American Wolf

   In the early 1990's Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone after a long period of extinction. By the 2000's they had declined and the project appeared to be a mistake- until a female, known as 0-6, asserted herself as a leader and started a pack with her two brothers. With Sun-Tsu like intelligence, 0-6 survived and led her pack to survival where hundreds of other wolves failed, until she herself was killed when legal hunting of wolves was re-allowed.
     I grew up watching old wildlife movies like the "Incredible Journey" and "The Legend of Lobo" (bonus points if you remember the song...) in which an animal takes on human society and his/her own natural world to survive. Reading American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee, which recounts the above story, brought all those memories back, except this time in a thrillingly true story.
    Wildlife narratives often fill in details with guesswork or scientific background to make up for a story that is otherwise fairly short- we know animals' exact activity only when they're in contact with us. American Wolf does neither; O-6's day to day actions were well documented by naturalists who kept track of her, resulting in an intimate biography with surprising details no fiction writer would publish.
    The author also weaves together a story that is bigger than the day to day life of a wolf. It involves the naturalist community, local ranchers, and the legal system in a battle that has ramifications for both people and animals today. The lines between good and bad are grey; they lie somewhere in the primordial fight for survival which I am sure the wolf would understand were she able to communicate with us. A wolf can't do so in so many words, but maybe 0-6 has through American Wolf.

Everyday Watercolor by Jenna Rainey

Everyday Watercolor by Jenna Rainey makes this popular but difficult to truly master art accessible to everyone.

The author walks you through basic principles, using small paintings, designed to be done in a short time each day over the course of 30 days. She gradually introduces new methods until by the end the reader is prepared to tackle complicated scenes involved multi-layered methods.  Most of the scenes are from nature and even include some abstract designs that will keep painters experimenting for hours.

The style, nature-oriented theme, and even the drawing methods are delightfully reminiscent of John Muir Laws' books; fans of his who admired the work but struggled with the watercolors will find this a great companion book.

The cover and inside design are on heavy duty glossy paper which feels able to withstand accidents in the watercolor workplace.

Carve by Melanie Abrantes

Carve by Melanie Abrantes

     I enjoy examining wood carvings, but never seriously considered doing it myself. That someone can turn a block of wood into a polished, rounded spoon just seemed mysterious and esoteric.

     I have started whittling on my own now, thanks to Carve, by Melanie Abrantes, who shows that using a few basic principles and simple tools you can create impressive (and useful) things out of wood. There are over dozen projects divided into three categories ranging from a decorative bird (simple) to spoons, spatulas (hard), soap dishes, and much more. Unlike many books which seem to simply show off the author's skills, these projects are attainable and the instructions walk the reader through them. Accompanying photographs shows the step by step process for each item.

  

    The cover, layout, and design quality all call out for the reader to read and use the book.

If you like woodworking, you will find it an enjoyable guide; if you've never considered it, you will.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

Understanding Color In Photography

For photographers, Understanding Color in Photography is like hearing your favorite song for the first time again.

 I'm a photographer and can say photography books are fairly predictable; explain the principles of aperture and rules of 3. Throw in some portraits, still life, stunning vistas, maybe some artsy street scenes with lots of concrete and you have just about any instructional book.

But in Understanding Color In Photography, Brian Peterson does more than just explain color. It puts a refreshing new spin on photography as a whole by showing you how to see differently. He describes the properties of each color, what colors go well together, what they evoke, and samples of images with descriptions of how he got them. Photography is not simply about framing the image; using color you can compose images that evoke emotions and even sensations. Peterson's photography- his mind-bending use of colors, reflections, and natural elements- is enticing and leaves the reader begging for more.

Some knowledge of the basics is kind of required to get the most out of it, although a complete newbie can appreciate its message too.

I thought my photography was original but Understanding Color In PHotography shows there is always something new to learn.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

A Charm of Goldfinches- A Book That Will Charm Everyone.

A Charm of Goldfinches by Matt Sewell

A Charm of Goldfinches by Matt Sewell explores through art and humor the origin of peculiar names for groups of animals. We all know of nouns like "herd" and "flock" but these are just the tip of the iceberg. There's charms, scurries (squirrels), plagues (rats), unkindnesses (ravens), memories (elephants), and many more.






Each page gives the noun, describes the animal, and gives the source of the noun where possible with a description of the animal's habits that makes each one seem perfect. It is a great conversation piece to leave out on your coffee table or to use to astonish your friends.





