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Sisters of Henry VIII; The Tumultuous Lives of Margaret of Scotland and Mary of
France by Maria Perry I have studied Tudor period royalty since I was 13. This is an excellent book. The two sisters of Henry VIII, Margaret of Scotland and Mary of France are rarely heard of, and yet, were remarkably resilient women as depicted in this book. Unlike many other biographies, this book reads almost as a fictional, historical novel. And yet, it is all true! Ms. Perry takes us through the childhood of these women, and their brother, Henry, into their adulthood, marriages and inconveniences. It is a remarkable history of these two queens, showing their strengths in a time when women were supposed to be docile and ruled by men. The writing is excellent, the subject matter unforgettable! If you are interested in the Tudor period, or in royalty in general, buy this book! |
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On Everest by Kenneth Kamler Yes! Another Everest book! I had thought when I purchased the book that it would deal with only the tragedy of 1996 when 8 people died on the mountain, including two of the top climbers in the world, Rob Hall and Scott Fisher. Unfortunately, the parts concerning that expedition were very small. However, I found this an extremely interesting book as it explains the medical necessity of a doctor on Mount Everest. This is what makes this book so appealing. Dr. Kamler has climbed the mountain several times and has served on various expeditions as the medical doctor. His views on the challenges of the expeditions that is has participated in are diverse and captivating. If you are buying this book for more information on the 1996 expedition, you may just want to borrow the book from the library; but if you are interested in the challenges of doctoring sick and injured climbers, including those that survived the 1996 catastrophe, this is a great book to read. |
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Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing In 1915, Ernest Shackleton boarded the Endurance and left on his attempt to cross Antartica, a feat that had not yet been accomplished. Somewhere in the Weddell Sea, Endurance was caught in the ice. The floes of ice kept the Endurance for nearly a year, during which time, Shackleton kept his men together and alive. Finally, Endurance was crushed by the ice, and the real adventure began. Shackleton and his men, using the lifeboats from the Endurance traveled to Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and 5 crew members embarked on an 850 mile open sea voyage in one of the lifeboats to bring back a rescue party for the remaining 22 men. The voyage is considered one of the most remarkable voyages in seafaring history. This is a good book. I really enjoyed reading it. It doesn't flounder about with long-winded descriptions of everyday life, but you get a real sense of what these men went through. This was definitely a more rugged era! Mr. Lansing brings this entire adventure to life and once the final voyage begins in the book, it was extremely hard to put it down! One of the really neat things is that at the New York Natural History Museum on April 1, 2001, their IMAX theatre started showing a film on this very subject! I can hardly wait! |
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Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger The Halloween Gale of 1991 is not a storm I remember. I am further south down the East Coast and we were simply not effected by the storm. Maybe it was a Nor'easter, but nothing terribly memorable. However, the people of Gloucester, Massachusetts will never forget that storm - the product of three weather fronts which collided near Sable Island. That collision made "The Perfect Storm". Wind speed was measured at 100 MPH, and waves were measured at 100 feet. And in the midst of the storm were a fishing fleet, pleasure boaters and the people who rescue them. This is a compelling, if tragic story. The author, while providing a lot of information about the weather and fishing, also gives us a glimpse into the lives of fisherman in Massachusetts. His conjectures of what may have happened aboard the ill-fated Andrea Gail ring true, and the eyewitness accounts of survivors of other ships and rescues are riveting. |
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