Roots Branches & Spirits: The Folkways of Appalachian Witchery by H. Byron Ballard

Reviewed by Jeanne

There have been a number of books on Appalachian folk magic, remedies, and lore in the past few years, so I was not surprised to see another one pop up.  What did surprise me was the call number, but I am not a cataloger so we will let that go.

I was also surprised by the somewhat lengthy but very interesting discussion of the history of the region and how “cultural strip mining” has affected the land and its inhabitants.  She also is careful to denote that Appalachia isn’t a single place, made up of just one sort of people; it is a diverse region. 

She rather eases the reader into the concepts of mountain magic and spiritualty, tossing in a meditation here and a bit of folklore there (a lot of mast means a bad winter, for instance) before moving into the “witchery” part. 

Even that is accompanied by information on various aspects of the environment, life, folklore, and folkways.  For example, she discusses music and gives examples of work songs as being forms of incantations: “Churn butter churn!/ Come butter come!/ A little good butter/Is better than none” is also a charm to keep spirits from stealing the butter. She traces the song back to 1650, noting how far and well it has traveled.

The rest of the book is divided up by topics such as Mountain Kitchen Witchery, Healing and Herb Lore, Signs and Omens, and such.  The author gives a great deal of context and background for each item, which I really enjoy.  She covers some use of plants, making dolls, salves, tinctures, and other items—some with magical overtones, some not. I especially liked the discussion of how to make cornbread, in which the author notes that there are those who sweeten cornbread and those who don’t, and never the twain shall meet.  (I once worked with a person who averred, “If God had meant for there to be sugar in cornbread, He’d have called it cake.”)

The last section is entitled “Hillfolk Gothic: Haints and Haint Tales” which she distinguishes from “Southern Gothic.” “Hillfolk Gothic” is a state of “delighted endarkenment,” because humans haven’t made much of an impression on these old mountains.  I particularly enjoy her use of language.

I appreciated the list of resources at the end and the list of citations, which included references to books as diverse as Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders, Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia by Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr, and Canning and Preserving with Ashley English by Ashley English.

If you are just looking for material on spells, charms, or magic, you may be disappointed but if you are interested in the history, culture, and folklore of Southern Appalachia, I think you will feel well rewarded.

Nevermore: We the Women, Dewey, In the Fields of Fatherless Children

 

Nevermore 4-28-26 Reported by Rita

We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America by Norah O'Donnell

A vivid portrait of the unsung American women from 1776 to today who changed the course of history in their fight for freedom and helped shape a more perfect union. Over a decades-long, distinguished career, award-winning journalist Norah O’Donnell has made it her mission to shed light on untold wom­en’s stories. Now, in honor of America’s 250th birthday, O’Donnell focuses that passion on the American heroines who helped change the course of history.

A very informative book on women's history. I found it inspiring and hopeful and thoroughly enjoyed it.    -KM     5 stars

 

Dewey the Library Cat: A True Story by Vicki Myron

Abandoned in a library book drop slot in the dead of winter, this remarkable kitten miraculously endured the coldest night of the year. Dewey Readmore Books, as he became known, quickly embraced his home inside Spencer's public library, charming the struggling small town's library-goers, young and old. As word of Dewey's winning tail, or rather his tale, spread, the library cat gained worldwide fame as a symbol of hope and proof positive that one small cat could change a town, one reader at a time.

This story is heartwarming, delightful, sweet, and bittersweet.     -CD      4 stars

 

In the Fields of Fatherless Children by Pamela Steele

In late 1960s Appalachia, many things loom darkly over June, the Vietnam War is dividing the country, and a strip mine is eating away the mountain at the head of the holler where she lives, threatening the natural landscape and the only way of life she has ever known. While still in high school, June has fallen in love. She is pregnant, and the father may be Ellis Akers. Ellis is the son of Solomon, a mortal enemy of June’s stepfather, Isom. The feud is so old it fuels two vengeful men with the power of long animosity between rival families. June’s brother, Tom, leaves to enlist in the war, and so does Ellis. Suddenly, June is on her own, at sixteen with a newborn, and is a mother unable to protect her daughter from the wrath of Isom. Without warning, her baby is kidnapped. Guided by her love for the generations of women before her, but now desperately alone, June must carefully navigate the search for her child alongside family and strangers in a wild and disappearing landscape.

