Super Better by Jane McGonigal (game theory, games for mental and physical improvement)

Originally published in the New York Journal of Books, September 14, 2015. 

 Releases September 15, 2015.

Super Better: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient—Powered by the Science of Games by Jane McGonigal

By Amy Henry

Jane McGonigal has been acclaimed for decades for her theories in gaming and the value of games in relation to positive psychology and problem solving; however, it wasn’t until 2009, when she suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that she created the concept of Super Better.

Super Better is a very personal method of transforming the depression and anxiety related to injury into a successful mode for coping and actually getting better.

She goes from plain Jane to “Jane the Concussion Slayer,” a new identity used as “a way to start feeling heroic and determined instead of hopeless.” Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is examined in detail throughout the book, as she shows that there is a positive component, an alternative, called post-traumatic growth. In this she seeks to show how one can not only recover from TBI but also become better than ever before for the experience.

Her core strategy, or the rules of the SuperBetter game, are seven touchstones for each player to achieve. They are achieved simultaneously, not as individual steps. She does encourage one to start with the simplest, but ultimately wants her readers to focus on interacting with all seven features of the program. The first is “Challenge yourself,” and this is the most dramatic of the set: many injured or depressed people don’t feel up to another challenge than the one they are already battling. Instead, she shows how challenge is possible, necessary, and rewarding.

She starts with quests, some so simple as to seem silly; however, willingness to try these simple tasks is a way of opening up the mind to new achievements. And it’s the mind that controls much of the pain experiences and anxiety issues that trouble the entire person.

The book is filled with anecdotal evidence as well as serious scholarly references. For example, she discusses burn patients, who suffer excruciating pain when their wounds are cleansed. Yet a virtual reality game, set in a snow filled environment, was given to some patients to play during the process. Their focus on the game and the impression of the snow enabled a reduction in pain so great that some didn’t realize their wounds were being cleaned while they played. Why does it work? The mind was intensely distracted, and the benefits were enormous:

“In order to prevent pain signals from turning into a conscious awareness of pain, patients need to swing their spotlight of attention somewhere else—and keep it there.”

In this, it’s cognitive focus that provides the needed distraction to focus pain somewhere else. And much of this is as simple as playing a game of Tetris. Tetris, the old-school video game, employs a simple but fast paced strategy of matching tiles in specific ways. Created in 1984, it still commands huge benefits when one is discussing cognitive focus. More traditional games like Scrabble, crosswords, or puzzles simply don’t offer the speed and required attention to become sufficiently distracted. So McGonigal encourages readers to focus on digital games with color and speed to divert attention.

Some of the applications of such gaming benefits are still evolving to be used for maximum benefit. In one case, Oxford scientists found that people exposed to a horrific situation that would likely result in them suffering PTSD could alter that eventuality by playing Tetris within six hours of seeing or being involved in the triggering situation. 

Fascinating, yes. But in real life how does one predict a situation of such staggering proportions? And then, how would one possibly be able to ensure a Tetris game would be on hand? Further, would a victim even be willing (or able) to dispel their shock and pick up a video game? The benefits are intriguing, but the application is still impractical.

McGonigal also addresses the many stories in the media about how bad video games are and how they distance people from real life. She clarifies this by asking why people are playing these games for hours:

“If you typically play games to escape your real life—that is, to ignore your problems, to block unpleasant emotions, or to avoid confronting stressful situations—you will have a very difficult time translating your game skills to real life.”

Yes, gaming to escape is not beneficial. But if one is choosing to “play with purpose” as a form of quality family time, or to learn a new skill, or to relax after a rough day, then gaming can be a positive force. Viable applications are discussed throughout, mostly in cases of pain management. And specific Challenges, such as the Ninja Challenge, can aid any person in altering their minds, bodies, and relationships.

While McGonigal starts with her personal recovery story, she completes the book with a positive scope that widens out the possibility of anyone becoming SuperBetter via her tactics.

Special thanks to Penguin Press

 and Elizabeth Calamari for the Advance Review Copy.

2015 Maritime Reading Challenge

2015 Maritime Reading Challenge

Andrew Wyeth

It's been ages since I've suggested a Reading Challenge, and this one is a bit personal.  First, I adore Andrew Wyeth art and have been slowing collecting a few pieces (reproductions, of course).  My favorites are his ocean and ship images(even decrepit ones like above). Actually, ESPECIALLY the old and decrepit ones.  

At the same time, I recently saw a PBS Special on Sting's new production on Broadway, The Last Ship.  I bought the soundtrack. I am a bit obsessed (of course, hearing an eight-year-old sing sea shanty songs from the backseat is fun too!).  About this same time I was reading Brian Doyle's novel The Plover that just knocked me out: top 5 of my forever book list easily.  

Lastly, I've been spending more time than usual at my local favorite gorgeous beach and there is something so mysterious and visceral about the waves and rocks that I have the ocean on my brain. This reminds me of advice from a sage poet when I shared a ocean poem with him: he basically said, don't bother, it's all been said, as everyone feels this way about the sea. So let's see what's been said before! Can any author or poet describe the atmosphere of the sea that matches our own?

As a kid, I was lucky. We camped by the ocean each summer.  I confess that for far too long, I used to see the distant ocean oil-rigs lit up at night beyond the Channel Islands and thought that they were drive-in theaters on Hawaii.  Yep, smart kid.  It was at this beach, Refugio, west of Santa Barbara, that I first read Island of the Blue Dolphins, a true-story from Scott O'Dell that is a childhood classic now and that has set me (and a gazillion other kids)on a course for saltwater romanticism.

In my obsession with Andrew Wyeth I discovered his father had illustrated and edited Sea Story Collections.  Incidentally, the entire Wyeth family apparently are outrageously gifted artists.  Sadly, my family just creates long-term grudges!

So, it's still January, it's early, so it still counts!  Jump in!  Instructions below:  ***

2015 Maritime Reading Challenge

Any titles related to the sea or ships (both commercial and military), in any time period, in any region.  Nonfiction is fine, poetry is great, fiction is better! Classics like Robinson Crusoe, Moby Dick, The Old Man and the Sea, etc are obvious choices.  We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen is a recent title that is amazing, related to Danish seafaring. The Lighthouse Road by Peter Geye is another such title focused on Lake Superior.  Another surprise is the book Longitude: by Dave Sobel, a nonfiction look at how men figured out how to navigate by longitude and not just latitude.

