Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Gay Revolution

The Gay Revolution

Adult nonfiction
Once when my son was quite young he won a much coveted door
prize at a Bangor Public Library children's summer program event: an
18 wheeler. No, there was not a semi parked outside. His prize was a
Dysarts eighteen scoop ice cream dessert. It took two families to
devour that megatreat.
That came to mind when I started reading Lillian Faderman's The
Gay Resolution: The Story of the Struggle. We're talking 635 pages
of serious scholarship. Notes and index add on another more than
150. It is fascinating reading. But I staggered it over a several
week period because to read it all at once would have been like trying
to eat an 18 wheeler all on my own. There were also times I had to
put it aside because the things done to people because of who they
loved made me so angry.
Faderman set the scene with an event from 1948. (The great
appeal of her book, in my mind, comes from the fine balance between
scholarship and narrative, between the events and the people without
whom they couldn't have occurred.) At the University of Missouri
Professor E. K. Johnston, a highly esteemed long term faculty member
who had served as an acting dean, gave out awards to journalism
students. Then he turned himself in to the county prosecutor's office
and was thrown into jail. He lost his job, his career, and even his
pension. Jail was a possibility. At his trial there was debate over
whether he was a menace to society.
His crime? I bet you've guessed. The middle part of the
twentieth century was like one of Dante's levels of Hell for LGBT
folks. Sodomy was a crime. Police officers spent a lot of time and
taxpayer money lurking in gay bars to entrap gay men. Anyone
suspected of not being all out hetero could be fired from a job. The
same folks carrying out the Communist witch hunts considered gays an
even bigger threat to national security. Psychologists listed
homosexuality as a disorder and prescribed forcible commitment,
electroshock therapy, and even frontal lobotomies.
Between then and now when don't ask don't tell in the military
has met a well deserved demise and gays and lesbians can marry same
sex partners there is a complex and dramatic history. Faderman takes
us through it into the courts, the demonstrations, the planning
sessions, the riots, the tragedies and the celebrations. We learn how
the wide diversity in the LGBT world set up internal conflicts such as
traditionalists who wore suits and spoke politely versus the radical
crowd who saw them as sold out fuddy duddies. We see where there was
not always solidarity with other oppressed groups. Blacks sometimes
resented comparisons and Betty Friedan once called Lesbians the
lavender menace.
If you want to learn about LGBT history The Gay Revolution is a
real treasure. I highly recommend it. Reading it would make a great
New Years Resolution.
On a personal note, oh, yeah, it's New Years Eve. I plan to celebrate
by reading and eating candy near the Christmas tree with Joey cat on
my lap and then watching the ball drop.
A great big shout out goes out to you, my awesome readers. May your
festivities be fun and safe. Got 2 bits of advice on resolutions.
The first is shamelessly taken from my friend Carol Higgins Taylor.
In a column in the Weekly she advised us to make them manageable.
Break them down. My resolution number one (you'll learn about the
other nine in upcoming reviews) is a good example. Early in December
I decided to break down my desire to cut down on sugar into steps.
The first thing I did was cut sugar out of my coffee. Succeeding on
that made me proud and ready to tackle step two tomorrow: finding what
tea I like unsweetened. Taking on something too big is a recipe for
failure.
The second bit is pure me. This is not the only time to make
resolutions. Any time you want to do better is just as good. My
sugarless coffee started a few weeks ago.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Extraordinary People

Extraordinary People

Juvenile nonfiction
Any book that pictures Bruce Lee, Evel Knievel, and Marie Curie
on the front cover is, in my mind, worth at least a second look. In
the case of Michael Hearst's Extraordinary People: A Semi-
Comprehensive Guide to Some of the World's Most Fascinating
Individuals it's worth a cover to cover read. Hearst has an
intriguing description for what makes folks extraordinary.
"Well, it could be any number of traits or qualities, or even
circumstances...or a combination thereof. Some of the obvious labels
might include 'Scientist,' 'Daredevil,' and 'Humanitarian.' But what
about somebody who is extraordinary because he survived a near-death
experience? Or because she overcame discrimination?..."
You know you'll find an eclectic lot. Some of the honorees are
pretty well known. You'll learn about:
*Marie Curie who was the first woman to win the Nobel in 1903
(physics). In 1911 she won a Nobel in chemistry. Do you know her
notebooks are so radioactive they are still locked up?
*Fred Rogers, the star of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, beloved by
generations of human children and Koko the gorilla.
Did you know that he loathed television? He made the best of the
inevitable by using it to nurture and educate children.
*Benjamin Franklin who did just about everything from discovering
scientific laws and creating inventions to helping found a nation.
Did you know he never took out patents on his inventions? He felt
everyone should have access to them.
See, there are new things to learn about even his most famous
subjects.
Then there are the fascinating individuals most of us wouldn't
otherwise hear about. Some of my favorites are:
*Jeanne de Clisson, a woman pirate who plundered French ships. Her
husband had been sentenced to death by the king. She was out for
blood...literally.
*Hildegard of Bingen who was, among other things, a musical composer,
philosopher, and writer. She had popes and kings consulting her back
in the Middle Ages.
*Stagecoach Mary who got a job with the U. S. Post Office when she was
sixty, becoming the first African American woman mail carrier. With
perfect attendance she surely lived up to her professional creed.
Under any circumstances the mail must be delivered.
Yeah, I know, my feminist bias is showing.
Besides being entertaining and amusing, the book contains some
really inspirational portraits. For example, there's Malala
Yousafzai, the very young woman who continued fighting for girls'
education even after being shot in the head by the Taliban. We can
learn so much from her courage and determination.
On a personal note, Hearst asks if we are extraordinary. In my rather
biased opinion I am. I'm extraordinarily stubborn. I lost my first
two school board elections but won my third, showing that someone from
the looked down on part of town could succeed. I'm vice chair now in
my eleventh year. I refused to get an abortion twenty-three years ago
when the doctor pushed for it because he couldn't tell if the lump on
my breast was cancer. The daughter whose right to life I respected
graduated college summa cum laude. I'm able to look beyond just
accepting or rejecting what is on the table to envision other
possibilities. And in this chaotic age I am mindfully centered, able
to enjoy all life has to offer from a sunrise to my cat's affection.
Oh, yeah, and I perform as a (trophy winning) drag king and sing in a
Methodist church choir.
A great big shout out goes out to you, my readers. What makes you
extraordinary?
Julia Emily Hathaway




