A "New" Hope?

Zoglin, Richard.  Hope: Entertainer of the Century.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014.
        ISBN: 978-1-4391-4027-7

Bob Hope died in July 2003 at the age of 100.  In Bob Hope: Entertainer of the Century, Richard Zoglin provides the first complete descriptive biography of Leslie Towns Hope (better known as Bob Hope).  In the introduction and 14 chapters, he lays out the evidence that Bob Hope should be considered a seminal figure in American entertainment in the Twentieth century.

Bob Hope began his career in vaudeville in the 1920's and he prospered even as vaudeville was dying.  In the 1930's, he became a star on Broadway, migrated to radio with NBC and then in 1938 became a movie star.  During World War II, he started a career as entertainer for US troops abroad which continued for close to fifty years.  Then, in 1950's Hope started a yearly series of NBC TV specials.  In all these fields Bob Hope excelled, Zoglin postulates due to his hard work, focus on comedy, willingness to change and innovate.  He also focused on the bottom line and was always thinking ahead.

Richard Zoglin focuses on Bob Hope as entertainer, comedian, and businessman, providing a narrative full of plays, movies, and television specials while providing little of the material in the sketches, and movies that made Bob Hope famous.  In large part Zoglin wrote Hope to bring Bob Hope back into the limelight he deserves.  Unfortunately, the narrative makes the case for Hope as a pioneer in multiple fields while almost ignoring Hope the man, the father, and the husband.  Hope in historical context is also missing from the book.  Despite these drawbacks, Zoglin has written a very readable life of Bob Hope that is recommended to anyone wanting to know more of his story.

Wherein We Learn About Fred and Other Tales.

Pratchett, Terry.  A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Nonfiction.  New York: Doubleday, 2014.
        ISBN: 978-0-385-538305

Be forewarned, this is not a collection of Discworld stories, although, that series is frequently mentioned between these covers.   Rather this tome is a collection of nonfiction essays, speeches,  and assorted odds and ends that Terry Pratchett wrote between 1963 and 2011.

In A Slip of the Keyboard, Terry Pratchett has deliberately provided a look into his mind and habits via this entertaining and revealing book. In four sections (A Scribbling Intruder/A Twit and a Dreamer/Days of Rage/And Finally...) Pratchett and company have amassed an eclectic collection of short pieces.  Here you can read short pieces such as "Thought Progress", "Why Gandalf Never Married", or "How to Be a Professional Boxer".  Then, there is "Straight From the Heart, via the Groin",  written in 2004, wherein we learn about "Fred" the ubiquitous worker at a nuclear plant who causes mayhem unwittingly.  You can read some of his early newspaper stories ("The King and I, or How the Bottom Has Dropped Out of the Wise Man Business" for example) or about his collection of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ("Brewer's Boy").  But on of my favorite pieces is "Roots of Fantasy"  which deals with how a lowly garden gnome statue caused the shutdown of a nuclear power plant (also includes the engineers' idea that an abandoned nuclear power plant would make a nifty "cursed tomb").  In the last quarter of the book (Days of Rage), Terry Pratchett has placed articles on his reaction to having Alzheimer's, the National Health System, right to die, orangutans, and schooling.

Throughout the book, the reader gets to peak behind the authorial mask of the creator of Discworld, go book touring with him  and generally hang out with an interesting person.  Recommended for all readers (whether you are a fan already or not).

The Cheese Man Autobiography

Cleese, John.  So, Anyway...  New York: Crown Archetype, 2014.  ISBN: 978-0-385-34824-9

Are you a Monty Python fan?  No, then why are you reading this?  Oh, you want to find out more about the twisted mind that came up with Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda, and Fierce Creatures?  Well, this tome will help, but beware, it is a long and winding road.

In So, Anyway..., John Cleese breezily writes out a partial tale of his life, speaking directly to the reader in sixteen chapters.  He covers his early life and schooling in some depth and makes it interesting by letting the reader know what shaped him as a comedian and as a man.  Then comes his University life in Cambridge where he met future Monty Python collaborators, got his first taste of performing, got his degree (barely) and then tossed it aside to enter the world  as a writer and performer for the BBC.  The last eight chapters cover Cleese's work, performance, and travel adventures.  Those adventures included being in a musical without being able to sing, touring with the Cambridge Circus in  New Zealand and then America without losing his BBC position, and getting married (for the first time).   Then, Cleese informs the reader on the BBC shows for which he wrote and/or performed in, and the movie scripts he and Graham Chapman worked on writing for Peter Sellers and others. Finally, Cleese describes the coming together of talent which created The Monty Python Show in 1969.  Unfortunately, that is where So, Anyway... ends, right where many folk's interest congregate.  Cleese does provide a postscript chapter that discusses the success of The Monty Python Reunion Show in 2014 revealing how some of the Monty Python sketches were created.  But that is just a teaser for what could be revealed.  Hopefully, John Cleese is busy writing the rest of his story and provide a willing audience his insight on the creation of Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda and other movies and television shows. 

