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Tomorrow is the birthday of English poet William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850). Wordsworth’s semi-autobiographical poem The Prelude (buy in paperback or electronic format for $1) is considered his masterpiece among poetry scholars.
Article first published as Book Review: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon on Blogcritics. About: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is a non-fiction book which tells the story of a woman who started a successful dress making business under the Taliban in Afghanistan. Not only did Kamila Sadiqi provide honorable employment to her family and female community, but also a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak existence. The publisher is giving away one copy of this book— use the form at the end of the post to enter. 288 pages Publisher: Harper (March 15, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0061732370 My rating for The Dressmaker of Khair Khana — 5 Buy this book in from Amazon.com through the Man of la Book Affiliate Account Thoughts: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (website | Facebook | Twitter) is a quick read, interesting and heartwarming book. While short, the book packages a strong story of perseverance, fighting against the odds, helping the community and entrepreneurship combined. This is an inspiring story of courageous women who are in a dangerous…
About: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is a Pulitzer Prize winning historical fiction masterpiece. The book takes place over three days during the Battle of Gettysburg. 355 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books Language: English ISBN-10: 0345348109 My rating for The Killer Angels – 5 Buy this book in paper or in electronic format. More book by Michael Shaara Thoughts: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is a wonderful portrayal of the horrors, honor and thinking which goes into a battle. The novel delves into the minds of General Robert E. Lee, General James Longstreet, General George Pickett, General John Buford, General Winfield Scott Hancock and Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain whom I found to be the most interesting character in the book. The author uses both historical accounts and pure fiction in his storytelling. The internal thoughts are pure fiction even though they are based on written documents. The story centers around the Battle of Gettysburg and specifically the battle of Little Roundtop and Pickett’s Charge. The actions is written in a very coherent and readable fashion, I could sense the excitement, anxiety and fear. Each day of the battle is told through the eyes of the commanders, Robert E. Lee & James Longstreet of the Confederacy while opposing them are the eyes of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and John Buford for the…
I posted about a graphic adaptation of the U.S. Constitution a few days ago. When I got a chance to send some questions to Nadja Baer, the adapter, I jumped on it, as an added bonus Mr. Cohen chimed in as well to make it a very interesting and unique post.
Welcome to another edition of Tightwad Tuesday. If you follow this blog you know I read many books on World War II – so here are some selections I found for the Kindle and the nook on this topic. For the Kindle: The Miracle of Stalag 8A (Stalag VIII-A) – Beauty Beyond the Horror: Olivier Messiaen and the Quartet for the End of Time by John William McMullen The Miracle of Stalag 8A is a retelling of the fascinating story of Olivier Messiaen’s composition of his Quartet for the End of Time. Set in France & Germany from 1939 to 1941, Messiaen served in the French army, was captured at Verdun, and sent to Stalag 8A in Gorlitz, Germany, where he composed the great work, The Quartet for the End of Time. The enigmatic Messiaen, an avant-garde composer and also a devout Catholic, along with Etienne Pasquier, an agnostic cellist, Henri Akoka, a Jewish Trotskyite Clarinetist, and Jean le Boulaire, an atheistic violinist, become the famous quartet of Stalag 8A. These four very different men collaborated to create musical history in the most unlikely of places. Messiaen’s Quartet, composed in a Stalag, transforms man’s inhumanity to man with hope. Yet…
Article first published as Book Review: The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic Graphic Adaptation Nadja Baer (Adapter) and Nathan Lueth (Illustrator) on Blogcritics. About: The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic Graphic Adaptation Nadja Baer (Adapter), Thomas Jefferson (Author), John Adams (Author), Thomas Paine (Author), James Madison (Author) and Nathan Lueth (Illustrator) is an adaptation of the supreme law of the land in these United States. Dr. Katie Monnin, assistant professor of literacy at the University of North Florida, produced a curriculum guide (target towards 8th grade level) to supplement the comic book which is available free of charge at http://maupinhouse.com/constitutioncurriculum 80 pages Publisher: Writers Of The Round Table Press (April 16, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1610660250 Buy this Comic Graphic Adaptation in paper or in electronic format. Thoughts: Right off the bat I liked that the author included the Founding Fathers in the title of this comic graphic adaptation. The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic Graphic Adaptation by Nadja Baer (Adapter | website | Twitter), Thomas Jefferson (Author), John Adams (Author), Thomas Paine (Author), James Madison (Author) and Nathan Lueth (Illustrator | website | Twitter) takes the US Constitution and, using the original text, presents it in an easy to understand graphical format. This is a short book…
Little, Brown and Co. have announced the release of the new Twilight book titled: Twilight: The South Shall Bite Again. In the book, author Stephanie Meyer brings Edward and Jacob on opposing sides in the American Civil War. Below is the synopsis from the publisher: The year is 1863 and Confederate Lt. Edward Cullen has just been handed his first assignment, the Virginia 8th Cavalry. Unbeknown to his soldiers and commanders, Lt. Cullen is a thousand year old vampire who is hell bent on keeping slavery to save his family plantation. Corporal Jacob Black is a Union spy and a secret werewolf assigned to Lt. Cullen’s platoon. At nights he rides his horse, Hurricane, and plants destruction among the lines. Under the guise of legendary hero, El Zorro, Corporal Black becomes a hero to the underclass of Virginia and slaves around the country. Confederate President Jefferson Davis orders Lt. Cullen to stop “El Zorro” at any cost. Thinking his powers are beyond those of mortal men, Lt. Cullen agrees immediately but is stumped when even he cannot catch the criminal/hero in his acts of sabotage. In a last ditch effort, Lt. Cullen calls upon four of his friends to help…
