Shifting Sands - A Human History of the Sahara (Judith Scheele, 2025)

This is a new book that sounded interesting, in part as it relates to a part of the world I've not read about much.

But I quit about exactly halfway. The storylines are interesting enough, but the incessant drumbeat of anti-West, anti-capitalist assumptions wear me out. The usual statements to the effect that slavery by Western nations is unquestionably evil, slavery in Islamic or sub-Saharan situations is nuanced. At least the author points out that there were more slaves there over a longer time period. Also from the 2025 catechism: anyone that objects to migrants going wherever they want in whatever numbers is xenophobic and/or racist.

And I don't quite know how to place what I read, mostly because I still don't know much about this area. There is far more nuance than I realized about Sahara topography, variance in oases, tribes criss-crossing; this part is interesting. (The only time I had read about anything addressing this were the WWII books discussing the campaigns in north Africa.) 

I didn't know there is a vast store of water underground - of course now there is rampant pumping and time will tell if this depletes the stores.  So far it hasn't, though localized areas have gotten dried out. 

Camels are more amazing than I realized.

As far as I got, this was an interesting follow-on to the focus on deserts in the monastic world. 

The Monastic World - a 1,200 Year History (Andrew Jotischky, 2024)

I liked this a lot though a few sections dragged. 

Palestine, Egypt, East - early days - mentor/initiate relationships. A lot of freelancing away from episcopal control. Some supported by local populations (the Stylite). The desert as a place of cleansing and retreat - echoing Jesus’s 40 day trial.

Western Europe comes later - quickly evolves into more of a relationship with aristocracy (most of the monks are from the aristocracy) and royalty. Sons or daughters without another place to go. A way to retain control over assets (principally land) that otherwise might well revert to the king. Quickly evolves to control by the bishops and/or the king (these also were tied together).  Adept abbots might be able to play off bishops, king, aristocracy and retain control.

As Western Europe evolves, huge chunk of recruits come as “oblates” - they never knew any other life than the monastery. 

Benedict, Monte Cassino, his Rule.  A major and enduring set of reforms, widely adopted and more or less followed.

Ireland - never in the Roman Empire. Yet lots of monks and they filter back to Western Europe.

Waves of reform over the centuries as folks perceive the monasteries get too wealthy and worldly.  Francis of Assisi and mendicant orders - more urban.

I kept thinking there are similarities between monasteries and today's NGO's. Public/private, a way for the wealthy to squirrel away funds and control, a way for the rulers to share in the same, all while appearing to support worthy causes. Jobs for members of the granting family and/or the royal family were common. Including control. Tax advantaged. Reformers would show up to purify things, but reversion followed inevitably. The larger the monastery, the more potential for material gain, the greater likelihood of people seeking it.

But that’s not to say there weren’t a lot of folks seeking a genuinely ascetic, prayerful lifestyle.

The ideal of the monk-as-laborer, perhaps even self-sufficient - didn’t work well and monasteries typically had enough lay “brothers” to do the actual work. Choir monks were freed up for their work of prayer and worship, plus (often coming from aristocracy) they often weren’t suited to labor anyway. 

Vikings, Magyars, other raiders as threats. Monasteries typically near coast or river and had portable valuables.  Favorite targets, rough years for the monks.

Other forms of raiders emerge post-Reformation and later - England closes down/seizes all monasteries. French Revolution. Russian Revolution.

Cluny 

Cistercians 

Bernard of Clairvaux

Heloise and Abelard

Because of the need to own land to pay the monastery bills, management needed to be basically professional in nature, yet the abbot often was someone promoted from within (sometimes an oblate - meaning someone raised from childhood in the monastery) with pretty much zero relevant experience.

There was violence depicted in Eco's “The Name of the Rose” - this book describes that there plenty of violent incidents in the monasteries.  Strong opinions in close quarters; valuable assets and a leading or at least important role in the larger community; incidents not common but not unheard of. 

This focuses on Christianity though other religions have monks. Christian monastaries not prominent but not dead. We visit one outside Magog in Quebec province. 

Why We Love Baseball - A History in 50 Moments (Joe Posnanski, 2023)

Gift from Charlie, received late last year, he conceived it as sort of a distraction from prostate cancer treatments then underway. Good idea! I had read about 75% then and finished it this month.