The cover art sold me before I even read the description. Sewell's illustrations are original and artistic and capture the animals perfectly. As a fellow birdwatcher artist I found myself trying to paint my own versions of them (not possible....). The book itself is a durable hardback with glossy paper that invites reading.






A Charm of Goldfinches is a great book for animal lovers but will appeal to everyone who can appreciate perfectly woven humor, art, and facts.








I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Rogue Heroes

     Ben MacIntyre has a talent for taking well-worn stories and injecting new life into them; he did this previously with Operation Mincemeat, Double Cross, and A Spy Among Friends. His latest book, Rogue Heroes, tackles the story of the SAS during World War Two, retold often but never with such verve or insight.

     Rogue Heroes brings fresh perspective from unpublished material and the authors own insight into human nature than enables him to build character portraits, deconstruct the wooden legends and replace it with an equally legendary but flesh-and-blood version. This separates Rogue Heroes from many contemporary histories of the war as the story is ultimately carried along by the vivid characterizations with which the SAS players, great and small, are brought to life. yet everything was documented-  (In one endearing scene, David Stirling and Paddy Mayne clash and reunite by revealing how they really wanted to be an artist and a writer, respectively). The action is described with thrilling, Alister McClean-style derring-do, although it is equally unflinching in describing the reality of war.

    Rogue Heroes has important lessons for Special Warfare today, in looking at its origins. 

I received a free copy of this from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

"Red Teaming" by Bryce Hoffman- Not Just for Business

 

 Don't ignore this book just because it has a business-y sounding title and description.

In a nutshell, "Red Teaming" is a strategic art of forming a team to think like your opponents, and preparing yourself for how to act accordingly in the real world. It involves research, role-play, and strategy- entertaining in practice and productive in terms of business. Red Teams must be free of bias, hierarchy (which stifles creativity), and constantly question what they know and how they know it so as to create a truly complete picture of the enemy free of human error.

But the book is about much more than that as the author delves into competitive strategy and critical thinking skills. He shows how the lessons apply to any field of competition, whether military, corporate, sport, or personal life and uses abundant real-world examples, along with detailed breakdown of logic to prove his points. And although the focus is on "teams" the methods are just as applicable for individuals. (I felt I learned more useful information regarding winning arguements from this than. The recently-rereleased "Thank You For Arguing").

  I do not have a highly competitive job and am already familiar with all the "know your enemy..." Maxims, but still feel better prepared for having read this book.


I received a free copy of this book from "Blogging for Books" in exchange for my honest review.

Thank You for Arguing- An Arguably Good Book

Thank you for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs aims to dissect the way in which people argue from classical to modern times.
      Like a field guide, it identifies hundreds of methods that are used every day in all circumstances. The drawback is that, except for a chapter on Cicero, it doesn't show how to assemble them. What works well together, what doesn't, what are real-life examples of it working (not just being used)? The book's information would be more potent if assembled a la The One Minute Manager, or Leadership Secrets of Attilla the hun, which present a concept, reinforce it with examples, and them summarize it,
     Thank You For Arguing provides great identification that encourages further reading but falls short on showing the reader how to use the knowledge it gives.

The Street of Eternal Happiness

In The Street of Eternal Happiness, following the tradition of books like Dominique Lapierre' City of Joy,  Rob Schmitz describes the tapestry of life in Shanghai by embedding with its inhabitants. The book follows a cast of people who live on a street known as the Street of Eternal Joy, the rough equivalent of Fifth Avenue or Bourbon Street except fraught with China's uncertain economic state and political legacies of former days. Schmitz avoids psychoanalysis and socio-political commentary, and instead leaves the reader to paint his own picture of life from the lives of the people themselves. The vivid descriptions bring the scene to life as if it is his own life Schmitz is writing about. Workers, entrepreneurs, schemers, family men- they take on their surroundings with an attitude that is hopeful and enterprising, leaving the reader with encouraging hopes for both the people of China and people everywhere.

Road Food- America Through its Restaurants

Road Food is an engaging look at America through the eyes of its restaurants.

In the latest edition of the book, Jane and Michael Stern give a character portrait of restaurants, diners, cafes, eateries across America, and the food they serve, based on their uniquely local flair. On the surface it is a basic guide; the address, phone number, prices, and website are provided for over a thousand restaraunts (diners, pubs etc ). But going deeper, in describing that flair the authors take us on a trip through American culture and culinary traditions.