The Pilothouse Chart company lists these titles (some are mentioned above)in their top 10 of nautical fiction:  (www.pilothousecharts.com/nautical.htm)

• Grey Seas Under by Farley Mowat
• Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad (I could not get through this book....)
• Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien
• Spartina by John Casey
• The Sea Wolf by Jack London
• The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
• Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
• The Wreck of the Mary Deare by Hammond Innes (out of print but still possible to find)

Entirely imaginary titles for completing parts of the Challenge:

• Captain: read five books and list them on this Challenge entry page (see tab above for link)
• First mate: four books
• Navigator:  three books
• Cabin boy: two books, and the knowledge that "In cases of shipwreck or starvation from prolonged be-calming, they are the first to be eaten by higher-ranking crewmates. (International Fellowship of Royal Privateers website)

***Any mention of the ghastly "Pirates of the ..." movie series constitutes an immediate expulsion from the Challenge for obvious reasons.  But, please feel welcome to mention a film or series or even exhibition related to the maritime world and maybe someone else can enjoy it too.

Sign in with name, means of contact, location by country, and goal in the comments section below.

Niagara Digressions by E.R. Baxter III

“The ideal reflecting pool is smaller, rather than larger…deep enough to suggest mystery and to sustain schools of minnows or other small fish so that these may be observed in the shallows.



Ferns, wildflowers, and grasses should be permitted to grow unmowed on some of the shore, trimmed grass in other areas….Mature trees, native to the region, not nursery ornamentals, should also be left to grow on the shores, establishing groves or small forests. There should be no artificial lighting.”

When I hit this section of E.R. Baxter’s new book, Niagara Digressions, I couldn’t help but think he was talking about more than simply viewing a landscape. The quote above felt more fitting in describing this book, a collection of stories, musings, and history by a writer who is unpretentious and honest. There’s nothing artificial or hyped up about his recollections, and there’s nothing showy in the famous names he drops.

As Eric Gansworth, who wrote the introduction, states, “this book, in its more unorthodox style, is closer to truth than most of those memoirs with which you might already be familiar. It’s an aesthetic representation of the way we really see our lives, if we are at all careful listeners and viewers, witnessing the way we perceive the world.” Baxter is all over the place (in the best way possible) in how he recalls events that were significant in his life, and ultimately, in the history of that region and even in literary culture. And the almost rambling path he takes isn’t annoying, it’s endearing. Better yet, he’s not one of those figures who nostalgically look back and whitewash realities that are easier forgotten. His voice is honest, and just as importantly, unadorned with anything extraneous.

In one part of the book, he speaks extensively about his Uncle Bill McCoy, cataloguing details of his life that tell their own story, right down to the personal effects left when he died. These included numerous photographs of his life at sea:

“Photographs: there are photographs of ships at sea, foggy, misty, too far off to be recognizable, street scenes, all taken from too great a distance to be focused on individuals, but more on the aggregate, picture of a lone man on a deserted street at dusk, almost half a block distant, nearly a silhouette, walking away.”

Somehow the description feels eerily poetic, filling out the stories he’s already told about Bill to make him both complicated and endearing. Besides colorful characters he’s known, and some especially dishy gossip about Ginsberg and W.S. Burroughs, he also speaks seriously about toxic chemicals in the region, the romantic life of red foxes, Shredded Wheat, dead foxes, the annoying habit of people who stir their coffee too long, and the beauty of flaws in old houses. The play between dead serious and wry wit is compelling, and makes you wish you could sit by a fire and listen to him talk. His reflections, like those found in the pond he described, can only have come through his personal perception. Yes, that’s obvious, but unfortunately, it’s rare. Few people can talk about life without whining or trying to instill some all-important message.

The title is based on his lifelong location on the Niagara River, and many, but not all, of the 'digressions' are from this location. From his website (http://www.erbaxteriii.com/), he explains simply the subjects about which he writes: "it all rises from here, originates, is foundationally from here, the place that increasingly these days becomes the imagined landscape I call home."


Ultimately, Baxter’s work here coincides with his vocation as a teacher. He wants readers to observe and think, to write well for having interpreted for themselves life around them. It’s fitting that when again, he discusses the reflecting pond, he asks, “Where are you in the picture, standing or sitting tentatively near the edge, staring down?”

Special thanks to Ted Pelton for the Advance Review Copy.

Stein and Hemingway by Lyle Larsen (all the juicy bits...)

The Story of a Turbulent Friendship

First off, who selected the photos for the cover art for this book?  Seriously, it sets the mood immediately:  Gertrude Stein looking mean and shrill and Ernest Hemingway with an amiable Dos Equis half-smile, his cap at a jaunty angle.  Would I have perceived the book differently had she looked a bit more congenial? 

In any case, this is a fascinating read full of gossip and name-dropping of just about every major literary figure in the US and UK in the early 20th century.  The book covers more than just the friendship between Stein and Hemingway, as Eliot, Pound, Fitzgerald and others (Picasso!) are interspersed in the stories. Somehow it surprises me to see just how catty and vindictive many of these authors and poets were, especially that they seemed to focus a great deal on revealing the faults of each other rather than promoting the writing art.

Stein seems to have all the great lines.  In one case, the book explores the numerous times writers came to visit Stein at 27 rue de Fleurus.  One night, Ezra Pound stopped by. "Gertrude Stein liked him but did not find him amusing.  She said he was a village explainer, excellent if you were a village, but if you were not, not."  Ouch!  Another night T.S. Eliot shows up:  "Eliot and Gertrude Stein had a solemn conversation, mostly about split infinitives and other grammatical solecisms".  Stimulating!  But when Hemingway came to see her, their conversations and subsequent friendship became a random mixture of mutual admiration and dismissive gestures, mind games and begrudged respect. 

Stein's opinion of Hemingway thereafter, and her part in his success is revealed in a conversation she had with Sherwood Anderson. As Larsen writes,  "Hemingway had been formed by the two of them, and they were both a little proud and a little ashamed of the work of their minds." 

William Carlos Williams got a knock in when he remarked on her endless piles of manuscripts, asking her "are you sure that writing is your metier?....things that children write have seemed to me so Gertrude Steinish in their repetitions." Score WCW.  Naturally, she refused to see him again.

Hemingway, once matured and successful on his own, looked at Stein as lazy and disagreeable. He felt that she theorized more than she actually created.  He was harsh and overly worked up about a new way she wore her hair, closely cropped, "like a Roman emperor".  That her haircut was tied into her sexuality was obvious to Hemingway, and it could that he didn't like this "unambiguous statement of her sexual alignment."  In any case, their friendship was pretty much over.  As he explains, "But I could never make friends again truly, neither in my heart nor in my head. When you cannot make friends any more in your head is the worst."

