Search results matching tags 'History' and 'nonfiction'

"Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey West" by Ethan Rarick

MediaPhile@evpl — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:10:00 GMT

If you've been suffering the privations of the ice storm and resulting electrical grid collapse this past week, just remember that whatever your conditions, they were much better than those faced by the Donner Party in the winter of 1846. At least that's what I kept reminding myself as my family and I suffered through 7 days without power. After all we had a house, a fireplace, firewood, hot water, candles, batteries, flashlights, a radio, and plenty of warm dry clothes and blankets. (Oh, I forgot the car, gasoline, restaurants, the list goes on and on).

I had just finished this fascinating history last month. Before that, the only thing I knew about the Donner Party was that they ended up eating each other. Now I marvel at the fact that the majority of the group actually made it out of the mountains in one piece (no pun intended).

In fact, it seems like a whole different breed of Americans who were willing to walk alongside their ox carts (saved for carrying children and worldly possessions) for 2000 miles, starting in Independence, Missouri and ending in the warm paradise of California. The secret was in the timing. The trip must start when there was enough new grass for the cattle and must end before winter closed the steep passage through the Sierra Nevadas.

The group that is forever remembered as the Donner Party made a few fatal mistakes. They started their journey a little late in the spring. They lagged at the tail end of the large crowd making that year's trek. And, worst of all, they made the foolhardy decision to try to shave some time off their trip by following a treacherous shortcut through Utah that had never actually been traversed. 80 men, women and children ended up being trapped by a series of blizzards at the base of the pass.

This story of triumph is a lesson in the ability of the human spirit to transcend great odds. An interesting side note is that the woman did better than the men -- largely due to their determination to save their children (but also to the fact that they store more fat).

All Things Orange County

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:37:00 GMT

Awhile back I posted about first discovering the Mexican, Gustavo Arellano. I recently finished reading his new book, Orange County: A Personal History. As I said in my previous post, Orange County isn't a place I'd naturally want to read about, but since I'd so enjoyed Ask a Mexican, I decided to give this book a try. I was not disappointed at all. It's a great little history of both Orange County and the author's family. After the introduction, it took me a few chapters to get into the rhythm of one chapter focusing on the county and then one chapter focusing on the family, repeated to the end of the book. The county chapters are genuinely entertaining and mostly* ignored Orange County's somewhat obnoxious television reputation, which is most of what I knew about the county prior to this book. The family chapters are good reading too; I've always enjoyed a good biography and it's interesting to read about the family's transition from Jerez, Mexico to Orange County, U.S.A. Also included are tips on where to eat around Orange County and occasional reminders that all of us can expect to have more Mexican neighbors in the future, wall or no wall.

*I say mostly ignored because there is a whole, entertaining chapter (The "Real" Real Orange County Reel, or: About Those Stupid Television Shows, Why Orange County Is "Hip," and What's Really Real and What's Somewhat Real--for Real!) on the subject, but the book isn't saturated with it.

Curious about Curious George?

bookmarkbeck@evpl — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:29:00 GMT

I was! I love adventure stories and was drawn to The Journey That Saved Curious George The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden. Thanks to the author's exciting account, the reader is caught in the moving drama of the Rey's four month escape to safety. By early June 1940, the Belgians had surrendered to Germany. The British and French Army had to be evacuated from beaches at Dunkirk. The city of Paris was declared an open city-the government would not fight the invading army. The Reys were part of the largest motorized evacuation in history. More than 5 million people were on the roads in France. Many were refugees from Holland and Belgium heading south. The only transportation left were two bicycles that H.A. Rey put together from spare parts. The bikes had two large baskets to carry his valuable drawings-drawings that would someday be published and delight children and adults. Two big surprises in this story, curious? Read to find out. This book makes you think about that little monkey in a different way. The combination of photos and line drawings are a good touch. Curious George.