Divored Tucson Man Finds 101 Uses for His Ex-Wife’s Wedding Gown, plus Other NonFiction Books
by Larry Cox on Oct. 10, 2011, under UncategorizedPirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests, and Captivity in the 17th Century Mediterranean by Adrian Tinniswood (Riverhead Books, $26.95 hardback, $16 softbound)
Adrian Tinniswood, an author based in Bath, England, has written more than a dozen books including “By Permission of Heaven: The Story of the Great Fire of London,” “The Arts & Crafts House,” and “His Invention so Fertile: A Life of Christopher Wren.” What makes his books so intriguing is his grasp of history and the way he places it in context. Put another way, his writing style is crisp and makes even remote history accessible and relevant.
According to Tinniswood, piracy helped rewrite history in a most incredible way. During the 17th century, pirates dominated the northern coastal waters of Africa which helped trigger a growing rift between Christendom and Islam, black and white, and Europeans and Africans. How piracy brought about this upheaval is the subject of this fascinating book. Who these privates were, where they came from, and how they operated are all documented in fascinating detail.
As Tinniswood explains, “Pirates are history.” The governments of England, Spain, France, and Venice clashed with pirates in the waters of the Mediterranean and the fierce battles that ensued helped frame the religious, racial, and moral divisions that exist in the world even today. This is historical reporting backed by exceptional writing which is concise, informative, and entertaining.
Secrets of Warfare: Exposing the Myths and Hidden History of Weapons and Battles by William Weir (New Page, $15.99)
William Weir has written 13 previous books, mostly about military history and crime. In “Secrets of Warfare,” the author explores battles from the ancient world and exposes many of the myths that he claims have kept the public misinformed about warfare. These myths include the beliefs that Union troops always outnumbered the Confederate forces, Harry Truman desegregated the Armed Forces in 1948, Dwight Eisenhower ended the Korean Conflict, the majority of the troops in Vietnam were minorities, and Custer’s stand was his last because the Indians had repeaters. This is a fresh take on warfare that is meticulously researched and highly readable.
Verdi’s Shakespeare: Men of the Theater by Garry Wills (Viking, $25.95)
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Garry Wills examines three operas based on Shakespeare plays — Macbeth, Othello, and Falstaff. The intense working relationships that Shakespeare and Verdi had with performers and producers of their work reveal that the two men often worked in similar ways and under conditions that were almost identical. For example, both men produced two major theatrical works a year during their most intense times and were engaged in other poetic or musical projects as well as managerial and directorial work along the way. Theirs was a hands-on life on the stage which was never more obvious than during the three works featured.
How Shakespeare and Verdi fought with their favorite artists, their bankrollers, and even their closest friends sometimes even complicated their romantic lives with the end result being the stuff of grand opera.
Catfish Bottom: recovering a Lost Kentucky Community by Douglas A. Boyd with a foreword by W. Fitzhugh Brundage (University Press of Kentucky, $35)
When a neighborhood is demolished in the name of urban renewal or “slum clearance,” it is a great deal like ripping pages from a history book. After the wrecking crews, a slice of our past is lost in the rubble and gone forever. In Tucson, it was the downtown barrio which was replaced by the Tucson convention complex, demolishing some of the oldest and most historical private dwellings in the city. During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, it happened in major cities throughout the country. In North Frankfort, Kentucky, it was the lower part of the city which was known by several names including “Crawfish Bottom,” “the Craw”, and often just “Craw.”
Covering about fifty acres, Crawfish Bottom gained a reputation for being a hotbed of prostitution, rampart alcohol abuse, and crime. In saloons with such colorful names as the Blue Moon, and the Peachtree Inn, prostitutes including Ida Howard and “Mountain Mary” worked.
Between 1958 and 1984, the area was progressively destroyed, the victim of so-called progress. Even though Craw was immersed in poverty, it was also home to quite a number of people, mostly people of color. The neighborhood provided both strength and a cohesiveness that seemed to defy all odds. Douglas A. Boyd has written a lively book about Crawfish Bottoms through extensive research and personal narratives. This is a fascinating book that documents the loss that occurred when Craw was destroyed.
The Second Book of General Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is (Still) Wrong by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson (Crown, $19.95)
In this follow-up to the New York Times bestseller, “The Book of General Ignorance,” Lloyd and Mitchinson, the co-creators and writers for the popular British television quiz show, QI, more common mistakes, misconceptions, and misunderstandings are collected featuring some of the most outrageous, fascinating, and mind-bending facts we thought we knew.
Consider the following: oranges aren’t really orange, English isn’t the official language of the United States, Napoleon wasn’t short, diamonds are not the hardest substance, bats aren’t blind, and banknotes aren’t made of paper.
This is a fun book that deserves a place on your bedside table. In addition to trivia and obscure facts, there is sharp wit and old-fashioned fun.
Quite Enough of Calvin Trilling: Forty Years of Funny Stuff by Calvin Trilling (Random House, $27)
Calvin Trilling is one of our most gifted humorists and equating him to Mark Twain wouldn’t be too far off the mark.
For more than forty years, Trilling has been an important part of our modern culture. He appeared in a one-man Off Broadway show, wrote “deadline” poetry for The Nation magazine, published several dozen books, many bestsellers, and has been called the man behind “simply the funniest regular column in journalism” by USA Today.
In his latest book, Trilling has selected many of his better pieces and arranged them in several chapters including “The Media – Liberal Elite and Otherwise,” “Family Matters,” “NYC,” “Foreigners,” “English and Some Languages I Don’t Speak,” and my personal favorite, “Beasts of the Field, Fish of the Sea, and Chiggers in the Tall Grass.”
Some of his poems are brief such as “The Effect on His Campaign of the Release of George W. Bush’s College Transcript” which has just two lines:
“Obviously on he sails,
With marks not quite as good as Quayles.”
Other poems by Trilling are, of course, longer but equally pointed, for example “Cheney’s Head: An Explanation.”
As Trilling observes, “The average shelf life of a book is somewhere between milk and yogurt…Books by Dan Brown or Danielle Steel may have a little longer shelf life, but they contain preservatives.” Let’s hope the wit and humor of Trilling lives forever.
101 Uses for My Ex-Wife’s Wedding Dress by Kevin Cotter (New American Library, $14)
When Kevin Cotter’s wife left him, she was so fed up with the marriage she didn’t even pause to get her wedding dress. Trying to decide what he could do with it, he began to come up with a number of ideas including using it as a Day of the Dead costume, an oil rag for the car, a dog bed, a grill cover and even the tulle as a pasta strainer. You get the idea. Divorce can be painful but the humor in this nifty little book will at least make it a little more tolerable.
Cotter, who lives in Tucson, also has a website, myexwifesweddingdress.com. His book is fully illustrated and has a happy ending. After his divorce, he eventually found a new partner and is living happily ever after in the Old Pueblo.
