BOOK REPORTS—

American Creation by Joseph J. Ellis

How did the Founding Fathers create and install the finest form of government in history? How did they achieve a stunning defeat of the British in the Revolutionary War? Why, in the creation of this republic did they fail to solve the problem of slavery? Why did they fail to fairly accommodate the Indian natives? If you enjoy US history this is a dandy read.

America 1908 by Jim Rasenberger

A nice frolic through the US—exactly 100 years ago. While the Wright brothers had flown 5 years earlier, flight still remained a myth and a dream for most Americans. Peary was making a dash to the North Pole, Teddy Roosevelt was flexing America’s growing naval muscle, and young Henry Ford introduced the Model T. It’s a nifty chronicle of our country’s arrival on the world stage.


No Reservations by Anthony Bourdain

This guy superficially squandered an interesting thesis—sampling the world’s culinary and culture delights in a romp around the globe. And he stooped to the use of base language which, as usual, simply exposes one’s inability to express themselves intelligently. Lots of photos—mostly a poor copy of National Geographic’s outstanding stuff; especially the near countless ones that contained the author’s mug. Leave this one at the library.


Lord of the Flies by William Golding

After a nuclear holocaust a plane load of children crash on a deserted island and struggle successfully with their survival—until they begin to act like adults. It is a fictional tale posing as a sociological examination with a science fiction flavor in the early pages. The next time I have the urge for a read in this genre I’ll pick up another Jules Verne.



FOGEYISM FACTOID
The Trivial Variety—

The human heart beats more than 100,000 times each day.