Danbury Library Blog

John McPhee, Pulitzer Prize winner for his tetralogy on geology entitled Annals of the Former World, has a new book out called Uncommon Carriers. It is concerned with the world of freight transportation. McPhee spent eight years travelling with different modes of transportation including eighteen-wheel chemical tankers, ship-handling school and canoe. My own favorite of this collection is the chapter on coal trains which McPhee rode to the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. Extracting the coal to feed power plants throughout the country has revitalized the rail industry and actually created a logjam of trains trying to get in and out of the mines in this region.

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Posted by John O'Donnell at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A recent "to-do" in the British literary world involves a phony letter published in a biography of British Poet Laureate John Betjeman. Biographer A. N. Wilson who included the letter in his book admits he should have known better. The letter was sent by "Eve de Harben" which he eventually realized is an anagram for "ever been had".

Stateside, there have been several hoaxes in recent years. The most recent is James Frey's A Million Little Pieces which the author now admits contains much exaggeration and inaccuracies about his battle with drugs and alcohol.

Oprah initially championed Frey's book and was also involved with the author of "Rock and a Hard Place'' Anthony Godby Johnson who as it turns out doesn't actually exist. The memoirs of the HIV postive, 14-year-old who purportedly had been sexually abused by his parents and their friends attracted the attention of Oprah and others including writer Armistead Maupin whose novel The Night Listener is a fictionalized account of the relationship he established (over the phone) with the young man or person claiming to be the young man. "The Night Listener" was recently released as a motion picture starring Robin Williams.

Curious, in the literary world, misrepresentation or outright fraud does not usually lead to legal action. In many cases, the revelations lead to higher sales figures.

Posted by Mary at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is nothing safe? While bagged spinach is off limits, why not reach out to our other fruit & vegetable friends? My favorite veg chef's latest: Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen is a neat collection of 100+ vegetarian soup recipes organized by ingredient, consistency, and, best of all, by season. Melissa's Great Book of Produce, comprehensive, but not overwhelming, tells how to find, store, prepare and serve every fruit & veg imaginable. Brilliant color photos and nutritional info included. Can't get enough healthy stuff? T. C. Boyle's wickedly funny spoof of dietary fanaticism, The Road to Wellville, is sure to clean you out!

Posted by Claudia at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

What was your favorite book for this year? Is it The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly? Or do you think that Janet Evanovich of Twelve Sharp should be the winner? Would you rather see that Al Franken, Tyler Perry or Bill Watterson accept the Quill Awards for best humor book of the year? Now you can vote for your favorite book of the year. From now until September 30, you can cast a ballot for your favorites. Awards winners will be announced in New York City on October 10. Tune in to MSNBC on October 28th to see if your favorite author is a winner.

Posted by Yan at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Joachim Fest, one of the leading historians, journalists and cultural commentators in postwar Germany, died on September 11, 2006. He was the author of arguably the best biography of Hitler (and the first major one by a German) and several other important books on the Nazis. He was also a prolific journalist and had just finished his autobiography. In the weeks before his death he was embroiled in the controversy surrounding the revelation that Gunter Grass had been a member of the Waffen SS in World War Two. Fest had faced the same dilemma but instead Fest volunteered for Army service rather than join the SS.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the 9/11 Commission Report to Sid Jacobson's new graphic novel: 9/11 report: a graphic adaptation; there are now over 75 titles in the library collection focusing on some aspect of 9/11. Some are pictorial such as Aftermath: Unseen 9/11 Photos by a New York City Cop. Many books debate the U.S. response to the attacks. Others are of an intensely personal nature like Love You, Mean It: a True Story of Love, Loss and Friendship chronicling four 9/11 widows bonding together to cope and move forward.

The tragedy of that day will always be with us. So, too, will the great acts of courage and bravery by firefighters, policemen and citizens who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Posted by Mary at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's still more to say about the stunning, violet-eyed beauty who enthralled the world with six decades of high Hollywood "soap", including but not limited to 8 marriages, 2 oscars, innumerable life-threatening illnesses, purported suicide attempts, addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs and happily, recovery. Taraborrelli's 548-page Elizabeth, with its "...chatty prose (and bite-size chapters) perfectly complement Taylor's glamorous life of highs and lows to create an irresistible and inspiring tale." (Publishers Weekly).

What about those rumors of late that Liz is at death's door? Not so! says Eee-lizabeth (as she prefers to be called, pronounced that way), proving her hardiness by swimming with sharks. Her 8 former husbands might not be delighted to hear that she called it "the most exciting thing I've done in my life!"

Posted by Claudia at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Charles Edward Ives, an American composer of classical music, was born October 20th, 1874. His father, George Ives, a bandmaster, was the most influential musician in Danbury. At that time, Danbury was known as the most musical town in Connecticut. George Ives had a big influence on his son Charles. At the age of fourteen, Charles Ives became the youngest church organist in the region. He went to Yale to study music as an ambitious young man. When he graduated from Yale, he accepted a clerical job in a life insurance company in New York City. Later Charles formed his own insurance agency. He was a business man by day and composer by night. He was also an organist in Danbury. Charles devoted himself to his music after his retirement in 1930. In 1947, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 3. Charles Ives passed away in 1954. If you would like to read more…

Posted by Yan at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)