One Man's Wilderness | Book Report

 

One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey

By Sam Keith from the journals and photographs of Dick Proenneke

Pages: 269

Book Read This Year: #5

When I was slogging through the end of The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire I said to myself that I would have to give myself a break from exploring/cold extremes books. I was getting fatigued with the topic. 

...... And then my mom sent me this book containing Dick Proenneke's story of his Alaskan adventure. You hear that? Alaskan. Alaska is kinda known for her cold extremes. Here I go again.......

  You wouldn't know the nostalgic draw this book had on me unless you grew up in my family. My dad loved the PBS Special about Dick Proenneke. My mom made a donation to one of PBS fund drive at a time when they were giving away DVDs of the Dick Proenneke Special as a thank you gift. She did that for my dad. She hated the idea of shunning society and living the life of a hermit in the wilderness. My dad relished the thought. He could never personally go on such an Odyssey. Even if he had possessed all the skills, he had my mom who would never go, and a large number of children to provide for. So, he lived vicariously through Dick Proenneke while watching his DVD.

  Okay, enough about my parents. You want to know how the book was to read.

 It was relaxing. The way Proenneke describes the wildlife, the beautiful scenery, and his satisfying labor is idyllic. His use of word pictures is very creative. Reading his journal entries really made me want to up my journaling game. The way he describes what he is feeling is well thought out, too. I imagine living solo in the wilderness would help you get very closely acquainted with your feelings. 

  Dick Proenneke hailed from Iowa, worked as a carpenter in the U.S. Navy during WWII, and worked several jobs during his career including heavy equipment operator, ranch hand, and diesel mechanic. Shortly after he turned 50 he embarked on a unique adventure to live solo in the Alaskan wilderness and document his adventure. He brought a 8mm. film camcorder and a still picture camera. He would set up a the camcorder and record himself working. There was no audio. In the PBS Special the footage was overlayed with a voice reading his journals as he described what he was working on. He'd also video wildlife and write in his journal about what he had seen. So it comes off like narration. I think he was ahead of his time. He was doing vlogging long before anyone else. This was 1968.

 He wasn't doing homesteading. He never tried living off the land. He was living in the wilderness to observe and, also, for self discovery, I think. He built his cabin by hand without help for the satisfaction it brought him to know that he could accomplish such a feat. He was a little bit of a scientist, too. He was always taking measurements and recording them; air temperature, water temperature, ice depth, populations of mountain goats, etc.......

 One thing I loved about this book was the number of pictures.  About a 1/3 of the pages are full color photographs that Proenneke captured. Not only are they beautiful but they meant I had less pages to read, for which I am grateful!

 I have two passages that I want to share as examples of Dick Proenneke's way of describing things. I will close with these excerpts:

From page 131 regarding salmon:

"A little later I looked up from applying a coat of Varathane on my furniture to see a scarlet fish with a green head slice through a wave. It is the end of a long journey for them. They will spawn and die. Their escape from the can is a very brief reprieve."

From page 180 a little humor:

"The heat wave continues. Plus thirty degrees.

  An old visitor in his winter overcoat came to call today, his slender body doubling and stretching as he bounced over the snow. Out of respect for his new robe, I will call him an ermine instead of a weasel."

 

The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire | Book Review

 

The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire by Stephen R. Bown

Copyright : 2020

Pages:486

Book Read This Year: 4th

I learned a lot about The Hudson's Bay Company and the geography of northern North America from this book. 

 Bown covers from The Hudson's Bay Company's inception in 1670 when French traders, Radisson and Groseilliers, rebuffed by their county of nativity went to England to find investors, all the way to the dissolution of the government protections when The Hudson's Bay Company became a regular private business in 1870. Many interesting figures pepper the pages from the native wonder woman Thanadulther, to the visionary Alexander Mackenzie, to the ethically grounded David Thompson, to the overly optimistic Lord Selkirk, to the uniquely cultured Métis people, to the twin giants of the west: John McLoughlin and James Douglas. There are many, many others whom I don't have the time or space to mention in detail. 

 While I found many parts of this book interesting it was on the whole a history book and very dry and hard to read through. It took me three months to work my way through this history. My mind has been enriched, my curiosity satiated, and my interest piqued.

Things I learned......

 My favorite sections of the book were about the early days of the Hudson's Bay Company and getting to learn about the different Indian tribes and how the fur trading industry impacted the local and global economy. I was also fascinated to learn some of the technical aspects of trapping beaver and preparing their pelts in the early days. The most valuable beaver pelts to the Europeans were the pelts that had been worn all winter. The Indians wore them fur side towards the body. After a winter of use the guard hairs had mostly worn off. This made the fur perfectly prepared for the felting process in London. A pelt that was ready to felt was called One Made Beaver and was used as a standard of currency. 

 I learned that John Astor got his start in fur trading. I had not been aware of that before. I am now a little curious to learn more about his humble beginnings and his trajectory over time in the era that he inhabited. 

 My least favorite part of the book was learning about George Simpson who was in charge of operations for a greater portion of the 1800's. He messed up a lot of things. He changed the way The Hudson's Bay Company conducted business and created a widespread culture of racism. Up to that point the Natives and their way of life had been largely respected. Many, many company men took Indian wives and many, many employees of The Company were of mixed heritage. Under Simpson's reign none of the native wives were recognized and he phased out hiring or promoting anyone of mixed heritage. He had many native mistress who were cruelly discarded even though they and their families had seen the matches as marriages, and he never recognized any of his many illegitimate children. History doesn't look kindly on George Simpson.

 

I really appreciate the Epilogue that provides a recap of the whole book, which was so helpful. After 3 months of time and more information than I could hold in my brain at once, I really needed that concise refresher. I wish more historical books would do this.

 And that concludes my review and thoughts on The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire.

 

Ice and Sky Book Review

 

This is the 2nd book that I've read/listened to this year. (I listened to the audio version of this book.)