Structured as "50 Moments" per the title, but author recounts way way more episodes than that.  Enjoyable throughout; oddly enough one of my favorite segments was the story of Sandy Koufax's fourth no-hitter - it consisted of quoting Vin Scully's call of the final inning.  Lots of obvious and not-so-obvious items were included, variety with a few from overseas, minors, Negro leagues - mostly MLB of course, a mixture of content going back 100+ years. Maybe a little heavy on the recent stuff but that was OK.  

Baseball is indeed awesome. The kind of book I like. 

The Road (Vasily Grossman, various dates 1930s - 1950s)

I really like this guy's writing.  I also like stuff set in Russia, including this dark era with Stalin, WWII, Nazi invasion, 1937 liquidations, kulaks, etc. - compelling settings. Grossman in trouble with the authorities from time to time while also having success with Russian army as writer for "Red Star". As mentioned elsewhere - his masterpiece was denied publication by the Soviets and had to be smuggled out.

This is a collection of Grossman's short stories plus a few essays and letters.

"The Old Teacher" - the ending where the young girl in a maternal way consoles the teacher who was waiting for words of love. Compare to Life and Fate scene with the (female, unmarried) doctor going into the gas chamber taking care of someone else's child. I liked this.

"The Hell of Treblinka" - read only a few pages plus skim. A topic on which I feel pretty well informed so not wanting to slog through the grim detail again.  This is notable because it’s one of the first accounts. 

"The Road" - two mules working with German army, then the younger mule with mare with Russian army. I see that this was about the Italian army invading Ethiopia; but it felt in many ways like a metaphor for folks slaving away in the labor camps. 

"Mama" - a key figure in the 1936-38 liquidations adopts an orphan, who then becomes an orphan again when this person (Yeshov) is himself arrested and taken away (also his wife).

Interesting throughout; recommended.

The Silk Roads - A New History of the World (Peter Frankopan, 2015)

Interesting, readable summary though there are plenty of aspects I didn’t love, per below. The subtitle - “A New History of the World” - suggests too much scope - hard to be comprehensive - yet I like the focus on the old Silk Road territories (though he applies the “____ Road” concept pretty much around the world). 

Presents history in this part of the world as sort of a discovery, unknown; I think anyone that’s read much history would have quite a bit of knowledge here.  Still - it’s a useful book, a good overview notwithstanding the annoyances. 

I do the think the author falls prey to the 2015 (not new in 2015, and persisting) trend of demonizing the West and acting like other regions lack agency. Maybe I’m too sensitive to this approach but I don’t think so.  The chapter about slavery suggesting Europe more or less invented it - c’mon. Dismiss European motives as gold, power. Europeans as backward, venal. Mongols as wise administrators - OK a little violent in the conquest phase but then long periods of peace and prosperity, OK maybe so. Muslims as tolerant, open minded. Etc. Seems to selectively present the histories on these topics. 

British actions post-WWI described as making the Middle East unstable - this after hundreds of pages often describing conflicts in the Middle East going back thousands of years. OK. 

Interesting - the idea that the spread of the religions along the trade routes somewhat threatened those same religions, motivating the religions to become more strident.  Buddhism starts using big statues and nice shrines and stupas to stand out; Zoroastrianism becomes more nationalistic, loses much of its famous tolerance; Christianity more of a threat especially when Constantine gets on board. This lets up when Rome weakens due to the Huns, etc., but then resurfaces when the Huns weaken. And has continued.

Vikings/Rus were effective, a bigger factor than I normally think. 

His summary of the run-up to the Crusades was a useful complement to this recently-read book. 

Spanish taking silver and gold from the Americas on the ships; later oil is taken from the Middle East; this is discussed as some sort of illegitimate plundering. Not sure if this can be distinguished from actions of conquering groups throughout history.  And these supposedly advanced-peaceful societies didn’t have the know-how or interest to ever utilize these resources in the same way anyway. See Venezuelan oil. Yes, local labor was not treated well at all as part of the resource extraction, at least in the 16th-17th century Americas. As it happens. 

Russia experiencing difficulties in handling new central Asian territories, including fear of Islamic populations. Some history here.

Author kind of got bogged down in a lot of detail about Iran and Iraq in mid-20th century and into the 21st, I didn’t need that much detail plus the history here isn’t aged enough to draw conclusions. Britain trying to hang in there especially with Iran, I can see why Saeed’s generation saw the British behind so many things - they often were! US kind of steps into this role later. Lots of blame assigned to Brits and US. 