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X a Novel

X a Novel

YA biography
What I knew about Malcolm X was strictly about his grown up
life. Until I read X a Novel, based on his life story, by Ilyasah
Shabazz (his third daughter) and Kekla Magoon, I had no knowledge of
the tumultuous youth that led to his strong adult convictions.
Malcolm started out as Malcolm Little, one of eight children in
a black close knit family. His father, a friend of Marcus Garvey,
taught and preached about better days. His mother had her children
study literature and black history. They wanted their kids to take
pride in themselves and have hope for their futures.
Sadly society didn't share that goal. Everywhere they went
black children were confronted with reminders of their second-class
status. "...you could not say how you felt or what you thought, and
you had to keep your head down low when a white person passed you on
the road. You had to use a low, dirty water fountain, right next to
the high, clean one for the whites. You had to ride in the back of
the bus or the streetcar, and you couldn't sit down unless no whites
were on board."
Early on Malcolm learned the hard way the differences between
his parents' worldview and that of the dominant society. His father
died under very suspicious circumstances. His mother was hounded
relentlessly by social services until she was involuntarily committed
and her children put into foster homes. On the bus ride to Boston
where he would live with an older half sister he rode by a hanged
black man still swinging from a tree branch.
Boston and eventually Harlem opened new worlds for Malcolm.
Unfortunately he was also introduced to serious dangers. You can read
the riveting story in X a Novel. I highly recommend this fine book
for YAs and adult adults.
On a personal note, I learned recently that my September birthday will
make me eligible for free classes at UMaine in 2016. YOWZA. What I
want to do is go part time, taking classes that will help me with my
writing and with getting published.
A great big shout out goes out to the UMaine students and faculty who
are hopefully enjoying vaca.
Julia Emily Hathaway




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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

They Called Themselves The K.K.K.

They Called Themselves The K.K.K.

Juvenile nonfiction
You'd think we'd have achieved racial equality in America by the
twenty-first century. Some people like to pretend or believe that we
have. But in a world where black men are way overrepresented in the
penal system; black boys are more likely than white peers to be
classified as special needs, to be expelled or suspended from school,
or be shunted into the school to prison pipeline; and white police
officers shoot unarmed black youngsters that does not seem to be the
case.
And, of course, you know that when you look back in this
nation's history you find quite a bit of racial baggage. Susan
Campbell Bartoletti, in her They Called Themselves The K.K.K. The
Birth Of An American Terrorist Group, introduces young readers to a
terrifying chapter.
The idea for the book came to Bartoletti when she saw a statue
in honor of Nathan Bedford Forest who was the first K.K.K. Grand
Wizard. She wondered where the statues commemorating the K.K.K.
victims were. When she found out that none existed she began studying
thousands of pages of historical primary sources and became deeply
impressed by the bravery of all who went up against the Klan. I
reckon this book is her form of commemorative statue.
The Civil War ended with a lot of bitterness and fear on the
part of the defeated Confederacy. A way of life was, in the words of
the title of a best selling novel, gone with the wind. Not everyone
in the South had owned slaves. Very few had huge plantations. But
all whites, rich to destitute, had skin color superiority. At the
war's end there was a great deal of fear that the newly freed ex
slaves would see themselves as equal to whites, compete for education
and decent jobs, and even start the mingling of races.
Six returning Confederate officers seemed to find the enforced
peace harder to cope with than the war. "...Like most white
Southerners who had sided with the Confederacy, these men...believed
they had fought valiently for a noble cause: to preserve a government
and way of life that they considered superior and a covenant with God,
only to be defeated by a more powerful industrial North. The despair
they felt at their "Lost Cause" filled their letters and diaries. So
did defiance and fear at what the coming months might bring."
Those six good old boys started a club that rapidly got out of
hand. Dressed like ghosts, often riding similarly disguised horses,
they would ride at night terrorizing and punishing blacks who could be
whipped or hung for offenses such as registering to vote, teaching
dissent, acting "uppity," or even just turning a small piece of land
into a prosperous farm.
The scope of Bartoletti's research, as delineated in her
bibliography and source notes is amazing. Sadly not all her research
was limited to reading documents from the past. She attended a clan
conference in the Ozark Mountains.
"There began my weekend with the Klan, a weekend lit with fire-
and-brimstone speeches that warned of the dangers of racial
integration and Jews; that claimed America was intended for white
people; that condemned public schools and taxes; that burned with an
altar call of Klan members...dedicating themselves to their race,
their God, and their country and then shouting 'white power!'. The
weekend ended with a twenty-five-foot cross burning against the night
sky, surrounded by men and at least two women in white robes."
YIKES!
Bartoletti was chilled when a Klan woman told her that they no
longer need robes because, "a silent majority in America agrees with
us." If that doesn't give her book must read status I can't imagine
what would.
On a personal note, after an unseasonably warm December, Maine has
experienced a rather intense and brisk snow storm.
A great big shout out goes out to those who work to keep roads clear
(including my husband) and respond to emergencies (including my son).
Julia Emily Hathaway





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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The Marvels

