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“When I was young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps seniltiy will do the job.” John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America
As a child I lived in a small village outside of Nuernberg, Germany. From an early age I had an urge to read and roam. Bound by a lack of funds, my early journeys were limited to forays into the musty stacks of the local library and the forests, riverbanks, meadows and farms surrounding home.
At thirteen my travels began in earnest when my family moved to the United States. From there a somewhat nomadic existence led me to Okinawa, England, Turkey and various other U.S. and overseas locations.
A serious case of the Wanderlust, being out and about in nature, loving pastries and the antics of bears – think Winnie-the-Pooh and Paddington, as well as being inclined to ponder some of life’s conundrums are the reasons A Musing Bear Tales was born.
May the information I share here inspire you to, in the words of Winnie-the-Pooh, go on your own “expotitions”, exploring and finding pleasure in the simple things life has to offer.


(14 & 15)
Development of the library
Taking into account that "ancient knowledge" was appreciated differently in Witsen's days, there still turn out to be many old books in the collection when the books are arranged chronologically according to date of publication. This can be illustrated by choosing a date as dividing line, for instance the year 1669 (Nicolaes Witsen, 28 years old, had then just returned from his Grand Tour. In the same year, his father Cornelis died). Counting the numbers of books before and after this date results in 1322 books dating from before 1669, against 769 books of later dates (up to and including 1717).
When we add up all the books from the auction catalogue that were published every ten years since 1480 (the date of the oldest book) up to and including 1746 (the year of Nikolaas Lambertz's death) and put these in graphs covering the various fields of knowledge, the resulting curves show remarkable similarities. (See fig. 3) These similarities become apparent in two undulations occurring around 1570 and 1620, and in two peaks around 1660 and 1700. Undulations and peaks imply valleys and ravines. Unfortunately, there is insufficient available material on fluctuations in Dutch book production; this is why it is not possible to compare these figures with the heyday and crises in Dutch book trade. We would also have to know the Dutch places of origin: the auction catalogue supplies only scanty information about these, and insofar as this information has been supplied, quite a few books turn out to be of foreign origin. Nevertheless, there seems to be a certain correspondence with Dutch welfare. The disaster year of 1672 for instance and the following war with France, England, Münster and Cologne may well have been the cause of the most conspicuous dip. As it happens, Nicolaes Witsen himself also suffered from a depression in 1673. The peak which then followed will most likely have been a combination of the increased book production and Witsen's own growing demands. However, there is another possible explanation for the curious chronological structure of the library.
2. Parental home
In order to show how the library was probably passed on from generation to generation, we have to go back to the situation of Witsen's parental home. The family stayed together for a long time: Nicolaes, who wrote his book Scheepsbouw en Bestier there, did not leave home until he was thirty-three years old, and married Catharina Hochepied. At first, this parental home was Herengracht 165, but in 1660, this house was sold by his father, who then moved with his wife and five nearly grown-up sons to the much more spacious premises at Keizersgracht 327. For three generations the Witsen lived there, until the house was sold after the death of Lammert Lambertz, Nikolaas II's elder brother, in 1747.
The portrait of the father Cornelis Witsen (1605-1669) is best known for its appearance in Bartholomeus van der Helst's civic guard group portrait in the Rijksmuseum, painted in celebration of the Peace of Münster in 1648. There he occupies a prominent position as captain. This painting also provides evidence for his active involvement in Amsterdam political and social life: Cornelis Witsen held various offices there, among which that of bailiff, deputy of the States General, board member of the West India Company, counsellor of the admiralty and commissioner of the pilotage - and he was also four times burgomaster. The last time he held this office, he exchanged it for the more lucrative position of head bailiff. Not for long, however, since he died shortly afterwards.
Cornelis was the only son of Jan Cornelisz Witsen (1569-1636), corn merchant and prominent trader with Muscovy. If there had been any question of him possessing any books and manuscripts, these would therefore certainly have been left to him. Cornelis Witsen, however, was an amateur himself. He owned ancient manuscripts and documents, pictorial works (among which there were Indian miniatures), coins, and many rarities. And, of course, he owned books.
With respect to his ancient manuscripts we have the account of Olfert Dapper (1636/37-1689), the learned writer of a series of books on foreign countries and their inhabitants and also author of Historische Beschryving van Amsterdam ("Historical Description of Amsterdam"; 1663). In the dedication to this book he thanks Cornelis Witsen for his help and for putting at his disposal "several ancient memorabilia and manuscripts in Your possession and kindly put at my disposal by Your sons". As it turns out, these manuscripts did not only provide Dapper with the incentive to start this work, but they also gave him the strength to persevere with it. Other illustrious personages, however, had been less cooperative; they had, he wrote, "contemptuously rejected" his request for access to their ancient documents.
Cornelis's amateur interests were not devoid of scholarly love. This is shown by the many notes and sketches Nicolaes found in his house after his death, which would become the starting-point for his ambitiously designed study Scheepsbouw en Bestier (1671).
When Cornelis Witsen died in 1669, all of his sons were still living with him in his house at the Keizersgracht. None of them had married by then. (See family tree, Appendix C) Jan, the eldest, was thirty-three years old and town secretary; Lambert, captain and knighted by Louis XIV, was thirty-one; Nicolaes was twenty-eight and had only just returned from his Grand Tour; Cornelis was twenty-four and captain of a company of foot-soldiers, and Jonas, finally, was a twenty-two year old youth, still at his "studies". All these sons, with the possible exception of Cornelis, who preferred to keep his eyes open in a different way and sought adventure in faraway countries, were real lovers of the arts and sciences.
Of the eldest, Jan, the famous French physician and numismatician Charles Patin (1633-1693), who visited him in the house at the Keizersgracht in 1671, even went so far as to say that his cabinet was the most magnificent of the whole of Amsterdam. It seemed, he wrote in a letter, as if the house had been built for pleasure rather than accommodation. Its visitor was greeted with beauty and symmetry everywhere. It was impossible to tell whether the cabinet was designed as an ornament to the house, or the house to that of the cabinet! He owned paintings, books, busts, antiquities, and all the best in their kind. "On peut dire que ce qui est rare par tout, se trouve en abondance chez luy". The same could be said of his collection of coins. Joachim Oudaen used it when writing his well-known book Roomsche Mogentheid ("Roman Empire"; 1669), which deals with the collecting of coins in the form of dialogues. And brother Nicolaes described a series of these coins in Scheepsbouw en Bestier (1671). Jan died, still unmarried, in 1676.
So as not to go into too much detail about the family history - what we are concerned with is after all the coming into being and development of Nicolaes Witsen's book collection -, when Nicolaes' mother died nearly thirty years after her husband in 1698, her middle son Nicolaes was the only one of her children still alive. The youngest, Jonas, had died when he was just twenty-seven years old, and had only been married for two weeks; he had, however, lived long enough to produce an heir: Jonas II. A year later, Jan had died, and in 1680, Cornelis's fall from a horse had had fatal results. At the time of their death, all three of them were still living in the house at the Keizersgracht. With regard to their possessions, especially their books, we have no information to go on. One could ask oneself whether one is right in speaking of a family library, or that everyone had his own book-case. The latter was probably the case. When Nicolaes describes a series of memorial coins in his book Scheepsbouw, he explicitly states that they "were kept in the drawers of Johan Witsen, secretary to the town of Amsterdam, my brother". Although the collection involved here was a "serious" one, and the attitude towards common books, meant for "consumption", was perhaps different, they will have shared the use of the books (as of the coins), even if they all owned their own book-cases.
Whatever inheritance there was before or after the mother died, it must have ended up with Nicolaes, his pupil Jonas II, and Lambert, or his wife and children, since Lambert had died nearly two years before his mother.
Lambert was Nikolaas II's father. Ever since he was a child he had worked at "all liberal and honest studies, especially also in the science of fortification and more suchlike mathematical studies." It seems likely that he had a collection of books. Although he fathered a whole line of children, only Lammert and Nikolaas II lived long enough to be involved in the inheritance. In the case of Lammert, who was unmarried and the last Witsen to live in the house at the Keizersgracht, we know of an auction catalogue of 1747 listing 82 paintings, but there are no indications that there was a
comparable list of books, - which does not mean, of course, that he did not possess them.
It is quite conceivable that the books stayed together as a collection after the inheritance had been divided, but it may just as well be true that each made his own choice of the books. How many and which books were involved will always remain a matter of speculation. Be that as it may, if we look at the 1747 catalogue of auctioned books of Nikolaas Lambertz's library, it should not be ruled out that the books were not only a combination of the library of his uncle Nicolaes and his own books, but that they quite possibly numbered among them books once owned by his father Lambert. It is also possible that both from the side of his uncle Nicolaes and of his father, books were added that once belonged to uncle Jan and grandfather Cornelis. Perhaps this suggests an explanation of the fact that burgomaster Nicolaes Witsen's name did not appear on the auction catalogue... It would also provide an explanation of the fact that several editions of the same book occur so frequently in the catalogue.
Taken together, it can be said that Nicolaes Witsen will have used the books in the house of his parents at least until his marriage in December 1674, when he was thirty-three. After that, it is uncertain which course the possession of his books may have taken, but with respect to the period from the death of his last brother Lambert in 1697 to his own demise in 1717 we may assume, that the books mentioned in the auction catalogue must for the most part have been acquired by him. Translated into figures we see that the decade up to 1700 with 232 books and the following ten years with 178 represented the absolute peak in the acquisition of books. Of these, the historical books take the lion's share with 108 and 71 books respectively - and these were the books that Nicolaas Witsen was mainly interested in in these years. By this time, the dates of publication will have become nearly synchronous with the dates of acquisition.
1. Problems of classification
A well-known French historian opens his article on an eighteenth-century collector and his library of 3400 books with the question: "Une bibliothèque est-elle un état d'âme?" The outcome of his attempt to find an answer to this question by means of François Furet's classificatory system in combination with biographical data suggests that the "state of mind" of the owner is rigorously controlled and pigeonholed indeed. Pursuing a course of one's own choosing, however, shows that every outcome is subjective and manipulable. Every book, after all, contains a universe in its own right, many books can be classified under various fields of knowledge and the reasons for their presence are often innumerable. Shifts in interest, books unread, lost, lent or not returned are other factors which obscure the overall picture.
The application of Furet's main plan to the Witsen library is satisfactory insofar as it brings out the general outline of the composition and the growth of the library. But this is no longer the case when one attempts to deal with the labyrinth of subcategories - Furet's extract of eighteenth-century auction catalogues from the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Besides, it remains to be seen whether these sub- and sub-sub-categories should be let loose on a seventeenth-century library. The thousands of pages written about the development of libraries in the seventeenth century provide a picture of an intricate cosmic structure which is given a completely different aspect in Furet's plan.
Yet, in order to give an impression of what kind of books were present in Witsen's library in which numbers, Appendix A steers a middle course. Starting from Furet's five categories, a different, "natural" classification has been made on the basis of order in auction catalogues and regularly recurring titles, a classification more specifically geared to the library at hand. The advantages of this more detailed approach are, that it can first of all be assimilated in other counts, that, secondly, it
brings the more specific characteristics of the library to the fore, and that finally subjects are not restricted by the limits set by particular fields of study.
Books about "navigation" for instance represent a field in which Witsen was closely involved. In 1671, he published his book Scheepsbouw en Bestier; nineteen years later he saw to the publication of a fully revised edition. He was the designer of a number of nautical charts, and furthermore he was a board member of the East Indian Company and commissioner of the pilotage. Furet's system loses track of these books: they are found under law (18), history (9), arts & sciences (19), and literature (5), and their respective sub-categories. Taken together, this results in 51 books which are not identifiable as such. With this new classification, books like Tjassen's Zee-Politie ("See-police"; Law), Gietermaker's Kunst der Stuurlieden ("Art of Steersmen"; Arts & Sciences), and the Dictionaire des Termes de Marine by Des Roches (Literature) can now also be found in a separate group. Navigation is taken in a wide sense: poetical works like Antonides's Ystroom ("Y-stream", 1671), or Jan Vos's Zeekryg ("See-battle", 1653) are placed in this group. The above also applies to "dictionairies", "classical authors", etc.
How Nicolaes Witsen arranged his books on the shelves we do not know, but it seems plausible that he used a system of sorts, if only to prompt his memory. In his correspondence with Cuper, there are innumerable remarks about not being able to retrieve a book, picture, or a manuscript, because he put it in a different place. For that matter, on libraries and all facets of the acquisition of knowledge, he owned a very thorough work, Morhoff's three-volume Polyhistor of 1708. The reason why he owned this book is a typical example of the ambiguous motives which may be at the basis of Witsen's ownership of books. What, for instance, do we find when we look up page 435 of the first volume, Polyhistor Literarii, liber ii "methodicus", caput vii "De Methodis Variis", section 77...? A eulogy on Witsen's Architectura Navalis. Morhoff knew that this book was in the possession of the French bibliophile and scholar Melchisédech Thévenot. In his discussion about the systematic acquisition of knowledge the author mentions Thévenot as one of those rare figures who were always trying to
collect as much material as possible in particular fields; he owned, for instance, every relevant book on the artes mechanicae, - among which was Witsen's excellent book on Dutch shipbuilding. The fact that Witsen owned Morhoff's Polyhistor may therefore very well indicate a special interest, but certainly also shows a tendency towards "self-glorification".
2. Reasons for the presence of books
On closer examination of the library and the way Witsen operated both as a private person and as a regent, it turns out that it is possible to achieve a categorisation that is quite different from the ones mentioned above, namely on the basis of the reasons for the presence of the books. By looking upon the library in this light, the characteristic element of the books Witsen owned is emphasized, and the problem of the accumulative origin and endless enumeration of titles is avoided. The following four could be possible reasons for and causes of the presence of books, namely interest, relations, donation, and inheritance.
2.1. Interest. This seems to be the most obvious incentive for the acquisition of books. Within this category, a distinction can be drawn between "professional interest" (legal and educational works), "topical subjects" (politics, religion, religious controversy) and "private interest" (from mere divertissement to anything concerning Witsen's "studies", and that was a great deal indeed), but in general these motives are very closely connected. This is apparent from the extremely heterogeneous nature of the religious reading found in Witsen's collection (religious controversy, politics, personal involvement).
A similar example of the interrelation of motives is provided by the great many books on foreign countries and peoples (177): love for and amazement at God's creation, politics, trade interest, divertissement and study. The fact that the past was very much part of the contemporary present also explains the presence of books on several grounds. Ancient and modern history were contrasted, as
is already apparent from the titles of the books: "Ancient and Modern Rome", "Ancient and Modern Wars", "Ancient and Modern Histories", etc. And that is why we also have "Ancient and Modern Ship-building", the subtitle of Witsen's own book. That Witsen was very much aware of his own place in history, is confirmed by the many histories and biographies of great men on the list (51). They were his examples, the models of virtue that he could try to emulate.
2.2. Relations. It turns out that many books are concerned with foreign and domestic "relations", among which were friends, acquaintances, and clients. The long list of books dedicated to Witsen shows that quite a few authors and booksellers had reason to be obliged to him. There is no doubt that they will have offered their work as gifts. This, by the way, provides another explanation for the presence of duplicates in the auction catalogue.
This category also includes all those books in which Witsen is mentioned or thanked. The books concerned are usually works on foreign countries and peoples, and books on natural history. Witsen owned, for instance, fifteen different works by the great Ethiopia-expert Job Ludolf (1624-1704), who was also his correspondent in Frankfurt.
Witsen also possessed books which were dedicated to friends of his or which were particularly concerned with them. One of those friends was Gijsbert Cuper (1644-1716), the Deventer burgomaster and antiquarian, with whom he conducted a correspondence about foreign countries and peoples for over thirty years. However, with the authors of many of these books he was also quite well-acquainted. This shows us just how small the world of the Republic of Letters actually
was. Most amateurs of letters and scholars were aware of each other's existence, either through indirect channels or through one of the many scholarly periodicals or societies. In many cases they also knew each other personally, especially when their own particular specialization was concerned,
The presence of several books by one author, or a group of authors, may suggest a relation or friendship. In this way, quite unexpected "friends" like Jan Swammerdam and his medical circle, the universal scholar Melchisédech Thévenot and the Danish geologist and anatomist Niels Stensen come to the surface. Witsen owned seven books by Stensen (Nicolaus Steno), among which there were three copies of De Solido Prodromus of 1669, a book about anatomical experiments in two different editions, and two books about Stensen's conversion to catholicism. No evidence of any personal contact between Witsen and Stensen has yet been found in the literature on Stensen; the same goes for his contacts with Stensen's friends Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680) and Melchisédech Thévenot (1620-1692). It turns out, however, that Witsen had known these two from his student days, and that Stensen later became one of Witsen's contacts with the scholarly circles in Italy.
2.3. Books presented to Witsen and books of special value.These books may in the first place be recognized by their method of binding. Witsen's book collection was certainly no "showpiece library", in the sense that books were bound in uniform, orderly bindings. On the contrary, only if a book was a gift, contained a printed dedication and was (perhaps) of emotional value, it was bound in a "rib binding", a binding of calf, morocco, French or Turkish leather. Overall, there are ninety of those books, of which fourteen, moreover, are gilded.
There are no duplicates among these bindings, although there are often several exemplaries of the same book extant. Therefore, in most cases the giver will have been responsible for the leather binding.
