(First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted by Bibliophile By the Sea. Every Tuesday we share the first paragraph or two of a book we’re reading or thinking about reading soon. Care to join us?) I loved Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, so when I heard that she had published a book on Theodore Roosevelt,…
Tag: non-fiction
Review: The Right to Privacy
Despite the word “privacy” not appearing anywhere in the US Constitution, this country’s citizens believe fervently in its importance. But as Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy’s 1997 book shows, the concept of being “left alone” is under siege. The Right to Privacy is the result of Alderman and and Kennedy’s survey of dozens of court…
Review: My Beloved Brontosaurus
Humans have been fascinated by dinosaurs since we first uncovered their fossilized remains. Long-necked gentle giants and sharp-toothed nightmares star in movies, fill museum halls, and flit through our collective imaginations. In My Beloved Brontosaurus author Brian Switek canvasses old beliefs and shares the newest paleontological discoveries — each of which brings us a bit…
Review: The Girls of Atomic City
In 1942 a large town known as Oak Ridge sprung up in eastern Tennessee. It didn’t appear on any maps, but at the height of World War II was using more electricity than New York City and was home to more than 75,000 people — most of whom didn’t even know why they were there….
Review: Nisa: The Life & Words of a !Kung Woman
Anthropologist Marjorie Shostak met Nisa in 1971 at the tail-end of a 20-month field stay in Botswana’s Kalahari Desert. Shostak knew a little about the !Kung prior to her journey, but felt that a large portion of their culture remained unknown. How did they feel about themselves, their childhoods, their parents? Did spouses love one…