The Book of Eels

The Book of Eels by Patrik Svensson. The ecology and hidden life of eels, which were once a popular food product, now fallen out of favor. The eels all breed, north American and European eels, in teh Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic ocean. This long journey that they take to spawn was only confirmed in the 1930s, and the process by which this happens is still being discovered. A really good history of a unique ecology, and also another bell weather of climate change.

An Empire of Their Own

An Empire of Their Own by Neal Gabler. Published in 1989, this is the interesting story of how the Hollywood movie industry was created. The author illustrates how all the early film pioneers, who became movie moguls, Louis B. Mayor, Zukor, the Warner Brothers etc were all immigrants or first generation of immigrants from eastern Europe and were Jewish. A major part of these movie people and their move from the east coast to California was to downplay their Jewish heritage and to become as American as they could. Another interesting aspect of this, according to the author, is that in the early 1900 the first iteration of the movie houses were the nickolodians, which in a lot of cases were nothing more than peep shows. So this was an industry that 'respectable' people wanted nothing to do with, allowing poor immigrants to get in on the ground floor of what would become a multi-million dollar industry and make many of the moguls some of the richest men in America.

The Everest Years: The challenge of the world's highest mountain

The Everest Years: The challenge of the world's highest mountain, by Chris Bonington. Originally published in 1987, I think. This fills an important gap in the Himalayan climbing history. This time frame of the 1970s and 1980s takes place after the initial pioneering efforts to top Everest, but before the explosive climbing efforts that were to follow. May even be responsible for the rise in interest following this period. Interesting that this was still a time when the first to summit a peek could still be achieved. Good writing and good story telling.

Washington: A Life

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow. We all know many pieces of the folklore around the life of George Washington. This very detailed and meticulaously researched biography provides the details of his life, without reading like an academic treatise. The parts of his life that I was not that familiar with are interesting. How he came into possession of Mount Vernon, the early parts of the revolutionary war, where frankly I was struck by what a miracle it was that we actually won the revolution. But for myself the most interesting was his 2 terms as the first president. Probably because I knew so little about that period. Creating a coutnry from scratch was an amazing feat, which in many ways ruined Washington's health and his finances. He was very aware of his place in history, and one of the reasons a thorough biography like this could be written is bacause he saved and archived his papers for the revolutionary war and his presidency. One thing that really stood out was the period when the new country was created, and the divide from the beginning of the north and the south. The north and south were very different before the revolution, but as independent colonies there really was no collision of the two. As the colonies were brougt together as the United States, these north/south issues were brought into the forefront. In Washington's first cabinet, his secretary of state was Jeffersons, Virginia landed gentry, and Alexander Hamilton, a native of the carribean, but a transplanted New Yorker who definately promoted the Yankee ideals. Hamilton wanted to have a strong federal presenece (The Federalsits) while Jefferson saw the new country as a land of gentlemen farmers. Much time is spent on the issue of slavery, and Washington owned hundreds for slaves. He is presented as someone opposed to slavery while still owning so many. His will freed many of his slaves, but in a complicaed way that really made it a slippery slope.

Pacific War in WW2, Triology

Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941–1942,The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942–1944, Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945. A goo complient to Atkinson's European triology. The sweeping story of the Pacific war.

Agent Sonya

Agent Sonya: Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy, by Ben Macintyre. Amazing story of a Soviet spy that spans the decades from the 1930s to the 70s, and somewhat beyond. China, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and the UK are all part of this story, of WW2 and cold war esionage.

WW2 Literature

Recently read: With Wings Like Eagles- Michael Korda. The story of the battle of Britain. D-Day by Stephen Ambrose, and D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, 1944 by Rick Atkinson. 1944 by Jay Wink. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, fiction about young people in France and Germany before and during the war. Madame Fourcade's Secret War by Lynne Olson, the underground movement in France. Last Boat our of Shanghai by Helen Zia. The Japanese occupation of Shanghai. Travels With Myself and Another, by Martha Gellhorn, the journalists autobiography. His Final Battle by Joseph Levyveld, Roosevelt's final year. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.