Phantom Plague

Phantom Plague: HOW TUBERCULOSIS SHAPED HISTORY by Vidya Krishnan. This medical history is told in a very friendly way, without bogging down in medical terminilogy that is hard to understand. The author arges that TB is the deadliest disease in history and has been around for millenium. The first few chapters move quickly and are very interesting, with the history of medicine in the 1800s when attempts to reform doctors behaviour were met with lots of resistance. It is comical to our present time when trying to get people to wash their hands between performing procedures and seeing patience was laughed at. The development of germ theory and immunology is well told and provides a great overview of the medical field at that time.

The book bogs down as it moves into the history of individuals with TB and their attempts to get good treatment, and the details of the disease in India and.

Lost in the Valley of Death

Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas by Harley Rustad. This is the story of Justin Alexander Statler, climber and adventurer. This is another story of an American guy (they are always American and always guys) who pushed himself and the limits of mountaineering/exploring to the limit and was never heard from again. Referenced in this book is the story told in Into the Wild and I am also reminded of the story chronicled in the movie Alpanist. The people in these stories have a certain native talent, and acquired skills from their experiences in the environments that they are choosing. But is seems like the stories that make it into books and movies are always the stories about the ones who disapear never to be hear from again, or in the case of Into the Wild his body was found long after he had died.

From this I think of Ed Viesturs and Chris Bonington. Both people who in their 20s were captivated by mountain climbing, and who were able to develop this passion into a career as authors and speakers, so they could continue to be in the world of the mountains the loved, but could make a living and not have to contantly live broke and on the edge.

To be fair, Chris from Into the Wild was only 24 when he died and Marc in the Alpanist was 26, so maybe they did not live long enough to reach maturity. With many of these people there really should be considered issues of mental health. In Rustad's book he does touch, very briefly, on sexual abuse that happened to Justin when he was young, apparently twice. This aspect was not explored to try and define the underlying issues that drove Justin to taek risks and never be selted.

There is another book about a transforming journey, that is from another time and shows a different path. The book Dove by Robin Graham was published in 1972. This is the story of Graham sailing around the world in his boat the Dove, beginning in 1965 and finished the trip in 1970. This was a voyage of personal discovery and growth, and he came out of it being married and shortly after finishing the trip had a kid. Great story, many harrowing experiences but it was the story of growth and growing up, and at the end he transitioned to a settled, but not conventional life.

THE TAKING OF JEMIMA BOONE By Matthew Pearl

THE TAKING OF JEMIMA BOONE: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap That Shaped America By Matthew Pearl Fascinating story of the kidnapping of Daniel Boone's daughter in 1776. Really more of a story of Daniel Boone, who was also taken by native americans, and even adopted by a tribe. The details of the struggle on the frontier of the new States during the revolution is a complicated political story that involved a lot of colorful charectars.

Taste: My Life Through Food

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci. Well known actor, and this is not an acting memoir. Really is about food, and his love of food and cooking, with some references to film, but that is not the focus. He goes from his childhood in Upstate New York, and how he evolved into a foodie. Also, his bought with cancer and the impact that had on food, and continues to have, for him.

On Animals

On Animals by Susan Orleans. Well known best selling author. This is a collection so essays that have appeared elsewhere, most the New Yorker. Entertaining and well done of course. Spoiler alert, she likes dogs.

The Baseball 100

The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski. Baseball writer Joe gives his take on the 100 best players of all time. What is interesting about this is that it is not a countdown. Many of the players are listed at a number that is significant to them. Joe Dimaggio is 56, Jackie Robinson is 42 etc. So that makes it more interesting than starting at the bottom and working your way up. He does spend a lot of time with black players, the Negro League and the impact on the MLB that those players were not in the main stream. He also spends lots of time on stats, which is not really my thing, but thoroughly researched.

Decision in Normandy by Carlo D'Este

Decision in Normandy by Carlo D'Este. A very detailed account of the planning of the invasion of Normandy, the intentions and the reality of what can be executed and how you cannot control what your enemy does. I have never read a book with more excerps from books and documents, and more footnotes and endnotes. Mostly we get a view of what the leadership was planning, how they tried and in many ways were foiled by the Germans. We get a lot of information on the leadership and their personality, and how they got along or didn't with each other. It seemed to be very back and forth, generals who worked well with each other in Africa did not see eye to eye when fighting in Normandy. In particular the very controversal Montgomery. We really can't see if he was a brilliant strategist, a giant ego, or probably both.