Who hasn’t daydreamed about fighting their way out of this economy by finding and hoarding large amounts of lost treasure? Anyone? Unfortunately, these books will mostly tell you about other people who have done just that, thereby depriving the rest of us of yet another cache waiting to be discovered. But anyone looking for a good dose of history, legend, and adventure in their nonfiction reading will surely find something on this list:
- Ben
Lance: the making of the world’s greatest champion
by John Wilcockson
This is a very solid biography from a writer who certainly knows cycling at its highest levels and who did an excellent job combining interviews and insights from friends, racers and others back to Lance’s earliest years into a compelling read.
The portrait is built of a brash, determined, competitive child of a single mother who continued to excel at an early age as a triathalete then as a successful cyclist – one who won the World Championship road race at age 21 in Norway in 1993.
We learn of the trials of being a world class cyclist; the mentors, the camaraderie, the team strategies and dynamics, the demands and realities of competing in Europe at the brutal one day classics and at other important stage races.
Around the middle of the book the seriousness of his cancer discovery hits like a ton of bricks and is yet another mountain for Lance to climb. His winning the first of seven Tour de France titles in 1999 is expertly recounted, as well are the subsequent title defenses, complete with descriptions of the key competitors like wily Italian climber Claudio Chiappucci and the ever tenacious German multi-time runner up Jan Ulrich.
Going right up through his split with Sheryl Crow and training for his comeback attempt in 2009, this may be as close to a complete, tell-all, interesting and relatively unbiased view we’ll ever get of a remarkable athlete, cancer survivor and the all time winningest Tour de France champion.
As an avid cycling fan I still learned quite a bit about Armstrong, good and bad and this biography enhanced my appreciation for his remarkable achievements (in the face of some very dire odds). The uncommon early photographs are really great too. Lance at 4 with his two cats – Tommie and Tootsie – you’ve got to love it!
Lost City Of Z A Tale Of Deadly Obsession In The Amazon
By David Grann
I’m drawn to books like this – Shackleton’s Endurance, quests to find Hillary Scott’s remains on Mt. Everest, attempts to explain Amelia Earhart’s disappearance – which have a particular blend of mystery, time travel and research I find enjoyable and often compelling.
This one centers around acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann doing his utmost best to find original sources that will let him retrace the route into the Amazon that British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett took in his quest to find El Dorado or the city of “Z” as he called it. Fawcett himself, along with his son Jack and Raleigh Rimell vanished in 1925 while searching for this lost city know for its signs of beauty, culture and advancement.
What is really very impressive is the extent of effort made by Mr. Grann in creating this book. He not only seemingly interviews every remaining relative or associate of PHF, including getting original sources and diaries by visiting Fawcett’s granddaughter Joan in Wales, tracking down journals from his WWI Military unit, traveling to the offices of the Royal Geographic Society in London and to a map archive in Sao Paulo, Brazil – he ultimately goes into the Amazon region himself to check things out!
This immediately amps up the action after he starts out a little like Bill Bryson preparing for his Appalachian Trail attempt. Grann is totally immersed in finding the truth some 80 years later and his expedition experience is complete with deadly insects, piranhas (and other worse jungle menaces!), still hostile Indian tribes and difficult terrain. His descriptions pull no punches as you feel him becoming more deeply obsessed with this research mission.
It should be noted that the author is an excellent storyteller and makes great use of many historical documents in presenting this fascinating biographical mystery adventure.
Deserving of its place on many best of the year lists – the bibliography alone is a treasure trove of historic resources related to all manner of archaeology and exploration, early British explorers, nomads, Indian tribes, early discoveries and more. He references sources from Fawcett’s prolific writer son Brian (Exploration Fawcett 1953) up through the very recent book 1491.
Well done!
African American History Month was the inspiration of Carter G. Woodson, a noted scholar and historian, who instituted Negro History Week in 1926. He chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation’s bicentennial.
We asked library staff members: “If you could choose only one title to read/listen to/watch during February to mark African American History Month, what would it be?”
