Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Short History of White Women’s Complicity

Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy by Elizabeth Gillespie McRae

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In Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy, historian Elizabeth Gillespie McRae makes a strong argument for white women’s vital role in protecting and perpetuating white supremacy and thwarting integration in the US. One hundred years ago, woman began to organize in ways that we would recognize from today’s resistance movements. They developed grassroots campaigns reaching out to other women and encouraging them to organize, to write letters, to publish, to speak up and to vote. They did this, however, […]

Why, yes, I did Double Cannonball on a large book with tiny print that’s won lots of awards, why do you ask?

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

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This book goes wide (not deep) on a very important topic, and should be required reading for everyone. That phrase gets thrown around a lot when talking about “important books”, but I’m seriously for serious here. Kendi has written THE comprehensive book about the history of racism in America, tracing it all the way from its roots in the 16th century through modern day, and he covers it from top to bottom, hitting on every major point you can probably think of along the way. It’s […]

To many left behind, on this circle round the sun…

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(Note any gifs here come from the mini-series I’m not in the habit of inserting random gifs of Mathew Macfadyen into my reviews though I can by request….) How do we measure a life lived? By the sum of all the money we have made? By the people we love and who have loved us back? By the places we have been or events we have witnessed? By all of these things or none of them at all? Any Human Heart is the story of a full […]

Bellevue ain’t just for crazies any more

Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital by David Oshinsky

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Bellevue has seen some sh*t. As New York City’s oldest public hospital, Bellevue hospital has been on the front lines of virtually every health crisis that hit our fine shores in the past 280 odd years. In this breathtakingly detailed history, Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Oshinsky (author of the equally cheerful Polio: An American Story), takes readers through this medical institution’s storied past. That description makes it sound like a bit of a snoozer. But, a textbook this is not. This well-paced tome puts […]

Pants Waits for Next Book in Series

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I’m fairly picky about which mystery series I follow. They are formulaic by design so if there aren’t engaging characters and interesting stories, I tend to lose interest pretty quickly. The story of Constance Kopp and her sisters: Norma and Fleurette caught my interest immediately and is that start of what I hope will be a fun, somewhat historically factual mystery series. The story takes place in 1914 New Jersey. On a rare outing into town, the somewhat reclusive sisters’ buggy is run down by […]

History, Political Intrigue and a Little Bit of Magic for Good Measure

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  This book contains lots of things I love (history, political intrigue and magic) along with some great character development throughout the course of the story. If I found out HBO or AMC decided to make this book into a miniseries I’d squeal and clap my hands like a little girl. The result, if done well, would be an exciting and colorful ride through late 18th Century Sweden. The story centers around Emil Larsson, a bureaucrat living in Stockholm during the reign of King Gustav […]



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