July Booknotes

 

“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” - Mary Schmich

Nonfiction: History

American Vikings: How the Norse Sailed into the Lands and Imaginations of America by Martyn Whittock

American Vikings is a survey of Viking lore, archaeological finds, and modern interpretations. Starting with the 11th-century Viking settlements in North America, Whittock analyzes how the Viking legacy, in both fact and myth, continues to influence the United States today.

The medieval Norse sagas and modern archaeology have surprising confluences, though both remain open to debate. The author explores claims for a Viking presence beyond the archaeological evidence in Newfoundland and the Canadian Arctic. He also investigates several bogus claims of Viking presence and artifacts in the heavily Scandinavian U.S. Midwest. He then goes on to discuss the tug-of-war among the Vikings, Columbus, and the Mayflower Pilgrims for the mantle of “first Americans”. Which, of course, is nonsensical; only Native North American peoples hold that distinction.

American Vikings also examines how Viking symbology is being co-opted, distorted, and perverted by white supremacist and other far-right extremist groups in the United States. Some of it was displayed during the January 6 insurrection and is unsettling. In particular, the tattoos of a far-right activist from Arizona by the name of Jacob Chansley (also known as Jake Angeli or the ‘QAnon shaman’) are examples of how Norse symbols have been co-opted by far-right groups. Many people have similar tattoos which express their neo-pagan belief, Scandinavian heritage, or interest in the myths. But there is no doubt that these symbols have also been co-opted by a growing far-right movement. Also interesting, from a European point of view, is the Viking connection to the roots of Ukraine and the erroneous nationalist claims of Putin.

Whittock concludes with a survey of the enduring fascination with Viking lore in popular culture and in product marketing. If the book suffers from any shortcoming, it is perhaps the amount of narrative devoted to Viking-inspired comic books, movies, and TV series. While somewhat interesting, it was a diversion from the more scholarly content.

American Vikings is an interesting examination of how the Viking story continues to be told, embellished, and contested.

Nonfiction: History

The Book at War: Libraries and Readers in an Age of Conflict by Andrew Pettegree

As a bibliophile, I found The Book at War to be a fascinating exploration of the obscure relationship between books, reading, and warfare throughout history. It is an examination of the history of books, libraries and reading and how they have been used, misused, trusted, and distrusted from the time of the American Civil War to the Cold War.

I found the section on Penguin paperbacks published during World War II interesting. The publishing industry resisted the change to paperbacks in much the way that eBooks have shaken and changed publishing in recent years. The cheapness, lightness, and portability of such paperback books were treasured by soldiers fighting, captured soldiers in POW camps, and were also a cheap form of entertainment for English civilians sheltering in bomb shelters.

The Book at War is not only an interesting account of the importance of books and readers during conflicts, but also of how some governments fear books. Nazi Germany burned and banned many books before and during WWII. Meanwhile, in England, they decided to leave Adolf Hitler's “Mein Kampf” in print and on shelves. England also decided against banning propaganda radio shows on the basis that it would only make them more popular. Today, however, many states, including Florida, are now banning books, and threatening public libraries with closure if they do not comply with censorship. The Book at War is a timely reminder of the importance of intellectual freedom during times of war and peace.

Fiction: Science fiction, Thriller

Eruption by Michael Crichton, James Patterson

Death has not slowed publication of Michael Crichton’s manuscripts! Since he passed away in 2008, several of his manuscripts have been brought to life. Crichton worked on Eruption for 20 years and after his death it remained dormant on his hard drive. Recently the manuscript was completed by best-selling author James Patterson.

Publisher’s Description: “A history-making once-in-a-century volcanic eruption is about to destroy the Big Island of Hawaii. But a decades-old military secret could turn the volcano into something even more terrifying... Now it's up to a handful of brave individuals to save the island - and the entire world.”

If you are a fan of heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat natural disaster stories, Eruption is a perfect summer read. This book will surely be made into a movie!