The Marvels

Juvenile fiction
When it is Christmas Eve and you are reading while waiting for
your daughter to come home to watch a movie with you and your cat is
on your lap near the magnificent tree...well not just any book will
do. What you are reading must be nothing less than magic. Brian
Selznick's The Marvels is one of the few books that can measure up.
Just as he did with Wonderstruck and The Invention of Hugo Cabaret,
Selznick finds new ways of storytelling through novel combinations of
pictures of words to bring fascinating imaginary worlds alive for the
reader.
The first almost four hundred pages are done almost entirely in
richly detailed black and white pictures, opening with a shipwreck of
which the only survivors are a boy and his dog. The boy grows up
working in a theater and adopts a baby who becomes the first
generation of an acting dynasty.
Then there is an abrupt change of format and story line. From
almost exclusively pictures we go to all words. We acquire a
protagonist: a boy who has run away from boarding school to the rather
strange home of an uncle whom he has never met. A boy who turns out
to be a girl, an elusive white dog, and ghostly voices including that
of an unseen bird round out the cast of characters.
And both story strands torn out to be deeply interconnected.
Yowza! I just hope that Selznick is at work on his next
masterpiece.
On a personal note, I had the best Christmas anyone possibly could.
My Katie came home Christmas Eve and slept in her old bed. In the
morning she and Adam opened gifts with her dad and me. She helped me
pick out an outfit the family gathering in the afternoon which was
great. My kids and their cousins were together. We had a really
funny Yankee swap and the traditional cloth snowball fight. It was an
absolutely perfect day which ended up with me watching a Christmas DVD
with my husband and Joey cat.
A great big shout out goes out to my readers. I hope that those of
you who celebrate Christmas had a wonderful one.
Julia Emily Hathaway





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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Shiloh's Christmas

Shiloh's Christmas

Juvenile fiction
It was not that long before Christmas that I saw a book with a
big eyed dog on the cover. I've got a soft spot in my heart for just
about all the big eyed creatures of the world. So I added Phyllis
Reynold Naylor's Shiloh's Christmas to my already considerable
borrowing stack. I was mighty glad that I did.
It turns out this is the final volume in a 4 book series. Logic
would dictate that I wait on this book until I'd read and reviewed the
other three. In matters like this, though, logic and I have no more
than a passing acquaintance. And it is Christmas Eve.
Shiloh is the canine companion of narrator Marty, a young man
who lives with his parents and two sisters in what seems to be the
rural south and wants to be a vetinarian when he grows up. He
volunteers at an animal clinic and likes everything about working with
critters except helping to put one to sleep.
People are a lot more puzzling.
First there's Marty's former nemesis, Judd, who had abused
Shiloh when he was her owner. He has been working mightily to clean
up his act and fit in better with the community. But some people are
unwilling to give him a chance. When a drought fueled fire destroys a
bunch of houses including his trailor people are quick to accuse him
of setting it--even after evidence totally exonerates him.
Then there's the new hellfire and brimstone preacher who knows
everything about sin, seemingly nothing about forgiveness. Marty's
sister, Dara Lynn begins telling stories about bizarre punishments the
minister gives out to his daughters. Do they constitute abuse? Would
reporting be the right thing to do or just cause trouble?
I would highly recommend this fine book. I promise to read and
review the three others in the series when I can get my hands on them.
On a personal note, I did my Christmas shopping yesterday. I didn't
know if I'd have money for it until I saw how much Joey's check up
would cost. Now I am enjoying Christmas Eve. Katie has come home
from Portland. She is visiting her sister and a friend. Then she and
I will watch a Christmas movie before bed. Yowza!
A great big shout out goes out to all my readers with wishes for a
very Merry Christmas.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Full Cicada Moon

Full Cicada Moon

YA fiction
Mimi, protagonist of Marilyn Hilton's Full Cicada Moon, is en
route by bus from California to Vermont where they will meet up with
her father and see their new home. As her mother sews, Mimi fills out
a form for her new school. She's having difficulty with the ethnicity
question. She's only supposed to check one option. However, she's
Japanese on her mother's side and black on her father's.
Oh, yeah, the year is 1969 when a lot of people had problems
with what they called mixing of the races, mongralization, or
miscegenation. Mimi and her mother are headed into one of the most
white states in the nation.
Her mixed racial heritage is not the only thing that makes Mimi
stand out in her new school. She's very much ahead of her time. She
aspires to be nothing less than an astronaut. That was well before
the current push for girls and women in the STEM disciplines. She
also protests girls being kept out of shop and boys barred from home
ec in an age when it was assumed wives would cook and sew and husbands
would handle the carpentry and mechanics related honey do lists.
Will she ever fit into her new home?
This coming of age novel, beautifully told in free verse, is a
wonderful read for folks who have lived long enough to remember those
times and their children and in some cases grands. It would be
perfect for a mother-daughter book club.
On a personal note, the fictitious Mimi and I would have been chums.
I was out there in all the same ways she was. I had a best friend
whose family had death threats and rocks thrown through their windows
because her mom was white and her dad was black. I got kicked out of
a fundamentalist church for trying to explain that the "heathens" in
the middle east they had their hearts set on converting had their own
perfectly legitimate religion--Islam. I protested the war and made no
effort to hide my gender inappropriate interests or my intelligence.
A great big shout goes out to people like doctors and nurses and
police and firefighters who will serve and protect the rest of us this
holiday season.
Julia Emily Hathaway




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Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Goldfish and Chrysanthemums

Goldfish and Chrysanthemums

Picture book
It is a very special picture book that touches heart and soul
without getting mushy or kitschy. There is a very fine line there.
Andrea Cheng's Goldfish and Chrysanthemums has the dignity to stay on
the right side of it.
Nancy's grandmother gets very sad news from Japan. The home she
grew up in and its garden and fish pond have been torn down to make
space for an apartment building. At a summer fair Nancy wants to get
something that will cheer her grandmother up. Nothing seems quite
right until she wins two goldfish which become the beginning of a very
special project.
True bonding between generations becomes increasingly rare in
our age segregated society. It is wonderful to see it celebrated so
beautifully.
On a personal note, I have yet another reason to be happy. One of my
dearest and best friends is moving to Veazie where she is buying a
house. Since I don't drive and there is no night bus service and my
friends live in other towns I feel so isolated when darkness falls.
A great big shout out goes out to my chum Lisa.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Koala Hospital

