I don't read many Chicken Soup books, and to be honest, I only picked this up because it was free for kindle. It's actually quite good. The stories arI don't read many Chicken Soup books, and to be honest, I only picked this up because it was free for kindle. It's actually quite good. The stories are varied between zoos and rescues. The human interaction ranges from keepers, to students, to a 90 year woman. Nice and varied.
Merged review:
I don't read many Chicken Soup books, and to be honest, I only picked this up because it was free for kindle. It's actually quite good. The stories are varied between zoos and rescues. The human interaction ranges from keepers, to students, to a 90 year woman. Nice and varied....more
This is a nice collection of various stories about animal rescues or animals overcoming difficulties. In some cases the animals are in a zoo, but in oThis is a nice collection of various stories about animal rescues or animals overcoming difficulties. In some cases the animals are in a zoo, but in others they are returned to the wild. It's a nice little collection. Enjoyable. Also includes animal and science facts.
Merged review:
This is a nice collection of various stories about animal rescues or animals overcoming difficulties. In some cases the animals are in a zoo, but in others they are returned to the wild. It's a nice little collection. Enjoyable. Also includes animal and science facts....more
Because of who wrote history, many stories and people are lost. This could be because of the winners writDisclaimer: I received ARC via Librarything.
Because of who wrote history, many stories and people are lost. This could be because of the winners writing the story as opposed to the losers, like how the Romans wrote about Cleopatra – but it could also be simply deciding who to include in an account. Wendy Murphy’s new book adds to the volume of books that seek to undo this.
Murphy’s book focuses on women who had their work stolen or co-opted by men. It would be a fair criticism to point the majority of women are white, American, in the science/industrial invention category, and post 1880. Some of this makes sense, if you are going to correct what many people think is established fact, you need to come with receipts, and patent records are helpful. There are African-American women in the book, and Murphy addresses how race did/might have played into how their patents or contributions were disregarded. Additionally, there are a few women who have already received attention. There will be some who argue that all the women include in the volume didn’t have their work stole, and that would be true. It is equally, important, however, to highlight women whose contributions have been overlooked or not celebrated because of narratives centering on or by men.
Those criticisms aside, it is a solid book. While fewer African-American women are presented, Murphy does address the dual challenges of racism and sexism (most strongly in the section on Ada Harris who patented a hair straightener for black women). She includes a chapter about women working in NASA, focusing on Dorothy Johnson Vaughn, Katherine Johnson, and Mary Jackson. She does, however, include in this chapter a list more women who are less famous currently. I am ashamed that I don’t know about Alice Augusta Ball who engineered a cure of leprosy only to have a man take credit for it after her death.
Perhaps the most controversial chapter is the one on Mileva Marie Einstein, the first wife of the man. Murphy argues that Einstein’s success was largely due to her work. She lays out receipts in this section like she is in a court case (she is a trained lawyer). All the chapters include a further reading list at the end, and there are footnotes in the chapters themselves.
The book includes women who are still alive and whose work was disregarded not so much by the men who won the award for it, but by the award itself. These examples include a woman whose husband won award for something that the two of them did together (this would be Denise Scott Brown). It was good to note that many times when this happened, the men either protested or noted the women in detail during their speech. In the case of the afore mentioned Alice Augusta Ball, this included her boss who used her name when talking about the injection method as opposed to the name of the man who stole her work. He even wrote papers calling the guy out. Of course there are a few exceptions. The question in this book, at least, is whether Mieleva Marie Einstein’s ex husband was worse than Esther Lerderley’s.
Murphy’s tone is a fun read, and the snark doesn’t detract from the book itself. She opens the book with a personal example, and with the inclusion of a few women shows that the problem of a woman not receiving proper credit is hardly going away.
Helen Molesworth book is a love letter to jewelry and gems. It also is at times a quasi-mem4.5 rounded up
Disclaimer: I received an ARC via Netgalley.
Helen Molesworth book is a love letter to jewelry and gems. It also is at times a quasi-memoir. Quasi because it focuses on her experience with some jeweler y as well as the discovery of some of her grandfather’s travels. But it is far less of a memoir, and far more a love letter.
And that is pretty awesome.
