Mary Brodd
Maybe I need to stop trying to read this book right before bed. I simply could not make my way through it without incurring enough library fines to pay for my very own copy! It is a very dry read. I did get the point in the first part of the book, though - bankers are going to continue to act the way they do (i.e. extreme leveraging, short-term gain over long-term stability) because the laws and regulations allow them to do so, and because they profit immensely. So, nothing will change. Maybe that's why I'm giving up on this book - it's too damned depressing right now...
(really 4.5 stars; minus 1/2 star for the over-busy naming conventions) Add me to the list of those pining for a sequel, or at least more in this world. What a completely charming story. I did especially enjoy how the character of some of the more important secondary characters was slowly revealed. I will need to buy a copy of this book for sure.
One of those books that reminds you that the past is really a foreign country. It would never have dawned on me, for example, that people didn't necessarily have kitchens, but would take their food to “cookshops” to have it prepared for meals. And how much manure would be produced by the tens of thousands or horses used in the city (and how much hay they'd need to eat...). And that people wouldn't have any better sense than to drink the river water into which they'd just emptied their chamber pots! Extensively-researched and greatly detailed look at day-to-day life 150 years ago, enriched by many references to Charles Dickens' life and writing.
I wish I could have been one of the students, as I am definitely a culinary novice. Spurred by reading this, I finally tried the “no-knead” bread technique I've heard so much about, with generally successful results, and the book has inspired me to start watching some of the technique videos produced by America's Test Kitchen. This book definitely got me thinking about the kind of food that I buy for my family to eat. If you don't go into it expecting a “cookbook” I think just about anyone could learn something from this book.
This was certainly an interesting, although obviously greatly depressing, book. Many other reviewers have commented on the immigrants' backgrounds, tough conditions, poor quality of weather prediction, and other themes in the book. The thing that stuck in my mind months after finishing it, however, was a few lines at the very end of the book: “...it's beginning to look like European agricultural settlement is a completed chapter of history.” “Indian and buffalo populations have now reached levels that the region has not seen since the 1870s.” The settlement of the Great Plains may have been one of America's greatest mistakes, and this 1888 blizzard was the first sign.
Just as good as “1491” - really opened my eyes to how connected the world was even back then. My main takeaway from this book is that the early settlement of North America was a tiny little sideshow compared to the HUGE settlements and general movement of people and goods taking place between Europe, South America, and Asia. There is also more in this book about how some of that early interaction (mainly agricultural practices) continues to have negative effects, centuries later. Not a happy read, but really interesting.
Generally illuminating. The pre-WWII information was easier to follow. The post-war material was more confusing, as the original institution broke itself into pieces (and the author tried to follow them all), but it was interesting/depressing to see how, as the regulations in the US/UK changed/disappeared, riskier and riskier behavior became the norm. This book stops in the late 80s, so nothing about our latest financial catastrophe.
This book is boring. It plods. There are none of the breath-taking “zings” that lurk on every page in previous books. Characters bear no resemblance to their established personas. It's “Snuff” all over again. I did not laugh out loud even once while reading this book. I doubt I'll read any more of Sir Terry's novels; luckily the earlier ones stand up to infinite re-reads. I think his agents/publishers are doing him no favors. This is not a dignified way to end a brilliant writing career.
Very interesting read. I had not known about unusual geological/climatological activity in decades preceding plague outbreak - wet weather and earthquakes both can drive rats from their normal habitats towards human habitats in search of food. Wet weather may also have caused poor harvests, therefore famine, leaving people in worse physical shape to fight off such a disease outbreak.
What passed for medical knowledge at the time is almost comical. I suppose our descendants 700 years hence will say the same thing. Pogroms against the Jews, who were “of course” to blame, simply heartbreaking. Too bad we haven't yet outgrown the desire for scapegoats and conspiracy theories...
As slowly as news traveled in the 14th century, it still often traveled faster than the disease. To be stuck waiting, knowing that it was getting closer and closer to you - I can't imagine what that felt like.
