Breakthrough!

Jim Murphy's fascinating new book tells the story the life saving technique that has saved thousands of lives.  Prior to 1944 people with heart defects were basically given a death sentence.  There was no such thing as open heart surgery, and most doctors believed it was deadly to even touch a beating heart.  Consequently, thousands of "blue babies" died every year. These children were born with heart defects that prevented their blood from getting enough oxygen.

Three people were instrumental in this medical breakthrough.  Dr. Alfred Blalock was already a famous surgeon because of his pioneering efforts in treating shock patients.  He would be the one to perform the first operation on a blue baby.

His lab assistant, an African American man named Vivien Thomas was instrumental in developing the procedure that would become so revolutionary, but he would have to overcome many personal and professional struggles to do so.

Dr. Helen Taussig spent her career studying heart defects in babies and children and had a sense of urgency to find a solution.  She didn't want to watch any more children die.  She, like Vivien Thomas, had to deal with prejudice in a white male dominated profession.

This book gives background on each of the major players, sets the scene, and describes the drama of that first procedure and its aftermath.

Engaging and readable, this book is highly recommended!

Warning, this book does describe the animal testing that was necessary in developing the cure, but Murphy does a great job of contrasting the doctors' side with that of animal rights activists.

Terrible Typhoid Mary

Susan Campbell Bartoletti's new book explores Mary Mallon's role in the typhoid frenzy at the beginning of the 20th century.  Mary's connection to the disease began when she was hired as a cook for a wealthy family on summer vacation.  Several members of the family and staff were stricken with typhoid fever, but no one knew why.

Mary's connection may never have been discovered if the owners of the house hadn't hired a man named George Soper to investigate.  It was Soper who discovered Mary was a healthy carrier of the disease.  She showed no symptoms, but her body was host for the deadly typhoid bacteria.

What followed was an epic battle of wills between Soper and Mary Mallon.  Mary's case is important because it tested the power of the New York Board of Health.  Could the government imprison people for being sick?  What about Mary who wasn't sick at all and had no skills other than cooking?

One of the best aspects of this book is the author's exploration of notoriety.  After Mary's name was reported in the press, she became a scapegoat for typhoid fever despite all the other healthy carrier's who were never imprisoned and all the people who got sick but had nothing to do with Mary Mallon. Is being sick a crime?

The Port Chicago 50

Steve Sheinkin's newest book focuses on civil rights and the military.  During WWII, African American men were actively recruited by several branches of he military, but men who had hoped to defend their country in battle were soon disappointed.  And any hope that military service would further the cause of civil rights and put an end to segregation and discrimination was soon extinguished.

Barracks and training facilities were segregated.  Black and white soldiers weren't even allowed to eat together.  Often black soldiers had to wait until white soldiers had finished eating and take the leftovers.  To make matters worse, black soldiers were not assigned to combat positions.  Instead they were relegated to cleaning, cooking, or in the case of the Port Chicago 50, loading ammunition onto ships to be sent to the battle front.

Port Chicago was a naval base where many black sailors were stationed to handle ammunition.  The work was physically challenging and often dangerous.  To make matters worse, the men received almost no training on how to handle the dangerous explosives.  Plus, the officers would often ride the men to work faster because they placed bets on whose unit could work faster.

It's not a surprise that disaster finally struck, and many men were killed, injured, or left traumatized.  Shortly after the disaster that killed many of their friends and fellow sailors, 250 men refused to return to work loading ammunition because they feared for their safety.  Nothing had changed at Port Chicago, and the men were tired of risking their lives in unnecessarily dangerous conditions.  Add in the fact that only black sailors were assigned to the task, and the situation becomes a clear case of racism.

Fifty of the men were eventually charged with mutiny.  They faced a trial and possible imprisonment or death.  Add in a young Thurgood Marshall who saw this as a clear case of discrimination, and you have a fascinating court room drama about the end of segregation in the military.

Pair this book with Courage Has No Color by Tanya Lee Stone for an in depth examination of segregation in the military.  I highly recommend both titles!

Brown Girl Dreaming

What is not to love about Jacqueline Woodson's memoir in verse?  This is a beautiful and eloquent book about Woodson's childhood and the people and places that shaped it.

Though her early childhood is spent in Ohio, Woodson's soul is already filled with the stories and people of South Carolina.  Even after the family moves to New York. Greenville, South Carolina, is an anchor.