Russian revolution in early 20th-century - he writes that Russia was pushing self-determination in the various republics ha ha. Hilarious Lenin quote about freedom and rights on 335.

Page 391, Stalin’s speech opposing capitalism; author says (I think or hope paraphrasing Stalin) that capitalism is responsible for suffering, mass murder and horrors of the war of the twentieth century. Communism as “a new system that accentuated similarities rather than differences, that replaced hierarchies with equality” (author’s words) What?

Page 503 - the usual wrap up - everything is in a transition stage at the time the book is written, totally unclear what’s coming next! (As to everything looking back, it was obvious and easy to criticize.)

Summer for the Gods (Edward J. Larson, 2000 (with 2020 Afterword)

Book club selection courtesy Zach.  Session held June 7, 2026 at Zach's place, our first in-person meeting since February 2020. Useful book. 

Focus is on the 1925 Scopes "monkey" trial. Good rundown of the trial, lead-in, follow-up. Kind of odd - the town seeks out the trial for publicity/civic growth.  Celebrities on both sides who tend to make it about themselves or their pet beliefs.

William Jennings Bryan is old; I associate him moreso with 19th century presidential runs and the "cross of gold" speech.

I think author could have condensed this! Parts felt repetitious. 

Interesting, timely (evergreen, really) things to think about. 

Things that struck me:

* What about creation itself? Assume evolution is basically correct (as I do) - that doesn’t take us back to the very beginning. So how did it all start?? Who set off the Big Bang (or whatever)? Is this purely scientific? If not, then what? Seems relevant to a book devoted to creationism, but not mentioned.

* Fundamentalists picked on for as long as I can remember; an easy target and certainly some odd beliefs. But beliefs of other groups can feel the same way - taken on faith or tribal loyalty, not science. Harder to see when it's your own tribe.  

    * 2020 quote from CDC honcho showing up on sixth anniversary of Floyd fiasco - “In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the harms of the virus.”  

    * NPR tweet: “Dozens of public health and disease experts have signed an open letter in support of the nationwide anti-racism protests. ‘White supremacy is a lethal public health issue that predates and contributes to COVID-19,’ they wrote.”

Other recent/current beliefs. IQ and SAT are racist and not predictive. No differences in traits among groups. Everyone would perform the same if given the same opportunity. A man can be a woman if he says he really wants to be. Etc. 

* Who decides what is taught? Big topic in the book. For the mainstream government school, majoritarianism seems the right approach. But what if you are a progressive in a fundamentalist district and this leads to your child being taught creationism? Anti-vax? What if you don’t subscribe to progressive beliefs and your school is teaching that there is >2 genders, that a man can turn into a woman? What if the school is teaching that 1619 Project is actual history?  Apologizing for white privilege? Climate doomerism? 

    * There never can be a great answer - somebody has to decide curriculum and some others will be unhappy. 

    * Plato and the guardians. 

    * Best available protection seems to be that nobody should be trapped - vouchers. Yes there will be fraud and ridiculousness - but it cannot be worse in aggregate than what the government schools are delivering. Let the parents decide.

* In government schools - the teacher's words are not a freedom of speech issue. Somebody decides curriculum, and the teacher teaches.

This book mostly written from perspective that fundamentalists are the problem.  How to explain the persistence if not growth of fundamentalism? 

Try abortion (mentioned late in the book), is science enough to explain commencement of a person's life? 

Afterword told me this book was written years ago. Would be very much off track if written now. 

The Crusades through Arab Eyes (Amin Maalouf, 1984)

(276 pages)

Readable, not long, interesting throughout.

The invading Christians were of course an area of focus. But a bigger area of focus was the competition among what, at the time, were smaller Islamic states (if that's the right term), the intra-family succession battles, etc.  Shia-Sunni divide. A window where didn't have hegemony such as earlier caliphates, Seljuks, Ottomans. The various Christian invaders had plenty of intra-Christian squabbles as well. And of course this led to some alliances, some quite enduring, between Islamic and Christian groups!

Islamic and Christian leaders were united in respecting trade ("Silk Roads" book reinforces this) - interesting that the religious fervor only went about so far in those days. More common interests between Christian and Islamic elements than typically discussed when thinking about this era.

