Grasping for the Wind

Spear Throwing is a Feminist Activity

Here's an interesting article at The Economist about how the practice of throwing the atlatl (spear) is actually a feminist ideal as the science behind it allows people to throw spears with amazing force without needing lots of body mass or muscle.

Anyone know of any characters from literature that are spear throwers? Most of the books I read use spear throwers as cannon fodder.

Book Review: The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael Stusser

*Genre: Nonfiction, Humor, Trivia
* ISBN: 0143112279
* ISBN-13: 9780143112273
* Format: Paperback, 304pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
* Pub. Date: September 2007

Michael Stusser’s Dead Guy Interviews first appeared in the pages of the trivia magazine Mental_Floss. Drawing on the known, the rumored, and his sense of humor, Stusser writes fictitious interviews with noted personalities from history. People like George Washington, Genghis Khan, Chairman Mao, Nikola Tesla, Mae West and others all sit down for an “interview” with Stusser.

He has now collected and expanded his interviews in a collection. The Dead Guy Interviews is a hilariously presumptuous collection of interviews with 45 dead personalities. Often focusing on the flaws or the rumors, the interviews give the reader interesting trivia (sometimes little known) about these people.

Each interview begins with a short description of the life of each person, noting their achievements, and whatever else made them famous. Reading these is essential, as much of the interview builds on these facts.

As part of the interviews Stusser writes, he also includes descriptions the actions of the people as they are interviewing. Genghis Khan breaks something, or Tesla electrocutes himself. These add flavor and character to the words of the interviews.

These interviews are quite funny, although Stusser often has to resort to rumored sexual escapades or being caught in lies to create the humor. Of course, that is not unlike most journalists of today, always on the prowl for a wif of scandal. I thought that the interviews often focused too much on these rumors, rather than relating interesting facts in a creative way.

Stusser also has a liberal bias. When he writes the interviews of known conservatives or prudish figures of history he will often mock those positions. Yet when encountering promiscuous or progressive figures of history, his interviews support their "progressive" views. For instance in the interview with Darwin this exchange is made:

MS: Let’s talk about the theory of “creationism” –

CD: Bible stories.

MS: Well today they’re calling creationism, Intelligent Design. Any thoughts on that label?

CD: I guess I’d have to say that any intelligent designer that made 99.9 percent of every organism he or she designed go extinct, couldn’t be all that intelligent.

MS: You really did anger some Bible Thumpers with your theory of evolution.

CD: I can understand that. If you want to keep telling the Adam and Eve story – creationism - it’s hard to allow for evolution. We either got put on the earth by god as fully formed people, or we evolved from something a little less human.

Obviously, Stusser is using the contention provided by Darwin's theory to create humor, its just that often his humor is often at the expense of more conservative type people. Even though I am a conservative myself, I would laugh at these becasue I know that Stusser was just trying to be funny, but I still think he needed to poke fun at the liberal types a bit more too.

But Stusser does find ways to mock everyone he “interviews”. All of these famous people from history have strange habits, weird escapades, and pithy words that can be mocked. And it is funny most of the time. Where possible, Stusser draws on famous quotes from the figures to add a grain of truth to his interviews. Wilde’s interview often answers with lines from his book and letters, or Lincoln’s has a smattering of the Gettysburg Address. This adds a truth and veracity to the interviews that lets you know that Stusser did some research and the facts as he relates them can be trusted.

This is a book I recommend that all fans of trivia read. It is funny, creative, and an unusual way to get your daily dose of trivia. Teachers might find this a useful tool in the classroom; although they will need to read it carefully to censor those things they believe their students are not ready for. As I said, rumor and innuendo provide the basis for a few questions in each interview. It is also just a good (dare I say it?) bathroom book. Each interview is only 3 to 5 pages long, and makes for a more interesting read than the wife’s Southern Living.

Fans of Mental_Floss and lovers of trivia will enjoy this book. I hope Stusser does another. After you read it, look for more in the pages of Mental_Floss. Or check out these that were posted online to celebrate the release of the book:

[Video] Sigmund Freud (This one really has a lot of sex in it, but then it is Freud after all.)
[Text] Queen Isabella I
[Text] Benjamin Franklin
[Text] George Washington
[Text] Huey Long
[Text] Charles Darwin

A Year of Reading 2008

This is a continually updated list of all the books I have read in the year 2008. Links are to reviews I have written for some of these books. You can also look at my list for 2007.

