Book Review- "The True History of the Elephant Man." by Michael Howell and Peter Ford

"The True History of The Elephant Man" by Michael Howell and Peter Ford is a short but thorough chronicle of the life and times of Joseph Merrick AKA "The Elephant Man." 

Joseph Merrick was born in Leicester, Great Britain in 1862. For the first few years of his life, Joseph developed normally, but then began showing signs of a still unknown genetic abnormality.

As he got older, Joseph's skin and bones began to thicken and become deformed. Even though it must have been incredibly difficult, Joseph attempted to work at various jobs, but in the end was forced to put himself on exhibition in order to earn enough money to live.

After being robbed by his manager, Joseph willingly put himself under the care of Dr. Frederick Treves and had his own room at London Hospital where he remained for the rest of his life.

At the hospital, Joseph became friends with aristocrats and ordinary people and apparently found a measure of happiness until he passed away at the age of 27.

The story of Joseph Merrick is more than a terrible congenital disease. It is also about the remarkable character of Mr. Merrick himself who remained  a kind soul even after all of the suffering he endured during his life.

Book Review- "Logan's Run" by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

"Logan's Run" by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson is a science fiction satire of what might happen if the sex, drugs, and rock & roll youth culture of the 1960s actually ran the world.

Sometime in the distant future, mankind lives in domed cities that resemble giant shopping malls. Pleasures of all kinds are available in the domed cities, but only for twenty one years. ( The film version of the novel extended it to 30) After your time is up, the crystal embedded in your palm turns to red and you must submit to euthanasia or "Sleep" as the city authorities like to call it.

Those who  rebel against  euthanasia are called "Runners" and are hunted down and killed by a  police unit called "Sandmen."

"Logan 5" is a Sandman  who goes about his duties until  one day he is given a special assignment to find a mythical destination for runners called "Sanctuary."

Logan's search for sanctuary leads him to discover that the system he has served so faithfully is all based on lies.

Logan's Run is one of my favorite science fiction novels and I think  an enjoyable read for anyone that likes the genre.

My UFO Experience by Craig Zimmerman

When I was eleven years old, I was waiting to catch the school bus when I spotted an unusual flying craft about a half-mile to the north.  Even though it was early, the sun was up and there was no visibility problem. The craft had the classic shape of a "flying saucer" as UFOs were once called and was absolutely not an airplane or any other man-made aircraft that I have ever seen.

The UFO headed west at a relatively slow speed and was soon gone. 

It is fairly easy to speculate about what I saw that day. Was it a secret military aircraft? possibly, but I doubt it.

My own feeling is that the flying craft I saw that day came from another world.

Book Review- " Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse

"Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse is a grim, powerful story of a family of Oklahoma farmers trying to survive the Dust Bowl years of the Great Depression.

For those who don't know, "The Dust Bowl" was the result of poor farming practices and a severe drought. Terrible dust storms that sometimes went on for days, ravaged farms and towns.

After a fire kills her mother, young Billy Jo tries to make a home for her father and herself. In addition to the scars left by the fire, Billy Jo must cope with the endless dust and the near hopelessness of her father's attempt to raise a crop.

Out of the Dust is at times hard to read because of the unrelenting hardships of the period, but there are some happy moments scattered throughout the novel and the story ends on a hopeful note.

"The Dark Pool"- a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Brian found the pool by accident while hiking deep in the hills. The pool was almost a perfect circle surrounded by smooth rock He liked the spot so much that he decided to have his lunch there.

Brian drank a bottle of orange juice and idly wondered how deep the pool was.After a  time, Brian dozed off. When he awoke he disturbed the orange juice bottle and it rolled into the pool. Moments later, Brian was startled to watch the bottle come flying out of the pool.

As an experiment, Brian tossed the bottle into the pool. Once again, the bottle was discarded by the pool.  Brian could not come up with any explanation for the riddle of the pool, but it occurred to him that it would be a fun  place for a party.


The next weekend, Brian and several of his friends made the long hike pool. After, the party got started, Brian casually tossed a beer bottle into the pond and laughed at the reactions of his friends when the bottle came flying out. Soon everyone was throwing things into the pool. 

At first, the objects were returned immediately, but gradually the effect slowed and trash accumulated in the pool. Bored by the lack of action, the campers drifted away. 

The next morning, a being that the young people had never seen before floated lifeless in the pool, surrounded by the litter from the night before.

Book Review- "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

"Fever 1793" is an exceptional novel about an actual Yellow Fever epidemic that  occurred in 1793 Philadelphia.

Young Mattie Cook and her family run a Coffeehouse in late  eighteenth century Philadelphia when the epidemic strikes. When Mattie's mother is infected with the disease, Mattie is sent to the countryside with her grandfather.

Eventually Mattie herself becomes infected and she goes through a terrible ordeal trying to survive not only her own illness but also the near breakdown of  authority in the city.

Filled with historical detail and memorable, realistic characters, Fever 1793, transports the reader back to a time that young people today would barely recognize.

"The Long Day" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Michael arose at 11:30 on Wednesday. Now that he no longer had a job, there didn't seem to be much reason to get up early anymore.

A sensor in his bed automatically sent a signal to the house robot so his breakfast was ready and on the table by the time he went downstairs.

The house robot was a remarkable device that took care of all of the household chores. Michael didn't have to lift a finger. After breakfast, Michael thought about what to do with the rest of the day.

Some days  he would go for a walk, but he found it too depressing to see all the others like himself wandering around with nothing to do.

For twenty years, Michael worked as mechanical engineer. Now a machine did his job and the government sent him a "displaced worker" check each month.

He had everything he needed, but he was miserable. A government-appointed therapist suggested that he try one of the virtual reality work simulators.

The simulators could duplicate the sensation of hundreds of different jobs from coal mining to CEO of a multi-national, but it wasn't the same thing as actually having a job.

Not long after he was "retired" Michael tried one of the day labor agencies. The agency sent him on a few jobs, but eventually even those dried up when it became more cost effective to use a machine.

Later in the evening, Michael made a decision and switched off the house robot. The next morning, he awoke at 8:00 AM and made his own breakfast. The eggs were a little burned, but it was still the best breakfast he ever had.