Hiawatha and the Peacemaker

Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson & David Shannon  48 pp.

Rock 'n 'Roll Hall of Fame inductee Robbie Robertson (guitarist & songwriter for The Band) made his second foray into children's book authorship with this legend from the Iroquois nation. This is not the Longfellow "Hiawatha" redone. Robertson, who is of Cayuga and Mohawk heritage, tells the story he learned as a child from an elder on the Six Nations Grand River Reservation. Up to the 1500s the Iroquois people spent much time in inter-tribal warfare before they joined together to form a confederation. This tale tells how Hiawatha overcame his sorrow at the death of his wife and children to aid the mysterious "Peacemaker" in putting an end to the wars between the tribes. David Shannon's (No, David! & A Bad Case of Stripes) artwork is colorful and dramatic and brings life to the story. Included with the book is a cd of the original song about the Peacemaker written and performed by Robertson.

The Final Curtsy

The Final Curtsy by Margaret Rhodes  208 pp.

This is a memoir by a cousin of of Queen Elizabeth II. Margaret is the daughter of the 16th Lord Elphinstone and Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon, sister of Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Margaret grew up with the current queen and her sister as playmates. Later she went on to work for MI6 during World War II. She married Denys Rhodes who she met during that time and they spent a lot of time in world travels which occasionally found them in dangerous situations during political unrest in Asia and later, Africa. After the death of her husband she took a position as a "Woman of the Bedchamber", a cross between lady-in-waiting and companion to the Queen Mother, accompanying her at public appearances and assisting with entertaining. The title of the book refers to the last curtsy Rhodes gave the Queen Mum as she left the bedchamber of the dead queen. This is a light read. Rhodes debunks a lot of the commonly held ideas about the royals always being stuffy, prim, and proper with tales of hunts and outings where the entourage was dressed in all manner of scruffy "country clothes" and returning home filthy and mud stained. But this isn't a book about royal scandals. The author goes out of her way to avoid those topics. There are several photographs of Rhodes with the two Elizabeths and her family members.

The Sword of Summer

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan, 497 pages.
The first in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series.
Riordan begins a new series focusing on the Norse Gods and he does it as well as he did with the Greek Gods (the Percy Jackson series), the Egyptian Gods (the Kane chronicles), and the Roman Gods (that other series the name of which escapes me). My sons love all of Riordan's books and we listened to this on a recent trip to South Bend, Indiana (Go, Irish!). We were skeptical at first, the narrator seemed a poor choice, but the story was so compelling that we soon stopped complaining and just listened. There are Valkries, svartalfar, elves, and all sorts of mythical giants and other creatures, all busily trying to help or hinder a homeless kid from New York as he begins an epic quest. A fun read.

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry, 546 pages.
Barry does have an epic going here. He starts with some facts about the Great War and the flu, and then he doubles back and gives us the history of medicine up to that point. He then presents a fascinating section on William Welch and the other medical luminaries from the late 19th and early 20th centuries who were changing the way medical science was researched and the way in which medical care was given. Barry does a wonderful job of bringing these researchers and practitioners to life. As he takes us into the early stages of the epidemic, we also make acquaintance with the political movers and shakers of the time, so many of whom seemed to go out of their respective ways to make things worse when the "plague" hit. A really fascinating book, with so much detail, but with so much of the story still barely covered. Modern research indicates that as many as 100 million people died during the course of the pandemic, and most of those deaths took place far from the United States (though the Spanish Flu started here). Untold millions died in India, China, Russia (already wracked by revolution), and in parts of the world whose inhabitants rarely encountered flu. These regions are mentioned, but are not the focus of the book.
There is a fair amount of repetition in the text. I listened to a good deal of this book on audio, so that actually helped a bit with all the names, places, and numbers. Probably a better book to read so that you can keep the vast cast straight. A landmark book, ably read by Scott Brick.

Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection

Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection by Kate Beaton, 166 pages

An excellent collection of comics from Canadian artist, Kate Beaton. Beaton finds her inspiration in literature, history, and old photos, and popular culture. She often mixes these all together with hilarious results, as with the Jane Austen / X-Files mashup, "House Full of Mulders".
Goofy and thoughtful, Beaton's comics often reference literary classics that I have not yet gotten around to reading, and in this volume she builds a series of strips around a classic of which, I swear, I have heard nothing, Kokoro. We have the book at UCPL, and it is in translation, so now I'll have to read it.
The comics can also be found at harkavagrant.com.

Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine

Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy, 294 pages.
Unlike several other books by physicians that I have read recently Tweedy's seems mostly positive. He doesn't spend much time talking about how the changes in health care have ruined medicine. He focuses more on the disparity of care that has existed for Black Americans, and the disparities that can still be found, despite improvements.
Interesting and readable,even if it is not the best of the recent crop of medical memoirs the author does tread new ground and seems to keep his sense of curiosity intact. He also refrains from displaying the omniscience that some long-time practitioners let creep into their narratives.
Tweedy seems to have a positive outlook on health care overall.

The girl in the spider's web

The girl in the spider's web / David Lagercrantz 400 pgs.

Lisbeth Salander is back!  Along with all your other favorite characters.  This time Lisbeth is involved with a shadowy group of hackers, murderers, and all around thugs.  Is this group a remnant of the crime syndicate her father used to run?  Of course Lisbeth is involved in a few other things too.  Mikael Blomkvist and the entire Millennium magazine staff is in financial hot water.  They accepted some money from an investor who is turning out to be a bit of a control freak and general ass hole.  Mikael thinks maybe it is time to end the magazine or he needs to come up with one heck of a scoop to increase revenues.

With many plot twists and some new interesting characters (plus MOST of the old favorites), new author David Lagercrantz does a good job of continuing the Millennium series.  I think Stieg Larsson would be ok with this book.  It isn't perfect but has many of the features that made the earlier trilogy a hit.  Plus, it is the first book in a long time that I could not put down.

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Step Aside, Pops

Step Aside, Pops by Kate Beaton  168 pp.

Subtitled "A Hark! A Vagrant Collection", Beaton has created another satirical collection of comics that touch on literature, mythology, famous people, and society with mixed results. Many didn't impress me much and others were just okay. I think the take-offs on the "Nancy Drew" book covers, "Wuthering Heights," and "Founding Fathers (in a Mall)" were my favorites.

Soon I will be invincible

Soon I will be invincible / Austin Grossman 237 pgs.

I can't get enough of this book told from the viewpoint of a villain Dr. Impossible - the smartest man in the world, and Fatale - a cyborg billed as the "next generation of warfare" and new member of the "New Champions".  The last couple of times I read this book, I raved about Dr. Impossible.  He is still impossibly funny to me but this time around I really have a new appreciation for Fatale.  She is the new girl in the club and is worried about making friends, being accepted and maybe getting some action from fellow team mate and all around hottie, Blackworlf.  There are so many great lines in this book but it adds up to more than just great lines...even the super heroes among us have the same doubts, struggles and issues.  Grossman does a wonderful job of telling a very human story with extraordinary characters.  Still waiting for the movie version of this book!

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Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams / Woody Holton 483 pgs.

The second first lady, Abigail Adams was a woman of many strong opinions that she shared freely with family, friends and acquaintances.  Abigail had strong opinions about women and the rights that were denied to them.  She was a great advocate of education for girls and a proponent of women owning their own property...something that was a bit of a legal quagmire at the time.  Through her uncle who acted as her "agent" she invested in government bonds and made a tidy sum for her family which she considered her own. She was devoted to her husband and those feelings certainly went both directions.

Also the mother of the sixth president, some of her other children brought more heartache than acclaim. This book reveals much of the lady herself through extensive letters and diaries.

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