First Person Rural: Essays of a Sometime Farmer by Noel Perrin

Looking for books to display, I frequently find books I keep to read. It is like my going to the garden and eating raspberries before I fill a basket for the neighbors. I have to like what I pass on. This is how I happened to bring home First Person Rural: Essays of a Sometime Farmer by Noel Perrin.

First Person Rural has been in the Thomas Ford Memorial Library book collection for 32 years. I have passed it over in weeding several times, keeping it because it is a nonfiction classic and because it has gone out just enough. Forgotten by most, a few people remember it along with other back-to-the-farm books popular in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Living the Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing and The Firefox Book and its sequels. These books explained how to build houses and barns, sow crops, harvest, raise livestock, and lead sane earth-friendly lives. By republishing articles that Perrin wrote for Vermont Life, Country Journal, and The New Yorker, First Person Rural added to this literature. Perrin told from experience how to build fences, buy a pickup truck, and make sugar from lower grades of maple syrup. In a lightly self-effacing manner, he often started by revealling all his mistakes and what he had to do to correct them. Then he told how to do it right.

While few of his urban and suburban readers would ever farm, they joyfully read Perrin's accounts. Why? I think he charmed them with his self-confidence. He was sure they would be interested - and they were. He also wrote clearly and personally. Nonfiction writers could learn much by examining his simple style.

It is over thirty or forty years since Perrin wrote these essays and some things have obviously changed about pickup trucks, taking firewood across state lines, the market prices for maple syrup, and the tenor of life in Vermont. I found some of these obvious changes added to my interest in his experiences. First Person Rural is old enough to now be history but still relevant as a handbook for living.

Perrin, Noel. First Person Rural: Essays of a Sometime Farmer. David R. Godine Publisher, 1978. ISBN 0879232323.

Nothing with Strings: NPR's Beloved Holiday Stories by Bailey White

When I was asked by a client for books by Bailey White recently, I discovered a title that had slipped my notice - Nothing with Strings: NPR's Beloved Holiday Stories. Since we are already planning holiday book displays, and since I enjoyed White's somewhat autobiographical story collections Mama Makes Up Her Mind and Sleeping at the Starlite Motel, and since the client took one of the other books, I checked out Nothing with Strings. I took it with me to West Texas and read three of the thirteen stories one night and the rest on my flight back to Chicago. They provided good company during a long day.

The string of Christmas lights on the book jacket suggested to me that stories would be set around Christmas, but I was wrong. The stated holiday connection is that White read these stories on Thanksgiving Day broadcasts of National Public Radio's All Things Considered. I think one - maybe two - of them actually mentioned Thanksgiving. In "The Progress of Deglutition," on Thanksgiving Day, after the company has left, Dave tells Sally that he is leaving her after several decades of marriage. It is totally out of the blue for Sally who thought they were happy. In "Return to Sender," Mrs. Nash looks at a Sears Catalog with "O Holy Night" in the background while her daughter plans the town's Victorian Christmas celebration, which takes place later in the story. If the other stories had holiday themes, I have quickly forgotten them. The domestic drama stands out. Is the reference to holiday stories in the subtitle just a marketing tactic to help sell this collection of offbeat stories?

White should not need any deception to sell her stories, as she has many NPR listeners as fans. She is known for her witty descriptions of life in the rural South, where people try to preserve their traditions in the face of modern disruptions to their routines and relationships. Her previous book was a novel Quite a Year for Plums, which was not has entertaining as her autobiographical stories. I think Nothing with Strings rises above the less satisfying novel. While not as funny as Mama Makes Up Her Mind, the recent story collection more sincerely describes the problems people experience with family, friends, and the lack of emotional support. Short story fans, especially those who like Southern flavored storytelling, will enjoy this book.

White, Bailey. Nothing with Strings: NPR's Beloved Holiday Stories. Scribner, 2008. ISBN 9781439102268

Albert Campion Mysteries by Margery Allingham

I became an Albert Campion fan over twenty years ago when I saw Peter Davison (right) play the independent sleuth on PBS Mystery, back when Vincent Price was being replaced by Diana Rigg as the series host. I enjoyed Davison's quirky portrayal of the main character and the lighthearted stories set in beautiful old mansions amid scenic Britain. I also really liked the theme music, a bit melancholy if I remember correctly. It was natural that I would then seek out the novels and read them in order. Over the course of a dozen years I read nineteen of the books, slightly out of order, the last in 2002.