   The descriptions are engaging and border on literary quality prose. Good descriptions are important considering there are no photographs, but the imagery truly brings the food to life on paper. Like this description of the banana cream pie at the Coffee Cup Cafe in Iowa:
"It quivers precariously as the waiter sets it down on the table, the custard jiggling like not-quite-set Jell-O below foamy white meringue. The crust doesn't break when touched with a fork, it flakes. The whole experience...is what we imagine it would be like to eat pastries on the moon....for the work 'light' barely does justice to the refinement of this piece of pie."

 Or characterizing atmosphere, like Joco's Steak House in California, a place where "country folk whose ides of fun is to come to this tavern, quaff beers under taxidermized animal heads, and eat red meat...truly a kind of beef frowners' hell, where smells of roasting meat permeate the air."

 

  If you live in a major city you do have a higher chance of using this as an actual "guide." Nevermind if you can make it to a restaurant, the criteria, or if your favorite place didn't make the list: it is a pleasant read about culinary traditions around america. If Peter Jenkinks "A Walk Across America" described the country through interacting with its people, "Road Food" does so by interacting with its culinary culture. It not only made me want to cook, but encouraged me to seek out the ordinary local places in my own rural area.

 

     Jane and Michael Stern are experts in this field with well over a dozen books on roadside eateries, written over 40 years. You can read more at their website https://roadfood.com

Lost in Translation by Ella Frances Sanders

Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World by Ella Frances Sanders 


"Words allow us to grasp and hold on to an extraordinary amount," Sanders writes. "The ability that language gives us is incredibly complex."

For instance, while writing this I had a bad case of Iktsuarpok.

 That's an Inuit word when you keep getting up to look around for someone who's coming, then sitting down, and getting up to look around again. (There's always someone who doesn't know. . .)

Lost in Translation is a charming collection of unstranslatable words in many languages, from Finnish to Urdu, which describe emotions and actions we all feel and do, regardless of language. Describing them in English often takes many words while other languages condense them into one. Unlike those books which list the longest words or most convoluted, reading this one it felt comforting to know that it actually is a worldwide thing to understand someone's directions perfectly when they tell you but then forget when its time to make a turn. ("Akihi", Hawaiian)

A definition is given along with a more human description, which artfully expresses the essence of the word. The whimsical artwork makes it a light read. Its perfect to keep out on a table to casually browse, and then stun people with your linguistic knowledge.

Lost in Translation can be read in one sitting but its rich content will keep you returning for more.

 

Midnight in Siberia - A Portrait of a Nation Through its Railway

 Midnight in Siberia by David Greene

    The Trans Siberian Railway in the longest and one of the most famous in the world but there is remarkably little written about it in English. Many have written of Siberia, the place, but aside from brief sections in Paul Theroux's and Colin Thurbon's books, the railway has escaped the eye of literature. NPR host David Greene has to some extent remedied this with Midnight in Siberia, an account of his winter journey on the train in 2013. He uses the rail journey as a frame through which he explores the larger human experiences of modern Russia, making it an important social work Americans should read and bear in mind when reading the headlines. 

      Having made the journey myself, I can say his descriptions of life on the train were vivid and brought to life a few memories. "I would take a ride (on the TSSR) over a ride on amtrak any day of the week." he writes, "There's nothing boring about riding the Trans-Siberian. Its hard, yet poetic, perplexing yet entertaining." The train becomes a world unto itself and you form a daily routine on it; the hot water boiler which becomes your primary source of water; the dining car, where most of the socializing happens; getting guidance from your provodnik; the thrill of simply getting off at rural stations; sharing a closet sized space with four people.

       And here Greene's background as a journalist shines as he finds the real subject of the book, the Russian people. The train is a vehicle to explore this, which ties together the narrative. Each chapter is named for a different person he encounters, in which he describes their story. They range from environmental activists, to small business owners trying to make it in the new economy, to anthropologists exploring the ancient roots of Siberia.  All tell tales of woe and success (mostly woe). It is at once grim yet hopeful, and brings out a portrait of an endearing people. The result is an informative picture of modern Russia, good and bad, from which the reader can draw his own conclusions.