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

January

Series 65: Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam Manual by Kaplan Financial
The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay
Instant Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
In The Beginning by the editors at mental_floss
Eberron: Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham
A Bit of Madness by Emmanuel Civiello and Thomas Mosdi
Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley
Dragon Outcast by E. E. Knight

February

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
Breach the Hull edited by Mike McPhail
Confessor by Terry Goodkind
Blood Ties by Pamela Freeman
Sojourn Volume 6: The Bezerker's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Forgotten Realms: Neversfall by Ed Gentry
Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

March

The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Madhouse by Rob Thurman
The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael Stusser
The Hidden City by Michelle West
Klassic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings by Lee Barwood
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
Growingold with B. C. by Johnny Hart

April

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
Misspelled edited by Jule E. Czerneda
Flash Fiction Online, April 2008 edited by Jake Freivald
Rolling Thunder by John Varley
Empress by Karen Miller
Phytosphere by Scott Mackay
Goblin War by Jim C. Hines
Return of the Sword edited by Jason M. Waltz

May

Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Forgotten Realms: Obsidian Ridge by Jess Lebow
Iron Man: Beneath the Armor by Andy Mangels
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley
The Martian General's Daughter by Theodore Judson
The Four Forges by Jenna Rhodes
Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan

June

A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans
Wizards edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

July

August

September

October

November

December

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

A Year of Reading 2007

The Year is Done! I hope you had a great one and have high hopes for 2008. Below is a list of all the books I read in 2007 (I like to keep track because I am just that hyper-organized). The final five have reviews written that I just haven't posted because every review deserves a suitable amount of time at the top of the blog. You will see them in January of 2008.

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

January

Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin
Condensed Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss
Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott
In the Ruins by Kate Elliott
Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin
Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
Monks and Mystics by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire by Simon Winchester
Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin
Life@Work by John Maxwell
The Children of Men by P.D. James
Forgotten Realms: Frostfell by Mark Sehestedt
The Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis

February

The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Forgotten Realms: Sacrifice of the Widow by Lisa Smedman
Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
Forgotten Realms: Double Diamond Triangle Saga by Various Authors
Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky
Forbidden Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss

March

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
Rome 2006 by Rick Steves
Supplement to the Italian Dictionary by Bruno Munari
Keats and Italy by Various Authors
The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Night by Elie Wiesel
Dachshunds for Dummies by Eve Adamson
Legend by David Gemmell
Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward

April

Forgotten Realms: Depths of Madness by Erik Scott de Bie
The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Shakespeare's Kings by John Julius Norwich
On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Black Gate: Issue 10 Spring 2007 by John O'Neill (ed.) and Howard Andrew Jones (ed.)
Forgotten Realms - Unclean: The Haunted Lands, Book I by Richard Lee Byers

May

Dragon Avenger by E. E. Knight
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Scatterbrained by the editors at Mental_Floss
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties by Steve Berges
The Clerk's Tale by Margaret Frazer
The Bastard's Tale by Margaret Frazer
The Hunter's Tale by Margaret Frazer
Forgotten Realms - The Gossamer Plain: The Empyrean Odyssey Book 1 by Thomas M. Reid
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The King's Buccaneer by Raymond E. Fiest
The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell
The Unhandsome Prince by John Moore
A Fate Worse than Dragons by John Moore
Maskerade by Terry Pratchett
The Truth by Terry Pratchett
Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

June

Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett
The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck
Another Fine Myth/Myth Conceptions by Robert Asprin
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Father of Dragons by L. B. Graham

July

Black History Through Blue Eyes: The Debt the World Owes to Africa by James Seymour
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Forgotten Realms: Scream of Stone, The Watercourse Trilogy Book III by Philip Athans
The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Widow's Tale by Margaret Frazer
A Rhyming History of Britain by James Muirden, David Eccles (Illustrator)

August

More Than A Hobby by David Green
Real Estate Investment Trusts: Structure, Performance, and Investment Opportunities by Su Han Chan, John Erickson, Ko Wang
Tipperary: A Novel by Frank Delaney
Explorer's House: National Geographic and the World It Made by Robert M. Poole
Forgotten Realms: The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson
A Life Well Spent: The Eternal Rewards of Investing Yourself and Your Money in Your Family by Russ Crosson
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin

September

Black Gate Issue #11 by John O'Neill (ed.)
The Surrogates by Robert Venditti, Brett Weldele
Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
Forgotten Realms: Swords of Dragonfire by Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Honored Enemy by Raymond E. Feist and William R. Fortschen
Murder in LaMut by Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenberg
Forgotten Realms: Storm of the Dead by Lisa Smedman
The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us by Robyn Meredith
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
Union of Renegades by Tracy Falbe
Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley

October

Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell
The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch
The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell
Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines

November

Scarlet by Stephen R. Lawhead
The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet
Green Rider by Kristen Britain
The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Forgotten Realms: Stardeep by Bruce Cordell
The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller
Forgotten Realms: The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore
Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell
A Prayer for the Damned by Peter Tremayne
The Blue Haired Bombshell by John Zakour
Hedge Hunters by Katherine Burton
Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy edited by W. H. Horner
Shimmer, The Pirate Issue edited by John Joseph Adams

December

Eberron: The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme
Sojourn: The Sorcerer's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick
Forgotten Realms: Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones
Fellowship Fantastic by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes
Genetopia by Keith Brooke
The Tales of the Last War edited by Mark Sehestedt
Bad A** Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood by Clayton Emery
Tides by Scott Mackay
Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

Sword and Sorcery in History

Joseph McCullough is beginning a series on sword and sorcery in history at the Black Gate website. The first sword and sorcery character is Hereward the Wake from the 12th century manuscript De Gestis Herwardi Saxonis (The Exploits of Hereward the Saxon).

Book Reviews by Title

These are the my book reviews, categorized alphabetically by the title. (Click here for categorization by author.) "The" doesn't count towards the title.

You can also subscribe to an RSS feed of my reviews at librarything.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

A

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
A Rhyming History of Britain by James Muirden (author) and David Eccles (illustrator)
Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers
Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet
The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller

B

Bad-A** Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail (et al.)
Badger's Moon by Peter Tremayne
Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
Beyond the Summerland by L. B. Graham
Breach the Hull edited by Mike McPhail
A Bit of Madness by Emmanuel Civiello and Thomas Mosdi
Black Gate: Issue #11 edited by John O'Neill
Black History Through Blue Eyes: The Debt the World Owes to Africa by James Seymour
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Bloodheir by Brain Ruckley
Blood Ties by Pamela Freedman
The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour

C

The Children of Men by P. D. James
The Clerk's Tale by Margaret Frazer
Confessor by Terry Goodkind
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
The Crown of Stars Series by Kate Elliott
Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell
Condensed Knowledge by the editors of mental_floss

D

Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael Stusser
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
Dragon Outcast
The Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis
Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin

E

Eberron: Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme
Eberron: The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme
Eberron: The Tales of the Last War by Mark Sehestedt
The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us by Robyn Meredith
Empress by Karen Miller
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Explorer's House: National Geographic and the World It Made by Robert M. Poole

F

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Fellowship Fantastic by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Flash Fiction Online, April 2008 edited by Jake Freivald
Forgotten Realms: The City of Splendors by Elaine Cunningham and Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones
Forgotten Realms: The Gossamer Plain by Thomas M. Reid
Forgotten Realms: The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson
Forgotten Realms: Obsidian Ridge by Jess Lebow
Forgotten Realms: The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore
Forgotten Realms: Road of the Patriarch by R. A . Salvatore
Forgotten Realms: Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
Forgotten Realms: Stardeep by Bruce Cordell
Forgotten Realms: Swords of Dragonfire by Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Unclean by Richard Lee Byers

G

Genetopia by Keith Brooke
The Gift of Pain by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Glory Road by Robert Heinlein
Green Rider by Kristen Britain
Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines
Goblin War by Jim C. Hines
The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
Growingold with B.C. by Johnny Hart

H

Hedge Hunters by Katherine Burton
Henry V (Classical Comics Edition) by William Shakespeare
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
The Hidden City by Michelle West
Honored Enemy by Raymond E. Feist and William R. Fortschen
Hood by Stephen Lawhead
Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham

I

Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
Iron Man: Beneath the Armor by Andy Mangels

J

J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
The Junior Books by Dave Ramsey

K

Klasssic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings by Lee Barwood
Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs

L

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
Legend by David Gemmell
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Life@Work by John C. Maxwell

M

Madhouse by Rob Thurman
Magician by Raymond E. Feist
The Magic of Recluce by L. E. Moedesitt Jr.
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Master of Souls by Peter Tremayne
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan
Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward
Misspelled edited by Julie E. Czerneda
Monks and Mystics by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
Moon Gate by David Weldon and William Proctor
More Than A Hobby by David Green
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
Murder in LaMut by Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenberg

N

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Night by Elie Wiesel
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

