In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

Reading Level: Adult Non-Fiction
Submitted by Gerti

I read this book because the story behind the Essex tragedy is what inspired author Herman Melville to write the classic "Moby Dick," read grudgingly by every American high school student.  I have also read that book, and despite the larger themes and leitmotif's-whatever-this is a far better and more interesting account of the matter.

Author Nataniel Philbrick comes from a family of intellectuals who have been inspired by tales of watery daring-do for several generations now.  But given that fine nautical pedigree, Philbrick scores in this book for me by having access to two accounts of the Essex tragedy-the original account published in the 1820's by First Mate Owen Chase, which inspired Melville, but also a newly found recounting by the cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, which adds much to the story.

The basics-the Nantucket based whaleship Essex was sunk by an enormous sperm whale which rammed into it twice.  That incident alone made it fairly unique among whalers of that time, who weren't used to prey fighting back.  But what adds pathos to the account is that after the ship was sunk, the survivors made every wrong decision they could have made: heading off in the wrong direction, going east toward South America against prevailing winds instead of west, toward Tahiti; not lashing the 3 lifeboats together and hence wasting time looking for other survivors and backtracking to find them; not taking all the food available from the wreck (tortoises from the Galapagos Islands) when they had the chance, and therefore having to resort to cannibalism to get meat to survive.

Beyond the story, though, the author has researched several subjects which add to the depth of the reader's understanding.  He has access to modern medical information about the nature of starvation, and therefore is able to draw some conclusions about what the crewman actually went through during their long weeks at sea.  He looks at whether racism played a role in the survivors (many of them Quakers) cannibalizing black crew members, who died first.  He understands the strong bond between the crewman who came from off-island versus those who hailed from Nantucket, and explains why that group had the highest number of survivors.  Best of all Philbrick doesn't really pass judgement as much as he brilliantly profiles those sad fellows who were forced to live through more than average people have to, in terms of physical endurance, moral compunction and psychological stresses, and draws clearly understandable portraits that a modern audience of non-seafarers can grasp.

Finally, he looks at the survivors, and how they carried on after going through so much.  Were they able to summon the strength to succeed?  You'll have to read to find out, but oh gentle reader!  It's such a worthwhile journey! I loved this book!

Nano by Robin Cook

Reading Level: Adult Fiction
Submitted by Gerti

I picked this book by Robin Cook up from the library "New Releases" shelf because I have read a number of Cook books in the past, and always liked his topics and characters.  The topic of nanotechnology holds little interest for me, however, which is why I am happy to say that Cook deals with it in a way that involves little scientific mumbo-jumbo and lots of action.

The main character is Pia Grazdni, a woman who works at a nanotechnology firm out west.  She has graduated from medical school (where she apparently solved a murder/kidnapping-story from a previous book I hadn't read) and one of her med school colleagues is in town to check up on her, for his own romantic reasons.  Cook draws her as a cold fish, however, and she is not interested in him, or any of the other male characters drawn to her smoking body and exotic looks.  She is secretly the daughter of a mobster out east who hails from Albania, and who helped her solve the previous mystery I mentioned from an earlier Cook novel.

The CEO of the company she works at is working with the Chinese to program mini-robots which increase the respiration ability of their athletes.  In the process, he is using Chinese prisoners as guinea pigs, and Pia eventually finds this out before disappearing herself.  Her former bf George works with a local doctor and then Pia's estranged mobster father to track her down, and the fact that she is not located by the end of the book is one of its huge disappointments.  While the character of Pia is not truly likeable, I kink of expect the protagonists to emerge unscathed and the evil-doers to get their just desserts, but that doesn't happen here.

So I give Cook credit for not being formulaic with this novel, but in that, it is a departure from his previous books i have read, in which the good guys win.  I wonder if it's a refection of the fact that Robin Cook has gotten older that he no longer believes in the happy ending, or if he's just setting this book up for a sequel.  Regardless, it was an entertaining ride through the world of competitive science, with a cast of characters who are sometimes stereotypical, but often just odd enough to be interesting.

The Energy of Slaves by Leonard Cohen

Reading Level: Adult Poetry
Submitted by Gerti

This is the second book of Leonard Cohen's poetry that I have read, the first book being written when he was younger, and the change is obvious!  "The Energy of Slaves" is a more mature work, although some of this themes remain constant-women/romance, religion, and politics.

Just like "The Spice-Box of Earth," the young Canadian's first volume of poetry, "The Energy of Slaves," has a confessional tone which at times is uncomfortable to read.  But the quality of the poems is better, and I liked more of them as a result.

I'm now on this 3rd book of poetry that I checked out of the library, and it is a compilation of his best work, so I'll be curious to see if those I selected as my favorites were also selected by poet and his editor for inclusion in that volume.  It includes the poem "Suzanne," which Cohen turned into a lyric which has acquired quite a bit of fame, and is in fact one of the songs/lyrics of his for which he is known. 

A slim 127 pages, but there are about 8 poems in this book that I really liked.  This book is worthier of your time than "The Spice-Box of Earth," and it's easy to read a few poems whenever there are free moments in the day.  So yes, if you like poetry and especially confessional poetry with a strong feel of the 70s, this might be the volume to keep on the nightstand, in the car (or in the bathroom!) "The Energy of the Slaves," is still not a work of genius for me, but once again, there are lines, verses and topics that show the promise of things to come.

