BOOK REVIEW

Title: Tales from the Wisconsin Badgers

Author: Justin Doherty

In ten words or less: Anecdotes from Badger football's past.

Review:
From Badger football's beginning to the conclusion of the Barry Alvarez era, author Justin Doherty tells the story of the players, coaches, and other personnel involved in Wisconsin football. Decade by decade, Doherty tells the story of Badger notables by anecdotes, recollections, and brief personal sketches. The story behind Bucky Badger, the history of "On Wisconsin," and notable players and games from the past are all covered.
Doherty is a staff member of the University of Wisconsin Athletic Communications office.
Why bother?: Teens interested in UW football would enjoy this book.

Title: I love the illusion: the life and career of Agnes Moorehead
Author: Charles Transberg

In ten words or less: Detailed history of Agnes Moorehead's long, illustrious acting career.

Review: Agnes Moorehead donated her papers--159 boxes--to the State Historical Society in Madison. The author used these archives as the basis for this book, as well as interviews with actors and others connected with Moorehead.
Moorehead's remarkable acting career is the focus of the book; her stage, film, radio, and television roles are examined in great detail. The tales of her association with Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre are particularly fascinating. She appeared with most of the noted actors of the 1930s-1960s, and received 4 Oscar nominations, seven Emmy nominations, and other awards.
The weakness of the book is that there is so little insight into her personal life. She was a very private person, and apparently even her closest friends were not privy to her intimate thoughts.
My favorite anecdote recounts a party at which Moorehead was a guest--it was when she was on "Bewitched." The teen son of the host arrived home with his friends and was introduced to her. As he was about to leave, he was asked if he didn't want to stay to talk with Moorehead. "Why should I," he scoffed. "It's not like she was in 'Citizen Kane' or anything." (Moorehead was Kane's mother in the film).

Why bother?: For film buffs only; no dirt dished here.

Title: First Kill
Author: Michael Kronenwetter

In ten words or less: High school sweetheart asks Hank to investigate her husband's murder.

Review: Hank and Jack were best friends in high school, and both in love with Liz. Liz and Jack became a couple, but the three friends only drifted apart when jack joined the Army and served in Vietnam, and Hank avoided the draft by moving to Canada.
Years later, Jack--now a reporter for the hometown newspaper--is murdered. Hank--now a private detective--is hired by Liz to look into the death of her husband. Hank discovers a wealth of suspects: the son of a local mobster who has relocated to the area and local politicians and developers eager for city funding for a controversial project.
The north central Wisconsin setting is used to good advantage by author Kronenwetter, who lives in Wausau.

Why bother?: Solid private eye novel.

BOOK REVIEW

Title: Hannah: from Dachau to the Olympics and beyond

Author: Jean Goodwin Messinger

In ten words or less: Poorly written biography of interesting Holocaust survivor
Review: Hannah was imprisoned at Dachau when she was three, and stayed until the camps were liberated in 1945. At age eight she went to live in a convent, where nuns took care of many of the children survivors. Hannah lived in Israel for a year and served in the army, and was a member of the Olympic ski team. How can this be made uninteresting?
This book badly needed editing. The author kept inserting anecdotes about herself into the narrative. I didn't think this was supposed to be a "Tuesdays with Morrie" kind of book. The author also did not bother to research background that would have added to the richness of the story. This would have been simple to do with the Olympic games, and a plane hijacking that was mentioned.

Why bother?No way, no how!

"I am the crispy noodle in the vegetarian salad of life."
From my fortune cookie at the Chinese buffet.

Ten years ago...
Just found my notebook that had listed the books I read in 1996. This is a partial list.

Preston, Richard. Hot zone
Criddle, Joan. Bamboo and butterflies: from refugee to citizen (sound recording)
Faragher, John Mack. Daniel Boone: the life and legend of an American pioneer
Follett, Ken. The key to Rebecca
Follett, Ken. Dangerous fortune
Bradford, Barbara Taylor. Everything to gain
Gentry, Curt. J. Edgar Hoover: the man and his secrets
Jakes, John. Homeland
Evanovich, Janet. One for the money
Gilbert, Martin. Churchill: a life
Maupin, Armistead. Further tales of the city
Trillin, Calvin. Calvin Trillin: piece by piece (sound recording)
Hamilton, Jane. Map of the world
Connelly, Michael. Last coyote
Michener, James. Space
Martini, Steve. Undue influence
Krentz, Jayne Ann. The main attraction

"The Hot Zone" is one that I still remember and recommend to folks looking for a nonfiction read. It's the tale of how the ebola virus came to the United States and is as chilling as any Robin Cook or Michael Crichton thriller. And it's true!

