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LORNA'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2019
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by Joel Richard Paul (no photo)Finish date: October 24, 2019
Genre: Biography
Rating: B+
Review: Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times was an engrossing and meticulously researched biography of Chief Justice John Marshall appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President John Adams. The author imparts the historical significance of Chief Justice Marshall's thirty-four years on the Supreme Court and his impact on this new and struggling nation. Joel Richard Paul stressed how Marshall saw the Constitution as a dynamic and fluid body of laws enabling America to go from a small agrarian economy to a modern industrial economy. Paul portrays Marshall's early life in vivid detail contrasting his humble upbringing in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains with fourteen brothers and sisters, while his cousin, Thomas Jefferson, was raised with wealth and privilege at Tuckahoe. However, this gave Marshall an appreciation for the common man that served him well throughout his life. The other experience that shaped Marshall was his service in the Continental Army while in the ranks of Washington and Prussian officer Steuben. Subsequent to attending William and Mary College to study law, he had a daunting reputation for his practice of law and his oratory. Serving in the Virginia House, he became a strong and powerful voice in the shaping of this country. Much of the second half of the book focuses on many of the landmark decisions of the Supreme Court under the guidance of Chief Justice John Marshall, priding himself on the inordinate number of unanimous decisions that were handed down and still are an integral part of the fabric of this country and our body of law. This was a most unique look at this pivotal and most interesting period in American history.
"Destiny had preordained that Marshall would struggle with Jefferson for the soul of the Union. He accepted President Adams' nomination out of a sense of duty. Marshall was committed to stand vigil over the principle of Federalism, keep the country on the path of moderation, and resist ideology with pragmatism."
"After Jefferson finished speaking, he stood with one hand on a Masonic Bible and the other hand raised to take the oath of office. Standing opposite him to administer the oath of office was a familiar face: John Marshall, the chief justice of the United States and the man who administers the presidential oath of office. History had predetermined their fateful collision. Two cousins who had stood on opposite sides of every public issue for a generation now led two branches of the federal government."
"In less than two decades, the Marshall Court had liberated the market from the constraints of monopolies and the heavy hand of state regulation. It had guaranteed the sanctity of contracts and private property rights. And it had empowered Congress to adopt national regulations that would harmonize state laws. In so doing, the Marshall Court helped create the conditions for free enterprise to flourish in the nineteenth century."
"It is tempting to contrast Marshall's life and legacy with Jefferson's. Until Jefferson's passing, they lived as mirror opposites for half a century in almost every way. No Marshall biography can avoid taking sides in their conflicted relationship. That is not to say that Marshall was always right or that Jefferson was always wrong. Both were exceptional and entirely human. They were flawed and sometimes they erred. Yet both Marshall and Jefferson were indispensable to the founding of the Republic."
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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Gabriel García MárquezFinish date: October 30, 2019
Genre: Classic; Latin America
Rating: A
Review: The Autumn of the Patriarch by one of my favorite Latin American authors, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, was a very disturbing account of a most tyrannical dictator in the Caribbean as he faces the last days of his reign. Many years ago when we were vacationing in Mexico, we met this lovely couple from Mexico City in Puerto Vallarta. It was a delightful time as we became acquainted and one of the threads that drew us together was the beautiful literature of Gabriel Garcia Marquez that resonated with all cultures, and made for a lot of lively conversation. This is a tragic tale of unchecked power and the total loss of the ability to relate to reality. I could not help but compare this Nobel prize-winning novel to our current situation today as witnessed by the total separation and disregard to truth and reality. The flow of this novel is at times overwhelming as the sentences run on for many pages more with outstanding poetry than prose and the beautiful use of language. A true classic with many lessons for us today.
"The first time they found him had been at the beginning of his autumn, the nation was still lively enough for him to feel menaced by death even in the solitude of his bedroom, and still he governed as if he knew he was predestined to never die, for at that time it didn't look like a presidential palace but rather a marketplace. . . . ."