Another character in this real-life soap opera is Alice Toklas, Stein's companion and to all accounts, a troublemaker eager to separate Stein from her literary peers.  Larsen offers insight into why she may have been so controlling.

It occurred to me that much of the friendship between this pair (as well as the other authors and artists mentioned) was dependent so much on face to face interaction...they made efforts to seek out each other's company, often staying for long periods of time in each other's homes.  Alternatively, they'd write extensive letters documenting their thoughts.  Given our technological excesses, it makes me wonder if modern authors would even interact in such ways today.  Maybe firing off a Facebook post or a Tweet in response to another's work, but does the same 'peer-review' sense of conversation about artistic works still occur?  Has globalization made it easier to come together, so much so that everyone takes it for granted and remains distant?

Tramp, Or the Art of Living a Wild and Poetic Life by Tomas Espedal

Translated from the Norwegian by James Anderson

"Everyday tasks:  wearing yourself out trying to find something new, a new word, a new sentence, a new book."

Espedal is a walker, or more specifically, a traveller.  Rather than allowing the destination to be the objective, each journey he makes is made meaningful by the act of arriving.  Almost exclusively on foot, Espedal has travelled numerous European countries (and well beyond) just to discover new things and contemplate the old. 

As he travels, he analyzes works by Rousseau, Whitman, Cezanne, Wordsworth, and other philosophers and poets who also live for the journey;  he finds a common ground through time with them by either citing their references to exploration or by simply imagining their impressions.  His adventures are not first-class, as he actually prefers travelling as lightweight and unburdened as possible, and his taste is not for air-conditioned insulation from the masses that so many people find essential to relax.  Instead, his only necessities appear to be cash and a warm coat.

Some travel books get way too narrative: "I did this, then I did this, and later I did this..."  No thanks.  This is far more interesting.  Especially in that he's a writer by profession, and he's able to not just explain where he goes but what he gets out of it.  The reader, who may be stuck at home with only a adventurous spirit, can enjoy his work and not feel completely ignorant in the face of his numerous literary references.

Sometimes he talks about the puzzles of travel:  how an enormously crowded city may feel lonely, how a perfectly beautiful and tranquil evening may prevent a good night's sleep, and even how the perfect writing desk in an inspirational space can induce writer's block.  In other places, he expands on the idea of novelty, how it's not so much where a person ventures to that brings refreshment but simply the act of doing something different:  taking an unusual route, sleeping in a different bed, or eating different foods.  Routine is the enemy of restoration, and he makes a strong case for wanting to be on the move as much as possible.

Espedal calls the place he lives between journeys a 'waiting room';  a place to wait for the metamorphosis of change.  Rousseau talks about the common sensation that most people have, to get away from 'it' all, but who are unable to define what 'it' is.  Again, the novelty of the new and unexpected is Espedal's answer to what is needed.  Coincidentally, as I read this, Thomas the Tank Engine was on, and Gordon the big engine came to the same conclusion:  "a change is as good as a rest."  Who knew kid's shows could be so philosophical?

In any case, I completely lost myself in the travel and the ideas and was completely envious of it all.  And yet, upon reflection, part of the freshness of what he suggests isn't as accessible as he makes it out to be.  Sure, it'd be swell to explore without itinerary or restrictions, yet who actually can do that for more than a few weeks here and there?  To travel off the beaten path also means being inaccessible to those who may need you;  most people have some sort of commitments to fulfill. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't deny the beauty of the journey.  In fact, he's the only writer who has put into words the joy I feel at two small hotels that I escape to on occasion, alone, just to hear myself think.  And I definitely sense the Nordic feel of his work that reminds me, somehow, of the character of Arvid Jansen in two of Per Petterson's novels.  There's definitely a cultural component to the desire for solitude because I've known many people who are completely helpless alone, while others thrive in isolation.

Special thanks to Bishan of Seagull Books of India for the Advance Review Copy.



Bye Bye Birdie-Hello CAFO!

Bye Bye Birdie

Reuters reported in January that the thousands of starlings found dead near South Yankton, SD were the result of poisoning by the USDA. The original news link: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70J7KU20110120

Naturally, I found the idea of poisoning the birds appalling, and was disgusted that a government agency supported by tax dollars would not only condone the action but provide the poison and apply it on behalf of the feedlot owner. Of course, the recent spate of mass bird deaths (in AK) and other dramatic animal deaths worldwide came to mind. In the case of South Dakota, the first thing that concerned me was the poison that might remain in the dead birds could conceivably be eaten by a pet or another animal, or worse, pollute a nearby river. Thus, the last few weeks I spent time investigating the practice, and the anger I felt was replaced by confusion. It appears that the problem is far more complex.



Starling. Image:  http://www.sciencewithmsseitz.blogspot.com/

First, the problem. European Starlings were the specifically targeted birds. There doesn’t appear to be a fan-club for Starlings, as even avid bird lovers agree that they are an invasive species known to overwhelm a habitat, force other birds (included endangered species) from nests to take them over, and leave extreme amounts of excrement wherever they congregate. Their flocks range from the hundreds to hundreds of thousands, and their evening ritual formations can darken the sky. Starlings also carry diseases (as do most birds) that can be spread to humans by direct contact or through the meat of animals that have eaten feed contaminated by the excrement.
In this case, a feedlot in Nebraska reported to the USDA that Starlings were indeed contaminating their cattle feed. However, while the Reuters report notes that the cattle lot operator was concerned with disease, my interview with Ricky Woods, the APHIS/USDA worker who was cited in the original article and who handled the abatement procedure, revealed another aspect of the problem. While he agreed that the operator was concerned about excessive feces on farm equipment, he added that the more pressing issue that led to the poisoning was that the Starlings, a flock of 5000 who had begun roosting on the feedlot, were eating massive quantities of grain. Woods stated that on average, 1000 starlings will eat 40 pounds of cattle feed per day, meaning that the operator was losing 200 pounds of cattle feed onsite in a single day (three tons per month). Admittedly this would be an expensive issue for a feedlot operator (Woods).

Woods explained the procedure for poisoning the starlings, per USDA regulations. An operator can call out a USDA representative to examine the problem and confirm the issue of the starlings, estimating the flock size and that the damage is a viable concern. Then, on three separate occasions, the USDA rep will do a preliminary bait test with cracked corn (no poison), to observe whether the starlings will accept the bait and to confirm that no endangered species are part of the flock to be poisoned. If it is determined that the flock is made up of starlings and not other birds, a precise amount of the poison DRC-1339 is applied to a specific, confined area (and not in open pasturage). The birds usually die immediately (it affects their nervous system), and in this case, it was an anomaly that they flew away to die near Yankton.