Koala Hospital

Picture book
Conservationists, animal lovers, and anyone who can't resist
cute will be enchanted with Suzi Eszterhas' Koala Hospital. It tells
the story of an institution which most of us have no clue as to its
existence. While the critters it serves are ever so cute, they are
thankfully not Disneyfied. For most the hospital is a temporary
sanctuary with release into nature the goal.
For more than forty years the Koala Hospital on the coast of
Australia has been treating koalas (who BTW are marsupials, not bears)
who are hurt or ill. In a world where people neighborhoods replace
stretches of forest and highways separate trees, it should be no
surprise that many of those creatures are bitten by dogs and hit by
cars and in need of medical care. Many joeys (infants) lose their
mothers before they are weaned. Foster parents willing to do wee hour
of the night feeding and round the clock snuggling tend to them
carefully until they are ready for an outdoor enclosure and then
freedom.
At the end of the book we learn how encroachment of habitat
destroying civilization makes the survival of koalas increasingly
precarious. Children as far away as Maine are given ways they can
help save koalas as well as closer to home wildlife.
On a personal note, my precious Joey cat had his winter check up. He
passed with flying colors. Dr. Julie says he's the picture of feline
health which is excellent for an older special needs cat who almost
died in April. Words can not express how my heart is filled with joy
to have my little friend still with me, especially when he curls up on
my lap, purring, while I read near our beautiful Christmas tree.
A great big shout out goes out to Joey's medical family: the Veazie
Vet crew.
Julia Emily Hathaway





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Ketzel the Cat who Composed

Ketzel the Cat who Composed

Picture book
Animals can enter our lives in unexpected ways and deeply enrich
our existences. Leslea Newman's true story, Ketzel the Cat who
Composed gives us a beautiful example of this.
Moshe was a composer who lived in a big city and used the urban
ambiance as the inspiration for his music. One day, strolling the
streets and listening, he heard the tiny mew of an abandoned kitten.
He named her Ketzel (which I think is Yiddish for kitten) and carried
her home.
One day Moshe was stumped. He wanted to enter an important
contest. But compositions could be no more than one minute long.
Fortunately he was not the only sentient being in the apartment.
You gotta read this beautiful book about a critter who really
earned her cat food.
On a personal note recently a fellow Veazie Vet client told me the
story of his cat, Primrose, who, like Ketzel, was an unexpected
companion. Years ago he heard a noise at his door. When he opened it
a cat walked in and headed for his kitchen. Efforts to find
Primrose's human companion were futile. He thinks of her now as his
volunteer cat because she volunteered to be his companion.
A great big shout out goes out to all people who find room in their
homes and hearts for unexpected critters.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Winter Is Coming

Winter Is Coming

Picture book
Let's stick with the naturalist theme one more book. Tony
Johnston's Winter Is Coming, beautifully illustrated by Jim LaMarche,
is a must read for families who appreciate the great outdoors.
From a platform high in a tree a girl patiently observes and
sketches the denizens of a forest. Her narration, told in free verse,
is nuanced and lovely.
"A red fox slips into the clearing
that I am watching.
First-sun hits its back.
The red fox shines like a small red fire.
I am quiet, quiet.
The red fox is quiet, quiet.
We share this place."
How can anyone not love that.
It's September when she and the fox carry out this silent
communion. As temperatures drop and days shorten in October and
November she observes a variety of forest denizens: skunks, deer,
migrating geese, a woodpecker...all driven by the urgency to prepare
for a time of cold, dark, and scarcity. The animals are described
respectfully and authentically. None of that anthropomorphic
Disneyesque crap we see in too many children's books.
We have a winner here.
On a personal note, in Penobscot County, Maine we're hard put to see
how winter is coming. Our latest dusting of snow has been pretty much
melted away. A high of sixty-one degrees is predicted for Christmas
Eve. Holy cow!
A great big shout out goes to the people who have recently generously
given a lot of food to the food pantry of the Black Bear Exchange.
The shelves are packed. This bounty should keep clients going at
least through winter break.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Who Was Here?

Who Was Here?

Picture book
While we're out studying our trees (see the review right before
this one), don't forget that winter provides a really cool opportunity
for nature detective work. I'll give you a hint: snow. Out in the
woods you may see the distinct calling cards of the critters with whom
you share the space. Don't despair if you reside in suburbia or a
city. Many varmints have adapted to a more metropolitan shelter and
foraging style.
Mia Posada's Who Was Here? Discovering Wild Animal Tracks is a
beautifully illustrated book of riddles. The description of a
creature's tracks is followed by information on its identity and life
style. A black bear lumbers away from a river bank, probably with a
fish in its powerful jaws. A pack of gray wolves chase a moose that
manages to get away. A beaver carries on its construction work. At
the end there are a list of clues and a list of helpful books and
websites.
On a personal note, Sylvia, one of the matriarchs of my Methodist
church, did a fundraiser for a group that fights maleria. She sold
donated jewelery after services. I was thrilled with my affordable
finds. Children were allowed after the sale to find treasures to give
their mothers for Christmas.
A great big shout out goes out to Sylvia. I can think of people half
her age who couldn't keep up with her.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Tree of Wonder

Tree of Wonder

Picture book
I bet about now your living room is featuring the tree that will
be central to your Christmas celebration. If you're anything like me,
it has been carefully decorated with ornaments, many passed down over
the years. It just makes you happy to behold it.
This is a good time to think of the trees we tend to pass by in
everyday life (especially if you live in a state like Maine where
there are a gazillion of them) and the role they play in the well
being of our planet. Kate Messner's Tree of Wonder: The Many
Marvelous Lives of a Rainforest Tree is a beautiful inspiration for
this contemplation.
Messner looks at a rainforest almendro tree and the many living
things that depend on it for food and shelter. Among others, you will
learn about:
*two great green macaws who return every year to lay eggs and raise
chicks;
*eight howler monkeys and sixteen fruit bats that spread seeds in the
course of dining on the tree's fruit;
*two hundred fifty six poison dart frogs that carry their tadpoles on
their backs to relative safety in pools of water in the tree...
My favorites are the blue morpho butterflies that sip the juice of
rotting fruit. Their bright wings can be folded so their brown
underside helps them use the tree as camoflauge.
All that in one tree!
I have a suggestion for a family activity. After you enjoy the
book choose a tree in your own neighborhood and try to figure out how
many creatures depend on it for food and shelter. You have to be
quite clever. Some critters may be present only certain times of the
year like birds who nest in the spring. Some may be nocturnal. Some
may be very tiny. If a woodpecker hammers away at a tree, you can
surmise that it provides a home for insects. You probably won't find
as dramatic a cast as you would in a tropical rainforest. But you may
be surprised by the number and variety of critters you uncover. I saw
the cutest little red squirrel scamper to safety in a tree just this
afternoon.
On a personal note, my Orono Methodist church choir had a wonderful
party for choir members. We played games, talked, learned who our
Secret Santas were, and feasted on treats and spiced hot cider. A
good time was had by all.
A great big shout out goes out to my Methodist choir family and the
talented and dedicated director who keeps us in harmony.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Ivan