"It was hard to admit that that broken-down old man was the same messianic figure who during the beginnings of his regime would appear in towns when least expected with no other escort but a barefooted Guajiro Indian with a cane-cutting machete and a small entourage of congressmen and senators whom he had appointed himself with his finger. . . . "
"Similar evocations from his fasti of infamy did not twist his conscience during the nights of his autumn, on the contrary they served him as exemplary fables of what should have been done and what had not been done. . . . "
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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Toni MorrisonFinish date: November 2, 2019
Genre: Classic, Novel
Rating: A
Review: Song of Solomon is a timeless classic and coming-of-age tale as told as only Toni Morrison can do in this moving and lyrical novel. I was so moved by the author's Forward to the book where she talks about the death of her father stressing that even in the grip of the unmanageable sadness and grief, that each of his four children was convinced that he loved him or her best by the gifts he shared with each throughout their lives, and how he spoke to each in the language only they understood. Toni Morrison says it best:
"But it was the death of that girl--the one who lived in his head--that I mourned when he died. Even more than I mourned him, I suffered the loss of the person he thought I was, I think it was because I felt closer to him than to myself that, after his death, I deliberately sought his advice for writing the novel that continued to elude me. 'What are the men you have known really like?'
He answered.
Whatever it is called--muse, insight, inspiration, 'the dark finger that guides,' 'bright angel'--it exists and, in many forms, I have trusted it ever since."
And with that, Ms. Morrison tells us how she was guided to write this stunning novel from a male perspective. What I found magnificent was the use of flight throughout the novel, sometimes in a mythical and magical way, other times metaphorical. Following Macon "Milkman" Dead as he explores the roots of his family and how that history has impacted him was a lovely novel with beautiful and lyrical writing by one of our best contemporary authors.
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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John GrishamFinish date: November 4, 2019
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B
Review: The Guardians is the latest legal thriller by John Grisham focusing on wrongful convictions and the attempts to overturn them. However, as Grisham points out, this book is based on the work of Centurion Ministries founded in 1980 by James McCloskey when he was a divinity student. This is the fictional account of Cullen Post, a lawyer and Episcopal minister, working for Guardian Ministries headquartered in Savannah, Georgia. This foundation is made up of four people, all dedicated to the work of trying to free the innocent.
The plot of The Guardians centers on prisoner Quincy Miller wrongfully convicted of the brutal killing of a lawyer in the rural area of Seabrook in north Florida twenty-two years ago. There are a lot of twists and turns as they work to exonerate Miller. This was a good book in that it shines light on our justice system. It should also be pointed out that John Grisham is on the Board of Directors of the Innocence Project; its focus to exonerate and free unjustly convicted people on the basis of DNA evidence. This is a cause obviously very important to Grisham.
"Prison is a nightmare for those who deserve it. For those who don't, it is a daily struggle to maintain some level of sanity. For those who suddenly learn that there is proof of their innocence yet remain locked up, the situation is literally maddening."
Excellent review, Lorna. Another book to add to my list!
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Thank you Connie. I will be interested in your thoughts.
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Richard RussoFinish date: November 9, 2019
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Chances Are . . . was the latest novel by Pulitzer-prize winning author Richard Russo, one of my favorite writers. Each time I read one of Russo's books, I find myself just settling in and enjoying the experience, not only for the sharp dialogue among the characters but also their internal dialogue fueled with humor and pathos. This beautiful novel is all about the meaning of enduring friendship over the years. These three men, now sixty-six years old, first met in college in the late sixties when the war in Viet Nam was at its height, as well as the protests against it. There is Lincoln, now a commercial real estate broker from Las Vegas, happily married to his college sweetheart Anita; Teddy, a small-press publisher from New York; and Mickey, the lovable rocker, now a musician and sound engineer from Cape Cod. Lincoln has invited his friends to his cottage on Martha's Vineyard (a legacy from his mother) as he is thinking about selling it. Lincoln, Teddy and Mickey celebrated their graduation in this cottage thinking of themselves always as the Three Musketeers - all for one and one for all. However, there was a fourth member of their group, Jacey, loved by each of them, but who mysteriously disappeared from Martha's Vineyard after their Memorial Day weekend, never to be heard from again. This overwhelming mystery after all of these years is still present as we learn more about Lincoln, Teddy and Mickey in this heartwarming new novel by Richard Russo.