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many of our veteran mystery readers knew Margery Allingham and her Albert Campion mysteries. Her name was paired with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, all of whom had long writing careers. Then she was somewhat forgotten. In the late 1990s, when I tried to get replacement copies of the mysteries, I found they were out of print. Two years ago I rejoiced when I found new editions published by Felony & Mayhem at the Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City. When I got back to the library, I ordered all the titles that I could. I have been suggesting them to readers ever since.

Just this past month I have begun reading the series again, starting with book one, which may be about the worst book to suggest to a prospective Campion reader. In The Crime at Black Dudley, first published in 1929, Albert Campion was an just a member of the supporting cast. It was somebody else's story, but the oddball Campion kept stealing the spotlight. I am sure that if Allingham did not realize it herself someone told her that she needed to promote Campion to the number one spot in subsequent books. It is an entertaining story with plenty of mystery, action, and romance, but only readers who want to see the evolution of Campion should read this uneven book first.

Allingham essentially started over with book two, Mystery Mile. Campion's character was much the same - idiosyncratic, frenetic, puzzling - but the author began to give him a context from which to work. She hinted that he was the black sheep of an aristocratic family (maybe even a royal), vaguely suggested his history of working alongside Scotland Yard in solving cases important to the nation, and located him in a little apartment above a neighborhood police station. Most importantly, she introduced his manservant, the former criminal Magersfontein Lugg. In Mystery Mile, Campion agreed to protect an American judge who had moved to England with his son and daughter to escape the revenge of the mafia. Campion arranged the rental of an old and isolated estate from a cash-strapped brother and sister, but the British organized crime figures followed the judge and his party. With wit and invention, Campion beat the bad guys, and all the young couples fell in love.

I also just reread Look to the Lady, book three. It might be the best of the entire series as it has frightening creatures in the woods, ghosts in towers, old professors, evil widows, and somewhat inept but still serious criminals. Again, Campion saves a down-on-their-luck old British family from ruin, and the youngsters fall in love. It is a lot of fun to read. They all are.

Allingham, Margery. The Crime at Black Dudley. Felony & Mayhem, 2006. ISBN 9781933397429

Allingham, Margery. Mystery Mile. Felony & Mayhem, 2006. ISBN 9781933397443

Allingham, Margery. Look to the Lady. Felony & Mayhem, 2006. ISBN 9781933397573

Darwin's Garden: Down House & The Origin of Species by Michael Bolter

A year has passed since the Charles Darwin bicentennial, but I am still working my way through my reading list. On my recent trip to see family in Texas, I took Darwin's Garden: Down House & The Origin of Species by Michael Boulter. It was not exactly what I expected. It had fewer personal details about life at Down House and less about Darwin's efforts to write his important books than I expected; especially in the back half of the book, it dealt more with the work of Darwin's contemporaries and the scientists who have followed his lead into the 21st century. There is a reason the book is shelved on the science aisle, not with the biographies at my library.

While not as entertained as I hoped to be, I found plenty of interesting science in Darwin's Garden. Each of the chapters in Part Two deals with a concept related to evolution and survival of species, topics about which there have been heated debates since Darwin wrote in the mid-19th century. Readers learn that Darwin had many ideas that he was really unable to test effectively with the scientific instruments of his time. Most importantly, there was no way to prove that the genes that he claimed were in every organism truly existed; he had no electron microscopes to see the tiny structures that dictate bodily development. He also puzzled over long term animal migrations; no one in his time knew about continental drift. While a bit of his speculation has proven false, his large ideas have mostly been supported.

While not the page-turner I wanted, Darwin's Garden was a good book to issue for the bicentennial, as it assessed scientific progress since Darwin's time. Identifying top scientists and major discoveries of the past 150 years, it can still serve as a good introduction to the study of evolution. For high school, college, and larger public libraries.