BOOK REVIEW

Title: The Big Over Easy

Author: Fforde, Jasper

In ten words or less: Jack Spratt and Mary Mary investigate Humpty Dumpty's death

Review: I feared that this mystery might be just too, you know, cutesy. But a patron of the library where I work recommended it, and she didn't seem like the type to wallow in ooey-gooey silliness. Detective jack Spratt might be any British law enforcement officer, from Adam Dalgliesh to Inspector Morse. But Spratt's las case involves three pigs nabbed for the murder of a certain wolf.
When Humpty Dumpty is found dead at the foot of a wall in a seedy neighborhood, Spratt and his new partner, Sergeant Mary Mary,comb Dumpty's sordid past, looking for the killer.
The book on CD was narrated by Simon Prebble, who narrated it as if magic beanstalks and homicidal pigs were every day occurrences.
Rating: Clever characters and plot make this mystery a delight for British who-done-it fans.

Spring must be here at last!
Two weeks ago the first robins were spotted here in the Frozen Tundra. The redwinged blackbirds showed up at the same time. It was a fairly mundane winter at the birdfeeders in the back yard--there was the usual flock of about 60 sparrows, a couple of pair of black capped chickadees, cardinals, juncos, mourning doves, and a juvenile hawk, a red tail I think.
The mourning doves are starting to look broody; I don't know if they're chosen their nesting spot yet. A few years ago there were a pair that nested in a flower pot on my deck. The first year, no eggs appeared. The second year, there were eggs, but there was a severe storm which blew down the shelf on which the doves were nesting. I went out the next morning to check, and there was a dove sitting on a flower pot, with a can of charcoal lighter on top of her/him, and the shelf tilted at a 45 degree angle. The birds survived. I recall one morning when I saw the fledglings hopping out of the nest onto a Weber grill and awkwardly sliding down the side, trying to lift off. A few days later, the parents were starting another brood.
I have two indoor cats, but there are several neighborhood cats who skulk through the yard on a regular basis. I always fear there will be dead carcasses under the feeder. Sometimes I've seen little feathery bird chunks, but I've also seen the hawk around at the same time.
The first chipmunk was also spotted this week. I think they may be living in the cellar.

Best Books for Young Adults Available on CD

Here are some titles from Booklist's "Best books for young adults, 2006". These are available on CD--I don't have time to read a lot of YA titles, so listening to them on CD saves time.

Buckhanon, Kalish. Upstate
Erdrich, Louise. Game of silence
Galloway, Gregory. As simple of snow
Gruber, Michael. Witch's boy
Rowling, J.K. harry Potter and the half-blood prince
Perkins, Lynne. Criss cross

Moviegoing in the 1950s

When I was a kid in the fifties, we didn't have a lot of money, but my mom would always scrape up enough to send us to the movies on the weekend. It was ten or fifteen cents admission then, and you could stay through as many movies as you wanted. We would go to the Airway Theater in Milwaukee--arriving at noon and staying until 6pm. It was the only break from us kids that my mother ever got.

I remember once staying through Gordon Scott in "Tarzan and the lost horizon" three times. I remember seeing a lot of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movies--and then Jerry Lewis solo. "Old Yeller" and other animal movies. Once there was an odd scheduling of films, and I sat through "The Three faces of Eve" several times. Very depressing for a kid--I must have been around ten at the time.

Once my younger brothers and I were dropped off at a a theater in Cudahy--maybe three or four miles from our house. It was a Martin and Lewis film festival and we stayed for the usual six hours. This time, however, our dad forgot to pick us up. He was probably sitting in a tavern somewhere, but we had no idea where. I forget how we eventually got home, but I think we walked over to a nearby restaurant and had someone call home. Mom didn't drive, but I assume she tracked down our father and had him pick us up.

Book Review



Radical Prunings: a novel of officious advice from the contessa of compost by Bonnie Thomas Abbott

In ten words or less: Humorous story told in advice-column format.

