Reading List by Jayne for Autumn 2024
Graveyards by Alastair Horne
Graveyards, burial sites and cemeteries are as old as human civilization, resting places and memorial sites for loved ones, the great and sometimes the infamous. Some of these places retain a poignant atmosphere that tells of heroic or deadly deeds – the 210 men of George Custer’s command are remembered by graves scattered around the memorial marking their defeat at Little Bighorn in Montana, USA.
Other, older graveyards retain a haunting quality that tells of the long history of their country and people – the 16th century Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh was soon filled with the bodies of victims of bubonic plague. Graveyards reveals both the universality of death, and the diversity of how we commemorate or memorialize our dead, from the hanging coffins of Sagada, Philippines, where, among the jungle-clad peaks of the stunning Echo Valley, hundreds of wooden coffins are hung from impossibly sheer rock faces, to the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, testament to the huge Jewish community that lived in the Czech capital before the Holocaust.
Readers can marvel at the Cairo Necropolis, known as the ‘City of the Dead’, a series of vast Islamic-era tombs and cemeteries dating back more than a thousand years, and enjoy the Merry Cemetery in Romania, famous for its brightly coloured tombstones with paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the lives of the people who are buried there. With detailed captions explaining their history and often ghostly past, Graveyards is a vivid pictorial exploration of the best-known, most-haunted and quirkiest burial places in the world today.
Review
I know it might sound odd but I’ve always found cemeteries to be peaceful and calming places which makes me a taphophile. This lovely coffee table book takes readers around the world to see some spectacular ones. Despite the B&W cover, the other photos are in gorgeous color with tidbits of information for each location.
Most of these cemeteries were first opened in the 19th centuries, although often the early burials were reinterred from overcrowded city center cemeteries and graveyards, but some date back thousands of years including ones in Italy, Greece, Turkey, China, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Some are specifically military or for civilians who died in wars such as many WWI/II ones in France, Belgium and the Netherlands; Arlington National Cemetery in the US; Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore, and the Seoul National Cemetery in South Korea.
Many of these cemeteries are in wooded glades or overlook bays and oceans while others are tucked in bustling cities. Some of Cairo’s poorest live in the crypts of the City of the Dead. Morne-a-l’Eau in Guadeloupe looks like a black and white checkerboard. Over 100 victims of the Titanic sinking are in Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Nova Scotia while the Fourty-Seven Ronin are buried at Sengakuji Temple in Tokyo.
Neptune Memorial Reef off the coast of Florida has the cremains of 600+ people mixed with concrete to form an artificial reef and the Sunken Cemetery in the Philippines – a victim of a volcanic eruption that caused it to sink below water – is a popular place for snorkeling. In very popular cemeteries places can only be rented for ten years and in others, such as Farina Cemetery in South Australia, there hasn’t had a new grave in over 50 years.
We all have to go eventually so check out some of the places where people (hopefully) rest in peace. And yeah, I probably should have paired this review along with “Go to Hell.” B
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Library Mule of Cordoba by Wilfrid Lupano
Here’s the story of what happens when saving the world’s knowledge from destruction depends on the worst mule in history!
The Caliphate of Al-Andalus, Spain, 976. The Caliphate has been blessed with a period of peace, culture, and science for nearly sixty years. The Caliph Abd al-Rahman III and his son al-Hakam II made Cordoba the Western capital of learning. But al-Hakam II dies young, and his son is only ten years old.
One of his viziers, Amir, seizes the opportunity to take power. Radical clergymen, in exchange for their support of the illegitimate pretender, want to see the 400,000 books in Cordoba’s library burn!
The night before the biggest bonfire ever, the head librarian, a chubby eunuch named Tarid, gathers up all the books he can and loads them onto the back of a passing mule. He takes off in the hopes of saving what he can of universal knowledge.
Joined by a young copyist and a former apprentice who went on to become a thief and vagabond, Tarid and his lazy, over-burdened “bibliomule” set out on a madcap adventure: crossing nearly all of Spain with Berber mercenaries in hot pursuit!
Review
I thought I’d be getting a novel rather than a graphic novel and that is on me. I also thought – and I should know better by now – that it would be more lighthearted than serious based on the cartoon cover. Repeat after me – I should know better. Instead it is a graphic novel about something that (based on the information after the story) might or might not have actually occurred.
The rough and ready illustrations don’t enchant me but they do work to quickly move the narrative along. There are a few sections that I had trouble figuring out what was going on along with some jump-cut flashbacks. The problem is that I don’t care for any of the characters. None of them. And two of the MCs are ones who love books. Sure it makes them more believable perhaps as none of us are perfect but the way these three snip and snipe at each other gets tiresome. And for a group on the run from probable death, they sure to cause a lot of their own delays.
The book namesake, the mule, is also threatened left, right, and center as well as being overburdened for most of the story. The three main characters do work to save the mule in the end but I still don’t like them.
I learned more about the era, places, and people from the afterward information than I did from the book. C
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Treasures of Ancient Egypt by Nigel Fletcher-Jones
Four thousand years before the birth of Christ, ancient Egypt was the cradle of modern civilization. Powerful pharaohs built great cities on the fertile banks of the Nile, and employed thousands of labourers to create lavish tombs and temples such as Thebes and the pyramids of the Giza plateau. Today the exceptional beauty and scale of ancient Egypt’s antiquities is legendary and draws millions of visitors to Egypt’s museums and monuments each year. Treasures of Ancient Egypt is a celebration of these wonders, from Tutankhamun’s tomb to the pyramids, from ancient papyrus scrolls covered with hieroglyphs to golden amulets in the form of ankhs and scarabs. Featuring 160 colour photographs, Treasures of Ancient Egypt tells the stories of the pyramids, the Sphinx, the Valley of the Kings, and the artefacts that have been found there. From necklaces to mummies, from wall paintings to statues, this is a fascinating, highly colourful exploration of a mighty ancient civilization.
