Book Notes
All Book Notes articles are collected here.
Book Notes | ‘A Fever in the Heartland’Event Date: This riveting story of the Ku Klux Klan’s reemergence in the 1920s, particularly in the Midwest, has many parallels with today. Members of UMRA’s Book Club were surprised to learn of the Klan’s phenomenal rise and control over the North in the ’20s. They agreed that there are differences today but that there is still much to be done. More... |
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Book Notes | Reckoning with historyEvent Date: Emily Strasser's memoir, published in 2023, is about the work at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a secret city for 70,000 people constructed in 1942–43 as part of the Manhattan Project for developing the atomic bomb. Her grandfather George Strasser was a chemist at Oak Ridge, and members UMRA's Book Club I agreed the author’s family stories made the book meaningful. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘The Bookbinder’ by Pip WilliamsEvent Date: The story takes place in Oxford, England, between 1914 and 1920. As men are sent to the continent to fight in the Great War, women in England work to keep the nation going. Peggy and Maude are twin sisters who work together binding books for the Oxford University Press. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘Scoop’ by Evelyn WaughEvent Date: Named “one of the 1,000 novels everyone should read” by the Guardian newspaper, Evelyn Waugh’s satirical portrayal of foreign correspondents and British journalism in the 19th century drew mixed reviews from members of UMRA’s Book Club I. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law’Event Date: Author Mary Roach has gone around the world to collect stories of animal behavior that has come into conflict with humans and to describe the measures that humans have taken to reach compromises to allow the animals and humans to live in harmony. She is a superb researcher and has a witty way of writing. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘The Scarlet Letter’Event Date: Set in the 1600s in a small town in Puritan New England, 'The Scarlet Letter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story of sin, cowardice, and survival. Members of the UMRA Book Club found the writing to be laborious, riddled with many words no longer in use, and wondered why the novel was on high school reading lists. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘The Other Einstein’Event Date: In 'The Other Einstein,' an historical novel about the life of Albert Einstein’s first wife, Mileva Marić, author Marie Benedict speculates that Marić contributed significantly to the papers and relativity theory that are attributed to Einstein. The book raises several questions. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘Fox Creek’Event Date: Set in the Northwoods of Minnesota, 'Fox Creek,' the 19th book in the Cork O’Connor mystery series by William Kent Krueger, is about the conflict between Native and white people in the use of natural resources in both the U.S. and Canada. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘Strongmen from Mussolini to the Present’Event Date: The topic covered by this well-researched and carefully documented history is depressing but very important as the battle between democracy and autocracy continues around the world today. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘Lessons in Chemistry’Event Date: The UMRA Book Club discussion of Elizabeth Zott’s novel brought to light several real-life examples of discrimination against women close to home, including their exclusion from full participation in the University of Minnesota Marching Band until 1972 and the landmark Rajender v. University of Minnesota sex discrimination lawsuit filed in 1973. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane’Event Date: Although it represents exhaustive research and is engrossing, Lisa See’s novel about a young woman who becomes a tea entrepreneur in China and the daughter she gives up for adoption by a family in Southern California drew mixed reactions from members of UMRA’s Book Club I. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’Event Date: Carson McCullers’ debut novel enjoyed a rapid rise to the top of the bestseller lists when first published in 1940, and ranks high on many current lists of best novels. But members of UMRA’s Book Club I found it to be dark and bleak and would not recommend the book to others. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘Flight Behavior’ by Barbara KingsolverSet in a poverty-stricken Appalachian town in rural Tennessee, Barbara Kingsolver’s novel delves into the climate change culture wars and the pressures of striving to be an individual while living in a close-knit community. Published:More... |
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Book Notes | ‘Miss Benson’s Beetle’Event Date: The power of friendship, the destructive impact of war, and genuine appreciation of the natural world are the overriding themes in this quirky, historical novel about an unlikely expedition by two women in search of an elusive golden beetle. More... |
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Book Notes | ‘Elephant Company’Event Date: Set in Burma after World War I, this “spellbinding” true story about James Howard Williams and his love for elephants provides lessons in courage, trust, and gratitude. More... |
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