Realm of Ice and Sky by Buddy Levy is all about attempts to reach the North Pole by air, both with dirigibles and airplanes. This book covers 4 major air expeditions. Starting with newspaper man, Wellman, in 1907. Wellman had no experience but confidently believed that the most feasible method to reach the North Pole would be by air ship, and he wanted to be on the cutting edge of exploration. Many people at the time (and even today) didn't take him seriously. The "real" explorers saw his efforts as a publicity stunt. Levy on the other hand insists that Wellman's efforts advanced air ship technology and opened the minds of those "real" explorers to the possibilities of the dirigible. Wellman was serious and his name should be remembered among the "real" explorers according to Levy.

  The book starts to get really interesting for me when Roald Amundsen enters the scene. I found Roald Amundsen fascinating! Thankfully, I had had no prior exposure to Amundsen so everything about him read like a fictional tale. It helped that he lived an unbelievably adventurous life with a generous amount of stoicism. He seemed a little extra-human, if you know what I mean. Roald Amundsen made many trips into arctic and antarctic regions. He dreamed of going to the polar regions as a young person after reading grueling accounts from ground breaking explorers that turned out to be his forbearers. Somehow the suffering appealed to him. 

Realm of Ice and Sky covers Roald Amundsen's attempt on the North Pole by plane (1925) and then by a Zeppelin air ship (1926.)

 The last expedition in the book is Umberto Nobile's flight to the pole in a Zeppelin (1928) and (spoiler alert) crash and subsequent rescue. Nobile had been part of Roald Amundsen's expedition when he reached the North Pole by Zeppelin. The two had had a bitter falling out after that trip. Even after all those hard feelings Amundsen set out to rescue Nobile after hearing of the disaster. I was so happy to hear this. But, as the story kept playing and more and more details where related about how things were going for the stranded Nobile and party, and the different rescue envoys, and radio messages between everyone, it became very obvious that updates from Amundsen were not mentioned. I couldn't wait. I opened my Google browser and typed in, "Roald Amundsen."...... (BIG SPOILER) His date of death is listed as June 1928 Bering Sea. No! Right then I wished that Realm of Ice and Sky had been a work of fiction and Roald Amundsen could have stayed alive. But real life doesn't work that way and Levy had to write the facts.

 The conclusion of the book goes over the reemerging use of lighter-than-air crafts. We may see more travel and research done by dirigible in the future.

 Overall, I enjoyed this book even though I am generally not a fan of ice and cold. The story is crafted in a very compelling fashion and kept me interested the whole way through.

John Paul Jones | Book Review

 

Title: John Paul Jones 

Author: Vinson Brown 

Copyright: 1949

Pages: 251

Books Read This Year: #15

In this book written for young readers I learned a lot about John Paul Jones and the early American Navy. John Paul Jones was a brave patriot. He fought hard to free America from the rule of England. He was awarded the Congressional Gold medal for his heroic command in battle.

John Paul Jones had to make do with sub-par ships. With these inadequate vessels he stung the King's Navy and even brought the fight to the British mainland.

His grit and determination are inspiring. He didn't give up in the heat of battle. He was the kind of leader who's courage was contagious. He rallied his crews and gave them an example worth following in his own conduct.

This book was written for young people and you can tell that one of the objectives of the writer is to give young Americans a hero. A hero and pride in their American forefathers. This book ignited an interest in me to learn more about the American Revolution and the battles fought at sea.

There's a nice diagram of one John Paul Jones' ships on the inside covers of the book.

Over The Edge Of The World | Book Review

 

Title: Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe 

Author: Laurence Bergreen 

Copyright: in 2003

Pages: 458 pages in it's paperback form. I listened to the audio version which is 15 hours long.

Books Read this year: #14

 The Age of Discovery was a very exciting time. I have been fascinated with the subject for roughly a year.* Laurence Bergreen does an amazing job making a lot of relatively tedious information engaging and relatable. That being said, I am not sure that I would have made it through this read if it had not been an audio book. It would have taken me too long and I probably would have given up.

 Over the Edge of the World chronicles the voyage of the Armada de Molucca captained by Ferdinand Magellan; Spain's bid on a route to the spice islands. I know you may be thinking, "Wasn't Columbus's voyage Spain's bid on a route to the Spice Islands?" Yes, you would be correct. But, once Columbus's discovery of land was proven to be a previously unknown continent Spain still wanted a slice of the spice trade profits.

 Enter Ferdinand Magellan. He was sure he could find an easy route to the Spice Islands and the wealth that they guaranteed. His native country, Portugal, rebuffed his proposals of navigation. He turned his back on Portugal, swore allegiance to Spain and persuaded the crown of Spain to commission him to find a westerly route to the lucrative Spice Islands.

 The Armada de Molucca comprised of 5 vessels; Trinidad, San Antonio, Victoria, Conceptión, and Santiago, set off on their voyage of discovery on September 20, 1519. Almost exactly 3 years later on September 6, 1522 only one of the ships, the Victoria, limped back to port with a skeletal crew of 18 men having gone clear around the globe. The first vessel to accomplish this feat.

Favorite Character: My favorite character is Antonio Pigafeta. Pigafeta's journals provided so much information about what happened during the voyage. He was also much of an anthropologist. He really devoted a lot of effort to learning about native people. He studied their languages and made little dictionaries of translation. He documented many customs that will satisfy any morbid curiosity you might have. Truly, things that will make your skin crawl.

I like knowing about people of the past so I really appreciate Pigafeta's records. They are especially valuable regarding peoples who didn't have any written language. Some of Pigafeta's writings are the only record for languages that have since gone extinct.

I would love to read a book solely devoted to Antonio Pigateta. In a similar vein as the book I read about Georg Steller by Ann Arnold. I may figure out how to contact her and give her the suggestion.

What I learned: I learned about the Treaty of Tordesillas which had a big impact on where Spanish and Portuguese trading and colonies were set up. The verdict of the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the globe into halves so that Spain could have rights to a portion and Portugal could have rights to a portion. 

 I learned that Magellan's explorers named the region of Patagonia. Pigafeta spent many hours with the captured Patagonian Giant learning his language. Magellan's crew were the first Europeans to contact the Patagonian people. Sadly, the captured Patagonian got sick and died before the ships had crossed the Pacific.

What I Liked: I thought it was funny that once the crew of the Armada de Molucca made it around the world they found that they had lost a day. It was Wednesday with them and Thursday with the rest of the world because they had sailed west and lost a day.

