The Inside Scoop: Stories by Global Activists

I have been reading Anodea Judith’s book Waking the Global Heart: Humanity’s Rite of Passage from the Love of Power to the Power of Love, this week. It is a thoroughly original look at human/cultural evolution that blends history, mythology, psychology and chakra energy systems to explain the collapse of our institutions and material world, and provide insight for developing a new story for humanity that is life-affirming. She argues that since humans are now capable of influencing the trajectory of evolution, we are faced with a tremendous responsibility which is calling forth a maturity of the heart so that each of us can choose how, or whether, to take part in the creation of a more livable world.

Many people are already engaged in creating a more livable world and their stories are being told more, and more. While each of these stories centers on personal experience with human or environmental misery, I offer them up as hopeful antidote to the doom and gloom so prevalent these days, because of the courage, creativity and action they portray.  May you too find ways to share your concern and your gifts with the global community

 More than good intentions: how a new economics is helping to solve global poverty, by Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel.

 And still peace did not come: a memoir of reconciliation, by Agnes Kamara-Umunna and Emily Holland.

 Rat island : predators in paradise and the world’s greatest wildlife rescue, by William Stolzenburg.

 It happened on the way to war : a marine’s path to peace,  by Rye Barcott.

 How sportsmen saved the world : the unsung conservation efforts of hunters and anglers, by  E. Donnall Thomas Jr.

 When Johnny and Jane come marching home: how all of us can help veterans, by Paula J. Caplan

The inside scoop: Summer grab bag, take 2

Grab Bag Take 2!

So the sun is finally here to stay. The air is warm and inviting. Your friends call, “Let’s go to the beach!” You grab your sunglasses (if you can find them from last year), a blanket, some treats from the fridge, a jacket (it is Oregon after all) and something yummy to read, and stuff them into a bag. Here’s a list of books the staff in Technical Services grabbed!

For the kids (or the kid in all of us)–

Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl

In Boy, the author of James and the Giant Peach and Matilda, recounts the childhood adventures that gave him some of the ideas for his novels.  In Going Solo, he continues his life story with accounts of being a WWII pilot.

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

“Just make a mark and see where it takes you.”

For the grown-ups–

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

A popular choice with book clubs, this modern classic about the Battle of Gettysburg reveals more about the details of battle and the minds of the men involved than any non-fiction title ever could. 

Write More Good: an absolutely phony guide by The Bureau Chiefs

The “Bureau Chiefs” have taken their greatest hits from their @FakeAPStyleBook posts on twitter and expanded them into a full-fledged Style Guide that would probably get you fired if you actually used it, but which will definitely make you laugh.  It’s full of important rules for proper usage…

“World War” should be used only for conflicts involving countries on at least three continents. For large-scale battles against clones, killer tomatoes, or a fifty-foot woman, use “attack” instead.

And valuable advice for the cub reporter, just embarking on his or her journalistic career…

Whether you’re calling on the phone or physically going somewhere to do reporting, you should always identify yourself as a reporter.  Do this by shouting, “I am a reporter!” at the top of your lungs every few minutes, even if someone else is talking.

And for the armchair traveler–

Trawler: a journey through the North Atlantic by Redmond O’Hanlon

Pink Boots and a Machete: my journey from NFL cheerleader to National Geographic explorer by Mireya Mayor

Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison

Short and Bittersweet

 Finding it hard to find time to read these days? In that case, I’ve got a tiny dose of tiny bittersweet novels for you. They’re small enough to nearly read in one sitting. And so compelling that you’ll want to.  — Laura T.

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway  (235 pgs)
During the siege of Sarajevo, a man watches from his window as 22 of his friends and neighbors are killed by a single shell while waiting in line for bread. He quietly puts on his tux, picks up his cello, and plays in the wreckage for 22 days. From there, the narrative shifts between three other survivors in the war zone, one of them a sniper charged with keeping the cellist alive during his “concerts.” A moving novel without veering towards maudlin or sappy. It’s a haunting look at how hope sustains people during war and how sometimes survival means creating your own hope.

The Cradle by Patrick Somerville       (203 pgs)
As Matt and his pregnant wife Marissa await their first child, Marissa develops an obsession with the antique cradle she used as a child. But her absentee mother took it when she abandoned the family years ago. At Marissa’s insistence, Matt sets off on a quest to track the cradle down. The journey quickly becomes less about the cradle and more about the journey itself as Matt contemplates his impending fatherhood.

The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger    (250 pgs)
When Lady Duff Gordan journeys to Egypt to seek relief from her tuberculosis symptoms, her maid Sally accompanies her. Duff Gordan was a real life figure who wrote of her experiences in Egypt in the 1800s. Pullinger imagines the life of the maid, about whom little is known. Once in Egypt, Sally experiences freedoms she never knew in London and finds herself happier than she ever dreamed possible. But those freedoms can’t last forever, and the price she has to pay may prove too high.

The Inside Scoop from Technical Services – In the News

If you are up on your news you know that the Mississippi River still has not crested. Meanwhile, millions of people wait to see if the Army Corps of Engineers can siphon-off enough water using dams and spillways, to keep down-river homes, businesses and communities from being swept away. Wicked river: the Mississippi when it last ran wild, by Lee Sandlin takes us back to the days before engineers and spillways when the river, and the people who lived next to it, did indeed run wild. Other new books that cover issues in the news are:

Wikileaks: inside Julian Assange’s war on secrecy, by David Leigh

 Rewired: understanding the iGeneration and the way they learn, by Larry D. Rosen

 The heart and the fist: the education of a humanitarian, the making of a Navy Seal, by Eric Greitens

 What’s gotten into us: staying healthy in a toxic world, by McKay Jenkins

 Speaking Christian: why Christian words have lost their meaning and power—and how they can be restored, by Marcus J. Borg

 In-laws, outlaws and granny flats: your guide to turning one house into two homes, by Michael W. Litchfield

     

Song Sung Blue

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway 2008 (235 pgs)

During the siege of Sarajevo, a man watches from his window as 22 of his friends and neighbors are killed by a single shell while waiting in line for bread. He quietly puts on his tux, picks up his cello, and plays in the wreckage for 22 days. From there, the narrative shifts between three other survivors in the war zone, one of them a sniper charged with keeping the cellist alive during his “concerts.” A moving novel without veering towards maudlin or sappy. It’s a haunting look at how hope sustains people during war and how sometimes survival means creating your own hope.