Review: Mertensia Corydalis is the author of a gardening advice column. While she dispenses wisdom in pruning shrubs, overwintering bulbs, and vegetable growing, the reader comes to know her office assistant Miss Vong, her gardener Tran, and her ex-husband Norton Doyle. Mertensia's brother Artie gets caught putting over a scam on elderly tourists, and begs his sister to help bail him out.

Why bother? A funny, clever little story for gardeners.

Capitol Murder by William Bernhardt

In 10 words or less: Politicians and vampires tangle in sleezy senator's murder trial.

Review: When Oklahoma Senator Todd Glancy's attractive staffer is found dead, all evidence points to him as the killer. After all, he is a notorious womanizer and was having an affair with her.
Glancy summons attorney Ben Kincaid to defend him, while Kincaid's staff investigates a group of Beltway vampires that are somehow connected to the dead woman. The vampire subplot never seems quite in sync with the rest of the story, as does the over-the-top sex maniac senator's escapades.

Why bother? Only for those out looking for politicians' blood.

On the Trail with Lewis and Clark

Over the last couple of years, I've traced the beginning and the end of the Lewis and Clark trail. I especially enjoyed Astoria, Oregon, which has a great Riverwalk, and pedestrian-friendly downtown area, and lots of sea lions along the shore. We midwesterners don't get to see the sea lions, seals, and puffins.
Here are a couple of the Lewis and Clark titles that have been published in the last year or two:

Bakeless, John. Journals of Lewis and Clark
Duncan, Dayton. Scenes of visionary enchantment: reflections of Lewis and Clark
Foley, William E. Wilderness journey: the life of William Clark
Kukla, Jon. Wilderness so immense: the Louisiana Purchase and the destiny of America
Jones, Landon Y. William Clark and the shaping of the west

Buried Deep: a Retrieval Artist novel by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

In 10 words or less: Skeletal remains on Mars threaten safety of solar system.

Review:
When a skeleton is uncovered on a construction site on Mars, medical examiner Sharon Scott-Olson is called upon to identify the body. More troubling is the fact that the Disty, the race of aliens that controls Mars, have severe cultural taboos regarding death. Anything or anyone that comes in contact with death is dealt with by the Disty Death Squads.
Nicolle DiRicci, newly named Chief of Moon Security, and her former partner, retrieval artist Miles Flint, join forces to prevent the Disty from causing widespread panic and death throughout the solar system.

Why bother? A blend of science fiction and mystery, this series would appeal to readers of J.D. Robb.

On my "Films to See" list

Found a scrap of paper with notes of some films I've missed and want to see. I'm a long time film fan, but admit I haven't had much of a chance to go to the movies lately. That, plus the fact that the only theater in town is a multiplex that shows Disney, action flicks, and teen date movies, has me lagging behind. Of the recent Oscar nominated films, I only saw "Munich," "Pride and prejudice," and "Wallace and Gromit."
The list:

Best actor: Raging Bull, Pianist, Philadelphia, Training Day, Mystic River, Shine

Best actress: Blue Sky, Monsters Ball, Monster, Misery, Hours, Dead Man Walking

Best Picture: Dances with Wolves, Godfather, Million Dollar Baby, Driving Miss Daisy, Beautiful Mind

Best foreign language: Get out your handkerchiefs, Gate of hell

Best documentary: Eleanor Roosevelt story, In the shadow of the stars

The Blight way: a Sheriff Bo Tully mystery by Patrick F. McManus

In ten words or less: Rural sheriff investigates the murder of mystery city slickers.

Review: A dead body is discovered on Batim Scraggs' ranch, but the pinstripe suited murder victim is a stranger to the inhabitants of Blight County, Idaho. Normally, Sheriff Bo Tully would suspect the petty criminals of the Scraggs clan, but this killing doesn't seem like their type of crime.
Tully, a 40-something part-time artist and full time law enforcement officer, investigates with the help of his dad, Pap. It's Pap's 75th birthday, and allowing him to help with the case is Tully's gift to him.
While tracking down the killer, Tully and Pap discover strange goings-on at the neighboring Littlefield ranch. Rumors are that Littlefield is trading his cattle to make way for a vineyard. His cowboys are fired, and hard-looking men riding ATVs are patrolling the property.
Readers looking for a mystery with a northwoods flavor and a minimum of sex and gore will enjoy this book. Author Patrick McManus is a columnist for "Field and Stream" and "Outdoor Life," and the author of numerous books, including "Never Sniff a Gift Fish" and "The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw."

Why Bother? A "cozy" for the guys.