What I Didn't Care For: I didn't like all the gory details. From all the torture and gruesome punishment carried out aboard ship to the mutilating carnal practices of the Philippines it was a little too much gore for me. On the other hand I do like to know the truth and not have history washed of that which makes me uncomfortable. Barbaric customs can be found in all cultures. 

Conclusion: Magellan was daring. He was a strict disciplinarian. He was distant and hard to get to know. He was an amazing navigator. The feats that his ships and crew accomplished were nearly impossible. He pushed his ships and men to the limit. I wish he hadn't met his demise in the battle with Lapu Lapu. I wish after all the labor of crossing the Atlantic, suffering through winter, navigating the straights, and crossing the Pacific that he had gotten to see the pay off of reaching the Moluccas. As much as they hated him, his crew really needed him. His discipline and decisiveness would have saved them from some of the pit falls they fell into when they were without his guiding (albeit heavy) hand.

*Readers of my blog will remember the Nutmeg documentary, the Alaska's first naturalist book, and the Viking book. My family will know about my love for all things Northwest Passage this summer. And homeschool studies have had us travel through the Age of Discovery period on our way through The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer twice.

James Herriot's Animal Stories | Book Review

Title: James Herriot's Animal Stories 

Author: James Herriot

Pages: 144

Copyright: 1997

Books Read This Year: #13

This is a short little book. It is a compilation of selections from James Herriot's other books. I have listen to most or all of All Creatures Great And Small, All Things Bright And Beautiful, and All Things Wise And Wonderful in the past, so, most of the selections were ones that I remembered. James was a veterinarian in the countryside of Great Britain during the time that most farms still had horses but the tractor had taken over the bulk of the work.

What I enjoyed: I liked the way he recalls his experiences and describes them for the reader. He has a way of bringing the reader along to his farm calls, where he treats sick animals, solves for mystery symptoms, and delivers lots of baby lambs, calves, and foals. You can feel the cold cobblestone at his back and smell the musty hay almost like you are there with him. Most of the stories are really heart warming. The birthing ones get a little messy but then again most veterinarian work causes one to get ones hands dirty. Someday I would like to write a creative nonfiction book about my own life. Reading books like this help me get an idea of what makes a story come to life.

What I learned: I learned that 'James Herriot' is a pseudonym. I learned this because the guy who wrote the introduction is Jim Wright and he describes himself as the author's son. Jim Wright followed in his father's footsteps and became a veterinarian, too. It made admire Herriot/Wright even more. He must have been the good kind of father to have his son want to follow in his footsteps.

What I didn't care for: There is a fair amount of social drinking. Mr. Herriot is always sharing a glass of some kind of alcoholic beverage with his clients, whether the farmer invites him in after a case or he stops at the pub with the local country folks. That part grates on me, being the teetotaling Baptist that I am.

Would I Recommend? It depends on who you are. If I know you like animals, yes, I would recommend. If I know you are going to judge me for recommending a book that has drinking in it, no, I would not recommend. 

Do you like James Herriot's writings? I know there has been a well done TV series based on James Herriot's books. I have never watched it. I am not sure that I want to. Whenever there is a movie based on a book I tend think watching the movie ruins the story, but I wonder what you think. Have you or would you watch the series?

Caddie Woodlawn's Family| Book Review

 

Twelfth book for the year. 

Caddie Woodlawn's Family by Carol Ryrie Brink, originally published as Magical Melons in 1939: 193 pages. 

 This book is the sequel to the Newberry Medal winning Caddie Woodlawn. I had not known there was a sequel until a month or so ago when I saw this at the library. I recommend both Caddie Woodlawn and Caddie Woodlawn's Family. They are episodic in nature. Each chapter tells about an episode in Caddie's childhood. She was a real girl growing up in the 1860's in Wisconsin, kind of like Laura Ingalls. She was always going on adventures with her brothers. She can't keep a white dress white and her mother is after her father for letting Caddie do all the manly things like plowing, but she is a fun loving girl who tries her best to stay out of trouble. 

 I admire Caddie's father for helping her find a balance between tomboyishness and ladylikeness. She wanted to be outside and do all the outdoor things. Mr. Woodlawn told Mrs. Woodlawn to let him have Caddie and raise her outdoors more so. He felt that she would have better health by spending more time doing exploring and physical activities outside. 

 I enjoy old fashioned stories especially when they are about real people and they are always more fun if children are involved. There are chapters about school, rivalry, secret good deeds, harrowing stories from the frontier days, seeing the medicine show, caring for neighbors, fourth of July celebrations, and many other tales from growing up in a large family on a farm in the 1800's.

Book Review | The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

 

Eleventh book for the year.

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart. Copyright 2012. 470 pages.

Summary: Nine year old Nicholas Benedict, an orphan afflicted with an unfortunate nose and with narcolepsy, is sent to a new orphanage where he encounters vicious bullies, selfish adults, strange circumstances, and a mystery that could change his life forever.

 This was a lighthearted children's novel. I had been introduced to The Benedict Society books as a teen. Back then there were only two books in the series. I recently saw these books at our library and realized that there are more books now. I decided to start with the prequel as indicated by the 0.5 sticker that the library added.

I liked it. It is quite fanciful. Nicolas is a child genius and orphan. The story is upbeat. There is suspense and intrigue but it is overall a jovial feel good story.

Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody | Book Review

 Tenth book for the year.

Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody is the true story of an American woman who escaped Iran with her daughter in 1986. She had married an Iranian man. They went to Iran for "vacation" and at the end of the "vacation" she was told she would never be allowed to go home again. The account was riveting. I finished this 415 page book in 5 days. Looking back a lot of the details are a blur. 

I am glad that I read Not Without My Daughter.

I learned things about the Persian culture. I love to learn about different people and customs around the world. I was surprised at the beginning of the book to see in what a harsh light she painted the Iranian family. I wondered if she was being prejudice. As the story unfolds she meets kind and hygienic Iranians so I could see that Betty did not see all Iranian people as a homogeneous group of bad people. 

 Throughout this book I was provoked to do lots of thinking. Had Betty not been so determined and strong willed the outcome would have been very different. Stories like this make me wonder what I would do in that situation. Would I be strong enough, smart enough, stubborn enough, or would I give up and make excuses? I am just a woman. I have no rights. It's too hard. Betty never gave up. I want to be the kind of woman who never gives up. 

