticoats & Poker: The Real Lottie Deno: No Lies or Alibis, published by High Lonesome Books, will provide a more cohesive in-depth look at this woman that many claim was the model for the beautiful, redheaded Miss Kitty who ran the Longbranch Saloon in the famous "Gunsmoke" television series.

Mary Louise by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne

L. Frank Baum wrote book series for girls under the nom de plume Edith Van Dyne. Mary Louise is the first of a series featuring Mary Louise, a plain ordinary rich girl whose grandfather is wanted by the State Department. The novel starts with Mary Louise in a private boarding school while living with her grandfather and mother in a small town. All is well and she has been getting very close to the old man until he is recognized by a stranger staying at the hotel. It is then that Mary Louise's family steals away in the night leaving her alone at the school to face the sudden knowledge that her grandfather is a wanted criminal.

She doesn't know where he is or why the government is seeking him, but she knows deep in her heart that he is too good to have done anything wrong. Watched by secret agents who seek to find the old man through her, Mary Louise must find her way through a cloud of suspicion. The book is the story of how she goes about seeking to find her grandfather and to prove his innocence. A very good adventure story but it is plagued by Baum's stereotyping of black servants and a disabled friend that he refers to as "the chair-girl" because of her wheel chair. An interesting glimpse into the children's books of the early 20th century.

My Talks With Dean Spanley by Lord Dunsany, 1936

A first person narrative of a man who meets Dean Spanley, an elder minister, at his club and discovers the Dean has a strong belief in Reincarnation. He begins to suspect the Dean has more than a belief, he may have actual memories of a past life and becomes determined to find out. Hoping to find scientific proof of the transmigration of souls if he can get Dean Spanley to talk, the narrator invites him to dinner. Believing in the adage "In vino veritas" he plies the Dean with wine. When Spanley drinks too much Imperial Tokay, a rare Hungarian wine, he starts talking about his former life as a country hound in the first person.
The narrator is astounded by the revelation and invites Spanley back several times hoping to discover scientific proof of reincarnation in Spanley's stories of his life as a dog. Each visit is harder since Spanley does not like to drink to excess, but each lapse reveals more of his canine existence.
An excellent short novel full of wonderful detail and dry understated humor. Recently made into a film called simply Dean Spanley starring Jeremy Northam and Sam Neill, this is a delightful tale.

Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley (1922)
A novel by Lord Dunsany.

"Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley conveys its young disinherited protagonist through a fantasized Spain, gifting him with a Sancho Panza companion, good luck with magicians, and a castle" -- The Encyclopedia of Fantasy.

Lord Dunsany's first novel, this is a historic fantasy set in a pastoral Spain that could never exist with all the charm and innocence that the author attributes to it. Don Rodrigues sets out on a quest to find a war to fight in so he can win a castle and wealth of his own. Along the way, he finds a loyal servant who wields a mighty fry pan and encounters a magician who shows them how to astral travel and allows them to see the past and the future. Hi finds a lady he loves, wins his castle in a fantastic manner and they "live happily ever after."

The beauty of the story is in Dunsany's prose which is a delight to read and well-suited to the fantastic setting he creates. I totally enjoyed this first novel by one of my favorite authors.

The Tough Coughs As He Ploughs the Dough: Early Writings and Cartoons by Dr. Seuss is a collection of writings from 1927 to 1937 by Theodore Geisel, from the time before be became known to the world as Dr. Seuss. These are not works for children, but rather humorous pieces for magazines like Judge, Life, College Humor, and Liberty. Filled with word play and absurdist writing, the pieces have lost some of their humor but are still interesting background reading for those interested in Dr. Seuss. The illustrations are probably more important than the writing as they show the development of the cartoon style that made Dr. Seuss famous.

Many of the essays are written under the pen name of Dr. Theophrastus Seuss, which would later be shortened to Dr. Seuss. There is a long piece where Uncle Theophrastus explains to his nephew Quackenbush "The Facts of Life." Another delightful story tells of a corporation that decides to forego profit to manufacture items of the highest "Quality."

A series of one-page Little Educational Charts attempt to explain the most absurd aspects of things like the importance of Simplified Spelling (see the book's title for a sample) and other one-page essays on imaginary uses of birds and beasts and whimsical word meanings were obviously humorous magazine pieces. The book ends with a series of ads for a spray insecticide called FLIT that all contain the catchphrase, "Quick Henry, the Flit."

While the writing has suffered a bit from the passage of time, the artistic humor of Geisel's drawings remains, and provides good background for those who only know his children's books.

Milk: A Pictorial History of Harvey Milk is a tribute to a man who was a major force for Gay Rights in the United States. Billed as a photographic history, it also contains moving statements by people who worked with Harvey Milk during his political career in San Francisco.

Part One is called "An Oral and Pictorial History of Harvey Milk" and is filled with pictures form his life and statements from those who knew him or were influenced by him.

