Book Review: Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War

Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War: How the North Used the Telegraph, railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Iron-Clads, High-Powered Weapons and More to Win the Civil War, by Thomas B. Allen and Roger MacBride Allen, National Geographic, Washington, D.C., 2009.

This book is more than just a talk of the weapons used in the war, although it does provide some of that information.  It is also a description of some of the action in the war.  For example, it has a very good description of the first armored naval battle, between the Monitor and the Merrimack or CSS Virginia.  The Virginia had her day against the Union wooden fleet the first day, but because she had a heavy draw, low-tide was her enemy and she had to withdraw.  The Captain and crew expected to return the next day and finish a job on the wood ships, after sinking one and damaging a couple more the previous day.  However, a new ship, a raft with a barrel on top, met them the next day, in defense of the wooden vessels.   This was the Monitor, with the first turreted gun in history.  The battle proved a draw, with both sides trying to ram the others, and causing some damage to the iron sheeting.  However, again the Virginia had to withdraw because of the tide, and nothing was resolved; except the Union fleet was now safe.  Neither of these vessels was very sea worthy, and their predecessors would be better vessels.  They did usher in a new age of sea warfare. 

Other chapters of interest; balloon reconnaissance should have been more successful than it was.  However, McClellan always but more faith in his detectives than the information from the balloons, and they soon fell out of favor. 

Advances in rifles gave the union a big advantage.  Breech loading weapons could shoot more rapidly with the same accuracy.  Rifling made traditional warfare obsolete, as generals discovered early in the war, with excessive casualties. 

Other technology includes advances in canon, use of rail and telegraph. 

Book Review: Celebrating Halloween

Celebrating Halloween by: Wendy Mass, Enslow Publishers Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, 2006.

 

This is a very complete book about the history of Halloween, in fact it may be a little too complete.  It does bring in a lot of different celebrations, similar to Halloween and making memorial of the deceased into the discussion.  It also talks about the period of vandalism which accompanied Halloween before Halloween turned more to a party and trick or treating like today.   Many different celebration have come to mark Halloween, including Druid influence, Roman influence, Catholic and Church of England influences.  The story of Jack who was abandoned between heaven and hell, the story of Guy Fawkes, who attempted to blow up parliament, the significance of bonfires and pumpkins.  This book talks about the part mischief making played, as well as the part of costumes.  This started as an attempt to make yourself look like a spirit so the spirits wouldn’t bother you.  It has also been influenced by masquerades, and more recently people have costumes of their favorite character. 

Book Review: Halloween

Halloween: A True Book by Dana Meachen Rau, Children's Press, NY, 2001.
This book mostly goes over some of the same stuff, but I think I understand more about the name "Jack" as related to Halloween.  This book is good at pointing out the progression.  The Celts, who lived a 2500 -2000 years ago and inhabited much of Europe, had October 31 as the last day of the year.  They believed it was the day spirits could come back o life==both bad and good spirits.  They would trick the spirits by dousing their fire at home.  The would big a large communal bonfire.  They would wear masks to trick thee spirits into thinking they were also spirits.  In the morning, everyone would take some embers to restart the fire in their home.
The Romans entered the mix when they conquered the Celts.  They had a holiday at about the same time of year which honored the goddess of fruit.  They would eat nuts and fruits.  The game of apple bobbing comes from the Romans.
The Catholic Church also had an influence.  They tried to do away with the holiday, and where unsuccessful.  They combined it with all Saints day followed by All Souls day.  Latin culture honors their dead with day of the dea, where they take cakes to their deceased relations. 
Finally the Irish give us the Jack o' lantern.  Jack was a cunning man, but also not a good man.  WHen the Devil came for him, he tricked the devil.  When he eventually died, he couldn't go to heave.  He wasn't a good man.  The devil would not have him either.  So he was left to wander.  They devil did give him a charcoal for his lantern, which he made from a hallow turnip.  Today we hallow pumpkin which work better than turnips. 

Movie Review: Death Valley

Death Valley: National Geographic: National Parks Collection
I wanted to get some incredible views of Death Valley.  Instead I got a global warming lesson.  What would happen if Death Valley rose two degrees.  Its species of plants are already on the brink of endurance.   When will we ever learn?  This lesson was reiterated in talking of sand dunes, plants and the Devil's Hole Pup Fish, which lives in the aquifer underneath the dessert. 
Some cool things shown, crystals in caves, the exploration of the aquifer, the moaning sand dunes.  Apparently sound waves get trapped in the upper level of sand, and is echoed and reverberated.  It was pretty cool.  The sand dunes also move and change location. 
Information about scorpions.  I didn't realize some are cold blooded and some hot blooded.  Change in temperature may change the balance. 
This movie seemed to be an agrandizement of scientist, who are better than the rest of us who don't care about global warming.  If the National Geographic series is all like this, I will have to leave them on the shelf.