The results are in, and we are happy to share. The list includes all genres, formats, and age groups–all are available to check out from the library. See all of our book and movie picks for African American History Month.
And don’t forget to take a look at our extensive list of events – there’s something for everyone.
Superfreakonomics
By Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Who would have ever thought that a book about microeconomics would be so interesting? Especially the second time around? After really enjoying Freakonomics, the first book from this talented writing team of dueling Steves, I wanted to see what new and seemingly incomparable comparisons they made. Here are some intriguing facts I learned:
1) The spread of television through rural India vastly improved the lives of women by decreasing the amount of domestic abuse they were forced to endure. Whether this was because the women saw strong, positive role models and tried to emulate them, or their husbands were just too busy watching soccer to torture their wives, was indeterminable.
2) If a computer screen does not load in 1 sec., most people will lose their train of thought. If it takes up to 10 secs., most people will have already started thinking about something else entirely. Think about that the next time you are at a hospital as a patient waiting for a diagnosis and the network slows down…
3) There is a group of scientists just outside of Seattle who have potentially figured out how to stop global warming. If you want to know how, you have to read the book, but I’ve long held the opinion that if we put chemicals in the air that made it warmer, why couldn’t we put chemicals in the air that negated the original chemicals we had already dispersed? That’s basically their idea in a nut shell, and it’s actually a very interesting concept.
This book is full of thought-inducing ideas, and I think Round 2 was just as good, if not better than Round 1. Thanks Steves!
- Amanda
Whole Lotta Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time By Jon Bream
This book is truly great. For anyone interested in a band that really made its own rules while creating some timeless and never equaled rock music, this large book will satisfy you on many levels.
This is a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated history with all the bases covered; tour diaries and dates, memorabilia shots, complete reviews of their recordings by various writers, interviews, timelines, recollections and fascinating stories. The band members certainly have their say through various excerpted interviews as well.
The picture of Jimmy Page ordering at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant circa ‘68 is priceless alone, but this book also filled in many gaps in my Zep knowledge, including manager Peter Grant’s involvement in many incidents, the source of their early bluesy material, and how their music continued to evolve up through 1980. It also includes a close look at their film The Song Remains the Same and covers their 2007 London reunion performance with Jason Bonham on drums as well as an extensive discography.
I can remember when an older brother put headphones on me around 1973 and boggled my mind with the solo from “Heartbreaker” when I was about 10 years old. While we can’t go back in time this book will take you through the years with many excellent guest writers and critics, sound engineers and fellow musicians who share personal recollections. Like the band and their career, an enthralling tour de force!
Nashville: The Occupied City, 1862-1863
By Walter T. Durham
I am not originally from Nashville, so I didn’t grow up learning about the history of this place I’ve chosen to call home. What I am, however, is a Civil War buff. (I’m also a Yankee, but you won’t hold that against me, right?)
I came across Durham’s book one day in the stacks and thought it would be interesting. Most of the Civil War knowledge I’ve acquired has been about the Deep South, or places like Savannah or Richmond. I don’t know much about the Western Theater. Or should I say, I didn’t know much until I read Durham’s book. For instance, I did not realize that Nashville was considered the second most important Confederate city (after New Orleans) in terms of shipping and supplies, and yet the Confederates did nothing to protect it. No breastworks, no new fortifications, no ditches, nothing. It was also the closest capital city to the North, which made the lack of protection a little more puzzling.
I also found it interesting that the term “Old Glory” originated here. A retired sea captain gave the Union officers the old American flag that he’d flown from his ship so they’d have one to raise above the capital building.
Make sure you read the author’s introduction, because there is a nice shout out to our very own Nashville Room and the great staff that works there.
