The Black Count by Tim Reiss served as an excellent book and, by way of solid storytelling, brought the times of General Alex Dumas and 1700s France alive. His story involves the significant human themes of racism, greed, and the sways of government that often work against the governed. Dumas may have been an 18th-century man, but the experiences of his life still prove relevant today.
Read MoreEverything you take in of the world runs through filters of your personal biases. As I read “The World According to Fannie Davis,” a #reallivesbookclub selection, I faced some of mine, including preconceptions about racism and how it manifests in society, the understanding of access to opportunity, and even the belief that one can channel good luck.
Read MoreStraight up I’ll admit that I don’t understand all the history of the conflict in Israel and Palestine. And while reading Seven Good Years by Etgar Keret, my ignorance of the region, the people and their past came into vivid focus. So, between reading the stories woven in, I made many internet searches to try to
Read MoreRadium Girls is a gripping chronicle of corporate greed and the young women, facing nearly impossible odds, who fight against it. The story begins in 1901 in Paris when we learn of the discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie—a precious luminescent substance they’ve been studying. Fast forward 17 years to Newark, New Jersey, and the Radium Luminous Materials Corporation, where we meet the young women, ranging in ages from 15 to their late 20s. In the prime of their lives, they are
Read MoreWithout a doubt, I would recommend One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson. It’s a good read I can just about guarantee you’ll enjoy. This Bryson book was our latest #reallivesbookclub selection, which I considered a hit. Bryson, whom I’ve read before (in books such as Thunderbolt Kid, Notes From A Small
Read MoreMonths ago the #reallivesbookclub read “Out Of The Darkness” by Eric A. Shelman and Stephen Lazoritz, M.D. which details the story of a child named Mary Ellen Wilson who was the victim of abuse during the Mid-1800s in the United States. Her situation—along with the commitment of Etta Angell Wheeler to step in and save her—eventually led to the creation of the Child Protection Movement.
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I have only vague memories of news reports seen on television about the conflict in Northern Ireland that appeared in the nightly news from the 1970s and the following decades. I was a kid some of that time, and understood little about the contentions from each side.
Read MoreOur latest #reallivesbookclub selection, Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,” reveals the stories of a place and of people in three distinct parts. As the reader settles in, they become familiar to the small town of Alexander City, Alabama, as well as some of its history and the climate of the community in the 1970s when a series of murders took place.
Read MoreIn the fall of 1948, recent newlyweds Julia and Paul Child disembarked on the dock in Le Havre, France. It was there that Julia discovered her purpose, which led her to become America’s iconic voice for French Cooking. The book My Life in France by Julia Child and her nephew Alex Prud’homme is a beautifully executed memoir. You’ll almost hear Julia’s voice detailing her days in France as she cultivated her zeal for French
Read MoreIn the book “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” James W. Loewen details his quandary with the instruction of U.S. history in our educational system. He examines 18 popular history textbooks used throughout the country at public schools to compare how each depicts the subject.
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“Let’s get together for coffee sometime.” Here in Des Moines, that phrase is code for, “We’ll never get together for coffee.” Experience has taught me that the next step to schedule the coffee date almost never happens.
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I admit, I wasn’t excited by the prospect of reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman when #thereallivesbookclub selected it for group discussion. I dreaded the sadness I was sure I
Read MoreI went into this book almost kicking and screaming because I was sure I’d find the subject matter too difficult to read.
Read MoreThe consensus of the Real Lives Book Club is an enthusiastic thumbs up for Trevor Noah’s book “Born A Crime.” The story begins at the point where we meet Trevor’s mother Patricia (black), who willingly
Read MoreThe #RealLivesBookClub started two years ago out of my desire to talk with other readers about non-fiction biographies, autobiographies and memoir. Now we meet monthly to discuss books selected by
Read MoreIt’s weighty, and going to be a challenge to hold while stretched out in the bed (which is my favorite way to read), but I’ve recently started “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow. The
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