The poison itself is clearly labeled: “high acute toxicity to nontarget birds and aquatic invertebrates”, with the specific direction that its runoff is considered hazardous and the poison should not be applied to or near water (DRC label). However, if it is used within the feedlot, in the tons of waste that form a semi-liquid sludge, couldn’t the poison still spread? After all, what is done with the manure from a CAFO lot? It varies between lagoons that serve as holding basins or liquefied to be sprayed into the air to facilitate evaporation (Imhoff).

In November, 2001, Audubon presented an essay by Ted Williams that explores the role of the USDA and their representatives (APHIS) in baiting birds using DRC-1339. His approach to the matter seems fairly balanced:

"APHIS doesn't casually festoon the American landscape with biocides. In controlled experiments it has been killing blackbirds with rice laced with DRC-1339, a short-lived, rapidly metabolized poison with a long track record of effectiveness, safety, and selectivity. For 30 years DRC-1339 has been successfully used on ravens, crows, pigeons, starlings, cowbirds, grackles, red-winged blackbirds, magpies, and sundry gulls. Because it is quickly metabolized, the possibility of secondary poisoning (in which a bird or mammal dies from eating a stricken blackbird) is remote. Direct mortality of nontargets is probably inevitable but, in this case at least, utterly unacceptable in any quantity because the proposed program is basically a political gesture that is unlikely to succeed…"

In the situation he was describing, sunflower growers were complaining about blackbirds. However, the similarity between situations leads to a similar conclusion: how successful can the abatement of the starlings be if it’s likely that another flock will take their place? Is it worth the risk to nontargeted, and possibly endangered, birds that may be mixed in the flock?

Woods admits that the procedure is not common and it was the only time this year he’s employed the poison bait, having done so twice last year in his designated region. Rather, he said, the USDA instructs feedlots to close doors and take steps to prevent the birds from roosting. However, are they required to implement such a simple solution as covering the cattle feed? In this case, it wasn’t deemed reasonable. Interestingly, he also said that the USDA will respond to any size farm, small or massive, that feels their cattle or crops are in danger. Lost expense and possibility of disease have been used to justify the action so far.

However, one advantage of the APHIS/USDA policy especially warrants mentioning. In their cooperative work with farmers and feedlot operators, their expertise and intervention prevents an operator from taking matters into their own hands, poisoning indiscriminately and “off the record” using more dangerous methods that can’t be tracked.

However, the events can be examined further and lead to an ethical quandary. First, the operator was a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO). A CAFO is quite simply, not a farm. It is a factory that processes, in this case, beef. A CAFO normally gets special tax breaks and government subsidies to operate, yet at the same time are not required to meet Clean Air or Safety Requirements as an industrial facility does. In most cases, cattle in a CAFO rarely see the outdoors, instead being penned up and given steroids to ensure fast growth (in some cases, the animals are unable to carry their own weight by the distortion of their genetics).

With disease being cited as a concern for the poisoning, it should be noted what cattle are fed in a CAFO facility. In his new book, CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories, Dan Imhoff quotes two studies, one from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the other from Environmental Health Perspectives that explain exactly what is in some cattle feed: chicken feathers, poultry excrement, and ‘various minerals and metals’. Additionally, ‘poultry litter’, the bedding on which confined chickens reside for six weeks before slaughter, is fed to the cattle. The litter itself can contain “the rendered remains of slaughtered cattle” (CAFO 144). Given the potential for disease implicit in the excrement already, the additional additives of antibiotics and pharmaceutics given to both chickens and cattle to boost their size and prevent illness prior to slaughter seem to make the Starlings potential impact much less than what the CAFO is already sustaining.

Consider too, the feed that the Starlings were said to consume. If a feedlot is losing three tons of feed in a single month due to the birds, just how big is the facility? The amount of feed provided must be exponentially higher, meaning that this CAFO factory is creating tons of its own cattle excrement to deal with. One environmental study based of a proposed moderate-sized CAFO in South Dakota estimated 684 tons of manure per day, a total of 62 million gallons of manure (Weida 11). Woods would not identify the cattle lot, but did confirm it was a moderate-sized CAFO. Comparatively, could the Starlings’ waste possibly come close to what the cattle are putting out? The cattle waste likely contains the same chemicals that went in: antibiotics, steroids, estrogen, as well as any bacteria left from the animals they consumed. Can a CAFO that creates such a vast amount of fecal matter complain about that of a flock of birds? Are workers, already working in crowded and filthy conditions where up to half of the cattle carry E. Coli, really be at risk by the possibility of avian disease from the Starlings? In CAFO, Michael Pollan’s essay “Power Steer: On the Trail of Industrial Beef” traces the very path of a feedlot animal from calf to slaughter, pointing out the various avenues for disease to be transmitted into the food chain.

Incidentally, it should be noted that smaller, traditional farms are less likely to have a need to poison Starlings. By means of their smaller size and pasturing methods, manure is not concentrated as densely. Close contact with farm animals prevents the mass use of antibiotics as a preventive, instead using it discriminately on an animal that is actually sick and can be monitored. With smaller farms, feeding is intensely observed to prevent the loss of expensive feed, and the food is kept covered. A small farm couldn’t sustain the loss of feed, while a CAFO considers it an operating cost and makes no attempt to cover their cattle feed, leaving vast amounts of animal offal and additives outdoors to be mixed by tractor.

In addition, consider that the food placed for the cattle is actually attracting the birds in the first place. SRAP Communications, a nonprofit organization promoting Socially Responsible Agriculture, stated in an email that “this is one more indication that industrial feeding operations are not sustainable--because they are not even compatible with the normal wildlife in semi-urban settings. Rather than incur the cost to responsibly manage their feed, the CAFO operators prefer to kill the birds that are drawn to their irresponsibly stored material” (SRAP).

Another sort of abatement that could potentially be implemented instead of poison is a auditory pest repellent that is “a combination of distress cries and predator bird sounds,” that would succeed in making “starlings, grackles and black birds feel uncomfortable living in the area, driving them to a more friendly location”(Powell). Used in conjunction with visual preventatives (include “terror eyes”) and spike installation to prevent roosting, a CAFO could reduce the appeal of their lot by non-chemical means.