Boulter, Michael. Darwin's Garden: Down House & The Origin of Species. Counterpoint, 2009. ISBN 9781582434711

Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales

I am always looking for something different to listen to while driving to work or doing chores. I found what I sought in Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales: An Audiobook Benefitting Children in South Africa Orphaned and Impacted by HIV/AIDS. The producers started with Mandela's 2002 collection of folktales and enlisted a great lineup of readers, including Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Helen Mirren, and Jurnee Smollett. To this they added a welcome message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a variety of musical introductions, and a small concert by South Africa's Vusi Mahlasela at the end.

I chose Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales just as I was leaving work - a benefit of working at a library is having such choices - and I did not even bother to read the back of the cover before inserting the first disc into my car's CD player. I was not surprised to hear Desmond Tutu welcome me, as he has worked with Mandela frequently, but then I heard a voice say "The Ring of the King." I knew right away that it was one of my favorite actors, Alan Rickman, who excels in everything he does. I knew I had made a good listening selection. Over the course of a week, I heard many enchanting stories about wise and foolish people tried by the circumstances of living.

The twenty plus stories come mostly from the southern end of Africa with a few extras from Morocco, Tanzania, and Uganda. Many are fairly short. If I added a minute or two sitting in the parking lot, I often heard two or three stories during my fifteen minute drive to work. A few, such as "The Mother Who Turned to Dust" read by Helen Mirren last between ten and fifteen minutes. I suspect some of the stories might be enjoyed more by adults than children, but I would not want to rule anyone out. If you like Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, or Hans Christian Andersen, try Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales.

Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales: An Audiobook Benefitting Children in South Africa Orphaned and Impacted by HIV/AIDS. Hachette Audio, 2009. 3 compact discs. ISBN 9781600246661.

Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth and Zen Ties by Jon J. Muth

"It is easy to believe that we are each waves and forget we are also the ocean," writes Jon J. Muth in his "Author's Note" in the back of his beautifully illustrated children's book Zen Ties, a sequel to his other wonderful book Zen Shorts. I found both on my nightstand when I returned from my trip to Texas. Bonnie knows what I like.

Zen Shorts features a large and wise panda named Stillwater who befriends three children in what appears to be an average American town. He invites them up the hill to his uncluttered house for tea. Each time they come he tells them a short story drawn from Buddhist literature that helps one of the children solves a personal problem and learn a valuable lesson for the future. In Zen Ties, Stillwater is joined by his pint-sized nephew Koo, who speaks in haiku. After he meets Koo at the train station, Stillwater introduces the small panda to his friends, and together they slowly and carefully befriend a lonely old lady who has always frightened the children.

Throughout both books, Stillwater gentle guides his friends to greater awareness of the feelings of others and the benefits of cooperation. I imagine that teachers, librarians, and parents appreciate these attractive books that are positive without being overly sweet or preachy. Even more important, I hope young children are charmed by the large but soft-looking panda and his playful friends. I know that many libraries and homes have these wonderful books.

Muth, Jon J. Zen Shorts. Scholastic Press, 2005. ISBN 0439339111

Muth, Jon J. Zen Ties. Scholastic Press, 2008. ISBN 9780439634250

Biography Buzz for Fall 2010

Swimming against the current, I have been looking for promising biographies at a time when memoirs are flooding the book market. Fall 2010 seems to have a shortage of straight third-person biography, and many of the forthcoming titles seem to recount frequently-told stories, such as those of Edward Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Mickey Mantle, and Frank Sinatra. Still, here are a few suggestions to keep your biography shelf from being empty this fall.