An Examination on When, Where, and Why We Learn!

Carey, Benedict.  How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where and Why It
       Happens.  New York: Random House, 2014.  ISBN: 978-0-8129-9388-2


Learning takes place everywhere and in many surprising ways.  Benedict Carey mines the research literature on learning to provide the results scientists, psychologists, and educators' labors.  In ten short chapters with titles like "Breaking Good Habits," "The Hidden Value of Ignorance," and "Learning Without Thinking," the reader accompanies the author on an exploratory voyage on the frontier of learning theory.

One key fact Carey discovered is that scientists and others are still just laying the groundwork on how learning actually happens, so be prepared to change your strategies in the future.  How memory works is still under construction so what is known is almost overshadowed by what is not known.  However, the author does provide ways for the reader to increase the odds of their efforts being rewarded.  Besides, looking at study habits, sleep habits, long-term vs short term memories, pretesting material before actual reading the material, and many other bizarre practices, the author improvises ways you can utilize what is know in improving how you learn. 

How We Learn is easily read, but take the time to think through the implications of Carey's findings and then try implementing  one or two of the strategies.  Good learning to you!

Missing Scriptures: A Brief Examination.

Hoffman, Joel M.  The Bible's Cutting Room Floor: The Holy Scriptures Missing From Your Bible.
        New York: Thomas Dunne, 2014.  ISBN: 978-1-250-04796-0

Anyone who has read through the whole Bible knows that books are mentioned that are not available today.  Anyone who has looked at various versions of the Bible has encountered books such as the Maccabees that appear in Catholic Bibles, but not Protestant Bibles.  If you have read about the extended process of creating the Bible, you would know that not all books that some believed to be scripture made it into the Biblical canon.

Readers may find the subtitle (The Holy Scriptures Missing From Your Bible) to be misleading as this book does not provide a listing of scriptures missing from the Bible.  Rather, Joel Hoffman provides, in the first chapter, background on the social/political and cultural milieu during the writing of Scripture.  He next provides a chapters on locating the Dead Sea Scrolls and the impact on Biblical understanding. This is followed by a chapter on the Septuagint and its influence on the Bible we have.  He does a similar examination on how Josephus' writings interact with Scripture.  Joel Hoffman then has three chapters that critique The Life of Adam and Eve, The Apocalypse of Abraham, and The Book of Enoch in relation to what these titles reveal that is not found in the rest of Scripture.  He finishes with a look at the big picture of missing Scripture.  He also includes an appendix of recommended sources for further investigation 

Overall, the book is worth reading more for the broad picture Joe Hoffman paints regarding the multiple sources that inter-played in the creation of the scriptural canon  than the look at individual books.   

Another Operation Market-Garden Tale

Van Lunteren, Frank.  The Battle of the Bridges: The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in 
        Operation Market Garden.  Philadelphia: Casemate, 2014.  ISBN: 978-1-61200-232-3

The Battle of the Bridges covers some of the fiercest fighting during Operation Market-Garden.  The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 82nd Airborne Division captured the Maas River Bridge and the Mass-Waal Canal Bridge on September 17, 1944,  the first day of Operation Market-Garden.  Then on September 20th, the 504th launched a daylight river crossing to capture the bridges over the Waal River at Nijmegen against fierce opposition.  They succeeded at great cost.  The 504th continued to hold part of the front line until relieved in November 1944.

Frank Van Lunteren relates the story of the 504th PIR using as much as possible the veterans' own words.  He has done extensive research, interviewed as many remaining veterans as possible, and used their letters to home and diaries.  He also mined the official records and quoted from the texts of the medal citations.  He tells an exciting story which is reasonably well organized around particular events and time periods.  However, due to the narrative style he chose, the tale is episodic and sometimes repetitive.  He provides little background and the  numerous switching of character viewpoints can lead to confusion.

The Battle of the Bridges is great for World War II aficionados who want a first-hand account of the 504th PIR's exploits during Operation Market-Garden.  However, if you have not read many accounts of World War II, especially those dealing with airborne operations, the reader will want a campaign map and more detailed background than is provided in this book.

Do Not Believe All You See or Read!

