Home – non-fiction

The Aspirin Age — 1919/1941

Posted on by mkaustin221

The Aspirin Age is simply fantastic. Isabel Leighton presents eclectic essays by wonderful writers who cover some of the hottest topics and players from the period between World Wars I and II. Obvious subjects such as Versailles, Sacco and Vanzetti, the Depression and Pearl Harbor are discussed succinctly and brilliantly.

I was even more taken by the essays on less events and individuals, such as Aimee Semple McPherson, the charismatic conwoman/preacher who led a scandalous life, hogged the headlines and collected millions of dollars from her devoted followers. I particularly loved Gene Tunney’s thoughtful essay on how he developed his strategy for beating the brilliant heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey. Keith Munro’a piece on the phenomenon of the Dionne Quintuplets was great fun and, like the pieces on McPherson and Lindbergh, provides bemused insight on the creation and fostering of celebrity.

For presidential history fans, there are great treatments of the brazen corruption that flourished under the hopelessly unqualified President Warren Harding. Even better was Irving Stone’s essay on Calvin Coolidge, “A Study in Inertia.” “Huey Long: American Dictator” is another brilliant and highly timely piece. Corruption is nothing new, but these pieces delve into the particularities of the period.

On a more idealistic note, Roscoe Drummond’s piece, “Wendell Wilkie: A Study in Courage” is a tribute to a politician who courageously chose to do what he believed was right for the country, even though it meant losing a presidential election. I didn’t know much about Wilkie previously and was really moved by Drummond’s admiration for an heroic figure.

ˆThe Aspirin Age” is ideal, both for history buffs who are familiar with the period and for folks who aren’t so familiar with the period, but want to get some idea of what happened between the two World Wars. By focusing on some of the most noted and notorious individuals of the day, Leighton provides a highly entertaining and informative smorgasbord, while at the same time offering a reasonably comprehensive overview of the time.

I believe this wonderful book is out of print, but happily I was able to find a reasonably priced used book on line, and I am so glad I did!

Robert Capa’s Slightly out of Focus: A Captivating Photographer’s Memoir of World War II

Posted on by mkaustin221

Robert Capa’s Slightly Out of Focus is absolutely one of the best war memoirs I’ve ever read. Capa, was born in Hungary in 1913 and then killed by stepping on a mine in Vietnam in 1954. In between, he made a career as a war photographer. Slightly Out of Focus covers Capa’s experiences before and during World War II. As an Hungarian Jew, he was basically stateless, but nonetheless managed to get to the United States and then got an American magazine to send him to London to photograph the war. Capa was in North Africa and Italy, and then landed with the first troops in Normandy on D Day. His book has astonishing photographs, but it also recounts his adventures. Capa makes cutting through all the American and British red tape to get to the war zones sound almost as daunting as the War itself. As if his own story weren’t amazing enough, Capa’s tales include cameos by Ernest Hemingway, and Ernie Pyle, among others. Robert Capa is an amazing raconteur who writes with tremendous brio, but he also zeroes in on the terrors of the war and demonstrates a profound understanding of the horror and waste. You really need to read this book.

Incidentally Robert Capa was one of the people featured in Katie Marton’s 2006, The Great Escape — Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World, which is another great book.

It Turns out Organization isn’t Necessarily a Dirty Word — Organized Enoough by Amanda Sullivan

Posted on by mkaustin221

Anyone who ever saw all the books in our apartment, not to mention the over-stuffed closets and piles of art supplies,  would howl at the idea of me consulting a book on organizing my stuff.  But Amanda Sullivan’s eminently helpful and encouraging Organized Enough has a pretty blue cover and there was no avoiding it since copies of this book filled an entire window of one of my favorite independent bookstores.  Under those circumstances, I naturally felt I had to buy the book and bring it home. That alone isn’t so shocking, but it was shocking that I actually read the entire book in palatable sessions and liked it.  The book is funny and non-judgmental, and it appeals to the reasonable person I aspire to be.   It has a simple organization and theme that guides an appealing narrative.  Ms. Sullivan is a cheerleader, but she’s not a cheerleader on steroids.

Organized Enough has actually inspired me to take a new approach to confronting clutter.  Although I have no illusions about becoming an organizational goddess.  Fortunately, Amanda Sullivan has shown me that I needn’t have such lofty goals.  Optimistically, I can see where improvements can be made without devoting entire weeks of my life to an overwhelming decluttering project.  For starters, I just need to start to think about why I have all this stuff, and then I need to get proactive about developing  an overall plan for my stuff and letting a lot of it go.  That’s right.  Through Sullivan’s organizing philosophy, not to mention her useful examples, I can see a path to letting go of more stuff and feeling rewarded by the process.  

Sullivan’s humor and lack of judgment are encouraging.   Organized Enough  appeals to my logical self.  Better yet, without sounding sappy or like some domestic maven, I have begun to consider that perhaps I ought to value my home a bit more and find some satisfaction in maintaining it in a slightly less cluttered state.  Plus, there is something to be said for knowing where stuff is, which is a lot easier to do if you have less of it and if it is maintained in some semblance of organization.  Such a result would be plenty good enough for me.

Sullivan is a professional organizer, and she has put what she knows in a very readable and succinct little book.  Her observations about why some of her clients hold on to things they don’t need and how their possessions can be more logically organized are very appealing.  It’s no small things that people allow her into their homes to work her magic.  Except it’s not really magic.  It is a solid skill set, and Sullivan’s reasonably contained enthusiasm for order is persuasive.  She has a clear eye and solid ideas about what works.  She is also human.  I liked her best when she admitted to being a bit neurotic on the subject of order and when she further admitted that she had drastically ratcheted down her expectations when it came to her kids.  In other words, she isn’t perfect, so it is a lot easier to consider what she has to say.  

Organized Enough is a useful, enjoyable and inspiring book for people who either already care a great deal about keeping their homes tidy and organized or who, like me, need a thoughtful, good-humored nudge to get their act together.