Kjellquist Blog

My latest read is Thomas Neil Knowles’ book Category 5 – The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. The book was Published by the University Press of Florida and is the result of 12 years of research and many interviews. This is actually my second book on this hurricane. Three years ago I read Phil Scott’s 2006 book, Hemingway’s Hurricane, so I was  already familiar with the tragic events of the 1935 Labor Day weekend. Even with this background I found the book very interesting. Knowles graphically portrays the lives of Florida Keys residents immediately before the hurricane, during the day of the storm and the aftermath. Both books address the tragic loss of the hundreds of World War I veterans sent to the Keys to build a continuous road link to Key West. Unlike Scott’s book, Knowles provides more information by way maps and graphics. Both books reproduce many photographs of the aftermath documenting the total devastation and lose of life. Through his vivid writing style, Knowles gives us a glimpse of life on the Florida Keys during the height of the depression and the life & death struggles experienced on that day. Knowles compliments the human stories with just enough factual background on hurricanes, the US Weather Service and the Florida East Coast Railway to keep the narrative flowing for easy reading.
In his epilogue, Knowles addresses whether if could happen again? The 1935 population of the Florida Keys at the center of the hurricane was 284 residents. In 2000 the same area had a population of 6,846. Current estimates are that an evacuation of the Keys would take 36 hours. I don’t know if this estimate takes into account the Katrina experience but it seems to be a low end estimate to me. The Labor Day Hurricane (they weren’t given names until 1953) went from Category 1 to Category 5 in the 36 hours prior to landfall. Knowles thus, answers the question “Unfortunately, the answer is yes, and such an event has the potential to be much worse in terms of the number of causalities and the amount of property damage.”
Anyone contemplating a seaside home in the southeast should read either of these books. First as checkpoint on the potential devastation that a hurricane can reek and second, as motivation to evacuate the shore area when a hurricane threatens. Unlike 1935, today’s technology of satellites, hurricane hunter aircraft, and knowledge of hurricane physics make any loss of life avoidable. 

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I just finished reading Geraldine Brooks’ book, People of the Book. This book is a little different for me. It is a novel but not the standard adventure yarn of Berry or Baldacci. According to Wikipedia, People of the Book in Arabic is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a book of prayer. The three faiths that are mentioned in the Qur’an as people of the book are Judaism, Sabians and Christianity. In Judaism the term “People of the Book” subsequently became self-applied to refer specifically to the Jewish people and the Torah.

The central “character” in this novel is a Haggadah. The Haggadah (meaning “telling” in Hebrew) is the text that provides the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah is a fulfillment of the scriptural commandment to each Jew to “tell your son” about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah. The specific Haggadah in People of the Book is Sarajevo Haggadah.

The Sarajevo Haggadah is a real illuminated manuscript from the 15th century. This rare text is nearly unique because of the beautiful illuminations. Early Jewish law forbid religious illustration. The book has also survived several narrow escapes including focused destructions of Judaic literature in medieval times (Catholic Inquisition) and by the Nazi’s in World War II. Most recently, the book survived Bosnian War attacks by Bosnian Serbs on the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

It is this backdrop that Ms. Brooks weaves into a fascinating 600 year history. She starts with a modern day book conservator working on the book immediately following its rescue in Sarajevo. In the process of the restoration; the restorer, Hanna Heath, finds several artifacts in the binding that link directly back to key events in the book’s life. Chapters in the book represent flashbacks to these events.

The reader is cautioned (as the author describes in notes at the end of the book) though the Sarajevo Haggadah is real, the events and characters in the book are fictional. Ms. Brooks writes so well it is easy to get caught up in the book believing things to be factual.

A side benefit from this book is learning about many Judaic rituals and history.

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I was recently able to snag an advanced reviewers copy of Steve Berry’s new book (on sale Nov 23), The Emperor’s Tomb, as a member of Library Thing. I finished reading it a couple of days ago.
The Emperor’s Tomb is pure Steve Berry and a really fun read for a dark winter’s day in front of a warm fire. Of course, this scene is for your benefit (and my imagination) since I’m reading it in sweltering 95+ degree summer heat.

 From the book cover:

“Malone’s life is shattered when he receives an anonymous note carrying an unfamiliar Web address. Logging on, he sees Cassiopeia Vitt, a woman who’s saved his life more than once, being tortured at the hands of a mysterious man who has a single demand: Bring me the artifact she’s asked you to keep safe. The only problem is, Malone doesn’t have a clue what the man is talking about, since Cassiopeia has left nothing with him. So begins Malone’s most harrowing adventure to date—one that offers up astounding historical revelations, pits him against a ruthless ancient brotherhood, and sends him from Denmark to Belgium to Vietnam then on to China, a vast and mysterious land where danger lurks at every turn.”

First, I should report a note of full disclosure – I’m a big fan of Steve Berry and anxiously await each new book. However, Steve Berry’s books aren’t going to win any awards for serious literature. This isn’t really a criticism of his writing but rather a statement of the niche that Berry fills. Every era needs authors that give readers a break and provide fun, exciting reading. This is what Berry does and very well!
It isn’t essential that you know Cotton Malone is a retired secret agent turned Copenhagen antiquarian bookseller or about Cotton’s previous escapades with the mysterious Cassiopeia Vitt and other minor characters. However, it does make reading a current Steve Berry book that much more enjoyable. So if you’re new to Steve Berry, pickup some of his earlier books to catchup with Cotton and Cassiopeia. Many are in paperback.
As is typical of the adventure genre today by such writers as Dan Browne, Berry skillfully weaves a set of historical facts, locations and events into a plausible, though maybe improbable, adventure scenario. Of course; there is the requisite gun fights and chases across the landscape but as I said, this is why you read a Steve Berry book. In the case of The Emperor’s Tomb, Berry takes much from Chinese history mixing in plot elements from today’s headlines about oil and China’s economic development.
After finishing the book (my recommendation) you can check the writer’s notes in the back to see what is fact and where Steve has taken some license to create a good story.
Another common adventure vehicle regularly used by Berry, in evidence throughout the book, is the disguised loyalty of characters. Good guys are bad guys but they aren’t. Bad guys are working for the good guys etc etc. In this book Steve Berry does over do the twists somewhat and narrative rationales get a little tiresome. But, overall this is a minor criticism in a basically good read.

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