O

On Becoming A Leader by Warren Bennis
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire by Simon Winchester
Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky

P

Phantom by Terry Goodkind
The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead
The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Phytosphere by Scott Mackay
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet
The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay

Q

R

Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck
Return of the Sword edited by Jason M. Waltz
The Rick Steves' Travel Guide Series by Rick Steves
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood by Clayton Emery
Rolling Thunder by John Varley

S

The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch
Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy edited by W. H. Horner
Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead
Shadow in the Deep by L. B. Graham
The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley
Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Shakespeare's Kings by John Julius Norwich
Shimmer, The Pirate Issue edited by John Joseph Adams
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Smoke in the Wind by Peter Tremayne
Sojourn: The Bezerker's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Sojourn: The Sorcerer's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin
The Surrogates, Vol. 1 by Robert Venditti

T

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Tides by Scott Mackay
Tipperary: A Novel by Frank Delaney
The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
The Truth by Terry Pratchett

U

Union of Renegades by Tracy Falbe

V

W

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell
Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley

X

Y

Z

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Notes: A Lecture by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

These are my notes from a lecture given by Pulitzer prize winning author Laurel Thatcher Ulrich on September 19, 2007. This feisty gray haired lady presented a fascinating case for continued work in understanding the history of women, and in breaking down stereotypes. Phrases in quotes are direct quotes from the lecture.

“Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History”
A Lecture by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (Pulitzer prize winning author of A Midwife's Tale)
Margaret Mitchell House and Museum Literature Center

See the webcast at www.atlantaforumnetwork.org

Books, Activism, Memory

- Read first few pages of Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History in order to define the phrase succinctly.
- Phrase comes from her first article in history in 1976 on Puritan Funeral Sermons
- Kay Mills found it, accidentally changed “seldom” to “rarely” hence two different quotes
- In 1996 Jill Portugal of one angry girl designs asked permission to print it on a t-shirt.
- Kacey Jones sang a song incorporating the term on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion – the song can be found in the book.
- Sania Mirza, Indian Muslim tennis player has taken it as a slogan for herself

So what does “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History” mean?

- Ulrich enjoys ambiguous titles for books
- Good Wives is about normal women dealing with prescriptions for good behavior vs. actual behavior
- Age of Homespun is about frontier violence and the intersection of Native Americans and the English
- Well behaved women are often characterized as Emily Dickinson types.
- Well behaved women are those who do what is appropriate for her culture and preserve the status quo
- “Well-behaved” is not referring to good or bad behavior (i.e. Rosa Parks was chosen as the example case against segregation precisely because she was well-behaved, yet she made history.)
- Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History is about “celebrating the impact of the women’s movement of the 60’s and 70’s on knowledge.”
- “Because women tried to make history they discovered the past.”
- Those who want to make history seek to know history.
- “Caring about history we make history”

Book Structure

- Book is set up with three women in three libraries in different time periods and countries.
- Christine di Pizan – 15th century “The City of Ladies”
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton – 19th century leader of women’s rights movement
- Virginia Woolf – reference to famous British Museum doodle leading to the writing of fictional account Shakespeare’s sister Judith where in frustration at lack of success, raped and abandoned she kills herself.
- Woolf was wrong – Elizabeth Carey was forced to marry like Judith but was popular writer (more popular than Shakespeare) in the same time; Artemisia Judelefsky – raped, seduced like Judith, became famous artist
- Tells stories and shows parallels between the three women and retells their stories through the lens of the scholarship of the last 30 years.

A Renaissance in Women’s History

- Christine di Pizan loved the Amazons (800 year kingdom).
- Ulrich retold the story of the Amazons in light of recent scholarship including funny story about Amazon.com being sued by a women’s bookstore called Amazon for copyright infringement. Amazon tried to say they were named after the river rather than Amazon’s of myth. Ironically the river was named by a Spanish explorer who thought he had found the ancient kingdom found in the myths.
- Quilt documentation projects came to light.
- Ordinary people asked new questions
- “academic historians do not own history.”
- Well-behaved women don’t think their lives matter so they don’t preserve their own history by keeping diaries, etc.
- So being misbehaved means preserving ones role in history, no matter how small

Questions

Where are we in terms of male response to women?
- “I’m a historian” not a sociologist
- Ulrich is depressed when she goes into bookstores and only sees books on war
- The book marketing world thinks history is for men and fiction for women – a holdover of the 18th century
- “Our knowledge of history is not very deep, let alone women’s history.”