Crusaders often were excellent fighters, often were boorish and excessively violent; but never had the numbers to make a huge presence.  Were able to hold onto various cities and territories, including Jerusalem, for quite some time.

First Crusade 1095, last Crusade launched 1271 and Crusader presence mostly marginalized by 1291.  Saladin with a key victory (Horns of Hattin) in 1187. Predecessor (Nur-al-din) effective at using jihad-type language and concepts to whip up support. 

And then the incursion of the Mongols became a huge part of the end game of this story - Genghis Khan and descendants - destroyed Baghdad (a relatively "new" city) in 1258. Some Christian and some Islamic elements sought alliances with the Mongols - they were super powerful especially in the early going.

Seems like contemporary voices want to focus solely on Christian-Islamic divide created in the Crusader days, but the story was way more complicated than that. Accusations of "imperialism" are thrown around without remembering how places like Jerusalem fell under Islamic control in the first place. 

Persian Fire - The First World Empire and the Battle for the West (Tom Holland, 2005)

Much of this covers pretty familiar ground - but lots of interesting new details and Holland always has an interesting take on things. I had read an innovative way of telling the story last year, so this book was an excellent follow-on. 

Assyrian to Medes to Persians. Via Cyrus. All three groups crazy successful, especially the Persians.

Darius usurps from Cyrus #2 son who usurped from Cyrus #1 son (Cambyses) 

Persians as relative upstarts coming in from the east.

Sparta - what a culture.

Athens democracy arrives in 507 BC as a last resort for Cleisthenes   This happens during the reign of Darius.  Implementing democracy - or something - seemed to galvanize the population. 

Battle of Marathon page 195 and following. A completely unexpected victory for Athens acting pretty much by itself.

Notwithstanding land battle success, Themistocles persuades Athens to build ships and rely on a navy for the next fight. This was a difficult persuasive effort.

Xerxes succeeds Darius and prepares to teach Athens and Sparta a lesson, great preparation underway.

Page 258 explaining the 300 - Spartans remove main army because of religious holiday normally requiring truce. The 300, plus some allies, were thought or hoped to be sufficient to hold Thermopylae.  It worked out well enough. 

The battle concludes after Thermopylae with some naval engagements etc.  Persia makes a few more attempts, but Xerxes needs to head home and invasion efforts finally fizzle out.

The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 (Rick Atkinson, 2025)

Just the kind of book I like - well-written history.

This covers the difficult middle years of the war.

Dense with details, the sentences pile on and give you the sensation of being taken right into the scenes - all his books are like this, a real gift.

1777 a rough year - hadn't realized the British took Philadelphia while Continental Congress fled to York, lots of stuff was stored at Lancaster. Big success for Americans up north against Burgoyne (big win at Saratoga) - partly because the main British force had relocated from NYC to Philadelphia. Not much success for Washington in general this year, and Valley Forge winter quarters are tough. 

Brits just abandon Philadelphia by orders from England after wintering there. Thought to be untenable to hold it given manpower constraints etc and Burgoyne's loss (need to defend NYC). 

Burgoyne news motivated French to get off the fence and become allies (early 1778). 

I like how Atkinson presents perspectives from both England and France.  French role probably more important than I thought. 

In some ways not much happened.  Main armies were struggling to find manpower and maintain supplies, were reluctant to get into major engagements. France and Spain with huge fleets, but mostly inept - though very important in terms of stretching Brit resources - needed to keep lots of ships home to protect the Channel.

Getting the French involved was super important. Franklin influential.

Looking forward to volume 3 of this trilogy.  

Ghosts of Hiroshima (Charles Pellegrino, 2025)

Book club selection per POC, session held Feb 1, 2026.

Some interesting items about the two A-bombs dropped on Japan but I could never quite figure out what the author's point was.  Coincidences of a few folks who experienced the bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, OK.

Couldn't keep the names straight but that worked out.

Lots of details or suggestions about physics or nuclear stuff happening immediately at the bomb drop and then in the aftermath.  Sounded cool but I didn't really understand much here. 

I was interested in the discussion of coming up with a flight plan that enabled the plane to escape the bomb. Hadn't thought about how bombs normally proceed in the direction of the dropping bomber.