                                                             

      If there is any fault in Midnight in Siberia, it is that in places it treads the much-tread ground of psychoanalysis which boils down to "Russians are different from Americans", when the journey and interviews could have easily stood on their own merits without commentary.  Another is that the icy winter setting is exactly what we expect of anything set in Russia. Ian Frasier comments in his Travels in Siberia that "writers are required to visit Siberia in winter" and it seems to be true. (This is more of a personal interest of the reviewer than a fault with the book however as I made the trip in the summer - when it is generally warm, sunny, and green.)

           

     The book is physically well-presented and overall an easy read. In the end, Midnight in Siberia is a valuable new addition to the travel shelf, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in both Travel and the general human experience.

 

The Inkblots- One Man's Quest to Help people by Healing their Minds

 A psychiatrist invents a way to test patients. Sounds academic and faintly tedious? I thought so too until I read The Inkblots. In it Damion Searls brings to life the powerful story of one man's quest to help people, and the posthumous journey of his method to do so.

     Freud taught that our true selves can be discerned through what we say (think: "freudian slip").  Rorschach, a contemporary Swiss psychologist, thought that what we see is more revealing, and spent much of his life exploring the profound connection between what we see and what we feel. Why do schitzophrenics have physical sensations of things that they see happening when they know they aren't real? How do feelings manifest themselves through art? Why do people "feel" motion (or emotion) in static images? (It would seem like some knowledge of psychiatry would be needed to appreciate these issues, but the author walks the reader through all the various theories and makes them comprehensible to the layman.) The culmination of all these questions for Rorschach lay in the eponymous inkblot test, in which people are shown ten abstract paintings and asked to describe what they see.
   When used correctly it can work wonders. But while Freud's theories have been endlessly explored, Rorschach's by contrast have been neglected and misused. The test is not a "personality test" (the online quizzes using the inkblots are in fact the opposite of how they work). It does not give answers; it provides the insightful psychologist with clues to explore. Later psychiatrists developed it so far as to have mathematical formulas which can be calculated. The author includes some case studies in which the Rorschach test, was used to detect crimes and criminals.
   The blots look random: couldn't anyone make shapes and ask others what they look like? Not so: the designs, choice of color, the decision to mirror them, to do so vertically rather than horizontally, are all guided by artistic principles. Rorschach goes so far as to use art to treat his patients and in one scene brings a catatonic man to heal himself by drawing. Psychoanalysis of abstract art, he finds, is a powerful tool to understand the human mind in ways no other method can uncover. This aspect could carry its own book.
   The author brings Rorschach's career to life with flair. He is an all-around likable renaissance man who holds parties and shows for his patients, experiments with photography, investigates cults, dabbles in abstract art. He witnesses wars, revolutions, and injustice within the psychiatric establishment with Dr. Zhivago-like impartiality, concerned only with the welfare of mankind. "'The most interesting thing in nature is the human soul," he wrote, "and the greatest thing a person can do is heal these souls, sick souls.' His life makes uplifting reading and I felt rewarded after learning about it.
     The same way a gripping fact-based movie makes you to explore the truth behind it, The Inkblots will inspire those unfamiliar with psychology to explore it and the surprising ways it can help us.

You can check out more of Damion Searls work at his website:
http://www.damionsearls.com/

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.


                                                                      

In Julia Child's Kitchen -A How-to For Everyone

    
    In Julia Child's kitchen is a mix of cookbook, textbook, and memoir that will appeal to everyone who likes to cook as well as those who simply enjoy the idea of cooking.
     The recipes, which cover all the basics from cooking oysters and lobsters to perfecting baguettes, are interspersed with how-to's and explanations of technique, as well as many anecdotes from her own experiences in the kitchen and on her early cooking shows. With its charming mix of recipes and stories I've found myself reading it for pleasure as much as for cooking.
     Many of her stories aim at encouraging the amateur chef, and indeed there is something reassuring reading about one of America's premier chefs mess up a soufflé, or practice a fancy way of flipping an omelet she just learned.
     Julia child is aware that many accessories and ingredients are not readily available in the home kitchen, and she shows how to substitute and improvise, and includes a comprehensive list of European vs American measurements. This is information that will help you when tackling other cookbooks, particularly those published in the UK which often have wonderful-but-untranslate-able recipes.
     I only learned after googling the book that it was published as a companion for her TV Show; with only rudimentary knowledge of her show or other books I still use and enjoy it very much.