Seife, Charles.  Virtual Unreality: Just Because the Internet Told You, How Do You Know It's
      True?  New York: Viking, 2014.  ISBN: 9780670026081.

 Based on his own experience as a journalist and a professor, Charles Seife provides a readable account of having to live with the Internet run amok.  He opens with an interesting warping of reality, the case of the Muppet Bert's affiliation with the terrorist Osama Bin Laden.  What had started as a joke with the  "Bert is Evil" website was transformed in to strange reality when someone made up posters using images off the Internet.  This segues into eleven chapters and three half chapters that covers a lot of ground regarding the effect the Internet has on your life (the half chapters provide a longer look at specifics covered in the previous chapter).  He then finishes with a Top Ten list for the Internet skeptic.

Seife provides plenty of material for information literacy discussions with his discussions of the interaction of information versus knowledge versus wisdom, the problem with authority (citing sources and proving sources), trolling, fake people, interconnection rather than communication, copyright issues, etc.  He also discusses the problems of too much information with noise drowning out signal, the dumbing down of intelligence, and the use of public/private information being used for private gain by companies and individuals.

Charles Seife packs a lot of information in a small book with the unfortunate result that it feels like a collection of essays rather than a coherent argument.  The coverage of multiple and divergent topics and some of the examples used will leave this book feeling dated in a few short years.  That being stated, the author has provided many coherent arguments that should be examined and discussed not just by librarians, information literacy specialists and academics, but by the public as a whole.

Ethan Allen and the Formation of the Republic of Vermont

Bennett, David.  A Few Lawless Vagabonds: Ethan Allen, the Republic of Vermont and the
          American Revolution.  Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers, 2014.  ISBN:
          978-1-61200-240-8.

In A Few Lawless Vagabonds, David Bennett provides plenty of background and details regarding Ethan Allen and his cronies involvement in the formation of the Republic of Vermont before, during and after the American Revolution.  My earliest impression of this time and place was from the book I Was There With Ethan Allen And The Green Mountain Boys which glossed over the details to tell a decent story.  And the details are what makes A Few Lawless Vagabonds such an interesting read.

David Bennett opens with a reconstruction of the problems facing the New Hampshire Grants settlers in relation to New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.  The British Crown only confused matters.  Ethan Allen became involved in opposing the enforcement of New York claims in the region, raising the Green Mountain Boys as a militia.  That same militia was used at the beginning of the American Revolution to seize Ticonderoga, Crown Point and the invasion of Canada in 1775.  After Ethan Allen was captured in 1775, the focus of the book switches to Ira Allen and others involved in the forming of Vermont as a separate state/colony/republic.  Bennett carefully documents the involvement of the state in the destruction of Burgoyne during the Saratoga campaign.  He also documents the cease fire and neutrality practiced by Vermont's government and the case that can be made that Allen and his cronies would have been willing to rejoin Britain to gain their independence from New York.  In the end, after a few years as a independent republic, Vermont became the fourteenth state of the United States.  Ethan Allen and his cronies did succeed to that extent.

David Bennett provides a readable, yet scholarly look at the background and formation of Vermont as an independent entity while providing an in-depth look at the characters and events that made this possible. 

What is Matter Made of?

Miodownik, Mark.  Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous  Materials That Shape Our Man-Made  
        World.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.  ISBN: 978-0-544-23604-2

Writing for a general audience, Professor Miodownik shares his knowledge of materials in this readable look at the composition of materials.   He opens each of the eleven chapters with the same photograph, but labels a different material each time.  This mnemonic device provides continuity among the diverse materials such as chocolate, metals, concrete, porcelain, etc., that he chose to focus on.  He freely admits that the choices he made are arbitrary and chosen to illustrate concepts.

When reading the book, the reader is struck by the mastery Mark Miodownik has of  material science and by the joy he brings in describing our interaction with the "stuff" that makes up our world.  Stuff Matters reads quickly, one chapter being easily consumed in a sitting or the whole book over a long weekend.  Appropriate illustrations are provided within the book.  And for those readers whose appetite has been whetted for more on the topic he provides a title list for further reading.  

Anyone wanting to know about the materials that make up our world will profit and likely enjoy reading Stuff Matters.

A Kaleidoscopic Examination of Movie Musicals

Barrios, Richard.  Dangerous Rhythm: Why Movie Musicals Matter.  New York: Oxford 
         UP, 2014.

Not satisfied with just writing about the birth of musical films (A Song in the Dark - 1995), Richard Barrios looks at the importance of movie musicals of all types via a kaleidoscope of lenses.  In twelve short chapters, an introduction, and epilogue, he discusses the past and future of movie musicals, the origination of the concept of the musical, who have been the stars, the role of music versus plot, etc., not neglecting animated musicals and television musicals.

