MarysLibrary

Presidents' Day weekend

Posted by Wilhelm

This is the start of a three-day weekend in the U.S.  Monday, February 19th, will be observed variously as Washington's Birthday and as Presidents' Day.  Historically, George Washington's birthday (February 22nd) was a Federal holiday.  Abraham Lincoln (February 12th) did not fare so well, and his birthday was never a federal holiday.  It was, however, a State holiday in many States.  Since the early 1970s, when several Federal holidays were shifted to Mondays, Washington's birthday has been observed on the third Monday in February.  In the 1980s, a movement began in support of designating the third Monday in February as Presidents' Day.  The Federal holiday designation remains Washington's birthday, but several States make the day a State holiday under the name Presidents' Day. 

And what better way to celebrate Presidents' Day here at Mary's Library than to review some Presidential biographies.  I'll do one today.  Perhaps Mary will take the ball from here.

For those who are not intimidated by hefty volumes, Conrad Black's Franklin Delano Roosevelt; Champion of Freedom (2003) is a very good read.  To this day, FDR remains a controversial figure in American politics.  Without question, though, he was a thoroughly fascinating character.  Black's book is recognized as one of the best (perhaps the best) one-volume (albeit nearly 1300 pages) biography of FDR.  I found the early chapters somewhat slow going.  Basically, FDR's early years were not that altogether interesting.  He was, of course, a distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, whom he admired greatly.  He married TR's niece Eleanor Roosevelt (upon hearing of the engagement, TR congratulated FDR, quipping that "it's good to keep the name in the family").  His family was wealthy, and his mother's family, the Delanos, were vastly more wealthy than were the Roosevelts.  For me, the book became much more interesting (perhaps because FDR became much more interesting) once FDR was stricken with polio in the 1920s.  Perhaps the challenge of overcoming polio brought out inner reserves of strength that FDR simply had never had to call on before.  In any event, the rest of FDR's life is utterly engrossing.  Roosevelt had no great grasp of economics and it has been long debated whether his New Deal did more harm than good in getting the U.S. through the Great Depression.  Nonetheless, his self-confident leadership brought the nation through its worst economic crisis.  Further, Black concludes that FDR was the best wartime president the United States ever had.  FDR's strategic vision certainly was not perfect, but he dealt effectively with the realities of the war and of a remarkably complicated alliance with the UK, the USSR, and China.  And his choices of top wartime commanders, especially George Marshall, were truly outstanding. 

Black's biography is a worthy treatment of one of the most important figures of the twentieth century.

Happy Valentine's Day

A Gauge Swatch

I tend to knit at a different gauge when I knit in the round vs flat knitting. And all of us tend to knit differently when we are knitting two colors in the same round.

So I don't knit a flat swatch when I'm going to be knitting something in the round and I need to knit in pattern so I can get a more valid measurement from my swatch. And if I'm going to all that trouble, why would I just knit a piece of fabric and then tear it out?

So here's the wearable gauge swatch I knit for my "Marius" drop shoulder Norwegian style sweater.

Where Visitors Come From

It's interesting to browse through Site Meter's listing of visitors to Marys Library. Site Meter, as most of you know, is an application that records the location from which visitors to the blog arrive, how long they stay, and their ISP. Some visitors are entirely anonymous except for their time zone or their country.

I have had a visit recently from Hepzibah, Georgia, which tickles me because this is not the biggest or best known city in North America. And because I lived there for a time back in 1969. It's about 19 square miles in size and has a current population of 3,880. It was a lot less back when I lived there (downwind from a paper plant and across the way from a drag racing track, but we won't go into that.)

I have a reader in Nicosia (Hi, Nic) and many readers in Britain. I used to have a regular visitor from Germany, but he or she has drifted away, alas. (Auf Wiedersehen.)

Most important Site Meter tells where the visitor found my blog, whether by clicking on a reference in another blog, by searching google or Technorati for a subject, or just by browsing through a list of unrelated blogs.

My all-time biggest draw was a review of Francine Prose's book, Reading Like a Writer. The second was a post about How to Become Ridiculously Well-Read in One Evening.

Most recently the popular search is for the name of a porn star. I never mentioned the lady in my blog. I did write in a post about two people and the first name of one and the last name of the other combine to prove the old addage that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Old Hickory

Posted by Wilhelm

I've finally finished reading H.W.Brands's Andrew Jackson -- His Life and Times.  This is one of the better biographies that I have read in some time.  Of course, Jackson provides great material for a biographer.  And, true to its title, the book provides an overview of American history from the War of Independence up to the Mexican War.  Brands brings to life the great issues and moments of the era -- the "corrupt bargain", the Missouri Compromise, the nullification crisis, the Tariff of Abominations, Webster's reply to Hayne, the Second Bank of the United States controversy.  And the people -- John Calhoun, Daniel Webster, Sam Houston, Thomas Hart Benton, Henry Clay.  The scope of the book is breathtaking, and Brands' writing is exhilarating.