Both sides can make a compelling case: the fear of disease being brought to our dinner tables definitely gets our attention. But at what point is intervention necessary, and can it be avoided? While the USDA’s APHIS department was straightforward in answering my questions, their scope of nuisance-animal and predator abatement is wide. In response to my questions, Imhoff responded via email:

We see this war against nature approach applied by the USDA in other aspects of agriculture. Wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions are killed across the country every year to protect ranchers and their animals. Despite the dubious outcomes, the real irony is that many of those calves that are being protected at the expense of wild predators end their days knee-deep in feces, in a barren lot with only cows and starlings around for companionship and scenery. And there are many livestock rearing cultures around the world that have learned to successfully coexist with predators.

As consumers, how do we decide? Some homeowners regularly use insecticides and poisons to combat weeds, gophers, and other unwanted pests. Does the average person who can purchase Roundup or another common chemical off the shelf first determine a specific bait area, verify that non-target species are protected, and follow up with preventive measures? On the other hand, can an animal factory that produces tons of contaminated fecal matter in an unnaturally dense environment really complain about the consequential activities of the birds drawn to their massive amounts of unprotected feed?

--------------essay by Amy Henry

Works Cited:


DRC 1339 product label, USDA http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/registration/content/56228-10%20DRC%201339%20Feedlot%2001-06%20watermarked.pdf

Imhoff, Daniel. CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories. California: Earth Aware, 2010. Print.

Imhoff, Daniel. Email response. 1/31/2011

Powell, Lani. “Starlings: Information….” Professional Pest Control. Commercial website. http://www.pestproducts.com/starlings.htm

Socially Responsible Agriculture Project. Nonprofit web site. www.sraproject.org Email response. 2/3/2011

Weida, Dr. William J. “Comments on the Potential Regional Economic Effects of Large Feedlots”. Socially Responsible Agricultural Project. Sraproject.org. Aug 24, 2001.

Williams, Ted. “Red Baiting”. Audubon. Nov 2001. New York: National Audubon Society.

Woods, Ricky. APHIS representative. United States Department of Agriculture. Phone interview 1/26/11, 1/31/11

Tashkent: Forging a Soviet City by Paul Stronski

City planning often seems to be a new concept: a trend towards community-oriented design features that are usually intended to better a neighborhood or development by particular ordinances. For example, in my area, the housing boom of the 1980s led to massive building without much consideration of long-term community cohesiveness. After that bubble burst, a “new” trend arrived, requiring builders to consider small design enhancements to afford a better feel to a city. Encouraging front porches, open space, altering lot layouts, and keeping garage doors from being seen from the main streets were ideas encouraged to prevent the cookie-cutter home styles that arrived with the Baby Boom of the 1950s (think Hicksville, NY).

However, in the past, city planning was not considered a trend at all. Especially with the expansion West, cities were, at one point, often planned around where the city buildings, parks, and access roads would lie, and then the housing was built around that. One especially fascinating account of city planning that is unlike anything I’ve read before is Paul Stronski’s book Tashkent: Forging a Soviet City. Stronski compiles the details of how this city was planned from both a civil and structural aspect, right down to an artistic vision of the daily life of its residents. This was not small scale planning! A political endeavor from the beginning, it was an ideological effort to demonstrate Soviet superiority and show the Western world the advancement that the Socialists confidently intended to promote.

While the book covers a great deal of the planning stages, I’m going to focus on two areas that were especially interesting to me. First was the concept of engineering and building codes: apparently even in Soviet Russia, builders wanted to cut corners! The area of Central Asia was already determined to be the site of previous deadly earthquakes, but officials felt that since a 7.0 earthquake hadn’t presumably occurred in a hundred years, they could lower the codes to only deal with the ramifications of a 7.0 earthquake instead of an 8.0 quake (as initially considered). This “small” difference in engineering, combined with hurried construction done on the cheap, with inferior materials, and built in ways that were not common to the builders (tilt-up construction was still something new in the region) left the city vulnerable to earthquake damage. Even when devastating earthquakes occurred nearby, officials were still bent on promoting an image rather than safety.

“Tashkent urban planners still concentrated most of their attention on designing monumental structures….building a compact and beautiful public space was a quicker and easier way to impress and ‘show the state’s care for’ its citizens than building apartments or schools for the population.”


No spoilers, but you can imagine how well that went, and what signaled the end of Tashkent.

Another intention in designing Tashkent was to show that Soviet rule had a cultural side, and that it would be open to permitting ethnic and artistic diversity. In detail, one section discusses how the city tried to incorporate cultural forms that would rival Europe. One woman, Tamara Khanum, was one of the “first Uzbek women to perform unveiled in the 1920s” and became a ‘People’s Artist of the USSR’. She performed in various languages and became a spokesperson for the advanced Tashkent culture. She, along with other women, were used to advance the Soviet cause by appearing to be images of female emancipation, at a time when the West had yet to acknowledge women’s rights.

While the book is heavily detailed in discussing the planning and construction stages of Tashkent, it also sheds light on the Soviet mindset towards propaganda and their intentions. A city that few have ever heard of, Tashkent seems an anomaly in the history of Soviet rule, especially given what was going on in Siberia to the North. I think that is what I liked best about it: it exposes another facet of the era that I hadn’t run across in reading other history books.

Special thanks to Maria Sticco of the University of Pittsburgh Press for the Review Copy.

Tales of Priut Almus by Robert Belenky (nonfiction)

Robert Belenky is a clinical child psychologist who has chosen to spend his time working to study the dynamics of children who are abandoned or removed from their homes, in order to learn the best ways to help them grow to successful adults. With years of success in the US, he branched out to make voluntary trips to Haiti and Russia to observe the children in their temporary homes and determine how to more effectively design a shelter program. In Tales of Priut Almus, he relates

“It is a chronic condition of unfulfilled needs; of children huddled under railway station platforms, of orphans abandoned to fate, of victimization by way, disease, and abuse, of derelicts, scroungers, vagabonds, thieves, and crooks who inspire only revulsion in our hearts.”


Thus, he travels to Russia to stay in Priut Almus, a shelter for these “surplus children”, the majority of whom have lost their family structure due to alcoholism. The priut (which means shelter) houses a coed group of children in ages ranging from 3 to 17. The facility features combined sleeping rooms, an in-house medical facility, cooking facilities, and a large community room for eating and tasks. “Vospitatilnitsa” are the caregivers that keep order among the children. Chores are assigned for each child, and an informal ‘government’of children meets to discuss various decisions in the prius.

In this prius, the children are part of the community, attending school along with neighborhood kids, and are allowed to leave the prius on errands and field trips. However, the children are only allowed to stay in an almus like this for one year, after which they must leave and return home, transfer, or be lost to the streets.