Sea Cows, Shamans, and Scurvy | Book Review

 

Ninth book for this year.

Sea Cows, Shamans, and Scurvy Alaska's First Naturalist: Georg Wilhem Steller by Ann Arnold (227 pages copyright 2008) 

 I finished this biography of Georg Steller at the beginning of June. I had never heard of him before reading this book. The further I got into this book the more it aligned with my interests. There were a lot of maps and drawings and descriptions of plants. 

 Georg Steller joined the second Kamchatka expedition led by Vitus Bering across Russia and over the ocean to Alaska. The expedition lasted from 1733-1742. The mission of the expedition was to map Siberia, set up a postal route, explore Kamchatka, build light houses, sail to America, claim land for Russia and cultivate friendly relations with the natives. That is one wild to-do list!

 Georg Steller was a naturalist and doctor. He studied the flora and fauna and the natives' customs. He collected samples and catalogued everything he saw. Several animals and plants bare his name either in their common name or scientific name because he was the first to discover and describe them in a scientific context. One of the coolest animals that he found was a northern sea cow, Steller's Sea Cow. They were huge 25-30 feet long, lived in herds, omnivorous, ate constantly of the sea weeds, had two boney grinding plates as teeth, gathered around where rivers and streams emptied into the ocean, and bellowed loudly. I was excited to look up some pictures and see a Steller's Sea Cow. I was very disappointed to find out that they were hunted into extinction 30 years after their discovery. The flesh tasted like veal and the fat was like butter. I see why they were hunted relentlessly, although, I wish the hunters had been more conservative. Some sea cow skeletons have been preserved and are at museums.

 Anyway, the explorers were shipwrecked for 8 months on an island over winter in the far north. It was pretty rough. Of the 78 people that set out on the voyage 46 survived. Many of the deaths were caused by scurvy. Georg Steller survived but his life was not long. He died from a fever in 1746 at 35 years old.

 The most difficult part of reading this book was pronouncing all the Russian names. They were quite a challenge to my tongue. I'm talking about names like: Kamchatka, Okhotsk, Krasheninnikov, and Yakutsk.

 I found the maps to be very helpful and referenced them frequently. Ann Arnold was going to make a picture book and it shows. She has a lot of illustrations throughout the book. I think that she should go head and make a picture book as well. I don't think many people have heard about Georg Steller and it would be nice to introduce children to the explorations that took place in that part of the world. 

 I learned a lot of geography by reading this book. I had never even heard of Lake Baikal. I was fascinated to read that Lake Baikal contains one fifth of the fresh water on Earth. I found that hard to believe. The surface area of Lake Baikal is similar to that of Lake Michigan. Do you realize how deep that must mean Lake Baikal is? It is hard to fathom!

 There are a lot of notes and extra reading material in this book. The main part of the book concludes at page 161. Then there is an afterword, a concordance of animals and plants, a time line, extensive notes for each chapter of the book (where I learned about Lake Baikal,) source notes, bibliography, and a very nice index.

Life Was Simpler Then | Book Review

This is my seventh book for this year. My sister got this book from one of those little box libraries that are placed in playgrounds and other public areas. You are supposed to leave a book and take a book. I'm sure you have seen them around. She read it and thought I would enjoy it, too. 

Life Was Simpler Then (copyright 1963, 186 pages) is a nice telling of Loula Grace Erdman's childhood. She grew up before tv, wide spread automobile use, and even radio. My favorite chapters were chapter 2 which was about the telephone operator and how integral she was to the community and chapter 10 which was about school and the literary society in which they prepared recitations. Chapter 10 in particular was very inspiring for my homeschool  mindset. It renewed my desire to have my children memorize the Gettysburg Address, the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, the poem about Paul Revere's Ride and things like that. It made me think of my Grandma who had learned the Gettysburg Address by rote memory in her school days. I can remember her saying it to me. The chapter about the telephone operator was very vivid to me because we had recently listened to the audiobook Horse of a Different Color by Ralph Moody in which the telephone lady plays a vital role. All the things that Loula Erdman describes are demonstrated in a big way in Ralph Moody's story. Hearing these stories in close proximity to one another really benefited my understanding.

I enjoy reading about how things were done in the past and the stories that make another person's life so relatable. Many things have changed over the years but people have stayed much the same. The basic desires we all have to be useful and fulfilled. The way sibling relationships fit together and people grow into new roles as we age. The human condition in all time periods has recognizable similarities. Reading first hand accounts of people's childhoods like this brings the past to life. 

This book reminded me a lot of Old Squire's Farm by C.A. Stephens. Old Squire's Farm is much longer, though. If you like these kinds of stories, I recommend you check out these books.

I'd love to hear what you have been reading lately. Please let me know in the comments!

Book Review| Viking Expansion Westwards by Magnus Magnusson

 

This is the fifth book I have finished this year. It is only 149 pages but it took me a while to finish. I have been working on it since February.

 I learned a lot. The world back in 700-1100AD was all foreign to me. It all seemed very distant and unreal. This book helped the time period come to life. A lot was going on. Before reading this book I had the impression that Lief the Lucky was more fable than history. Now I know that there are a lot of credible records and evidence for his voyages. I learned some new geography, too. I had never heard of the Faroe Islands, for instance. I also learned some neat things about the Norse style of art during the time period. I was also surprised at how wide Christianity (loosely defined) had spread. In very isolated remote places little chapels and missionaries had been established and having influence.

I was inspired by something that Lydia said on her blog, Home Living, to make a schedule for myself to work on finishing this book. She mentioned how we should try to keep learning things and we can come with a curriculum or plan to work towards educational goals. I agree. We should have an additude of life long learning.

Book Review| Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates

 

This is the fourth book I finished this year. I found it to be very interesting. This book focuses on a time in early American history when Thomas Jefferson was president (1801-1809). 

  

Pirates from the Barbary nations had been capturing American merchant ships as well as other nations merchant vessels. The Barbary nations required hefty tribute payments for "protection." Jefferson wanted to put a stop to this with military force. He had to wait 2 years for congress to approve the war. I found that surprising. This was back when presidents actually had to wait for congress to approve warfare. 

