non-fiction – The Spine View

The Ride of her Life by Elizabeth Letts

This is the fascinating true story of one women’s dream to see the Pacific Ocean and how she, along with her dog, fulfills it by riding across America on her horse. A truly heartwarming story about one women’s determination and experiences on this epic journey. Highly entertaining and informative!

Annie Wilkins is 63 and her health is failing. She has worked hard all of her life and yet has little to show for it. She has hardly any money and she is on the cusp of losing her home. She feels she has nothing to lose; therefore, she buys a horse, a Morgan named Tarzan, packs a few belongings and heads out on the road alone with no one but her dog Depeche Toi.

She plans to ride from her hometown of Minot, Maine all the way to California. California is a long way from Maine, even in a car! Yet, Annie is undaunted. Despite the lack of money she sets out with purpose. She plans to sleep in barns and stop when needed to work to raise money along the way. She soon discovers that hospitality is still abundant in America. More often than not, she usually can find someone willing to stable her horse and even provide a hot meal and bed.

As she slowly winds her way across the country she meets all kinds of people who offer her assistance. Sometimes just a simple meal, other times it might be shoes for her horse and even a second horse to help carry the load. The media picks up her story and people everywhere want her to stop in their town. She finds herself giving interviews to newspapers, lectures to civil clubs and participating in parades throughout her journey.

I am truly amazed at the feat she managed to accomplish. I have been a rider all my life and currently own a horse that I enjoy immensely and my bum hurts just thinking about all the miles she did in a saddle and without the luxury of a fancy gel saddle cushion. She embodies the very idea of a pioneer woman. What a truly amazing individual!

What I loved about this story was Annie’s tenacity, indomitable spirit and love for her 4 legged friends. In addition, I found this to be well researched and loved all the history that the author included about the places Annie visited and the people she meet.

The author truly did justice to Annie’s story and there is something in this book for everyone. I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoy true stories around strong women.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Test Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of a Modern Astronaut by Nicholas Schmidle

Test Gods by Nicholas Schmidle is not only about Virgin Galactic and their race to become the first private company to offer space tourism. It is also a story about the test pilots, mainly Mark Stucky, who are working towards making this a reality. Well researched and rich with detail about Virgin, its people and its mission. It made me long to have the financial resources to one day be a space tourist.

The author was embedded with Virgin Galactic for four years and was given unprecedented access to engineers, test pilots and others who were, and continue to be, instrumental in making Richard Branson’s dream of space tourism come true. Therefore, the reader gets an unusually in-depth look at the day-to-day operations of the company. He is frank in reporting both the failures and the triumphs and I appreciate that he did not paint everything in a rosy light.

There is a lot of technical details in this story and as a non-technical person I appreciate that the author did not bore me with too much of it. For me, it was just the right amount of information that I understand (mostly) what the author was trying to explain. However, I get that there are some technical people out there who may feel the explanations were lacking. Let me point out that the intended audience is the general reading populous who is undoubtedly as ignorant about the tech side of space as I am. I just happen to be a reader who is fascinated with all things space and I got just the right amount of story to tech for my tastes. Kudos to the author for that one!

If you enjoyed Michener’s novel Space, then this is a book for you. Filled with lots of first-hand accounts and tidbits that only someone close to the operations would know. I found it fascinating. I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

I found this book to be a mixed bag. It was part humorous commentary on himself and his friend, and hiking partner, Katz and it was part a lesson on the AT and its flora and fauna. So to really enjoy this book you must like both kinds of writing, or at least be open to it.

Personally, I liked both. I always enjoy learning something when I read. Therefore, I found the “teaching” parts of the book interesting and informative. They were not overly long and were interspersed throughout the entire book so that the story never became bogged done with it.

The actual tale of his trek through the woods with Katz was humorous. But it was also introspective at times. He does not shy away from his own failings in this adventure. He notes that very early in the first day of hiking he realizes just how woefully unprepared he is. Yet he and Katz struggle on.

In the end, Bryson and Katz ended up not being through hikers as planned, but section hikers. It seems Bryson could not stand the Great Smokies section. He and Katz mutually decided to skip over most of the NC section of the AT and rejoined the trail in Virginia. They did a similar thing further north on the trail.

Even though they only hiked around 800 miles, less than half the total distance of the trail, Bryson had many stories to tell. His musings on the possibility of being mauled by a bear and the encounter with Mary Ellen, a lone hiker in the first days of the trek, were among my favorites. Katz tossing food and other equipment (twice) in an effort to lighten the load was another favorite.