Ivan

Picture book
Once upon a time a gorilla was born in a forest in Africa. He
began to learn life skills by observing and interacting with his
family. Sadly while he was still quite young poachers kidnapped him
and delivered him to America where he ended up in a cage in a mall.
Fortunately as the lonely years passed people began to feel
angry on Ivan's behalf and to write letters and protest. When he was
twenty-seven he took his first steps on his journey to freedom. But
would he be able to adapt to life with his own species?
You'll have to read Katherine Applegate's Ivan The Remarkable
True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla to find out. This is a great
book to introduce children to the idea that human created abodes are
not always the best places for wild animals.
On a personal note, my latest fashion accessory is a tie, but not just
any tie. It is blue with playful anthropormorphic polar bears on it.
I saw it in the Orono Thrift Shop the day of the library Christmas
party. I had a hard time locating a button down shirt to wear it
with. I debuted it at Dean Dana's Christmas party and was amazed how
many people totally loved it. Even strangers. That Sunday was my day
to sing in Pastor Lorna's choir. One of the guys said he would wear
his tie out of his robe if I did. I did. He chickened out. The
congregation deemed me adorable for doing so. LOVE IT!!!
A great big shout out goes out to my Universal Fellowship choir, the
hand bell choir, and our director and organist...making beautiful
music together.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Monday, December 21, 2015

Stonewall

Stonewall

YA nonfiction
Right now I have two reading projects going on simultaneously.
During the day when I have spare moments I'm studying Lillian
Faderman's The Gay Evolution: The Story of the Struggle--all 635
pages. At night I'm going for shorter volumes for my cat assisted
reading. Much to my delight I found one that aligns my two projects
neatly: Ann Bausum's Stonewall. I had just learned about this
crucial moment in LGBT history from a written for adults standpoint.
I was eager to see how it would be written up for the YA market.
I am pleased to say very nicely.
Teens are taken back to a time when it was against the law to be
gay. Psychologists were still defining homosexuality as a mental
illness. A person could be turned down for or fired from a job for
sexual orientation. People could even be arrested for not wearing
enough "gender appropriate" items of clothing. Coming out was an
extremely risky proposition.
There were very few safe places gay people could meet one
another, dance, relax, and just be themselves. Sometimes these havens
proved to be not so safe when the police officers came calling. On a
hot June night in 1969 police raided a gay bar in New York's Greenwich
Villiage, the Stonewall Inn. They expected it to be a routine bust.
Some people would be busted. The rest would flee. Life as usual
would go on.
They were wrong. Instead of running off, the people who were
released stuck around and fought back, attracting others to the
struggle. That night was to gay history what the battles of Lexington
and Concord were to the American Revolution.
Stonewall gives not only a vivid picture of this pivotal event
in LGBT history, but analysis of the conditions that led up to it and
subsequent progress it helped make possible. This book should be on
the shelves of every high school and public library.
On a personal note, I just delivered a holiday cake, fresh from the
oven, to the Veazie Vet crew. I also arranged for Joey cat to have
his winter check up tomorrow morning. He seems right now to be the
picture of feline fitness. I am hoping there will be a little money
left over from my school committee stipend so I can actually afford to
give each of my kids a Christmas present on Christmas. As for me, the
best Christmas gift possible is sleeping contentedly on my lap. He
could have died in April. But surgery saved him and gave him a new
lease on life! My little friend.
A great big shout out goes out to the vets who save our precious
animal companions in their times of need.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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The Devil You Know

The Devil You Know

YA fiction
Sometimes situations beyond their control dictate that
youngsters are forced to grow up too fast, to take on responsibilities
usually handled by adults. They may feel overwhelmed, imposed upon,
and cheated of their youth. Maybe they long for chances to be
spontaneous and adventurous. I surely know how that feels. When
Harriet incurred severe brain damage from spinal meningitis, I was
supposed to go from eleven to thirty overnight.
Cadie (Arcadia), protagonist of Trish Doller's The Devil You
Know, also is quite familiar with the situation. Her mother died,
leaving her to parent her brother and attend school while her father
struggled to keep his small grocery store going in the face of
supermarket competition. "...Back when I was a freshman and Danny was
a baby, he got his days and nights mixed up. It was me who cut a path
in the carpet trying to get him to sleep, and I missed so much school
we got a warning letter from the district. I get that we need Dad's
income from the store, but sometimes I think he forgets Danny is his
child. And that I am his child too."
As the story begins Cadie has begun her post high school
summer. Her life, for the most part, is a round of caring for her
four-year-old brother, doing both indoor and outdoor chores, and
working at the store. She escapes only by planning trips to exotic
locales by way of maps and yard sale guide books...
...until, on a very rare free night, she goes to a major bonfire
party. Two very good looking cousins from Maine, strangers, show up.
They are on an excursion before, Noah, the older one who has just
graduated UMaine, begins work in the real world. They invite Cadie
and one of her friends to join them. Even though she knows she'll be
in major trouble, Cadie can't resist the chance to be young and
carefree for just a few days.
There's only one catch. One of the cousins may be a sociopathic
killer. Where they're going he could easily off her and get away with
it.
On a personal note, I feel like Mother Nature is toying with Maine.
Last week we got snow, only to see it melt. Today we got a decent
dusting. The question on most people's lips is, "Will we get a white
Christmas?"
A great big shout out goes out to the December break released and
hopefully safely traveled UMaine students with wishes for a wonderful
vacation.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Molly's Pilgrim