"The Tunnels"- A Real-Life Thriller with a Message

     

     The Berlin wall was a staple of 60's Spy culture. The poignant opening and close of John le Carre's famous novella "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold," "A Funeral in Berlin," the original Casino Royale. Pieces of it are in museums around the world and millions watched it be taken down. We know it existed and it is taken for granted that people tried to cross it and some died in the attempt. Who exactly they were is usually left to the imagination. Greg Mitchell has remedied this with his book "The Tunnels"- a satisfying read which will appeal to anyone who likes a good story, and contains some case-studies we can learn from for today. In it he presents two wildly different stories which intersect: one a nitty-gritty story of escape and evasion that would put Paul Brickhill to shame, the other a Newsroom-style drama of the press assembling a documentary about the latter and fighting to get it aired. Between the two, there is never a dull moment in the book. If you're a "page around" reader like me you'll quickly get hooked on what you open up to. The many characters and their experiences are brought to life vividly (and I might add, authentically, without the aid of faux dialogue.)
        The first story focuses on the tumultuous 3 year period following the decision by the Soviets to construct the wall to stem the exodus of Berliners from their zone into the US-controlled zone. Ordinary citizens, mostly seeking to be reunited with family, worked their way around this, primarily by tunneling, a craft which they are forced to learn quickly by trial and error. "It was like grave digging except you had to excavate horizontally, for days, and survive in the musty chill long after light and air began to dissappear. Soon one couldn't toil for more than an hour before feeling faint for lack of oxygen. Some of the men suffered from fever and hacking coughs." Over time air, lighting, and even phone systems are incorporated as well as simple-yet-effective tradecraft to escape detection. So many worthy people figure in the narrative it seems unfair to single out an example for a review. One of the main characters is Harry Seidel, a cycling champion living in the west who tunnels east with the aim of rescuing his mother- rescuing many others in the process. Harry is a likable hero and his story carries much of the story, but his is just one of many cliques of tunnellers which figure in the book.
      The second story revolves around an NBC news team which captures the underground drama for a documentary. They embed with a group building a tunnel from the west into the east and not only finance the tunnel but capture footage of escapes as they happen. It is a chance for "history in the making, cinema verite, danger and every turn, day after day, happening right in front of the camera's eye- one might call it something new for TV..." They battle rival networks, dangerous shooting conditions, the threat of discovery by the East German Police (whose double agents have already infiltrated some tunnel groups), and, most dangerous of all, opposition from their own government. From the White House, nuclear war looks like a frighteningly real prospect, as Kennedy and his aides weigh how to oppose the Soviets without provoking them. Berlin has an ingredient missing in other confrontations: "Berlin was not only the political flash point of the cold war, it was...one of the few arenas where the United States and USSR came into direct one-on-one conflict." The administration looks to find a way to make the media operate in sync with their concerns about global tensions so as not to spark "the" incident which may prove the tipping point. (Soviet spy Rudolph Abel once commented that he had little need for undercover work in America as so much was readily available in newspapers and published reports). They agree it is in the interest of the common good to prevent a potentially inflammatory documentary from being shown. It takes a great deal of influence from some of the best reporters of the day to prevent the project from being killed.
      The author's background as a journalist himself shines through, both in his easy-to read writing style and his approach. He avoids taking sides or inserting his own opinions, instead assembling facts and presenting them to the reader, who may draw his own conclusion. It also gives him a leg up when addressing still-relevant issues that surround journalism like the conflict between security and freedom of information.
        The text itself gets 5 stars. The jacket description leaves a little to be desired. First, the byline reads "Escapes under the Berlin Wall." That gives the impression of something definitive, like the tunnel equivalent of M. R. D. Foote's "MI9." I was a little disappointed at first to find it was only half devoted to the tunnels (and only during a short period at that). Once realized however, the book was highly enjoyable. Second: the second part of the byline reads "the historic films the JFK white house tried to kill" and on the inside flap has two quotes from Kennedy ("A wall is better than a war" and "we don't care about east berlin") all taken out of context, making the book sound like a revisionist dig at Kennedy rather than the nuanced story Mitchell actually tells.
        Looking back we can be grateful that the NBC team took the time to record the escapes. The program won several awards and is available for viewing on youtube. It is haunting in its simplicity and imparts to the viewer a sense they are truly witnessing history.

http://www.gregmitchellauthor.com/bios/greg-mitchell

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.