A Nice Cold Read for the Heat of Summer

True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole
by Bruce Henderson

nonfiction

If you are of a certain age, you probably learned in school that Admiral Peary was the first to reach the North Pole. If you are of another age, you probably learned that his African-American assistant, Matthew Henson, was really first. However, for quite a few years now, scholars have known that this may not have been the case. Henderson presents the stories of both Peary and the lesser-known Dr. Cook in a compelling way. Both men were remarkable in different ways. A polar expedition is about the last thing on earth that I would want to do myself, but it sure is fascinating to read about. These men, along with their Eskimo guides, tested the limits of human endurance.

Between Two Worlds by Zainab Salbi & Laurie Becklund

Escape from Tyranny: Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam
nonfiction

This a fascinating account of Salbi's childhood and teen years in Iraq. Her family was an unwilling part of Saddam Hussein's inner social circle, which naturally had an enormous influence on them. She tells a gripping tale of Saddam controlled and manipulated all around him. It was no news to me that he was a murdering dictator, but somehow reading a first-hand account really brought it home. We've heard much about his son Uday, the "rapist of Baghdad", but it appears that father was just as evil as son in that regard. This book also describes Iraq (particularly the Iraq of the rich and educated) in detail. It is definitely worth reading.

The $64 Tomato by William Alexander

nonfiction
How one man nearly lost his sanity, spent a fortune, and endured an existential crisis in the quest for the perfect garden.

If you have ever tried to make a plant grow, you'll love Alexander's hilarious tales of gardening. City folks might not believe the chapter with the groundhog who learned how time his jumps between zaps of the electric fence, but as a former country girl, it really is possible. I particularly enjoyed reading about his determination to garden organically, but how he slowly caved in to the lure of chemicals in the end. Organic gardening just is not as easy as it sounds! Some bugs are just too formidable.

One thing did alarm me, however. Alexander and his wife have two children. His book takes us from their early childhood into their teen years. These two kids do almost NO work in the garden, during all those years. Period. Alexander expresses some disappointment that they are not interested, but doesn't want to make them do it unwillingly. Yikes! For me, that is a scary type of parenting. Is seeing their father work amazingly hard going to give those kids a work ethic of their own? My own father sure made us kids work hard in our garden, and of course, I hated it at the time. But I learned a lot, particularly how to work hard. I'm sure I'll never know how those two turn out, but it does make me wonder.

However, parenting is not at all the point of the book. If you have any interest in gardening, go for it!