Thursday, October 30, 2014

Giants of Jazz                                                                                                    Millicent Cameron
Studs Terkel                                                                                                      Comp. 3
Thomas Y. Crowell Company - New York                                                       Blog 4
197 pages

“Mozart . . . Brahms . . . Haydn . . . they have written great works for the clarinet. Some day you will play the masterworks of these geniuses.” (page 104)

In this part of the book the musicians talk about how they want to write and play famous music just like the composers listed above. The musicians talk about this a lot; they talk about how they want to be able to write music that will be well-known. They talk about playing music all around. As in the beginning of the book, this part of the book also continues telling about the backgrounds of these famous musicians. The book tells more stories of all these musicians and how each of their careers started off small. It talks about how each of them started off with small performances and worked their way up to where they were.

By reading the rest of this book, I learned a lot about many famous musicians. They each had their own great stories of how they worked their way to be who they wanted to be. They each had their own ways of getting to where they wanted to get. Some questions that came to mind were: What gave them the motivation to do what they wanted to do? and Did they get what they wanted out of what they did?

Marshall Owen Book Blog #4

Marshall Owen
Composition 105

The Vietnam War
Virginia Schomp
Marshall Cavendish Corporation 2002

 "The most common cheer was 'welcome home! Welcome home!'... The tears kept filling my eyes, but this time not from sadness--it was from pleasure and immense relief. A parade! For me. A great weight was lifted from my shoulders. . . . I finally got my parade." David Donovan.

This quote makes me proud that many Americans were proud to give a parade to those who fought in war and respected the duty of many Americans that gave their lives to help keep America free. The last half of the book explains situations that America dealt with during the Vietnam era, it tells about racism and woman's rights. I believe that if Americans can get through difficult stages like they did during the Vietnam War times they should be able to get through almost anything.

Discrimination was a big deal in the 60's all public places were separated between "blacks" and "whites". During the Vietnam War colored people were usually the ones who got sent over seas to do all the dirty work and the jobs that were terrible to do. They were treated very unfair not only over seas but in the U.S. as well.

Women's right movement arose in the 70's because women wanted rights so they could help run the country since a lot of the men were overseas fighting. Women help marches and fought hard for right and eventually won the battle and got what they deserved.

In my opinion this is a very interesting book and would recommend to anyone who is either interested in Vietnam or anyone who needs a good research book. I though it was a very easy read and almost anyone could read it as well.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Nathan Nelson Book Blog #4

Nathan Nelson
Composition 105

Through My Eyes
Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker
HarperCollins Publishers
260 pages

"I simply pray that i will continue to have the humbling privilege to touch others and lift them up through His Word-all for His glory."

The second half of the book deals with Tim's life after his sophomore year in college. After breaking numerous school records, he was given the Heisman, which is given to the top player in college football. After this, he decided to use his profile to help kids in need, so Tim started a fundraising event titled First and 15. This was a tournament that raised $13,000 for the designated charities. In his junior year, while his stats weren't nearly as great, he led his team to the National Championship. The team was a lot better than a year before. A lot of the players were more focused on the team rather than their individual achievements, which helped lead to the success. Playing against the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the Heisman winner of that year, Sam Bradford, Tebow was still able to lead his team to victory. In that game, on his eye black, he had John 3:16 written. 90 million people searched this bible verse on Google and received the word of God. This is Tim's favorite verse, which means, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Despite the amount of people interested in the verse, players were soon banned from writing inscriptions on their eye black. After his junior season, Tim had a huge decision to make. Should he return for his final season, or should he enter the NFL Draft? He decided to come back in an attempt to win another National Championship. However, their hopes fell short, and they ended up having to settle with a Sugar Bowl Victory. Tim graduated with a degree in family, youth, and community sciences. Instead of getting a career in this field, he decided to test out the NFL. Although he was ridiculed for his strange throwing motion, he was determined. Never once did he listen to the scouts saying he wouldn't make it. Tim's hard work paid off, and he was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos. After this big event, he started the Tim Tebow Foundation to help out children in need. Tim had to wait many weeks before his first start, but he finally earned it and performed very well. The book ends as he is training for the upcoming season.
This book has many lessons, and Tim Tebow is a great role model for kids for a handful of reasons. For one, he volunteers his time to benefit those in need. He says it is a great way to feel good about yourself, knowing you did something to help others. I have volunteered in the past, and I agree that it makes you feel good about yourself. Everything Tim does, he thinks about what God has planned for him. When he was injured, he would often ask God why he did that. How does being injured help him? Eventually, he would realize in the long run that something would come out of it, and God always knew what he was doing. I often find myself doing the same thing. If something bad happens, I might question why God had to do that. God doesn't give you more than you can handle, and He knows what is best. Tim is very involved in God, and while I am not nearly as religious, it is something that I strive to do better at. Tim is very determined. People would criticize his throwing motion all the time, yet he made it to the NFL and proved the doubters wrong. Sometimes, I feel like people may doubt my abilities, but I am determined to show them that I am capable. Tim Tebow is someone that I would like to meet one day. He is a great role model for kids, and it was very interesting learning how he lives his life.

