The Last Boat Out of Shanghai

The Last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia. This book documents the final days of Shanghai as a non-communist city in China. The vehicle used is to tell the stories of 4 people who all ended up immigrating to the United States. The narrative follows them from being young people in the 1930s until the communist victory of the national army in 1949. The four come from different walks of life, rich and poor, educated and orphaned and abandoned. The author begins in the 1930s with the occupation of Shanghai by the Japanese as WWII gets underway. The complicated history of Shanghai with foreigners and foreign governments is used to tell the story of complicated hardships and some tragedy. The resilience of the four is illustrated in their toughness and intelligence in dealing with the many hardships and obstacles they overcome. The author states at the beginning of the book that this is a history that has not been told before. And I think certainly it has not been told in this way, I am sure it is in some history books, but the compelling personal story of these 4 people and the people they interact with gives a richness to the story.

Heart, A History

Heart, A History by Sandeep Jauhar. This is a history of cardiology, more of less. By a cardiologist. Sandeep describes the early view of the heart, and the early heart surgery, which really did not take place until the late 1800s. The development that had to happen to allow heart surgery to take place is pretty amazing, and the people who tended to make the discoveries and break throughs were basically pioneers to did things on their own. And by on their own it was surprising to me how many of these early heart doctors performed experiments on themselves, at time with fatal consequences. The development of bypass surgery, the pace maker, angioplasty if all covered. And it is really surprising how some of the discoveries were not made until the 1980s. Sandeep also provides his own personal stories in this book. His grandfather that died of a sudden heart attack, his own concerns about his own heart help. At times tough to read for some of the procedures, but all in all I found this a very educational book.

Blog 1 IA597

Hello everyone and welcome. Since this is the first time we are teaching this course, and the first time the course is being taught, I will use this blog to reflect on the progress of the class and makes notes of what works, what can be improved and what can be added. Creating this course has been in itself a long process and many people contributed to it coming about. We modeled some of the course on what other Universities are doing, and relied on UA personnel to help shape how the course would look. Here's to a great Spring 2019 semester. Garry

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. The amazing story of a startup that razed millions of dollars from investors, with the intent developing new blood testing technology that was intended to revolutionize the industry. However, it turned out to be a multi-million dollar, multi-year scam that ruined quite a few people's careers. This involved a lot of very high profile individuals, and not only fooled wealthy investors but media outlets also.

Last Days of the Concorde

Last Days of the Concorde: The Crash of Flight 4590 and the End of Supersonic Passenger Travel by Samme Chittum. Using the 2000 crash of the Air France Concorde outside Paris, the author tells the story not just of the crash but of super sonic flight, the develop of the Concorde as the only super sonic passenger carrier ever developed and of the end of Concorde as a passenger plane in 2003. This is partly a detective story and he traces the processes that the investigators used to figure out the reason for the crash that filled over 100 people and that was the beginning of the end for Concorde. But it also is the story of a much loved and admired airplane that was a national symbol of pride for both Britain and France.

Can You Ever Forgive Me by Lee Israel

Can You Ever Forgive Me by Lee Israel is the memoir that outlines Lee's career as a letter forger. Having been a best selling author, she never thought she would end up for desperate, but her services as a serious author were not longer in demand. As a biography writer she had spend lots of time researching famous people and lots of time in archives, so her route to crime was already paved by her. Her writing is absolutely charming and delightful, funny and insightful. It is especially interesting to see some of the letters the forged to be included in the book. She forged Louise Brookes, Noel Coward, Fanny Brice and Dorothy Parker among others. It is very interesting to see her process of writing these forgeries. She researched famous people's actual letters, in some cases using exact phrases or slightly altered phrases that they actually wrote. She also used biographies and the timing of real events to make her letters seem real. Definitely a thought provoking book where you wonder how much a crime is this, and how much fulfilling the wishes of collectors, by giving them what they want.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

The Library Book by Susan Orlean, using the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Library as the jumping off point, the author pay homage to libraries and librarians in this wonderfully written book. Orlean remembers going to the public library with her mother when she was a young girl, something she remembers fondly and that sets the stage for this love story of the library. Using the 1986 fire as the anchor of this book, she toggles between the history of public libraries, book burning and the future of libraries. But what the author does best is describe the people involved with the library, specifically the Los Angeles public library system. Her mini-biographies are told with affection and detail, her outline of the personalities is charming. This memoir coming from a non-librarian provides a great story of affection for the institution and its people that is all the more effective because it comes from an outsider.