Book Review'- "The Peculiar Institution" by Kenneth M. Stampp

I have always been curious as to how slavery worked from day to day in America and the non-fiction book "The Peculiar Institution" by Kenneth M. Stampp  supplies the answers. From the beginning slavery in America was driven by the profits it produced. Slave labor was obviously cheaper than paid labor so planters and other business owners took advantage of its legality at the time.

 There were of course many rationalizations that slave holders used to justify owning another human being. All of them have proved to be nonsense, but at the time some of the justifications for slavery were widely believed. 

 Although slavery was somewhat successful as a labor system, the author makes a good case that the cruelty of owning another human being was in the end more destructive to slave owners and to the South then any economic benefits from "The Peculiar Institution"

Book Review- Farewell To Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston.

When I was a kid, I loved to read about the history of World War Two and I was aware of the internment of Americans of Japanese descent but I never thought much about what it must have been like. "Farewell To Manzanar" is an account of how the internment affected one Japanese-American family.

 After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Roosevelt signed executive order 9066 which eventually resulted in the internment of 110 thousand Americans of Japanese ancestry. Manzanar in Owens Valley, California was one of ten camps scattered throughout the west.

 The Manzanar camp was hastily constructed and not always functional.Although according to the author, there was plenty of food, schooling for the children, and some medical care. Still, Manzanar was basically a prison camp for people whose only crime was being of Japanese descent.

The Manzanar camp was closed Nov. 21, 1945

 In 1988, the US Senate voted to provide compensation for the victims of the internment.

Whiteout- Something hungry is coming down from the hills.

Julie Erickson looked out her kitchen window and marveled at the beauty of the Cascade Mountains. After years of saving and careful investing, Julie had finally been able to afford a cabin in the tiny community of Greenwater, Washington state.

  It was a long commute to her teaching job in the town of Enumclaw, but she never regretted it. Julie looked up at a sky filled with dark clouds. A bad storm had been forecast. Julie had lived in Washington state her entire life, but the fierce mountain weather could be frightening.

 After correcting  some papers, Julie settled in front of the fireplace with a good book. The warm fire lulled Julie into a deep sleep until a loud crash woke her several hours later. A terrible windstorm was tearing the branches from trees.

 Julie tried to see outside, but the wind and snow made visibility impossible. The power was also out. From past experience, Julie knew that the best thing to do  was just  relax and wait it out. She had plenty of food and the fireplace kept the cabin warm.

 Julie went back to her book. About an hour later, she became aware of a strange shuffling noise outside the cabin. Probably just an Elk she thought. Sometime later, there was a scratching on her door.

Julie got up and went to her landline phone. Cell phones were pretty much useless in the mountains. The phone was dead too. The scratching at the door grew louder. Her nearest neighbor was about a quarter of a mile away, but finding him in this storm would be difficult. A heavy thump on the door convinced Julie to put on her winter coat and boots.

 The next blow shook the door. Julie started for the back door as something smashed in her front door. Outside, the snow was so heavy that Julie wasn't sure which direction to go. Behind her,something growled and Julie ran blindly through the storm.

 The next morning, the only trace of Julie that could be found was one of her boots lying next to huge bloody footprints that led up into the hills.

   
      

Book Review "The Fires of Jubilee" By Stephen B. Oates

In 1831, a young slave by the name of Nat Turner led the largest slave rebellion in U.S. history.

  Over the years, I have read short histories of the uprising,  but I have never come across a full account of the rebellion until now.

 "The Fires of Jubilee" by Stephen B. Oates is a well-researched and balanced biographical history of Nat Turner and the conditions that led to the bloodshed.

                      Craig  Zimmerman

The Hippies

In 1975, when I was 13 years old, two men in their twenties and a girl of about 16 moved into the old house next door. My friends and I referred to them as "hippies" because of their long hair and the marijuana plants that they grew in their backyard.

  I do not remember the men very well, I cannot even recall their names or what they looked like, but I do remember the girl. Belinda had long blond hair and played games with me and my friends like she was one of us.

   For some reason, I didn't wonder at the time how a teen girl came to be living with two twenty-something men, but I suspect that she was a runaway. By the end of that summer, Belinda and the two men had moved out and I have not seen her since.

  The old house that the trio lived in is long gone, but occasionally I still think of Belinda and  wonder what became of her.

Book Review- "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman

"Life is so good" by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman is one of the best books that I have read in a long time. Mr. Dawson was born the Grandson of slaves and lived through many of the tumultuous events of the 20th century.

 Life is so good is filled with fascinating stories of hard work and loss love and hatred and even a couple of Mule stories which I thought were very touching.

After Mr. Dawson retired, he started doing yard work and other odd jobs. During one of these jobs, his employer put his lunch in the same area where she was feeding her dogs. The following is a passage from the book that deals with this incident:

 "We was walking back toward the house, She had seen the garden and took note of the wood I had stacked. I could see that she was pleased. She had some money folded over that she gave to me. Just then, in front of the porch, she looked up and saw the bowl of stew with the biscuit next to it.
    She looked puzzled. "Didn't you see the lunch I left on the porch?"

I nodded "I saw the dogs on the porch"
"Well, the lunch on the shelf was for you! It was a good lunch"
 "Thank you.I'm sure it was, It's just that I don't eat with dogs"

 






  

Book Review -Joshua's Song by Joan Hiatt Harlow

 "Joshua's Song" by Joan Hiatt Harlow is a historical novel of the city of Boston circa 1919.

  Young Joshua Harper is forced to quit school and find work after his Father dies in the influenza epidemic of that time. Joshua finds work selling newspapers and encounters some of the city's characters including former mayor and Grandfather to John F. Kennedy, John Fitzgerald.

    While visiting a friend in Boston's north end, Joshua becomes a hero when a massive tank of molasses explodes and the liquid inundates the waterfront. 

I very much enjoyed reading Joshua's Song and I recommend it for older children and adults.