Nick Reetz, Book Blog 4

Nick Reetz
Composition 105
The Disappearing Spoon
Sam Kean
Back Bay Books
165 pages

"Maybe as we explain how to read the table on all its different levels, they'll whistle (or whatever) in read admiration- staggered at all we human being have managed to pack into our periodic table of the elements" (346).

Sam Kean marvels at the periodic table, and everything it stands for. He seems proud of it, what is inside of it, the elements in it, and that humans created it. He loves that it is simple and logical, and that each element has a story behind it. So he fantasizes what it will be like if aliens were to land on Earth. He assumes they are friendly, and interested in our science and technology. He hopes that they will marvel at our periodic table. He wants them to be impressed. Although his fantasies about aliens visiting is only a small part of the second half of this book.

Most of the second half of the book tells short stories about elements. Kean covers dozens of elements, from nitrogen, to titanium, to aluminum, with many elements in between. He starts off with a story about nitrogen and the deadly affects it can have on the human body. The human body actually detects that we are releasing carbon dioxide, not that we are breathing in oxygen. So if a person is in a pure nitrogen environment, they can suffocate and die very quickly, easily, and peacefully. This was the case with engineers for the Columbia space ship. They entered an engine compartment before the nitrogen could dissipate, and two of the five died. I find it amazing that with all of the research and practice NASA does, they still make a lot of mistakes, many which cost lives, such as this incident, or the Challenger rocket.

Kean does a great job of telling the stories that keep the book interesting, but also keeps it with the theme of the book. The theme for the beginning of this half was how elements can fool the body. I loved that he added that as a big part of the book, fusing biology with the chemistry of elements. Its a way to keep more people interested and help people to understand. Another example of that is a man who wanted to observe how bone marrow made new blood cells. He drilled holes in a rabbits' femurs, and placed a thin sheet of titanium that, under strong light, was transparent. However, unlike every other medal, the titanium actually fused with the bone. This led to advances in prosthetics, beyond the peg legs of the past. This shows how elements can be both helpful and hurtful to the human body. Many elements happen to be both helpful and hurtful, depending on the way they are used. Titanium many fuse to bone, but if a person gets hit in the head with a titanium rod, its not going to do them much good. Conversely, a pure nitrogen environment may starve the body of oxygen and cause death, but the human body needs nitrogen and the compounds it makes to function. When a person truly thinks about the periodic table, he'll realize just how amazing it is. When he goes beyond the basics and looks at everything the table shows, he'll be in awe.

Sam Kean does a great job of showing just how great the periodic table is. He gives some of the best examples, and when something must be explained, he does so in a way that allows someone with no scientific background to understand rather easily. The book overall is just a fun read. Every story is interesting and fits in well with the chapter. This book is a great read, and I would recommend it to anyone, especially to people who love science.