Catherine of Aragon: The Spanish Queen of Henry VIII by Giles Tremlett - Biography of the tenacious woman who was Henry VIII's wife more than twice as long as the other five combined. (Out in late November)

Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris - Teddy Roosevelt could easily be in the frequent-biography list above, but this book focuses on Roosevelt's less-studied last ten years. Morris completes his series on the president. (Out in late November)

Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Woman in Film by Ruth Barton - An intimate look at a recluse actress of the 1930s who was also a painter and inventor. (Available)

Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda - Korda is a respected biographer, and Lawrence's story is worth resurrecting. (Out in November)

Judging Edward Teller: A Closer Look at One of the Most Influential Scientists of the Twentieth Century by Istvan Hargittai - Teller is often demonized for his support of the hydrogen bomb. This book is by a friend. (Out in October)

Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation by Harlow Giles Unger - Many readers know his name but not what he did. (Out in late October)

Muhammad: A Story of the Last Prophet by Deepak Chopra - Novelized biography about a prophet that Chopra says was "much like us." (Available)

Nelson Mandela: A Force for Freedom by Christina Scott - While there are well-known memoirs written by Mandela, few biographers writing for adult have tackled the task of writing about him. (Out in November)

Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt by Robert Gottlieb - This should be a great rag-to-riches story. (Available)

Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything by Kevin Cook - Thompson was the model for Sky Masterson in the musical Guys and Dolls. (Out in late November)

William and Harry by Katie Nicholl - The two British princes were shielded as boys but they are now closely followed by the public. (Out in November)

Mad Magazine, August 2010 Issue

I've just read the August 2010 Mad magazine, number 504 if you are counting issues. It was sitting on a table at the library waiting to be reshelved. On the cover is Alfred E. Newman slipping an iPad into the bottom of a bird cage. Thinking it might be fun to read and knowing I will be seeing my old school friend Robert Goehring soon, I checked the magazine out. Back in the late 1960s, Robert and I spent many hot Texas afternoons in his room reading Mad while listening to orange vinyl rock records that his older brother bought at a PX in Japan. I think Pete Midkiff sometimes had Mad, too. I had not looked at any issue in decades. It would be like old times.

Well, yes and no. Mad has changed. While it is now in full color, it is still an irreverent humor magazine that spares no one from parody. It still has "Spy vs. Spy," tiny cartoons in the margins, and a folding back cover. I still find it funny. It is that last point that surprises me. Isn't Mad supposed to be aimed at teens. I'm over fifty.

Reading through the issue of the magazine, I kept finding items that spoke more to adult concerns or expressed old guy sentiments, such "9 Unmistakable Signs That You're Not Quite Over Your Ex" and "12 Reasons We Hate Cell Phones." Do teens know who Mr. T and Don Rickles are? Have they ever seen a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip to recognize the parody? On page 2, the editors celebrate that they were visited by the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 - a bunch of old guys. Are the editors and writers of Mad a bunch of old guys, too?

Kids are not forgotten. There is a two-page spread comparing teen idol Justin Bieber with other things that start with the letter B, such as Babar and butter, followed by a four-page parody of Twilight in which you learn why the handsome dude has dog breath. There are cartoons "Rex in the City" and "Projectile Vomit Baby." The Toy Story gang gets a new story in which they drive around in a Toyota that won't brake. Sarah Palin is drawn with lots of wrinkles. Much of the content is rude. I suspect some teens still enjoy the magazine.

The editors saved some of the best work to last with the very cynical "One Afternoon in the Confessional" and the campy "Archie Marries Jughead."

Bonnie says that Mad was always written by adults for adults. As a teen I must have just assumed that it was written for me. It's still written for me but you might like it, too.

My New Mac Snow Leopard Edition: 54 Simple Projects to Get You Started by Wallace Wang

After many years of viewing MacIntosh computers from afar, Bonnie and I bought an iMac this summer. I was won over by the iMac that we have in the teen area at my library. Maybe it was the pretty pictures in the pretty box effect that swayed me, but I also hoped to join the legions who say that they never have any trouble with their computers.

That said, there is a substantial amount to learn to make the switch. Perhaps my study has been made easier by the fact that the Windows operating system is becoming more Mac-like all the time. Also the tutorials that Apple provides are quite helpful. I have adapted pretty well in the last three months. Still, I am learning more by reading My New Mac Snow Leopard Edition: 54 Simple Projects to Get You Started by Wallace Wang. For example, I had noticed the tiny oval in the top right corner of many windows without understanding that it is a toolbar toggle. Liking to reduce clutter on the screen, I will find that helpful. I also had not noticed the slider on some windows that always enlarging the icons that allows seeing documents without actually opening them.