Molly's Pilgrim

Picture book
I was very frustrated this past Thanksgiving with what I saw as
hypocracy. Even as though, across the country, families sat down to
celebrate how long ago native Americans had rescued the poorly
prepared Pilgrims there was a lot of talk about how to keep out
today's Syrian refugees. Not in my back yard. Not in my state. Not
in my country. How many of us would be here or even alive if the
original inhabitants had taken such a hard line? Then, shelving in
the Orono Public Library children's wing I found a book sadly as
relevant today as the era of the true story on which it was based:
Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen.
Molly is miserably alone in the town to which she and her
parents have moved. English is a challenge. The popular girls in her
third grade class pick on her.
As Thanksgiving approaches Molly's teacher decides to make a
Pilgrim village model as a class project. The children are told to
make the people at home. Molly's is not like the others and makes a
very important point: that Pilgrims are still coming to America.
Sunday school and secular teachers and youth leaders can find
this vintage book quite useful in discussing with youngsters who
today's pilgrims are and why we should grant them refuge.
On a personal note, the Orono Methodist Church was quite fortunate
when the Greater Lincoln Community Choir performed a Christmas concert
for us. The music was beautiful, uplifting, and joyous. I couldn't
resist the urge to dance.
A great big shout out goes out to those choir members who shared so
generously of their amazing talents!



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Kissing America

Kissing America

YA fiction
"You never stop missing them. It was a simple thing to say.
But I'd never heard anyone say it before. Not the grief counselor.
Not my mom. Everyone seemed to think the opposite: you moved on, you
forgot, it was impolite to keep talking about it. My mom had stopped
missing my dad years ago."
One of the first things Eva, protagonast of Margo Rabb's Kissing
America, reveals about herself is that she tells people that her
father died of a heart attack. The truth, that he met his demise in a
plane crash elicits too much morbid curiosity. Although it's been two
years since the tragedy much is still unknown. She just hopes his
last minutes were not in a state of terror.
Eve keeps small possessions of her father's in a shoe box hidden
in her closet. Her mother has outwardly moved on, cleaned all traces
of him from their living space, and found a boyfriend, Larry.
However, she keeps Eva on a very short leash, fearful that the
unimaginable can also happen to her.
Eva doesn't have anyone with whom she can share thoughts about
her loss until she begins to tutor Will, a young man who knows grief
intimately. His brother died in infancy. Just as she is coming to
rely on him (oh, yeah, and in love) he moves across the country to
live with his dad. Now she has to find a way to somehow rejoin him
that her very protective mother won't totally veto.
Her quest becomes quite a journey of discovery.
On a personal note, the December Orono Arts Cafe was wonderful. I
read some of my Christmas poems which were well received. Then at the
very end I did a sing along of Go Tell It On The Mountain. I reminded
people how radical it was that the Messiah was born into the family of
a man in the building trades like my Eugene (The rich and powerful
thought he'd hang out and be all holier than thou with them) and that
the star, the sign was shown to some of the lowliest workers, the
shepherds. Then I asked them to think on times they'd had news they
wanted to share with the world. Then we belted that song out with all
the joy and excitement it called for.
A great big shout out goes out to my Orono Arts Cafe family.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Sacred Lies Of Minnow Bly

The Sacred Lies Of Minnow Bly

YA fiction
"I am a blood-soaked girl.
Before me a body. Pulped. My boots drenched with his blood. I
search out his eyes, but they're gone, hidden away behind pale lids."
On the YA acquisitions shelves of the Orono Public Library I
found a prime specimen of one of my favorite subgenres. Stephanie
Oakes' The Sacred Lies Of Minnow Bly, which starts with the quote
above, interweaves a young woman's experience in juvie with the
religious cult dystopia that constitutes her past.
As we meet Minnow, she is standing under a bridge beside the
body of her victim. We learn on the very first page that she has no
hands. The arresting officers are stumped as far as how to
fingerprint her. Following a trial she is committed to juvie until
she turns eighteen, at which point she will be paroled or transferred
to adult prison.
Detention facilities require adjustment on the part of any
teen. For one who has spent twelve years in a very restrictive cult
hidden from the rest of the world they constitute total culture
shock. Minnow goes back and forth between her daily life and her
memories of her growing years in a place where men keep multiple wives
pregnant, twelve was considered old enough for marriage, and the
cutting off of hands for punishment without subsequent medical
treatment was seen as acceptable.
Surprisingly an FBI agent begins to visit her. The cult
compound has burned down. The leader they called the Prophet is dead,
possibly murdered. Their forensic psychologist thinks that she will
be able to help them figure out who did it.
Dystopia fans: this is a real gem.
On a personal note, I have spent time this week with my UMaine chums
encouraging them. I have been impressed with what some groups have
been doing to ease the stress of finals. Barbara Smith and her
Commuter Lounge crew provided the stuff for making gingerbread houses
and decorating cookies. Special kudos to Mariah who did some
emergency baking when cookies ran short--while handling finals, work,
and parenthood. Whew! The CASE gang provided some very special
amenities in a central location. A lot was centered around hot food.
The grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup were perfect for a snowy
day. What they offered that was the most brilliant, however, was
cloth bears and mooses students could stuff. That day I kept running
into young women and men who were visibly delighted with their new
best friends.
A great big shout out goes out to all who help the students handle
finals week.
Julia Emily Hathaway




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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School