Emily Koenck book blog

The Pregnancy Project                                                                                                        Emily Koenck
By Gaby Rodriguez                                                                                                               Composition 3
216 pages
             " Same with any other type of 'family curse.' If your parents smoke, don't pick up a cigarette. If your parents are obese, work hard to exercise and eat right so you don't follow in their footsteps. But some people find it easier to play the victim. They do whatever bad behaviors or bad habits they want to because they think they have a built-in defense- 'I grew up this way."
              This quote is an important one because it is what the whole books is about. Gaby was a fifteen year old girl who grew up in a household where her mom and her siblings all were either pregnant at fifteen or got a girl pregnant in high school. By the way Gaby's mother talked to her about all the struggles that she faced while having to care for a baby at such a young age. Gaby knew she didn't want to be like her mother. She didn't look at her mother with shame but with admiration. She was proud that she did all that she has done for her family. Gaby wanted to make her mother proud and by doing so she stayed busy and joined as many after school activities and took advanced classes.
                 Gaby was at a young age when she started to baby sit for her older sister who became pregnant at the age of fifteen. Gaby's sister Jessica wanted to go out and be with her friends and party instead of care for her child. Gaby was always the one to baby sit and get up with the baby and change her and feed her. She knew it was wrong to cover for her sister Jessica. Gaby would do this on a school night and would be completely exhausted the next day. She was finally sick of it and told her mother and her mom made Jessica with find a sitter or stay with her daughter. Gaby knew right after that experience  she was never going to be like that.
`               Gaby wanted to do an assignment for school to experiment. She decided to fake a pregnancy. People thought she was going to be like her family anyway so she decided she was curious what her outcome would be. She told people she was pregnant and gradually started to wear pregnant belly. When Gaby told her mom that she was "pregnant" her mother was crushed, she thought she taught her better. While Gaby was faking her pregnancy she documented how she was getting dirty looks and mean comments of people calling her a "slut." She was so confused why people were calling her that. She wondered, " Do they even know the definition of slut?" She was saying how a slut was a woman who slept with numerous men. Everyone knew she had a boyfriend, so even if she was pregnant it would have been with one guy. She documented the awful words and definitions beside them.
                If I were in Gaby Rodriguez's situation I wouldn't have went through with it as long as she did. She was very strong and not taking anyone's mean words to heart. She was deep into her project and wanted to finish is out. I would have caved in and told that the whole pregnancy was fake. I give Gaby a lot of credit for doing what she did. She wanted to know why people judge teen moms as if they could do a better job.
               I would definitely recommend this book to all girl teenagers. It is a good lesson to want to stay in school and try your hardest on everything. It is a good life lesson knowing you can accomplish anything unless you set your mind to it. Gaby is an inspirational woman and everyone should learn from her experience.
Jazmin Cruz
Comp. 105

Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom
DoubleDay Publishing 1997
192 Pages

     "And love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone." Morrie Schwartz said this to Mitch when he was talking to him about being scared of being forgotten when he died. Morrie said that he wasn't scared of dying and that love is how you stay alive. 

