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August 18
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Tifmh
gave
 
to:
The Glass Castle: A Memoir (Paperback)
by Jeannette Walls
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in January, 2008
Tifmh said:
"The Glass Castle...
The world needs more Jeanette Walls. I loved her book. It is the Horatio Alger story of our age and proves that it is still possible to achieve anything in this country.
I had a difficult time with her parents. They seemed t...more
The Glass Castle...
The world needs more Jeanette Walls. I loved her book. It is the Horatio Alger story of our age and proves that it is still possible to achieve anything in this country.
I had a difficult time with her parents. They seemed to be such broken people in so many ways with just a few sparks of light and intelligence that came through their dysfunction.
Obviously the father had his reasons for being un-well. The mother either had some unholy childhood herself or fell into what I want to call a mental illness when she married... what else can I call it when a mother does not have an intense desire to feed her children?
The parents left me scratching my head. Maybe they did the best they could with the inner resources they had. I don't know. But, the loyalty of the children to one another and their desire to pick themselves up and then help each other succeed amazed me. I found that part of the story inspiring.
I loved the part of the story where Jeanette was working for the jeweler and found out that he was keeping part of her salary for himself and how she then took a watch from the store, but later returned it. She had an ingenuity in the way that she survived and she had a desire to do honest work and wasn't afraid of it, and she had integrity; a recipe for success.
I'm sure there are scars. I'm sure that you don't survive that kind of childhood unscathed. But, I am so amazed at where she went in her life. And, I wondered as I listened to a story on Sixty Minutes about the Millennial Generation entering the work force.. how many of those coddled children could survive if times got really tough. And, I wondered about my own child. I hope that I am teaching her to work. ...less
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Tifmh
gave
to:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Paperback)
by Mark Haddon
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in January, 2005
Tifmh said:
"I appreciated this book so much for the peek into the mind of a mentally challenged boy. This is a special book.
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Tifmh
gave
to:
Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Book)
by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in November, 2006
Tifmh said:
"A must have book for your child's library.
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Tifmh
gave
to:
The Little Book of Snowflakes (Hardcover)
by Kenneth Libbrecht
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in November, 2006
Tifmh said:
"I love the amazing photographs in this book.. taken with a photomicroscope. The book explains a bit of the science behind snowflakes with amazing photos and beautiful quotes from literature. I never tire of looking through it.
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Tifmh
gave
to:
Belong to Me: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Marisa de los Santos (Goodreads author!)
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in June, 2008
Tifmh said:
"A beautifully written love story with 3 dimensional characters that make you care about them. Fiction worth reading.
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Tifmh
gave
to:
Can America Survive? The Rage of the Left, the Truth, and What to Do About It (Hardcover)
by Ben Stein, Phil DeMuth
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Tifmh
gave
to:
Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)
by David Hackett Fischer
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Tifmh
gave
to:
The Killer Angels (Mass Market Paperback)
by Michael Shaara
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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June 17
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Tifmh
read and liked
Cindy's
review of Paul Revere's Ride:
"Fischer is a leading historian in the field of American history and his narrative style of writing history is completely appealing to the professional or to the novice. Whether you are a person who loves history of not, this book is highly readable a...more
Fischer is a leading historian in the field of American history and his narrative style of writing history is completely appealing to the professional or to the novice. Whether you are a person who loves history of not, this book is highly readable and I encourage you all to pick up a copy.
This book distills many of the myths in American memory surrounding the Battle of Lexington and Concord. We can all think back to Longfellow’s poem 'Paul Revere’s Ride' fed into the legend.
Here are a few examples of the myths:
1. That Paul Revere was the only rider. There were many riders that went all over to spread the word.
2. And the best myth – that Paul Revere shouted, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” Well, they were all considered British at the time. What he really said was “The regulars are coming out!”
3. Fischer also dispels the myth that these were a bunch of embittered farmers enacting military anarchy. They were exercised military regiments fighting together.
Military historian John Galvin said, “This is the least known of all American battles. Certainly is it one of the most misunderstood.” And I would say the most legendary.
The book starts out by giving you background on Paul Revere and British General Gage. And the author also gives the backdrop on the political climate that led up to this event. Perspective! He included lots of pictures and maps. Fischer talks about a person and then you turn the page and there is a picture of that person. He talks about soldier movements and then there is a map outlining it. Throughout the book, he delves into the history and background of characters involved in this battle. For example: Lord Hugh Percy – oldest son of the Duke of Northumbria and heir to one of the largest fortunes in the western world. You learn about who these men were on a personal level: personality traits, examples of things they did, did they show kindness and compassion or did they act otherwise.
What was really great in this retelling was to see as the British are marching toward Lexington and Concord how well the colonials were prepared in the advent of an attack. They were connected. They had signals. They were ready!
There are some great quotes in the book from the battles:
“We’ll have every dog of them before night.”
“Fire fellow soldiers, for God’s sake fire!”
“Stand trim boys or the rascals will shoot your elbows off.”
And what was Paul Revere’s real role. Well, he may have been mythologized, but he was a true patriot. He was involved as a rider, getting Hancock and S. Adams out of harms way and even moving a trunk with important papers out across the street to the woods as the battle goes on around him in Concord. He was even captured by the British for awhile but got away. A true Patriot!
This study shows that the highly regimented British military may not do so well against the sensible American militia. Their hierarchical and highly secretive system of communication in British command worked against them. And Gage especially was guilty of this and it came back to haunt him.
Fischer also goes through the British regiments and brigades so that you understand who they are and what their experiences were as they enter into this battle. I love history and this time period, but I hate battle talk. And I completely understood and was not inundated with this information.
As the battle progresses, he slows things down and explains and shows exactly what was going on and what they were experiencing from all directions and perspectives. Then as the battle ends and the British run back to Boston, the book switches to showing how the British and Americans dealt with the aftermath. This was the war of public opinion and the Americans won that battle too all the way back to London and Europe.
This event was very important in getting things going for the Americans. John Adams had been indecisive as to where to go with independence. But after this event, he went to the 2nd Continental Congress convinced to go forward. He said it convinced him that “the die was cast, the Rubicon crossed.”
Washington too knew what he had to do. He was saddened by the turn of events and of the death by his own countrymen, but he said the “peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by a race of slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?”
The Epilogue closes with description of what happened to the men introduced during the battle on the side of the British and the Americans: both during the course of the war and afterwards. Paul Revere for instance continued his active political role during the war and even in the ratification of the Constitution.
It is interesting to note that many important figures in the Battle of Lexington and Concord were the grandfathers of many of the great American literary figures of the 19th century: Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, Parker, Longfellow, and Hawthorne. Very interesting!
The night of April 19th is still remembered in this country especially in Massachusetts. It is called Patriots Day. On that day in April in Wayland, MA, the town bell rings at the same hour waking everyone in bed and they all rise from sleep even the children to remember that fateful night. And the bell that still hangs in the tower…well, that was made by a certain silversmith named, Paul Revere.
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Tifmh
gave
to:
Paul Revere's Ride (Paperback)
by David Hackett Fischer
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Tifmh said:
"An amazing tale. You learn that really there were many more founding parents than get credit.
I actually visited Paul Revere's grave site in Boston when I was there last. I am sorry to say how ill kept it is. It should be kept a perfect shrine to...more
An amazing tale. You learn that really there were many more founding parents than get credit.
I actually visited Paul Revere's grave site in Boston when I was there last. I am sorry to say how ill kept it is. It should be kept a perfect shrine to a great American who did and risked so much to create the liberty we now enjoy.
I can't tell you how much this book impressed me and how moved I was by the courage of Paul Revere, a truly great man. ...less
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