Saturday, April 19, 2025

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America

This is actually a petty inclusive biography of Paul Revere. The 'ride' where he warned Lexington and Concord is the last part of this book. The first part deals with his younger years and is a build up to his ride to alarm people. He was a very skilled horse rider, and interestingly for his rides, to New York, Philadelphia etc, he was actually paid for his time and effort. There is also information about how he became a legend, since others rode out to warn the patriots also, but his story resonated with people.

The Last Manager

The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller

Biography of Earl Weaver, manager of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1970s and 80s. Earl was a very colorful baseball characters who lead the Orioles to many penant and world series wins. He was also ejected from ballgames more than any other managers. He was known for putting on a show by fighting with the umpires and this behavior helped to boost attendance at ball games, as fans came to see the 'Earl Show'. He played baseball in the minor leagues but never in the majors.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Sinkable

Sinkable: Obsession, the Deep Sea, and the Shipwreck of the Titanic by Daniel Stone

The story of the Titanic, but not really the last voyage and who survived and who did not. But the story of the Titanic became the legend, metaphore and symbal it later became. The autor points out that there have been thousands of ship wrecks over the centuries, but Titanic's story continues to evolve and remain relevant.

Friday, March 14, 2025

Ends of the Earth

Ends of the Earth: Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and Our Future by Neil Shubin

This is a memoir and history, the author is a arctic and antarctic researcher, lots of history and science and speculation about the future of the poles and the planet.

Friday, February 21, 2025

All the Beauty in the World

All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley

Interesting ture story of Patrick, he was working at the New Yorker when his brother passed away after a prolonged illness. Wanting a job that was completely different from his previous experience, he took a job working as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He stayed at this job for ten years, and this is the story of what that experience was like to go to work everyday and to be surrounded with the best art and artifacts in the world. During the ten years his life went through many changes, and there are many stories of his fellow employees and the museum patrons. Original to say the least.

Monday, February 17, 2025

Be Ready When the Luck Happens

Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten

This memoir by Ina is more interesting than I had expected. The titles reflects her life in food perfectly. She never went to cooking school or worked as a commvercial chef. She followed her instincts and went from specialty food shop owner to caterer to cook book writer to television chef.

Friday, February 14, 2025

Paris Undercover

Paris Undercover: A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal by Matthew Goodman

The story of two women, an American and a Parisian, who were living in Paris when WW2 broke out and of course the Nazis occupied the city. The got involved in helping Allied troops trapped in France try to escape, and this went very wrong at one point. A unique true story of the war, which has so many stories that tend to be the same rote tales.