 

It is pretty good. I love the vocabulary.     - MS    4 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki

Broke-Ass Women's Club by Sharon Sala

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

An Actor and His Time by John Gielgud

 

New Books

 

Picky by Helen Zoe Veit

T'ai Chi for Dummies by Therese Iknoian, Manny Fuentes

A Far-Flung Life by M. L. Stedman

A Crown of Stars by Shana Abé

The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives by Elizabeth Arnott

Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict

A Short History of Ancient Rome by Pascal Hughes

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Most people know bits and pieces of Roman history, some more accurate than others.  Hughes has assembled an interesting and entertaining book for those who want to hit the high spots, so to speak.  He follows a timeline of Roman history in short chapters, many less than twenty pages, to give readers facts and character sketches of most of the important names. 

This book is based on the popular “Short History” podcast.  Chapters tend to open with a brief fictionalized “you are there” scenario involving the chapter’s subject before launching into the fact-filled portion. Starting with the legendary founding of Rome by Romulus, the book continues through the coming of Attila the Hun, which is a lot of history to cover.  Needless to say, a lot of people and incidents are skipped in order to cover those parts of Roman history deemed most important: the assassination of Caesar, building of the Colosseum, Pompeii, Constantine, etc. but I have to say that the book does manage to include a wealth of information.

I was impressed with the general even-handedness of the treatment. For example, the popular image of the Emperor Nero is the man who fiddled while Rome burned.  The book does note that the claim that the Emperor was playing a lyre while the flames danced, but also mentions other accounts that has Nero providing food to the displaced populace.  Other historical figures are accorded the same reasonable doubt.

One of my favorite things is the graphic used in front of each chapter:  a Roman-style column with a timeline of events and an indication where along the timeline each chapter falls.  This includes some events that may not be fully covered in a particular chapter at a time, but will be described later as the repercussions become clear.  It’s an excellent way to keep track of some things.

This leads to my major gripe: the lack of an index.  Some figures show up only as part of a chapter on someone else, while other events are summarized later than they actually occurred.  I would love to have been able to go back and track some of these.

Overall, I do give the book high marks.  It’s very readable, despite having a lot of names and places thrown at the reader all at once, and the short, easily digestible chapters keep the pages turning.  If someone asked me for a good overview of the Roman Empire, this is the first book I’d suggest.

Artifact by Gigi Pandian

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Professor Jaya Jones has found her niche as a tenure-track history professor in California, but her life is about to get a bit more complicated.  Shaken by the news that former boyfriend Rupert has died in a car accident in Scotland, she arrives home to find a package containing a heavy gold anklet with a large ruby.  It’s obviously very old, and appears to be Indian.  But it’s the note that throws her for a loop:  it’s from Rupert.  He says that he’s sending her the item for safekeeping because there’s no one else he can trust.

The postmark is the same day as his fatal accident—if it was an accident.

The trouble is that Jaya’s expertise isn’t Indian history, but rather the East India Company and colonial India.  She’s going to have to find someone else who knows about Indian history, specifically jewelry, to figure out exactly what Rupert has sent her and if it got him killed.

With a possible killer on the loose, Jaya accepts the help of graduate student Lane Peters whose specialty is Indian art. But like Rupert, Jaya has to ask herself the question:  who can I trust?

I started reading Gigi Pandian with her delightful Secret Staircase Mystery series, and soon discovered that she had other books.   Jaya Jones was her first series and Artifact is the first book in that series.  Like some of her other heroines, Jaya is mixed race: part Asian Indian and part European as is Pandian herself.  It makes for an interesting cultural backdrop, which I enjoyed, and plays into the mystery too. Jaya is big-hearted, action-oriented, and deeply loyal, not to mention smart and brave.

The mystery is fast paced, with a lot of twists and turns as Jaya drops everything and heads to the UK to try to find out not only what happened to Rupert but how he came across such an unusual and valuable artifact.  It’s obvious that Pandian knows the territory well, both the historical and geographic.  While there were a few plot threads I may have had doubts about, it didn’t stop me from having a lot of fun with this book. I also was aware that this was not only a first in series book, but a debut novel.  With that in mind, I felt she handled a complex plot and characters quite well. It’s quite the page turner.

 I’ll be reading more of Jaya’s adventures as well as dipping into another of her series about an alchemist.