Part Two is titled "Milk, The Making of the Movie" and details the movie starring Sean Penn. Both sections were put together by the Academy Award winning writer of the movie, Dustin Lance Black, based on his research for the film.

The Real/Reel life story of Harvey Milk and the 1970's Gay Scene in San Francisco are laid out side by side in this book which provides insight into both the era and the movie.

Important reading to anyone interested in Milk the man or Milk the movie.

The Art of the Aloha Shirt by DeSoto Brown & Linda Arthur

The Aloha Shirt is what people on the mainland call a Hawaiian Shirt, a bright-patterned, collared, short sleeve shirt meant to be worn untucked. Although today we cannot imagine a world without them, this book delves into the origins of the classic shirt looking for its creator.

But first the authors look into the roots of the Aloha Shirt which are deep in the multicultural society of these islands. Polynesian, Japanese, Filipino and Chinese influences are found in this garment's past. The Hawai'ian fabric industry is the subject of one chapter with the local small businesses importing and producing fabric designs and competing with the larger mainland factories.

The roots of Dress-Down (or Casual) Friday are found in the adoption of the Aloha shirt as acceptable business attire in Hawai'i starting in 1947. Hawaii's Aloha Friday during the summer months spread to the mainland in the 1960s.

While the exact date and creator of the Aloha shirt has not been discovered by the authors, they do point to the decade of the 1930s as the likely time. The first mention of Aloha Shirts they can point to is a 1938 children's book called Hawaiian Holiday.

The Art of the Aloha Shirt is richly illustrated in full color with pictures on every page. Celebrities in Aloha print garments abound. Many of the pictures are ads from shops or magazines. There are also pictures of shirts housed in the Bishop Museum and the University of Hawai'i's Historic Costume Collection (Linda Arthur, one of the authors, is curator of this collection).

The Aloha Shirt becomes a symbol of Hawai'ian culture, something that the diverse population can find unity in. As such, it is much more than a garment. It becomes a cultural symbol that is not based on ethnicity, but on a shared sense of place.

The Beats: A Graphic History

This book is "by Harvey Pekar et al." with "art by Ed Piskor et al." While the majority of the text and art are by Pekar and Piskor, the book is actually 25 different pieces on various people and topics of the Beat Generation created by a diverse group of writers and artists.
In the first half of the book Pekar and Piskor tackle the lives of the three major figures: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. This is followed by shorter pieces on other people associated with the movement: Kenneth Rexroth, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, William Everson, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Leroi Jones/Amiri Baraka, Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, Philip Lamantia, Gary Snyder, Diane di Prima, Slim Brundage, Jay DeFeo, d.a. levy, and my favorites Kenneth Patchen and Tuli Kupferberg.
To set these biographic pieces in context there are chapters on Jazz, Art, the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, and women in the Beat movement.
All together Pekar writes 18 of the 25 chapters, giving the book a continuity yet allowing for diversity of views, while Piskor inks just over half the graphics which keeps the book visually interesting.
Highly recommended even if you only read the two chapters on Patchen and Kupferberg.

Shadow On The Hearth by Judith Merril

A typical day in a Westchester suburb of New York for a family of four is shattered by a nuclear attack on New York City. Gladys is in the basement doing her laundry, her two daughters, Barbara and Ginny are at school, and her husband Jon has taken the train to Manhattan to his job when the bombs start to fall.

The following week's events are viewed from Gladys' viewpoint as she takes in the children's teacher, a discredited nuclear scientist critical of atomic bombs, and hides him and her Slavic maid Veda from the Civil Defense patrols who might see them as enemy spies or saboteurs.

Written in 1950 this is an early science fiction look at the after effects of a nuclear war. It was adapted the same year with a less provocative script as the television drama Atomic Attack, which was the television debut for Walter Matthau as the young doctor.

Judith Merril does a very good job or of presenting Gladys as the US stay-at-home mom of the post-WWII years facing a world turned upside down. I enjoyed reading the book and recommend it.

City of Belief is a novel based on a true story written by a person who was there. The "Author's Note" at the beginning of the book starts with this statement:
"In the early morning hours of November 9, 1965 a young man walked up to the United Nations in New York City, sat on the cement island on First Avenue before the darkened building, doused himself with gasoline and lit a match. The young man was Roger La Porte and he was my friend."
Roger and the author were volunteers at the NYC Catholic Worker, a movement started by Dorothy Day and committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, and the Works of Mercy. In 1965 a group of the Catholic Worker volunteers including Roger were involved in anti-war protests and a draft card burning in New York's Union Square.
This novel is a faithful chronology of the events leading up to and immediately following Roger's self-immolation. They have haunted the author for 40 years, and she has finally written about them to share with the world.
It is a story of faith and belief and an accurate depiction of the tumultous times. No one may ever understand what caused Roger to set himself on fire to protest a war he saw as unjust, but this book will give you a glimpse into his life and thoughts.