The Library: An Illustrated History

The Library : An Illustrated History is a must for bibliophiles. Stuart A. P. Murray does an excellent job tracing the origins of libraries from ancient to modern times. The book is nicely illustrated with many, many images. After reading this, I wanted to take a world wide trip devoted to touring libraries.

The book is broken up by time period, starting with ancient times tracing the rise and fall of civilization. Some chapters are further broken down by country or regions. I found it interesting, despite primitive living, that civilizations tended to record their lives and collect information. Books were gathered and then lost due to political upheaval or war. Other books were merely lost due to fire or water damage. What is amazing is that we still have remnants of those early times.

As the book moves forward in time, we get more information on how libraries were organized and established in the new world. I found these chapters the most interesting. I liked learning about the origins of the Library of Congress - thanks to Thomas Jefferson. I know there is more to the story of Melvin Dewey and Andrew Carnegie who both contributed much to modern libraries. Since I work in a public library, I see the dynamics of politics, funding, and collection management on a daily basis. I see how my little library came about because of the desire of the community to better itself. I liked the last chapter which had a sketch of various libraries around the world.

The weakest chapter, for me, was the chapter on library organization. I expected a bit more information on the history of the dewey decimal system versus the library of congress. But I can understand why it wasn't there. Such details would only be of interest to library cataloging geeks like me. So not much of a complaint there.*

The book is nicely bound, which is only fitting for a book about books and libraries.

Book Rating: 4 stars

readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

*The book has one curiosity. I discovered many references from Wikipedia/Wikimedia in the sources list. Many, many librarians and academics despise Wikipedia (I'm not one of them). This author had no problem with it either.

Stealing your life

Frank W. Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can*, wrote Stealing Your Life on identity theft protection. It's funny that I found myself trusting a professional thief over someone who was not. Perhaps it was his writing style, but I found myself paying much more attention.

The book is set-up in a similar fashion as the book I read previously. The first half contains stories of both the thieves and victims of identity theft. Abagnale's descriptions give a lot of detail about the stories. His motivation is to inform you on the why and how victims were targeted and robbed. He even discloses that he has been a victim of fraudulent credit card charges. Some of his stories are repeated in the second half, making for redundant reading.

The book contains 2, maybe 3, chapters on how to protect yourself and resolve problems. Much of the suggestions are found elsewhere on the internet and are common sense. Some of his suggestions are interesting. For example, he suggests using a credit card to pay for as many purchases as possible. IMO, using a credit card sets you up for later problems if you don't pay it off in full each month, a warning he also gives. (Of course, I am thinking if you don't have a credit card, there is no credit card for a thief to steal). Checks are an even bigger problem because of how much information they give about you. And even with implementing his 19 other suggestions, you will still likely be a victim. He has one chapter dedicated to helping you resolve the problem.

Book Rating: 3 stars**

This book is better than the other I reviewed. Still, I am rather discouraged at how prevalent identity theft is and how little there is to protect yourself. For example, how fair is it that you have to PAY to have access to your credit report more than once a year. Why are those things so wide open?

*Yes, there was a movie of the same title.

** A fair warning is that Abagnale promotes a privacy protection plan in his book. He endorses a credit monitoring product with a monthly fee, so the book comes off as a promotional tool.

Spencer's Mountain

If you have seen the movie with Henry Fonda or watched the tv show The Waltons, Spencer's Mountain by Earl Hamner, is where it all started. In fact Earl Hamner was involved in all three incarnations. The movie is most like the book, though it changed settings from the Appalachians to Wyoming. The tv show is really its own story drawing inspiration from both the book and Earl Hamner's life. Earl Hamner did the voice over narration of the tv show.

I have to say I did enjoy the book - though each version is enjoyable in different ways. The book is a coming of age story for Clay-boy Spencer. The setting is a mine-owned town called New Dominion at the base of Spencer's Mountain. The Spencer family originally settled and owned most of the land. Out of necessity or lack of interest, the land was slowly sold off to the mining coming. Clay Spencer, Sr. did not sell and had hopes of building a house at the top of the mountain for his family. But the family and most of the town live in various stages of poverty - depending on each pay check to meet the necessities of life.

The Spencer family is determined that each of their children would graduate from high school, a difficult goal considering their poverty. Clay-boy, the oldest child, shows enough promise that his teacher and minister conspire to send him to college on scholarship. Clay-boy and the family face many choices about life and growing up. Can they sacrifice enough to send Clay-boy to school? The book is slow to start but has a warm ending.

Book Rating: 4 stars.

