Book Thirty-Four: One Second After

This book was a slow burn.  As I guess any homeland catastrophe might be.  First, there's the shock.  'We're gonna be fine.  They will send people to take care of us.'  Then, there will be the realization days, weeks, maybe it'll take months, that no one is coming.  God help you, if you're not prepared 'cause I don't think anyone else will.

Author William R Forstchen sets the novel in the Black Mountains of North Carolina.  I chose to read this novel will vacationing in the very same area.  Why these towns lead additional credence to the story, I can't say.  What I can say, is the realism will affect you and leave you thinking even after the novel ends.

Although set in a picturesque town, the story is far from it.  The author surmises an unexpected electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the US and how it affects the people living here.  The story is clearly based in realism.  Under the guise of fiction, I believe the author is staking his case for how 21st Americans will not be prepared for such overt attacks.  The 'die-off' sequences and timelines foretold by the characters in this book could be chillingly accurate.  It is for that reason, the book is so riveting.

Our protagonist, John Matherson, is a history professor at Montreat College.  His background being a retired Army Colonel.  (That's helpful.)  What ensues is a systematic dissolution of everything.  Matherson, meets the crisis head on alongside others in his quaint community but no one leaves the crisis unscathed.

As I see it, One Second After is more terrifying than anything Stephen King thought about putting on paper.  But before you rack this review alongside other tea-partying, conservative nonsense, consider this...  Better informed and prepared for action than mindlessly led to the slaughter.

Book Thirty-Three: 1 dead in attic

It's easier to understand now.  At the time, I could only feel a mixture of pity, sadness, and shame for the residents of New Orleans.  In the wake of Katrina and tales of the Superdome, I just remember shaking my head... wondering... why they didn't leave.

Chris Rose's collection of columns written for The Times-Picayune newspaper in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina paints an unforgettable picture.  Rose's collection reads as a love story to his city, his people, and his family.  He succeeds in capturing the unspeakable horror, channeling the emotions that is moves and anchoring his resolve in the wake.

His columns--insane as they may sound--bring sanity to the fear-mongering and circus acts that was available to the general pubic made possible by your favorite left or right leaning media outlets.  Rose has made more sense in this collection than Sean Penn, Harry Connick, Jr., Anderson Cooper, or Robin Roberts tried in their daily dispatches.

As I see it,  nine years later, 1 dead in attic should become an integral part of American history keeping.  Chris Rose outlines the heart of a tenacious people who stayed to fight amid insurmountable odds.  It's a heart-wrenching but fascinating look.

Book Thirty-Two: A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans

This is a treasury of stories about pirates, skinflints, patriots and other *ahem* colorful characters that make American history much more fun.  Too bad these characters are mere footnotes.

Anne Bonny was more man than any pirate could hope to be.  The privileged daughter of a plantation owner, she elopes.  Then meets Caribbean pirate 'Calico Jack' Rackham.  The adulterous couple became one of the fiercest to sail the seas.

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte.  She married the other Bonaparte brother with questionable results.

Hetty Green, affectionately known as 'the witch of Wall Street', was the richest woman in the world with a real estate and railroad empire to match that of Carnegie, Rockefeller, Astor, and Vanderbilt.  Still she chose to use newspapers for legwarmers.  Taught not to owe anyone anything--not even a kindness, history doesn't look upon her fondly.

Though I've chosen to profile three women--my favorite of the thirty stories here--there's not an uninteresting story in the bunch.  However, allow me to say that this book should have been more fun to read.  For the life of me, though, I cannot put my finger on why the book is not.  Bank robberies, muck-rakes, evangelists, spies, murderers.  They are all here.

As I see it, these are the stories that would enhance the tales of George Washington or Thomas Edison.  Or Blackbeard.  Maybe we wouldn't need Drunk History if stories like these were more readily available.

Book Thirty-One: The Necklace

"Here we are, women who have been the beneficiaries of education, resources, reproductive choice, travel opportunities, the Internet, and a long life expectancy than women have ever had in history.  What can and will we do?"  

This is the story of thirteen women and a diamond necklace.  The opening quote from doctor, activist and author, Jean Shinoda Bolenne, sets the tone.  Profiling the women who decided to take part in the experiment that will ultimately change lives, this book is an interesting and easy read.

This reader was struck by how vastly different each woman (ages fifty to sixty-two) is and how the necklace impact them individually and as a group.  The women are unabashed in their opinions and as visionary leader, Jonell McLain muses 'why can't we share personal luxuries like we do national parks', she charges on determined to prove the naysayers wrong.

Author Cheryl Jarvis profiles a remarkable group of ladies.  Each chapter is dedicated to an individual.  Each individual is more different than the next.  With the myriad of disparities: income, upbringing, lifestyles, etc., it was fascinating to hear from each woman their life's journey and how the necklace (affectionately named 'Jewelia' impacted them.

Despite the inevitability of the squabbles that would come (i.e. should we legalize the group?  Yes.  Should we lend the necklace outside our group?  Maybe/maybe not bad   What if someone leaves the group?  Hey, we're talking opinionated, emotional, businesswomen here), the necklace ultimately comes to symbolize the friendships and the legacies of these women.  It becomes a harbinger of the good like-minded people can do in the community and for each other. 

As I see it, this 'experiment' as the author calls it, should not have worked.  And it did.  The necklace provides a nucleus in which these woman could unite and take their friendships to a new level.  It's a beautiful book.