Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard

Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard, continues the themes and ideas found in The Secret Life of Trees. The plant world is connected by a network of root nerve systems that allows trees to support each other and communincate. Unlike Secret, this book is much more personal and is part memoir. The author goes into details about her field work that provides a great insight into how biological science is conducted, similar in that way to Lab Girl. Also provided here is some of the road blocks she encountered as she was publishing research that was going against the established norms.

Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the author of The Martian with another space oriented thriller. The sun is dying and a mission is planned to help save the Sun and there by the Earth. Weir's meticulous research into aspects of science makes his books always interesting to read and sometimes a stretch to understand. But an entertaining read and an interesting theory about the future of the planet.

The Barbizon

The Barbizon by Paulina Bren Teh history of the Barbizon Hotel For Women in New York City. Opened in 1928, this was just one of the hotels for women in New York. These hotels filled a need as women were entering the workforce and needed/wanted a safe place to live. The Barbizon became well known for the fashion models that lived there, along with people who would late become famous: Grace Kelly, Joan Didion, Sylvia Plath and Ali Mcgraw to name a few. The hotel went through many iterations, reflecting the social changes happening the country from the 1930s through the 70s. The hotel closed in 1979, and several developers tried to revise the property in some form, which was finally accomplished in the 2000s when the property was developed as multi-million dollar residences. But interestingly enough, there are a small group of women, now in their 80s and 90s, who still live there under the rent control laws.

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.