Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens
By Jane Dunn (NonFiction)
Reviewed by Penny Pillsbury

This riveting dual biography makes clear these two women’s differences: Elizabeth, inherits a weak, divided country is revolutionary in her insistence to rule alone. She is very well educated and doesn’t assume that she will be Queen. She sacrifices her love life to use her celibacy as a political tool. Mary has a reckless heart and a magnetic influence over men and women alike. She is vengeful and the more ruthless of the two. She is not a romantic victim. Dunn uses primary sources and explores those two cousins struggle for power. FINE HISTORY.


American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges (NonFiction)
Reviewed by Kent LaCombe

Author Chris Hedges spent time travelling to the public meetings of several large, right-wing evangelical Christian organizations around the country. Hedges interviewed people involved in a wide array of organized, conservative, Christian driven political activism. The results may shock those who are not involved in, or do not share, the ideals of the organizations he discusses. From James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, to Pat Robertson’s CBN organization, to the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the author examined various groups he believes are actively involved in a concerted effort to reduce the endangered democracy of the United States to a reactionary theocracy based not on human ingenuity, freedom, science, and empathy for others, but instead dogma, blind faith, and intolerance for whoever they deem heretical. Watch out Unitarians, Congregationalists, as well as pacifists, gays, lesbians, and others who think diversity, compassion and tolerance for differences are to be valued – you aren’t likely to be considered faithful enough in the brave new world Hedges believes these organizations and their leaders are working to impose on you. This is a well researched, readable account of a powerful, dangerous arm of American conservatism.

The Spellman Files: a novel by Lisa Lutz (Fiction)
Enjoyed by Penny Pillsbury

Isabel (Izzy) Spellman is described as a cross between Dirty Harry and Nancy Drew. She and her whole family are part of the Spellman Investigations, a family business. It is what she knows, and why she, by book’s end is on Ex Boyfriend #10. Her mother runs background checks on her beaus. Her 14 year old kid sister is addicted to recreational surveillance. Light and funny, set in San Francisco.

The Risk Pool by Richard Russo (Fiction)
Reviewed by Penny Pillsbury

While waiting for my turn at Richard Russo’s newest The Bridge of Sighs, I decided to read some earlier Russo, I was not disappointed. Ned Hall’s charismatic father Sam leaves the family in the Upstate New York town of Mohawk. He reappears when Ned is in elementary school, kidnapping him for disasterously funny day of fishing. Reappears again when Ned’s mother is having a mental collapse for two years living in a ramshackle apartment atop Mohawk’s onlyd dept. store.- Convenient for shoplifting and proximity to town bookie. There’s romance, laugh aloud scrapes and Ned’s struggles to win his father’s affection while avoiding his sins. Extraordinary fiction!

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (NonFiction)
Reviewed by Kent LaCombe

Silent Spring changed my life. In addition to being a professional librarian, I’m a historian. Silent Spring is often a core text for various environmental history courses. It is also a piece of history, in and of itself. It is a timeless classic, whose author faced the same corporate driven ridicule and misrepresentation as the current crop of scientists and citizens who are desperately working to raise awareness of and address global warming. Silent Spring is first and foremost about pesticides, but it is also a testament to the courage, forethought, and compassion of its author. It is often credited as the wellspring of the modern environmental movement. It is the text that drew me to environmental history and changed the course of my own professional life. Highly recommended.

Things I Overheard while talking to myself (CD)
by Alan Alda (NonFiction)
Listened to by Kent LaCombe
When I was a kid the theme from M*A*S*H depressed me. I preferred cartoons to the drama of adult oriented, live-action programming. Turning on the TV and seeing the opening to M*A*S*H signaled another evening without some sort of special programming geared toward kids – programming which, unfortunately for my youthful tastes, only seemed to appear around holidays or on Saturday mornings. I developed an unwarranted dislike for Alan Alda too – I thought he was boring and talked too much on M*A*S*H. He always seemed to be lecturing the other cast members. I preferred cartoon cats or claymation reindeer. As an adult I’ve gained a new appreciation for M*A*S*H, thanks mostly to my partner Michelle’s long standing love of the series. She was way ahead of me as a child. My own maturity, if you can call it that, has brought with it not only a better understanding of the timeliness and originality of M*A*S*H when it aired, but also of the thought provoking content of so many of its episodes. Not coincidentally, I’ve also become something of a fan of Alda’s as well, and think a few more folks from any generation would do well to pay attention to some of his lectures from that program. Speaking of lectures; “Things I Overheard while talking to myself” is a collection of speeches Alda has given at college commencements, linked together by personal reminisces by the author. His reflections include stories from his youth, early career, and the national events that often influenced the content of the speeches that make up the core of this work. As an adult I’ve come to regard Alan Alda as a brilliant actor, on both the small and large screens (if you haven’t seen The Four Seasons, do yourself a favor and rent it). Similarly, “Things I Overheard while talking to myself” is a thought provoking, interesting, and often times humorous look into the values and life experiences of its remarkable author. The audio version is read by Alda, and it is that much better for it. Check it out.