     The second half of Tuesdays with Morrie is a lot about how Morrie starts to get worse in terms of his ASL. Although, he knows that he is going to die and like said before, he isn't scared. Mitch and Morrie are still meeting every Tuesday though, just like in college and Mitch likes to bring Morrie some food for him to eat. As Morrie gets worse though, he can't eat the food Mitch brings which makes Mitch feel bad because he knows Morrie is getting worse and he will die soon. Even though Morrie is going to die soon, it doesn't make it any less harder for him to say goodbye and his friends and family to say goodbye to him. Morrie is making plans for when he passes away like where he wants to be buried. 
     The last time that Mitch goes to see Morrie, Morrie can hardly speak but he really tries hard since he knows that he has limited time with Mitch. He tells Mitch that he loves him and he is a good person and a good friend. Since they both knew it would be one of their last time together, I think it was really good that they are saying what they need to each other before it's too late. Soon after, Morrie dies on a Saturday. He went into a coma couple days before, so his friends and family all knew he would die soon. After he died, Mitch remembered that Morrie wanted Mitch to talk to him at his grave. Mitch thought it was going to be a little weird but he was surprised at how natural it felt. I think it was really nice that Mitch did talk to Morrie's grave because it shows how important Morrie was to him. Even though Morrie is gone now, Mitch will always love him and remember everything that Morrie had done for him in the past. 
     Tuesdays with Morrie is a pretty good book, in my opinion. I really liked how it was written, like how it goes back to talk about Mitch and Morrie's time in college and different parts of both of their lives too. This book was very interesting too because I didn't know much about what ASL was and I learned a little more about what it is and what it does to people who are affected by the disease. I also liked how Morrie was so smart and he seemed like he knew what to say all the time. Also,  even though he knew he was going to die, he wasn't bitter about it. He knew that bad things happen to people sometimes, and he understood that he was going to die. It was a very good book and I learned more about life from Morrie in Tuesdays with Morrie.

Austin Stoelk, Composition 117, Book Blog #4

Austin Stoelk
Composition 117
George Washington and the Birth of Our Nation
Milton Meltzer
Copyright 1986 by Milton Meltzer
98 pages



Noah Wittrock book blog 4

Noah Wittrock
Inside Delta Force: The story of America’s Elite Counterterrorist Unit
Eric L. Haney
Delacorte Press
Comp. 3
123 pages

“Within the next ten minutes, the door would be blown in and four of my classmates would assault the room using the close-quarter battle techniques we had learned. Within three seconds of the explosion, they would have to kill the terrorists, gain positive control of the room, and someone would be firing live rounds within inches of my head. If they missed a single terrorist or hit me by mistake, the team would fail this phase of training.” (p. 156)

I chose this quote because it shows how intense the training the team must go through in order to pass. It also shows how risky being in these groups can be. I would be afraid to be playing the hostage role.
In the second half of this book there is a lot more training they are doing. They work on breaching which is where they come through a door ready to take down any enemy that is there and rescue the hostages if there are any. After that they went on to learning about plains and driving. They go through a lot more training again.

To me this book was boring. I thought there would be a lot more action involved but instead 

there was just a lot of training. If someone were more interested in the training they go through then I would 

recommend this book to them. I would have to say it was still an okay book but I didn’t enjoy it very 


Cody Wardell- Brian Piccolo: A Short Season by Jeannie Morris (book blog #4)

Cody Wardell
Composition 105

Brian Piccolo: A Short Season
by Jeannie Morris
Copyright 1971 by Rand McNally & Company
154  pages

“What does a football player do who can’t play football? I think I fulfilled my real ambition in pro football. My idea of success is to be established, to know that I could play for almost anybody, to have the respect around the league of other players and coaches. This I felt I had accomplished. Of course, I didn’t plan on having it end this soon.” (pg. 128)