Chronologically speaking, the first book with a special binding is the illustrated folio edition of Jacob Cats's collected works of 1655, bound in Russia leather with fastenings. Olfert Dapper's Beschrijving van Amsterdam of 1663 is the next in line: printed on large-size paper and bound in a gilded binding of Turkish leather, - this is the book in which Cornelis Witsen and his sons are thanked for offering access to the use of their ancient documents. From this point onwards, we come across these kind of bindings more and more frequent. It turns out that especially the French bindings contain printed dedications to Nicolaes Witsen, not seldom accompanied by his coat of arms. Only a few books are coloured: one botanical work of 1517 is painted, as is one of his four editions of Flavius Josephus's Jewish Histories, and a number of books of (sea)maps and atlases.
Valued trophies were the personally annotated copies by famous authors, among which there were several books from the estate of Petrus Scriverius (1576-1660). The possession of old and rare
books was also highly valued; with these, we are gradually entering the twilight zone between books and "rarities".
2.4. Inheritance. Inheritance can, as we have already seen, also be an important factor involved in the presence of books. It should be possible to deduce through biographical data, especially in the topical religious and legal field, and through his private interests, a portion of the books that belonged to Witsen's father Cornelis. For now, dedications and duplicates provide the most helpful information. For instance of the pedagogue and theologian Johannes Amos Comenius (1592-1670), who lived in Amsterdam from 1656 until his death, the list contains six titles, two of which have duplicates. This Czech refugee owed a great deal to Cornelis Witsen; in 1666 he dedicated his Janua Linguarum Reserata to him (listed twice in the catalogue), an exceptionally popular Latin textbook, that was translated into many languages and published over the years in no fewer than 500 editions.
However beautiful and interesting a book collection a seventeenth century collector may have had, the manuscripts, the unique specimens, were what made his collection really special. One of the best known works on the composition of a library, Gabriel Naudé's Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque of 1627, mentions them as the best, rarest, and most respected part, and this point of view is fully confirmed by other sources, such as wills and inventories of book collections. The will of Witsen's nephew and heir was no exception to this rule. As we have seen, he stipulated in 1727 that all his books were to be sold after his death - with the exception of the manuscripts; these were to go to his eldest son Nikolaas III (1709-1780). Since in 1761, the latter ordered the public sale of a chest - presumably containing the commercially most attractive manuscripts - we are relatively well-informed about Nicolaes Witsen's property in this field. Other sources that can provide information about manuscripts are the 1728 catalogue of auctioned curiosities as well as Witsen's own writings: his books, notes, letters, etc. What was left over after the auctions of 1728 and 1761, was stored in three more chests. These were lost during the French period, as is proved by a statement of the Amsterdam town archivist Jacobus Scheltema.
What manuscripts did Nicolaes Witsen have in his collection?
3.1. Family papers. In the first place there were of course the family papers: enfeoffments, legal acts, pedigrees, wills, genealogical notes, etc., that Witsen used to prove his lineage. From 1682, the year of his first appointment as burgomaster of Amsterdam, dates his prestigious Geslagtregisters ("Pedigrees"), a huge, leather-bound book, which measures 72,5 x 100cm when opened, and which was partly made on order, but which later also became a product of his own talents. As telling motto it bears a quotation from Rutilius from the first half of the 5th century A.D., translated in English:
Let us be not surprised that people die each day
While the greatest towns decline and fall into dismay.
The study of family trees and kinships had always been a popular and distinguished pastime for the well-to-do, and Witsen too had a soft spot for this pursuit. The fact that he always buried himself in old books and papers is especially evident from the second part of the Geslagtregisters, the "Uitbreydinge" or commentary on the first genealogical / heraldic part. His documentation appears to be partly based on documents he found in archives and libraries elsewhere; documents, by the way, which did not always find their way back to their rightful owners.
3.2. Dossier. Furthermore, Witsen was an accurate reporter of his own activities. This made him a determined collector of all those testimonies that had to do with his political work. By the end of his life, thirty numbered files made up his "dossier", with which he, himself a jurist, wanted to account for his actions. Unfortunately these were largely lost, but historians like Jan Wagenaar were still able to put them to constructive use. This also reminds us of his precursor Olfert Dapper, who was so happy about Witsen's father allowing him access to his collection of authentic town- and other documents.
3.3. "Hand-written" or "unprinted books". In a totally different category were the manuscripts, for which Witsen also sometimes used the term "hand-written" or "unprinted books"; books which formed a complete whole, had never appeared in print before, and of which at best only several manuscript copies existed. It should be added that at that time, this category also included works which had once been published, but which had become so rare that they had become of comparable value. Witsen's collection of manuscripts consisted both of a number of manuscripts from before the
advent of the printing press and the period of the incunabula, and of works of much later dates which, for various reasons, had never been published.
Witsen's most valuable codex was a large format book on parchment of 1465 by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Other works by classical authors written on parchment were the hymns, etc. of Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, the works of Lactantius Firmianus of 1476 and Le livre d'Ethiques, a 1376 translation of Aristotle's Ethicorum Libri X. He furthermore owned two medieval chronicles by the famous Johannes de Beka, the writer Joost van den Vondel based himself on for his tragedy Gysbrecht van Aemstel (1637). The codex from 1393 was contained in a binding decorated with brass buttons, the one dating from 1350 was enriched with notes by Scriverius. The provenance of a twelfth-century Bible in Latin was quite special in that it had been saved in 1453 "from the flame" of Constantinople, when this town was burned to the ground by the Turks. This was added in Latin by Josephus Scaliger when he was given the book by his friend Sybrand Siccama.
3.3.2. Contemporary manuscripts
Witsen's other manuscripts were mostly works by authors who were employed by the East Indian Company. Examples are Rumphius's De Generale Lantbeschrijving van het Ambonse Gouvernement, "very neatly written and bound in red Turkish leather, in 8° ", a Description of Ceylon by the preacher Servatius Clavius, and research by the scholar Herbert de Jager, who has been entirely forgotten, mainly because nearly all of his work was lost. Witsen, however, also owned transcripts of books which, even before they were published, were sent to him by the author
in order to serve as a reference in his studies, such as the Discorso della Nautica degli Antichi by the Florentine scholar Carolo Dati (1619-1676).
The letters make up a separate category in the manuscripts. There were historic documents such as the letter from 1636 from Hendrik Brouwer to Anthony van Diemen, both of them "supreme commanders of the Dutch Indies", about the North-East passage, a hot item at the time. Or from the king of Bali, "Deywa Agon, to the Governor General Willem van Oudshoorn, with engraved letters on a Gold Plate, being, after translation, a declaration of submission to the Noble East Indian Company." But there were also complete correspondences. Witsen must have owned quite a few of these. In the French period, as we have seen, most letters were lost, together with the three chests of notes, reports, etc. The only information we have about how Witsen stored his correspondences is a remark to Cuper. Of him he owned "a great volume of very distinguished and scholarly letters, (…) which I have just gathered together and keep among my most precious belongings."
3.3.4. Exotic writings
And then there was that "fashion" for exotic writings, which were usually doomed by the ignorance of their owners to spend their days as unread ornaments: "To the ornamentation of my library I own a fair number of Chinese books", Witsen wrote to Cuper on 9 April 1713, "although their contents are obscure to me. They were sent to me earlier from Batavia." A few years before, a Chinese physician had visited him at home, but the visit had been too short to really enlighten him: "This Chinese Gentleman could read and write everything that was Chinese", he had to confess regretfully: "If he had stayed here longer, I would have been able to get a great deal more information out of him".
If he had the right persons at his disposal and if he thought the contents of a book were important for his studies, he had a translation made. This is, for instance, what he did in the case of several Arabic works. But he also owned manuscripts of which nobody even knew with what kind of letters they were written. Having become curious about this, the well-known orientalist Adriaan Reland (1677-1718) wrote to him:
I have often been told that You, Sir, own many Indian manuscripts, among which several in unknown characters. I am very curious to know about these, since I myself own some Javanese, Malayan, Japanese, Chinese and other manuscripts, and cannot contrive what these unknown characters might be: although it is said that in some islands to the east of Java, writing is used that is still unknown to us.
In return, Witsen sent him "a book written on the barks of trees". But Reland too had to "admit openly that I do not know what the writing is: that this has never happened to me before with regard to modern writing". Apparently some advance was made later on, since the auction catalogue mentions that the note "it is said, that this writing is of the peoples of the country of Tipora near the Ganges" has been added.
Witsen added such notes to his valuable and rare books almost as a rule. In a Coptic-Arabic dictionary he wrote:
This book was brought here by the distinguished scholar Petraeus from Egypt, as is apparent from his writing above, but reduced to poverty he left it here and it is thus, through the book-shelf of Dirk Hillensberg LL.D., that it has fallen into my hands by right of his will. N. Witsen.
That these anecdotes were not just a private eccentricity of his, but go back to a much older custom, is also shown by other manuscripts. Sometimes they record the names of whole lists of consecutive owners.
But objects too were given these little notes. On a piece of paper, strongly yellowed through the ages and folded in four, we read: "This red jar came from the house of the deceased grandfather of my grandmother, Albert Barentse, and may be even older", after which Witsen continues:
The above is copy of a note in my grandfather Optie's handwriting; so that may be calculated how long this jar has been in our family, maybe for far longer than two hundred years, so that it deserves to be preserved as a witness to the antiquity of our family. N. Witsen.
And also the next owner of the jar, the collector Gerard van Papenbroeck, added his own note to the paper.
The composition of Witsen's book Noord- en Oost Tartarije, which consists almost exclusively of a stringing together of separate notes, seems to follow naturally in this tradition; as does his map of Russia, which has a great many added notes. Perhaps this also partly explains Witsen's love of cartography: it enabled him to structure his collection of "facts" into an orderly whole.
Witsen always put a great deal of effort into two fields, which were, moreover, very closely related, namely: in the first place the interest of the family, the "clan"; and thereafter the interests of "the commonwealth", the general interest, the "nation".
1. Family interest
Family interest also included, limiting ourselves of course to Witsen's intellectual activities, the study of kinship and its respective "antiquity". Since this was a generally popular pastime, and to many also of considerable social value, everyone was well up on the details. In the case of one quarrel, this enabled burgomaster Gillis Valkenier to give Cornelis Geelvinck, "Lord of Castricum", a sound lecturing on the basis of his background; and vice versa. Both regents threw their respective grandfathers, one being a "salesman in peas and beans" and the other a "Leiden bargee", into each others faces, after which reconciliation became nearly impossible.
Witsen meticulously went through historical works such as those by Pontanus, Aitzema, Domselaer, Dapper, Commelin and all those other Amsterdam historians, trying to find out what had or had not been said about him or his family. A curious example of this are his "Remarks" to Casparus Commelin's Beschryving van Amsterdam of 1693. Curious, because his notes date from years back and seem to confirm the impression that he was constantly trying to erect a monument in his own honour.
Collections of manuscripts owned by friends also offered him a welcome opportunity to peruse these with an eye on the family-lineages. One of the most exquisite libraries of ancient books and manuscripts was that of Adriaen Westphalen in Alkmaar (1626-1695), who was characterized by Witsen as "an accurate investigator and expert on Dutch history".
With the bibliophile, philologist and geographer Vossius (1618-1689) Witsen remained in touch throughout his life, also after he had moved to England; "he was my special friend", he wrote to Cuper. He corresponded regularly with Vossius, among other things about the North-East passage and about the question whether Nova Zembla was or was not attached to land. But the friendship turned into enmity when Vossius wanted to show off Witsen's information in the Philosophical Transactions and to king Charles II; information that, to make things worse, had been misrepresented by Vossius. What was so painful about this matter was, that the king had become so enthusiastic that two ships were sent out on an exploratory expedition. The attempt failed, and one of the ships was shipwrecked and many lives were lost. Witsen heard this from the mouth of the surviving captain, Greenvile Collins, who had become a friend of his.
Extremely little has survived of Witsen correspondence with Vossius. But at least one letter shows, that he was allowed to freely use the latter's library for his Scheepsbouw. (See Appendix B).
Witsen loved books, but he was certainly no collector. He held them dear for their contents and not because of their "neatness" or the completeness of his collection. Books in a beautiful binding were, it turns out, usually presents, whereas the number of hand-coloured books are negligible. It was only because of what they had to say, because he thought them important in the "public interest", that he campaigned several times for their publication.
The fact that he owned so few auction catalogues is significant: of private collections he had only one, namely that of Dirk Hillensberg of 1683. This is hardly surprising, since this jurist had left his entire estate to Witsen, as is apparent from Witsen's inventory. Hillensberg's collection of 5228 books and manuscripts (lots) will also have been included to it. It appears, then, that Witsen owned this one auction catalogue, because he himself had ordered its sale. Is it possible, one wonders when comparing both their lists of manuscripts, that from all this, Witsen took over only the Dictionarum Copticum?
Witsen's library, then, was a user's library. It contained, almost as a matter of course, beautiful books, but he was mainly interested in firsthand written information, the only just published work, and books he considered indispensable to the progress of his studies. And if he had any problems getting them, he borrowed them: this much is clear from the correspondence with Gijsbert Cuper. The periodicals, of which there are thirteen on the list (and of which a number seem to be missing), kept him informed, as did his correspondents, booksellers, friends, etc.
At the auction of 1747, the entire library brought in 3217 guilders and 13 stivers on a total of 2031 lots or 2307 titles (among which are all the duplicates). On 1 September 1761, part of the manuscripts were also brought to the hammer. Without tax deduction, this yielded 699 guilders.
The question as to the place of this book collection in relation to comparable collections, is difficult to answer because of the lack of studies as well as of sources in this field. Of persons who had similar positions and a similar breadth of interest such as the burgomaster Joan Huydecooper van Maarsseveen (1626-1704) a catalogue dating from 1704 is known, listing 5043 lots; the library of Gijsbert Cuper, also burgomaster, which was auctioned in 1717, consisted of 3803 lots (in addition to 67 manuscripts and 10 parcels). The library of François Fagel (1659-1746), clerk of the States-General, comprised about 5000 "items" in 1723. Unaware of the possibility that "the library of Nicolaes Witsen" may have belonged to several relatives, Koeman, in his large-scale research on the ownership of maps and atlases in Dutch collections, is probably right in calling this library a "small" one.
CATEGORIES AND NUMBERS OF BOOKS LISTED IN THE AUCTION CATALOGUE OF 1747.
I. THEOLOGY (465):
1. Bibles (27), biblical commentary (22), Old and New Testament (20), catechisms (5)
2. psalms / devotional hymns (15)
3. theological works: general (105), Protestant (169), Catholic (40), anti-Catholic (11)
4. sermons/commentaries (29)
5. dictionaries (1)
6. other (21)
II. LAW (295):
1. legal works general (217); collected works on author (15); classical (3)
2. criminal law (28)
3. law of war and peace (10)
4. navigation (19)
5. dictionaries (3)
III. HISTORY (706):
1. Church history (58), China (6)
2. Ancient history (14), navigation (2); Antiquity / commentaries (31)
3. Modern history:
A.general (10); textbooks (3); dictionaries (1)
B. history of Europe:
a. countries (29); politics (32); statesmen/memoirs, etc. (7)
b. towns (10)
c. wars (18), the Netherlands (14)
C. history of the Netherlands:
a. politics (40); navigation (1)
b. provinces (19)
c. towns (15); Amsterdam (7), guidebooks (2)
a. classical (2); general (7); textbooks (2)
b. travel accounts (91), embassies (8); works on countries and their peoples (66), Europe (4)
c. separate peoples (6)
d. maps/nautical charts (13); guidebooks (1)
e. dictionaries (2)
- Auxiliary branches of knowledge:
5. Auxiliary branches of knowledge:
a. monuments/sculptures (22), dictionaries (1)
b. epigraphy (6)
c. numismatics (28), dictionaries (1)
d. chronology (12)
e. genealogies/chronicles (10)
f. biographies (47), William III (4), memoirs (4); funeralia, "entrées" (7)
g. bibliographies (24)
6. Other (43)
IV. ARTS AND SCIENCES (390):
1. Classical authors (9)
2. Contemporary: a. general (24)
b. descriptions of diseases/remedies(5)
c. anatomy (14)
d. pharmacy (7)
B. Natural history:
1. Classical authors (3)
2. Contemporary: a. general (12)
b. botany (21)
c. zoology (1), insects (4), fish (1)
d. mineralogy (5)
e. shellfish (3)
1. General (27)
2. Logic (6)
3. Ethics (14)
1. Astronomy (16), astrology (2)
2. Geometry, algebra, etc. (48), dictionaries (1), classical (4)
3. Surveying (3)
4. Fortification (4); architecture (6)
5. Mechanics (5); Navigation (23), dictionaries (1)
6. Optics (7)
E. Physics (19), classical (2); Chemistry (2)
Economics (13); Military (17), hunting (4), sports (2); Drawing (4); Agriculture (2), gardening (1); Music (1); Periodicals (13); Dissertations (4); Other (20)
V. LITERATURE (286):
1. Grammars / philology (40),
2. Dictionaries (42), navigation (2)
3. Orations / disputes (19), rhetoric (2); Letters (14), classical (1)
4. Classical literature (72)
5. Poetry (23), navigation (2)
6. Divertissement (28), anthologies/collected works (18), sayings (11), emblems (2), epigrams (3), theatre (2)
7. Other (5)
OTHER: "24 Volumes and a Parcel of various Political/ Legal/Poetic/Theological and other treatises"; 5 volumes of "rare Treatises"; "a small parcel of English books"
LETTER FROM NICOLAES WITSEN TO ISAAC VOSSIUS (1618-1689), CONCERNING THE BORROWING OF BOOKS FOR HIS STUDY SCHEEPSBOUW EN BESTIER (1671). UNDATED, BEFORE 1670 (UBA B102).
The Very Learned Gentleman. Mr. Isaac Vossius. Lives at the end of the Kleine Houtstraat on the canal. The Hague. With a small parcel.
Very Learned Gentleman,
I hereby send back to You the three books which You had lent me and allowed me the use of for some time, thanking You exceedingly for that favour and kindness, and I wish I may return the favour, as I will always show myself prepared to do, and I will try to prove that I am not ungrateful for all the friendship You have shown me many times. I Pray then, have no scruples, and put me to work if You consider me worthy of returning the favour.
I have made use of the figures in Furtenbach and of a small number of pages from the manuscript where they refer to shipbuilding. That Italian book turned out to be of little use since it deals more with the art itself than with the building of ships. Sir, I seem to recall that You told me that You had in Your possession several Greek manuscript treatises, concerning the work presently on my hands, which were never published. If You would be so kind to send these to me, I would be very much obliged. I will have them translated and I will refer to them in my book, when I publish it, and I will gratefully commemorate Your name, as I do also elsewhere. If You should have in your library any other works that have bearing on my forthcoming work, I beg You to send these to me in the interest of the Republic of Letters.
I recently spoke to Mr. Hudde, who sends his regards and says to wish no more than to continue his friendship with You. Far be it from him that he should have spoken badly of You to anyone, which I heard rumoured of him. Herewith, Sir, I conclude, saying that I am Your
EXTRACT FROM THE FAMILY TREE OF
CORNELIS JACOBZ WITSEN & CATHARINA OPSY