Was there someone in this new book that touched her like Martha Ballard of A Midwife’s Tale?
- not in new book, no one ever will
- new book is about many women rather than being a microcosm like A Midwife’s Tale.
- Ulrich was touched by the new book’s multiplicity
- Ulrich had to rely on other people’s scholarship
- Writing out of her comfort zone
- Moved by how much scholars and good citizens have done in research.
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton/Jarrett Smith and abolitionist helps Stanton meet a slave named Harriett Powell. Ulrich does research on the underground Railroad and ends up connecting two disparate organizations in New York and Canada who have information on this person.

If Ulrich were to be a history advisor to Hillary Clinton’s campaign what characterizations should Clinton avoid or identify with?
- Hillary has an interesting dilemma, she is both new and old, but is likely the first female presidential candidate who can make it.
- Should not identify with Woodhull – first woman to run for President in 1870’s
- Nearly 20% of the women who have served in Congress have succeeded husbands who died in office.
- Hillary Clinton is in peculiar position of being a pseudo-widow because she is potentially following a husband into office that is not dead. She will be both helped and hurt by his legacy, unlike the ones who follow dead husbands.
- The more interesting question is why it has taken so long to get to this point in the US when other developed nations have already elected women.

How has technology changed getting published?
- it is harder to get published
- her first book was her Doctoral Dissertation, and now he own publisher won’t even look at doctoral dissertations.
- “The Internet is fabulous and terrifying” but is helpful in making connections.
- She would like funding of digitization of primary sources not just go to the 19th century notion of history.

Would we be better off if women had been ruling the world for a while?
- “NO!” Emphatically
- She is a social historian, great things happen when lots of people make small changes, not rulers.
- Women are not always better peacemakers, that is a stereotype.
- See her chapter on the Amazons.
- Women have been warriors for as long as men have and have been just as violent.
- Gender is an important variable but it doesn’t explain everything.

Why are we reluctant to elect women?
- women themselves have a lot do with Nixon’s veto of childcare act.
- Can make the argument that 19th century women had more effect on moral culture and society than men did (child-rearing)
- Women have had economic and political power in the past, but it was directed toward the home rather than those spheres as we understand them.
- Women had a new politics, a moral imperative (more important than the others even)
- Conservative women destroyed the early feminist movements, not just men.
- Activist women disagree.

What was Ulrich’s impetus for becoming not well-behaved?
- committed to study
- marrying young and having a lot of kids
- history changed her life
- Grew up in Mormon Rocky Mtn. West, Idaho.
- Heard about noble pioneers from childhood and felt diminished by their story leading to questions and research.
- Some of those pioneer grandmother’s were not so well-behaved.
- Mormon’s were just as radical in the 19th century as the Elizabeth Cady Stantons, even though they were polygamists as well as feminists and suffragettes.
- Ulrich’s stereotypes were blown away.
- Being a pioneer was creatively dealing with the circumstances, as women who make history should be today.

A Geographical History of Religion in 90 Seconds

Cup O'Links

Lots of interesting stuff going on the web lately.

Check out Michael Stusser's (author of the Dead Guy Interviews) interview with George Washington. Washington debunks the cherry tree myth, and the explains what was up with the wooden teeth!

Joe Abercrombie opines on the nature of maps in fantasy fiction.

Jason at Dragonmount describes Robert Jordan's funeral, including some pictures of his home and workspace.

Jerry Spinelli, author of Maniac Magee, answers a few kids' questions at Powell's books. If you are a child of the 80's you remember having to read that book about the kid who is always running. I get tired just thinking about it.

Ursula K. LeGuin has an excellent tongue-in-cheek story/essay on genre fiction.

Gresham and Lewis

Was CS Lewis a great scholar? Undoubtedly. Was he a great writer? No honest scholar today can doubt that for a moment. Now some of his stories are moving into the medium of film, he is becoming more known throughout the world, greatly accelerating a trend that has been slowly happening over the 40 years since his death. Was CS Lewis a great teacher? That, I think, is also unquestionable: he taught at Oxford and Cambridge universities, and teaches on today through his books. Was he a great theologian? Many of today's finest Christian scholars strongly believe so. Although he would never have laid claim to any of those titles, nor perhaps even have accepted them from others, he was all of those things and a great deal more besides.

Douglas Gresham remembers his stepfather C.S. Lewis in this article in preparation for the re-release of the play Shadowlands, a fictional account of Lewis' life.

Raise a Pint for Arthur Guinness!