"As they grew more confident of the lyrics, they turned, arm in arm, and serenaded the night itself, the moonlight rippling on the distant ocean. They sang as if they were still all for one and one for all and would be so forever."
"There on the deck, pleasantly drunk, they seemed to have found something each could agree on: that chances were their chances were . . . awfully good. Whether the sentiment was true or--like the world they were taking possession of--a bright, shining lie seemed, right then, beside the point."
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Joan DidionFinish date: November 11, 2019
Genre: Memoir
Rating: A
Review: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion is an emotional and heartbreaking memoir winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2006. Joan Didion, a renowned essayist and reporter was married to esteemed writer and novelist John Gregory Dunne for forty years. Their beloved daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne, was critically ill with complications from the flu in December 2003. They had returned home from the hospital sitting down to dinner when John suffered a massive cardiac arrest and died. What follows is a year of "magical thinking" as Joan Didion processes what she is going through in the only way she knows how, by writing her thoughts. This writing, at times is so raw and emotional that I found myself saying I shouldn't be reading this, but read it I did. Although, there were times in this book that were almost unbearable in its honesty, I'm glad that I finally read this most important book. Joan Didion is an amazing writer and I will definitely read more of her works.
"Grief turns out to be a place none of us know until we reach it."
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Thank you, Bentley.
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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Wallace StegnerFinish date: November 12, 2019
Genre: Fiction, Novel
Rating: A
Review: The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner is said to be the closest to an autobiographical account of his own childhood. This is the emotionally gripping tale of fictional Bo and Elsa Mason and their two sons, Chester and Bruce, with striking similarities to the childhood of Stegner. The Mason family was continually uprooted as Bo Mason found himself involved in one scheme after another, often requiring the family to move frequently as Bo Mason was often chasing the next big financial scheme, as were many others in the movement westward in the first part of the twentieth century. Bo Mason, oftentimes prone to violence, tried his hand at farming, running a hotel, and ultimately rum-running during Prohibition. Elsa did everything in her power to make each place a home as this family searched for their piece of The Big Rock Candy Mountain. This at times was such a heartbreaking story of this family but there were beautiful moments as well as their struggles sometimes seemed insurmountable in this rich and unforgettable classic.
"There was somewhere, if you knew where to find it, some place where money could be made like drawing water from a well, some Big Rock Candy Mountain where life was effortless and rich and unrestricted and full of adventure and action, where something could be had for nothing."
"If one subscribed to the idea of home at all, one would insist on an attic for the family history to hide in. His mother had felt so all her life. She wanted to be part of something, an essential atom in a street, a town, a state; she would have loved to get herself expressed in all the pleasant, secure details of a deeply-lived-in house."
"Was he going home or just another place? It wasn't clear. Yet he felt good settling his bare arm gingerly on the hot door and opening his mouth to sing. He had a notion where home would turn out to be, for himself as for his father--over the next range, on the Big Rock Candy Mountain, that place of impossible loveliness that had pulled the whole nation westward. . . ."
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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Julia AlvarezFinish date: November 21, 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: In The Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a beautiful historical fiction narrative taking place in the Dominican Republic during the dictatorship of Trujillo in the 1960's. This harrowing story tells us how four young women, the Mirabals, were able to inspire a nation to fight for freedom at a great cost to each of them and to all of their family. Three of the four Mirabal sisters were murdered as part of the underground movement against the Trujillo regime while they were visiting their imprisoned husbands. But this was also a story of a beautiful family. This powerful saga tells the story of each of the four Mirabal sisters in their own and unique individual voice: Patria, Dede, Minerva and Maria Teresa. Dede was the surviving sister and her narrative helped to bring this heartbreaking, yet inspiring, tale to a close. "Viva la Mariposa!"
As the author, Julia Alvarez says, "For I wanted to immerse my readers in the life of the Dominican Republic that I believe can only be understood by fiction, only finally be redeemed by imagination."