The Seaford Chapter of the DAR is the only Delaware chapter bearing a female name. The founding members of the chapter selected her name since seven of them were in her ancestral line.
Born August 20, 1756, to John Vining and wife, Phoebe Wynkoop, Mary Vining was known as the “Belle of Delaware,” perhaps one of the most beautiful women in the colonies during the time of the Revolutionary War. Her wit and charm won her notoriety throughout the colonies and abroad.
Her cousin, Caesar Rodney, influenced her to support the revolt from England and she frequently served as hostess for Rodney in Philadelphia. While entertaining British officers, she would extract important military information from them and relay it to her brother who was in the Continental Army.
Legend has it that during this time she met and fell in love with the Revolutionary War hero, General Anthony Wayne; also known as “Mad Anthony Wayne.” Unfortunately, Wayne already had a wife and family in Philadelphia and did not ask for Miss Vining’s hand in marriage until after his wife died.
The wedding was not to be. General Wayne died on his final military mission December 15, 1796. Mary Vining never recovered. She died in 1821 and is said to have been buried in an unmarked grave in Old Swedes Churchyard (Wilmington, Delaware).1
Photo (above): Old Swedes Churchyard, Wilmington, Delaware
Mary Vining Chapter, NSDAR, Seaford, Delaware
Organized April 6, 1940
Mrs. Mary Lord Hudson, Regent
ORIGINAL CHAPTER OFFICERS
Regent – Mrs. Mary Lord Hudson
Vice Regent – Mrs. A.H. Lord
Recording Secretary – Mrs. Sam Stein
Corresponding Secretary – Mrs. T.S. Purse
Treasurer – Mrs. Norman Hearn
Registrar – Mrs. Susie Farmer
Librarian – Miss Elizabeth Elliott
Historian – Miss Aurelia B. Cate
Mary Vining, The Belle of Delaware — The Sunday Morning Star (Part II of a Wilmington Delaware Newspaper Series), March 20, 1949
1 Based on Wright Robinson’s article in The Leader, March 23, 1988.


