The Road to Wellville

The Road to Wellville by T.C. Boyle was originally published in 1993. My paperback copy has 476 pages. My copy of The Road to Wellville was a great find in a used books clearance section. I had read The Road to Wellville years ago when it was originally published and was looking forward to reading it again. It was just as good the second time around. Actually it might be interesting to read a biography of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. This book is very highly recommended. Rating: 4.5

Synopsis from cover:

Will Lightbody is a man with a stomach ailment whose only sin is loving his wife, Eleanor, too much. Eleanor is a health nut of the first stripe, and when in 1907 she journeys to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's infamous Battle Creek spa to live out the vegetarian ethos, poor Will goes too.

So begins T. Coraghessan Boyle's wickedly comic look at turn-of-the-century fanatics in search of the magic pill to prolong their lives - or the profit to be had from manufacturing it. Brimming with a Dickensian cast of characters and laced with wildly wonderful plot twists, The Road to Wellville is a "marvel, enjoyable from beginning to end," wrote Jane Smiley in the New York Times Book Review.

Quotes:

Opening quote: "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death. - Sylvester Graham, A Lecture on Epidemic Diseases"

"Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, inventor of the corn flake and peanut butter, not to mention caramel-cereal coffee, Bromose, Nuttolene and some seventy-five other gastrically correct foods, paused to level his gaze on the heavyset woman in the front row." opening sentence

"It was a typical Monday night at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, bastion of right thinking, vegetarianism and self improvement, citadel of temperance and dress reform, and, not coincidentally, the single healthiest spot on the planet." pg. 6

"Preaching dietary restraint and the simple life, he eased overweight housewives and dyspeptic businessmen along the path to enlightenment and recovery. Severe cases - the cancerous, the moribund, the mentally unbalanced and the disfigured - were rejected. The San's patients tended to be of a certain class, and they really had no interest in sitting across the dining table from the plebeian or the pedestrian or those who had the bad grace to be truly and dangerously ill." pg. 7

"And he [Dr. Kellogg] found the juice of each of those oysters to be almost identical to a teaspoon of, well, human urine." pg. 21

"While Eleanor was preaching the virtues of pure food and the simple life to a gaggle of her reform-minded friends....she was drugging her own husband. Sears' White Star Liquor Cure..." pg. 28-29

"No one got the better of John Harvey Kellogg, no one. He was the master of all he surveyed, Chief, king, confessor and patriarch to his thousands of dyspeptic patients and the forty-two children he and Ella had adopted over the years." pg. 37

"Dr. Kellogg, tidy son of a broom maker, not only believed in a diet rich in bulk and roughage to encourage the bowels to exonerate themselves, but he was a strict adherent to the five-enema-a-day regimen as well." pg. 62

"Twice a day, in addition to your postprandial enemas, you'll be getting a colonic injection of whey and Lactobacillus bulgaricus - that is, the yogurt bacterium, collected in Bulgaria expressly for the Sanitarium and available only here." pg. 118

The Egyptologist

The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips was originally published in 2004. My hardcover copy has 400 pages. This book was given to me. From the description and the reviews, I thought I would enjoy it. For example, the review from From Publishers Weekly at Amazon:

His story, set mostly in Egypt in the early 1920s, stars Ralph Trilipush, an obsessive Egyptologist. Trilipush is more than a little odd. He is pinning his hopes on purported king Atum-hadu, whose erotic verses he has discovered and translated; now he must locate his tomb and its expected riches. Meanwhile, an Australian detective, for reasons too complicated to go into, is seeking to unmask Trilipush, who may have had some relationship with a young Australian Egyptologist who died mysteriously. Trilipush and the detective are two quite unreliable narrators, and the effect is that of a hall of mirrors. Where does fact end and imagination, illusion and wishful thinking begin? Phillips is a master manipulator, able to assume a dozen convincingly different voices at will, and his book is vastly entertaining. It's apparent that something dire is afoot, but the reader, while apprehensive, can never quite figure out what. The ending, which cannot be revealed, is shocking and cleverly contrived.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sounds good, doesn't it? Alas, I just couldn't get into the book. At around page 90, I gave it up. I will never know if the twist at the end was truly shocking and clever. I think that I am not the target audience for this book and others will finish it and enjoy it. Rating: 0