Brian Piccolo was a man who loved the game of football simply because he just flat out loved playing. From his experience, he learned that most professional football players play the game because it’s their job. Brian Piccolo once said that he just loved playing the game and he would play even if he didn't get paid. Getting paid on top of playing was just a bonus to him. Brian Piccolo was born a football player. For many years, he would compete with Gale Sayers for the starting position as the Chicago Bears running back. He never gave up until his sickness came to the point where he couldn't play the game anymore. He gave all that he could on the football field. Brian Piccolo is a true inspiration and always had determination no matter what obstacle of the game he was faced with.
Being a big sports fan and me already knowing the story of Brian Piccolo I decided to read this biography, written by the wife of one of his former teammates. I already knew the outcome of what happened to Brian Piccolo but wanted to know the whole story behind it. Piccolo played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for four seasons in the late 1960s until he died of an aggressive form of testicular cancer at the age of 26, leaving behind a wife and three daughters. His story is a story of hope, sadness and even triumph. The tragedy takes place as he does pass away in the end, he lived a regret free life. Like I said before, Piccolo once said, in the book, that he would have played professional football for free but would never have told the team owner. He loved football that much but he was no fool. This love spilled over into everything in his life. His family, his passion for his Italian heritage, food, friends. Life in general.
One of the greatest attributes of Brian Piccolo was that he refused to feel sorry for himself and would deny anyone who knew him that same opportunity because he believed this was just some unlucky sickness that he had. The book is very medical in its descriptions of his diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. The football side of his life is secondary to the struggle he went through for the seven months he endured the cancer. This story is a heartfelt journey of a man's struggle to deal with the toughest challenge ever given to him in his short yet remarkable life and how he chose to deal with it with grace and dignity and never pitied himself.
This book was turned into a movie of his life called, " Brian's Song " but deals more with his relationship with former teammate Gale Sayers and its effects on multiple levels. Where the book is more about the personal life of Brian Piccolo. The book is a more in depth description of his life. This book was a true inspiration from me. I rate this book an 8 out of 10. I really enjoyed this book. I recommend reading the book to any sports fan or a person who wants to read an inspirational story. If you have already had the book or even if you haven’t, I also recommend watching the movie, “Brian’s Song”.
Book Blog 3
Dmacc Comp
“See his knuckles”? “They’re white, that means he is coming at you.” “I’m sick of watching you get your butt kicked.” This quotation comes from one of Papale’s team mates shortly after they lose their first game. This information is very good advice and very useful in the sport football.
After going through the football camp, training, and making it through the cuts Vince Papale is starting to get used to the big leagues of football. Since he has admired this sport since he was a young child, he has put blood, sweat, and tears into this game.
When they lose to the cowboys they continue to not do so hot as a team. Vince Papale is on kickoff and his goal is to go down and tackle the guy with the ball. So in other words his goal is to get the ball back.
Suddenly the Eagles start to do fairly well and they end up making a new way for the used to be awful Eagles football team. The new way means that they are starting to do better and play as a team.
The one major play that the Vince Papale is known for is when on a kick he ran down after calling an audible and he hit the returner so hard he fumbled it. When he did that Vince snatched up the ball and ran it in for a touchdown.
Soon after this big game, Vince finds a lovely lady and marries her and happens to have kids. I bet that his previous wife feels pretty stupid for leaving.
This book was one of my personal favorites because it was about something I love to do. This book is so inspirational because it is a true story. I would recommend this book to anyone who knows or understands the sport of football. Because whether or not you play the sport this book is still great.

Book Blog #4 Wellendorf

Ben Wellendorf
Composition 105

Dave Cullen
Hachette Book Group 2009
416 Pages

SWAT teams searched the building for over three hours, but the killers were lying dead the entire time. They had committed suicide in the library at 12:08, forty-nine minutes after beginning the attack." (Chapter 17, p. 83).

This quote hits me hard, even though it was earlier in the book.  It shows me how long they were attacking, and it just sends a chill down my back because they killed themselves together.  I don’t know what it would even be like to kill someone, let alone kill yourself with a friend.  It’s just scary to even think about what is going on inside these boys’ head.

The second half of the book bounced back and forth with people’s life story from after Columbine, and bounces back to the actual shooting.  It described how that they were planning on bombing the schools with propane tanks and how they went and bought the propane tanks.  They tried to set them off in the lunchroom, but since they didn’t go off, they just went back into their car and picked up guns they also had.  They weren’t targeting the jocks or anything, it was just random.  It also went into detail with parents of some kids there and one case was a parent saw their kids dead body on front lawn.  The police wouldn’t allow for the body to move, so the body sat there for 28 hours.  The people’s stories afterwards were interesting to hear, especially some of them that were in the shooting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  It was so interesting to read about the life stories and the shooting, because I was not born yet when this happened, so I guess I didn’t know a lot about it.  I didn’t like what was going on, but I liked listening to the details of what all happened and what not.  The stories with the people was very interesting too, because they talked about how their life changed and how long it took for them to adapt to what happened.  I would be the same way, and I would be terrified to even go into a school, because I would scared it would happen again.  I could relate to how they acted, because I feel like I would be the exact same way.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Zach Riddle Book Blog #4