"Viva la Mariposa!"
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Jung ChangFinish date: November 17, 2019
Genre: Biography
Rating: B
Review: Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China by Jung Chang, was a sweeping and gripping account of the Soong family of Shanghai, not only of these three sisters that played a large part in the shaping of the history of China in the twentieth century, but it also tells about their three brothers, each making history in their own right, as part of the inner circle of the Chiang Kai-shek regime.
This is a magnificent biography of the three Soong sisters, Ei-ling, Ching-ling, and May-ling. Each of the girls were sent, as young children, to be educated in the United States. Ei-Ling, known as "Big Sister," married H.H. Kung, a business man, and ultimately became the wealthiest woman in China. Ching-ling, known as "Red Sister," married the "father of China," Sun Yat-sen, and ultimately rose to be Mao Zedung's Vice-Chair. May-ling, known as "Little Sister," became Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and first lady pre-Communist Nationalist China. This is an extraordinary and riveting account of the life stories of the Soong sisters and their involvement and influence in the sweep of the turbulent history in China during the twentieth century.
"Shanghai was then already of the most spectacular and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Situated near the place where the Yangtze, the longest river in China, flows into the sea, it had been marshland only a few decades previously, before the Manchu government allowed Westerners to develop it. Now solid European-style buildings rubbed shoulders with fragile bamboo houses, paved broad streets meshed with wheelbarrow-trodden mud alleys, and parkland jutted into rice paddies. Outside the Bund, the waterfront, under the still gaze of the skyscrapers, numerous sampans rocked with the waves, offering a stirring sight of the city's vitality."
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J.D. SalingerFinish date: December 2, 2019
Genre: Classic, Novel
Rating: B
Review: Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger is a classic consisting of two novellas; "Franny" first published in The New Yorker in 1955, and "Zooey" first published in The New Yorker in 1957. Salinger later published them in a book released in 1961. This was to be part of the many stories of the Glass family and their seven children growing up in a spacious Manhattan apartment. The Glass children starred in the popular television show, It's a Wise Child, where they excelled. This was to be part of a body of work that J.D. Salinger wanted to do on the Glass family.
Franny and Zooey features the story of Franny weathering the storms of college life, but clutching a copy of The Way of the Pilgrim, a little green book that had become her lifeline. She then returns to her Manhattan apartment, in a very depressed and fragile state, alarming her family. Zooey, her older twenty-five year old brother, a successful actor, then tries to ferret out what is troubling her which is much of the book, as he free-associates about what she may be feeling and why as they both reminisce about their family, replete with interjections by Franny. His pontifications, and often very endearing comments about their family life, while smoking a cigar, were priceless. I loved this book.
"I don't know what good it is to be smart as whips and all if it doesn't make you happy."
"I mention it because I have a couple of things I want to say to you, and it's just possible I'm not qualified to say them. On the ground that I once had a strong desire to say the prayer myself but didn't. For all I know, I may be a little jealous of your having a go at it. It's very possible, in fact. In the first place, I'm a ham. It may very well be that I hate like hell to play Martha to somebody else's Mary. Who the hell knows?"
"An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's."
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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Stephen BudianskyFinish date: December 7, 2019
Genre: Biography
Rating: A
Review: The biography Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas was comprehensive and meticulously researched fleshing out of the very full life of Oliver Wendell Holmes, having a great impact on the body of law in this country during the twentieth century and is still echoing today. Born in Boston, he was the son of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, a prominent physician and writer known for his far-reaching philosophical ideas and his mother, abolitionist Amelia Lee Jackson.
Serving in the Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes was profoundly moved to a more pragmatic view of the law. Justice Holmes, while serving in the Massachusetts Supreme Court espoused the precedent and value of The Common Law, a most important contribution to jurisprudence as we know it today, for it was based on experience. This was not only an insightful, but an inspirational book, as we lived these days with Justice Holmes through his beautiful letters and history brought to life. He has long been a fascinating person in the history of this nation but I feel that the biggest gift of Stephen Budiansky with this book, was the humanization of this most iconic legend in our history.