Was plague good for Europe? Led to increased value of labor, more productive use of land, great creativity in labor-saving devices and methods...broke Europe out of its “Malthusian deadlock.”
I found this book to be lightweight. It's almost as though each chapter was the outline for a larger, more informative chapter that hadn't been written. I can't deny that it's well-written, it is actually quite atmospheric, but I don't really feel as though I know much more than I did before I started.
Sickly fascinating. First, the rain. Seems like it never ended. Has there been a flood like this since 1927? Then the people. The blatant grotesque racism - sharecroppers being charged money by their landlords for the Red Cross items given freely. Murders and rapes by the National Guard troops. The New Orleans upper crust blowing up levees in Saint Bernard and Plaquemines parishes to save their own city, swearing to rebuild (guess what - they didn't). Hoover's duplicity regarding the “colored.” (Beginning of the end of alignment of African Americans with Republican Party)
Subtitle “...and How It Changed America” - exodus of African-Americans north and west really picked up from this point - destruction wrought by the flood was so widespread that many sharecroppers just left, dispirited too by decline in race relations (Nat'l Guard had been used at times to FORCE sharecroppers to stay on the “plantations” where they farmed, white families who were displaced by flooding were free to go where they pleased of course...)
Also - Fed Gov't accepted responsibility for controlling the river in the future - first time such a sweeping project was undertaken by federal gov't, precursor to TVA New Deal etc? First “Big Government” project?
This was quite entertaining, not to mention somewhat inspiring (I now own a bottle of Angostura bitters!). The author does point out that there are only so many ways to combine a small number of ingredients, but the commentary for each drink is amusing and the illustrations are wonderful - mostly Art-Deco-era advertising. I've bookmarked quite a few drinks on cocktaildb.com that I'd like to try after reading this book.
This is an excellent compilation of the author's best blog posts. That said, I think the blog is the better way to experience these - in small bits, rather than gorging on them. The author is generally quite snarky (again, fine in small doses! I love snark!) and a book's worth of snark can cause spiritual/mental indigestion.
I greatly enjoyed this examination of the life of Princess Sophie, the German girl from the backwater who was whisked off to Russia to marry her cousin, and who deposed him and ruled for 34 years instead. The placement of the story in the context of wider European history is well done, the descriptions of court life are vivid; overall a good read. The single most amazing thing about this book, for me, was realizing how young Sophie/Catherine was when she began her life of court intrigue, in which she rarely put a foot wrong; I have children that age. A reminder, yet again, that the past is truly a foreign country.
A good list of useful things to do even if you're not waiting for the end of the world as we know it. If I could spend the summer doing these things we'd have less clutter, good emergency kits, trusted backups of the important paper and electronic documents, and so on. This is definitely a project to consider...
This is probably more like a 3.5 stars, but it suited my purpose, so there you have it.
Takeaways from this book:
Harrison's entire life was spent trying to find a job that would allow him to support his family (he had, like, a million kids...).Harrison was the first president to campaign in person.
Campaign was fabricated (sound familiar?)- H was not some rustic Westerner sitting in a log cabin drinking cider, but a well-educated Virginia gentleman.Choice of Tyler as VP was fairly random - how would first part of the 19th century gone had H picked a running mate more carefully? As an alternate-history fan I find that interesting to contemplate.
(I'm trying to read at least one biography of every US president - this period between Jackson and Lincoln is a bit of a slog - not many books available, so if you have any suggestions let me know!)
Didn't change my view that TJ was sort of a jerk. Author's point is that we, at this distance, don't see how scared TJ was, how the threat of British re-conquest seemed so real. Jefferson would do anything to prevent what he saw as leading to that. Author more or less referred to TJ as passive-aggressive. Virginian way not to have conflicts, just sort of slide around them instead. Write something nasty but don't put your name to it. Have other people do the dirty work.