This book is an exploration of place, people, and what it means to become yourself.  I absolutely loved it, and you will, too!

Watch the video below to hear the author reading from the book.

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia

Wow!  I really enjoyed this one!  I didn't know much about this family before reading the book, but now I feel like I know them as people.  Candace Fleming's book deftly portrays the final years of Romanov rule.

Tsar Nicholas was born to rule and raised to understand that he ruled by divine right.  Russia was divided into three groups in those days.  The aristocracy who personally owned over ninety percent of all Russia's wealth lived in opulent homes with servants and beautiful clothes never mixing with anyone else.  There was a professional class who were teachers, lawyers, doctors, clergy, etc.  Everyone else was a peasant scraping by from day to day hoping for food to eat.  Most peasants couldn't even afford shoes.

Still, many peasants still saw the Tsar as a benevolent father until his marriage to Alexandra, his German born Tsarina.  Nicholas was always weak willed, but after his marriage he bowed even more to his wife's dictates.  This, of course, included the welcoming of Rasputin a so-called holy man.

Rasputin's corrupting influence is just part of the reason Tsar Nicholas lost power.  Read this fascinating tale of murder and rebellion to get the full story including the sad end of the Romanov family.  Highly recommended!

Popular

Maya was the lowest of the low on the social scale at her Brownsville, Texas, middle school.  She was a geek with glasses, braces, and only a handful of friends.  That's when she decided to embark on a social experiment.

Armed with a thrift store copy of a teenage etiquette book from the 1950's, Maya decided to see if the sixty year old advice would hold up today.  She did everything Betty Cornell, former model and author of the book suggested from changing her diet to her wardrobe with sometimes hilarious results.

But things really get crazy when Maya follows Betty's advice on making friends and meeting new people.  In her quest to get out of her comfort zone and find out what popularity really means, Maya has heartbreaking downs, some hilarious moments, and a few surprising triumphs.

Maya Van Wagenen's memoir took me back to my own middle school experiences, good and bad.  I really enjoyed reading this gem of a book about a girl with true courage and integrity.  I know I was never that brave!  Maya Van Wagenen proves the best way to become popular is to let people know you care.  Highly recommended!

Stubby the War Dog

I was trying to get this review done yesterday in time for Veterans Day, but it didn't happen.  This was such a cute story!  I can't believe it hasn't been made into a movie yet.

This is the true story of Stubby, a stray dog who wandered onto the training grounds where doughboys (soldiers) were getting ready for deployment during WWI.  There he met Robert Conroy, and the two became fast friends.

Stubby went to Europe with Conroy and became a valued part of the unit by detecting poisonous gas, bombs, and injured men.  He also provided much needed companionship to lonely soldiers far from home.

Once the war was over, Stubby became a celebrity!  I am barely skimming the surface in this review because I don't want to give away all of Stubby's tricks.  Read Ann Bausum's new book, and you'll fall in love with Stubby, a real American hero.

Lincoln's Grave Robbers

This is the true story of a gang of counterfeiters plotted to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln.  That's right.  I said TRUE!

In 1875 counterfeiting was a major problem in the US, but no one was more talented than Benjamin Boyd.  He could make coney (counterfeit money) so good it would fool the experts.  His arrest caused a stir in the counterfeiting rings of Chicago, and members of his gang come together in a smokey saloon to plot a way to get him out.

They figured they could steal Abraham Lincoln's body and hold it ransom for $200,000 that they would use to get Boyd out of prison.  Thus begins a tale of thieves, undercover informers, and secret service operations.

Read Steve Sheinkin's account of this true story including a special "Body Snatcher Bonus Section" that is pretty gross!

Here are some photos of Lincoln's tomb from my trip to Springfield a couple of years ago.

The cemetery is still fairly isolated like it was in 1875.

Lincoln's remains are sealed inside this marble box.

This is a back window to the monument, now barred to keep potential thieves and vandals away.  

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers

 Tanya Lee Stone's new book is the true story of America's first black paratroopers and an important step in the process of integrating our armed forces.

During WWII African American soldiers where not allowed to have the same positions as white soldiers.  They were mostly relegated to service positions which was frustrating because they wanted to do their part in the war just like anyone else.