Zach Riddle
Composition 105

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference
Malcolm Gladwell
Little, Brown and Company
259 Pages

“The smoking experience is so memorable and powerful for some people that they cannot stop smoking. The habit sticks.” Page 233

The second half of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference gets more serious as it transitions into the second half of the book. The topics range from smoking habits in teens to suicide in teens. I think this quote is a great example of how people get addicted to smoking. When someone tries it for the first time, no one thinks that they are going to become addicted. Everyone thinks that they have the self control and the ability to stop whenever they want. Even after most people are addicted to anything, they say that they could stop whenever they want but they really can’t.
I think that this can be applied to more than just smoking. You could say that any bad habit is usually started by a memorable and powerful event that makes them want to continue to do the bad habit. For example, a group of people walk into a casino for a party to celebrate a friend who has just turned twenty-one. Just old enough to gamble. This friend just happens to win a couple thousands dollars on this trip. This event is so memorable and fun, he thinks he is going to win every time he goes gambling after this trip and becomes addicted to the game.

Malcolm not only talks about the small things that can propel you forward. He also talks about all of the things that can make you fall backwards compared to the rest of the crowd. Some of the small things are things like smoking that put you behind because it physically puts you behind the rest of the crowd. He also talks about smaller mental things. The way you talk about yourself in front of others is very important. The way you think about yourself is even more important. Everything starts in the brain. The more you think about a specific topic or idea, the higher the chances are that you will say it at some point or another.
The Tipping Point gives great examples how you are able to overcome the odds and tip the scales in you favor. “ Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push - in just the right place - it can be tipped.” Page 259. I think that everyone would like to make their lives a little simpler and easier. Malcolm Gladwell not only gives great examples as to how tip the scales in your favor, but proving them by giving statistics to back him up.

Camille Book Blog #4

Death’s Acre Camille Mumm
Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson          Composition 105
G. P. Putnam’s Sons

“Either way you’ll still find me at the Body Farm when I die. Not anytime soon, though. I don’t want to die. I have too much to do. Books to write. Grandchildren to play with. Killers to catch.”
This half of the Death’s Acre is drastically different from the first half. In this half Dr. Bass is already well established as is the Body Farm and what it does. In this half Dr. Bass tells a variety of stories. He tells of certain cases that stick in his memory and then tells why they were important. In each of the examples he gives he learns something new or uses the story to introduce a new character. It makes for a really good book because the short case stories are built into a larger picture of Dr. Bass’s life and intellectual growth.
The first story that he gives in this half of the book is the chapter Zoo Man Murders, these were a group of particularly violent murders. Each of the four murder victims was a  prostitutes whose body was hidden in the woods after substantial abuse. Dr. Bass takes the reader through the whole process, from finding the first body to the “Zoo Man’s” trials and sentencing.
The last case in the book starts off with the search for one man but ends with the group discovering a mass grave of over 330 bodies. This case is a giant project for Dr. Bass and his crew. This case Dr. Bass said was humbling because of the large amount of families that were getting closure; he thinks it is a “sacred gift” to give the loved ones the truth.
One of the other ongoing story that goes one throughout Dr. Bass’s narration of the the case stories is a more personal story of his life. He takes the reader through the tale of his first marriage and tells how hard it was on him to lose her to cancer. Later he shares how he met the woman who would become his second wife. He says that while losing his first wife was hard, losing Annette was even harder. Both of his wives lost their battles with cancer. He later marries again to a woman named Carol. He also ends the book with the story of his heart attack and how it affected his view on death. This is where the quotation at the beginning comes from. He says that one of the most common questions he gets asked by reporters is “When you die, will your body go to the Body Farm?” He then explains that during each period of his life he had a different answer. At the end he says that he’s going to leave it up to Carol and his sons.
Like I said in the first blog, one of the best parts of this book is appendixes. These allow the reader to look up any definition, body part, or bone in case it wasn’t entirely clear. Originally I thought that the audience for this book would be kind of general, but after the reading the second half I realized that this book does kind of take a bit of a strong stomach. Details that Dr. Bass uses are almost too descriptive, giving the reader a graphic view of all his cases. Despite this, I enjoyed this book and learned more than I think I have in any recreational reading book.