Molesworth absolute love of what she is writing might not be the most obvious selling point for the book, but it makes the book work so well. It’s always fun to read or listen to someone who really loves their work. The other selling point, and most likely the one that is going to be highlighted, is that Molesworth has worked with the collections that were held by Elizabeth Taylor, Wallis Simpson, and Princess Margaret.
But that’s icing, that really is.
Molesworth’s book is divided into chapters centered around various gems. The heavy hitters are here – diamonds, emeralds, rubies. However, and this is great, she includes less games (at least lesser to Western audiences) – garnet, spinel and quartz. Each chapter gives what is in essence an overview of how it is made, where it can be found, possibly a trip to a mine, and famous examples.
Now many of those examples come from the jewelry of Elizabeth Taylor whose two time husband Richard Burton put really nice pieces into stockings. She just had to make sure her dogs didn’t chew them. But they aren’t the only ones mentioned.
Three words -Jade Burial Suits.
Eight words -Goose being feed gems to make them glow.
(Other famous people with jewelry mention here include Cleopatra, Monroe, and Beyoncé). In some class, such as with jade and spinel, Molesworth discusses why in some cases the West viewed them differently than the East. This is particularly true for spinel, where Molesworth traces why the stone fell out of favor in the West.
There is science here as well. Molesworth speaks of the various ways the gems are developed. She goes into the difference between the types of pearls as well as the different types of diamonds. But it isn’t overly scientific writing, so you don’t have to be a geologist to understand it. Furthermore, the love for the subject shines though so even the science bits are not dry at all. In some cases, Molesworth journeys to the mines and places where the gems are found. This includes Burma and that section is particularly interesting. She also visits mines in Columbia and helps look for gems in Sri Lanka (another wonderful chapter). She goes into some of the traditions surrounding not only the crafting of the gems but also the mining of them. The chapter detailing is particularly well written in this regard. She talks to the big names but she also talks to the workers whose names are not remembered.
It would be fair that Molesworth does not address colonialism and the various gem trades head on. But she does acknowledge it, and in the case of the Koh-I-Nor gives the unvarnished story about how the British monarchy got the basically stolen gem, which isn’t bad for a book that is also an introduction to gems. I do wish she had spent more time about the Columbia mine, however.
I enjoyed this book so much. IT was so fun to read a book that was fan girling as it were about gems. I’m going to buy a hard copy. You should order your copies now.
A quick shout out to Emma Thomasch who sent me an email and Netgalley invite for the book. Thank you. You should get a raise.
This is a pretty cool children's book about Death Valley. I love the fact that the National Park Service person is a Black woman. This book is packed This is a pretty cool children's book about Death Valley. I love the fact that the National Park Service person is a Black woman. This book is packed with science as well. Illustrations are good....more
Of the animals discussed in this book, which was published in the 1980s, two are pretty much gone. The Chinese River dolphin is believed to be extinctOf the animals discussed in this book, which was published in the 1980s, two are pretty much gone. The Chinese River dolphin is believed to be extinct and the Northern White Rhino basically is in the wild, though the eggs of the female rhinos have been harvested and saved.
The other animals seemed to have done a bit better.
If anything, the book reminds you of how much we lost when we lost Adams. Even today, when I answer 42 to a question in a class, at least 5-10 students (all of whom were born long after Adams died) will get the joke and break into laughter.
This book isn't academic, and is basically a travel log and plea to do something. It is also a memory of what was (duty free shopping on airplanes for instance, China pre Tiananmen Square.
There are some moving stories and some very funny ones. There is a whole bit about Latvians. ...more
Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
John Valliant’s book details the Fort McMurray Fire of 2016. Fort McMurray is part of Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
John Valliant’s book details the Fort McMurray Fire of 2016. Fort McMurray is part of the Oil Sands; therefore, part of petroleum industry. The fire destroyed much of the town but surprisingly no one died.
While the book is in part a riveting chronicle of the fire and the attempt to fight the fire. In these parts of the books, Valliant details not only the battle to escape from and fight the fire, but also the changes in techniques as well as the changes in the fire itself. Some of the passages in these sections are beautiful. When Valliant writes about fire and its connection to say a light switch, he actually makes you look at it with a sense of wonder. It is this writing both about the history of fire and about the history of Fort McMurray in general that make the background chapters far more than simply background.