  One of the justifications for this act of war was that the Basha of Tripoli, Yusef, had unjustly taken the throne from his brother, Hamet, and America needed to set things right. I found that surprising, too. I did not know that we have always been the world police. We were not successful at reinstating Hamet. We likely could have kept our promises to Hamet and put him back on the throne, but once we had won enough military victories to put Yusuf in a mood to negotiate we left off the pursuit to replace Yusef with Hamet. America managed to reunite Hamet with his wife and children and gave them $200 dollars a month while they lived in exile until Hamet died in 1811. The main motive for America really was to stop the piracy.

  This book was very interesting to me. It details the relevant pieces of information. The authors don't go so deep into the events of the time period that the story gets bogged down. They keep things moving and skip over chunks of time in which the pirate situation stagnates. They did include some riveting battle scenes and enough about the key players that you understand who they were and what they were like. I enjoyed Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates. If you like to learn about American history I recommend this book.

Book Review: Crucial Conversations

    

    Crucial Conversations is a book about having improved dialogue when emotions run high. These conversations happen among neighbors and coworkers, with bosses and spouses, and in many of life's situations. The authors lay out good reasons why you would want to engage in dialogue and keep lines of communication flowing. They go over common pitfalls and explain some techniques that can help you keep your focus on the objective so that you don't fall into these pitfalls. 

The section that I felt most impactful for me at this time is about sucker's choices and the stories we tell ourselves.

A sucker's choice is when we tell ourselves there is no possibilty of agreement so we have two bad choices: just clam up or say abrasive things that aren't going to help dialogue. Because this book laid out so clearly this common behavior I quickly identified my weaknesses. I know I choose to clam up when I don't think there is any other way to be honest. Here is a quote from the book:

"Sometimes we choose personal safety over dialogue. Rather than add to the pool of knowledge and make waves along the way we go to silence. We are so uncomfortable ​with the immediate conflict that we accept the certainty of bad results to avoid the possibility of uncomfortable conversation. We choose, at least in our minds, peace over conflict."

  Thankfully, the authors have some helpful skills to practice implementing so that you catch yourself and stop making sucker's choices. They also make a convincing case on why this behavior is not in anyone's best interest. Clamming up and not sharing your meaning does not equal peace. Focusing on the shared goal and being more creative is the key. You must find a way to engage and also be understanding.

  The other part of the book that I found so helpful at this time is the section about the stories we tell ourselves. We come up with stories about why someone did or said something. This story is not a fact and the sooner we realize that the better we can try to understand the other person. Ask the other person and be curious instead of assigning assumed motives. It is also very useful to get the other person's story and hear what meaning they are assigning to your actions. Not to say that their story is the fact of the matter but so that you can see where they are coming from and understand why they are treating you like... (fill in the blank,.. the villain, the oppressor, the fool, etc..)

   None of these skills will help if you have no interest in keeping an open dialogue with another party. Engaging in dialogue and seeing the value in having dialogue is the whole point of this book. I feel that there is a lot of good information in this book and that I have only scratched the surface. There are chapters on decision making, and how to make sure that all parties feel safe to share their opinions, and so on and so forth. As I get better at using these initial skills I will need to revisit this book and try to add to my skill set. 

See&Sew 6634 By Butterick Shirt Dress Pattern Review

 

Pattern Description:

Very loose-fitting dress five inches below mid-knee has shawl collar, front button opening, front and back gathered into forward shoulder yoke, elbow length rolled sleeves with button and tab trim, patch pockets and side seam pockets.

Pattern Sizing: 

This pattern was available in sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16. Only one size was in my envelope and that is size 16.

Was the pattern easy to follow? This pattern was very easy to follow. It came together quickly. There were no glitches.

Did the dress turn out like the picture? I don't feel like it turned out the way I expected. It is more blousy and baggy than the pictures on the pattern. Perhaps, it is only due to the size. A smaller size may fit better. Or, maybe, the top is baggy on me because I am short. My waist might be higher than the dress is designed for, causing the gathering to fall at a higher point on my body, pushing the blouse up, making it poofy. Anyway, I think my dress turned out a little differently than the picture on the pattern. Let me know what you think.

Did I make any changes to the pattern? I made one change. I put a drawstring in the waist instead of elastic. The pattern called for elastic, but I was afraid that an elastic would not hold up to the weight of the material I used.

I like the adjustability that the drawstring offers.

What material did I use? I used a medium weight twill that was a stretch fabric. I picked the piece of material at a thrift store several years ago. The color is slightly yellow, like butter, with baby blue flowers and spring green leaves scattered over.

I like the sleeves, the covered buttons, and the pockets. It is a very comfortable dress. 

Overall, I am happy with this dress. I am looking forward to wearing it for many years!

Books That I Have Read Over The Summer|2023

Books discussed: The Whipping Boy, Old Yeller, Savage Sam, The Count Of Monte Cristo, Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ, and Treasure Island.
WARNING: There will be spoilers in this post. 

The Whipping Boy 

Author: Sid Fleischman 

Form: real book from the library 

This is a chapter book for children. I have good memories of hearing this book when I was a child. We read several Sid Fleischman books while I was growing up. He writes rather lighthearted novels for children. 

The Whipping Boy is about two boys, Jemmy from the streets and The Prince Humphrey, and how they go from being enemies to becoming friends because they face hardships together and make sacrifices for one another. 

Jemmy is The Prince's whipping boy, meaning; he gets a whipping when the Prince deserves a whipping. This is a terribly unjust arrangement. While the rest of this story is a fabrication, whipping boys were really a thing in the past.

Jemmy and The Prince end up in the forest and get captured by notorious highway men, Cutwater and Hold Your Nose Billy. Billy has such a long name because he eats garlic bulbs as if they are apples, therefore, he stinks. :-)

The outlaws hold the boys hostage. There is a mix up, an escape, a few close calls, some allies, and a chase scene.

Through it all the boys learn some lessons about what it is like to walk in someone else's shoes, what friendship is about, and forgiving those who have done you wrong.

Old Yeller

Author: Fred Gibson

Form: real book form the library 

This is one of my favorite books from my childhood. The movie was even good, which can't be said for most of the movie versions of my favorite books. 

