Good Reads - Nonfiction

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Good nonfiction you might have missed.

2004 Archives

December

616.831 SNO
Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives by David Snowdon, Ph.D.
When David Snowdon approached Sister Carmen Burg with a request to involve the Sisters of Notre Dame in his research on aging, he didn't realize all the things his Alzheimer's study would become. "The Nun Study" has become one of the most insightful aging studies of our time, and this book detailing the study is also an invitation to enter the lives and hearts of the courageous, grace-filled women who were its subjects. This warm and thoughtful book explores aging as it works in tandem with language, education, nutrition, relationships, mental illnesses, and more. Snowdon is a kind man and a thorough scientist. He is unabashedly enthusiastic about his research and about his love for the women, both strong and frail, that he and his colleagues come to know. Aging with Grace outlines choices that can positively affect the aging process and help deflect the spiral into disability, and it offers examples of hope for a future full of health and promise.

621.483 SIL
The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor by Ken Silverstein
This quirky, cautionary tale of a boy who goes way beyond the common chemistry-set infatuation is truly movie material. David Hahn grew up in a split family, traveling between an alcoholic mother and an uninterested father. When he received an old copy of The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments as a gift, he found his focus in life. Working in isolation, he recreated famous experiments and became swept up in the power of the nuclear age. Unknown to either parent, Hahn set up a laboratory in the backyard shed where his obsession with nuclear physics soon grew to involve deadly materials. A gifted mind but a poor student, he aspired to dizzying scientific heights while neglecting any thought of his own or the community's safety. Before being detected by the Department of Public Health and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Hahn managed to create a nuclear breeder reactor out of handmade instruments and home-refined elements, while his parents blithely assumed he was "just being a geeky kid." This true story is full of oddball characters and interesting thoughts about living in the nuclear age.

977 LAS
The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin
Laskin brings a tragic moment in history to life in this moving and detailed book. The winter of 1888 brought one of the worst snowstorms in history to the prairie settlers. It caught communities off guard and caused the death of hundreds of people, many of them children lost coming home from school. Laskin chronicles the lives of pioneer families and their decisions that day, many of which brought bitter regret. He explores the wider effects the storm had on the West's immigrant population, Ukrainian, German, and Norwegian families with hopes for a new and better life blown away in the wake of the storm. Laskin also discusses the role played by a fledgling government weather forecasting system in this prairie tragedy. Full of poignant moments and thoughtful detail, this readable history leaves a lasting impression.

November

796.352 FEI
Caddy for Life: The Bruce Edwards Story by John Feinstein
The story of legendary caddy Bruce Edwards will appeal to more than just golf fans. Edwards, Tom Watson's caddy for more than thirty years, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in early 2003, only two weeks after proposing to the love of his life. Soon after the diagnosis, Edwards asked his friend to write an account of his life, which Feinstein does with grace and eloquence. The book offers not only a look at life on the PGA tour—including Watson's improbable and emotional early success at the 2003 U.S. Open outside Chicago—but also a moving portrait of one man's response to personal tragedy.

940.548743 GIM
Agent 146: The True Story of a Nazi Spy in America by Erich Gimpel
In the "truth is stranger than fiction" category, Gimpel describes how he and another German spy infiltrated the United States during World War II. In October 1944, the two men set out on a U-boat, eventually coming ashore near Bar Harbor, Maine. They made their way down the East Coast, arriving in New York City after three days of adventurous travel. Although their espionage efforts had limited success and they were eventually captured, Gimpel provides a captivating and chilling account of spies in our midst. Because of its post-9/11 relevance, this memoir, originally published in Britain in 1957, was released for the first time in the United States in 2003.

956.7041 CAT
Churchill's Folly: How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq by Christopher Catherwood
Catherwood, a Cambridge University history professor, tells the story of the division of the former Ottoman Empire after World War I. In doing so, he also provides a fascinating historical context for the current situation in Iraq. Winston Churchill, colonial secretary of war-weary Britain in the early 1920s, had to balance his country's imperial interests with a desire to reduce international costs and military presence. One result was the creation of Iraq, a newly formed nation combining three distinct and hostile groups—Kurds and Sunni and Shiite Muslims. As ruler, Churchill helped put in place King Feisal, a Saudi. The hope that these historically diverse groups would squabble quietly among themselves, while allowing behind-the-scenes British control, backfired spectacularly, leading to a legacy of instability and unrest.

October

616.37 ROT
Breathing for a Living: A Memoir by Laura Rothenberg
Written in the form of a diary, the twenty-one-year-old author chronicles her battle with cystic fibrosis. Rothenberg grew up in New York City and attended Brown University. Despite her chronic condition, she tried to live her life as normal as possible. The main portion of the book covers her decision to have a double lung transplant, the surgery, and her recovery. Rothenberg writes intimately about life, death, love, and friendship.

616.839 EST
Tales from the Bed: On Living, Dying, and Having it All by Jenifer Estess
Published posthumously with the help of her sister Valerie, the author was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in her thirties. Estess intersperses details of how the disease affected her life with reflections on her family background, her love for her sisters, and her parents' divorce. The author and her sisters founded Project A.L.S. and raised millions of dollars to support genetic research of ALS and related diseases.

Biography Osgood, C.
Defending Baltimore Against Enemy Attack: A Boyhood Year During World War II by Charles Osgood
A touching and humorous memoir by journalist Charles Osgood provides a nostalgic look at America's home front. The year is 1942, and while America is reeling from the first blows of World War II, nine-year-old Charlie spends his days planting victory gardens and collecting scrap metal for the war effort, as well as delivering newspapers, going to Orioles baseball games, and goofing around with his younger sister.

