Ten Hills Farm: The Forgotten History of Slavery in the North, 344 pgs., Princeton University Press, by C.S. Manegold (December, 2009). The author centers her study of slavery in the North on Ten Hills Farm, an estate north of Boston, passed down through five generations of powerful slave-owning dynasties.  The author conveys a lively depiction of New England social, cultural and political history, and his thoughtfully researched and eminently readable book will allow no one to remain unaware of the North’s extensive links to slavery and the slave trade.

The Making of African America, by Ira Berlin, 320 pages, Viking Adult (January 2010). Berlin offers a fresh reading of American history  through the prism of the great migrations that made and remade African-American life. The first was the forcible deportation of Africans to North America in the 17th and 18th centuries, followed by their forced transfer into the American interior during the 19th century. Then came the migration of the mid-20th century as African-Americans fled the South for the urban North, and the arrival of continental Africans and people of African descent from the Caribbean during the latter part of the 20th century.

How Free is Free? The Long Death of Jim Crow, by Leon F. Litwack, 208 pgs., Harvard University Press (February, 2009). In this examination of African-American life after slavery, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Litwack recounts the physical brutality and crushing legal oppression of Jim Crow America. Drawing on African-American literature, poetry and blues music, as well as archival and media records, the author details lynchings, segregation, denial of education and housing—and the dedication among African-Americans determined not to be treated as second-class citizens.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, 384 pgs, Crown Publishers (February 2010). From a single, short life grew a seemingly immortal line of cells that made some of the most crucial innovations in modern science possible. And from that same life, and those cells, Skloot has fashioned in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a fascinating story of medicine and family, of how life is sustained in laboratories and in memory. Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive–even thrive–in the lab. Known as HeLa cells, their stunning potency gave scientists a building block for countless breakthroughs. Meanwhile, Henrietta’s family continued to live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her unknowing contribution–and her cells’ strange survival–left them full of pride, anger, and suspicion.

Jesus, Jobs, and Justice: African-American Women and Religion by Bettye Collier-Thomas, 736 pgs, Knopf Publishers (February, 2010). Collier-Thomas allows the strong voices of women as diverse as Ida B. Wells Barnett, Sarah Jane Woodson Early (the first black woman to serve on a faculty of an American university), and Mary McLeod Bethune to articulate the causes of liberation and justice.  Collier-Thomas demonstrates the ways black women have woven their faith into their daily experience and played central roles in developing African-American religion, politics, and public culture.

 1. The New American Militarism: How Americans are Seduced by War, by Andrew J. Bacevich

The author of this book is a West Point graduate and retired Air Force Colonel and currently is Director of Center for International Relations at Boston University. He is, by his own admission and by any objective reckoning, politically conservative. Yet in this book he offers a scathing critique of the use of American military power over the past 30 or so years.  As a former professional soldier, he displays great understanding of the military as an institution and of the path our political leaders have taken that institution in recent years.

Bacevich makes many valid – and some disturbing – points in this book, more than can be described here. But in my reading perhaps his most compelling and interesting analysis has to do with the intertwining of American militarism and American Evangelicalism.

Bacevich’s son, an Army First Lieutenant, was killed in Iraq a year or two after this book was published. That Bacevich has been a persistent, vocal critic of that war must have made this loss all-the-more painful for him.

2. The Road Out of Hell: Sanford Clark and the True Story of the Wineville Murders, by Anthony Flacco

Did you see the movie “The Changeling,” starring Angelina Jolie? Did you like it? If so, you might like this book. It is about the so-called “Chicken Coup” murders, the same murders upon which the movie is based.

But it is also a story of redemption, of someone moving on to live a full and normal life despite unimaginably horrific experiences. It is the story of Sanford Clark, who as a child was compelled, upon threat of death, to assist his sadistic uncle Gordon Northcott in the murder of at least 20 boys.

This book is mind-numbingly depressing in places. Just knowing that I live in a world capable of producing people like Northcott leaves me feeling despondent. But the book’s over-arching message of goodness goes far in dispelling that despondency.

3. Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness Are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, by Robert Lanza and Bob Berman

I love this book for two reasons.

First, Biocentrism turns the universe as we know it on its head by arguing (persuasively) that consciousness (i.e., life) creates material reality instead of the other way around. In this paradigm, life is not an accidental byproduct of cosmology. It is the very reason for the universe’s existence. Second, the book’s nuanced yet accessible discussion of cosmology (especially quantum theory) inevitably leads the reader into the theological realm, and in ways uniquely challenging to thoughtful readers.

4. Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother

Let’s pretend for a moment that, instead of being an economic power house, the United States is an impoverished Third World country and that Central America is the powerhouse. Imagine countless thousands of poor North Americans making the dangerous journey south to find work. Among them, incredibly, are children, some as young as six, and some of them traveling alone. Imagine you are the guardian, or the mother, of a 10-year old boy who disappears, and you later learn that he has set out– alone — to find his biological mother, who has migrated to Central America to find work. You know how dangerous the journey is, full of thugs, bandits,  and corrupt cops.