Blue Ridge Fire Towers by Robert Sorrell

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

While the title might sound dull to some, this book is a little gem of local history.  Sorrell has done a very thorough job of telling the history of fire towers in the area, starting in 1910.  In the early years, fire towers were the only game in town for spotting wildfires.  Nowadays, fire spotters have largely been replaced or supplemented by technology, though some towers remain staffed either by employees or volunteers. Even the abandoned ones remain as points of interest for hikers and locals.

Sorrell tells the story chronologically, beginning with the first towers as it became obvious there was a need for lookouts after some damaging fires. This was a bit more controversial than one would think: according to Sorrell the prevailing attitude was that fires were “a force of nature that could not be abated or prevented.”  Some of the early towers were built either by communities or companies, while conservationist and forest enthusiast Gifford Pinchot championed the building of a network of towers to help manage the potential damage from fires.

But let me just jump ahead to “the good stuff”—the wealthy of local stories and information about the towers.  I am not a fire tower buff myself (not crazy about heights) but even I have heard of a number of these towers.  During the fall, people talk about going up to the Mendota fire tower to get the best views of the foliage. Wise County’s High Knob Tower was so iconic that it was rebuilt not once but twice after it was destroyed by fire in the 1970s and again in 2007. The newest tower, dedicated in 2014, is considered fireproof.

Long time residents will enjoy that Sorrell has several references to local journalist Jack Kestner who wrote about his love for the mountains and even did a stint as a watcher in a fire tower. (Fun fact:  Kestner wrote a novel entitled Fire Tower, set in West Virginia.) There is a good index, which helped me find the areas I was especially interested in, and I certainly enjoyed the photos but honestly I could have read the entire book.  Sorrell has an engaging manner of writing that made me want to read more even if I didn’t know the area he was writing about.  It’s a gift that not all non-fiction writers have, so I really appreciate it in those that do.

If you have any interest in local history in general, I recommend giving this book a try. 

Secret Gardens: Creating Romantic Retreats by Alan Toogood

 

Secret Gardens:  Creating Romantic Retreats by Alan Toogood

Reviewed by Jeanne

When I was checking the schedule for the bookblog, I realized that our Friday blog would fall on Valentine’s Day.  A look at the draft blogs didn’t reveal anything that seemed even vaguely related, so I set out to find something that would 1) be appropriate and 2) be something I could read quickly enough to write a review. My first thought involved books on chocolate or cake making but after stepping on my scales I thought it prudent to avoid anything involving food.

Fortunately I came across the book Secret Gardens:  Creating Romantic Retreats by Alan Toogood which looked very promising, even if my house is where plants come to die.  Toogood is a British author, so the gardens in question tend to be formal and complex, so I didn’t think there would be any pressure.  I’d just take one look and think, “Nope, no way I can do that.”

While that did turn out to be true overall, I found myself enjoying the book more than I thought I would.  There is a lot of text and explanation, but Toogood writes well.  He discusses the history of some aspects of gardens such as enclosures—walls and fences, certainly, but also when fashions changed, some of the large estates used “ha-has” (a sunken fence or ditch) to keep animals from wandering off.  Trimmed hedges, arbors, and other such features rose and fell in popularity as society changed and great estates became smaller.

At this point, I started thinking about all the British fiction and period films I’ve seen, realizing what some of the outdoor features really meant. It’s been a tradition to build small, secluded spaces where people could have some privacy and/or peace, but I’d never thought of it as other than a motion picture set for a specific scene. Visions of Pemberly and Beatrix Potter’s farm house danced in my head with a new understanding of the landscaping.

The book does discuss setting up your own such places, utilizing features that already exist and then enhancing them. While not really suited for a small backyard, the book is also about creating an ambiance, a feeling of being in an enchanted place no matter how small. I liked that idea a lot.

Ambitious gardeners would get some good ideas from this book, even if some of the plants may not translate well to our area. Selecting a focal point for the garden, be it a water feature or statue, is the place to start and then build your garden from there.  He offers suggestions (a sundial, perhaps?) but wants to the reader to make the garden a personal space.

Even better, the copy of the book I took from the shelf was a donation in memory of Ida Stone Jones, and one of the people for whom the Jones Center for Creative Arts, Technology and Workforce Development was named.