"I say no longer with any doubt -- that a man may live greatly in the law as well as elsewhere; that there as elsewhere his thought may find its unity in an infinite perspective; that there as well as elsewhere he may wreak himself upon life, may drink the bitter cup of heroism, my wear his heart out after the unattainable." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes
"The 1914-1915 term saw the beginning of a nearly unbroken series of Holmes dissents over the next fifteen years that would be his most lasting legacy to American constitutional law."
"Life is painting a picture; not doing a sum." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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Kate AtkinsonFinish date: December 12, 2019
Genre: Novel, Literary Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson is part of the mystery series featuring Jackson Brodie, former policeman turned private investigator, that has grabbed my heart. Opening with the epigraph below, these lines are echoed throughout this engrossing book as many disparate characters all come together as their lives intersect in very interesting ways. Jackson Brodie is working in northern England for a client in Australia, attempting to resolve the mystery of her birth and subsequent adoption. Another key character is Tracy Waterhouse, a former police detective, now a mall security guard, and her little charge, Courtney. This delightful child will capture your heart in so many endearing ways. The title of the novel is taken from a poem by Emily Dickinson beginning with the line, "Started early, took my dog. . . " with literary references throughout this many-layered novel, as Jackson Brodie has just discovered the writings of Emily Dickinson. Brodie takes in abandoned dog that has clearly adopted him, hence the title of the book. It is a wonderful read, one of my favorite so far of the series. Enjoy!
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
---- Traditional
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Lorna, Assisting Moderator (T) - SCOTUS - Civil Rights
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Steven LevingstonFinish date: December 22, 2019
Genre: Biography, History
Rating: B
Review: Barack and Joe: The Making of an Extraordinary Partnership by Steven Levingston was a wonderful look at the evolving relationship between Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. In the interest of full disclosure, it must be shared that I have been a huge fan of Joe Biden from his beginning days in the Senate and through today while he is a presidential candidate. Mr. Levingston analyzes the wariness between the two senators, Biden and Obama, as both were eyeing a run for the presidency, one a seasoned politician and the other, a relative newcomer exploding on the national scene. This book does a wonderful job in examining the differences but highlighting how they complemented one another and as such, were invaluable to one another and also the country. Because I live in Denver, I was given credentials to the Democratic National Convention in 2008 in exchange for a lot of campaign work for the Obama/ Biden campaign, basically a quid pro quo.! This book does a great job in analyzing the years of the Obama presidency and the close relationship that was forged between these two men and how that not only benefitted Obama and Biden, but also the country during the tension-filled eight years of this presidency. When they came into power, the country was deep in recession, banks were failing, Osama bin Laden was still at large, and wars were raging in Iraq and Afghanistan. Levingston emphasizes how Joe Biden changed the scope of the vice-presidency as never before. It was during this time that they forged a far-reaching reform of health care that gave relief to countless Americans, revolutionized how we look at marriage and expanding gay rights. It was in many ways, a sad time with the many school shootings and the flare-ups of racial violence throughout the country. But throughout all of this the warm friendship between these two men only deepened, as did the relationship between their families.
"Breaking with two centuries of presidential history, Barack and Joe found a way through the thicket of high office and politics to form a lasting bond."
"He turned towards Barack, addressing him: 'There's a Talmudic saying that says what comes from the heart enters the heart. Mr. President, you have creeped into our heart--you and your whole family--and you occupy it. It's an amazing thing that happened. . . I never fully expected that you'd occupy the Bidens' heart--all of us.'"
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Alice HoffmanFinish date: December 30, 2019
Genre: Fiction, World War II
Rating: A
Review: The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman is such a beautiful book that touched my European Jewish and Catholic roots and was imbued with magical realism throughout. I loved this book. This riveting tale is one of the tremendous horrors of the Holocaust during World War II, but it also is a tale of love and loyalty and survival at all costs. It is a story of the unbelievable love and sacrifice of parents throughout Germany and France to ensure the safety of their children, as well as the courage and bravery of these children to survive even in the face of unbearable loss and sadness. It is the story of those brave individuals who were part of the French Resistance working tirelessly to deliver people across the border and interfere with the Nazi occupation of France. While this is a heartbreaking tale, it is also one of hope and faith and love and of bonds forged in unusual places. This is one of my favorite books of the year.