September

797.21 COX
Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer by Lynne Cox
Cox, an extraordinary long-distance swimmer, broke both the men's and women's records for swimming the English Channel by the age of 16. In 1987, she swam the Bering Strait from Alaska to Siberia, an incredible feat that helped ease tensions between the U.S. and Russia. It also effectively opened the border between the two countries for the first time in 48 years. The author shares the challenges of constantly pushing herself physically and mentally. In addition, she writes of the spiritual aspects of swimming, her desire to bridge borders through her sport and to be a force for peace in the world.

958.104 CRI
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile
The untold story of how the CIA armed the Afghanistan rebels against the Soviet Union in what became one of the CIA's most successful campaigns. It tells of the unorthodox alliance between scandal-prone Texas congressman Charlie Wilson and rogue CIA operative, Gust Avrakotos. With Wilson's connections on the House Appropriations Committee and Avrakotos' knowledge of the inner workings of the CIA, they turned shepherds into an army of techno holy warriors. Filled with international intrigue, high society and arms deals, the story is as gripping as the pages of a Tom Clancy or John LeCarre novel.

940.4814 MAC
The Englishman's Daughter: A True Story of Love and Betrayal in World War I by Ben Macintyre
During World War I, seven British soldiers found themselves caught in the French countryside unable to join their retreating comrades. Members of a nearby village under German occupation took the men in and kept them in hiding for almost two years. Much of the story revolves around the love affair that developed between one of the officers and the lovely daughter of his protector. Descriptions of a village under occupation add much interest to the story. Whether reading it for the love story, the history or for the mystery surrounding the soldier's eventual betrayal, it is a compelling tale with much human interest and intrigue.

August

611 ROA
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
If you're up for a detailed look at the human body after death, you may enjoy this book. From medicinal mummies to cadaver models for crash-test dummies, it looks at the ways the dead have served the living. It also gives us an opportunity to think about medical and ethical issues. Variously described as informative, witty, droll, offbeat, and sardonic, this book will open your eyes to the life after death of human cadavers.

973.4 BOH
Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town by Chris Bohjalian
In 1986, the author and his wife moved from a co-op in Brooklyn to a hundred year old house in Lincoln, Vermont (population 975). He started chronicling life in a New England small town in a newspaper column for the Burlington Free Press, as well as in longer articles in the Boston Globe. In this collection of those writings, we get to know the people of Lincoln and the joys of living small town life, as well as the changes occurring in this most idyllic of places. For those who enjoy a slice of modern Americana.

973.73 PER
Touched with Fire: Five Presidents and the Civil War Battles That Made Them by James M. Perry
Presidents Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison and McKinley all served in the Union army during the Civil War. Two of them even served in the same regiment: Hayes and McKinley in the 23rd Ohio. Each man parlayed his war record into a successful political career after the war, culminating in the White House. The author looks at each man's service and how it helps us understand him as a person as well as how it led to his future success. Civil War and Presidential buffs will enjoy this book.

July

327.1273 KIY
My Spy: Memoir of a CIA Wife by Bina Cady Kiyonaga
A twist on the traditional spy tale—this is the wife's view of what it is like to lead a secret life in foreign lands. Bina followed her husband through four continents, three wars, and a revolution, raising their five kids along the way. While she knew that her husband worked for the CIA, it was only when her husband was dying of cancer at age 59 that the author discovered the full details behind his spying activities.

538.769 JAG
Northern Lights by Lucy Jago
The true story of Kristian Birkeland, a Norwegian scientist at the turn of the 19th century, as he struggled to unlock the secrets of the aurora borealis, or northern lights. In ancient times, people thought the northern lights were messengers of the gods or the souls of the dead until Birkeland offered the correct explanation. From Norway's icy mountains to Africa's deserts, Birkeland studied and recorded this phenomenon. In addition to these struggles, he also dealt with marriage and divorce, political tumult and war, and the nefarious actions of his business partner who cheated him out of a Nobel Prize.

Biography ASGEDOM
Of Beetles and Angels: A True Story of the American Dream by Mawi Asgedom
This short but moving book tells the story of the author's escape as a young child from Ethiopia to a Sudanese refugee camp, and his arrival in the United States to live in Wheaton, Illinois. The lyrical narrative illustrates an immigrant family's experience in a Chicago suburb – the loneliness, poverty, and language barriers, but also the kindness and generosity of strangers. Inspired by his parents' constant emphasis on education, Mawi later earned a full scholarship to Harvard where he delivered the 1999 commencement address.

June

364.1523 CAR
The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception by Emmanuel Carrere
A cowardly lie about passing his medical school exams transformed the life of Jean-Claude Romand. His original deception was compounded with more fabrications until everyone who knew him believed he was a respected researcher for the World Health Organization. Remarkably, his wife, parents, best friends and neighbors all fell for his bold charade. When his lies began to unravel, Romand coldly killed his family and attempted to take his own life. He survived and was revealed to be not only a murderer but a swindler who had supported his family primarily by defrauding elderly relatives of their retirement funds. French author Emmanuel Carrere presents a disturbing portrait of a perplexing psychopath.

618.2 VIN
Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent
After beginning her career as an obstetrical nurse, Peggy Vincent soon became an advocate for women who don't want a conventional hospital birthing experience. She developed a private practice in Berkeley, California as a professional midwife. Here she shares tender, harrowing and humorous glimpses of families at the intimate moment when they welcome a new soul into their midst.

973.9 I
I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Stories from NPR's National Story Project edited by Paul Auster
National Public Radio's weekly program All Things Considered initiated the National Story Project by asking listeners to submit stories about their lives. Over 4000 entries were received and this collection represents the best 180 submissions. The result is a look at the collective psyche of the nation and proof that everyone has a tale to tell.