Day of the Dead: More than 24 Projects that Celebrate Dia de Los Muertos by Kerry Arquette, Andrea Zocchi & Jerry Vigil

 

 Reviewed by Jeanne

If the colorful Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) decorations have caught your eye, here’s a craft book which will help you create your own.  The book opens with a brief overview of the history of the holiday with roots primarily in Mexico. It’s a day for honoring and remembering the dead, and a holiday that emphasizes family. It’s usually celebrated on November 1 and 2, but can be observed on other days as well.

I like looking at craft books even though I rarely attempt any sort of craft these days.  (I have a closet full of materials for projects that I thought I would do and haven’t.  It hasn’t been a total loss, though, as the cats have found the pipe cleaners to be the best toys ever!) Anyway, this is a gem of a book that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It not only gave me information about the holiday but it highlighted the work of various artists. 

The first chapter was on ofrendas, which are altars to encourage the dead to visit their living families.  These are often set up in homes, but can be done in public spaces or in cemeteries.  Color photos show different styles, and then illustrate various elements of the altar: photos of the deceased, favorite foods, candles, and so forth.  The photos showed personal altars, altars for groups of people, and even for famous people like artist Frida Kahlo.  I especially liked that most of these had some background information from the various artists.  The next section shows how to construct a small altar, which actually looks both nice and like something I could do.  (The only iffy part is that they suggest using a cigar box.  I’m trying to remember the last time I saw a cigar box….)

The second chapter is devoted to Calaveras, the skeletons who play a big role in the decorations.  Again, there is an explanation of their role in the holiday as well as information on the materials often used to construct them.  There are some wonderful photos of different calaveras in elaborate settings, and made from various materials:  polymer clay, sticks, cloth, metal, and fabric. The book has very detailed instructions for the polymer clay ones.

The rest of the book does much the same, highlighting examples of the work as well as the artists who created them, and then supplying some instruction. I view this book as more inspirational than instructional, though clever people will be able to make

Mostly I just loved looking at the photos and admiring the artistry.  I also enjoyed learning more about some of the figures, cultural aspects, beliefs, and history.  I only wish it had been a coffee table type book with larger photos but then that would have made it less useful as a craft book.

Non-crafters could enjoy this book. Even if I never make any of the crafts, I have already had a great deal of enjoyment from the photos.  Now I want to watch “Coco” again—I think I’ll understand the symbolism behind the decorations more.

The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Historian Worsley sets out to do an exploration of famous murders and the literature they inspired.  She begins by telling the reader about Thomas De Quincey’s 1827 essay, “On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts,” which purports to be the thoughts of a member of the imaginary “Society of Connoisseurs in Murder” who explain what makes a good murder and rates them according to their qualities.  De Quincey is actually commenting on a cultural phenomenon of the time: murder as something exciting and entertaining.

Worsley pinpoints the start of this fascination with the 1811 Ratcliffe Highway murders.  A married couple, their three-month-old son, and their apprentice were discovered brutally murdered in their shop/home; twelve days later, another merchant, his wife, and a serving girl were slaughtered.  Public interest was intense; Worsley says that it created a new class of journalism, murder reporting.  It seemed that the British public could not get enough of such stories.  Newspapers, cheap publications with vivid (and often invented) details of sensational stories, and even puppet shows pandered to this new form of entertainment.

During the course of the book, she discusses how writers helped this obsession and how over time, real cases were given fictional treatments.  All this was to help satisfy the public appetite for crime.  Early writers such as Wilkie Collins helped pave the way for later authors, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.

Along with the development of this murder mania, England was beginning to develop a police force.  At first these fledgling officers of the law were viewed with deep suspicion as busybodies and unreliable, but writers helped to turn the tide of public opinion.  Charles Dickens was one of the early proponents of the police; he wrote glowing articles about the new detective branch and even used real officer Inspector Field as a model for his Bleak House character Inspector Branch.

Readers of both true crime and fictional crime will find much of interest in this book, written with Worsley’s breezy charm.

Note: There was a TV series hosted by Worsley on this topic under the title “A Very British Murder.”

Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race and Voting Rights in the U.S. by Caitlin Cass

 

Reviewed by Kristin

This graphic novel packs a lot about the right to vote in the United States into its pages in a very accessible format. From the early Suffragists who never were able to vote (Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, among others) to the later activists following in their footsteps through the Civil Rights era around the 1940s-1960s, this book presents an enormous amount of information. The graphic format makes it engaging and entertaining, avoiding the pitfalls of some scholarly works.