I am a bit confused by the instructions "Hiding and Displaying Windows with Exposé." The author tells me to use the function key F11 to toggle, but on my keyboard F11 increases volume instead. F3 seems to accomplish a similar task, but I am going to move along to other lessons. I rarely have too many windows open so I may not need this feature.

Common keyboard shortcuts are listed on page 100. I could copy these and keep them handy until I learn them. They are also shown to the right of commands in the drop-down menus from the Finder toolbar. Keyboard combinations to type foreign characters, such as é or ø or ß, are found on pages 298 and 299.

There are useful chapters on Internet and computer safety, as well as chapters for new computer users to learn how to use iTunes and manage photos. Most seasoned Mac users will find much they know, but even they show scan the table of contents for a few new ideas. It's a good choice for a public library with a community of computer users - which should be just about any library.

Wang, Wallace. My New Mac Snow Leopard Edition: 54 Simple Projects to Get You Started. No Starch Press, 2009. ISBN 9781593272098

The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History by Jonathan Franzen

The story that I read in the Chicago Tribune announcing that Oprah Winfrey had chosen Jonathan Franzen's Freedom for her book club surprised me, but not for the reason it surprised many others. I noticed that the story claimed that Franzen was born in Western Springs, the Chicago suburb served by the Thomas Ford Memorial Library, my workplace. Could this be true? The closest hospitals are in LaGrange and Hinsdale. Was he born at home? Did he live in Western Springs? Being a reference librarian, I had to look it up. What I found was confusion. Some reference sources say Western Springs while others say Chicago. I found no birth notice in the local newspaper.

Hoping to find an answer from the author himself and finding none on his website, I started skimming his autobiographical memoir The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History. Skimming turned into reading, so I checked the book out and started again from page 3 (the first page of actual text).

I don't have any desire to read his novels, but I enjoyed his humorously frank stories about his own life in Webster Groves, Missouri and beyond. I read with interest about his love of reading Peanuts in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the tactics he applied to the problem of being a nerdy guy wishing to be popular, and the ways that he was embarrassed by his parents. His anguish from being forced to wear uncool clothes and his inability to talk sensibly to girls spoke to me. The Christian youth group to which he belonged in high school reminded me of the cultishly hip religious fellowships that I encountered in college at about the same time. Though much of Franzen's youth was far different than mine, he succeeded in getting me to identify and sympathize with his troubles. However, I would never have tried to put steel-belted radial tires on top of the high school flag pole or remove the knockers from all the classroom bells.

While there is much that is funny about The Discomfort Zone, Franzen is pretty tough on himself at times. He admits to betrayals and insensitivity. He knows that he was at times unfair to his parents and later to lovers and spouses, but he does not overlook their faults either. I assume a lot of this has been reworked in his highly popular novels.

The final essay "My Bird Problem" seems more lighthearted to me. He still mentions some of his relationship problems but in the context of his recent obsession with bird watching, a nerdy preoccupation to which I also aspire. He also seems a bit befuddled by little brown birds. I cheered that his 400th bird was the whooping crane.

By the way, Franzen says on page 119 that he was born in Chicago. Alan at the Western Springs Historical Society found an E. Franzen living in LaGrange in 1951 (possibly his father Earl), and Franzen's publisher has sent us the message that the Franzen's lived in LaGrange. Franzen says that he was always told he was born in Western Springs.

Today, we went back to the Western Springs Citizen and searched another week of the paper. Finally, in the second section page 9 of the September 3, 1959 issue we found the birth announcement under the banner "Hello World." Jonathan Earl Franzen was born August 17 at Community Memorial General Hospital, a hospital opened in 1955. His parents lived at 617 S. Stone Ave. in LaGrange. The Community Development Department at the Village of LaGrange verified that the hospital was at that date within LaGrange. So all the reference books are wrong. Franzen was born in LaGrange, Illinois.

Franzen, Jonathan. The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. ISBN 9780374299194.