The book and the chapter titles all come from song titles or lyrics sung in a movie musical  which is an example of how Barrios infuses a quirky viewpoint into this series of essays.  He also provides informative footnotes that add interest without slowing the reader with extraneous information.  Each chapter is a different lens on movie musicals with focus on a specific aspect such as animated musicals or musicals on television; the reader is not compelled to read the chapters in sequence, but is free to skip to what interests them.

Dangerous Rhythm reads easily and has appropriate and interesting illustrations.  Barrios writes well for the general reader, providing a list of his sources but not documenting enough to be considered as a serious scholarly tome.  He has his own lists of movie musicals he like and dislikes.  As is often the case in these types of books, he does miss certain musicals.  How important that is depends upon your love for that musical. 

In the end, Dangerous Rhythm provides provides plenty of fodder for discussions.  Read it, and start yours!

York and Lancaster equals Tudor

Weir, Alison.  Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World.  New York: Ballantine Books,
          2013.  ISBN: 978-0-345-52136-1

How well do you know your English history?  Can you name the Princess of the House of York that united with the House of Lancaster to help found the Tudor dynasty?  If you can't or even if you can, you will enjoy Alison Weir's telling the tale of Elizabeth of York.  One caveat, the subtitle is key to the book.  This is not just a biography of Elizabeth, it is a telling of her story in the world she lived in.

Alison Weir writes precisely the tale of Elizabeth, providing plenty of background on the time and locations.  She details and documents settings, costs, clothing, food, and actions.  She speculates in relation to Richard the III in regard to his motivations and actions, but appropriately labels what is known and what may be inferred from the evidence.  She is not afraid to discuss controversial material, specifically regarding the Princes in the Tower of London, although she does follow convention in regard to the description of Bosworth Field. 

Overall, this birth to death examination of Queen Elizabeth produces a rounded picture of a woman that helped launch the modern world by bringing legitimacy to Henry VII, birth to Henry VIII, and giving a name to two English monarchs.  Enjoy reading Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World.

Are you bad at math?

Bennett, Jeffrey.  Math for Life: Crucial Ideas You Didn't Learn in School.  Updated Edition.  
        Boulder, CO: Big Kid Science, 2013.  ISBN: 978-1-937548-36-0

Do you consider yourself "bad" at math?  Did you do well in math while in school?  Well, it does not matter what answer you give to those questions as Jeffrey Bennett demonstrates in Math for Life.  You are using math in your daily life whether you realize it or not, although it is generally not algebraic equations.  Dividing a pie evenly, cutting a pizza to fit the number of folks around the table, baking with its use of proportions, etc. all these tasks have you using math unconsciously. 

What Jeffrey Bennett does is have you think about math outside the classroom.  The best chapters are the early ones ("Thinking with Numbers" and "Statistical Thinking")  which concentrate on your interaction with numbers in the real world (not the artificial world of the classroom).  Later chapters focus on money, taxes, deficit spending in the USA, energy, politics and growth.  These later chapters get more esoteric in their focus and reveal authorial bias (conscious and unconscious) in regard to the premise of the question asked or the answers he suggests as correct.

Overall, despite issues with regarding authorial leanings and suggestions in various chapters, Jeffery Bennett does provide sound advice in regard to the importance of math in everyday life and gives generally sound advice on how to improve.  Just remember to ignore advice with which you disagree.

Why Verdun?

Jankowski, Paul.  Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War.  New York: Oxford University
        Press, 2014  ISBN: 978-0-19-931689-2

Many books are written about individual battles in World War I, especially Verdun. For a variety of reasons, Verdun is emblematic  of the fighting on the Western Front in the Great War.  However, Paul Jankowski has not written a normal battle history in Verdun, but rather a meditation  on what many consider the longest battle of World War I.  Rather than a detailed description of the action tracing units involved, personalities, terrain, etc., he opens with a discussion on the place the battle holds in the memories of Frenchmen, Germans and historians.  He explores why the German forces attacked at Verdun, then why the French decided to make a hold-at-all-cost defense there.  He examines the evidence regarding what part the concept of offensive tactics  and rates of attrition played in the battle and how prestige (French and German) controlled the length of the battle.  He looked at what French and German troops thought of the battle and how they viewed each other.  The other major area he covered is why the forces involved continued fighting this battle.

If you are looking for action, consider other titles on Verdun. But if you want a revisionist synthesis on why the battle happened, read on.