Great Scientists by Jacqueline Fortey

Reading Level: Juvenile Non-Fiction
Submitted by Gerti

"Great Scientists" by Jacqueline Fortey is an ambitious overview of a number of scientists from Aristotle in ancient times to Stephen Hawking, so current that he's been the butt of jokes on "The Big Bang Theory" designed for a young audience.  My biggest issue with the book is that I disagree with terming all the people chosen to highlight here as "great" scientists, but that's an issue for intellectuals to discuss in dimly-lit British pubs.  The reason this book exists is to acquaint you readers with the minds and movements of " the pioneers who changed the way we think about our world," as the cover states.  And to a large extent, the book is a good one as it accomplishes that goal.

I enjoyed the information contained in the book, but would quibble with the choice of scientists and "sidebars", the stories of other apparently "less great" (at least to Jacqueline Fortey) scientist who somehow supplemented the work of the great ones.  One example of this is the story of Barbara McClintock, who certainly aided in the understanding of DNA, but who wasn't even a sidebar in the section of Watson and Crick (the team who discovered its structure) but got a blurb on the page devoted to the Nobel Prize.  Having just finished another book on DNA, I knew about her extensive contribution to genetics and the world's understanding on inherited elements, and so felt that she was slighted in this volume.  Another example is Nikola Tesla, who was completely ignored in this books, even though his work on electricity rivaled that of Edison, who gets 2 pages here.

I acknowledge the difficulties inherent in producing a volume like this, but found several omissions of scientists I would consider great, the inclusion of several I would consider minor, and several typographical errors in the sidebar stories, I felt that "Great Scientists" was more of a committee effort, and was surprised today to find that one person was considered the author.  Perhaps that is exactly why the work is uneven-because one person cannot be an expert in all the areas of science that are covered in this umbrella title.  I am willing to admit that my own opinion as a non-scientist is also to be questioned when it comes to making such decisions of inclusion and exclusion, but perhaps DK could have benefited from that committee of scientific intellectuals in order to have more accurately found the 30 scientists who make up the majority of this book.

Duchessina-A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Carolyn Meyer

Reading Level: Young Adult
Submitted by Gerti

When my daughter had to do a report on Catherine de Medici for her 8th grade class, I requested this book from the library.  The book arrived after the report, but I decided to read it anyway, since I like the approach Carolyn Meyer's takes with her series of Princess biographies, by focusing on the historical figures as children and teens.

I knew from Stephanie's report that Catherine de Medici's parents had died when she was still an infant, which already makes the Duchessina a sympathetic character.  What the Wikipedia articles on the Duchess of Urbino don't focus on is the next part of her life, which the young Catherine spent hiding in convents, as the city of Florence turned against her rich and famous family.  Meyer again makes Catherine an object of pity, as she shows how hard it was for her to have a famous name...giving me a little more sympathy for those rich kids who show up in TV news reports after having done something incredibly stupid, despite having advantages of wealth and fame that normal mortals don't have.  Meyer makes it sound more like a curse than a gift to shoulder a name and a reputation, even before you've grown up to earn one.  It's a fresh perspective, and I always welcome that while reading.

Meyer also gives de Medici a childhood romance, which of course the school of research on Catherine didn't turn up.  Whether or not it's accurate or wholly fictional, I don't know, but it does, I'm sure, make the book more appealing to teenaged readers, who may be harboring their own crushes!  The rest of de Medici's life follows the historical pattern we studied-she moves to France to marry a prince who doesn't love her, but survives it exactly because she had been brought up in such a cold, loveless environment.  Who knows what would have become of her if she had in fact been coddled and sensitive, like we expect our princesses to be!  And she triumphs in the end exactly because of her ability to endure and look at the big picture, which is a great message to send.

In short, I'm not sure about the amount of "fact" in this fictional account, but I do like Meyer's use of language, and her story-telling abilities are spot on in this novel for young adults.  She makes Catherine de Medici an accessible character, someone to whom teen girls can relate, and that's a pretty neat trick for a historical figure who died hundreds of years ago!  Meyer makes Renaissance Italy as real as downtown Hobart, and "Duchessina" a book worth reading for all audiences, from children to adults.

Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler

Reading Level: Adult Fiction
Submitted by Max

I apologize if it seems like Cussler novels are all that I review these days, but that will change soon.  I've read my whole collection now, so I should be reviewing different books from now on.  To the point, Atlantis Found is just another great adventure novel.  Cussler has truly mastered the art of keeping the reader entertained, even if you're not on the edge of your seat, so to speak.  This adventure takes you around the world, from Colorado to Argentina to Antarctica and back.  The plot involves a cult of Neo Nazi fanatics who plan to induce a polar shift by cutting off one of the Antarctic ice shelves, causing massive flooding worldwide.

Nazis in Antarctic is one theme that is widely overused, but in this book it seems to work. Once again the unlikely heroes from the National Underwater & Marine Agnecy (Numa) must stop a maniacal scheme of world domination.  My only criticism is that after you've read many Cussler novels, the plot begins to be a tad too predictable.  There's always one twist, but after that, you can pretty much tell where the book is going.  One thing I do like is the clever dialogue between characters, and the characters themselves.

Overall, another great adventure novel to occupy yourself with, perhaps if you're taking a break from racking your brain over more complex novels.  Regardless, the Cussler series will continue to be one of my favorites, with interesting, humorous characters and action packed adventures.  Cussler will never let you down.

The Big Skinny by Carol Lay

Reading Level: Adult Graphic Novel
(4 out of 5)

I thought I had seen every type of weight loss book known to man but I was wrong!  The Big Skinny How I Changed My Fattitude by Carol Lay is a graphic novel weight loss guide memoir.  I have to say it was fun to read.  She even provides some fun recipes at the end of the book.  If you have ever struggled with your weight you can relate to this book and laugh out loud.  Her thoughts have been your thoughts and her struggles have been your struggles.  It is really fun to read someone's memoirs picture by picture!