More women are entering the cybersecurity industry and breaking down barriers to leadership. Recently, I had the honor of spending time with over 80 women in cybersecurity who held various roles from CISO to cybersecurity scholars at a Vision & Voice networking breakfast at the FS-ISAC Spring Americas Summit. The women in the room shared stories of the most impactful leaders they’ve worked with and together, we also compiled a list of great books that help us with our leadership skills and career advancement.
One attendee expressed her gratitude for the support and camaraderie of her colleagues in the FS-ISAC community, stating, “I value our friendships and what you all bring to my personal and professional life. So lucky to have you all as part of my crew!” This sentiment was echoed throughout the room, as many acknowledged the unique challenges women face in a male-dominated field and the importance of female role models and mentors.
Another participant shared her appreciation for the long-lasting connections she’s made, saying, “I don't think you hear it enough that I am grateful our paths have crossed and intertwined over all these years, and know how lucky I am to have an awesome set of women in my corner.” These bonds extend beyond the workplace, offering emotional support and encouragement as these women navigate career challenges.
In a testament to the power of collaboration and shared wisdom, one woman recounted how her peers had helped her negotiate a job offer, “The women in this room helped me negotiate my last job offer and I couldn’t have been as successful without their transparency and advice.” A supportive community where women feel comfortable sharing their experiences and seeking guidance can be transformative in shepherding women from middle management roles into higher echelons of leadership. This is how we can accomplish substantive change in cybersecurity diversity and culture, all of which can contribute to more effective teams.
Throughout the event, a number of influential books were discussed, which have played a pivotal role in shaping these women's leadership skills and career trajectories. Some recommended reads include Lean Out: A Professional Woman's Guide to Finding Authentic Work-Life Balance by Dawn L Baker, Moments of Impact by Chris Ertel & Lisa Kay Solomon; and Imperfect Leadership: A Book For Leaders Who Know They Don't Know It All by Steve Munby. (Full list available below.)
These books explore the journey towards authentic work-life balance for professional women, the importance of designing strategic conversations for transformative change, and embracing the imperfections inherent in leadership while fostering growth and learning.
As more women continue to break down barriers in cybersecurity, the importance of fostering a supportive and inclusive environment cannot be overstated. The power of mentorship, collaboration, and sharing knowledge is evident in the stories shared at this event, and serves as a reminder of the positive impact we can have on one another's careers and lives.
Our collective strength and resilience are the driving forces behind a more diverse and inclusive industry, ready to tackle the evolving challenges of cybersecurity.
Women Cyber Leaders' Booklist from the FS-ISAC Spring Americas Summit
- Am-Bitch-Ous: Learn to Be Her Now by Debra Condren
- Lean Out: A Professional Woman's Guide to Finding Authentic Work-Life Balance by Dawn L Baker
- Earn It!: Know Your Value and Grow Your Career, in Your 20s and Beyond by Mika Brzezinski, Daniela Pierre-Bravo, et al.
- Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute, Steve Carlson, et al.
- The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict, Suzanne Toren, et al.
- Moments of Impact by Chris Ertel & Lisa Kay Solomon
- You are a Badass by Jen Sincero
- Managing Up by Mary Abajay
- Work Here Now: Think Like a Human and Build a Powerhouse Workplace by Melissa Swift, Daniela Acitelli
- The Book of Beautiful Questions: The Powerful Questions That Will Help You Decide, Create, Connect, and Lead by Warren Berger, Michael Quinlan
- How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen, Marshall Goldsmith
- It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by D. Michael Abrashoff and Hachette
- Imperfect Leadership: A book for leaders who know they don't know it all by Steve Munby
- Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts by Brené Brown
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
- Women in Tech: Take Your Career to the Next Level with Practical Advice and Inspiring Stories by Tarah Wheeler
- You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader: How Anybody, Anywhere, Can Lead Anytime by Mark Sanborn
- The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues: A Leadership Fable by Patrick M. Lencioni, Stephen Hoye
- Coffee Lunch Coffee: A Practical Field Guide for Master Networking by Alana Muller
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
- The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho, Jeremy Irons
- The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability by Roger Connors, Tom Smith
- The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller, Jay Papasan
- The Gift: 14 Lessons to Save Your Life by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, Tovah Feldshuh
- Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu and Macmillan
- How Women Rise by Sally Helgessen & Marshall Goldsmith
Learn more about our Vision & Voice: Women in Cybersecurity community, which is dedicated to lifting women into leadership roles. The community is free to join.


