The Nazi’s Granddaughter: How I Discovered My Grandfather was a War Criminal by Sylvia Foti was the fulfillment of a pledge Foti made to her dying mother to write a memoir of the author’s highly esteemed grandfather, Lithuanian general and national hero Jonas Noreika. Foti grew up in the Lithuanian community of Chicago, sustained by …
Continue reading Autobiography and memoir for intimate summer reading
This week marks the 50th anniversary of hip hop music, and many platforms, including National Public Radio and the New York Times, are celebrating the phenomenon. For those of us immersed in or more comfortable with Beethoven, the Beatles, Mahalia Jackson or Peter, Paul and Mary, the wonderment should not be underestimated. In fact, I …
Continue reading The birth of hip hop, and how it grew and grew and grew
Reading books year-round is life-enhancing, but reading in summertime seems especially to be savored. Here are some non-fiction selections. The First Kennedys: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty by Neal Thompson will fascinate anyone intrigued by the immigrant experience, Irish roots, old-time urban ward bosses and Boston politics in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. …
When you're done reading James H. Barron's new sweeping biography and political thriller, "The Greek Connection," (shameless plug!) here are some other non-fiction possibilities for the last weeks of summer. Not everything has to be about Donald Trump! The Yellow House by Sarah Broom is a memoir of a New Orleans writer, the youngest of …
Continue reading Not too late for end-of-summer reading, pt. 1 non-fiction
When the statue of Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, it was easy to join the chorus of cheers. He was a repressive tyrant who killed an estimated 250,000 of his own people. Easy, too, was the destruction of statues of Communist dictator Joseph Stalin, responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians …
Continue reading Statues of limitations: which stay, which go
Politics isn't everything. On a holiday like July 4th, celebrating our nation's independence and its brilliant founding documents, it is tempting to recount the myriad ways that our President has trampled on the promises made therein. Unsparingly, he sucks the joy out of our lives, most recently yesterday at Mt. Rushmore standing before the greats …
During our sheltering from the COVID-19 virus, reading can provide a meaningful escape from the constant hand washing, planning our grocery orders and listening to the news. The following are some of my recent immersions in fiction and non-fiction. FICTION An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is an extraordinary novel about an upwardly mobile young …
Continue reading Books to consider in flight from viral infection
There are so many good things that are happening as we adjust to the scary new normal of hunkering down, staying at home. But every time I listen to the President at a White House COVID-19 task force press conference I am simultaneously repelled and outraged, and the good things happening on the ground slip …
Continue reading COVID-19 crisis: silver linings and rot at the top
My last blog warned about the need to separate reliable COVID-19 information from misinformation, whether intentional or unintentional, and rumor. Last week an esteemed British scientist passed on a podcast to my brother-in-law, who shared it with me. I vetted it as best I could and now share it with my readers. Joe Rogan is …
Continue reading An infectious disease expert speaks: worth a listen
Everyone has an opinion on how serious is the WHO-identified pandemic coronavirus. Many share guidance on how to deal with it. Far fewer share evidence-based science. Disturbing though it may be, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised at how much our assessments divide on partisan lines. According to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll: unease is strongly …
Continue reading Beware coronavirus misinformation, well-intentioned or not
Marjorie Arons-Barron 