Nonfiction: History, Crime

The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America by Karen Abbott

Publisher’s Description: “In the early days of Prohibition, long before Al Capone became a household name, a German immigrant named George Remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. Within two years he's a multimillionaire. The press calls him "King of the Bootleggers," writing breathless stories about the Gatsby-esque events he and his glamorous second wife, Imogene, host at their Cincinnati mansion, with party favors ranging from diamond jewelry for the men to brand new Pontiacs for the women. By the summer of 1921, Remus owns 35 percent of all the liquor in the United States.

Pioneering prosecutor Mabel Walker Willebrandt is determined to bring him down. Willebrandt's bosses at the U.S. Attorney's office hired her right out of law school, assuming she'd pose no real threat to the cozy relationship they maintain with Remus. Eager to prove them wrong, she dispatches her best investigator, Franklin Dodge, to look into his empire. It's a decision with deadly consequences: With Remus behind bars, Dodge and Imogene begin an affair and plot to ruin him, sparking a bitter feud that soon reaches the highest levels of government--and that can only end in murder.”

This is one bizarre, but true, story - a wild roller coaster ride through prohibition and the politics of the day. The Ghosts of Eden Park is one of the most entertaining true crime books I’ve read!

Fiction: Supernatural, Horror

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste

Written by a three-time Bram Stoker Award winner, The Haunting of Velkwood has an interesting premise: a haunted street filled with ghosts that allows only three women - Talitha, Brett, and Grace - to enter.

The story begins when a paranormal researcher contacts Talitha and offers to pay her to return to and enter her childhood neighborhood, which is haunted. Talitha claims she’s just doing it for the money, but she then contacts fellow childhood neighbors, Brett and Grace, to join her. So, twenty years after they left for college and everyone in their suburban neighborhood was turned into ghosts, they return. The women keep alluding to something that happened on their last night in their neighborhood. Is that why it is haunted?  Confronting what happened twenty years ago will either be a liberating experience, or a trap.

Initially I liked the premise, thinking it would be a creepy ghost story. But then it turned into a "haunted by your past" story with a “forbidden romance.” Also, the main characters are supposed to be 40 years old, but they talked and acted more like teenagers. I expected a better-than-average book from a three-time Bram Stoker Award winner.

Langham & Dupre Mystery Series

I continued to read the final three books in this series …

Murder by Numbers #7 – “Donald Langham's wife Maria Dupré receives a chilling invitation to attend a death at the home of Maxwell Falwell Fenton in Essex. The once-prominent artist has several enemies and has faded into obscurity since the war ended. Is the invitation to his own death or someone else's?”

Murder at Standing Stone Manor #8 – “Newlyweds Donald Langham and Maria Dupre have moved to the country. They're excited about starting a new life in the picturesque village of Ingoldby-over-Water - and about meeting their new neighbors. But they've barely moved into Yew Tree Cottage when their new neighbor at Standing Stone Manor, Professor Edwin Robertshaw, invites Donald over to discuss some 'fishy business'. Shortly after, a body is found by the professor's precious standing stone in the manor grounds...”

Murder Most Vile #9 – DNF (did not finish), … I lost interest. The first and last books in the Langham & Dupre mystery series were my least favorite, but I liked books two through eight. In conclusion, liking seven out of nine books is “respectable,” and worth a try.

Nonfiction: Biography

Levi Coffin: Quaker Breaking Bonds of Slavery in Ohio and Indiana by Mary Ann Yannessa

After touring the Levi Coffin home in Fountain City, Indiana, I bought this book in the gift shop. It is only 88 pages which can be read in one sitting or during a flight.

Levi Coffin was an instrumental figure in the Underground Railroad and the abolition movement. He was not simply a theoretical supporter of the anti-slavery movement who wrote letters or collected donations. Coffin physically helped more than a thousand slaves escape, many of them spent time in his family home which was modified so that he could hide ten or more people at a time, if necessary.

In addition to providing housing, food, medicine, and clothing to people escaping slavery, Coffin was also active in abolitionist activities in Cincinnati, Ohio.  From 1847 through the Civil War, he managed a “free labor” store that did not sell any merchandise produced by slave labor. After the war, Coffin continued to support African Americans as an administrator organizing relief (housing, employment, education) for freedmen.

