Early in World War II, a Royal Air Force pilot wrote an explanation for some of the mechanical glitches that plagued airplanes — they were being caused by little creatures called Gremlins. That pilot was Roald Dahl, later to be a famous children’s author. His tale came to the attention of Walt Disney, and pre-production work
Don’t you wish life came with an instruction book? There is a book entitled The Complete Life’s Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (Thomas Nelson, 2009). It contains 1560 pithy sayings, from “#1 Compliment three people every day” to “#1560 Include your parents in your prayers.” Its actually a compliation of three previous
Awhile back I found the book Leaders by Richard Nixon in a second-hand bookstore (Warner Books). I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s turning into an interesting read. I always wonder about celebrity books — did the celebrity really do the writing? There are other names in the Author’s Note, but there are enough personal
I have been reading The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin about Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. I’ve still got a ways to go (and will have more comments later), but during my last reading session I ran across another example of how women’s roles have changed (as if we needed any more examples).
My brother, Dr. Gregory E. Welbaum, a professor at Virginia Tech (the smart one), has announced publication of his book, Vegetable Production and Practices. Although written as a college text and reference book, it will appeal to serious educated home gardeners who really want to know what they are doing. Most gardening books in stores
I recently finished reading Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. A fascinating book, it was really a political history of four men. I always wondered how Lincoln was able to win the presidential nomonation with so little experience in Washington. (He positioned himself as everyone’s second choice.) Of