Book Review: Horrible Hauntings

Horrible Hauntings by Shirin Yim Bridges, illustrated by William Maughan, Goosebottom Books, Foster City, CA., 2012.

This is basically a ghost story book.  It is interesting to read about ghosts, many of whom were prominent people.  These include Abraham Lincoln.  He has haunted the White House, and among those who have seen him are Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who fainted; and Winston Churchill while dressing who responded, “You have me at a disadvantage, Sir!”

Prince Edward and his younger brother, who were killed by their uncle King Richard.  (Actually Edward was the king, but deemed too young to rule, and Richard was ruling in his stead, and didn’t want to relinquish the throne.  They haunt the Tower of London.

Whalley Abbey is haunted by a whole abbey of priests, with their Abbot Paslew who was executed for treason.  They haunt the old abandoned abbey.

There are several different headless horsemen.  Of course the most famous is he of Sleepy Hollow, he did away with Ichabod Crane with the use of his pumpkin head.  There are several others, someof whom carry their head under their arm.

Katherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII haunts the gallery of Hamptom Palace.  She met the same fate as her cousin Anne Boleyn, who was the King’s second wife.  Being a wife of King Henry the VIII must have been risky business.  In her haunt she is seeking the King, who denies her.  She was taken to the tower and then met her fate on the chopping block.

Book Review: Pocahontas: A Life in Two Worlds

Pocahontas: A Life in Two Worlds by Victoria Garret Jones, Sterling Publishing, New York, 2010.

This is a fascinating book telling the life of Pocahontas, but also the history of Jamestown, Captain John Smith and well as her father Powhatan and his people.  The relationship between the Native Americans and the people at Jamestown varies from year to year.  It is very likely the settlement would not have taken hold without the help of the Native Americans.  However there were times when they were at open war. 

Pocahontas befriended John Smith and the people at Jamestown.  She intervened on several occasions in their behalf, saving John Smith’s life at least a couple of times.  She once saved his head from being bashed in, and another time warned him and his men of Powhatan’s intent to kill them so they could escape.  Even so, John Smith was made an adoptive son, and adoptive brother of Pocahontas.  However, he returned to England after being badly burned by gun powder.  For her part, Pocahontas thought he had been killed.

Pocahontas was tricked and taken hostage.  This was to manipulate her father into trading with the Jamestown settlers, as they relied on food from the American Indians.  During this time, Pocahontas converted to Christianity.  However, if she had her gull choice, one has to wonder if she would have converted.  She married John Rolfe.  With him she traveled to England, and was honored as a princess. 

However, the moist weather wasn’t good for her health.  They decided to return, but her health failed her.  They began their journey, but took to land in Gravesend because of the health of Pocahontas.  Here she would pass away.  Her son Thomas was also ill, but he would survive.  He would become a tobacco farmer like his father, using lands inherited form his grandfather Powhatan.

Escapers: Jan Baalsrud; Norway

This is a chapter in the book Incredible Journey by Readers Digest.  Jan Baalsrud was a member of a group of four men, who were of Norwegian descent.  They were places in Norway by the British in hopes of disrupting Nazi occupied Norway.  Instead, they were confronted upon landing, and all but Baalsrud were killed.  Baalsrud was able to escape up a draw in the snow away from the ocean, by killing a Nazi officer and wounding another man.  This was the start of a harrowing journey of escape, which endangered the lives of all those who helped him; but they still did help him. He was forced to swim from island to isand, until he came upon a situation where they could take him in.   He finally made the mainland.  He had been given a pair of skies to move more quickly.  His goal was to cross the Lyngen Alps.  However he was unsuccessful and was found delirious by Marius Gonnvold, who nursed him back to health.  He was placed in a hidden hut, which the nazis did not know of, to recuperate.  However a hut trapped him in the hut, without assistance for several days, and he almost died.  His goal was to make Sweden.  He had to cross a plain, and he set out with the promise of men meeting him.  However a bad storm trapped him.  He was placed behind a rock which provided some protection form the storm.  The men left him, thinking the men would come to get him.  However they did not come, they were delayed by the Nazis who were looking for Ballsrud.  he was buried in the snow.  All of his toes froze.  He did self amputations with his knife and brandy as anesthetic.  He was able to breath under the snow because it was fresh and not compacted.  Groonvold again found him where he had been left.  Baalsrud could not travel of his own accord.  He was placed in a sled and taken across the field to Sweden.  They had to cross a dangerous lake (ice not thick enough) as they were chased by Nazis.  They eventually made it to the men they were looking for who were to take him to Sweden as the migrated their herd of reindeer.