Identity Theft by Robert Hammond

This is one of two books I picked up at the library on identity theft. Identity Theft book by Robert Hammond came out in 2003 so it is out of date. The difficulty with this type of book is that they do go out of date quickly. More accurate information can be found at reliable websites. Even so, many of the same bits of advice apply - shred paperwork, don't give out social security numbers, etc.

I read this book in less than an hour. And I use the term "read" rather loosely because I skimmed it until I found something worth reading. The first half of the book contains stories of people who either were a victim of identity theft or perpetrated identity theft. Either way, some of the stories were rather unbelievable. Even if they are true, they are told in such a way that makes you wonder. The book has little documentation for most of the stories. There are some useful generic forms to assist victims of identity theft. There are maybe 2 chapters that help victims of identity theft - hardly worth the original price of $14.99.

Book Rating: 2 stars

Two recent book recalls by the CPSC

The CPSC has issued a recall for a children's book due to lead. The book is a soft book made of fabric. One page of the book contains what appears to be a circle of vinyl, though the recall notice calls it "plastic".

Vinyl is known to have lead, but the lead is not normally accessible unless the vinyl cracks or breaks down. Perhaps the dot IS plastic and it IS painted with lead paint. This is one failing from the CPSC recall notices. There is so little information given. How much lead does that dot truly contain? What is the exact material? There are many, many "touch and feel" books in the public. I expect to see more of these types of books recalled because they don't meet the current standard (rather than a true safety problem).

This book was available from May 2004 to Oct 2009. It is possible the book met the standards that existed prior to CPSIA passage but do not now. Does it mean the book is now unsafe even though it was considered safe previously? IMO, the book doesn't pose a huge danger even though the recall makes it appear so. The only thing that would change that stance is if the CPSC or the manufacturer release more information.

** Edited to add info from a tweet by Scott Wolfson, PR person for the CPSC. According to Scott Wolfson, USPIRG turned this book into the CPSC. This makes me even more suspicious because this book was clearly manufactured and sold pre-CPSIA. To what standard was this book determined to be dangerous? Is the lead standard now being applied retroactively? Did the CPSC gives this product the same scrutiny as Zhu Zhu pets, another product turned in by a self-appointed safety group? Without more information it is impossible to know. Instead we get more hysteria.


Wiring book recall

I find this recall rather strange. If it is found that a book contains erroneous information, the publisher normally sends out an errata sheet. But in this case the CPSC issues recalls for wiring books that go back quite a few years (We're talking as long ago as 1975). There are over 900,000 of these books supposedly in the public. I don't see how they could ever get them all back. Some of these books exist in libraries. Some on personal shelves. Wouldn't it be better to issue the errata's so we can all learn. Instead the CPSC just says that some of the diagrams are wrong and pose a danger. Which ones? So frustrating.

I see no benefit to trashing all these books. There are all kinds of errors in home improvement books. Maybe we should pull all of them because people are just too stupid to know better (sarcasm).

The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome

I wanted to learn more about asperger's and autism and so I picked up The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood. I had previously read a book by Temple Grandin which gave a unique perspective of a person with autism. Tony Attwood is a clinical psychologist who has treated many people with asperger's.

I learned a lot of interesting facts about asperger's. This particular diagnosis did not really appear until the 1980's, so it is a newly understood condition (prior to this it would have been just autism). There is some debate on whether asperger's is the same as high functioning autism, though Attwood doesn't like to debate it. He considers asperger's a part of the autism spectrum. And finally I learned that girls are harder to diagnose than boys.

I must admit I only managed to read the first four chapters and that may be ok. I read the chapters that interested me the most. The first few pages claim this book is easy to read. It is not. The author assumes you have some experience in psychology because he uses acronym's and mentions clinical assessments with almost no explanation. The first few chapters discusses the characteristics and diagnosis of asperger's. The remaining chapters discuss various therapies.

Book Rating: 2 stars. This book is really for psychology professionals.

Desert Song, Song of Hope, and Sky Full of Ribbons

I read all three books in the series before writing the review because each review would be the same. The book follows Delia McGrath and her mother Polly McGrath. Delia struggles with her faith, Polly deals with the death of her husband.

Desert Song, Song of Hope, and Sky Full of Ribbons are gentle, Christian fiction. They are thoroughly predictable and expected. The last book in the series, Sky Full of Ribbons, has the most religious exposition. I don't have much to say about any of the books. Take them or leave them. I only stuck it out to see if Delia ended up with one of the male love interests. She does (sorry to spoil it. but considering the type of book it is, it is expected).