The strangers in your midst shall be to you as the native-born, for you know the stranger's heart, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." --- Exodus 23:9
"The convent and its grounds were elegant and lush, thanks to several wealthy women who, over the convent's long history, had joined the order and brought their wealth with them. In their legendary garden grew roses of every color: rouge; noir; blanche; feu, the color of fire; cerise, the shade of cherries; argent, silver; and or, gold."
Modeh ani l'fanech, melech chai v'kayam schechezarta bi nishmati b'chemla raba enumatecha.
I offer thanks to you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me: Your faithfulness is great.
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheynu melech HaOlam, asher kidishanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His Commandments.
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Lorna wrote: "83. by Alice HoffmanFinish date: December 30, 2019
Genre: Fiction, World War II
Rating: A
Review: The Wor..."
Wow, Lorna, my TBR just got longer!!!
Thank you,
Andrea
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Alice Hoffman
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The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The World That We Knew (other topics)The World That We Knew (other topics)
The World That We Knew (other topics)
Barack and Joe: The Making of an Extraordinary Partnership (other topics)
Started Early, Took My Dog (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Alice Hoffman (other topics)Alice Hoffman (other topics)
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Steven Levingston (other topics)
Kate Atkinson (other topics)
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Finish date: October 22, 2019
Genre: Literature, Novel
Rating: A
Review: Inland is the latest novel by Tea Obreht that is an all-encompassing and beautifully written saga of the American West in the late nineteenth century. The book focuses on two very different characters leading very disparate lives until the exciting conclusion of the book when their lives intersect in a very different and unexpected but magical way. Nora Lark, a pioneering woman living in the Arizona Territory in the late nineteenth century is waiting for her husband, Emmett, to return as well as two her two eldest sons who have also vanished. She is home with her youngest son Toby, who is convinced that there is a mysterious and dangerous beast stalking them, as is young cousin, Josie, also living with them. As she works through the dilemmas facing her, Nora is frequently conversing with her daughter who died in infancy. Her story alternates with the tale related by Lurie Mattie, an orphan from Eastern Europe and a notorious outlaw being pursued by a Texas Marshall. Lurie also has the uncanny ability to see people who have died and is haunted throughout his travels. The result is an exciting new novel treating one to a different look at the American West as only Tea Obreht can do.
"I moved slow along the main thoroughfare, looking through windows, hovering barside, carried on the aftermath of sojourn and execution until I found myself in the plaza once more. The dead were everywhere, flitting in and out of doorways, looking for bits of themselves--for here sat the Alamo, Burke, with its ruined steeples like the peaks cut off a mountain. The flag was slumped on its mast in the courtyard of the governor's house. The windows were filled with yellow light, and shadows of the revelers within were dark against the drapes."
"They diverged according to their responsibilities: he was a man of words; she a woman of action."
"So we went back to the malpais, you and I, and wandered the snaking Colorado, from its floodplain to its northernmost narrows, where the river left us behind to twist between its canyons. I thought often of that water on its unseen course, coming to us from places unreachable by man."
"Hardly a day went by, it seemed without the newspapers touting some remarkable discovery that upended the truth or convenience of living. Miracles of every variety: buildings so tall they could only be summited by electric conveyance; pictures captured on metal. From Atlantic state palaces of learning, educational revues were making their way slowly inland to share the latest scientific advancements: anatomical marvels and wonders of automation. Put together, these all had the effect of drawing things closer to one another, of illuminating that grainy twilight beyond which lay the landscape of a new and truer world."
"I got the sense that everybody had found out what I had known for years: the West was too fine a promise to waste. They were heading there with their wagons and sheep and their trampling feet to make a life that just bit harder and more crowded for folks like me who had known and kept this secret for years."