Green lands for white men, by Meredith McKittrick

 

In 1918, white South Africans began to raise concerns about what they perceived as the increasing aridity of the land. These ideas were promulgated by Ernest Schwarz, a South African professor of geology, who used his observations of dry lake basins and riverbeds to support his case. Schwarz’s theories claimed that Africans had squandered their land through disuse, and that allowing water to flow to the sea was wasteful. Refuted by many scientists and climatologists, Schwarz’s theories nevertheless gained currency among white farmers and politicians, many of whom supported his proposal to divert rivers to attempt to irrigate arid lands across South Africa so that white men could farm them. This plan, called the Kalahari Scheme, would theoretically result in the elimination of white poverty, which presented obstacles to the maintenance of a racial hierarchy in South Africa. Author Meredith McKittrick, professor of history at Georgetown University, presents her deeply-researched exploration of Schwarz’s misguided scheme, showing how the philosophy behind it contributed in part to the development of apartheid decades later. She also delves into some interesting parallels with current history, including climate change denialism. VERDICT This is a fascinating look at a little-known episode in South African history. 

A version of this review was published by Library Journal 149:9 (2024): 97.

Wade in the water: Poems, by Tracy K. Smith

 

I enjoyed these poems by former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith. Her poems ruminate on topics such as Civil War-era Black soldiers and newly-freed Black families and their struggles, the impact of chemical pollution on health in nearby neighborhoods, her children, and much more. Some of them are erasure poems: historical documents or letters that have some text removed to create new works.

The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles

 

I enjoyed this novel that alternated between 1940s Paris and 1980s Montana. Odile is a new librarian at the American Library in Paris. She loves her new job and her colleagues and customers, and she has fallen in love with a young policeman. However, the German occupation of Paris changes everything for her, raising tensions and increasing the danger for everyone. Lily meets Odile in the 1980s, where Odile has lived since immigrating with her new American husband after the war. As the stories go back and forth, we learn what happened to Odile in Paris and why she left everything behind to come to America. Teenage Lily has befriended Odile during a difficult time in Lily's life. Lily's mother has died, her father remarries after a while, and they have two young sons. Lily is struggling to adjust to her new family, and Odile provides another adult perspective that helps Lily navigate her way. This was an interesting read, based on some real-life characters in Paris, although Odile's and Lily's characters are fictional. Nevertheless, the book has some flaws, specifically that the ending is fairly abrupt and it is hard to believe that Odile's character would make the decisions that she did.

Paris by the book, by Liam Callanan

 

After Leah's writer husband, Robert, disappears, she follows clues that take her to Paris with her two teenage daughters. Once there, she decided to apply for a work visa and stay on, acquiring an interest in a bookstore. Not know whether Robert has abandoned them, is suffering from a mental illness, or is dead is torture for Leah and her daughters, Ellie and Daphne, and this is made worse by all of them thinking they either see him in a crowd or find potential clues to his presence in Paris. This book builds very slowly, but I really enjoyed it as the mystery deepens and we eventually learn what happened to Robert.

How the Irish saved civilization, by Thomas Cahill

I was a little disappointed in this book and feel like the title was misleading. The author spent so much time on the end of the classical period, including the life of Augustine of Hippo, that he doesn't get to his thesis until the last 50 pages, and then it felt entirely too rushed. He claims that Greek literature would have been saved through other means, but that Latin literature would not have survived if not for the Irish monasteries where they copied and presumably distributed those manuscripts. I would have liked to learn much more about the Irish monasteries and scriptoria where they copied manuscripts. What all was saved? How were the manuscripts kept or shared? How many remain? How did historians learn of all of these activities? So many questions, but it was all rushed through with little detail.
 

The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd

The Cartographers presents an intriguing concept about the purpose of maps and how they work. Nell is a cartographer working in a map shop creating knock-off historical maps. She had a promising research career at the New York Public Library before her father caused her to be fired and unable to find another respectable job in the field. When Nell's father is killed, she finds the map that caused the rift between them, and this leads to Nell investigating the story behind the map to discover why it caused her father to become so upset. What starts out as a mystery morphs into a fantasy, with the map providing a magic entry into another world. I really enjoyed the writing and plot development in this book. It holds together pretty well, aside from some questionable decisions made by Nell's parents.
 

