Category Archives: shawverv

Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year by David Von Drehle

According to a recent review in The Kansas City Star, reading Rise to Greatness is a great way to prepare for watching Steven Spielberg’s movie, Lincoln, so I read it.  The movie concentrates on the President’s efforts to pass the … Continue reading

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Destiny of the Republic: a Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

Destiny of the Republic is a fascinating study of the life and presidency of James A. Garfield, his assassination, and the controversial medical efforts to save his life from a gunshot wound. The pages seem to turn themselves, and one … Continue reading

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How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough

The author, a journalist, reviews psychological, sociological, educational, and medical literature and makes conclusions about what is needed to close the gap in educational gains between poor and rich children. His most compelling assertion is that a nurturing relationship between … Continue reading

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Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews by Carl Rollyson

Hollywood Enigma is a readable biography of one of Hollywood’s better, yet underappreciated male screen stars of the 1940s and 1950s. Dana Andrews was not a famous or flashy screen star in the mold of Gable, Tracy, or James Stewart, … Continue reading

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Carlisle vs. Army: Jim Thorpe, Dwight Eisenhower, Pop Warner, and the Forgotten Story of Football’s Greatest Battle by Lars Anderson

Carlisle vs. Army is more than the story of the legendary football game between two football powers in 1912. It’s the story of its 3 principal characters – Jim Thorpe, Pop Warner, and Dwight Eisenhower. Carlisle didn’t look at this as … Continue reading

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The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power by Robert Caro

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power is the fourth in Caro’s series on LBJ and covers the years from 1958, when Johnson began his candidacy for the presidency, to his first weeks in the White House in … Continue reading

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One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein

A collection of 100 close-up color photos of exotic butterflies against black backgrounds. It’s an adult book that held the interest of 5 children for over an hour. Some photos capture the top and bottom sides of the butterflies. Visually … Continue reading

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John Huston: Courage and Art by Jeffrey Meyers

If you like movies like The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, Moulin Rouge, Moby Dick, The Misfits, Night of the Iguana, and The Man Who Would Be King, you’re probably … Continue reading

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Beautiful: the Life of Hedy Lamarr by Stephen Michael Shearer

Perhaps the title should be Beautiful and Brainy. Beautiful is a readable account of the life of “the most beautiful woman of the first half of the Twentieth Century”, a film star of 1930s and 1940s, and the namesake of Austria’s … Continue reading

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The Soul of Baseball: a Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America by Joe Posnanski

Sportswriter Joe Posnanski drove Buck O’Neil around America promoting the Negro Baseball Leagues at ball fields in rural towns and major league stadiums during the last year of O’Neil’s life. Buck may have been showing his age, but he had … Continue reading

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