'Spying on the South: Travels with Frederick Law Olmsted in a Fractured Land' by Tony Horwitz

Spying on the South: Travels with Frederick Law Olmsted in a Fractured Land, Tony Horwitz (4.0)

I found this book fulfilled three purposes: it illustrated the interesting life and journey of Frederick Olmsted, the co-designer of Central Park; it showed the differences between Olmsted’s pre Civil War South and our current South; and it shined a light on those between the coasts who voted for our current President. Horwitz does this by following Olmsted’s journey and toggling between Olmsted’s writings and what Horwitz experiences. The book started a little slowly, but became more compelling as they both meet various interesting characters and places. A big component of the book is Olmsted’s strong feelings against slavery and how that was strengthened during his trip, which occurred just before the Civil War started. I appreciated Horwitz’s desire to follow the original journey exactly, which that led to some precarious routes and destinations. I was sad to read that Mr. Horwitz died suddenly a few months ago while on tour for this book. His earlier book, ‘Confederates in the Attic’, is highly recommended by many.

'Origin' by Dan Brown

Origin, Dan Brown (3.0)

Given the subject (science vs religion: where did we come from and where are we going), I wanted to like this book more. While it was typical Dan Brown in terms of intrigue, it was also too typical in that it held all the same elements as all his previous books: extreme unknown religious faction – check; crazy person chasing Langdon w/instructions from religious faction – check; good looking lady tagging along – check; multiple interesting locations used and always just a ½ step ahead – check; symbols and codes that only Langdon can solve – check. I found this all unimaginative. I did enjoy the descriptions of the various places in Spain that we’ve visited (Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Montserrat) and those we’ve like to (Bilbao Museum). Unfortunately the ending was obvious and a bit of a let down. Given from the start the secret was going to ‘change the face of science forever’, I expected something a bit more – and the result was not nearly dramatic as built up to be.

'The Black House' by Peter May and 'In a Dark House' by Deborah Crombie

The Black House, Peter May (3.5)

The first in a trilogy, this book claims to be a murder mystery, but is really more of a theme piece about a location. The backdrop of the Isle of Lewis (the large island in the Outer Hebrides of northern Scotland) looms large throughout the story. A murder happens similar to one in Edinburgh, so a detective returns to the island to see if there is a connection. He has not been back in many years and the narrative jumps between present day and his remembrances of childhood events. The harshness of the location, his childhood and all that makes a young man want to escape to the big city are all described in both timeframes. It was a compelling story, though I found it to be a bit emotionally overwrought. I was not surprised to learn that Mr. May writes for TV as I could envision this story as a TV show or movie.

In a Dark House, Deborah Crombie (3.5)

This is apparently the tenth book involving the two Scotland Yard detectives, Duncan Kincaid and Gemma Jones, though I found it stood on its own quite well. As with most crime fighting partnerships, their personalities and styles are different though complimentary. This story focuses on arson in a specific neighborhood in London, with a dead body found at the site of the burned factory. There are multiple good guys (firemen/women, detectives) and potential bad guys. I like murder mysteries that give enough clues for the reader to get some idea of what could have happened – though not make it too easy. My biggest beef with this story is the number of characters introduced and the fact that until DNA evidence was processed, there was absolutely no way to know who the arsonist was, who was killed or who the possible killer could be. There was a lot going on in this book and it was quite interesting – made for a good, quick summer read. Since it was #10 and written in 2004, there are plenty more like it.

'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin

We, Yevgeny Zamyatin (4.5)

Thanks to my friend, Jill, for giving me this book – which holds the position for longest time on the ‘to read’ list on my Goodreads account! It was worth the wait. Touted as the book Orwell read before writing ‘1984’ it is very original. Written in the 20’s in Russia, though not published until later by a US publishing house, we follow a protagonist living in a post-war future where cities are made of glass (better for mass surveillance), people are referred to as numbers and life is ruled by logic and mathematics. We learn about the workings of the One State through the journal of the main character, D-503. He is a space engineer working on a ship that will help the totalitarian nation expand to other planets. As with all harmonious conforming societies, it only takes one bad apple, so to speak. In D-503’s case, that would be I-330. She manages to insert chaos into his mathematically perfect life and makes him question everything. ‘We’ definitely fits between ‘1984’ and ‘Brave New World’ as a must for all Sci-Fi lovers.

'Alexander Hamilton' by Ron Chernow

Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow (3.5)

Otherwise known as ‘the book that inspired the musical’, this book can also be known as ‘a redemption of Hamilton’s reputation’. Chernow is not completely besotted, but he definitely writes of someone far more important to the beginnings of America than most people know. It seems we have his enemies, particularly Jefferson, Madison and Monroe to thank for his relative obscurity (it is said ‘the victors get to write history’). While I am glad I read this book, my rating is reduced 0.5 due to its length. It is not easy to read >600 pages about one person, even someone as interesting as A. Hamilton. I learned a lot about his particular contributions and about the politics of the time. Particularly disappointing was how similar politics worked back then. I was also disappointed to read how few people were involved with the actual theory and negotiations behind the constitution. I didn’t realize how much the north/south animosity played a part. If you believe even 50% of Chernow’s version of history, you need to thank Hamilton for his devotion to a unified federal government. For those expecting something akin to the musical, the book is much less salacious and much more detailed in the military and political workings of Hamilton’s life.