Danbury Library Blog

As a New York Times journalist David’s “reporting...left little doubt that a corrupt South Vietnamese government supported by the United States was no match for Communist guerrillas and their North Vietnamese allies. His dispatches infuriated American military commanders and policy makers in Washington, but they accurately reflected the realities on the ground.” [NY Times] The work won him a 1964 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.

Post-war, David wrote numerous books on subjects as varied as American politics, the 9/11 firefighters and the high-pressure world of professional basketball. His investigative reporting and compelling writing style brought him much popularity.

Reporters and photographers remember David Halberstam in Vietnam...

Bio

Posted by Claudia at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Those of us committed to staying on planet earth realize a change of course is in order to keep us all healthy, happy and not too warm. Earth Day events are much more meaningful given our increasing awareness of environmental issues.

Do not despair, Earthlings! There are simple things all of us can do to significantly help our environment. Start with fixing that drippy faucet or replace incandescent bulbs with those very unattractive but efficient squiggly-looking fluorescent bulbs. For more ideas check out The Solution is You! An Activist's Guide or any of our other 'green living' titles.

As always, you can count on your public library to have those hard to find titles such as 'Water: Opposing Viewpoints.

For environmental news with humor visit grist.org.

Posted by Mary at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of my goals in life is to visit Newfoundland in Canada. I have travelled to Canada twice but both times my family has voted not to travel there. Fortunately for me Farley Mowat, one of Canada's greatest writers, has just published Bay of Spirits: A Love Story.. The love story of the subtitle refers both to his love for Newfoundland as well as where he met the love of his life. By reading this great travelogue I can travel vicariously to Newfoundland and enjoy Mowat's powerful descriptive passages and the beautiful photographs which accompany the text.

View image Through the magic of Mowat I have visited Newfoundland.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April just can’t get any respect. T.S. Eliot famously called it “the cruelest month,” and Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote, "To what purpose, April, do you return again?" Maybe that’s why the Academy of American Poets chose to uplift and ennoble poor, old April by designating it in 1996 as National Poetry Month. Their website is a treasure trove of full-text poems, poet biographies, interviews, and audio clips of poets reading their own works. What a treat to hear W. B. Yeats read “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” conveying all the strength and musicality of its language. More poetry resources are available at poetry.org and the Library of Congress.

(Just a reminder, don’t look for poems in the library under fiction; they’re over in non-fiction under 811.)

Posted by Andrea at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A witty Harlan Coben New York Times piece...Will Play for Food.

Need a Harlan Coben book list? Fantastic Fiction, has Harlan's bibliography by series (all of the Myrons listed in order of publication), standalone novels, awards, etc. Be sure to scroll down for Harlan's top book picks by other authors.

There's still time to get tickets for Harlan's talk & book signing in Danbury...

Posted by Claudia at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Normally, I would not point to an entirely commercial site. I'm making an exception for Octavo Digital Rare Books.

Although the company is selling CDs with digitized rare books and manuscripts, they also offer images of those books online. The text isn't as readable as it would be, presumably, on the purchased product. However, that hardly matters for many of the books offered; they're lovely to look at.

Check out William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience (April is National Poetry Month, after all). The print isn't always readable, but the artwork is stunning.

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

Paula Deen, the reigning culinary queen operates two restaurants in Savannah: "The Lady and Sons" and "Uncle Bubba's Oyster House". This roving blogger dined at Uncle Bubba's recently and can honestly say the oysters do not disappoint. For those of you who cannot manage a getaway to Savannah we have her cookbooks including the newly-released, autobiographical "Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cooking".

If you're thinking of visiting Savannah we have helpful guidebooks. A reading of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" will give you much background info on this beautiful, charming city so rich in history and character.

Posted by Mary at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 26, 2007 is the 230th anniversary of the burning of Danbury during the American Revolution. Danbury was attacked by a British army commanded by Lord Tryon because it was a vital military supply center. American troops gathered quickly to attack the British forces. The British, in a hurry to leave Danbury, burned the provisions & supplies and also homes & businesses. Sadly along with these losses land records & vital statistics records were burned as well.

For more about this incident look at Bailey's History of Danbury in print and also online through our Genealogy database HeritageQuest

Posted by John O'Donnell at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You've seen An Inconvenient Truth. You're reading it in the newspaper daily. Naysayers, you can't hide your heads in the sand anymore...

...we've got proof

Posted by Claudia at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)