Precious Dust

Precious Dust: The Saga of the Western Gold Rushes by Paula Mitchell Marks was originally published in 1994. My paperback copy is 448 pages, including the notes, bibliography, and index. In the opening of her book, Marks tells us that: "In tracing the impact of this experience on the seekers, the book also traces some of the broader implications of the gold rushes that galvanized western communities, whole regions, and the nation itself for over half a century....In addition, this narrative shows how the rushes both contributed to a distinctive frontier culture and exposed some of the tensions and paradoxes in American culture." pg. 14

There is also a special note about how Marks has chosen to organize her book:
"The first chapter provides a chronological overview of the rush decades. Then, because the journeys to the goldfields loomed large in many stampeders' experience, the next four chapters focus on the arduous 'getting there'; for clarity's sake in describing the various trails taken, I have made those chapter chronological as well."
"...in Chapter six...the general approach shifts from the chronological to the thematic in order better to explore the gold rushes as a whole in relationship to specific topics: The challenge of gleaning the gold and of life in the diggings; the growth of the gold rush urban areas; the problems of building communities...;the distinct treatment of and experiences of minorities; the complex home ties....and the presence, effect, and experiences of women in the rushes." pg. 16

The way in which the book is organized actually makes it much more interesting to the casual reader, although she has done a fine job writing material for the more scholarly readers as well, with the inclusion of notes and a bibliography. If you are interested in any of the gold rushes and their larger social implications, this book is highly recommended with a rating of 5.

Synopsis from cover:

The boom era began with the discovery of gold in California in 1848 and extended over fifty years to include the rushes in the Pikes Peak region in Colorado, the Black Hills of South Dakota, Alder Gulch in Montana, and the Yukon. Precious Dust humanizes the mad rush to these remote places.

Quotes:

" 'Put forth thy hand, reach at the glorious gold,' the Duchess of Gloucester urges her husband in Shakespeare's Henry VI. " opening sentence

"An estimated ninety thousand stampeders left the settled states for the California goldfields in 1849 alone. They were followed the next year by...and estimated eighty-five thousand." pg. 23

"Of the ninety-thousand gold seekers heading west in 1849, only and estimated forty thousand completed their journey to the Sierra Nevada mining districts. There most found the best claims already taken by the early comers of '48." pg. 30

"By one estimate, at least fifteen hundred cholera-stricken travelers died along the Overland Trail in 1849." pg. 56

"Of the thousands going by way of Cape Horn, only about fifty perished en route the first year, some by drowning, others as a result of scurvy and various illnesses." pg. 84

"...they experienced the truth of Robert Louis Stevenson's insight: 'To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.' " pg. 97

"An 1854 'Miners' Commandment' warned men that they were not to 'grow discouraged and think of going home' to fifty-cent-a-day wages when they might 'strike a lead and fifty dollars a day,' thus retaining their 'manly self-respect.' " pg. 155

"Perhaps the worst aspect of gold town conditions was the utter disregard of sanitary practices by the largely transient population. Sacrament was 'one great cesspool of mud, offal, garbage, dead animals and that worst of nuisances consequent upon the entire absence of outhouses.' " pg. 203

"Repeatedly, observers attested to the prevalence of the every-man-for-himself mentality." pg. 224

The Johnstown Flood

The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough was originally published in 1968. My paperback copy is 302 pages, including the lists of the victims, bibliography, and index. I originally read The Johnstown Flood years ago and felt it was time to again read McCullough's riveting, accessible, historical account of the tragedy. In his books, McCullough always does an excellent job covering the background, setting the tone for the time and place, and engrossing us in the history. This is an excellent account of the real 1889 disaster that has as much, if not more, compelling drama in it as any fiction book. Maps and photographs are included. Rating: 5

Synopsis from the cover:

At the end of the nineteenth century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation's burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal.

