The Wild Vine by Todd Kliman
Bingo 19: White Whale This book has possibly been on my shelf for 10 years; I can’t remember when I bought it, but it’s a hardback with a Borders sticker. And The Wild Vine was published in 2010, so I’m guessing it hadn’t been out too long when I picked it up. Either way, even if you go with when Borders went out of business, this book has been on my shelf a while. It’s framed as a journalist setting out to chronicle the not […]
Rosie the Riveter: The Legacy of an American Icon by Sarah Dvojack
Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen
It is “can’t write 250 words for both books, but even if I could they should be together” review time. Both books are for older children up to adults. There is not a lot of traditional adventure or action, but that should not take away from the fact these are strong stories that can be used in the classroom or at home readings. They can be used to women’s history month (though only Rosie has a past, even if she is not officially a “real” […]
We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans and Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff
A book to make you howl with both laughter and fury, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem gushes with humor, outrage, determination, and life. Kliph Nesteroff has worked with a large and knowledgeable team to document the past, track the current, and look towards the future of Native American comedy. Framed around a beloved punchline from Charlie Hill, the first Native American comedian to be featured on The Tonight Show, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem, is both a knee-slapper and a heart-breaker. I […]
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
I’m really glad I did the audio version for this one, because I’m not sure my raccoon brain (shiny things only!) would have had the patience to sit through it otherwise, and it’s worth sitting through. Robin Miles is, as always, a great narrator. This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, either. I had actually never learned about the Great Migration in all my many (many) years of school, which is not really surprising, but is disheartening, so I was excited to get into […]
Henry Clay: America's Greatest Statesman by Harlow Giles Unger
Were you to ask me, prior to my reading this book, who Henry Clay was, I would’ve been able to tell you that he was an important US politician in the early-19th century who unsuccessfully ran for president a few times. Which, I suppose, is more of a legacy than most people get. Born in 1777 Virginia, and launched a legal career twenty years later in Kentucky. He was such a powerful speaker, and so successful in court, that he was elected to the House […]
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
I imagine at the end of the day this book is more like 3.5 stars that I am rounding up. I’d say it’s three star for what it is trying to do, but four stars if I take it at what (I thought) was face value. Which is to say, I just finished this book and feel 50/50 convinced by Wilkerson’s thesis that America suffers from a caste issue, as opposed to (or, above a) race issue. I am Indian-American, so taking a step back […]