SynopsisWho is the real Margo?Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...
I'm very excited to start reading Paper Towns, it will be my second book by John Green. The Fault In Our Stars
was an exceptional read, so special. I liked the writing in TFIOS and I'm curious to see how John Green wrote this story. I'm planning on buying the entire box set of John Green, but first I wanted to try one more book to be sure.
So I was happy to discover I still like the writing style. It isn't very difficult to like the main character, Quentin. He's an average high school senior. He is described very realistically. Quentin has always admired Margo. She's such an awesome and interesting person to him.
The book evolves around this mystery of Margo's disappearance and Quentin's journey to try to find her and also discover the real Margo. During the book Quentin is wondering if his view of Margo is accurate. Does he know the real Margo like he thought he did?
Quentin's has two great friends. Ben is absolutely hilarious, such a great character. I liked reading the developments around his friends.
It's interesting to see the story develop and witness Quentin's change in perspective. I don't wanna spoil anything, but I especially loved the ending. It made the book even more realistic.
The book has portrayed a great message. Quentin realizes that everyone is also just a person. I love the following quote:“What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.”
And it is, treacherous to believe that. Great quote and great realization too.
I thought it was a very interesting book. Very different than TFIOS, but it still got me thinking, just like TFIOS
did. This book stays with you for a while and you will think of this story now and then. I love when that happens, when a book really sticks with you.
I liked it a lot, it was a fast and interesting read.
After reading this I definitely wanna read the other John Green books. If you have a John Green book to recommend, let me know!
Have a great day,


In this article I attempt to trace the first stage of Lacanian theory regarding the subject in psychoanalysis. Working from the canonical text dedicated to the so-called “mirror stage”, I call attention to the phenomenological mediation of understanding of the subject by Lacan. The decisive experience is the identification of oneself with an entire and complete vision of one’s own ego – according to Lacan, this boils down to recognizing one’s own reflection in the mirror – which becomes the basis for all later identification. The essence of this experience, however, is that it reveals not the “real” face of the subject, but the awareness of the fictitiousness of this face. Nevertheless, this is a necessary fiction, and a condition for all human acts of cognition. Referencing Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of perception, I demonstrate how Lacan, taking a similar path, stepped outside the realm of traditional phenomenology. The subject ceased to be a transparent, self-supporting ego of perception, because – as the experience of psychoanalysis shows – it is entangled from the very beginning in the web of language.
This radical “weakening” of perception and of the Cartesian Cogito brings Lacan to the conclusion that an act of cognition, and consequently the entire system of human knowledge, is unable from the start to give any truth about the subject. This is because truth is not revealed in the undisturbed, pure realm of perception of cogito ergo sum. Difficult and complicated investigation into the truth of the subject brings one to the experience of psychoanalysis and its inconclusive character.
Finally, I show how Lacan, delving into the well-known Freudian thesis wo Es war, soll Ich warden, relocates the subject of psychoanalysis in the structure of speech. In other words, I will connect the entire range of possible interpretations of the subject with speaking and speech. It is in the structure of speech, and only through this structure that the subject’s ego can appear in language.


Color, by Countee Cullen is a good example.
Countee Cullen was born in New York City in 1903. He was raised in a Methodist parsonage. He attended De Witt Clinton High School in New York and began writing poetry at the age of fourteen. In 1922, Cullen entered New York University. His poems were published in The Crisis, under the leadership of W. E. B. Du Bois, and Opportunity, a magazine of the National Urban League. In 1923, Harper published his first volume of verse, Color, and he was admitted to Harvard University where he completed a master's degree.


