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Julie Salamon's Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God and Diversity on Steroids
by Liberry Shortstack
Julie Salamon’s Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God and Diversity on Steroids came across my radar just as a relative’s experience with the American medical establishment personalized some of the issues in the book. The author humanizes the major players—the patients, doctors, and administrators—of a hospital in an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. And at the same time, Salamon highlights the “business” of being a hospital that generates a profit—hospital business is the same as any other business, we learn. Egos, income, demand, and marketing, it’s the same everywhere. Salamon manages to make her major players likeable characters, approachable, and human, all while exploring the contradictions involved in “hospital” business.
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45 Years Ago Today Martin Luther King, Jr. Had a Dream
by amy
This week and next week you will hear many speeches (including tonight, Barack Obama's acceptance speech as the Democratic nominee), but 45 years ago today, in a 15-minute speech captured here on YouTube, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of the greatest orations of the 20th century, a hopeful vision during one of the most fractious periods of American social history that has since served as a rallying point for our country's better nature.
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Shopping for School Supplies…?
by Beth Manuel
…While you’re at it, how about picking up a few extra items for the kids served by the Education Project for Homeless Youth? EPHY serves 10 school districts and 9 public academies in Washtenaw County. Learn more about this agency and others like it by visiting this site.
You can also help by donating your Boxtops for Education, found on General Mills products & Kleenex tissue. Children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population in the U.S. Let’s give ALL of our community’s children the right start when school begins this Fall.
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August 11th - Happy Birthday Alex Haley!
by darla
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was born on August 11, 1921 in Ithaca, New York. As a young boy, Alex Haley learned of his African ancestor, Kunta Kinte, by listening to the family stories of his maternal grandparents while spending his summers in Henning, Tennessee. According to family history, Kunta Kinte landed with other Gambian Africans in "Naplis" (Annapolis, Maryland) where he was sold into slavery. Alex Haley's quest to learn more about his family history resulted in his writing the Pulitzer Prize winning book Roots. The book has been published in 37 languages, and was made into the first week-long television mini-series, viewed by an estimated 130 million people. Roots also generated widespread interest in genealogy and eventually helped spawn the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation.
Other Haley publications include many well received Playboy interviews (including Martin Luther King, Jr.), his first major book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, A Different Kind of Christmas, a 1990 book about the underground railroad, and Queen, the story of Haley's paternal ancestors. Perhaps one of Alex Haley's greatest gifts was in speaking. He was a fascinating teller of tales. In great demand as a lecturer, both nationally and internationally, he was on a lecture tour in Seattle, Washington when he suffered a heart attack and died in February 1992.
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Prolific poverty expert chosen by U-M
by annevm
A leading expert on poverty and women's issues will become dean of the U-M School of Social Work, if U-M regents approve. Laura Lein, of the University of Texas, was chosen as the new dean, according to a U-M press release. Read more in The Ann Arbor News.
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Finally! It IS easy to be green!
by darla
If you are like me, you are interested in being more socially responsible, like going beyond simple recycling and doing your part to help save our planet for future generations, but you don't have lots of money and time to devote to "going green". Sound familiar? If so, then you need to get yourself a copy of Renee Loux's Easy green living. This lifestyle guide is PACKED with information about the simple, affordable choices we can make to avoid toxins, conserve natural resources and generally be more eco-smart. Whether you choose to take tiny baby steps or completely overhaul your wasteful self, you will find the answers you need. One of my favorite easy eco-tips is the following: "About 100 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water are used annually to produce the 5.8 million tons of catalogs and unsolicited wads of preapproved credit card offers and other junk that arrive at our homes - 44 percent of which are thrown away unopened....Stop credit card offers. Go to www.optoutprescreen.com, where the consumer credit report industry lets you opt out of receiving preapproved and prescreened credit card offers." Now imagine if we all did that!
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #119
by muffy
In Finding Nouf*, young, privileged Nouf disappears just before her wedding. Her wealthy Saudi family first hires desert tracker Nayir al-Sharqi to find her and then to investigate her death discreetly.
Nayir, a conservative Palestinian Muslim finds it difficult to traverse the world of women, especially with Katya Hijazi - an intelligent, insightful female medical examiner, and his unexpected ally in the investigations.
Debut novelist Zoë Ferraris, who has lived in Saudi Arabia, "gets deep inside Nadir’s and Katya’s very different perspectives, giving a fascinating glimpse into the workings and assumptions of Saudi society." As a mystery, it's fairly well-turned, "but it's the characters and setting that sparkle". An utterly gripping read.
* = Starred Reviews
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Brothers, Sisters, Life and Death
by annevm
Apples and Oranges by Marie Brenner is an artfully constructed memoir that calls attention to an astounding number of life issues, including sibling issues. What drew me to the book was that my older brother gave it to me, but what kept me reading was the author’s sharp reporting and frankness. A chorus of favorable reviews is here.
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #112
by muffy
Malaysian Preeta Samarasan scores high marks with critics for her debut Evening is the Whole Day*.
This impressive novel is based on an earlier version that won the 2005-6 Avery and Jule Hopwood Awards while Preeta Samarasan (check out her website) was a graduate student at The University of Michigan.
On the outskirts of Ipoh (Malaysia), The Rajasekharans, a wealthy Indian family, suffers a series of personal and familial tragedies that begin with the death of the matriach, Paati, and the disgraceful dismissal of a young servant girl. Most affected by all of the uproar is 6 year-old Aasha, who is harboring a secret that could further devastate not only her family, but the entire community.
Samarasan "scores impressively with the creation of an intimate, gossipy omniscient narrative voice that's the perfect vehicle for her slowly unfloding, intricately layered story".
For fans of Kiran Desai and Arundhati Roy.
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Insight into Amish Culture
by ecria7
Although it is an older release, Randy-Michael Testa's After the Fire: Destruction of the Lancaster County Amish (1992) is an interesting read which provides insight into the lifestyles of the Amish. The book can be easily paired with the movie Witness (1985), yet another older release showcasing Harrison Ford. Both pieces are good for illustrating a picture of Amish living; however, Testa's book is the product of his thesis work and can be somewhat statistical at times. The book was written while Testa lived within the Lancaster community, among one of the Amish families, and it is helpful to read the book's forward. For more information on one of the major issues discussed in the book, feel free to also check out this website http://www.stoltzfusfarmrestaurant.com/, but read the book first!