While I wished he had hiked the entire trail, if for no other reason as to have more fodder for stories, he portrayed it honesty and with mirth. A very enjoyable read indeed. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Voices From the Past: A year of great quotations by W. B. Marsh

I am a history buff and Voices From the Past by W. B. Marsh is the perfect book to satisfy that craving for history and knowledge. As the title suggests, it is a quote per day from well-known historical figures such as Napoleon and Julius Caesar. Each quote is followed by a brief history lesson on the origin of the quote.

On the aesthetics side, I loved that the book is well indexed. Several times I used it to look up quotes I had read and wanted to refresh my memory on. The layout is nicely done also. I particularly liked that the book has a satin ribbon to mark your place or a particular quote you like.

As for the quotes themselves, I found them interesting and they represented a large span of time. The author put a lot of thought into the ones that were included in this book. Quotes are a dime a dozen. All you have to do is look on any website about quotes and it will usually contain thousands of them. However, as a rule, they do not have the interesting historical tidbits behind them. And the tidbits is what makes them so fascinating and why I enjoyed this book so much.

I highly recommend this book for any quote and/or history lover. It would make a great gift. Also, it looks nice on my coffee table and has started a few conversations.

I received a free copy from the publisher, via LibraryThing’s early reviewer program, in exchange for my honest review.

Three Sheets to the Wind: The Nautical Origins of Everyday Expressions by Cynthia Barrett

I loved, Three Sheets to the Wind by Cynthia Barrett. It is now a coffee table book at my lake house. Guests never fail to remark about this book. Everyone is surprised by the numbers of everyday expressions that have a nautical background.

One of my favorites is posh. This little word of luxury came about when wealthy Europeans where traveling to and from the Orient by ship. Without air conditioning a ship quickly got hot and stuffy. Therefore, wealthy individuals would select the more expensive cabins that did not get the sun on the port side of the ship when travel to their destination and starboard side traveling back home. Thus the acronym P.O.S.H. standing for portside out, starboard side home.

There are lots of terms that are just as interesting, too many to mention them all. Each term has the origin, the modern definition and an illustration from literature. In summary, this little gem of a book is quirky, funny, educational and thoroughly entertaining!

If you are fascinated by the origins of our language or are a sailing/nautical enthusiasts this is the book for you. Maybe you are a book nerd like me, then you too will enjoy. It has started many a wordy conversation in my house. Thanks to the author for my free copy.

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell

This picture book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, honors the Cherokee way of being grateful for the many blessings received. In a sense, it is a celebration of all things Cherokee. The author, being Cherokee herself, has brought her special brand of insight to the views of her people and how they celebrate throughout the year.

It is beautifully illustrated by Frane` Lessac in the folk art tradition. The colors are vivid, imaginative and want to jump off the page. You can see that special care was given to each scene depicted in order to make this book special.

I liked that the text is in both English and in Cherokee and how the author explained the Cherokee celebrations in such a way that all can understand. There is really not a plot here. It read more like a commentary, which I am not faulting, because it is a picture book after all.

This is a lovely picture book for ages 3 to 8 years that is thoughtfully done. My granddaughter and I have already read it several times and I think this will be one of her favorites. I highly recommend this to all young readers. I received a free copy from the author at BEA in exchange for my honest opinion.

Fearless Mary by Tami Charles

Fearless Mary by Tami Charles (illustrated by Claire Almon) is a nonfiction early reader about Mary Fields the first African American Woman to drive a stage coach. It is an incredible story about a larger than life figure that helped pave the way for others of color and women in general.

The story tells how Mary Fields, a former slave, hitched horses faster than any man to be awarded the job of stage coach driver. It also gives us a glimpse of what it was like to be a stage coach driver. The daily challenges Mary would have faced and the pride she took in doing her job.

The whole book was thoughtful done. While it is nonfiction mixed with fiction, the story is presented in such a way that all young readers will enjoy. The illustrations are well done and suit the story nicely. I think most young readers will connect with Mary in some way. We need more role models like her today.

I recommend this book to young readers (6 to 10) who are interested in the history of the American West and African American history. The book is appropriate for readers as young as 6; yet, because of the subject matter some older readers may also enjoy. I think it will especially appeal to girls because the story has such a positive message about women and women of color and Mary is such a strong female character that young girls will identify with.

I received a free copy at BEA from the author in exchange for my honest review.