Roald Dahl's MATILDA THE MUSICAL
Perfomances: July 18-21, 2019
ALL TICKETS $5.00
Matilda is a little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers. She's unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Over the course of her first term at school, Matilda and Miss Honey have a profound effect on each other's lives, as Miss Honey begins not only to recognize but also appreciate Matilda's extraordinary personality. Matilda's school life isn't completely smooth sailing, however – the school's mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don't abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils' saving grace!
The Book Club Play
Written by Karen Zacarias
Directed by Nancy Winker
Loads of laughter and literature collide in this smart hit comedy about books and the people who love them. Ana is a Type A personality who lives in a letter-perfect world with an adoring husband, the perfect job, and her greatest passion: Book Club. But when her cherished group becomes the focus of a documentary film, their intimate discussions about life and literature take a turn for the hilarious in front of the inescapable camera lens. Add a provocative new member along with some surprising new book titles, and these six friends are bound for pandemonium. Sprinkled with fun references to documentaries and novels galore, from Moby Dick and Age of Innocence to Twilight and The Da Vinci Code, this buoyant comedy will have everyone laughing…and reflecting. A delightful play about life, love, literature, and the side-splitting results when friends start reading between the lines.
Written by Stephen Karam
Directed by Joel Perkin
An uproarious, hopeful, and heartbreaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate and give thanks at his daughter’s apartment in Lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the Blake clan’s deepest fears and greatest follies are laid bare. Our modern age of anxiety is keenly observed with humor and compassion in this new American classic.
Winner of the 2016 Tony
By Steve Martin and Edie Brickell
Director Dan Harvey
Music Director Ben Chumley
A musical set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in 1945-46, with flashbacks to 1923. The musical is inspired by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Grammy-winning collaboration on the 2013 bluegrass album “Love Has Come For You.” This sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American south in the 1920s and ‘40s unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion, beautiful melodies, and powerfully moving performances.
Winner of the 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Musical
“The shining achievement of the musical is its winsome country and bluegrass score.”
— The New York Times
April 30 - May 10
By Bekah Brunstetter
Directed by Chris Tinkler
Della makes cakes, not judgment calls. But when the girl she helped raise comes back home to North Carolina to get married, and the fiancé is actually a fiancée, Della’s life is turned upside down. She can’t really make a cake for such a wedding, can she? For the first time in her life, Della has to think for herself.
“This is us as we could be, if we’d all just try a little harder.”
— Los Angeles Times
Outside the Box - Shakespeare and Friends
For the residents of Grover’s Corners, daily life proceeds at a predictable pace. The milkman arrives like clockwork, the neighbors perpetually gossip, and children contemplate their future. It’s a simple plot line but somehow expresses all the joys and complexities of life. Two of these children, George Gibbs (Allen Law) and Emily Webb (Tara Sweeney) fall in love as adults and despite last minute nerves, get married.Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer, Tony and Academy Award winning play is a beloved theater classic.
Catherine Gillet (Director) is also a playwright, whose published and award winning plays have appeared at many venues around the country. While a member of Circle Repertory Company she studied with Craig Lucas, Terrance McNally, Paula Vogel. and Lanford Wilson. Happily re-located from NY to Tryon, she is the director of The Dark Horse Theater Project, dedicated to innovative theatrical presentations. She has directed two shows for TLT: Outside Mullingar and Dancing at Lughnasa, and several staged readings for TFAC’s Stage Door Series. She has also had some of her own work performed at the TFAC amphitheater.


While out for my 10,000 steps of gratitude walk, I was delighted to discover an art break gem! At first glance I thought it was a Little Library full of books and I immediately thought to run home and grab some Free Art Packets to stuff inside.
But, as I stepped closer, I discovered it was an amazing little seed library! I was instantly filled with joy and grabbed some free sunflower seeds from the cute little offering.
This lovely interaction has inspired today’s Take an Art Break idea.
How can we grow, share, and bloom through the art making process?
Try one or all of these Take an Art Break ideas and find the answer!
- Literally, plant some seeds. Plant seeds in a pot and give it to someone. Ask them to share a picture of it when it blooms.
- Document growth. Find your inner botanist and document the growth of a plant. Plant your seeds and document (via a journal with daily drawings) the plant’s growth. What thoughts about the cycle of life does this process invite?
- Grow. Share. Bloom. Think about the metaphor of this statement painted on a seed sharing box. Grab a journal or piece of paper and express it via scribbles, drawing, writing, whatever. What does the metaphor mean to you?
Robin Williams said “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!'”
I totally agree. Nature is our greatest teacher. When you wholeheartedly share your creative self with the world, your unique, true, and beautiful self, you are saying, “Let’s dance!” to life.
So, let’s have a dance party, friend! One final Take an Art Break idea to try today is to dance like everyone’s watching. Give them your full self and see how you grow and bloom.
You are an inspirer.


- YangBaxter (with O. Konovalov). A GAP package for set-theoretical solutions of the YBE, braces, racks and quandles, cycle sets.
- Rig (with M. Graña). A GAP package for racks, quandles, and Nichols algebras.
- Python/Sage script for Nichols algebras and derivations.
- Sarna (with M. Graña and I. Heckenberger). Software written in Python to calculate the Arithmetic Root System associated to a braiding of diagonal type.


Why You Must Read Fiction Every Month
Plus, international bestselling writer Karin Slaughter shares her picks for fit bodies with curious minds.
Athletes think they pick up the most knowledge from reading non-fiction but you actual reap health benefits from fiction (via escapism) as well. The reading of classic literature, for example, is linked with increased wellbeing. Researchers also note that fiction readers tend to score high on measures of ‘theory of mind,’ the ability to understand other people’s feelings and thoughts. Emory University study found that being enthralled by a novel helped people put themselves in someone else’s shoes and use their imagination in a similar fashion to visualization.
“Fiction elicits existential feelings of humanity and introduces us to deep characters, helping us to connect with the world outside the pages,” says Rhiannon Corcoran, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of Liverpool who studies the impact of literature on the mind. “There’s lots of space in this area of research to look at how and why literature could actually help people psychologically,” she adds.
That’s why we’re bringing you this special edition of our high-performers’ book club. We asked international bestselling writer Karin Slaughter, author of the forthcoming novel The Good Daughter to share her picks, from gripping tales and page-turners to classic prose. Here, the reads that will take your mind elsewhere.
The Ex by Alafair Burke
A Gone Girl and Girl on the Train-type suspense novel, The Ex follows a criminal defense lawyer who agrees to represent her ex-fiancé who she believes has been framed for murder. “I love stories about moral quandaries and Burke, a real-life hot-shot lawyer, law professor, and all around amazing writer, knows her stuff,” says Slaughter.
Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
A young woman struggles to understand what lifestyle is more ‘free’: that of a prostitute or that of a servant who runs a household that’s not her own. “In 1760s London, a young woman is faced with selling out her dreams or selling herself to disastrous consequences,” says Slaughter.
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
When a private investigator starts looking into three seemingly unrelated cases years after the first has occurred, connections emerge. “This is the kind of storytelling that always reminds me why I love reading," says Slaughter. "It’s clever and cunning and darkly entertaining."
Mister Sandman by Barbara Gowdy
Understanding the Canary family’s secrets starts with understanding their daughter Joan, who, after being dropped on her head as a child, doesn’t speak or grow (but plays the piano flawlessly). “Another book that makes you laugh out loud, then fear for the characters’ mental well-being, then wonder what on earth is in the author’s mind,” says Slaughter.
The Red Hunter by Lisa Unger
In this multi-layered novel, two women with histories of trauma cross paths to confront their monsters in the same place. “I love it when authors can handle suspense as well as character development," says Slaughter. "This author does both so well that you forget that you’re reading and imagine you’re inside the story."
Night School by Lee Child
The protagonist of Child’s series of books is a retired military major who investigates dangerous and suspicious situations. This installment takes readers to a Jihadist sleeper cell in Germany that’s just received an unexpected visitor. “Fantastic. Classic Reacher. Lee knows exactly what he’s doing and I’ve never yet read one of his books where I didn’t race to the end,” says Slaughter.
The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
When the Quinn family home is attacked, sisters Charlie and Samantha’s mother is left dead and their father, devastated. Twenty-eight years later, violence strikes again and “good daughter” Charlie, now a lawyer, is plunged into another nightmare. Packed with twists and turns, this read, out on August 22nd, is sure to be a page-turner.


Other books by Scott Turow
- Ordinary Heroes
- Ultimate Punishment
- Reversible Errors
- Personal Injuries
- The Laws of Our Fathers
- Pleading Guilty
- The Burden of Proof
- Presumed Innocent
- One L
This book had 3 distinct story parts:
1. A love affair between an aging judge & a young lawyer
2. A court case
3. The relationship between a father & son
There are only a few characters in this book; the main ones are father, son, lover, DA.
For me, the core of this book is the relationship between the father and the son; both lawyers. The father, a well known & respected Prosecutor & Judge, about to be elevated from the Court of Appeals to the Superior Court, finds himself deliciously & troublingly embroiled in a great love affair and has to confront his demons.
That confrontation unfolds in a courtroom as Judge Rusty Sabich, once accused & acquitted of a prior murder charge, is again charged of murder; this time of his own wife.
The prosecutor's explanation of the murder plot takes shape as the reader is follows step by step through the logical questioning of the Judge and as he testifies to those questions put to him by the current DA, his prior & current nemesis. Of course, there are two sides to every court case & the defense side is just as convincing.
In the beginning of this novel Turow provides the back story of the prior murder charges (& acquittal) brought by Tommy Molto against Rusty Sabich; details not permitted into evidence at the second trial for fear of prejudicing the jury. It also puts the reader on the the emotional roller coaster that is the intimate & sincere love affair between Rusty & Anna. As a senior citizen, myself, reading about this sexy love affair produced some longing in me. Of course, it is immoral by our puritanical social standards but it is also very real, desirable and special for both participants. Unfortunately, it could never have ended well and didn't.
Nevertheless this secret affair, to all except the participants, plays a pivotal role in Rusty's wife's demise and the strengthening of Rusty's relationship with Nat, his overshadowed son (who is clerking in the Superior Court), and who hasn't quite found his place in life when the story begins.
The dialog between father & son seems haltingly genuine as does the court testimony and other relationships in the book. None was a real stretch for this reader. It all seemed so credible, thanks to the author's talent. It will probably make an excellent movie one day.
I consider "Innocent" a thoroughly enjoyable read; once I got into it, I could hardly put it down. For anyone who likes a process piece, like a CSI or seeing how lawyers present opposing views of the same evidence, this is a definite read. I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars.


