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This novel was the first best-seller in America. While some of the writing is quite dated, the story is strong and beautiful and well worth reading. I picked this book up because one of the characters is a fictionalized version of one of my ancestors. It's not a pretty portrait of that ancestor, but he wasn't a particularly nice person (he was the first person ever hanged in Wise County, Virginia.) The details are quite accurate to the history and give a fascinating glimpse into the social atmosphere of a public hanging.
The movie ruined the story in so many ways! Read this excellent book.
A fascinating look at depictions of American rural poor in the media. Several stills from movies dating from the 1910s to the 1980s. The analysis is somewhat socialist and very feminist. The factual data is fascinating to those with an interest in movie trivia (for example: Thunder Road was the first movie about running moonshine that used cars instead of horses to run the 'shine) and/or hillbilly culture.
If you've only seen the movie -- or even if you haven't -- this book is worth a look. Dickey was famous for his poetry before he wrote this best-seller and that poetic sense shines through his prose. This tense thriller depicts nature as both a salvation -- a "deliverance" -- and a ruthless enemy. Captivating.
If you have Asperger's Syndrome, know someone with AS or are just curious to know more about the "geek syndrome" we've been seeing more of in the news lately, Willey's book is an excellent introduction to the topic. Willey describes her life (which was quite sheltered. As Willey herself admits, many adults who grew up with undiagnosed AS have not fared so well as she) and how it is affected by AS. Several appendices offer advice for attending college with AS; finding support; figuring out who to tell or not tell; helping to support a loved one, friend, colleague or student with AS and more.
MacDonald has a wry and cynical sense of humor, somewhat reminiscent of Dorothy
Parker, as she describes how she came to run a chicken farm in rural Washington
state.
I chose to read this book because I enjoyed the "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies
as a child. The Egg and I was made into a movie in 1947
which introduced Ma and Pa Kettle. These hick slapstick characters were so
popular with audiences that they spawned an entire series of Ma and Pa Kettle
movies, each one more horrible than the last. I loved them.
I picked up this book because I was in the middle of reading another book
(People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck) when I came across a footnote
that said, "See Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea (Parnassus
Press, 1968), for a superb account of the power of naming." I was so intrigued
by this aside that I set down Peck's book and checked out a copy of Le Guin's
immediately. A Wizard of Earthsea is a captivating story, deceptive in its
simplicity, that serves as a psychological/moral allegory with strong Jungian
tones. It was listed as juvenile literature in my university library, but I
believe that its appeal is far more wide-reaching than many children's books.
If you like speculative fiction with strong spiritual overtones, you might
enjoy A Wizard of Earthsea.
Temple Grandin's first book is a seamless blend of autobiography and explanation of autistic traits in both humans and other animals. Grandin was diagnosed as autistic in the 1950s yet went on to earn her Ph.D in animal science and take her place as a leader in her career field. In Emergence, Temple tells us what she remembers of her childhood and how she came to break out of her silence and human isolation through the use of symbols and technology. Modern autism activists may dislike Grandin's tendency to speak of autism as a form of brain damage and as something to be overcome so that the person with autism can fit into the rest of human society (rather than forcing society, itself, to change.) But it is difficult to deny Grandin's power, sense of purpose or matter-of-fact courage. Emergence is also a ground-breaking book, being the first published book about autism written by an autistic person.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004 Sparrow Rose Jones. All Rights Reserved. Graphics courtesy of Medieval Woodcuts Clip Art.