The book is also a look at what cause the far more destructive fires – in short the same issues that lead to the development of Fort McMurray -the reliance on oil and such products that contribute to climate change. More than that, he traces the responses of oil companies to the science, dating the responses further back than what is usually discussed. Even here, he makes the science and politics easy to understand, and while not as riveting as the sections dealing with fire, he makes them extremely readable. He even highlights how much oil production is tied to excess profits at some points (pointing at what price Saudi Arabia could sell oil and still break even, for instance).
The drawback to focus on the fire, while highlight the amount of destruction to the town, however, also mean that some things aren’t as fully detailed as a reader may want. Valliant does point out the overprice houses and the motor toys that many residents of Fort McMurray own, drawing at times to the idea of climate change. He also mentions the increase in cancer rates and health problems, as well as addiction and mental illness issues. Yet, at times one wanted a bit more. Additionally, while the impact on Indigenous populations is mentioned it is not fully detail with in depth – yet it is hard to see how this would be in the scope of the book.
Those two asides, it’s safe to say that Valliant hits it out of the park. His descriptive writing in this book is especially strong. ...more
This retelling of the Billy Goats Gruff is designed to teach about bridges. The story makes good use of humor and of theDisclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
This retelling of the Billy Goats Gruff is designed to teach about bridges. The story makes good use of humor and of the brother goats working together. The interplay between all the characters and the narrator Dr. Gnome-It-All was fun as well.
I particularly like that the list of favorite bridges included one that was not as famous and from a non-Western country.
This book teaches in a fun and entertaining way. It was nicely done. The illustrations are campy enough but still good. ...more
This is a rather lovely version of the Princess and the Frog. The story is used to teach sciene, in this case about FroDisclaimer: Arc via Netgalley.
This is a rather lovely version of the Princess and the Frog. The story is used to teach sciene, in this case about Frogs. The narrator is Dr. Gnome-it-all who is constantly marveling that a princess can pick up a gold ball. She tells him why – she works out. The breaking of the fourth wall is funny in this story.
The story doesn’t change much from the original, but the inclusion of science is nicely done.
The creative team of Burns and Evans get bonus points for using people of color for the main characters and highlighting the fact that you can be a princess, like wearing dresses, and like working out. That was nice.
I liked the “Once Upon a Fact” squares. This is an excellent mash up of fairy tale and science.
Disclaimer: ARC via Librarything giveaway. Markus Rex’s account of the MOASiC group’s polar expedition reads more like a diary or a brief journal of tDisclaimer: ARC via Librarything giveaway. Markus Rex’s account of the MOASiC group’s polar expedition reads more like a diary or a brief journal of the expedition. Rex details the various changes that have occurred in the North Pole because of climate, including a very interesting discussion of sea ice. Rex clearly conveys the risks to the Arctic as well as to the Earth general because of climate change. Additionally, his passion for the science and belief in the importance of his expedition are clearly conveyed.
While the science part of the book is interesting, and is important because of climate change, there really isn’t a sense of the people or even expedition itself. The reader gets the whys and wherefores but there is not a real sense of place. Rex conveys his love for what he is doing, the importance of the science, but what doesn’t appear is the sense of being at the North Pole. There is also a strange lack of other people. There are over 100 people on the mission, and while Rex, eventually, gets around to naming some of them, there is little sense of who they are as people. This is weirdness is furthered at various points in the book - for instance “the captain” is mentioned several times before Rex gives the man’s name or when in a nice little bit about cuisine on the ship, Rex applauds the kitchen staff, but never mentions their names. It is a strange thing.
That said, why the book does feel very much like his journal so he didn’t forget what happened at places, I am still glad I read it. ...more
I don't usually two star books that I don't finish, but this is one of those times. In part I wanted to read more about the sea life than Rogers' admiI don't usually two star books that I don't finish, but this is one of those times. In part I wanted to read more about the sea life than Rogers' admirable and committed determination to protect the ocean and its life (and my edition's back cover focuses on the sea life part and not the memoir part. It is far more memoir than about sea life, which is fine but not quite what was advertised). In part, while it is very, very clear that Rogers loves what he does as much as he loves his family, the writing style was not one I found engaging. You could tell that he was "dumbing it down" for none marine biologists. He doesn't do so in an insulting way, and I don't think he believes the readers stupid, but you can pick up on changing how he would phrase something so those of us without the necessary degrees and/or knowledge would understand. And this is good, but it is too obvious that it harms the writing....more
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