How would you feel?

5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

Christopher knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but not to humans. He cannot stand being touched and he detests the color yellow.

Welcome to the world of an autistic. If you would like to try your hand at understanding that world, I recommend this book to you. The book is in places bemusing, outright funny, disturbing, and outright disgusting. It will expand your mental horizons and teach empathy for a category of people often maligned for their “differentness.”

6. Nursing Against the Odds: How Health Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes, and Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses and Patient Care, by Suzanne Gordon

Over the past five years or so I have acquired a deep appreciation for nurses. I have found it is they, more than physicians, who will talk to you in meaningful depth about what is going awry in your body. Without them, I would feel like just another number in today’s managed care environment. This appreciation holds especially true of nurse practitioners and registered nurses.

Although this book it is not a page turner in the usual sense, it so well articulates what it is like to be a nurse – the challenges (routine and exceptional), dealing with the medical hierarchy, jobsite politics, and difficult patients — that I would highly recommend it to anyone enrolled in our nursing program or who is considering becoming a nurse. Theirs’ is not an easy job. Dozens of studies have recorded the disaffection within the nursing work force. This book’s author describes how many new nurses end up seeking to leave their profession because of job stress caused by rising patient loads under our current managed care system. Reading this book might help you enter this profession with open eyes and lessen your chances of leaving nursing prematurely.

7. A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone, by Lansana Gbnerie

Sierra Leone is a South Carolina-sized country in West Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world. Public health conditions there are deplorable. Children die daily from treatable diseases due to a lack of even the most basic medical care. Education is neither free nor compulsory.

A sad, bittersweet, feeling comes over me when I think of Sierra Leone, for it was “home” during my two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1980s. But what is really saddening is what happened there starting in the 1990s. That is when a Civil War of extraordinary brutality erupted.

This book offers an excellent examination of the origins, events, and eventual outcomes of this tragic conflict. The chapter entitled “Operation No Living Thing,” depicting the fall of the capital city of Freetown to the RUF, sent chills down my spine as my mind envisioned what that day must have been like in this city once so familiar to me.

8. Don’t Be Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks From the Heart: The Story of Elvia Alvarado, translated and edited by Medea Benjamin

Honduras is one of seven small Latin American countries sandwiched between Mexico to the north and Colombia to the south. It has the distinction of being one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, along with Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, and Nicaragua. Despite that, I love Honduras. I have been there three times since 2007 and plan to return in 2010.

Whether in the United States or elsewhere, the poor and disenfranchised tend to be near-invisible, and by North American standards the vast majority – at least 75 percent – of Hondurans would be considered poor. They are, in the words of one Honduran acquaintance, the “great invisible” in Honduras. And that is what makes this book so unique and valuable. It is about the world as seen through the eyes of the Honduran poor. It is about their struggle for social justice and dignity in one of the most economically polarized countries in Latin America.

9. Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town, by Nick Redding

The title suggests two things about this book: That it is about methamphetamine and that its setting is a small town in America. That small-town could have easily been Middlesboro, though it is Oelwein, Iowa (population 6,772). What meth does to Oelwein is now a familiar story, repeated in many American small towns.

Like Middlesboro, the population of Oelwein fell steadily through the latter decades of the 20th century. And, like Middlesboro, Oelwein’s middle-class has grown smaller with each passing decade.

Methland’s primary significance is its placing the meth epidemic in context with the economic decline that has afflicted much of rural America in recent decades.

The book has two weaknesses. First, it is without endnotes, a bibliography, or an index. This detracts from the book’s merit, especially when the author makes statistical claims without citing a source. Second, there are some factual errors, such as when the author attributes a book title to the wrong author. A fact checker would have been very helpful.

Loading up food for delivery

In order to commemorate World Food Day on Friday, October 16, several teachers at the Middlesboro campus of Southeast Kentucky Community &  Technical College requested that their students bring food donations.  Their efforts were extremely successful!  The maintenance department had an overflowing truckload of donated food to deliver to Cooperative Christian Ministries in Middlesboro.  Thanks to all the generous people who donated!

This book, written entirely in letters the characters send to each other, concerns the occupation of the island of Guernsey by German troops during World War II.  The book has been called “quirky,” “inspiring,” and “hysterically funny.” 

We will meet on Friday, October 9 at 1:00 pm in the conference room on the Middlesboro Campus to talk about the book.  The meeting will be very informal, so feel free to bring your lunch and discuss!  We will also decide future book selections.

Everyone is welcome, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts about the book!

I’d like to recommend some great books that we have in the library!  These are books that I’ve really enjoyed over the years, and I think they would make great stress-relievers as the semester moves along!