Japan anything but a victim.  What was up with Japan (going back to Mejii Restoration)? The "cherry blossom" weapon - more suicide bombing. Ask China.

The POWs becoming captors, instantly - compliance/obedience.

Talking about how terrible it all was but couldn't really pick up a POV as to who was doing the wrong thing here. Sure everyone agrees that having these weapons around is a bad thing but probably also agrees better for US than Russia, Germany, Japan.  Today: Iran, etc.

Japanese internment in the US - mostly taking the second-guessing approach "oh how awful". 

Hadn't known or thought about the discrimination in Japan against folks with exposure - either had or could get "disease X" - affected jobs, marriages, schooling.

Same with Japanese who had emigrated to US and then sought to return to Japan.

Lots of cranes by a dying little girl - OK. 

Working hard to weave in Trump.

Couldn't see how it added much to John Hersey's 1946 classic ("Hiroshima") - which followed six survivors - very immediate - lacked backward-looking perspective but that probably was a plus. 

The Taste of Empire - How Britain's Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World (Lizzie Collingham, 2017)

(276 pages)

I had much enjoyed another one of the author's books - that earlier one focused moreso on Indian food and its evolution via British influence - so gave this one a shot.  I liked it quite a bit, though not quite sure of the takeaway. I think the main perspective was that globally-shipped, high-efficiency (in growing) food items were gaining sway a lot earlier than I would have realized.

A cool device was providing a recipe at the beginning of each chapter to anchor the development of key ingredients.

Gemini's summary:

In The Taste of Empire, Lizzie Collingham provides a comprehensive historical analysis of how the British Empire was shaped by the fundamental human need for food. Moving away from traditional political or military narratives, Collingham argues that the empire was essentially a vast global food system, driven by the necessity of feeding a growing domestic population and the commercial desire for new commodities.

The book explores the intricate "web of trade" that connected distant corners of the globe:

Commercial Expansion: It details how the pursuit of stable food sources, such as North Atlantic cod and Caribbean sugar, laid the groundwork for early colonial infrastructure.

Logistical Innovation: Collingham highlights the incredible organizational feats required to transport perishable goods across oceans, which spurred advancements in shipping, preservation, and global finance.

Cultural Exchange: The narrative shows how the British palate became "internationalized," adopting products like tea from China and spices from India, while simultaneously introducing European farming techniques and crops to the Americas and Australia.

While the book acknowledges the disruptions caused by these shifts—such as the transition from local subsistence to export-based economies—its primary focus is on the interconnectivity of the imperial era. Collingham illustrates how the modern globalized food market, characterized by the year-round availability of diverse ingredients, is the direct descendant of this historical British mercantile network.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Parts I-II)

Another famous book included in the "Harvard Classics" so I gave it a try.

Franklin's early years - a unique look at life in the colonies in the decades prior to the Revolutionary War.

All of this was fascinating but for whatever reason I just didn't get into the writing. I don't plan to finish this.

Early days.  Franklin learns the printing business and makes a success of it.  Poor Richard's Almanac. The Franklin stove.  Lending libraries.  He was an effective businessman and entrepreneur even in the early portions that I was reading.  Perhaps I would have enjoyed the Revolutionary War days and his time as an ambassador in Paris more?

Two Years Before the Mast (Richard Henry Dana Jr., 1840)

I enjoyed this book a ton, a favorite. I had heard of the movie (which doesn't seem to track the book all that closely) but was unfamiliar with the book.  Found it in a $0.99 edition of the Harvard Classics - thousands of pages mostly comprised of classics in the way we thought of them 50 years ago (meaning high quality, enduring content - unashamedly Western Civ focused).

Google's summary is below, it's good enough.

Absolutely unique in mostly being told from the perspective of the ordinary sailor - the unusual circumstance of a college boy taking on this role for health reasons.

All the detail one could want about shipboard life, the terminology, the tasks; the excitement going around Cape Horn; dealing with storms; adjusting rigging in ice (the expertise required to make the decisions that led to the commands that were so difficult to execute).

They are engaged in the "hide" trade in California. This is a rare description of California in those days - starting all the way down in San Diego and moving all the way up to San Francisco - interesting to read about places with which we are so familiar. Santa Barbara, Monterey.  The "hides" were acquired from the few ranchers established in this part of the world - difficult work collecting them and then getting them through the rocks and surf onto the landing vessels, then rowing to the main vessel anchored offshore.  I hadn't thought about this part before - life prior to docks and cranes and the like was so difficult for the sailors - they handled these duties on top of their usual sailing tasks. Picked up Sandwich Islanders (Hawaiians) for assistance with labor.