Living in the prius as he does his research, Belenky is immersed in the schedule and the children bond instantly with him. Taking comprehensive notes on their behavior and interactions, he compiles what he feels are strengths and weaknesses to the facility design. His immediate concerns relate to the variance in ages and the mix of sexes, particularly of teenagers within the prius. On his visit though, all seems to be appropriate, and he notes a particular tenderness and instinct for protection that the older children feel for the younger.

Strengths of the prius include the healthy meals, structured schedules, and loving caregivers that, despite being grossly underpaid, attempt to provide stability and a measure of permanence. Included in Tales of Priut Almus are black and white photographs of many of the children: heartbreaking faces that display innocence and hope even in their tired eyes. To start this book, one should examine the photos first, as they make the connection to his observations more personal.

An absorbing read, I did find a few distractions. One was a large number of typos that should have been caught on an editorial level. These were especially noticeable in the second portion of the book but rare in the first half. I’m not sure how that came about, but it gave an amateur feel to the book despite the high credentials of its author. Given his devotion to this cause, making a number of trips over ten years at his expense, I can’t help but wish his information was presented better.  At other times, his commentary rambled and seemed repetitive, with small details that weren't always necessary.

The other thing that bugged me was a particular word choice he used. He describes the emotional needs of the children as well as the physical needs. “…not touching a needy child is also a form of child abuse. Children such as those who live in Almus must be touched-their hair must be brushed, they must be allowed to sit on one’s lap and they must be embraced as the occasion warrants, with honesty, warmth, safety, and sensuality.” I was agreeing with him until he arrived at “sensuality”. He repeats it and tries to clarify that he doesn’t mean sexuality, but I can’t find a synonym for sensual that doesn’t imply gratification on a sexual level. I understand what he’s trying to get across, but again, I think on an editorial level this word could have been removed and replaced with a more neutral choice. As it was, his phrasing sort of haunted me throughout the rest of the book and made me realize just how vulnerable children in this situation would be.

Belensky clearly knows how to advocate for children, and his insights into the structure and how it works successfully is a valuable tool in assessing other shelters and systems.  Not jumping in to change or alter the system, but rather neutrally observing makes both the children and staff comfortable in airing their concerns. 

Thanks to Kevin Gray of IUniverse for the Review Copy.

Citizen Machine by Anna McCarthy (nonfiction)

Everyone knows the television is going downhill fast, right? Surely we can look at this week’s episode of Jersey Shore (please don’t make me!) that set a record for MTV viewership and know that quality isn’t exactly easily found in television programming today. So, should we get nostalgic and remember the old days of TV, where we imagine it was more beneficial and innocent back when the family crowded around the massive console?

Or, consider how worked-up parents get when their children’s television show/babysitter is interrupted with commercials selling cheap toys and junk food. Haven’t you heard many parents reminisce about a time when a television show was simple and enjoyable and didn’t come with all sorts of corporate or merchandise tie-ins?

Wasn’t it the Goo Goo Dolls who said, “Reruns all become our history.” What if that history was wrong?

If I sound snarky, I am….this week I’m focusing on television. First, I got really rattled with the book Citizen Machine by Anna McCarthy (next week I’ll post about The Mind Snatchers). I’d been led by tradition and assumption to believe that the early days of television were more noble and family-oriented.  But this book relates that instead, it was simply a tool to manipulate viewers, much like a McDonald’s commercial that interrupts The Penguins of Madagascar. In fact, the way television was used as a means of advertising was actually worse, in that the content was designed around a specific agenda without a clear delineation of where the show ended and the commercial began. In this case, it was government and corporate policies that were subconsciously projected into the mindset (and television set) of the viewer, clearly designed to manipulate their viewpoint on everything from civil rights to labor unions.

As a means of delivering propaganda, the television was perfect. The novelty of its invention made people clamor to view it, with little thought to who and what was behind the productions they watched. Citizen Machine analyzes several examples, and I’m only going to touch on a few. Remember years ago when Chevron ran those ads about how they were placing (dumping) old pipeline into the ocean to create new habitats for fish? Who doesn’t love an aquarium, right? Those kinds of commercials are considered institutional advertising: a ploy to convince you that this big business isn’t just out for a profit but to help the world. In the early years, DuPont was one of the biggest forces in institutional advertising, needing to soften their image in a time that society was suspicious of large corporations.

In DuPont’s case, their image was especially tainted. Known for making a killing selling gunpowder and poison gas during WWI, it was discovered afterwards that they had defrauded the government despite huge profits. The DuPont family "were vocal supporters of the United States’ entry into World War I, although only one of them…would see combat”. They needed to boost their image, and began so with a radio program called The Cavalcade of America. Later, that turned into a television series of the same name. Along with GE, they created “anthology dramas” that appeared, on the surface, as a means of delivering classy content to its audience, but that constantly reminded the viewers that DuPont was providing it to them, “appearing as a civic entity donating cultural goods to viewers and asking only for their goodwill.”


Besides the programming itself, they inserted their slogan “Better things, for better living, through chemistry”. McCarthy then connects how, by aligning their corporate image with science, it added a level of superiority and legitimacy. Anything, in their case, to distract from their business image as a vicious monopoly. They also used the programming to perpetuate the power of the white, successful businessman and his loving nuclear family.

About that white businessman… DuPont did air an episode on their Cavalcade Theater called “Toward Tomorrow”, one that presented an inspirational tale of the rise of the successful black man and Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Ralph Bunche. Some viewers were shocked, while others were supportive. McCarthy quotes a letter from one viewer who makes sure she identifies her own race as white and who “requested that television ‘give us more all colored folks performances. It would be a good rebuttal for the crime they (those folks from that town in Miss) commit against us the white race’”. While this viewer was referring to a recent news event, her attitude towards blacks in general is implicit.

From this episode, one would imagine that DuPont scored a victory for blacks and civil rights too, as well as appearing culturally evolved. Actually, it fell flat. The majority of blacks who saw the episode thought it pandering and condescending (it was). They also quickly made the connection that while DuPont had promoted this episode, “company hiring policies did not reflect the image of social responsibility and racial outreach…” In fact, DuPont was actually investing in the South in order to save money on workers who demanded higher wages in the North, even contributing money to political organizations who opposed desegregation.

As seasoned viewers today, can it be said we would be able to catch on to such manipulation? It’s difficult to be sure, when corporations now spend millions on analysts and research experts who try and pull the strings to both our wallet and our emotions with their subtle techniques. McCarthy gives some insight to this in her Epilogue (which should have been its own chapter) where she ties together the modern trend of television experts who counsel viewers on self-improvement but only in one perceived direction.