Now I’m caught up to 1863, but even I knew that most of the fun happened after that. It looks like I’ll have to read Durham’s sequel, Reluctant Partners, so I can see how things turn out…
- Amanda
The Most They Ever Had
by Rick Bragg
No one in the world can break your heart as beautifully as Ricky Bragg. This slim volume by the author of All Over But the Shoutin’ and Ava’s Man tells the story of the men and women who worked in and lived their lives around the textile mill in Jacksonville, Alabama until its permanent closure in 2001. It is the story of hardscrabble lives. It is the story of the meanest of mill owners, of cotton lint and brownlung, of shocking industrial accidents. But it’s also the story of the proud, hardworking generations of folk who never shirked, and did what had to be done to feed their children.
Bragg is the master of powerful, understated description. The first page of chapter one is so perfectly written that I had to read it aloud to a friend. He is also the master of speaking in a southern voice so natural that it catches you by surprise when you realize you’re hearing it: he was bad to drink then, or: he got red in his face. Never gratuitous, perfectly timed.
The mill in Jacksonville ultimately went the way of much American manufacturing: the jobs moved out of the country to workers willing to do them for 33 cents an hour. And make no mistake about it: despite hardship and tragedy, the mill was a life and a history for generations of workers and their families, its loss devastating to them.
Rick Bragg asked a friend of his if he thought anyone would read the book, filled as it is with sadness. His friend replied, “Well, it ain’t a damn barn dance, is it? It’s an American tragedy.” — Pam
1491
By Charles C. Mann
Ancient histories rarely read like detective stories, but Charles Mann is travelling the globe investigating the origins of the Americas. In 1491, Mann hunts down the latest discoveries about the cultures of the western continents before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492.
Mann looks at several early civilizations in North, Central, and South America. He synthesizes many recent, but little-known studies from a range of scientific and historical experts. He challenges that the Americas were home to cultures more advanced than had been previously been known. With this in mind, he also debates their possible beliefs and attitudes toward land, slavery, and governance.
1491 shows how much of what we know today of our continents’ history is highly debatable. There is a faction that holds the Amazon Basin supported vast, thriving civilizations up until the fifteenth century. Others still maintain that this would have been impossible given the unforgiving climate and jungle landscape.
While discussing the new findings, he also tracks how the most common myths were accepted. Though many of the anecdotes in this work are speculative, even the little-known facts of these civilizations are presented in a satisfying tale. His coverage of the Indians who occupied New England and the Mississippi River is fascinating. The work creates a very different, more provoking, study than the grammar school text books provide.
- Kyle
The Armchair Birder: Discovering the Secret Lives of Familiar Birds
By John Yow
The birds John Yow profiles are probably familiar to everyone: crows, bluejays, belted kingfishers, wrens, robins and the rest of the backyard bird clan. Neither identification nor feeding guide, the book is a wondrous rundown of each bird’s habits and behavior. More studious observers than I likely know these things, but I found myself reading aloud to anyone who would listen and reciting bird lore to friends at parties. Seriously, did you know that cedar waxwings will stuff themselves full of berries until they fall on the ground? They also play at passing a berry back and forth, or up and down a line of their little friends, and repeat the pass until someone gets bored and swallows the berry. I saw this game for myself recently when the waxwings made their fall pilgrimage to my privet and honeysuckle hedge. Here’s some other cool stuff from the book: belted kingfishers dig 6-foot tunnels in riverbanks and nest in their caves; crows can talk if they want to, and for sure they put walnuts in the street and wait for cars to run over them; hummingbirds steal spiderwebs and use them as a wrapping to reinforce their nests. I have a whole new respect for my winged pals now.
One last thing about waxwings: one fall I found one on the sidewalk outside the Belle Meade Starbucks, alive but wonky and unable to fly. I assumed it had hit the window and stunned itself. I couldn’t bear the thought of the little guy wandering strange in the parking lot, so I begged a box and took it home to my yard, where it spent the night in its cardboard motel room and then went its merry way the next morning. Now I’m thinking the little guy had been on a berry bender and was looking for his after-dinner coffee.
– Pam
Finding Amelia: the true story of the Earhart disappearance
by Ric Gillespie
Inspired by the fine movie starring Hillary Swank as Amelia, and my general lack of knowledge about America’s most famous missing person’s last flight, I decided to read a few books on the topic. This one stood out as the best of the three I read.