And so I present my long overdue review of Shabanu which assigned me a few weeks ago for our "assign each other a book" project. My delay in getting this one finished was not because of the length of the book - it took me just two days to read - instead it was that I had been trying to finish another book which I am sad to say was probably not worth the time I put into it. Anyway, I am happy to report that Shabanu most definitely was worth the time and reaffirmed to me that I actually can finish a book quickly - something that hasn't happened as often as it used to.
The book was written by Suzanne Fisher Staples and it falls into the Young Adult Fiction section of the library (of which I am not at all familiar with in my local one so I had to wander around a bit until I found the right section). The story focuses around a young girl, Shabanu, who is part of a desert herding family that lives in Pakistan. It is a coming of age story and while I found the book very good, I also thought it was very depressing. Much of the story is about freedom and the lack of it. As a child, Shabanu has freedom to roam the desert with her beloved camels, but as she grows older her freedoms diminish considerably. It actually makes me really angry that women in different cultures and parts of the world have so little say in the course of their lives. I cannot imagine being married off barely into teen years to immediately begin bearing children, or facing the possibility of being beaten or killed if I disobeyed my father, or so many of the other things that Shabanu has to wrestle with throughout the story.
The ending made me want to cry a little.


For those who are younger than fifty, it is a date memorized from history books. For those who are older, it is a moment frozen in time. Each one who experienced it remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the announcement that President Kennedy had been killed.
But something else happened on that date that the world little noticed. On the same day, November 22, 1963, C. S. Lewis collapsed at 5:30 PM in the bedroom of his Oxford home and died one week before his sixty-fifth birthday. Fifty years later, C. S. Lewis’ death is little noted. But his writings may be more popular and more widely read than ever. Both events marked by November 22 continue to shape our world: the traumatic assassination of our President and the writings of C.S. Lewis.
An avowed atheist in his youth, C.S. Lewis came to faith in Christ in 1931, partially influenced by his friend and colleague, J.R.R. Tolkien. By some estimates he became the most widely read Christian writer in history. He is perhaps best known today for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, a Christian allegory written for children in 1950.
I expect both Lewis and Tolkien would be shocked to discover their fantasies, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings have become blockbuster movies in the twenty-first century. And, I expect C.S. Lewis would be even more surprised to learn that he is one of the most quoted authors on Twitter and Pinterest. Here are a few of his most famous quotes:
“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.”
"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done."
"God has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. You are as much alone with him as if you were the only being he had ever created."
"When Christ died, he died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only person in the world."
Millions who have struggled with doubt and disbelief have found a path to faith through his best known book, Mere Christianity. I first read Mere Christianity when I was a college student at Baylor University 45 years ago, along with The Screwtape Letters and The Four Loves. Later I added his science fiction books, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. Like many others my faith and my thinking have been shaped by Lewis’ writings.
As the world pauses to reflect on that fateful day in Dallas fifty years ago, we are afforded opportunity to reflect on faith in Christ, as described so beautifully by C. S. Lewis. A faith that can carry us through any crisis, global or personal and conform us into the image of God’s Son.


If I were to tell you I wrote a story about a May/December love affair between music and a saxophone named Her, would you believe me? I didn’t think you would but it’s true. Music has been here since the dawn of time. It’s been the melody of life, unfettered, free, and always waiting for us to-dare I say-tame it and guide it with our voices and with our instruments. The musician may have picked up the sax and breathed air into Her, but it was from the music, the jazz that was created, that love was found and where it grew.
Amina Perrin isn’t looking for love. In fact, she isn’t looking for anything. She’s got her yoga, her massage therapy and the community she serves, keeping her plenty busy. That is until she bumps into a stranger who may change her free-spirited mind.
Gabriel Slade is living the good life. Financially secure, nice condo overlooking the city, and the occasional “drink” with a beautiful woman—he has no intention on getting caught up, especially not with one so much younger than him, but here he is… getting all caught up and picking up a long forgotten saxophone he calls Her.
If you’re opposed to sweltering love scenes between two passionate adults, this book isn’t for you.


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Student Panel & Discussion at Skyline High! All Welcome!
January 12 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Student Panel & Discussion at Skyline High
Join us for a Student Panel & Discussion on Saturday, January 12, 2019 from 10-11AM in the Skyline Library for anyone interested in learning more about Skyline strictly from the student perspective. For questions, contact Justin Anderson | email@example.com
Location: Skyline High School
Time: 10am to 11am
Contact: Justin Anderson | firstname.lastname@example.org


The Book of Mormon opens with something called “The First Book of Nephi.” I sit down to begin reading, and I feel I’m reading Tolkien: I’m wondering when all these names will be explained. People? Places? Creatures? If only Gandolf were here to explain.
Nephi is, obviously enough, the author, and he begins his book by explaining his lineage:
- “born of goodly parents”
- “taught the learning of [his] father”
- lived a life filled with its fair share of trouble but still close to God, and
- “having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God.”
He is something of a Gandolf: keeper of long-lost knowledge.
Nephi goes on to explain that his chronicle, written in “the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians,” is true: “I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.” Evidently it has never cross Nephi’s mind that his knowledge could be flawed.
It’s a strange statement, though, because this is supposed to be a book divinely inspired. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to argue that the book is true because it comes from God? I suppose he’s simply stating here that this is firsthand knowledge, but we immediately see it’s not, for he starts talking about his father’s experiences:
For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed.
Finally, we get a known name: Zedekiah. Zedekiah was the successor to Jehoiachin, and the prophet Jeremiah was his adviser.
2 Kings 24.18 explains, “Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.”
In Jeremiah we read
He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. It was because of the LORD’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Zedekiah basically stood up to Nebuchadnezzar, who then came down to Jerusalem and destroyed it. With this mention of Zedekiah, we get more than a known name; we get a possible date: between 597 and 586 BCE. This means we get a time frame for the events of the Book of Mormon, a time frame we could use to get archaeological verification.
The first chapter concludes with Lehi, Nephi’s father, getting a visit from God, in the familiar pillar of fire. God warns Lehi what’s coming by giving him a book of prophecy. There is an obvious parallel with Smith here, and if the Book of Mormon is not of divine origin, it’s a smart stroke on Smith’s part to start legitimizing his book within the book itself.
Suddenly, Nephi stops discussing his father’s story:
And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.
It seems like more legitimizing: “this is not the first time we’ve seen books that are critical aspects of God’s revelation to humanity simply disappear,” Smith can argue.
The first chapter concludes by explaining that, after God’s revelations, Lehi did what Smith himself would do later: prophecy. And the result was the same:
And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.
A cliffhanger! Brilliant — I can’t wait to see how Lehi got out of this pickle…


Saturday, July 27, 2013
Down the Rabbit Hole
As my close friends know, I am obsessed with books. They are an escape from life and a fantastic portal to amazing places and people. One book I have only recently read, is Lewis Carroll (I think I spelled that right...) Alice In Wonderland. And yet, I had read modern novels extending the classic story, listened to music inspired by it, and have seen many such similar movies and t.v. series long before I ever touched the book. So why do I find it so, I suppose the best term would be, magnetic, and why have I for so long? The story of a young girl chasing a well-dressed rabbit who just happens to speak English down a gigantic hole into a fantastic world of opposites, nonsense, and fantastics, when summarized, sounds rather plain, but it is exciting nonetheless. Why? I have never seen the movie rendition (deemed to psychedelic for a child by my mother), and have read hundreds of stories of ordinary (and sometimes extraordinary) children passing through fantastical gateways to strange and backward worlds. Why is Wonderland so different? This is one question that I cannot find an answer to. Perhaps it is its very nature, so different from our own world, that fascinates me. However, I must admit to have taken a dive down the rabbit hole of my imagination and visited it for myself. And, it is truly, amazingly fantastic.


“ I love books. I love that moment when you open one and sink into it you can escape from the world, into a story that’s way more interesting than yours will ever be. ”
– Elizabet Scott
There’s nothing better than lаying in bed and reading books. I could do this forever. It really does helps me to forget about the world for awhile and chill, plus it’s good for your imagination and it can help you understand and relate to people better.
Trust me you’ll learn a lot of things if you read.
My summer reading list:
· Looking for Alaska by John Green
· ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
· Divergent by Veronica Roth
· Heat Rises by Richard Castle
· И за Америка като за Америка by Марко Семов


Python can be applied to a variety of programming tasks, like software development, website development, general server scripting, database management, debugging, and much more. So it’s no surprise that Python programmers are highly sought after.
Head First Python: A Brain-Friendly Guide (2nd Edition): Paul Barry provides a shortcut to the fundamentals and quickly gets you working with built-in data functions and structures. That’s one of the reasons why it’s among the best books for learning Python programming.
You can start building your own web app, engage in database management, and take on other tasks before you even finish reading the book. The book is also loaded with vibrant visuals and delivers a multi-sensory learning experience, unlike old-school textbooks.
Learning Python (5th Edition): Mark Lutz has more than two decades of experience teaching Python programming to beginners. He is also one of the primary reasons why Python grew into a popular coding language. Several exercises, illustrations, and quizzes in the book are designed to deliver an in-depth introduction to core Python principles.
The self-paced tutorials are also fashioned to get you started on Python 2.7 and 3.3, and other popular advanced features in everyday use today.
Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (2nd Edition): Allen B. Downey takes a serious approach to Python programming with his offering. As alluded to in the title, the primary goal of this book is to get you to think about code like a professional software engineer. While it isn’t as fun to read as some of the other books on this list, it’s clear, comprehensive, and straightforward.
This book doesn’t dive as deeply into the subject as other books, but it does cover a wide range of topics, from analysis of algorithms to polymorphism. The second edition is filled with exercises and includes four in-depth projects.
However, you won’t find as may exercises as in similar books in the marketplace. Having said that, it’s important to note that it’s still one of the best python programming books available today. When you’re done reading it, you’ll be ready to start thinking like a seasoned coder.
Learn Python the Hard Way – A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (3rd Edition): Zed A. Shaw’s book may not have the most appealing title, but it can certainly equip you with the skills you need to be an excellent Python developer.
The book is made up of 52 collated exercises that you can read and type. Once typed, you’ll have to go back and fix the mistakes in the code to better understand how it works. This approach to Python programming will help you better understand the structure of well-written software while limiting technical debt.
You’ll also learn about the common mistakes often found inside the code and the tricks and tools used by the experts to identify and fix them.