Jackson, himself, was in many ways an exasperating character.  He was great both in his virtues and his flaws.  He was combative by nature, except with those closest to him (especially his beloved wife Rachel).  Next to Rachel, his great passion for was for the Union.  Jackson saw, with good cause, that the United States in its early years was surrounded by enemies and by potential enemies.  Without vigilance, the Union could easily be torn asunder -- by having territories stripped away or by a division of the States.  Without the Union, American liberty and the American experiment in democracy would surely fail.  Jackson was far from alone in this belief.  As Daniel Webster concluded in his reply to Hayne during the nullification crisis "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" 

Jackson's election as President in 1828, for good and for ill, was a true watershed in American politics.  He was the first populist President and he reshaped American politics.  He was much more politically astute than both friends and foes had anticipated.  On matters of policy, his record was rather mixed.  He was strong on national defense and preservation of the Union.  His position on slavery was not particularly enlightened, but neither was it unduly retrograde considering his time and circumstances.  The same could be said of his dealings with American Indians.  His worst blunder probably was his destruction of the Second Bank of the United States.  He saw the bank as a bastion of privilege that was at odds with the interests of the people -- especially those of the South and West.  Also, he considered the creation of the Bank to have been unconsitutional.  Jackson won his battle with the Bank and its president, Nicholas Biddle.  That victory played a large part in American financial instability over the next century. 

All in all, the book is a great read for those interested in history and good biography. 

Books By You

This morning the Spokane Spokesman-Review has a story about an intriguing new book idea, the personalized novel. You answer a questionnaire about yourself and your beloved and send it to Mike Pocock. He and his writers plug your info into one of their books. Voila! You star in a romance novel.

By going to Pocock's site, Books by You, and filling in a few blanks, you can read an episode or two from one of these romances to get an idea about how they work. You can choose from stories set in the world of stock car racing, an emergency room, a pirate ship, the wild west, etc.

Here's an excerpt from my stock car racing story:

When he noticed his pit crew staring at him, Wilhelm cleared his throat. "All right, boys," he called to them, running his fingers through his silver hair while heading out of the garage. "Take care of my girl!"
     They weren't sure whether he meant the Taurus or Mary.

If you order today or tomorrow you could have your romance in the hands of your beloved by Valentine's Day.

Stendhal Quote

A novel is like a bow, and the violin that produces the sound is the reader's soul. - Stendhal

Remembering St Ives

The UPS man came by a few minutes ago and dropped off a book I ordered a long while back. So far back that I no longer remember where I heard about it. I suspect Susan Hill and her Woolf for Dummies project.

Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: Remembering St Ives is that rare and delightful thing, a book about Virginia Woolf that doesn't just repeat the things we already know and the photos we have already seen.

Talland House, where the Stephen family spent their summers when Virginia and Vanessa were girls, is important in understanding VW and since I had no idea what St Ives looks like or what or where the house might be, this is going to be an important addition to my VW library. It has especially good photos and reproductions of paintings.

Valentine's Treat

One of the most expensive products on earth, coming in there right after platinum and sapphires, is 70% cacao Scharffen Berger chocolate. Well, eat your heart out girls, I just got my Valentine from Wilhelm (a little early) and it's much more satisfying than platinum or sapphires.

And, the frosting (chocolate) on the cake (chocolate), a book, called The Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate. This book is from the genre known as food porn. The photos are dizzying. There's an extreme closeup of chocolate chunk cheesecake that . . . well . . . I'm speechless.

The Higher Power of Lucky

This year's winner of the Newbery medal is The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. I read it last night in one gulp and re-read it today more slowly.

It's a quirky book, with a leading lady of great charm, Lucky Trimble. This 10-year old, not allowed to wear makeup, carries mineral oil around to put on her eyebrows to make them shine. I wish I'd thought of that.

Lucky lives in Hard Pan, population 43, in the high desert of California with her guardian, Brigitte, who came from France to care for her after her mother died. Fearing that Brigitte is going to go back to France, Lucky makes a bid for attention by running away.

But of course problems ensue. A sandstorm that she thought was going to help her makes it difficult to know where she's going. Her dog, HMS Beagle, makes an unwelcome discovery that complicates her escapade.

I loved this story and admired the budding scientist, Lucky, her knot-tying friend Lincoln, and five-year old Miles, who lives on cookies, makes very strange noises, and asks everyone to read his favorite book to him again and again.

But I wonder if the intended audience for this book, children in grades four to six, will find it as captivating as adults do. Will boys want to read a book with a girl as the main character? I wish I knew a 10-year-old boy who could review it for me.