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

This book, set in the African country of Botswana, is about Precious Ramotswe, who decides to use the money her Daddy left her to start the only detective agency run by women in her country (hence, it is “No. 1″).  A very warm, funny and feel-good story about a determined woman who uses her intelligence and compassion to solve the small mysteries of every day life.

All Creatures Great and Small by James HerriottThis book covers the adventures of a newly graduated veterinarian in Northern England in the 1930s.  He encounters spoiled dogs, shrieking pigs, mysteriously downed sheep and other assorted mysteries on his day-to-day rounds.  Add to this his eccentric boss Sigfried and you’ve got a recipe for some hilarious and heart-wrenching stories!

 
On Writing by Stephen KingSince Stephen King has sold a book or two in his time, I expected this book to be something of a guide for aspiring writers.  It turns out to be more of an autobiography.  He tells about his childhood, with a single mother who was often working to support the family, his shock at selling his first book for an enormous sum of money, his drug addiction, and the accident that nearly took his life.  It’s an amazing story by a truly engrossing writer . . . even if I didn’t find many tips on how to write my own best-seller!

 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

This is a hilarious story, set in New Orleans, about Ignatius T. Reilly, a 32-year-old only child who still lives at home with his Momma.  To say that Ignatius is unambitious is bit of an understatement.  He is attempting to write a great work, but he keeps getting interrupted by his mother, who insists that it’s time he thinks about getting a job.  He does try . . . in his own way, but each job is a bigger disaster than the last one.  This book was published over a decade after it was written, after the suicide of the author.

Twilight by William GayIf you won’t take my word for it, Stephen King listed it as one of his favorite books of 2007.  It concerns two teenage siblings who become convinced that there is something not quite right with the local undertaker.  They determine to dig up their father’s grave to find out if their suspicions are correct.  Not surprisingly, the undertaker in question takes a dim view of their meddling, and things quickly go from bad to worse.  Creepy! 

Stiff by Mary RoachMary Roach has written several non-fiction books, all looking at an unusual topic.  In Stiff, she takes a look at what happens to dead bodies.  It would seem to be an especially morbid topic, but she deals with the subject with surprising sympathy and humor.  Did you know that “crash test dummies” are sometimes the bodies of the recently departed?  That and many other fascinating facts are covered in this intriguing book.

 
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

This book gives a new slant on the topic of success.  Just why did Bill Gates become the king of the computer industry?  Gladwell looks at factors that came together in unusual ways to create extraordinary opportunities for success.  There is also a local aspect to the book:  why is it that people in Harlan County, KY are so prone to feuding and fighting?  Gladwell has a theory . . .

All of these books are available for check out on the table just inside the library’s front door!

One book Ms. Haggerty is currently reading is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King.  PS 3561 .I4813 B44 1996

This book concerns Mary Russell, a 15 year old schoolgirl, makes the acquaintance of the retired detective Sherlock Holmes near her aunt’s farm.  Holmes has taken to keeping bees and eventually begins to train Mary in the art of detection.  Eventually, they must work together to solve a mystery that endangers both their lives.

 The other book on Ms. Haggerty’s nightstand is Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach  BL535 .R63 2005 (at the Harlan Campus)

This wildly entertaining book attempts to find out if ghosts are real.  In the search for life in the spirit world, the author travels to various countries and visits mediums, hospitals and ghost hunting groups.  She also looks at the history of ghosts and debunks some frauds of the past.

Although the Middlesboro library doesn’t have the Spook book, we do have another fascinating book by Mary Roach called Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.  R853.H8 R635 2003

On August 4, 2009, the Louisville Free Public Library suffered a disaster when their building flooded.  The library building sustained a great deal of damage, and the employees are still cleaning up the mess.  In order to raise awareness of the needs of the library and to raise funds to help them, librarians are celebrating “Why Libraries Rock!” blogathon today.

In this age of dwindling resources, it’s amazing that you can get so much for free at your local library.  In addition to the obvious resources like books and audiovisuals, most libraries offer a wealth of online sources.  Here at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College Library, patrons have access to over 60 databases.   Topics covered in the databases range from health, business, literature, and current events.  We also have access to the back issues of our local newspaper, the Middlesboro Daily News, for the past 5 years.

Personally, I frequently make use of the library’s Interlibrary Loan function.  Because most libraries belong to a resource-sharing group, our library is able to get nearly any item sent to us for free from any library around the United States!  Since our library can’t afford to buy all the books I want to read and audio books I want to listen to, this is a wonderful service.

The Louisville Free Public Library has been incredibly generous over the years in sending us items that we requested through Interlibrary Loan.  Now that they are in need of our help.  A foundation has been set up to take donations to help the library recover.  If you would like to donate, you can find out more at the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation.

What are some ways that libraries ROCK your world?  Feel free to let us know!