Jessica Cheney
Composition 3
The Mummy Congress                            
Heather Pringle        
Hyperion, 2001
355 pages

“Mummies have always spoken to us on some deep primal level, and we are simply unable to leave them alone. We love them and we fear them, we aspire to be them and we dread that fate. But one thing is certain: we are powerless to resist their potent appeal. As long as humanity yearns for eternity, we will surely try to destroy our only material chance at it.”  (p. 165)

In the last half of the historical nonfiction book The Mummy Congress, the author Heather Pringle continues to tell several stories she learned about mummies from scientists who had attended the Mummy Congress is Arica, Chile. Pringle discusses the use of mummies to establish whites as the superior race over blacks during the civil war and some of the commercial uses of mummies during this time period. She brings up how the media is beginning to change how archaeologists present mummies and how the mummies are affected. A large part of this half talks about bodies that are strikingly well preserved such as those of certain saints or the methods of keeping Lenin’s body lifelike in Red Square. There are even modern ways that people try to preserve themselves, from simple dieting and exercising to the more drastic cryonics. I think this book is very interesting and I learned a lot I did not know before. I am also able to relate what I already know about mummies such as the famous expedition by Howard Carter to uncover Tutankhamun.
Pringle continues to write beautifully as she describes the stories of these mummies in great detail. She is able to describe how lifelike the bodies of the preserved saints and the methods of the Mausoleumists. This helps me to create a clear picture in my head of what she is discussing. She is able to describe her colleagues as full of life even though they are surrounded by the dead. This book does a very good job of emphasizing how the public’s reaction and views on mummies are able to change the way that mummy experts work.
There are several questions in this book such as, “Would we want ourselves mummified after we die?” or, “What was the original purpose of mummification? “, or, “What is in the future of mummification?” Even though we think that mummification is an ancient practice, there are still those who value preserving their bodies. The bodies of saints there were well preserved became known as Incorruptibles and were thought of as holier because they thought good had better preserved them. The Mausoleumists were created in order to find ways of preserving the bodies of Russia’s famous leaders. Pringle notes that people today who go on extreme weight loss diets often remind her of, “the bodies of desiccated mummies.” (pg. 328) There is even a company called Summum Mummification that will mummify people and even their pets. The field of cryonics is also a developing field that is brought to light in this book. People’s bodies and brains are preserved in the hopes that future technology will allow them to return their bodies back to life. The human race is obviously obsessed with trying to extend our lives and look the best even after we die. The mere sight of mummies can make people feel a longing and desire to be as eternal as they are. This book shows that culture’s obsession with mummies is not new and will not soon cease to exist.
My overall opinion of this book is that it is very well written so that it is very interesting and engaging, even for people who are not as interested in mummies. I had very few problems with this book. Some of the chapters provided great information, but some of them were a lot like each other and others did not have a focus that was clear to me as a reader. There was a chapter entitled “Children” that discussed Chinchorro mummies. As I understood it, the focus of the chapter was the purpose was why the first mummies were made, but this was only discussed on one or two pages of the chapter. The chapter “Celebrities” had a similar problem. I thought this was a very good book and I would recommend this book to any person who wants to learn more about mummies. It is able to provide a lot of information in a way that is not boring at all. Many people consider the topic of mummies boring or disgusting, but this book makes them very interesting. This book helped me learn a lot it helped kindle my long forgotten interest in archaeology and Egyptology.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Book Blog #4

Hayley Boes
Composition 105

Crash the Chatterbox
Steven Furtick
Multnomah Books, 2014
210 pages