Growing up, I related a lot with the main character, Travis Coats. He is the oldest in his family (so am I) and he takes on a lot of responsibility when his father is gone on a cattle drive over the summer. He thinks he knows how his mother should be parenting his little brother, and boy, did I ever think I knew how to parent my siblings better than my mom. My perspective has changed a little. This time when I read Old Yeller I was able to see traces of Travis' immaturity. When I read it as a child I really looked up to Travis and thought he had very rational opinions about everything.

Old Yeller is a tear jerker. I couldn't make it through the last chapter without crying. That is not a spoiler, though, Travis spoils the book on the first page. He says, (I am going to paraphrase from memory) "The first day that yeller hound showed up I wanted to shoot him, but when the day came that I had to it was about the hardest thing I'd ever done." When I came to that line while reading with my boys I was surprised. How could he just come out and say that at the beginning of the book!?

This story is set in Texas just as cattle drives were becoming a thing. Indians, wild hogs, fighting bulls, bears, and hydrophobia were threats at this time to settlers like the Coats. 

Old Yeller is told from the perspective of 14 year old Travis. The story reels you in and gets you attached to all the characters; Travis, little Arliss, Old Yeller, Mama, Lisabeth, Burn Sanders, Papa, and Bud Sercey.

Gibson does a good job at giving the reader just enough of the right information to make you feel like you are there with them and you can smell the corn bread and feel the sun on your back. You understand their lives and feel the hope, despair, fear, grief, and joy that they feel. The Texas accent throughout is very consistent and doesn't feel contrived at all.

The story looks into what it is like to grow up. What it is like to take on an adult's share of responsibility. What it is like to make hard, grown up decisions. And what it is like to face real emotional and physical pain. The kind of pain that you are protected from as a child. The weight of this story hits right at the end. The last chapter contains the whole point. Travis has to go through a very hard experience. This experience leaves him numb and empty. He can't care about anything anymore. 

His father has a talk with him that helps Travis get to the other side of his grief. And in this conversation he states the take away. He says life is hard and, while you don't exactly want to forget the trauma, you, also don't want to forget that there is still good in life. The bad is not all there is and there is still good in living. You have to remember that. 

When I was reading this part out loud I had to keep apologizing for all the blubbering I was doing. That part gets me right in the feels!

I don't think my children got the point. I know I didn't when I was a child. To children this is a fun story about a boy and his dog with some funny parts, and some-edge-of-your-seat parts, a little sad part at the end but it doesn't last long, then Travis can enjoy his new horse and live happily ever after.

Savage Sam

Author: Fred Gibson

Form: real book from the library

Savage Sam is the sequel to Old Yeller. Many people don't know that there is a sequel, but there is. It is not the same kind of story as Old Yeller. Old Yeller is a coming of age novel. Savage Sam is an adventure novel. I think that Old Yeller is the better story, but after that ending I was just glad us readers didn't have to leave Travis and the whole gang there. 

In this story Travis, little Arliss, and Lisabeth get captured by raiding Indians. The whole book is about that experience and about how they get rescued. There is more violence in this book; torture, killing, and blood. It was right at the border of what I am comfortable reading out loud. I get it, it's the wild west. In real life Indians killed indiscriminately and settlers had no qualms about taking revenge. This story does touch on the question of the morality of the situation. Are the Indians justified for hating white settlers? Are the settlers justified for wanting every Indian dead? The solution for the group of men that set out to save the children is that saving the children is a worthy cause and killing Indians will be necessary, but not the goal. In the end Travis lets one of the Indians live that he has dead to rights. Travis doesn't even understand his own reasoning. Why did he let the Indian go? I think the author is trying to create a moment where you see that people don't always make sense and once you see the humanity in your enemy it is hard to hate them anymore.

This story has lots of descriptions of the scenery; the plants, the wildlife, the topography. If you took out the descriptions of their surroundings I think half of the book would be gone. There is not much else to talk about while they are captured. They are on the run, on the run, on the run. So Gibson takes the opportunity to educate the reader on what the Texas hill and plain country was like in the old days, by describing the scenery. I felt like I learned somethings about a place that I have never visited. They have to face threats from the harshness of their environment like javelina hogs, rattlesnakes, hailstorms, and flash floods.

The last half of the book has more dialogue and you get to read about the characters a lot more. Once you get to that part it feels a little more like the writing in Old Yeller. There is more humour and that great Texas accent comes out.

I think my next read a loud needs to be something on the sweet side. These two books have given us  enough adventure for a while.

The Count Of Monte Cristo

Author: Alexander Dumas

Form: audiobook on Librivox.com

It took me over two years to finish this audiobook. It is a really long book (117 chapters/54hours) and some parts really drag on. That is why it has taken me so long to finish it. I listened to a few chapters here and there, off and on. This summer I finally got to the last third of the book. The last third of the book gets really exciting and chapters just fly by.

The main character, Edmond Dantes, is a youth on the cusp of success and happiness in the beginning of the book. He is about to be promoted to a leadership role on the ship on which he has been employed and he is about to get married to the love of his life, Mercedes. All of this changes on the day of his wedding. He never gets to marry Mercedes. Unbeknownst to Edmond, he has enemies. 

Listening to this story I learned about the French revolution. It was very interesting and played a major role into the reasons that Edmond gets sent to a prison and forgotten there.

Long story short, Edmond escapes and comes to possess an unfathomable wealth of treasure. He hatches a plan to carry out the most epic and exacting revenge on those who did him wrong. He leaves his old identity and now calls himself The Count Of Monte Cristo. The Count is sure that he is the hand of God's judgement on Earth. He is totally justified and sees himself as being used to carry out justice. 

As the reader, you are left in the dark about what his plans of revenge are exactly. Each new development is intriguing and sometimes confusing. But the plot comes together almost perfectly. I say almost perfectly.

My favorite part of the book happens during the phase of the story where The Count is realizing that he is doing harm to some innocent individuals. In Chapter 89, Mercedes, now Madame de Morcerf, goes to The Count to plea for her son's life and calls The Count, Edmond. I didn't know that she knew that The Count was Edmond. The Count didn't know that she knew he was Edmond. It was a shock. I was so happy that she had figured it out. I was also glad that The Count, who had been proud of himself for his disguise, had been bested by the woman who was his first love. It's like her soul knew his no matter how he tried to hide it from her.