Moving forward in a mostly linear fashion, the narrative sometimes includes side stories to illustrate the suppressive societal expectations faced by both women and minorities. In the “New Women” era of the 1900s-1920s, women began to question tradition and stretch their boundaries. While dressing in clothing that allowed women to move and take more risks, the bicycle was a natural choice for many. However, male doctors began to warn that bicycles could be harmful and lead to “bicycle face” (for women only, naturally) and this could include bug eyes, a red complexion, and a permanent grimace.

The push and pull between suffrage for women and racial minorities is also discussed. Many who believed that women should be allowed the vote were not willing to take on the vote equality for all, as they saw votes for white women much more achievable than universal suffrage.

The bibliography at the end is extensive, showing the in depth research done by Caitlin Cass. Organization names and dates are also mentioned, along with popular songs included in the book.

This book is timely, no matter your political or partisan views. 2024 is an election year, and I strongly believe that we should all speak our minds at the ballot box.

The Element Encyclopedia of the Celts by Rodney Castleden

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Subtitled “The ultimate a-z of the symbols, history, and spirituality of the legendary Celts,” this book does take on a lot of territory.  Author Castleden, a former teacher, divides the book up into six sections: Celtic people and lifestyles; Celtic places; Celtic religion; myths, legends, and stories; symbols, ideas, and archetypes; and Celtic twilight and revival.  Each section has an a-z listing of terms under that topic, with many “see” references for alternate terms and spellings.

The length of entries varies from a couple of sentences to several pages, depending on the topic.  The tone is conversational but not casual; and the author tries to be very even-handed on some controversial topics, such as King Arthur. (Castleden does believe there was a historical Arthur but also explains why others don’t believe he existed.)

To be honest, I got much more than I expected from this book.  I like the detailed explanations and that some things are put in historical context:  as in, this is what was thought about the item when first discovered, this is what other evidence showed, and this is the current thought. I like that it is very browseable, and that I found all the entries both interesting and entertaining.  Under “Bean Si,” I learned that this is the term for a Celtic fairy woman who is often seen washing the bloody clothes of those about to die.  It’s pronounced “banshee”—and that certainly explains a lot.  Another term I looked up was “Claddagh,” the popular symbol of clasped hands and a heart. Castleden says it dates to the sixteenth century and seems to have originated in Galway, though it may have been inspired by a Roman design. The section on “Fairies” was quite enlightening, and certainly explained some references I had come across as to their origin and dress.

There are entries on Druids, Samhain, Celtic Cross, and many more.  There aren’t a lot of illustrations but the information more than makes up for it. As mentioned before, I like that the author is up-front about his biases and beliefs rather than just presenting them as fact; it leaves room for disagreement.  I do wish there was an index, but otherwise I found this a very enjoyable and informative book.

The Stranger Vanishes by Wendy Corsi Staub

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

After a year of living in Lily Dale, the town devoted to connecting to the afterlife, widow Bella Jordan has a cautious approach to the supernatural. She’s not a believer, but there have been some occurrences that seem to defy rational explanation. Still, when a man in 19^th century clothing takes a room for the night and then vanishes, she resists the idea that she’s been visited by a ghost. Surely there is some rational explanation. . . .

This was my fifth visit to Lily Dale in the company of Bella, her son Max, and the other inhabitants of the town.  Obviously, I must enjoy the books or I wouldn’t keep coming back!  I first encountered Lily Dale as part of this series and have gone on to read a non-fiction book about this intriguing town.  According to Wikipedia, the year-round residents number 275, while during the tourist season thousands will visit for psychic readings, workshops, séances, and other paranormal activities.

Staub’s series tries to walk a line between skepticism, as personified by the still grieving Bella, and belief.  Bella’s friends are all believers, but not all are gifted—at least not reliably so. The annoying Pandora does seem to have occasional flashes of insight, for example, but many of her proclamations seem more self-serving than Spirit. Jiffy, a young friend of Max’s, personifies the expression “out of the mouths of babes” in his off-hand comments that often prove true. Jiffy and Max in particular are delightful and very believable creations; they’re just at the age where wordplay is immense fun.

The books have a leisurely pace to them, and are told mostly from Bella’s point of view. Despite the supernatural setting, the books aren’t especially creepy or spooky; instead there’s a more thoughtful, measured approach.  There is a decent mystery, but for the most part I find them to be meditations on life and afterlife peopled by friendly characters and some lovely cats.  I quite enjoy my visits.