Juvenile Fiction
I do admit that I enjoy every book in Jeff Kinney's Diary of a
Wimpy Kid series the minute the Orono Public Library has it ready for
circulation. I found volume number 10: Dairy of a Wimpy Kid: Old
School to be especially amusing.
Middle son narrator Greg thinks that the nostalgia many adults
exhibit for the old days is a cover up for their envy of the
electronic devices that weren't available in their childhoods. (No
way is he going to be like that when he grows up!) His mother is one
of the purveyors of nostalgia. She's trying to get people to sign a
petition calling for a 48 hour moratorium on electronic devices in
their town. Greg and his brothers want her to give up. It's getting
hard for them to pretend not to know her.
Of course you know mom will win. If she'd called it quits the
premise of the story would be shot to heck. However the moratorium
and park clean up are only some of the problems that are being slung
Greg's way. The house is being taken over by his mother's pet pig who
even has its own bedroom. A younger child who starts doing his
homework gets him placed in harder classes. His grandfather moves on,
taking over his bedroom. He has to move in with little brother,
Manny. Older brother Rodrick has a new job at a very strange ice
cream parlor.
Then there's the impending class field trip to Hardscrabble
farms where Greg and his classmates will get to "sleep in log cabins
and learn about nature and hard work" for a week. I think we've
established that that's not his can of Monster.
I would highly recommend this book as a Christmas gift for a
youngster who might otherwise go through the vaca without reading a
page.
On a personal note, Robert Q. Dana, UMaine Dean of Students, threw his
fabulous Christmas party. The food was divine. The conversations
were lively. Good cheer was abundant. Dean Dana mingled with
everyone, greeting people personally. He was visibly delighted to see
people enjoying his hospitality so much.
Robert Q. Dana is one of the people I most admire. Although he's been
in admin for decades, he goes about his work with the same optimism
and enthusiasm he showed when I met when I was pregnant with Amber.
Unlike many of his peers, he isn't all about the athletic stars and
academic high achievers. There is no disguising his admiration for
the student who overcomes daunting obstacles or comes back from bad
decisions to succeed.
A great big shout out goes out to Robert Q. Dana and his office crew
who carry out his mission admirably.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Saturday, December 12, 2015

The Forget-Me-Not Summer

The Forget-Me-Not Summer

Juvenile fiction
Leila Howland's The Forget-Me-Not Summer is a wonderful read for
a child who feels disadvantaged in comparison to sibling(s), whose
mantra often seems to be NO FAIR!!!
Zinnia feels like the plain middle child trapped between
glamorous gorgeous Marigold who has already been in a television show
and cute as a button Lily who gets her way in everything
effortlessly. If only she could be like her older sister. Marigold,
however, feels that beauty isn't everything. Maybe she'd rather be
captivating like Zinnia.
It comes as an unpleasant surprise to both girls that, due to
their parents' professional projects, they will be spending three
weeks in July across the country in Massachusetts with a great aunt
they barely know. Marigold won't be able to audition for a very
special movie. Both feel that they will be leaving civilization. In
alternating chapters the two older girls narrate the challenges and
joys of their unexpected adventure.
On a personal note, I have advice for people with cats, dogs, or
toddler size children. Never start a dryer without checking inside.
Recently I found Joey cat sound asleep under the wet clothes I had
tossed in. Silly cat.
A great big shout out goes out to our UMaine students slogging through
the last week of classes en route to finals. Hang in there! Vaca is
just around the corner!
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Thursday, December 10, 2015

The Alex Crow

The Alex Crow

YA dystopia
YA and adult adult dystopia fans will find The Alex Crow to be
compelling and fascinating. Three story strands that would seem on
the surface to have nothing to do with each other are woven together
seamlessly and suspensefully.
Ariel thinks that his brain holds a library holds a library of
tragic stories. That would not be surprising. The only survivor of
an attack on his village, he has also spent nine months in a refugee
camp in an orphan's tent where bullying and rape were rampant.
Adopted into an American family, he and his new brother are spending a
summer at a very strange camp with a frightening psychologist doing
research on the campers.
In 1880 an ill fated sea expedition had become trapped in an ice
pack, being pulled inexorably away from their destination. Members
died from cold and starvation. A few made it to land and the home of
a Russian exile who extended gracious and life saving hospitality.
One day he showed them a monster frozen in ice, a grotesque human like
creature they decided to steal and deliver to civilization.
Leonard Fountain, also known as the melting man, due to his
advanced state of radiation sickness, drives a repurposed U-Haul truck
with a humungous bomb in the cargo area. He hears voices. Joseph
Stalin tells him what to do. A GPS like voice comments on his every
move. Other auditory and visual hallucinations come and go. He's a
man on a bizarre and very dangerous mission.
Like most good dystopias, The Alex Crow pushes current
technologies just a smidge further and looks at their implications. I
wouldn't be surprised if today's labs were trying to make the
fictional part come true. Anyway it's a very pertinent and engaging
read.
On a personal note, the UMaine branch of Amnesty International held a
letter writing party, providing pizza and popcorn for all who would
write on behalf of victims of serious injustice: a woman given a 30
year jail sentence for having a stillbirth, girls who would be in
middle school in America being forced into marriage, a family
disappearing, no justice for gay crime victims, a man in solitary
confinement 40 years for a crime he might not have committed... It
was a privilege to join a fine group of young people in this crucial
endeavor.
A great big shout out goes out to people involved at all levels of
Amnesty International. You're rock stars!
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Mosquitoland

Mosquitoland

Juvenile fiction
When families fall apart the children are often the collateral
damage. This certainly seems to be the case for Mim, protagonist of
David Arnold's Mosquitoland. Her parents are divorced. Her father
has married a waitress, Kathy, who served him in Denny's. They and
Mim have moved hundreds of miles away to a Southern town she calls
Mosquitoland.
Mim is on Abilitol, an antipsychotic medication. Her aunt on
her father's side had that diagnosis. Her dad seems to think she has
all the red flags. (He is a poster adult for the dangers of
advertising medications to lay people wanting ten milligram miracles).
One day when Mim is in school she is summoned (by loudspeaker)
to the principal's office. Just outside the door she overhears a
conversation between her principal and father and stepmother. Kathy
says Eve (Mim's birth mother) will beat the bisease because she's a
fighter.
It's been three weeks since Mim got a letter from her mom or
talked to her on the phone. Mim decides she has to go help her.
Instead of going into the offices she returns home long enough to
pack, grab some money, and head out for a nearly 1,000 mile trip via
Greyhound.
The trip is far from the ordinary journey she expects. Just
hours in, the bus is in an accident, killing her seatmate and
necessitating a motel overnight stay. That is just the beginning.
On a personal note, Orono Public Library had a lovely children's
Christmas party. There was gingerbread house making with all kinds of
candy for decorating. Julie of Julie and the Bug Boys fame provided
music. Santa was there to listen to wishes. The community room was
set up for hot cocoa with candy canes and marshmellows. It was a
fabulous success. I played the role of paparazzi so the library would
have pictures of the event.
A great big shout out goes out to all who worked to bring the event to
life.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Friday, December 4, 2015