Graced by David McCullough's remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. This is a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are behaving responsibly.

Quotes:

"Again that morning there had been a bright frost in the hollow below the dam, and the sun was not up long before storm clouds rolled in from the southeast." opening sentence

"When the storm struck western Pennsylvania it was the worst downpour that had ever been recorded for that section of the country." pg. 21

"The city was built on a nearly level flood plain at the confluence of two rivers, down at the bottom of an enormous hole in the Alleghenies." pg. 24

"By the start of the 1880's Johnstown and its neighboring boroughs had a total population of about 15,000...On the afternoon of May 30, 1889, there were nearly 30,000 people living in the valley." pg. 28

"There appear to me two serious elements of danger in this dam. First, the want of a discharge pipe to reduce or take the water out of the dam for needed repairs. Second, the unsubstantial method of repair, leaving a large leak, which appears to be cutting a new embankment." [report by John Fulton in Nov. 1880] pg. 73

"The water [flooding from the rain]...was anywhere from two to ten feet deep. It was already higher than the '87 flood, making it, by noon at least, Johnstown's worst flood on record." pg. 82

"Sometime between noon and one o'clock a telegraph message came into the East Conemaugh dispatcher's tower [warning that the dam was liable to break]." pg. 87

"...later studies by civil engineers indicated that the water charged into the valley at a velocity and depth comparable to that of the Niagara River as it reaches Niagara Falls." pg. 102

"Most of the people in Johnstown never saw the water coming; they only heard it..." pg. 145

"But this time the new 'dam' would hold quite a little longer than the viaduct had and would cause still another kind of murderous nightmare. For when darkness fell, the debris at the bridge caught fire." pg. 149


*A personal aside concerning the Amazon reviewer who thought this account was a novel: you have made a case that some kind of rule, standard, or test should be administered before you can post a review.

winner

Hey! I actually won something!

Nah, it wasn't a spectacular $1,000,000 prize but it was a book from

http://exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much! I'm excited!

Now, Jane and I have privately wondered if all blogs that offer give aways, if you leave a comment, really do, in fact, give the item away. Or do they just SAY they are giving something away because they want to get a ton of comments or increase their number of readers.

It's nice to see a legitimate contest. I'm feeling very special, sort of like a princess... ok, maybe not a princess, but there was an extra special pizazz in my steps as I vacuumed today.

This should maybe stem back the tide of depressing books I was considering reading, like the current read, The Johnstown Flood.

Federal Bodysnatchers and the New Guinea Virus

Federal Bodysnatchers and the New Guinea Virus: Tales of People, Parasites, and Politics by Robert S. Desowitz was originally published in 2002. My hardcover copy is 242 pages, not including the index. The title refers to a legal case involving the patenting of a virus based on genetic information obtained from the Hagahai people of New Guinea. What this book actually covers is ten different essays by epidemiologist Desowitz. Desowitz is informative, humorous, passionate, but always knowledgeable about his topic. Actually my one problem with his book is one he noted in the prologue, he didn't include any bibliography of references. I guess I personally would have liked to see more of his information footnoted or referenced. Although other fans of non-fiction virus books may likely enjoy it more than this score suggests, I'm rating it a 3.9 as some of the essays were more interesting, compelling reading than others.

Synopsis from cover:

Twenty Years Ago The World Slept, confident that biomedical science would protect it from devastating plagues. Our wake-up call sounded at the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic. Then came other unfamiliar pathogens in its wake, among them the West Nile virus. Meanwhile, the neglected diseases of the third world, including malaria and African sleeping sickness, festered -- their victims salvageable only by unaffordable, patent-protected drugs. Robert S. Desowitz traces the histories of these diseases and the issues we must confront -- the morality and legality of patent laws covering biomedical "inventions," the effect of global warming on epidemics, the commercial relationships of publicly supported biomedical scientists and industry, and the growing dissociation of clinicians and public health professionals. The resolution of these issues, now under the terrifying shadow of bioterrorism, is essential for the well-being -- possibly even for the ultimate survival -- of the entire human species.