Today be his birthday! Arthur Guinness (September 24, 1725 – January 23, 1803) was an Irish brewer and the founder of the Guinness Brewery business and family. Arthur was born in Celbridge and raised in Ardclough, County Kildare. Arthur set up his first brewery in Leixlip, but the first pint of Guinness was brewed in Celbridge in a pub where the Mucky Duck Pub currently stands.

In 1778, Guinness began to brew porter - the darker beer containing roasted barley and first drunk by London porters - and exploited Ireland's new canals to extend his market. In 1799, he brewed ale for the last time. Sales of porter increased threefold during the Napoleonic Wars, and in time St James's Gate became the largest porter and stout brewery in the world, its 'extra stout porter' becoming known simply as stout.

Check out the history of Guinness Beer here.

And check out his great-great-great-grandson, Dr. Os Guinness, here.

I, for one, am grateful to the man.

Book Review: The Elephant and the Dragon by Robyn Meredith

Genre: Business, Economics, Politics
ISBN: 0393062368
Pub. Date: August 2007
Format: Hardcover, 384pp
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.

India (back office to the world) and China (factory to the world) have become major players in the world economy seemingly overnight. So what should the Unites States (buyer to the world) do about it? Robyn Meredith, foreign correspondent for Forbes, has detailed the history and effects of India and China’s rise in The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us and what the US should do about it.

In nine chapters, Meredith writes the economic history of China and India in a clear, easily read fashion. Drawing on her journalistic background, the book is filled with quotes, facts, and stories that exemplify the drastic changes within these two countries, and the effects those changes have had on the United States.

Throughout the book, Meredith compares the drastic differences between these two countries. Although both were protectionist states until recently, India was democratic whereas China was communist. India’s rise results from its ability to offer white collar jobs at cheap prices, whereas China is the king of factory production. India’s poor remain largely unaffected by the economic changes, whereas even the most rural farmer in China is seeing a small improvement in his lifestyle. India’s infrastructure has failed to improve, whereas China’s has blossomed, especially in preparation for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

The first seven chapters detail the meteoric rise of the tow countries in the economic playing field, both how it occurred politically and what the countries did right and wrong economically to move forward. The final two chapters deal particularly with the effect the rapid growth of the countries will have on the United States, and what Americans need to do to stay competitive in the global marketplace that now has two powerhouses poised to challenge America’s hegemony.

Meredith ultimately determines that America need to be wary of the change in geopolitics that will occur with China and India’s need for fuel and resources. Prices will rise, affecting both our economy and theirs. Meredith cautions that if the US does not take this into account, we may find ourselves in an economic battle of resources.

In the final chapter “A Catalyst for Competitiveness” Meredith cautions us against becoming either protectionist or allowing free trade free reign. She believes that the US should embrace the growth of China and India as a good thing for Americans as prices of goods decrease (especially with our recent housing market burst) and become more easily available. However, Meredith also says that in order to stay competitive we will need to improve education, build newer infrastructure, and create stronger economic foundations both at the company and government level. Although she bemoans the loss of jobs due to offshoring, she sets forth a logical and concise reasoning for the greater wealth and different jobs that are created by such offshoring. She claims that the four pillars mentioned before, if completed, will provide work for those whose jobs are removed to India and China. She ultimately concludes that "if inward-facing India and communist China can transform themselves, so can the United States of America."

Ultimately, Meredith provides as fair and balanced account of India and China’s entry onto the economic stage. Not pandering or partisan, the book fairly assesses the effect this has on the US economy and what we can do in order to stay ahead of the game. This is an excellent book both for as a primer in world economics, and for those interested in understanding the changes occurring to the US as a result of offshoring jobs. Highly readable, with clear and logical reasoning, anyone interested in learning more about the economic world we live in, and how it came to be will find The Elephant and the Dragon a worthwhile read.

Robert Jordan (1948-2007)

"Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain," — The Great Hunt

For those who haven't heard yet, James Rigney, better known as Robert Jordan, died yesterday at 2:45 PM from complications of amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (cardiac amyloidosis). He was 58.

George R. R. Martin remembers him here.

His brother gives a touching tribute here.

Wikipedia has already been updated and has an excellent bio and links.

New York Times Obituary

He was a groundbreaking author, and his Wheel of Time series was, for all its flaws, a masterpiece of the fantasy genre. My hope and prayer is that his faith in God was the same as my own, and that he now resides at the feet of the Father and the Son.

My prayers are with his family.

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."