Draw What You See

Draw What You See

Juvenile biography
When Benny Andrews was seventy-five he traveled to hurricane
ravaged Louisiana. Children had survived a nightmare. Many continued
to live under quite adverse conditions. Andrews wanted to help then
learn to tell their stories. Not exactly what you'd expect of a
septigenarian.
As you'll see in Kathleen Benson's Draw What You See, Andrews
rarely did what was expected of him. He was born black, one of ten
children, in the Depression era South. He started working in the
fields early. His school year was only five months long, centered
around the needs of big farm owners rather than students. Unlike his
peers, he managed to graduate from high school and college.
Becoming a successful artist could have made him turn his back
on his past. He never forgot where he can't from. He painted
pictures of ordinary people occupying their lives. He fought to get
opportunities for other black artists.
Draw What You See is a very inspiring story, a chance for
children to see how one person defying the odds can truly make a
difference.
On a personal note, I was delighted to participate in a UMaine open
mic. I opened the show by singing Dream A Little Dream of Me. I was
wearing an evening gown and sequin covered ballet flats. Later I read
one of my poems. It was fabulous. Open mics are chances for people
to share their work and support each others endeavors. Imagine that--
people creating our own entertainment instead of consuming prepackaged
stuff.
A great big shout out goes out to all my fellow contributors.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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The Right Word

The Right Word

Juvenile biography
Are you ever stumped for the perfect word that exactly conveys
what you want it to? You're in luck. A very familiar volume will
give you synonyms in all gradations of concept, meaning, and nuance.
Jen Bryant's The Right Word brings us the story of Peter Mark Roget
and his Thesaurus.
Roget was very young when his father died. Because his family
moved often, he didn't make many friends. He became an avid reader
and list maker. He was a big fan of Linnaeus, the man who grouped
plants and animals into logical categories. His mother complained
that he was always scribbling.
Roget became a doctor and, despite his shyness, a well respected
lecturer. When other writers published word list books his grown
chldren convinced him that he could do better. He proved them right.
On a personal note, when I read Roget's mother's complaint about his
always scribbling, I had to laugh. It's what my beloved husband often
says about me. I guess those of us who are fascinated by language
must seem to march to the beat of a different drummer. The three
poetry manuscripts I am putting together are coming along very slowly
because of my volunteering, performing, and social engagements. I'll
make a lot more progress during Christmas break when the students are
away and I spend most of my time with dear Joey cat. At the moment
he's sprawled out on my lap purring contentedly.
A great big shout out goes out to my many kindred spirits who are
spell bound by the beauty and mystery of words.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Conviction

Conviction

YA fiction
Kelly Loy Gilbert's Conviction reminds me of the Alfred
Hitchcock films of my youth. There is plenty of suspense. It is,
however, the kind that comes from the revelation of the darkness in
the human psyche rather than from overuse of gross special effects.
Reading it is sort of like peeling an onion. Every time you think you
have your bearings a deeper layer is revealed.
Protagonist Braden is a gifted baseball player, a pitcher who
can throw the ball 94 miles-per-hour. The game is a bond he shares
with his former player, now radio evangelist father. Doing well in it
is also a way he can try to live up to his dad's high expectations.
One very foggy night police surround the car he and his father
are in. They handcuff his dad and take him away. When Braden arrives
at the police station he is told that his father is in jail, charged
with killing a police officer.
The next day a social worker arrives at Braden's house, telling
him that unless he has a relative who will take over his supervisiob
he will be put in the state's custody. His long estranged brother,
Trey, comes back home. Braden has no idea how to relate to him as
they live under the same roof for the first time in nearly a decade.
He can't understand why Trey doesn't seem to care about their father
and his plight.
Braden dreads having to testify in court. He dreads the ball
game in which he'll face the nephew of the dead man even more.
Conviction is one of those finely crafted novels that is making
YA books one of the most popular genres for adult adults. Whether
you're a high school student, the grandparent of a high school
student, or anywhere in between, it's a mighty fine read.
On a personal note, Orono High School did a wonderful job putting on a
comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It was a truly
fine ensemble production.
A great big shout out goes out to the cast and crew and the adults who
helped them really bring the play to life.
Julia Emily Hathaway




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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Tommy

Tommy

YA nonfiction
Now I'm not all that interested in guns. Not nearly as
interested as the males in my family are. But when I saw that the
author of Tommy: The Gun That Changed America is Karen Blumenthal I
had to snatch up that book. Her Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the
Lawless Years of Prohibition had really brought the past to life.
Tommy is equally fascinating and reader worthy.
John Taliferro Thompson was a man with a mission. As an army
ordnance officer, he was convinced that the United States needed more
effective weapons and ammo--guns that could reload more rapidly, ammo
with more stopping power. "...a small machine gun, a gun that will
fire fifty to one hundred rounds, so light that a man can drag it with
him as he crawls on his belly from trench to trench and wipe out a
whole company single-handed." He agreed with Teddy Roosevelt "In
time of peace, prepare for war." (His NRA membership may have also
entered into his thinking.)
Thompson and a carefully chosen cadre worked tirelessly to
achieve this goal. Timing was not with them. They perfected it just
in time for World War I, then considered the war to end all wars, to
draw to a close.
Thompson also envisioned his guns being sold to those "on the
side of law and order" such as police. Ironically, the most
enthusiastic of their users turned out to be on the other side.
Outlaws such as John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson
utilized them in ways that has Thompson seeing red.
Tommy gives readers a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of
a weapon from conception to near obsolescence and the world in which
this all transpired.
On a personal note, with UMaine back in session from Thanksgiving
break, it's now a mad rush til finals and end of semester.
A great big shout out goes out to students, faculty, and others caught
up in this rush at UMaine and other fine educational institutions.
Julia Emily Hathaway




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