Review: A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh

A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh by Allan W. Eckert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an amazingly detailed work of scholarship tracking the life of Tecumseh from the family he was born into to the day of his death. There are extensive notes amplifying details such as why the author chose certain points of view or why he disregarded unsupported versions of events. Largely this builds on and at times corrects Allan W. Eckert's other works The Frontiersmen, Wilderness Empire, and Gateway to Empire. The focus here is on the military life of Tecumseh from successful warrior in the period of The Revolutionary War to general of a united Indian front during the War of 1812. Much credence is given to Tecumseh predicting successfully the solar eclipse of June 16, 1806, a brilliant meteor display or comet of 1811, the December 16, 1811 New Madrid earthquake, and the day of his own death. This work of scholarship is of interest beyond Tecumseh's biography to the events he partook in, especially British-American relations over his life. The author tends toward novelisation often by recreating dialog and scenes which I think would be better forgone and could have greatly shortened the telling of a life full of enough drama.

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Review: The Silmarillion, Volume 2

The Silmarillion, Volume 2 by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It is great to have excellent narrator Martin Shaw do the reading for me and let him worry about the pronunciations here. Subtitled, "Of Beren and Lúthien and the Ruin of Beleriand", this middle volume of this abridged audiobook there is a story in the classic mold of a knight in quest for love. Since Thingol refused to give Lúthien's hand in marriage to Beren, a mere mortal, he had to bring back a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth in order to win her hand.

Using Lúthien's powers to place Morgoth's court into a deep sleep (kinda like the light of Eärendil for Frodo), they were able to enter Angband where Beren was able to cut a Silmaril from Morgoth's iron crown. However, as they escaped from Angband, the great wolf Carcharoth, whom Morgoth had personally bred, awoke. Beren held out the Silmaril, hoping that its radiance would avert the beast, but he was mistaken ((kinda like The Phial of Galadriel did not completely trounce Shelob for Frodo). Carcharoth bit off his hand, swallowing it along with the Silmaril, and proceeded to run rampant through Doriath. Lúthien and the unconscious Beren were rescued by the Eagles of Manwë. Beren participated in the hunting of Carcharoth, where the beast was slain and the Silmaril recovered; the quest was accomplished, but in the process Beren was mortally wounded.

With this tragedy, there are some intriguing asides about werewolves and vampires. Partly I was disappointed that Tolkien would incorporate such timeworn legends, but intrigued on what he would have done with them, had he given us more details and them a greater role.

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Review: Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets

Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets by Luke Dittrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the style of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, this work seeks to peel away the institutionalized obscurity of the most-studied amnesiac of all time and reveal who he was, what was done to him, and who he was. Interweaved is the author confronts his own family past as his grandfather, William Beecher Scoville, was the "pyschosurgeon" that lobotomized patient H.M., real name, Henry Gustav Molaison. In Scoville's procedure-tweaking ways he went a little deeper in his tissue removal so that H.M. traded epilepsy for memory loss. H.M.'s case was widely studied from late 1957 until his death in 2008 and played a very important role in the development of theories that explain the link between brain function and memory, which feature widely in this book. The memory of that research controlled and presented without much access granted by the primary scientist investigating him, Suzanne Corkin. The author reveals that Dr. Corkin destroyed research documents and data, and failed to obtain consent from Molaison's closest living kin, using a straw man with power of attorney.

This book is enlightening about the mysteries of the brain and the popularity of lobotomy techniques into the 70s (and beyond?) and revealing about the work of Scoville research into the unfortunate Henry Molaison.

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Review: The Silmarillion, Volume I

The Silmarillion, Volume I by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first read this years ago, I was merely thirsty for more of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, etc. So, I was disappointed and even disoriented since this sweep is much more epic and grander. Now, I come to it to appreciate only Tolkien's vision and this triumph by the linguist and fantasist. It is also rather entertaining to read of Balrogs, Elrond, and Galadriel, etc. in their mythic roles during the legendary First Age.

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Review: The Plague

The Plague by Albert Camus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My used copy here has an inscription stating this is a decent book by an author that has done better. Sure, I liked The Stranger better, but haven't read all Camus' works so I can't attest to this inscriber's accuracy. The Plague is considered an existentialist classic despite Camus' objection to the label. I agree with his object. this is no The Trial and rather than being stark allegory of the human condition, it is so stark to be more allegory than novel. Perhaps a morality tale of sorts? The novel has been read as a metaphorical treatment of the French resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II, and that makes sense to me.

He implies heroism is ordinary people doing extraordinary things out of simple decency and need while some turn more pragmatic seeking to escape or exploit the situation sounds like resistance movement mentality. Camus started gathering material for the novel in January 1941, when he arrived in Oran, the Algerian coastal city where the story is set. He continued working on the manuscript in Le Chambon-sur- Lignon, a mountain village in central France where he went to recuperate from one of his periodic bouts of tuberculosis in the summer of 1942. But he was soon swept into the resistance, and it was not until the liberation of France that he was able to return his attention to the book. I can see the plague here as a visitation of evil that swarmed up out of his fetid pool and returned there to haunt mankind from afar.


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Review: Me Talk Pretty One Day

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is great to hear Sedaris narrate this triumph of self-deprecating humor himself. Some of the autobiographical material, much of what covers the events leading to his move to Paris and life there, is from live reading before audiences, which is great. In my opinion, the best material is in the last third of the audiobook and is from those audience readings. The most hilarious bits come from some vignettes he reads from his diary which I am not certain would be in the printed version.

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Review: Problem-Solving Strategies in Mathematics: From Common Approaches to Exemplary Strategies

Problem-Solving Strategies in Mathematics: From Common Approaches to Exemplary Strategies by Alfred S. Posamentier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a guide and classroom resource that can also assist an independent student looking to broaden his or her problem-solving strategies. The level is appropriate for secondary education. The reader can easily be the student looking for a self-contained overview to take at any pace or the educator looking to interject fresh material into a lecture or lesson. Each of the ten strategies present contrasting solutions in a format meant to provide insight into the problem. Only elementary mathematics is used as the goal is to improve the student’s procedure, not enlarge on mathematical techniques or even increase mathematical sophistication, per se. In the suite of examples, I feel the authors missed three opportunities: helpful duplication for contrasting, editing out unnecessarily similar examples, and including analytic geometry techniques appropriate for the target audience...

[Look for my entire review up at MAA Reviews.]





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