McCarthy discusses reality television programming as well, but fortunately, her time on that is brief. There’s enough information in the media currently that dissects the trend without her needing to analyze it further. The strength of this book is seeing just how powerful corporations and organizations were and contemplate what and how things have changed, if at all. It’s then a short step to connect the concept to the early years of any new innovation. Well-researched and full of anecdotal details (she even researches the marginalia of notes taken in corporation meetings), it is full of information that gets a bit overwhelming at times. Part of me wished the chapters had been a bit shorter (there are only five) to be able to compartmentalize the massive amounts of information easier. In any case, the material is applicable to any reader, and would be an especially useful asset in a semiotics study on a high-school or college level.

Special thanks to Anne Sullivan and Melissa Nguyen of The New Press for the Review Copy.

The Wave by Susan Casey (nonfiction)

In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean

“If I scare myself once every day, I’m a better person….It helps to have that little jolt of perspective that life’s fragile.” Laird Hamilton in The Wave, by Susan Casey

copyright Tom Servais

How much fun is this! This nonfiction title lives up to the buzz that came out when it was released. It has just about everything that would make a fiction novel exciting, except that this is real. Susan Casey explores just about everything to do with the ocean. Some of it leaves you kind of breathless, like waves that so huge they can take out a cargo ship with nothing left to show it existed just minutes before.

Casey spends some of the time discussing surfing, especially tow-surfing where the waves are so big surfers are put in place and hauled out via Jet-Skis. Invented by surfer Laird Hamilton, the surfing world has been rattled by the ability to ride bigger waves than ever. She follows him into the water, and explores the sort of mentality that makes someone want to ride a wave that could easily pummel them. Then she examines the science behind the big waves in Hawaii, California, Mexico, and beyond. Spending time in Alaska, she looks at how the region was affected by a tsunami in the 1930s and shows just how much unimaginable damage was done.

Andrew Ingram/The Cape Times

From there she investigates rogue waves that have tossed big ships around like toys, and explores some of the possible reasons behind these freaks of nature, as well as the historical evidence of shipwrecks that point to these being far more common than once thought. For example, she explains the problem that even modern cargo ships face: bulk cargo hatches. These huge openings allow goods to be lifted in and out of the holds, but are dangerously built so that a boat hit by a rogue wave may have its hatches caved in from the impact, and fill the ship within minutes. This caused two ships to sink on the same day in 1973 in nearly the same place due to high waves. In 1995, the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 “was buffaloed by a pair of ninety-five-foot waves that jumped out of sixty-foot Atlantic seas churned up by Hurricane Luis.”  These sort of waves are not simply predicted as a weather course, they can appear nearly anywhere at anytime.

Besides the fascinating material covered, the book features photographs and maps to illustrate the dynamic forces of the sea. I really love this book! Yes, I’m too excited about it. I should be more subtle. Thing is, it’s that good. It has become my new “go to” book for a gift...just as Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City was several years ago, because I really can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t be fascinated. It would be especially interesting to pair the reading of this book with watching the documentary Riding Giants, that shows Hamilton and other professional surfers tackling these big waves.

Special thanks to Judy Jacoby of Doubleday for the Review Copy.

Unbound, by Dean King (nonfiction history)

A True Story of War, Love, and Survival

Detachable reference bookmark. Three little words that mean a great deal in this non-fiction text about the Long March in China that started in 1934, and this bookmark, as simple as it sounds, provides the key to author Dean King’s research. He reveals the story of thirty amazing women in an easy to understand way, despite the mountains of facts and details he uncovers. The bookmark itself is a shortened “cheat sheet” in order to keep track of fifteen of the more notable women. Just by providing it, it shows that the text is going to be accessible and personal. More interestingly is that this book really has nothing to do with politics…it’s the story of the desire to escape and finding the power to do so.

First, what was the Long March? Mao’s Communist army in China was being threatened by Nationalist forces, and needed to make a quick departure to an area that had Communist allies, some 4,000 miles away from their base of operations. They undertook this migration, one of the most significant in history, in secrecy, putting 86,000 men on a journey in stages that led to the death of most of them. Besides moving the officials and main soldiers, the march also carried valuable documents, funds, printing devices, and a medical core. Thirty women with them carried most of the duties of the convalescent care. Most of the journey was taken at night, in smaller regiments, and it took three weeks before Nationalists realized they were on the move. At times, it seemed that many of the soldiers were disposable, as the treacherous night-time journeys were anything but safe.

Why these thirty women? These women had served the Communist Party as recruiters, and were considered strong soldiers themselves. They were attracted to Mao’s Red Party because it freed them from the traditional Chinese way of life, which for women was one full of despair and pain. For example, foot binding, that horrific yet traditional ritual, broke the bones of a girl child’s foot, folded the toes under to the heel, then bound them with ribbon. The goal being “lovely” three-inch feet, a sign of nobility and yet sheer mutilation. Women in their traditional Chinese roles were either drowned at birth, sold for money, or used as unpaid and brutalized servants. Therefore, Mao’s promises of equality, respect, and the end of peasant traditions appealed to these women, the youngest two being just 10 and 11 years old when they joined the Long March.

Some of the women had been raised in wealth and schooled outside of China. Others were the same peasants described above. Yet they joined as comrades, and the most astonishing fact of the whole book is that all thirty survived, despite the death of the vast majority of the men. Their close ties made them fight long and hard, not just for Mao’s goals, but for what they perceived as the benefit of Chinese women in the future. Additionally, they were not used as prostitutes for the Army, but rather as equal soldiers, carrying their own weight in assignments and in battle.

One American observer stated that “their strength lay not in a rigid military hierarchy-although they tended to revere their leaders-but in a democratic structure that made the troops feel responsible for their own and their comrades’ actions.” Many of the women suffered health problems and difficulties in maintaining their strong tradition of modesty in such conditions. Some women gave birth on the march and left their newborns with villagers to rear. Unimaginable, it seems, yet they were convinced they were contributing to a ‘greater good’.

When it was all over, Mao claimed that the Long March was almost 8,000 miles. He inflated the figures for a distinct purpose. He felt that the completion of the march proved the power of Communism. He attempted to set standards for his soldiers, and provided rules requiring civilized behavior of the marchers towards local peasants they may run across. But as the march continued, it became a reign of terror at times, where any Chinese that they found who had any form of wealth were immediately assumed to be guilty of Nationalistic tendencies, thus their possessions were confiscated. Any kind of disagreement or insubordination among marchers ended with death, and so Mao’s ideal wasn’t always realistic.