Quotes:

"By 1370 the Black Death had killed one-half of the English people." opening sentence

"...West Nile virus held some notable surprises. First, no one had suspected how common the infection would be...Second, no one had suspected how unfastidious the virus could be; it infected man, woman, beast and bird with equal ease." pg. 19

"The DNA sequencing methods that convict the rapist, exonerate the death-row inmate, or force the denying father to write child support checks can also be used to trace the lineage of viruses and other microbial pathogens." pg. 24

"If the West Nile virus is a curtain raiser to the arrival of a truly nasty alien pathogen, like the Ebola virus, then we are in big trouble if we are to depend upon government services to protect us..." pg. 28

"In 1994....the Clinton administration discovered that Mr. Hussein of Iraq possessed a tanker-full of botulism toxin and God knows what other deadly biologicals." pg. 32-33

"...ProMed (www.ProMEDmail.org) ...continues to monitor the West Nile Virus as well as other emerging infectious diseases." pg. 35

"So malathion is relatively safe but not innocuous. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to its toxic effects. Well, getting old is not for sissies, especially in Queens. First, you are at risk of catching... the West Nile fever; and if you escape the virus, you might become seriously ill from the malathion that is supposed to prevent you from catching it." pg. 47-48

"Now is the time to reexamine the state of public health in America." pg. 55

"Nothing has ever equaled DDT for that service [eliminating mosquitoes and disease carrying arthropods] and no essential public health measure has been so irrationally denied." pg. 59

"But that these assaults on the environment had also flowed from agricultural excesses never emerged in the discussion. The spraying of houses or the dusting of people for public health purposes never killed an osprey. The environmentalist wardens did not make that distinction (nor have they yet), and there was no voice of authority to come to DDT's defense." pg. 63

"In the 1950's Indian researchers demonstrated that tumeric, topically applied, promotes wound healing. Yet, in 1993, the U.S. Patent Office awarded the University of Mississippi Medical Center patent #5,401,504, 'Use of Tumeric in wound healing.' " Pg. 93

Plague War

Plague War by Jeff Carlson was originally published in August, 2008. My paperback copy has 289 pages. This is the sequel to the previously reviewed Plague Year. If you want to pursue this series, you really do need to read them in order. Plague Year was better than Carlson's Plague War. No rating on this book.

Synopsis from the cover:

Earth has been ravaged by the machine plague, a nanotech virus that exterminates all warm blooded organisms below altitudes of ten thousand feet. The remains of humanity cling to life on isolated mountain peaks around the world.

Nanotech researcher Ruth Goldman has developed a vaccine with the potential to inoculate the world's survivors against the plague, but the fractured U.S. government will stop at nothing to keep it for itself. Determined to share the cure, Ruth and Cam Najarro, a man who lived through the aftermath of the plague at great personal cost, must brave the devastated wasteland America has become.

Together they begin a cross-country odyssey during which they will encounter both the best and the worst in human nature - unaware that an even greater threat is poised to strike.

Quotes:

"Ruth kicked her way through another tangle of bones, stumbling when her foot caught in a fractured chunk of ribs and vertebrae." opening sentence

"A lot of survivors called it Plague Year, or Year One, but it wasn't only human history that had crashed in the long fourteen months since the machine plague. The invisible nanotech devoured all warm-blooded life below ten thousand feet elevation." pg. 5

"...Ruth and other top researchers became sure they could put together a nano capable of protecting the body from within, like a vaccine... The Leadville government thought the situation was far too gone to simply share this new technology and trust in any peace. Overseas, starving armies ate each other's dead and kept prisoners like cattle, and there had been atrocities here as well." pg. 6

"Up here the air was frigid and thin. Every survivor has acclimated to elevation or they hadn't survived, but headaches and nausea were very common among the population in Leadville, and that was down near ten thousand feet." pg. 51