Doors open, by Ian Rankin

 

Before a recent vacation to Scotland, which started and ended in Edinburgh, I wanted to read a novel by Ian Rankin who has been recommended to me by multiple people. I selected this book, a standalone novel that isn't part of any of his series, to take with me on the trip. Doors open is a crime caper that reminded me of Ocean's Eleven and similar stories. Mike Mackenzie, a wealthy tech mogul, and two friends decide to rob the National Galleries of Scotland of some of their better Scottish art, but when they bring in accomplices to help with some aspects of the robbery, everything starts to go wrong. The writing is good and the main characters are interesting and well-developed. I haven't read any of the Rebus novels, but I've heard that they are dark. I wouldn't characterize this book as dark; rather, I found it charming and amusing.

Moments of happiness: a Wisconsin band story, by Mike Leckrone and Doug Moe

 

Band director Mike Leckrone shares highlights of his 50-year career in this joyous memoir. Leckrone grew up in a musical family and his love of applause cemented his desire to perform. He learned multiple instruments, played in school bands, and performed in a musical act with his father. A concert headlined by Louis Armstrong taught Leckrone the importance of giving every performance his best. He attended university and stayed on as director of bands before being recruited by the University of Wisconsin. Leckrone’s enthusiasm shines through as he recounts the marching band’s evolution as an increasingly more important part of the sports and music scenes at Wisconsin. He insisted on rigorous preparation for performances but allowed the students leeway to have fun. A common theme is Leckrone’s focus on remembering those things that create moments of happiness, whether it’s marching in the Rose Bowl parade or something more mundane. He recommends that we bank those memories to help navigate more difficult times. Leckrone retired in 2019 but is still active with projects including a podcast about music and a one-man theatrical production about his life. VERDICT This is an uplifting memoir by a man with a storied and impactful career.

 

A version of this review was published by Library Journal 149:8 (2024): 94.

The Sunday Philosophy Club, by Alexander McCall Smith

 

This is a slow-paced mystery that builds slowly to a not very dramatic climax. Isabel Dalhousie is an independently wealthy woman who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and who spends her time working as an editor of an academic journal on philosophy. While she refers repeatedly to the Club mentioned in the book title, they never actually get together to talk. The mystery in question is what happened to a young man who fell from a balcony at a concert. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? Through her thoughtful musings and gentle conversations with friends and family, Isabel comes up with one theory or another about the incident, eventually eliciting a confession from the one person responsible. Throughout the book, Isabel's thoughts consider many philosophical questions, some of them arising from the mystery and others from the articles that she's reviewing for her journal. While I'm used to a more fast-paced approach to mystery stories, this was an interesting take on the genre, and I'm curious about how the author developed the series, which now has 15 entries.

Erasure, by Percival Everett

 

Erasure was my Albany book club's May pick and I was excited to read it because it's the book behind the film American fiction, which I saw in a local theater back in February. I loved the film and I'm happy to say that I love the book as well. Now that I've read the book, I'm impressed by how closely the film followed the book, although it comes across as much funnier on screen. Erasure is about a novelist and professor named Thelonious Ellison, who goes by his nickname, Monk. Raised in a well-off and highly educated family, he writes literary fiction with fairly modest sales. A death in the family leads to Monk's relocation to the Washington, D.C. area to be his mother's caretaker; she has dementia and is becoming more and more difficult to manage at home. After several scary incidents, Monk puts his mother in a nursing facility, leaving himself more and more isolated. With his latest book rejected by multiple publishers, and in need of funds to support his mother, he decides to write a parody of urban fiction that ends up becoming a best seller. Trying to maintain his anonymity, dabbling in a new romantic interest, and taking care of his mother, he struggles to forge a path forward with many comical outcomes. I loved Everett's writing and look forward to reading more by him. His latest novel, James, tells the story of Huckleberry Finn from the enslaved man Jim's viewpoint. That book has been selected for my local book club's September read, along with the original Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, giving us the summer to read both.

How to think like an economist, by Robbie Mochrie

 

With How to Think Like an Economist, economics professor Robbie Mochrie provides a historical overview of the development of economic theory from classical times to the present. Profiling twenty-four scholars and thinkers, Mochrie demonstrates how economic theory evolved from the time of Aristotle, when musings about economics arose from philosophy and focused primarily on individual behavior and household management, to the Enlightenment period with the publication of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, and beyond. Mochrie brings the narrative to the present day, sketching the careers and notable achievements of prominent economists, mostly men but including a few women, many of whom were the recipients of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He notes their impact on government thinking and action addressing phenomena such as the Great Depression, unemployment, inflation, poverty, and policy. Mochrie shows how the study of economics developed from different traditions including history, law, and engineering, all bringing a distinctive stamp to their respective theoretical approaches. His clear writing and chronological approach show how economic theory grew and changed as each scholar built upon the record of previous thinkers. VERDICT This is a deeply researched and lively introduction to the history and theory of economics.

 

A version of this review was published by Library Journal 149:7 (2024): 96.