Levi Coffin did not shrink from his Quaker beliefs. While others may have expressed sympathy for enslaved people, Coffin said, “The dictates of humanity came into opposition to the law of the land, and we ignored the law.” – he acted non-violently and humanely against the unjust law.

Fiction: Alternative History, Science Fiction

A Nation Interrupted by Kevin McDonald

Publisher’s Description: “In one of the most unsettling “what-if” reversals to American history, the Union Army is overrun at the Battle of Antietam. Left with no alternative, President Lincoln surrenders, and the Confederate States of America becomes an independent nation. It’s a tragic twist that will produce dire, far-reaching ramifications.

As the divided American nations move into the twentieth century, slavery has long since been abolished; but in the summer of 1941, America faces another challenge—an existential challenge. Almost a century after the Civil War, the disastrous consequences of the Union defeat are threatening freedom on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Second World War represents the defining event of the twentieth century. History dictates the United States must play the decisive role in defeating Adolf Hitler and the Nazis—but that history is no longer intact. America has been divided into two nations, and the resulting shift in global power has altered the course of the conflict, bringing all of North America and Western Europe to the brink of annihilation.

In the spring of 1945, as the Nazis are preparing to deliver the final blow, a young academic and a small, elite group of American airmen are about to determine the fate of the world.”

An interesting alternative history which supposes that a failure of the Union soldiers to get the special Confederate order to the Union command in time before the battle of Antietam led to the end of the United States as a unified nation. But this failure also set the stage for the USA and Confederate States of America being too weak to deal with a Nazi invasion in 1941.

The book says “slavery ended” but doesn’t address how it ended. Without slavery there would be no reason for the nation to be divided! The idea that slavery would have died a “natural death” in the Confederacy seems far-fetched. This was too simplistic of a supposition. Also, there is no discussion about what happened to the formerly enslaved or Jim Crow laws. If it wasn’t for ignoring this vital historical aspect, the book would have been excellent. But as it stands, overall, the narrative about an imagined Nazi invasion was engaging and interesting.

Nonfiction: Memoir

The Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness by Ken Smith

At the age of 26, while walking home from a disco one night, Ken Smith was jumped and savagely beaten by a skinhead gang. His injuries were so severe he required four brain surgeries and lay in a coma for two weeks. When Smith regained consciousness, he writes, “not only could I not walk or speak, but I’d also lost two-thirds of my memory and could not write.” His recovery was long and grueling, but it also taught him the power of his own self-discipline and focused his attention on what really mattered to him.

Later, after suffering serious accidents while working on construction sites, Ken decided that a “normal working life” was not for him. Using his savings, he headed for the wilderness of Alaska and Canada. Upon his return to the United Kingdom, Smith then headed out to the wilderness of the Scottish Highlands. There he became a hunting and fishing guide on an estate, built himself a cabin, and has lived alone there ever since.

For the past 40 years, Smith has lived off the grid, beside a deep loch, miles from other houses. He forages, grows, and fishes for most of his food, and his only fuel is the wood he chops himself. Smith does not drive and has never used a computer. But he’s not a true hermit. Smith works as a seasonal guide for the landowner, has visitors, and he frequently walks, catches a train, or hitchhikes to nearby towns to buy supplies and to receive cancer treatments. He also drinks a pint or two in a pub, but it is a hard life as he deals with extreme weather, animals, injuries, and illness. Yet, Smith never regrets his choice to live as a “hermit.”

As I read, I found that the "simple life" we envision living off the land as a self-proclaimed "hermit" can be grueling as well as fulfilling. Hunting, fishing, gardening, and just enjoying the sights and sounds of nature seems romantic until you learn of the limitations and realities of the whims of mother nature.

The Way of the Hermit encourages reflection upon your own life choices. I felt grateful as well as wistful for what could have been if I made different choices, but, in the end, like Smith, I am satisfied.

“I have led the life I wanted to live and, no matter what happens now, I can depart this earth a deeply satisfied man.” – Ken Smith