Review
This is the second book by Fletcher-Jones I’ve read and I enjoyed it just as much as “Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History.” Much like that book, in this one the author gives a short but informative history of the country. Lovely photos illustrate key points and people. There are a fair number of photos of places and temples but this time around I was drooling over the jewelry, statues, and furniture as well. The craftsmen of Egypt were amazing and this book will show some of their signature work. He includes picture credits and a list of museum locations for some of the items. B
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The Trade Off by Samantha Greene Woodruff
A brilliant and ambitious young woman strives to find her place amid the promise and tumult of 1920s Wall Street in a captivating historical novel by the author of The Lobotomist’s Wife.
Bea Abramovitz has a gift for math and numbers. With her father, she studies the burgeoning Wall Street market’s stocks and patterns in the financial pages. After college she’s determined to parlay her talent for the prediction game into personal and professional success. But in the 1920s, in a Lower East Side tenement, opportunities for women don’t just come knocking. Bea will have to create them.
It’s easier for her golden-boy twin brother, Jake, who longs to reclaim all their parents lost after fleeing the pogroms in Russia to come to America. Well intentioned but undisciplined, Jake has a charm that can carry him only so far on Wall Street. So Bea devises a plan. They’ll be a secret team, and she’ll be the brains behind the broker. As Jake’s reputation, his heedless ego, and the family fortune soar, Bea foresees catastrophe: an impending crash that could destroy everything if she doesn’t finally take control.
Inspired by the true story of a pioneering investment legend, The Trade Off is a powerful novel about identity, sacrifice, family loyalties, and the complex morality of money.
Review
I was primed for this one with its go-getting and smart heroine making her way against the tides that were still against not only women but also basically anyone who wasn’t a white male. Bea is determined and hard working. She grabs any chance to improve herself, increase her knowledge and get what she wants – a job as a stockbroker on Wall Street. Her home life is checkered with parents who fled the pogroms in Odessa only to not quite make it good in NYC. Her father has worked his way up to a respected merchant but her mother can do little but bemoan her lost life of wealth and privilege. What little Pauline does do is favor Bea’s twin brother whose path Bea then proceeds to smooth and whose mistakes Bea compensates for. Bea is the brains while Jake is the charm in this duo.
Bea’s also got a martyr/savior complex going on and there is a lot of repetition to wade through. Granted I don’t know that much about being a stockbroker and learned a little but I wanted more action and less of the same thing again. The characters felt a little cliched as well. I appreciate the idea of the book but am less happy with what I actually read. However the author’s note is almost worth the price of admission. Definitely read that part. C-
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Every Valley by Charles King
George Frideric Handel’s Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras, as well as by audiences singing along with the words on their cell phones.
But this work of triumphant joy was born in a worried age. Britain in the early Enlightenment was a place of astonishing creativity but also the seat of an empire mired in war, enslavement, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth. Against this turbulent background, prize-winning author Charles King has crafted a cinematic drama of the troubled lives that shaped a masterpiece of hope.
Every Valley presents a depressive dissenter stirred to action by an ancient prophecy; an actress plagued by an abusive husband and public scorn; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; and an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies and hatching a dangerous plan for getting back home. At center stage is Handel himself, composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audience’s attention. Set amid royal intrigue, theater scandals, and political conspiracy, Every Valley is entertaining, inspiring, unforgettable.
Review
I read the blurb. I knew that this would cover much more than just the work in question which I agree “is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created.” I just didn’t realize that there would be so much other than the Messiah. If I had wanted to read about interesting details of the early 18th century, this would be a fascinating book. It’s obviously well researched, the writing is good if at times confusing enough that I needed to stop and reread sentences a time or three. But, I did sign up to learn specifically about the Messiah and I’ve just lost patience with getting to that point. DNF
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Spacecraft and Rockets: Photographs from the Archives of NASA by NASA and Nirmala Nataraj
Discover the remarkable NASA spacecraft that have captured our imaginations for decades.
The rockets, rovers, satellites, and space stations that have charted courses into space are depicted in beautiful color images and paired with engaging annotations. Complete with a preface by Bill Nye, this collection perfectly captures the wonder and science of space exploration. From the earliest Saturn and Gemini missions through the modern-day Artemis and HALO ships, these extraordinary spacecraft will fascinate anyone intrigued by science, history, and the mysteries of the beyond.
CELEBRATE INNOVATION: Spacecraft and Rockets features fascinating images accompanied by expert explanations of the history and science of space exploration. This book is a unique celebration of the technological advances that have taught us so much about the universe and our place amongst the stars.
NASA-APPROVED SPACE BOOK: Bearing the official imprimatur of the legendary space agency, this stellar hardcover volume provides a guided tour through the history of NASA’s most exciting innovations and inventions.
Review
Exactly what the title promises but with a little bit more. Bill Nye leads with a great intro to modern space exploration. Then comes the dazzling images which include both photos and artist renderings (for the stuff that hasn’t been launched yet or for which there was no way to get an actual photo). The pictures are fantastic and the information snippets are accessible for (I’d guess roughly) middle school and above. B
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What a neat collection of books, Jayne. Thanks for sharing both the hits and the misses!
Graveyards are always quiet and fascinating to me. Given the opportunity, I’ll visit one wherever I am in the world.
@Kareni: What didn’t work for me might be someone else’s catnip. ☺
@Darlynne: A fellow taphophile!