One of the Lesser Known Panzer Generals of WWII

Bagdonas, Raymond.  The Devil's General: The Life of Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz, "The Panzer  
       Graf".  Philadelphia: Casemate, 2013.  ISBN: 978-1-61200-222-4

If you go looking online, you can find tidbits of Hyazinth von Strachwitz's life and career, but not much, so the military history readers will find The Devil's General  a treat.  Raymond Bagdonas provides a life story, not just a World War II tale.  He brings out what details he can uncover of Graf von Strachwitz background and education, early military career, First World War experiences, and the interwar years before concentrating on his Second World War service and finishing with his life after the war. 

Raymond Bagdonas does a credible job of documenting sources when he finds them available.  But as he admits in the introduction,  some things are unknowable since Graf von Strachwitz did not keep a diary that survived, write a memoir or give many interviews after .  This lack of evidence leads to Bagdonas speculating without confirming evidence on why von Strachwitz joined the Nazi Party in the 1932.  He can only argue on what he thinks is the likeliest explanation.  He runs into the same problem in regard to von Strachwitz's joining the plot to overthrow Hitler, lack of documentation.

Overall, the reader of military history, especially those interested in the Eastern Front in the Second World War will appreciate The Devil's General. 

Cuba vs South Africa: A Hot Battle in a Cold War

Polack, Peter.  Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War.

         Philadelphia: Casemate, December 2013.  ISBN: 9781612001951.

In The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War, Peter Polack offers the military aficionado a short examination of the Cuito Cuanavale campaign between the FAPLA/Soviets/Cubans and the UNITA/South African factions during the Angolan civil war.  Polock provides an overview of the campaign, but concentrates on the confrontation between the South African Defense Force and the Cuban Army "volunteers" at Cuito Cuanavale siege.    

Polack opens with short, detailed overview of the opening fight to set the stage.  He then introduces the various factions, providing units, commanders, etc. and what role each played in the battle and beyond.  The latter half of this short book covers the Soviet led FAPLA attack that failed disastrously, the UNITA/ South African advance that led to the Cuban sealift for the defense of Cuito Cuanavale with its bridges and strategic location.  The siege is covered in a single chapter that discusses some of the tactics along with any losses from the South Africans or Cubans as they occurred.  The results of the campaign are summarized along with a list of casualties (dead, wounded or prisoners).

Overall, The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War started out quite interesting, but went downhill due to many extraneous details that could have been covered in footnotes and/or appendixes rather than in chapters interrupting the flow of the campaign.  It does cover all aspects of the campaign and is one of the few titles on this topic, so it receives tentative approval.

Sing Songs of America

Shaw, John.  This Land That I Love: Irving Berlin, Woody Guthrie, and the Story of Two 
          American Anthems.  NY: Public Affairs, November 2013.  ISBN: 978-1-61039-223-5

John Shaw masterfully entwines the lives of two songwriters (Irving Berlin and Woody Guthrie) and two of their most famous songs (God Bless America and This Land is Your Land) in This Land I Love.  He explores a number of parallels in their lives in regard to poverty stricken early life, early success, etc.  He also contrasts their differences in background, politics, and success in life. 

However, not satisfied with entwining the songwriters, Shaw also compares the songs, looking into the textual history of each, tracing the myriad changes until we arrive at the finished product that we listen to or sing.  Shaw provides the context that shaped each song, taking the reader on an exploration of American musical history that deepens our appreciation of each song.  Shaw also kindly provides a recommended list of Berlin's and Guthrie's works.

If you enjoy exploring musical history or just American history, This Land That I Love will provide plenty of pleasure.

Why She Reads Seriously.

Lesser, Wendy.  Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books.  New York: Farrar, Straus and
          Giroux, 2014.  ISBN: 9780374289201

Wendy Lesser attempts to explain in her latest book why she considers reading books a pleasure in seven short chapters.  She hits the usual categories such as character, plot, and novelty of setting.  She also considers issues of grandeur, authority, intimacy and genre fictions (mystery, science fiction and fantasy).  She talks quite at length about the interaction of the author and the reader.  She also provides a list of books to be read for pleasure.

The major issue I have with the book is that the author spends more time discussing literary studies issues (plot, author/reader interaction, etc.) rather than why she likes to read.  Reading the book, you can see that she loves spending time in books, but it is not until the Afterword that she directly addresses the pleasure she has in holding, smelling, and immersing herself in books.   Thankfully, the list of books Wendy Lesser provides is not prescriptive, but rather a launching point for the reader to explore the authors/titles she enjoys.  

If you are looking for a book that discusses how reading can be a pleasure, read on.  Just do not expect a complete answer.