One especially clever woman in Mao’s Army was Cai Chang. She and others would question peasants to find out who the wealthy were among them, in order to collect supplies and foodstuffs. Most peasants learned to lie, so she found a craftier means. On some kind of elevated location, she’d overlook the village and look for newer homes. She’d look for especially well-kept cattle pens and signs of status. Then they’d go into the homes and if they found signs of wealth, they would pack these as provisions, feeling completely justified because of the assumed guilt of the householder.

Did any good come out of the Long March, given the future crises to come in China? One example is that “the Communists revolutionized the legal standing of women and children in the Marriage Law of 1950, which banned arranged marriage, child betrothal, concubinage, and infanticide….The law mandated …the protection of the interests of women, widows, and children. This was a key step in institutionalizing the change in the role of women in China from passive domestics…”

This is a heavily detailed book, and really my only complaint (a minor one really) is that it is so full of names, dates, and facts that at times it gets a bit overwhelming. So it’s not simply an easy beach read. Yet King writes in a personable way that draws out the unique characters that make each woman stand out with their personalities and traits. The bookmark helps!

Originally I wanted to read this because of an interview with King, where he describes undertaking the research as the father of young women, and trying to imagine the parallels for women then and today. A link to this interview is provided below.

Special thanks to Kelly Leonard of Little, Brown for the Review Copy.

Interview:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/littlebrown/2010/04/15/interview-w-dean-king-author-of-unbound
Pictures and info about King's travels to the region for research: http://www.deanhking.com/

Afghanistan-- A Cultural and Political History, Thomas Barfield

Ever since The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and Three Cups of Tea, I’ve found Afghanistan to be a strangely compelling region. In those books, there was a different sense of the humanity of the people compared to what is seen on the nightly news, and it was difficult to align the two in my mind. Mention Afghanistan to someone and all they usually come up with is the notorious Taliban or the crumbling ruins that appear on the news. How accurate is that image?


When I first received Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History, I hoped to find that answer and at the same time, that the book wouldn’t be too dry or heavy on political rhetoric. I was pleased to find that it’s an incredibly readable history book that makes the subject understandable and reveals the complicated lives of the people of Afghanistan. The author manages to compile the history without a political agenda or motive.

First off is recognizing that culturally, Afghanistan is made up of both tribal and nontribal ethnic groups. These groups mean everything to the people, and unlike some cultures, “tribal and ethnic groups take primacy over the individual.” In other words, “individuals support decisions made by their group even when such support has negative consequences for themselves.” This is a somewhat unique trait, and contributes to the devotion many have for their leaders. They also have an intense oral history that is repeated through the ages that also creates a sense of cohesiveness between past and present. These people live in a land crisscrossed by history, from Genghis Khan to Alexander the Great (see the photo of his castle above right). It was conflict between tribal regions, a civil war, that made the ordinary Afghan people eager to have the US come in to intervene with the Taliban, as “a drowning person is not too picky about who throws him a line….Afghanistan had either been ignored or abused by the outside world as it descended into chaos.”

The Taliban, known for their desire to spread extremely conservative Islam, had riddled the nation with violence towards women and other religions. They’ve managed to alienate even those countries that were providing needed humanitarian aid. They do not have the support of the ‘ordinary’ citizen, as at times the Taliban members have numbered below 150 members. A good portion of the book deals with how and why the Taliban gained such power. Another portion discusses the occupation by Britain and Soviet Russia prior to more recent actions with the US.

The historical details are interesting, but it was the smaller things that were more revealing. For example, why is it that on the news you usually see only children or old people? Their hardscrabble lives, tending outdoors to agriculture and focused on manual labor, shows up on their faces and they appear prematurely aged. Are the devastated streets of broken concrete typical? Actually no, as the majority of citizens live in small villages far from urban areas such as Kabul. Is it just a land of dust and opium poppies? No again, as stone fruit, grapes, nuts, citrus fruits, melons, and rice are grown in different parts of the country, depending on what areas are irrigated. The famous mountainous region, known to have been a hiding place for bin Laden, is in the center of Afghanistan. Its steepness creates dynamic changes in climate in just a few hours of travel, and creates a diverse variety of crops.

The current situation in Afghanistan is covered in the sixth chapter, where Barfield addresses the complicated social concerns that continually plague the country. The resurgence of the Taliban and their religious ideology reverses social progress, while modern policies want to focus on reducing the religious power of clerics. Additional goals include establishing rights for women, tolerance of non-Muslim faiths, implementing educational policies, and modernizing archaic laws to better represent the desires of the majority.

Special thanks to Katherine “Casey” LaVela of the Princeton University Press for the Review Copy.

Non-Verbal Communication

Roughly 60% of communication is non-verbal?  How can that be?  Katey from Argentina at one of my favorite blogs posted this interesting link:

http://www.theargentimes.com/culture/art/speechless-can-actions-speak-louder-than-words-/

Her original post is at http://seashellsandsunflowers.blogspot.com/2010/03/argentine-hand-gestures.html#comment-form. 

The great discovery on this blog is a website where you can find a collection of gestures used around the world, created by the author of Speechless: A Dictionary of Argentine Gestures, Guido Indij.
The site is located at http://en.gestiarium.org/.  There's a button in the upper right corner to select a language if you can't figure it out.

Nonfiction: The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (release date 7/2010 from Little Brown)

I have to confess I didn't pay much attention to chemistry.  Once the instructor talked about electrons, protons, atoms and the nucleus I usually turned on my Walkman (the cassette kind, now antique!).  It never seemed interesting because it wasn't something that related at all to real life.  If I had a teacher like Sam Kean, however, that could have been different.

Fast forward too many years, and now I'm engrossed in this nonfiction 'memoir' of the Periodic Table of Elements.  Like any good biography, this has scandal, lies, fraud, madness, explosions (!!!) and lots of name-dropping.  Kean explains just what the periodic table is, but in a format that reads more like a novel, with anecdotal details to liven it up.  Mercury pills were used by Lewis and Clark for their health?  Yep, and you can trace their path (um, at least their bathroom trips on their journey) by where scientists have found unusually high amounts of mercury in the soil.  The poet Robert Lowell?  Did lithium ruin his work by making him sane?    Who knew the lies and fraud and mind games played by scientists intent on getting a Nobel Prize! 

There's no getting around it, this is a book that makes you think.  It's not simple and it assumes you have a basic knowledge of science.  Some areas were over my head, but not for long.  Kean is a wonderful teacher with a sassy wise guy voice that livens up any of the deeper areas.

Special thanks to Kelly Leonard of Little, Brown (Hatchette) Books for this ARC.