The Dangerous Hour ( A Sharon McCone Mystery)

Marcia Muller is one of my favorite mystery writers, so whenever I find one of her books that I haven't read yet, it's a real treat. The Dangerous Hour came out in 2004 (Thorndike Press) but it was new to me when I discovered it at the Waterloo Public Library not long ago. (Okay, I found it in the large print edition, but after grading a big stack of my students' papers, it was a nice change of pace).

The story focuses on Sharon McCone, who runs McCone Investigations in San Francisco. Things seem to be going well until Julia, one of her newest employees, gets arrested and accused of crimes by a powerful city supervisor. Sharon starts digging for answers. Before long, it becomes clear that Sharon herself--and her business--are the real target. I don't want to give away too many details about the rest of the story; however, it's a good read, especially for those of us who have followed the series.

Sharon is a believeable, strong woman with a group of loyal friends and coworkers, as well as a boyfriend named Hy. While Sharon is an experienced investigator, she has her share of flaws, but she doesn't seem predictable. Muller's prose, with her skillful use of dialogue, description and characterization, draws you into Sharon McCone's world. However, I would caution you to not start reading The Dangerous Hour too close to bedtime, because you'll be tired the next day, after staying up extra late. On the other hand, it is just the sort of book to grab on one of these chilly evenings, when you curl up in your comfy chair with some cocoa and an afghan.

You can find Marcia Muller's The Dangerous Hour in the Large Print section of the Fiction department at the Waterloo Public Library.

Waterloo Public Library, c 2007

Pro choice or pro life?

I Am Roe: My Life, Roe v. Wade, and Freedom of Choice
by Norma McCorvey

Remember the Courier editorials last month? Even after all these years Roe v. Wade still creates quite a stir.

"I Am Roe" is the autobiography by the original Jane Roe of that case - Norma McCorvey. Norma's story is an extremely sad and disturbing one.

Born in 1947 in Lettesworth, Texas, Norma Leah Nelson had no good role models for happy, respectful relationships while growing up.

During her life she had three children. Her first daughter, Melissa, was conceived when she was married briefly to Woody McCorvey. Norma unknowingly signed over the parental rights to Melissa to her mother. The second child she gave up for adoption. Unemployed, depressed, and broke, she wanted an abortion when she discovered that she was pregnant again. The year was 1970.

In 1970, at the age of 21, she met lawyer Sarah Weddington who was looking for a woman to be a plaintiff to challenge Texas anti-abortion laws. This lawsuit became the historic Roe v. Wade. Norma was clueless as to what was going on with the lawsuit. She only agreed to be the plaintiff because she wanted out of her pregnancy. The lawsuit did not help her at all, since the Supreme Court decision did not come down until 1973. She gave the third child up for adoption.

Just a reminder though, since this book was written 12 years ago, "I Am Roe" was written before Norma McCorvey became pro-life.

c Waterloo Public Library 2006

This is for superhero fans!

The Science of Superheroes
by Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg

I still remember when my interest in comics shifted from Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny to Superman and Batman. After purchasing a few of the superhero comics, my older brother looked at me with disdain. He grabbed them from me. My brother flipped through them, then tossed them back to me. He proclaimed that the plots and characters were illogical. Regardless, I still enjoyed them.

The Science of Superheroes, by Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg, explores the worlds of superheroes. Each chapter focuses on a hero or heroes (if the comic promotes them as a group, like the Fantastic Four). The history of that particular comic and the special powers are discussed first. Then the authors explore the actual possibilities and consequences of gaining such abilities, i.e. being hit with gamma rays or bitten by a spider. The reader ends up getting an education in biology, physics, and chemistry. Although those topics can be overwhelming, the authors do try to simplify it enough so that you get the gist of it.

In the book, they did give praise to one artist/writer who researched and tried to give correct information in his comics. A prolific artist, this guy worked for about twenty-five years with one company. At the height of his career in the mid-1950s, three million copies of each issue were sold. You'll be surprised at who this is (although I don't think I would classify his comics in the same league as the other artists and writers discussed).

Unlike my brother, with his acerbic comments, Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg show respect for the role superhero comics have played in the pop culture.

You can find the book on the second floor under 741.509 GRE.



c Waterloo Public Library 2006

It's not the end of the earth

When I came across this book, it reminded me of an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" from the '60's. It's filled with gentle humor and full of eccentric people who live in or around Centralia, Nebraska.

Roger Welsch is one of those guys who wanted to get away from the rat race. He left a tenured position as professor of English and Anthropology at the University of Nebraska and moved to a small farm in the Midwest. Actually, according to Welsch, the farm is more just a lot of sand.