I really liked the postscript that was added about 20 years after publication - the author goes back to California and finds out that most everyone had read his book.  He learns that not a few of the persons named in the book were still there in California.

Great read, just what I like. 

_______________________

"Two Years Before the Mast is Richard Henry Dana Jr.'s famous 1840 memoir about his two-year voyage as a common sailor from Boston to California in the mid-1830s, detailing the harsh life at sea, the brutality of captains, and the culture of pre-Gold Rush California, making it a classic of American maritime literature. The book, based on his diary, offers a realistic and vivid account of the hardships, adventures, and the hide trade, and it served as a powerful commentary on the poor conditions for sailors. 

Key aspects of the book:

Author's motivation: Dana, a Harvard student, left for the sea due to eye problems, seeking adventure and a remedy for his ailment. 

Content: It vividly describes the treacherous journey around Cape Horn, the daily life of a sailor, the cruelty of officers, and the beauty of the natural world, including whales and icebergs. 

Historical significance: It provides an invaluable, firsthand look at the California coast before the Gold Rush, documenting the hide trade and the people of Mexican California. 

Impact: The book was an instant classic, influencing writers like Herman Melville, and remains a significant work for its realism and social commentary on the plight of sailors."

How the Spanish Empire was Built - a 400-Year History (Fernandez-Armesto and Lucena Giraldo, 2024)

(309 pages)

Pretty quick read; not as interesting as I expected.  Something it helped me think about - the incredible distances spanned by the "empire" - also the lack of local skilled workers or many components essential to building anything - just didn't exist in the New World. A real challenge to get anything done. 

Also interesting - we have spent a fair amount of time in areas of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico that were part of the build-out effort - helps appreciate what was attempted, some of the challenges, etc.

I was reading "Two Years Before the Mast" on Kindle at the same time as reading this book, and it was quite interesting hearing the historians describe California areas and travel by ship while reading an account from early/mid 18th century. 

Here's Google Gemini's 150-word summary:

"The Spanish Empire, despite Spain's initial status as a relatively poor and disunited kingdom, grew into the largest realm the world had ever seen, spanning four continents for centuries. Beginning with Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage, Spain's drive for wealth and Catholicism led to the conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires and vast expansion across the Americas, financed by American gold and silver.

This history highlights the crucial role of "engineers"—including soldiers, priests, and master craftsmen—who built the infrastructure of roads, ports, fortifications, and missions that managed communications and sustained the overstretched global monarchy. The empire was characterized by a complex mix of oppression and collaboration, with investments in infrastructure benefiting both the Spanish crown and local elites, ultimately shaping the cultural, social, and economic realities of the modern world."

Those Days: An American Album (Richard Critchfield, 1986)

(419 pages)

I think I learned more about the day-to-day lives of my great grandparents and grandparents in this book than anywhere else. The author is a novelist who had the idea of writing up something of a family history - only he had the idea early enough to capture wonderful source materials from his grandparents and parents while they were still around, and his professional skill allowed him to put it together in book format that stayed interesting (one exception, below).

His parents' families were centered in Iowa and North Dakota, and most of the book's action ends up in North Dakota. But it mirrors (and greatly expands upon) so much of what I've heard about those generations in NW Iowa - details of farming; details of the way the households operated; activities in towns as those towns matured; all set against some pretty empty land that was filling up pretty quickly. Town baseball team. First car; first tractor. Threshing crews. Blizzards. Horses.

The author's father farmed for some years and the descriptions are great; then he was able to go to med school and he became the country doc.  Lots of descriptions here of making house calls, etc. The family moved into town so descriptions of that type of life.

The author's father developed a drinking problem and also was unfaithful to his marriage; for my taste, the author took too much time explaining all this, I didn't really care.  But it was an important factor in the family history, I suppose. 

This was a lucky find, much enjoyed.   