Her last flight, with somewhat dubious navigator Fred Noonan (I always thought it was a solo flight) went wrong somewhere over the Central Pacific after they left New Guinea on July 2nd, 1937 with the intention of landing on a recently built runway on tiny Howland Island.
This book is a comprehensive, detail-packed account of the last few legs of the flight and is particularly strong in presenting information about the communication transmissions, the attempts at rescue by the Coast Guard and Naval ships and possibilities about what may have happened to lead to this disappearance, without much trace.
Mr. Gillespie, an internationally recognized expert on the Earhart disappearance, debunks some myths and speculations with numerous factual references in a very readable and compelling style. He definitely makes you feel the urgency of husband George Putnam’s many communications in trying to expand and extend the fruitless searches.
I was also really intrigued with the included DVD which contains numerous diagrams of search patterns, radio transmission logs, telegrams, Naval and Coast Guard documents and most fascinating, “Betty’s Notebook.” This is a scan of what 16 year old Betty Klenck is to have jotted down while listening to a shortwave radio broadcast in early July 1937 in St. Petersburg, Florida (her father rigged a super strong antenna in their yard). It presents fragments of what appears to be a distressed Earhart and Noonan communicating in their crashed plane, exact location unknown.
A very well done book on one of America’s most enduring mysteries.
- Phil
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (vol. 1)
By Marjane Satrapi
As our nation emerges from years of isolation from Iran and attempts to engage a nation whose actions are frightening, this autobiographical graphic novel serves as an excellent primer on the history of Iran’s theocracy. For readers not tuned into graphic novels, don’t be deceived by the comic book format. Satrapi, born in 1969, is a child of the revolution but also the child of progressive, well educated parents who are at first elated by the overthrow of the Shah. They are quickly disillusioned when the Islamic regime evolves into the same sort of totalitarianism and fear suffered under the Shah. Marjane’s story continues in Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return.
- Phyllis
The Anglo Files: A Field Guide To The British
By Sarah Lyall
Written by a New York Times reporter living in London and married to an Englishman, this is a delightful choice. With wit and humor Lyall explains the intricacies of British culture. She describes the elaborate game of cricket, so popular in Britain and its former colonies but a complete mystery to most Americans. Another chapter is devoted to the heckling that goes on in the House of Commons during prime minister’s questions as well as the blatant sexism in parliament that is shocking to Americans. Lyall also examines the differences between the generation of Brits who came of age during WW II, the queen’s generation, and the post war generation of Princess Diana. For anyone interested in our cousins across the pond this is a jolly good read.
- Phyllis
Escape
By Carolyn Jessop
What a harrowing story. What a brave woman. Born into the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, Carolyn became the fourth wife of Meril Jessop when she was 18. This was not one big happy family. Jessop was abusive and controlling. The wives were jealous and cruel to one another and each others children. Carolyn gave birth to 8 children with no prenatal care and received no financial, physical or emotional support through four life threatening pregnancies and the serious illness of her 7th baby. This book offers insight into this mysterious religious sect and is the story of a brave woman’s survival and fight for her children.
- Phyllis
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure
By Sarah MacDonald
Lovers of armchair travel will enjoy this memoir by Australian journalist Sarah MacDonald. For the sake of love, she finds herself living in a country she loathes. Alone much of the time while her journalist boyfriend is away on assignment, MacDonald nevertheless embraces her new life in India, visiting various shrines and holy places important to India’s vast number of religious faiths. At one point she suffers a bout with pneumonia so bad her hair falls out. This illness is further exacerbated by Delhi’s densely polluted air and a conglomeration of questionable cures offered by medical doctors, yogis and fortune tellers.
MacDonald tells of friendships with young Indian women straddling the traditional mores of their parents and the modern outlook they acquired along with western education. In the end, she embraces India as a fascinating country crowded with the colors, smells, sights and sounds of humanity. Fans of the bestseller Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, will enjoy this one. This title is also available in an audio edition.
- Phyllis
Comments (0) 