Sgt. Walter Morris soon noticed that his African American soldiers where suffering under the strain of boring work as guards at Fort Benning, so he can up with a plan.  He would wait until all the white trainees had left for the day, and then have his soldiers go through the same training.  Even though they had no hope this practice would lead to promotion, this active training definitely improved morale.

It wasn't long until someone noticed, and Sgt. Morris's soldiers soon became the first official black paratrooper trainees.  The training was difficult, and even after they had proved themselves time and again, these soldiers where faced with hate and racism in the army and out of it.

This is a great book about a time when our nation was struggling to find its way.  We were fighting hatred and discrimination in Europe, but many people were blind to the racism in our own backyard.  You'll enjoy this book filled with photographs and personal stories from some of the original Nickles.

A Black Hole Is Not a Hole

Black holes have always been one of those mysterious, too weird to be true, but really it is true kind of things.  As a fan of science fiction, black holes show up in storytelling fairly regularly, so I was excited to read this book and get to the truth of this mysterious phenomena.

This book is funny, informative, and highly readable.  Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano explains the science of black holes, how they are formed and how they work (as far as we know).  She also provides excellent source notes and links to websites with some amazing images!  I am going to put them here because you should go to some of them and be amazed!

Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Hubblesite:  Black Holes

NASA's Imagine the Universe!

StarDate's Black Hole Encyclopedia

Starship Asterisk*

Bomb

This is the amazing true story of the birth of the atomic bomb that began in 1939 with the discovery that uranium plus radioactivity equals fission.  This discovery was made in Germany as WWII was was simmering, and scientists were desperate to convince Franklin Roosevelt, President of the United States, of the danger of this discovery.  It would take the urging of one of the most famous scientists in history, Albert Einstein, to convince him of America's need to begin a nuclear program.

With that decision, a team of scientists, headed by Robert Oppenheimer, was assembled to begin testing and development.  It would be a process filled with trial and error until eventual success.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union (now Russia) was an American ally during WWII, but relations between America and Russia had never been friendly.  Once the war was over, Roosevelt knew we would be enemies again.  Therefore, America, Russia, and Germany began a secret race to develop the atomic bomb.

It wasn't a fair race.  All the sides had spies and saboteurs, and it was clear to the Allied Powers that Germany could not be allowed to develop the bomb.  At this time, Russian spies known as KGB agents were working to collect Communist sympathizers in the US to help develop their own weapon.

This book is a story of spies and science, elation and horror.  Steve Sheinkin's new book is a fast-paced must read thriller.

Bad Girls

From Delilah to Bonnie Parker, this book is a collection of mini biographies about bad girls throughout history.  Each lady has a two or three page biography with an illustration followed by an argument between our two our two authors about how bad that lady actually was.  These discussions are presented in graphic novel format as an ongoing discussion between the mother/daughter author team.

There is nothing really in depth about the women in the book, but it's strength is really in encouraging readers to view the women in their historical context and to reserve judgement.

This quick and fun read by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple should encourage readers to find out more about the women so they can get the facts and draw their own conclusions.

Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different

Do you have an iPod, iPad, or iPhone?  How about any of the many devices that are modeled after these products?  If so, you should thank Steve Jobs.  Karen Blumenthal's new biography follows the
Apple co-founder and CEO through a life filled with moments of brilliance and insight as well as defeat and frustration.

Steve Jobs's path in life was never easy.  He was adopted as an infant, struggled to make friends in school, and dropped out of college after just one semester.  He struggled to find his path.

But when he reconnected with Steve Wozniak who was trying to build a computer for an individual to use, Jobs quickly recognized the genius of this plan, and soon Apple Computers was born. 

Blumenthal's biography is highly readable and fascinating revealing the innovative thinker as well as the demanding control freak.  If you were ever curious about how your iPod came to be or about how computers evolved from massive behemoths largely confined to academia to the tools for business and life we use today, this is a must read!

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

Temple Grandin was different from the start.  She didn't act like other babies, and her father was convinced she should be institutionalized, but her mother believed in her daughter.  This is the story of Temple's life.  All through school and even her adult life people have discounted her because of her autism.

When Temple was in high school, she discovered cows, and these animals saved her life.  She has devoted her life to making living conditions better for the animals we use as food.  And she uses the gifts of her autism to do it.

This is a wonderful story about a woman who embraced the parts of her life that others saw as challenges and used them to her advantage.  Sy Montgomery's new book is a great read for anyone who has autism or anyone who knows someone with autism. 