Afghan Star: A Documentary Directed by Havana Marking

In the United States, television mostly seems irrelevant these days. It no longer brings us together as it did in the 1950s and 1960s when there were just a few networks giving us common cultural experiences. Now the population is divided by hundreds of cable stations. TV mostly separates and pacifies us. As described in the documentary Afghan Star, the situation is far different in Afghanistan. Watching television is a pleasure recently restored after years of Taliban rule. Viewing is a political statement that defies the radical Islamic clerics who want to dictate morality. Performing on television is an act of courage.

Ironically, Afghan television is encouraging its viewers to come together and speak out by emulating one of the few American programs that has recently garnered viewers from all ages and political parties. Like its model American Idol, Afghan Star is a televised talent show that lets the viewers vote to decide who wins. In the documentary by the same name, we follow four contestants through one season of Afghan Star. For the two men, being on television is risky behavior that wins them fans who reject the Taliban past but are still cautious about offending conservative forces. The two women, on the other hand, have literally made themselves into targets for censure and possible assassination for appearing unveiled with men.

Viewers of the documentary see how thirty years of war has wrecked the country. As tense as the situation is, however, the message of the documentary seems upbeat. There are brave Afghans who want to enjoy music, such as the family identified as "Number One Fans" whose older daughter engineers a television antenna on the roof with foil and younger daughter plays Afghan Star with her dolls. There are the industrious street boys who recharge car batteries and cart them through the rubble strewn street to houses without reliable electricity. There are also legions of people spreading Afghan Star leaflets across the country to encourage voting for their favorite singers.

Sixteen people attended the film discussion at Thomas Ford and none left early after the viewing. Our conversation about the film and what we knew about the Afghan conflict lasted nearly half an hour. Other film groups should consider showing Afghan Star. More on the film is available at its own website.

Afghan Star. Zeitgeist Films, 2010. 88 minutes.

Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage That Redrew the Map of the New World by Douglas Hunter

When I first noticed Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage That Redrew the Map of the New World, I wondered if it could serve as a biography of the famous explorer. I assumed a man whose name has been given to a prominent river and a large bay would be a well-documented historical figure whose origins might make an interesting tale. To my surprise, I learned from the author Douglas Hunter that little is really known about Hudson. No record of his name has been found in documents before 1607, the year he led an English-financed voyage looking for the Northeast Passage from Europe to the Far East via the Arctic Ocean. He led subsequent voyages of exploration in 1608, 1609, and 1610-1611 and died in 1611 somewhere in Hudson Bay, Canada. His four mystery-filled years of exploration is all that is really known about the man.

So, in a sense, by recounting the four voyages of Henry Hudson, Half Moon includes everything that could go into a Hudson biography, but as a reading experience, the book is truly a history. Hunter includes chapters about other explorations (especially those of Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain, and John Smith), recounts the history of the Dutch East India Company, describes the workings of British and French royal courts, and tells how Hudson's exploration of the Hudson River Valley was used by both the Netherlands and Great Britain in claiming lands in the New World. Readers learn much about life on sailing ships and the tides of the Hudson River. Most importantly, the author shows how most popular accounts of early exploration of North America are skimpy and misleading. Much occurred that was never publicly revealed.

Greed, not the advancement of knowledge, drove the nations of Europe to send out ships of discovery. The primary objective for over one hundred years was finding a quick route to the Far East. Because each failure to do so bankrupted investors, the process of exploration was very slow. When ships were sent out, they were often poorly financed and were expected to help pay their way with Viking-like raids on unsuspecting seaside villages. Poorly paid sailors expected plunder to make sailing worthwhile. The distinction between pirates, merchants, and navies was almost meaningless at the time. It is no wonder that Africans and Native Americans soon became very wary of ships along the coast.

Half Moon may interest readers usually inclined toward historical novels, for Hunter keeps several story lines running and develops Hudson as fairly mysterious character. I was never quite sure whether to view the captain sympathetically or condemn him. He also provides a health dose of historical details without bogging down, and thoughtful readers may want to learn how their school books were wrong. Half Moon should be found in many public libraries.

Hunter, Douglas. Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage That Redrew the Map of the New World. Bloomsbury, 2009. ISBN 9781596916807.