There are only two privately held paintings by
Vermeer in the world. The Queen of
England owns one. The other is held by a
family in Ireland. In The Irish Game, Matthew Hart tells the true story of
how the Irish painting was stolen, recovered, and then stolen again. The book won rave reviews from our Nevermore
reader who found it a fascinating tale and one well told. The author brings together a number of
subjects which had a bearing on the case: security systems, art history, Irish
politics, international crime, art restoration, gangs, and even illegal drugs.
The book comes highly recommended.
Also highly recommended was Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. Gawande believes that modern medicine and
culture focus more on sustaining life at the end than in making the last years
or months comfortable and pleasant. He
explores what makes life enjoyable for an elderly person and how nursing homes,
hospice, assisted living, and family caregivers fail or succeed. He asserts the
need for quality of life and for the elderly to still be allowed to make their
own decisions. Our reviewer found it
both thought-provoking and enlightening, and Amazon.com readers agree: 87% of
readers gave it five stars and another 11 % gave it four.
On a similar theme, an older book by Dr. David Dosa
also asks some of these same questions. Making
Rounds with Oscar is ostensibly about Oscar, a nursing home cat who seemed
to know when someone was in his last hours.
Dr. Dosa wrote a paper about Oscar which drew international attention,
encouraging him to look further. He
does, but much of the book examines how the elderly are treated by both
institutional personnel and by families.
I found it to be a thoughtful book, one which made me not only think
about how elderly relatives had been treated but also how I would like to be
treated myself one day. It’s a low-key,
non-threatening book, which makes it ideal to start a conversation.
Shattered Genius
by David Storm examines the German
General Staff which began when the area was still Prussia. It was a group of officers who were selected
on merit and who studied all aspects of warfare, and which proved extremely
effective throughout the nineteenth century.
World War I was their first great defeat and, in accordance with the
Treaty of Versailles, they were disbanded.
However, there was a core group who remained active in a different guise
and was ready to be utilized. Much of the
book is devoted to the World War II General Staff and their relationship with
Hitler. Our reviewer enjoyed the book
and proposed a longer review later.
In a lighter vein, Zac Bissonnette has been good
enough to compile a collection of Good Advice from Bad People: Selected Wisdom from Murderers, Stock
Swindlers, and Lance Armstrong.
Bissonnette has a brief quotation from a person, and then follows it
with a short biography of the person which demonstrates that he or she does the
opposite. Our reviewer thought it was a lot of fun, and a good, quick read.
She also recommended Careers for Your Cat by Ann
Dziemianowics which details how you can determine what profession would best
suit your cat. She even provides a
Meowers-Briggs Personality test to help you determine if your cat is living up
to his or her potential. Our reviewer said that while she only laughed out loud
a couple of times, it did make her smile a lot, and she recommends it as a fun
book. Note: both the books listed above were downloaded
from the library’s READs program!
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