Hey April Part 2

 So, where were we? That's right. I was going to talk about Eleanor by David Michaelis. I dearly loved this book with a couple of reservations. It was both sensitive to and admiring of Eleanor Roosevelt. The research was thorough. Themes were well-established with good follow-through. What I'm about to write may seem picky, may make me seem like Karen or June Cleaver clutching their pearls, but I'm not, I'm really, really not. No pearls on this girl; that's not me at all. And yet: I cringed in the chapter where Eleanor is a young mother and Michaelis refers to her giving birth not once but twice as "push[ing] out her [first/second/third/etc.] baby". Excuse me??? This seems a little crude for an otherwise respectful biography. Yes, I KNOW that that's what women do during a birthing process that isn't a Caesarian, and Eleanor Roosevelt certainly did, but it seems like a lapse in judgement. Is it possible that Michaelis had an editor who didn't like him and went back and inserted "pushed out her # baby", removing the more genteel "gave birth to a daughter/son"? Or is this way of describing childbirth a new and accepted thing and I've totally lost touch? After all, I haven't given birth or pushed anyone out since 1984. Anyway. Ahem. The other thing that bothered me was a mistake in a caption in one of the photos that refers to a necklace Eleanor is wearing as made out of tiger claws. In the book's text, it clearly states that the necklace is made of tiger teeth, and inspection of the actual photo bears this out. Other than those two things, Eleanor is a wonderful biography, warm and perceptive and intelligent as Eleanor herself.

Who Was Levi Strauss? was not one of my favorites in the Who Was..? series. Although Strauss was an immigrant who came to America and made his fortune making pants for miners during the 1849 Gold Rush which turned out to be the most popular form of clothing EVER, the man surprisingly, didn't have a very colorful life. There were a lot of awkward filler articles in the book to make up for that lack of color. This book would have worked better as What Are Levis? Or What Are Blue Jeans?

A Who Was...? book that I really enjoyed was Who Was Julia Child? This was co-authored by Geoff Edgers, writer of  Who Were The Beatles? one of my new favorites. I loved the way Child's zest for life and her quirky personality were conveyed. Her time in the OSS during WWII was especially well-done. I had to stop reading periodically and go watch YouTube videos from The French Chef. The book gave me a warm glow. When her kitchen at the Smithsonian was mentioned, I smiled, remembering how I got to see it for myself several years ago. And Julia's junk drawer! This really is a charming addition to the Who Was...? series.

Who Was Milton Bradley? was lively and interesting. It's well-written, and the sidebar articles feel organic to the text. Even better, the illustrations by Tim Foley make Bradley's story come to life. Another new favorite.

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue was my only fiction book for the month, and I don't feel as if I read it; I feel as if I absorbed it through my skin. The novel takes place over three days in a makeshift maternity ward in Dublin during WWI and also during the 1918 pandemic. The main character, Nurse Julia is left to run the ward alone until a young volunteer named Bridie appears to assist her. This isn't a long book. It's brief and packs a wallop. Brutal and tender. I feel as if I need to read it again.