Books I read in 2008:
 
        The Diary of an Ambassador by Viscount Edgar d'Abernon.  Two volumes cover d'Abernon's four years as British ambassador to Germany in the early 1920s... a fateful time indeed for the future of Europe.  We see Germany overwhelmed by the demands of the Versailles Treaty, France intransigent, Britain trying to mediate, and America potentially helpful but uninterested.  And we hear briefly of Adolf Hitler and the Beer Hall Putsch; by the book's 1929 publication he was thought to have been "fading into oblivion" (Vol. II, p. 56n).  If only.
       Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams.  Fifth book in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series.  Introduces the concept of parallel universes, as well as an artificially conceived daughter for Arthur Dent.  Not up to the first four.
       The Winter People by Joseph Bruchac.  Coming-of-age story we read to the boys.  Young Abenaki rescues his mother and sisters during the French-and-Indian War.  He realizes after he accomplishes this that he did not do it alone.  Abenaki are all noble, whites particularly British are all brutish.
       The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd.  Fascinating story for young adults written from the viewpoint of an autistic boy who tries to figure out what happened to his cousin, who disappeared while riding the London Eye.  I read this with my family.
       A Lucky American Childhood by Paul Engle.  Poet and Cedar Rapids native shares memories of his childhood, mixing an eye for detail with a curmudgeon's preference for the sights and sounds (and smells!) of yesteryear.  He even finds some nobility in his misanthropic, angry father.  I read this with my family.
       "A Secret to Be Buried:" The Diary and Life of Emily Hawley Gillespie, 1858-1888.  Abridged record of a 19th century Iowa farm wife's adult life near Manchester.  She is interestingly reflective.  Excellent, insightful editing by Judy Nolte Lensink who adds context of women's lives at the time.
       The Piano Master Classes of Franz Liszt, 1884-1886: Diary Notes of August Göllerich.  Göllerich studied with and accompanied Liszt (1811-1886) during the last two years of the composer's life; his diary combines class notes and pithy quotes from "the master," sort of Liszt's Boswell.
       Your Brain on Cubs: Inside the Heads of Players and Fans, edited by Dan Gordon.  Not so much about the Cubs, despite the title and the wide-angle shot of Wrigley Field on the cover.  Experts on neurology discuss, in a way that's very accessible to the general reader,  the workings of the brains of players and fans.
       Games: A Tale of Two Bullies by Carol Gorman.  Nighttime reading to my boys... two middle-school bullies from dysfunctional families come to understand each other thanks to an innovative principal.  Sometimes there are worse things than losing face.  Author is a Coe faculty member.
        Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates that Defined America by Allen C. Guelzo.  Excellent coverage of the context, content, and meaning of the Lincoln-Douglas debates 150 years ago.  Guelzo argues that Lincoln made the case that democracy needs a moral element, not just nose-counting.
       Diary of a Dean by The Very Rev. W.R. Inge.  Self-edited diary, with all the advantages and disadvantages that implies, of the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral from 1911 to 1934.
       Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan.  Unfortunately Lincoln left us no major literary work, but we do have mounds of letters, speeches, essays and poems.  Kaplan walks us through Lincoln's life story with particular attention to what he was reading and writing.
       The Genius of America: How the Constitution Saved Our Country and Why It Can Again by Eric Lane and Michael Oreskes.  Series of short essays arguing that underlying the U.S. Constitution is a spirit ("the constitutional conscience") which has sustained America through various historical crises, but has now been forgotten amid ideological impatience and Washington partisanship.
        Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin:  Autobiography of the manic comedian who hit it big in the 1970s with "Let's Get Small" (the first album I ever bought).  Focusing on the stand-up performance phase of his career, the book is remarkably thoughtful and introspective.  We see the pain as well as the elation that accompanied his rise to success.
       Unlikely Environmentalists: Congress and Clean Water, 1945-1972 by Paul Charles Milazzo.  Detailed account of the framing of the Clean Water Act of 1972.
      Julia Newberry's Diary:  Two teenage years in the life of Julia Rosa Newberry, a member of a prominent Chicago family.  We see her dealing with the loss of her father, the attentions of boys, world travel, and a mysterious chronic illness that eventually killed her at age 23.  Charming in spots, but I don't see the editors' suggestion she might have been another Bronte.
       Netherland by Joseph O'Neill.  Intriguing novel of self-discovery, narrated by a Dutch expatriate splitting time between London and New York, abetted by fickle wife, toddler son, and an enigmatic Trinidadian cricket entrepreneur.
       My Secret Diary of the Dreyfus Case, 1894-1899 by Maurice Paléologue.  The story of France's infamous Dreyfus affair told from the point-of-view of a young official with the Foreign Ministry who was assigned to monitor the second trial in 1899.  Initially convinced of Dreyfus's guilt, he came to the opposite opinion over time.  Interesting view of a proud nation and army under stress.
       The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan.  Erudite, informed look at where our food comes from, with plenty of consideration for ethical issues, particularly animal rights and environmental sustainability.  Leaves you with more questions than answers, which I understand has occasioned a follow-up book.  Chosen as first-year reading for Coe students this year.
       The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy by T.R. Reid.  Occasionally breathless introduction to contemporary European politics, stressing a burgeoning continental identity and what that means for the United States.
       A More Perfect Constitution: 23 Proposals to Revitalize Our Constitution and Make America a Fairer Country by Larry Sabato.  Various proposals to make Congress, the President, and the federal courts more responsive and effective, thus bringing the U.S. Constitution up-to-date with post-industrial society.  Interesting possibilities for American National Government class.
       The Death of Franz Liszt: Based on the Unpublished Diary of His Pupil Lina Schmalhausen.  Liszt was by all accounts a mild, friendly man, so it's odd that his final illness and death was occasioned by so much intrigue.  Schmalhausen, who may or may not have had talent, and may or may not have been his lover, gives us one account, which may or may not be accurate.  Göllerich (see above) is portrayed as a bit of a worm.
       The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Commission by Philip Shenon.  Breathless narrative of the Kean-Hamilton Commission that investigated the terrorist attacks and issued a widely-praised report in 2004.  The staff is shown laboring against political pressure, particularly from Philip Zelikow, the executive director of the commission who had close ties with the Bush administration.
       The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism by Ron Suskind.  Mixes thorough indictment of the Bush's maladministration of the war on terrorism with inspiring stories of individual efforts to cross the divide of fear created by the 9/11 terrorists and our official response to them.
       A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain.  Funny but cautionary tale about a clash of civilizations.  I used it in my Modern Political Theory class this spring.  Props to Joel Johnson of Augustana College (SD) for writing the paper that encouraged me to do this!
       We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They Loved by Fay Vincent.  Entertaining interviews with 11 retired baseball players, including former Cub Billy Williams.
       The Diary of Beatrice Webb.  Four volumes covering most of the adult life of a woman active in the creation of the British welfare state, the Labour Party, and the London School of Economics.  Interesting reflections on growing old in volume 4.  Disappointingly, while she saw the Soviet Union for what it was as clearly as anyone when it started, after 1931 she went all gushy.
       The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells.  Before she became a crusading journalist and moved to Chicago, Wells grew up in Memphis and became a schoolteacher.  This diary covers three years in her mid-20s (1885-1887).