Death of the Dream - Farmhouses in the Heartland (William G. Gabler, 1999)

(128 pages)

Gift from my parents a couple decades back - I had seen it at their home and requested a copy. The book is based on a PBS series documenting (mostly through photos, though I've not seen the documentary) the types of homes built on prairie farms in late 19th century and on into the 20th century. This book is focused on south-southwest Minnesota and the homes look just like those common on the farms I grew up around in the 1960s.

Beautiful photography; evocative; sad - as happened with the home I grew up in and my grandparents' "house on the hill" - after no one lived there any more, the homes fell apart in a pretty consistent pattern. The photos in this book were taken when the homes were in this falling-apart condition.  We have similar photos of the two homes I mention ("house on the hill" being more similar in design to the SW Minnesota homes in this book). There are a few photos included of select homes in their "prime", with family members included.

Much enjoyed, including the 38-page text beginning chapter that provides good background on the arrival of the settlers and the construction of these homes.

I'm glad to own this.

An Iowa Album - A Photographic History, 1860-1920 (Mary Bennett, 1990)

(319 pages)

I have several books about Iowa that were given to me by my parents - back in the days when I told my mom that was the preferred gift when she inquired about Christmas presents.  This is one of them,

And it was a joy to parse through.  The years 1860-1920, at least the latter half, were years through which my great-grandparents and grandparents passed - and many of the photographs and descriptive text resonate closely to what little I picked up from them about those early years.  Also resonates with the photos and text in the marvelous 1976 St. Joseph Parish history book that my parents did so much to put together.

I was born in 1956, and was struck by how close in time that birth-year was to the events and lifestyle in the latter part of this book. Nearly 70 years later, those events and lifestyle seem very far away indeed.

Early settlers; rapid growth; evolution of agricultural techniques; nicer homes; arrival of railroads; nascent automobile presence; the towns grow up.

The book is focused on photography, and has interesting information about available methods and equipment throughout the period.

Much enjoyed reading, and I will continue to page through this one.   

Papyrus - The Invention of Books in the Ancient World (Irene Vallejo, 2022)

(384 pages) (gift from Paul Jr & Nedda)

So many interesting things going on; hard to summarize the book though the title actually does a pretty good job. I take books for granted. This explains lots about the path from oral tradition to writings to writings-in-book-form, and about how some of the oldest texts somehow survived.  The author does this in a consistently interesting way.

Lots of focus on ancient Greece - where it all started - lots on the Library of Alexandria and the Ptolemies (Alexander the Great local successors) spending lots of money sending emissaries in an effort to collect every book in existence.

Some thoughts - 

--How the ancient epics survived and evolved relying on memory and storytellers.  Once written down, the tale settles into fixed format - probably a good thing but still. 

--Why it makes sense that poetry and singing dominated when memory was the primary or only method of preservation - think of how we can remember poems and songs compared to prose. (From grade school, one of the few verbatim items I recall is six lines memorized from Whittier's Snowbound (a punishment for talking in class, some of the students learned quite a few lines).

-Papyrus as a legitimate marvel - but clumsy to work with, and the shelf life isn't that long.  Many re-writes needed for an old text to make it to Gutenberg, many opportunities for loss or error.

--Just the amazing-ness as humans transition from memory-reliance to a system that can preserve all knowledge for all time (with gaps that decrease over time).  

--Setting up library systems - goes back to Alexandria and beyond.  References to The Name of the Rose, of course. Handling, storing, preserving scrolls; arranging re-writes (which to choose?)

--A good discussion of the challenges of translation - an unavoidable necessity but one that necessarily creates something of a new work.

--Interesting discussion of Rome - so backward compared to Greece; Greek slaves could read and often ended up as tutors in wealthy Roman homes. Rome owned it - always acknowledge Greek primacy (though potshots about this being effeminate, of course).

--Development of the codex format - higher efficiency than scrolls.

--Censorship over the millennia.  Horace was banished.  Etc.

--The incredible fall-off after Rome lost its mojo.  A risky period, much was lost but the monasteries and the Islamic world eventually saved a lot (not in the scope of this book)  

War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy, 1869) (re-read)

After finishing Lonesome Dove - I much enjoyed the "big canvas" type of very-long-book - so seemed like a good time to re-read War and Peace.  Last time was in 2012, summarized here.  It continues to delight.  Partly because it's interesting how much of the details, even some key plot items, get forgotten over the years (at least by me).