I think the books are now out of print. They were poorly marketed and titled. The third book doesn't even look like it belongs to the series. Sky Full of Ribbons has a bright blue cover with a silver foil of a car*. It's appearance makes no sense and the title has no relation to anything in the book. The other two books have images of desert scenery. At the very least the third book should have been called Desert Love, or some such.

One last thing, grab all three books from the library if you choose to read the series. Each book is a short, easy read. In fact, the author could have easily have written all three as one book.

* The appearance of the the third book nearly got it discarded at my local library. If it wasn't for the high circulation rate and being part of the series, it would have been pitched for appearing out-of-date.

Julie and Julia

In high school I went on a field trip to a downtown theater. We saw a play that was loosely based on The Marriage of Figaro. I was thoroughly charmed by the play and the lead actress. So much so that I was willing to tell people of this great little play down at the "Hamburger*" theater**. Anyway, as part of the field trip the actors did a question and answer seminar after the performance. Perhaps it was stupid on the part of the theater to allow 16 year olds to ask questions, I don't know, but some of the questions were not the most intelligent. Even so, the actress whose performance I had thoroughly enjoyed turned out to be the most obnoxious diva. She tore down a 16 year old for asking what I thought was an innocent question. My high appraisal of the play and the actress completely changed and I wanted nothing more to do with it.

Reading the book versus watching the movie of Julie and Julia was exactly the same experience.

I was thoroughly charmed by the movie and Julie, the main character. I caught Julie's blog at the end of her original blog project and was disappointed that I couldn't read along with her journey. The movie captured something that allowed me to connect and relate to Julie and Julia. It was very well done.

So, I picked up the book at the library. I guess I expected Julie's actual blog postings. I expected the same charm as the movie. I was sorely disappointed. There is a scene in the movie where Julie learns of Julia's reaction to her project. Julia's response, as told by a reporter over the phone, was that she felt Julie didn't have a lot of respect (or something, I can't recall exactly and I am not looking in the book to find it). I didn't understand the response in the movie. Why wouldn't Julia be impressed that someone would use her book to learn the art of French cooking? Julia wasn't. Why?

Reading the book it became perfectly clear. The book is full of profanity. Not just a little, but A LOT. So much so that I wondered why I was reading the book. I persevered to the next chapter hoping the profanity would lessen. Instead the profanity was joined with explicit descriptions of sex. I had the same reaction as I did way back in high school. No longer charmed, I cannot recommend the book and I really don't want anything more to do with the author. The only reason to write this review is to warn those who watch the movie and decide to read the book.***

Julie Powell just recently released her second book, Cleaving. I am not reading it because it is more of the same. I wonder how her family tolerates her writing so many intimate details of their lives. It makes me wonder how much of the book is truly factual? How many memoirs do we need on Julie's infatuation with food and all things food related?

Book Rating: Yuck, don't go there

* This is a beloved nickname of locals because the name is Herberger and the theater architecture resembles a hamburger.

** I am not sure how much influence a 16 year old would have had on selling theater tickets.

*** Maybe you will like the book. I am not sure what your tolerance level is for reading this kind of trash, but go for it if you choose. I think there is a thoroughly charming story underneath. Sure wish the editor has found it.

Arguing with Idiots

In honor of the recent Senate vote on the disastrous health care "reform" bill, I grabbed this book from the library. After reading Common Sense by Glenn Beck I had stated I would not read this book. If you watch his tv show or listen to his radio program, you already know what you are going to read. It was certainly true for Common Sense. It's true for Arguing with Idiots too but the book has much, much more substance. I was looking for a way to vent my frustration.

I naively expected the title to tell me about the book - IOW, how-to debate instruction. There was no how-to debate instruction (and frankly, arguing with idiots is an exercise in futility, so why waste the time? And how does one define an idiot?*). Instead, Glenn Beck spends time educating the reader with analysis, facts, and statistics. Once armed with truth, one can then engage in debate.

I ended up liking the book despite my expectations. I did learn a few factoids. I looked at how Glenn structured his point of view. It may help with conversations with those who have opposing views.  (I still don't think I would argue because it's wasted energy). Anyway, the book is for Glenn Beck fans and I think they will like this one.

Just one more observation for libraries. Buy more than one copy. Each page of the book consists of full color images behind the text on glossy paper. I imagine such a book would be expensive to print. Instead, the price is made up with an extremely cheap binding. I was the first in the library to read this book and I don't think it will hold up for more than a few circulations unless the patrons are extremely careful.

Book Rating: 3 1/2 stars

*BTW, this book implies the definition of an idiot as a liberal or one who believes liberals.