While they don’t have to be read in order, it sometimes helps to know a bit of the different characters’ backstories. The books in order are:

Nine Lives

Something Buried, Something Blue

Dead of Winter

Prose and Cons

The Stranger Vanishes

Hail to the Chiefs by Barbara Holland

 

Note:  In honor of Presidents Day, we are re-running this review done in 2013 by Nancy, whose reviews always delighted us with their humor.

Reviewed by Nancy

History can be fun. No, no, I'm not kidding. If you did not enjoy history in school, here's your second chance. You can have fun reading some history and there will not be a teacher lurking about, waiting to give you a grade.

The book you need to read is Hail To The Chiefs by Barbara Holland. Ms. Holland, who died in 2010, was an author and essayist who lived in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

If Ms. Holland had not been busy writing, she could have come down from the mountain and been our stand-up history comic. I am not kidding. Her book offers a summary of presidential mischief, quirks and accomplishments from George Washington to Ronald Regan. The book also includes entertaining tidbits regarding presidential wives.

Barbara Holland definitely had a way with words. A great deal of this book, which devotes a few pages to each president, is laugh out loud material. As she states in her discussion of Millard Fillmore, "in the nineteenth century, whenever anything happened the bystanders got together and formed a political party about it." Fillmore was a member of the Anti-Masonic Party, and the author sums him up in this way:  “He wasn't a bad man - in fact, he quite nice. He was just wrong a good deal of the time.” She further states, "In July of 1850 Millard Fillmore found himself President and hit his stride at being wrong."

Or try this tasty tidbit. "James Monroe is remembered for the Monroe Doctrine, which some consider John Quincy Adam's finest achievement."

On Abraham Lincoln she states, "Lincoln never had much fun being President because of the Civil War all the time. It was all ready to roll when he took office, and five days after it was over he was dead as a duck. He had the war, the whole war, and nothing but the war."

On James Buchanan, Lincoln’s predecessor, and the run up to the Civil War she gives us the following:  “He thought if he just sat still and kept his mouth shut, things wouldn’t fall apart until he could hand them over to the next man and run like hell.”

See?  History can be fun. Seriously, it would have been ok with me if this woman had taught half the history courses I ever had.

The fun just never stops. Here’s what Ms. Holland had to say regarding one world conflict: “I don’t recommend your trying to understand World War I unless you plan to make a career of it, and I don’t recommend that either.”

President James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other hand AT THE SAME TIME. I once worked with someone who could render backward cursive writing with her non-dominant hand, but I believe this may top that.

In the section on Ronald Regan, Ms. Holland takes five pages to render a summation of the plot of “Bedtime for Bonzo,” former President Regan’s most famous movie. I believe I have watched parts of that movie, but never the movie in its entirety at one sitting. Upon reading the plot summary I realized why. Even when I was eleven I doubt I could have gotten through it; however, I enjoyed Ms. Holland’s summary immensely.

I suppose it could be a sly “editorial comment of omission” from Ms. Holland that the movie summary constitutes the entire section on Regan. There is nothing about the Iran-Contra difficulties, John Hinckley, Jr.’s assassination attempt on Regan’s life, supply-side economics,  the invasion of Grenada, or any of the rest of his time in office.

If you think you don’t have the desire or the time to read this book, at least get hold of a copy and have a look at the portrait of Millard Fillmore. Mr. Fillmore resembles what current celebrity personality? Correct! Alec Baldwin. It's something about the eyes. Maybe also the mouth.

I felt I was astute to notice this and wondered if anyone else had, so I fooled around on the internet a little. Gee whiz. I'm not the first. If you've got a moment for some silly entertainment, plug "Alec Baldwin Millard Fillmore" into a search engine. The resemblance is uncanny.

As if the body of the text weren’t side splitting enough, most of the footnotes are a riot. I know I’ve gone on enough about all this, so I’m not going to start quoting footnotes, BUT there’s one you just have to read. It’s in the chapter on William McKinley. In the library copy of the book this is on page 174. Start midway through the fourth paragraph and read the text preceding footnote 14. Don’t worry about the context. Just read the last half of that sentence and then the footnote. HA!

I know if I can get this book into your hands you will not be able to keep from reading it, so you’d just better get in to the library and check out that footnote!