Atlantis and the battle of gods
Amazon | 2022
(Translated from Greek titled Ατλαντίδα Μαινόμενη – Enraged Atlantis).
In the long distant past, lost in the mists of prehistory, the mighty kingdom of Atlantis-Macaria reigned supreme in the midst of the ocean.
Its wealth, its splendid palaces and the miracles produced by its technology were one aspect of its grandeur. But it also had its dark side…wars of conquest, slavery, injustice and greed. On its throne was king Cronus, who had even imprisoned his own children in Tartarus, lest they might one day overthrow him and rule in his place. But his youngest child, Zenas-Zeus, owing to a subterfuge perpetrated by his mother Rhea, had escaped the fate of his siblings in Crete and, in due course, returned and prepared to punish his tyrannical father.
Inas, a primitive boy, captured and brought to Macaria to work in the mines as a slave, met Zenas and took part in his risky expedition to free his brothers and sisters from Tartarus.
The battle between the two royal generations of Cronus and Zenas–the celebrated Titanomachy–was to be harsh. Of equal ferocity was the battle that followed between the natural elements of water and fire, destroying Atlantis and reducing it to the status of a myth. It is a myth that still captivates the popular imagination today.


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and Technology and Islamic Azad University-Damghan branch.
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Atop my bookcase are about forty books – my “to be read” collection. For a slow reader like me that’s nearly three years’ worth. They include both books I’ve chosen and books I’ve been given. Some folks give me books they’re excited about, and want to share. Others give me books hoping that it will fill some gap in my understanding. I’ve come into some fine books in both ways.
Here are some observations about the books that await me on the shelf:
- Some are for preparation for future preaching and teaching. For example, I’ve been reading books on Isaiah for this summer’s sermon series.
- Some are by authors who have been my mentors (Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, Tom Smail, Eugene Peterson, John Wimber, Tim Keller, and John Claypool). I read nearly everything they write.
- Some are sample books from a rising star. For example, I’ll soon read a book by Francis Chan, so that as I hear people speak of him I’ll understand.
- Some are remedial. I realize how little I know of art, so I’m trying to make up for that gap. Likewise with Virginia history. Ever since we moved here, I’ve been learning about where we are.
- Some of the books have been on the shelf for years, waiting for the mood to strike. Others move immediately to the front of the line – usually ones by a favorite author (Keller of late), or on a favorite topic (the Holy Spirit’s presence and power).
What’s your plan for study? How do you choose something of worth? Are there gaps you need to fill? What grabs your heart?
We can certainly serve the Lord better with our minds when we study with a plan. I’d be happy to help you make one!


As most of you know, Chase will be in the 5th grade this year. Since it's an election year, I had a flash of brilliance and decided that Chase should read a biography about John McCain and one about Barack Obama. This summer. During non-school time. Instead of playing, reading Calvin & Hobbes comics, swimming, hanging out with friends, and other fun summer activities. Ok, not instead, but in addition to. I even compromised and got the very easiest biographies I could find in the kids' section of the library (although he's reading on a high school level...)!
How's it going? sigh.
He has reluctantly read two chapters of the John McCain book in two weeks. I guess his mama needs to make a regular reading time for such things if she wants it to happen, huh? I really thought he might be interested in reading them - he's pretty interested in the political process, and we spend a fair amount of time talking about the candidates and the process in general, but I had forgotten that he is completely uninterested in ANY book that I may have at some point looked at, considered, thought of or (heaven forbid) paged through. Silly me. I mean, you'd think being shot down over enemy lines, held as a POW for 5 years and tortured would be exciting reading for any 10-yr-old boy!!!
So, I've renewed my resolve to have him read them. Every day, a chapter (like 8 pages...I'm so mean), and I'll probably only have to renew the books once. I really think it's a good idea for him to know a little bit about the man who will lead our country, potentially until he is able to VOTE! (Yes, that scares me...) And, while divine hubby and I hope he will follow in our rather conservative footsteps, I want him to make his own decisions on such things. I figure, in order for him to really make a good decision, he needs to have looked on both sides of the aisle and know how both candidates grew up, etc. This political season proves to be one of the most exciting and interesting seasons I can remember, and I, for one, am enjoying it.


Looking for a good fiction book to read? Look no further. This medical thriller will have you glued to every page as the drama unfolds and an ER doctor must stop a biochemical nightmare from happening.
6 days 6 days to stop an epidemic and convince the government that terrorists have indeed used smallpox as a weapon against us. When one of the terrorists shows up in the ER with symptoms, time is of the essence to convince higher ups and the government that indeed this is the dreaded once thought eradicated disease smallpox. If not for the quick action and prior medical expertise of the main character, Dr. Max Kroose, fatalities could be in the millions.
What makes the book even more interesting is that the events unfolding in the ER symbolize real events that occur in emergency rooms daily. The author, Dr. Paulo J. Reyes, is a practicing Emergency Room Doctor and First Responder to disasters in Los Angeles, California with a medical career spanning 25 years. His medical expertise helped to create a medical environment that medical personnel, fans of medical TV dramas, as well as all science fiction fans will enjoy. Added to that, the characters are well developed and passionate in their quest for answers. Although the book is fictional, it’s based on extensive research and leaves you questioning-could it happen today?
With today’s ongoing terrorists’ threats, the growing concern of a biochemical attack, and the fear of a global pandemic, this book shows you how situations like this would be handled. Would the government be prepared? Do we have enough vaccinations for everyone? Should we have voluntary vaccinations now? Questions you will want answers for.
To add this book to your collection, stop by our site at
Further reading from around the web:
Similar content: Terrorist, Smallpox, Fiction Book, Non-fiction Book, Best Selling Fiction Book, Paulo Reyes, Biochemical Attack, Smallpox Vaccine, Disaster Recovery, Thriller, Terrorism, Terrorism, Boko Haram, Borno State, Jammu and Kashmir, Nigerian Army, Udhampur, Amarnath Temple, Arutz Sheva, Av, Border Security Force,
Cover of The Terrorist (Point)


Mastering Information Through the Ages
November 24, 2007
Just today I finished reading a book that was found by chance and turned out to be a quite delightful read. It is "Glut: Mastering Information Through the Ages" by Alex Wright (ISBN 978-0-309-10238-4). I found the book while perusing a bookstore last week in Sacramento. While being caught in a bookstore is not unusual for me, on this occasion I found myself in a section that I don't usually hover over. It was here that the bright orange cover leapt out at me.
I say that the book was a delight because it is immanently readable, interesting because it surveys the long history of humanity's evolving quest to manage information, and surprising in that it conveys a thoroughly good-natured disposition towards the past. This latter point is notable because it is often missing in more recently published books (in truth it is not so novel a trend) where authors seem to think that the past was populated with complete dunderheads. You can probably guess what my opinion might be of this affected posture. Sometimes it is done out of simple ignorance of the past, which I somehow find easier to excuse. Sometimes it is done out of a desperate and somewhat cynical attempt to get attention, and presumably a readership, by feeding into what one might call the "infinite narcissism of the present".
Alex's book indulges in no such nonsense and instead conveys a variety of interesting stories that chronicle how ingeniously some of our collective efforts at managing information have been. In doing this, the book is what we might classify as a derivative history although I do not mean this in any way to be a detraction or a slight. It means that the works of other writers, typically historians, have been drawn upon liberally to lay out the landscape and across this landscape a story is told. By leveraging the works of others, this type of book can focus on telling a new, or slightly different, story. This is valuable. And when it is done, as it is in this case, with a general sense of respect for what others have done, then the results can be quite engaging.
I would contrast this book with another book that I read around the same time and on essentially the same topic - the fate of information classification practices in a rapidly changing world. This other work buried some worthwhile points under a mountain of politically correct contortions, unbearable academic posturing, and, yes, thinly disguised contempt for basically all contributors to the field other than the author.
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Part of From the Lake to the River: The Buckeye Christian Fiction Authors 2018 Anthology
Published by Mt. Zion Ridge Press
Stephie Graham begins to regret her decision to direct a play at the community theater when everything unravels. An unfortunate accident takes the female lead out of the play too close to opening night to find a replacement.
Stephie will have to play the role—but that may not be such a bad thing. After all, she will spend more time with Andy Tremont, the male lead who has captivated her since they met.
The small city theater even has its own resident ghost, a singer from the 1930s with a tragic story.
With a fresh, easy-to-read style, Kopf has woven a fun and enjoyable contemporary romance. It was also an insightful glimpse into the difficulties and joys of community theaters.
I will look for more by this author.
-Sandra Merville Hart