What Are You Reading in 2013?

[Rogar]

I just finished a re-read of Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie". It was written rather late in his career and is the non-fiction account of his voyage through the country which he calls a search of America. Sometimes I wonder if and how the general personalities of American have changed in the last several years with urbanization, population growth, and computerization. The book at least hints at a more rural and less paranoid country where a person might walk up to a stranger's house and ask for a glass of water or invite a family of strangers into a camper for an evening of conversation. He also talks about the sense of wanderlust that seems to lurk in many of us, but never seems to reach realization.

[DocHolliday]

Just started The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond. About how the world has changed more in the past 100 years than in all the previous milennia and what we can learn from traditional cultures. Thus far, it's a bit dry but interesting stuff like why we now have high blood pressure.

That sounds like something I would enjoy.

I am currently reading A Nation Rising by Kenneth C. Davis. A collection of several stories that history has mostly forgotten from the years between the founding and the Civil War.

Just finished 1776 by David McCullough.

[Bartleby]

I just finished a re-read of Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie". It was written rather late in his career and is the non-fiction account of his voyage through the country which he calls a search of America. Sometimes I wonder if and how the general personalities of American have changed in the last several years with urbanization, population growth, and computerization. The book at least hints at a more rural and less paranoid country where a person might walk up to a stranger's house and ask for a glass of water or invite a family of strangers into a camper for an evening of conversation. He also talks about the sense of wanderlust that seems to lurk in many of us, but never seems to reach realization.

Are you familiar with the article by Bill Steigerwald called Sorry Charlie ? He claims it is a lot more fiction than non fiction. It kind of stirred up a bee hive among Steinbeck fans. You might find it interesting.

[Rogar]

Are you familiar with the article by Bill Steigerwald called Sorry Charlie ? He claims it is a lot more fiction than non fiction. It kind of stirred up a bee hive among Steinbeck fans. You might find it interesting.

Boy, I'd not heard of that. I looked it up and don't know if I got inspired enough to buy the ebook, but it looks like there are some free articles on it.

[Spartana]

I just finished a re-read of Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie". It was written rather late in his career and is the non-fiction account of his voyage through the country which he calls a search of America. Sometimes I wonder if and how the general personalities of American have changed in the last several years with urbanization, population growth, and computerization. The book at least hints at a more rural and less paranoid country where a person might walk up to a stranger's house and ask for a glass of water or invite a family of strangers into a camper for an evening of conversation. He also talks about the sense of wanderlust that seems to lurk in many of us, but never seems to reach realization.

I read Travels with Charley a long time ago and loved it. Loved Charlie! I fondly remember that true story (or so I thought and will continue to believe) when Ihave traveled long distances with my dog(s) .Lots of similairities - especially since much of my travels have been in Steinbeck country in central Calif.. I love all of Steinbeck but Travels with Charley is one of my favorites.

[AmeliaJane]

I just finished two "Americana" books. "Hallowed Ground" by James McPherson is a retelling of the Battle of Gettysburg framed around a walking tour of the battlefield. It also touches on the way the battle has been remembered and memorialized, and debunks some of the myths that have grown up. It was a quick, enjoyable read and I have put the film Gettysburg on my Netflix list since much of it was filmed on the battlefield.

I also just finished "American Places" by William Zinsser. It is older, published in the early 1990s, and is a series of essays about Zinsser's travels to various places that are American icons, from natural wonders like Niagara and Yellowstone to historic sites to Disneyland and Rockefeller Center. I really enjoyed it. One of his main points is about the connection to American culture and history to be found in actually going to places, and I wondered what his perspective would have been in today's Internet-connected world.

[larknm]

Lost Prophet--about Bayard Rustin who was a gay, black Quaker, did a lot of pacifist work and organized the March on Washington. He wasn't widely visible because of prejudice against gays, but those who worked with him knew and learned from him. King learned a lot of his pacifism from Rustin.

[Lainey]

The Autobiography of an Execution by David Dow. Dow is a death row defense attorney with years of experience. He has integrity as a lawyer but is not a bleeding heart pushover. He estimates he's done last chance appeals for about 100 death row inmates, of whom he believed 7 were actually innocent. Very powerful.

(and I apologize if that book was already suggested here, sometimes I forget where I get these recommendations, but if it was, thanks!)

[frugal-one]

"How to find out anything" by Don MacLeod. Excellent... learned a few new tricks.

Just picked up "The richest woman in America". About Hetty Green who at the time of her death in 1916 was worth at least $100 million (about $2.5 billion in today's money). Says she was a Quaker and "men mocked her and women scoffed at her frugal ways". Supposedly the Warren Buffett of her time. Have a few other books to get through before I can dig in... but sure looks interesting!

[Florence]

And Still Peace Did Not Come by Agnes Kamara-Umunna

In 1990, Liberia plunged into the hell of 14 years of civil war. The war scarred every living soul in the country. Atrocities were committed by all sides and perhaps the worst atrocities of all were done by and to the children who were kidnapped, drugged, and forced to become child soldiers.

Eventually, the war ended with the country ravaged and the population decimated, mutilated, and devastated. How does one pick up a life and go on when so many atrocities have been committed by your next door neighbor or by their child?

In And Still Peace Did Not Come Agnes Kamara-Umunna tells how after the war was over and the fighting ceased, peace still did not come. It could not come until some how reconciliation could begin. Modeled on the Truth and Reconciliation Council set up following apartheid in South Africa, the TRC in Liberia began taking statements from Liberian citizens. For people to live together without falling into an endless cycle of revenge, truth must be told by both victims and perpetrators and the work of reconciliation begun. So much easier said than done.

Agnes Kamara-Umunna hosted a radio program straight from the Heart which allowed people to tell their story. Early on she discovered that the former child soldiers were virtual untouchables. They either had no family left or had been rejected by their family or their community. They were now living on the streets with no home, food, school, or friend and many were addicted to drugs or alcohol. Agnes began to help them with food and shelter. She brought them onto the radio program so that the population could see that they were children and were every bit as much victims as they had been perpetrators.

The book is well written and conveys the horrors of what happened without descending into ghoulishness. The work of building peace through telling the truth and beginning reconciliation is well expressed. It gives both a vivid picture of both the horrors that humans can inflict on one another and the hope that peace can come through truth and reconciliation.