The Count's revenge touches more people's lives than only the one's who are guilty. He sees that he is not as wise as God and he can't carry out perfect justice. He patches the cracks as best as he can.

He revisits his past. He reflects. He makes peace. What is done is done. What is passed is passed. He is no longer referred to in the text as The Count but, instead, Dantes. His identity shifts again.

The last words of Edmond Dantes in the book are:

"Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, ‘Wait and Hope.” 

I still think about that, wait and hope. Wait for what? Wait for justice? Wait for love? Wait for healing? Wait for a happy ending? Is the point, don't take things into your own hands; wait? And hope. Is that important so that you won't become bitter while you wait?

Another line at the end that sums up the the goal of the story is:

"There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness."

Is that so? Must you go through hard things to realize the height of happiness?

Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ

Author: Lew Wallace

Form: audiobook on Librivox.com

This is the second time that I have listened to Ben Hur. Ben Hur is divided into 8 books. The main theme is describing who Jesus is and what it must have been like for those who were waiting for a conquering Messiah. Thankfully, he makes the main character, Judah Ben Hur, realize that Jesus is the Messiah even though he was baffled at first by what seemed like Jesus' demise.

The first book is a little hard to get through. You have to get through lots, and lots, of descriptions. The way that Lew Wallace describes things doesn't really help me to feel like I have been transported to a different time and place, though, and it is certainly not for lack of details. His descriptions are very detailed. They give the feeling of a textbook, though. You can tell he did a lot of research and wanted to fit everything he had learned into the book, but it doesn't come off in a natural way.

One thing that drives me nuts is that he makes Jesus out to have feminine European features: the blue eyes, the delicate hands....... He even uses a phrase in the Bible to prop up this Europeanisation of Jesus when he describes Mary, saying something to the effect, "like the boy David who had, "ruddy cheeks," so was Mary fair skinned." I have heard this David's-ruddy-cheeks argument before by those who want to "prove" that Jews were white.

I, also, find Lew Wallace's characters a little unbelievable, in that the good guys are so good. They have no shortcomings. They are so morally consistent and loyal to their convictions that they are a little unrealistic.

Anyway, I could look past those short comings and enjoy the story. This is another story about someone, Judah Ben Hur, who has been unjustly accused and punished, then assumed dead, who manages to escape and plan a revenge plot.

I would say Judah's story line is very interesting. It keeps you engaged and rooting for his wellbeing and success. 

My favorite part of the book is when Jesus heals Judah's Mother and Sister of leprosy. That is a really bad spoiler. Sorry, if you haven't read Ben Hur. That scene makes me so happy and it gives me goosebumps. It is written in a way that did make me feel like I was there and got to see Jesus perform a miracle for someone that I really cared about who had no hope left in the word beside Jesus.

The whole crucifixion sequence is true to the Bible. Everything that Jesus says is from the Bible. Lew Wallace kept Jesus' words in King James English. I think that is a nice touch and serves to set what Jesus says apart from all the others. It keeps his words sounding sacred and not of this world.

There are a few characters that show the different perspectives that religious people may have had about Jesus at the time. Balthasar, a non-jew, sees all along that Jesus is King of a spiritual, transcendent kingdom. Balthasar is not looking for Jesus to conquer Rome. Judah Ben Hur and Simonides are looking for the Messiah to set up an earthly kingdom and rule the whole world. They have lived under Rome's domineering power for too long, and they can't wait to see Rome destroyed. They believe that The Nazarene is the Messiah. They gather weapons and train a militia to be ready for the time when Jesus of Nazareth will make his move and lay Rome waste. They will be ready to lend him their service. When Jesus is arrested they still hold out hope. Maybe He will call legions of angels. But as the crucifixion goes on they lose hope. Judah realizes before Simonides does, that Balthasar is right. Jesus is God and the son of God. He realizes that the political and religious leaders are not taking Jesus' life, but rather that Jesus is laying it down for him and for the world. And true to Lew Wallace's perfect characters, Simonides also comes to this faith in the true mission of the Messiah. 

The book ends shortly after the crucifixion with an epilogue of sorts showing a scene 5 years in the future. You see that Judah is involved in the early church and used his fortune to help the brethren survive persecution.

Treasure Island 

Author: Robert Lewis Stevenson

Form: audiobook on Librivox.com

I listened to this book because I was bored and didn't have a good idea of what I really wanted to listen to. It was a trash book. Not that the contents were trash but that I listened to it to burn time. I didn't pay very much attention to this book.

It is the original pirate tale. There is a peg leg, a parrot, riotous living (rum and more rum), a treasure map, a marooned sailor....... 

I felt like the point of this story was that many times in this life individuals don't get what they deserve. You can betray your mates, be a thief and a back stabber, and you may end up retired on a tropical island happily ever after in the case of Long John Silver. You may make foolhardy decisions that should lead to catastrophe but some how lead to saving all your friends' lives, in the case of young Jim Hawkins. 

It's like, justice is never served here on Earth. And that has been a frustration of mine ever since I was a little child. Psalm 73 was one I was very familiar with as a young person because it addressed the questions I had about why even bother trying to live right? Good people suffer often and bad people enjoy success often.

Psalms 73:16+17 "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end."

You have to live for the hereafter. And you'll choose to do what is right not because you hope to live an easy life, but because God loves you and you love God.

Book Review| My Garden Of Verse

 My Garden of Verse by Henry Beer is the subject of this post.

I found this book of poems at a flea market a few years ago. I had no inkling that it was such a wholesome (God fearing) poem collection. I noticed it on a shelf and had for sometime felt that poetry was lacking in my life. I briefly flipped through the pages. I saw that most of the poems had a garden/nature theme. While I didn't think there would be any deep thought provoking poems, I thought that, at least, it would not have poems with  objectionable subjects. On that basis I bought it.

I had no idea what a treasure I had found!

My Garden of Verse by Henry Beer was published by WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company in 1945. The book is broken up into 5 chapters; Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and In Memoriam and contains 162 poems in total. My copy is a third edition from 1960. (I did contact the publisher to ask permission to copy these poems to my blog. I was told that these poems are in the public domain now.)