Swaine, the mail delivery man, has a problem keeping the bundled mail separated, constantly giving the wrong mail to the people on the route. Welsch believes that he does it on purpose, just so that people get to know each other.



Lunchbox runs the auto body shop and sold a junker truck to the author that doesn't run very well. However, the author still says that he's best mechanic around.



During the summertime, Goose likes to load his truck with beer and ice, then travel around the country roads to find farmers working in the field. When he does find a farmer, he'll flag them down while walking in the field with an extra bottle of beer to persuade the farmer to take a break.



Slick, an alcoholic who has been dry for a few years, seems like the most unlikely person to own the local bar called Town Tavern. In the book, the author tells the story about the "Juice Wars", a battle of wits between a miserly bunch of card players who spend hours in the bar and Slick.

The nonfiction book, "It's Not the End of the Earth, but You Can See it From Here: Tales of the Great Plains," is located on the second floor under the call number 978.2 WEL.




c Waterloo Public Library 2007

A season of treachery and horror

Over the Earth I Come: The Great Sioux Uprising of 1862

by Duane Schultz

1862. The Civil War was in full swing. Troops from the northern states were shipping south. It was late summer and crops were ripening, but the Sioux in Minnesota were starving.

Forced onto small reservations where the game had been depleted, this hunting society was no longer able to feed itself. The government had promised money to the tribes in return for the lands they had given up, but the payments were late. With no money, they could not buy the food they needed to survive.

In Minnesota, white settlers had lived side-by-side with the Sioux for years, and many considered them friends. They did not realize that many of the Sioux were seething with resentment and hatred of the way in which their people had been treated.

Finally, the Sioux had enough. A chance murder set hundreds of Sioux on the war path. Led by chiefs Little Crow, Red Middle Voice and Shakopee, Sioux warriors raided the countryside, slaughtering hundreds of settlers - men, women and children.

Many died; some were captured, others miraculously escaped after surviving horrors that killed those around them.

To read more, you can find the book on WPL's second floor with the number 973.7 SCH.

c Waterloo Public Library 2006

Ever hear of Slim Keith?

Slim: Memories of a Rich and Imperfect Life

By Slim Keith with Annette Tapert

I'd never heard of Slim Keith until I ran across this book while weeding the 900s section.

The picture on the cover intrigued me - a sleek, sophisticated lady who looked to me a bit like Grace Kelly. I opened the book to read the inside flap, and soon I was hooked.

Lady Nancy "Slim" Keith started life in Monterey, California as Nancy Gross. She lived next door to John Steinbeck's parents, and her father owned some of the canneries that Steinbeck wrote about in Cannery Row. When she was 17, she had her first brush with Hollywood in the figures of William Powell and Warner Baxter.

Slim went on to hobnob with the likes of William Ranolph Hearst, Ernest Hemingway, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable, among others. She was first married to Howard Hawks (director of movies such as Bringing Up Baby); second to Leland Hayward of Broadway fame; and third and finally to Sir Kenneth Keith.

The book's a great read and packed with interesting pictures. Look for it on the second floor of the library under 973.9 KEI.

c Waterloo Public Library 2006

After the Revolution...

Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans
by Joyce Appleby

I have to admit, I was never that "into" American history back in school. I knew the basics - when the American Revolution took place, who our first presidents were, that we drove out or destroyed the Native American societies as we expanded westward - but I never looked any deeper than that. I never thought what life must have been like for people as our country developed and grew.

A few years ago now I got bitten by the genealogy bug - hard. I've suddenly found out that I need to to know more about the how and why to better understand why my ancestors chose to pick up and move from places like New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia to Ohio, Illinois and eventually Iowa.

Inheriting the Revolution doesn't tell me much about the routes my ancestors would have travelled, but it was a good overview of the societal changes and challlenges that they were dealing with.

The book talks about the generation of folks who grew up in America between 1776 and 1830. These are the people who had to create the national identity of the "United States of America." Their innovations and can-do attitudes, as well as their prejudices and faults, set the stage for all of the national triumphs and tragedies to follow.

The most unexpected thing that I learned from this book is that at least one of my impressions regarding the past was dead wrong. I had always gotten the impression, based on the way history had been taught to me, that most people in the early 1800s were very sober and restrained, rather like most people today. Apparently, however, a large part of socializing back then involved copious amounts of alcohol, and people from all walks of life - from working craftsmen to house-wives to clergymen - partook, not only in the evenings, but during the working day. At the time, this was not considered either wrong or unusual.

The book, which is a little on the scholarly side, looks at politics, religion, familial relations, changing careers and reform movements.

You can find this book on the second floor of the library with the number 973 APP.
c Waterloo Public Library 2006