Here is Temple Grandin's TED talk about autism:

We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March

In this book about the Civil Rights Movement, Cynthia Levinson uses the stories of four young people who participated in the protests of 1963 to tell the story.

Audrey Hendricks was one of the youngest protestors at just nine years old, but that didn't stop her from volunteering to be arrested in support of the Civil Rights Movement.

James Stewart's family was one of the wealthiest black families in Birmingham, and his parents worried that his participation would ruin this bright student's future.

Wash Booker had never even considered getting involved with the movement.  He rarely even went to school, choosing instead to spend his days roaming the countryside, but like the others, he would eventually feel drawn to participate.

Arnetta Streeter participated in the movement against her parents' protests.  She even formed her own student organization and continued showing up for meetings and marches until she was finally arrested.

How did the situation in Birmingham get so bad that children felt compelled to get themselves arrested?  This book follows the story of segregation and racism in Birmingham during a pivotal year in the movement.  You'll need to be patient as you read because the author has to explain the events that led up to the children's march and the key players, but you will be rewarded.  This book opened my eyes to a part of the Civil Rights Movement I knew little about. 

Animals Welcome

Peg Kehret is one of the most popular authors in our library with books like Runaway Twin and The Ghost's Grave.  Now she has written a memoir about her life rescuing animals.

Each chapter details Kehret's experiences with different animals including wildlife, and her sincere love of animals shines on every page.  A large portion of the book focuses on cat rescue.  Caring for cats is easier for Kehret because her body is weakened by childhood polio.  Each animal's personality comes shining through as the author details its rescue story.

Fans of Peg Kehret's mystery novels and animal lovers alike will enjoy this memoir about the many ways she and the animals in her life have rescued each other.

Here is a video of Peg Kehret talking about one of her most popular books, Stolen Children.  It is filmed in the home she describes in Animals Welcome, and you can hear her dog, Lucy, barking at the beginning. :)

Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead

This books is so awesome and disgusting!  Zombie Makers includes information on five creatures that use other animals and insects to reproduce.

Each chapter includes a story about how an animals or insect might become infected and a description of what happens after infection.  With large photographs and cool graphics this book is a horrendous pleasure to read!

For example, there's a fungus that grows inside a fly until it kills the fly and fills it with spores.  Then the spores explode out of the dead fly to infect others.  Gross!

Several chapters also include information about scientists who discovered or study the parasites.  This book includes a glossary, source notes, and suggestions for further reading/viewing.  I highly recommend Rebecca Johnson's latest book! 

The Fairy Ring

Elsie and Frances were two cousins who became roommates during WWI when Frances's father went to war.  The first time Frances went to play in the English country side, she saw the little men peeking at her from undergrowth, but when she and Elsie told the adults about the fairies, no one believed them.

That's when Elsie gets the idea to take a picture.  Using fairies she has drawn herself, Elsie takes a picture of her cousin, Frances, with a fairy.  Eventually, that photograph and others like it will make their way all over England and the world as evidence that fairies really exist.  Even Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes books, believes the photos are real.

Author, Mary Losure, uses plenty of description and detailed research to recreate the people who were involved in these events.  Frances and Elsie seem like two fun and mischievous girls, even when they are old enough to be grandmothers.

If you've ever looked at a photo and wondered, "Is that for real?" you should read this book!

The video below is Frances's daughter talking about the pictures on Antiques Roadshow in England.  You can see prints of the photos in the video as well.

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem

How do you explain a sudden illness or broken jug?  What was your neighbor muttering as she walked away giving you a strange look?  Why did your cow suddenly begin to twitch and convulse?  The answer, at least for the people of Salem, was witchcraft!

This fascinating book tells the story of the Salem witch trials beginning with two sick little girls and all the horrifying events to follow.  This story is compelling and succinct detailing the accusations, the eventual trials, and the "evidence" that condemned people to death.  This was mainly spectral evidence that only the afflicted could see.

The girls saw spirits and birds who pecked and pinched and stopped their breath, and the courts were only too happy to believe them.

The accused were housed in filthy disease-filled prisons while they awaited trail where they were expected to pay rent and provide their own food.

This frenzy was caused by a fear of some unearthly power, but, as Rosalyn Schanzer describes, the real horror was the hysteria of ordinary people.

Veterans Day Salute in the Library