The poems in this book have a special place in my heart because they bring to recall the places of my childhood that I hold dear. Particularly, the things of the woodlands; the plants, and flowers, and trees that I learned as a girl. The seasons and constant pace of nature that are so familiar and comforting are highlighted in Henry Beer's works. Sprinkled throughout the chapters is a poem for each month of the year.

The really neat thing about the month poems is that Henry Beer was from Indiana (I am, too) and so all the flowers and trees and wildlife mentioned in each month corresponds perfectly with the seasons where I am from and as I have experienced them. I don't know if you know what I mean, but sometimes what blooms, for example: in March, is different depending on where you are on the continent. Writers from these various places have a variety of experiences of when the snow melts or when the sap flows, etc.... And these experiences make their way into their writings. I think it is so cool that everything in Henry Beer's poems, as far as woodland life, is exactly as I know it to be.

The other thing that I love about these poems are the spiritual truths. In every poem Henry Beer uses creation to point to the Creator. There are many uplifting and edifying thoughts that really anchor the readers mind on heavenly things. There are poems that tell redemptions story, exalt Jesus, and call the believer to greater love and service. These poems are quite encouraging and contemplative.

I did some searching online to see if a could find more information about Henry Beer. I wanted to know who he was. Through his poems I had gathered that he was some kind of Christian and that he had a son named Marcus that had died in his youth. There wasn't any information about Henry Beer online. I thought that was unfortunate. His works deserve to be more widely known, in my opinion.

I shared some of these poems with friends who happen to be part of the *Apostolic Christian faith tradition. I was shocked to learn that my friends knew of Henry Beer. He had been a minister in their denomination and even written some hymns that they sing in their church. It's a small world!

You can order a copy of Henry Beer's My Garden Of Verse from Apostolic Christian Bookstore .org.

 I will finish this post with the forward from My Garden Of Verse, which is a poem. :-)

Forward
The gate to my garden is open!
In this garden of verse you will find
Many writings, all varied in nature,
With the noblest of virtues entwined.

Come out to the fields and the gardens

While the birds sing at break of day.

Here the trees and the fields and the forests

Have a message of truth to convey.

The charm of each season and splendor

Will here to your vision unfold;

The glory of spring and of autumn,

The time when the season grows cold.

Fond memories of home and of childhood,

With friendships endearing and true,

The problems we face in life's pathway

In verse are recorded for you.

May the seeds I have sown in my garden

Spring forth and bring cheer to your heart.

May they help you when careworn and weary,

And a message of solace impart.

Come browse through my garden of verses,

There the Master will speak to your soul.

You will see by the beauty of nature

Many reasons His name to extol.

*Some of my readers may not be familiar with the Apostolic Christian faith, so I have added this asterisk to provide some context. The Apostolic Christian Church is one of the many branches that came from the Anabaptist movement of the 1500's. Around here (where I live) people generally shorten Apostolic Christian to AC. In everyday speech it sounds like, "I know that family: they are AC's." Or "The AC church runs the nursing home in town." Or "The AC choir sounds like heaven!" Etc....  Some AC congregations are very conservative in their dress standards, with women wearing head covering, dresses, and keeping their hair in a bun, and the men being clean shaven and wearing white shirts and black ties to meeting. I will sometimes be taken for an AC when I am out and about because my style fits all the AC distinctives.

Basic Economics|Book Review

 

I finished reading Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. It took me a while to get though this book.

All 654 pages! I had to check it out twice from my library and renew it 4 times. 

But, I did read it all.  

I have never been interested in the study of Economics. I read this overview of the subject as a challenge. I had been in a discussion about public policies with an individual many months ago. They said to me, "You don't know anything about economics." Well, that statement wasn't entirely baseless. I didn't know very much about economics. But, I could change that. I could educate myself. So, I took it as a challenge.

After reading Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell I would still say I don't know very much about economics. I know a lot more than when I started, though. The thing about economics is, that it can be complicated. An economy is like a web where no transaction happens in isolation. All the purchasing decisions of individuals are interconnected in this web of consequences. It can be hard to determine what effect a single action will have or the accumulative effect of multiple single actions will have in the long run. 

Right off the bat in the book, Economics is defined as the study of the allocation of scarce resources. This definition is driven home chapter after chapter. What is the scarce resource? Money? Labor? Capital? Milk? Fuel? Time? These resources are not infinite and there are systems set up within societies to allocate these resources to their end purpose. 

The book makes a case for free market, price driven economies as being the most prosperous. When the pie is bigger even the people with a small piece are benefited.

 I really enjoyed the style that the information was presented. There were many current real world examples, and many scenarios illustrated by real historical events. Nothing was confusing. I could follow all the points. I feel like the information was laid out and then restated a few different ways just to make the points clear. I really "got it" once I finished a chapter.

This introduction to Economics has made me interested in learning more. It has made me aware of my own deficiencies in this area of knowledge. The saying, "The more you know, the more you know you don't know." Is true.

One of the neat things about this book and Thomas Sowell is that he has created questions to go with each chapter for those using this book as part of their homeschool curriculum. The questions are in a PDF file that can be downloaded from his website: tsowell.com.

What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments!

Ecclesiastes 12:12 

And further, by these, my son, 

be admonished: of making many books 

there is no end; and much study is a

 weariness of the flesh.

Freckles!

I really want to make some freckled dolls, Anne-of-Green-Gables-esque.

I purchased a permanent fabric marker with a fine point tip.

I have these five doll bodies finished. (HERE is my pattern.) I can't wait until the legs and hair are sewn on to try this marker. 

I may regret this, but here goes......

I'll test it on the back of a doll's head first. If it turns out terribly wrong the hair will cover my mistake and no one will be the wiser.

That went surprisingly well! 

Let me finish a doll completely before I show you the face. 

I got the legs sewn on while I was at the playground with the children.

This is how I cut the yarn for doll hair:

Wrap yarn around a thin book that is about 8 inches tall.

Keep wrapping yarn around the book until you have about 5 inches of yarn.

Snip the yarn in half with scissors at one of the open edges of the book.

I sewed the hair on and braided it. HERE is a doll hair tutorial with details.

What do you think? 

I am happy with the freckles. I think the marker worked well! 

The marker brand is Marvy made by Uchida of America Corp. If you need to make freckles, I would recommend their fine point fabric marker.