reviews

Everyday Heroes? Author: Diane Ackerman We’ve all heard the story behind The Zookeeper's Wife, a non-fictionalized account of a couple during World War II Nazi occupied Poland who managed to save hundreds of lives by hiding refugees in plain sight. Jan and Antonina Zabinski loved animals and zoo keeping, forming special, deep relationships with critters ranging from elephants to badgers. When bombs and marauding Nazi officials with a yen for fake game hunting desolate their zoo, the couple finds their home continually invaded and used by the German army – sometimes as a zoo, sometimes as a barracks, sometimes as an [...]

Old rocks, new story... Author:  Steve Brusatte I have a confession to make.   I’m the kind of guy who gladly drives a thousand miles (one way) to visit a dinosaur museum in the middle of Wyoming for a long weekend.  While that might make my perspective a bit warped, I really don’t think that you have to be a complete dinosaur fanatic to enjoy The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs.  But I can also say that it doesn’t hurt one bit.  Written by Steve Brusatte, a dinosaur aficionado who has managed to go pro, the book presents a thoroughly [...]

Thy Will Be Done Author: Jan Karon Spring is approaching, the birds are twittering in the trees, Cynthia is stressing about the annual tea, and Father Tim is preparing to face his ultimate fear – retirement. On the surface, Mitford is both bustling and serene as the usual, slow-paced days ease into one another. Love and understanding soothes the fights and feuds of living, and yet, there is something long ranging and dark on the horizon. Several somethings actually, and not all of them relate to Father Tim’s bittersweet retirement. Long-time mayor Ester Cunningham, formerly beloved, is being steadily usurped [...]