I won't repeat the 2012 thoughts. A couple additional items - 

There is a super-charming minor scene - the hunt - Natasha and Petya accompany Nicholas.  “Uncle’s” low-rent borzoi catches the hare. Later they gather at Uncle’s home for food and music. Natasha dancing to the peasant music.  Everyone happy.

The hunt scene is followed pretty shortly by another charming evening - Nicholas, Natasha, Petya, Sonya accompany some of the serfs etc as “mummers” on sleigh ride across the snow to a neighbor’s house.  Nicholas charmed (re-charmed?) by Sonya just when getting pressured to marry a wealthy heiress (Julie Karagin).

Prince Andrew facing death after Borodino, encounters Natasha.  Looking to the next world rather than this one. These passages are really well done.

I had forgotten the parts about Natasha growing up a lot between packing up the Moscow house and caring for post-Borodino Prince Andrew. I had remembered her mostly for immaturity, which wasn't complete.

Re-reads are great pleasures. 

Mason Dixon - Crucible of the Nation (Edward G. Gray, 2023)

(374 pages)

Grok's summary below.  I liked the book but it was kind of a slog in spots. Here are some ideas I took away - 

The idea of uncertain boundaries in the early colonial era, sometimes continuing quite a while.  Vague land grants, inexact or nonexistent maps. Settlers who don't know if they have title, don't know who is entitled to tax payments, etc.  Challenges of surveying - in merry old England you could line up a bell tower or whatnot whereas in this area it was a bunch of trees and other ephemera.

Similar - vague wording of authority granted to proprietors of the various colonies. In this immediate area - conflict between Lord Baltimore and successors (Maryland) and William Penn and successors (Pennsylvania).

Meeting the actual Mason and Dixon - very little biographical information, few details of their surveying expedition.  One of them later became obsessed with figuring out longitude (though I don't think he was part of the famous contest, per this). 

Interesting discussion about Lancaster (Charlie & Beth's area) - always part of Pennsylvania, a bit to the west and nearing Maryland; Pennsylvania ultimately succeed in pushing its border a bit south (at Maryland's expense).

Low Counties become Delaware.

Mason Dixon line as fraught for blacks - I hadn't thought about it but because getting into Pennsylvania was a very useful step in escaping - southerners very watchful in this area - tough for free blacks. 

Fugitive slave acts. Roger Taney and James Buchanan.  

Maryland and Delaware south of the Line and both permitted slavery; but they did not secede.

I didn't appreciate how exposed Washington DC was during Civil war times.  Maryland with slaveholders and mixed feelings about this; if it seceded, no way to get federal trips to DC without passing through rebel territory.  

Author with a couple obligatory potshots at capitalism as driving slavery. Does not mention that slavery existed pretty much always and everywhere, before any idea of capitalism was conceived; or that capitalist countries were the first to ban it.  Oh well.

Grok is kind of generic - 

Mason-Dixon: Crucible of the Nation by Edward G. Gray traces the history of the Mason-Dixon Line, a boundary that resolved a colonial dispute and became a symbol of America’s divisions. Established in 1767, the line settled a conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland, sparked by Pennsylvania’s 1681 founding, Dutch settlers in Delaware, and rapid agricultural growth. This led to jurisdictional chaos, violence, and ethnic clashes with Lenape and Susquehannock natives. Historian Gray frames the line as a geopolitical border where colonial, imperial, Native, and U.S. sovereignties collided.

The book highlights the line’s transformation into a cultural and political divide. Pennsylvania’s 1780 abolition act positioned the Mason-Dixon as a boundary between free and slave states, intensified by the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, which made it a federal tool to recapture enslaved people. Gray details the region’s history of imperial intrigue, Native dispossession, and settler violence, featuring colonial grandees, Native diplomats, Quaker abolitionists, and Underground Railroad conductors navigating a volatile borderland.

Gray excels in analyzing the line’s role in pre-Civil War tensions between abolitionist Pennsylvania and slaveholding Maryland. Initially meant to end conflict, the line became a metaphor for a divided nation, reflecting struggles over slavery, freedom, and identity. Its significance faded post-Civil War but lingered through Jim Crow oppression. Deeply researched, Gray’s narrative reframes U.S. history by centering this overlooked region, revealing its national impact. Praised for its vivid storytelling, the book underscores the Mason-Dixon Line’s role in shaping America’s colonial roots, nation-building, and enduring racial divides.