The Heir Apparent by Jane Ridley

Ridley is a British history professor who has written other books about Victorian England.  The Heir Apparent is the definitive biography of King Edward VII -- for whom the Edwardian Era (1901 - 1910) was named.  It is exhausting in its detail, as Ridley seems to quote from every letter she found.  (Many of them didn't even survive!)  But the reader learns several things from the work.  Chief among them is the back story of Queen Victoria, who was disappointed in her first-born son and thought him unfit to rule.  Because "Bertie" (as he is affectionately known) had no official duties, he spent a lot of time entertaining women.  The reader learns all about Bertie's  mistresses, but Ridley also states that there is no evidence to confirm much of the gossip about him.  (So, was he a playboy or not?)  She also outlines Bertie's family tree and shows how most of European royalty was related by marriage.  (Those family ties, however, were not enough to prevent the outbreak of war in 1914).  Bertie himself married Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and his sisters married the Duke of Hesse and the Czarevich of Russia.  His nephew, William, was more commonly known as Kaiser Wilhelm!  (He and Bertie were not on the best of terms.)  As I read the book I couldn't help but compare Bertie's situation with that of Prince Charles.  Will he also have a short reign after waiting decades to assume the throne?

Dawn

The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture by Joshua Kendall

Philologists, rejoice!  Here is an engaging, if slightly convoluted, book about the father of American letters.  Noah Webster was a champion of Federalism through his prolific writing, and a colleage of Washington, Franklin, Adams, Hamilton and Jay.  Before compiling the eponymous dictionary, he published the "Grammatical Institute," including America's most popular spelling guide, a grammar book and a reader.  He also founded numerous newspapers and literary magazines.  Kendall's portrait provides us the "rest of the story" about our country's early years and gives Webster his place of prominence in American history.

Dawn

http://catalog.bartlett.lib.il.us/polaris/search/searchresults.aspx?ctx=3.1033.0.0.2&type=Keyword&term=forgotten%20founding%20father&by=TI&sort=RELEVANCE&limit=TOM=bks&query=&page=0#__pos1

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Librarians are always recommending books, but maybe you didn't know that we love to hear your recommendations of books for us. Maureen G. told me I must read this book and her description was so inviting that I had to have The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot right away.

The author writes herself into this nonfiction book by telling the story through her ten-year-long research process. Rebecca Skloot documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping. We also learn about how the discovery of the source of those cells affected her family for generations.

As Maureen said, "We all owe Henrietta Lacks a debt of gratitude."
Thanks Maureen!

Leona

Spoken From the Heart by Laura Bush

Former First Lady Laura Bush's memoirs were an instant best seller.  As a former teacher and librarian, she is well versed in the art of writing, which lends a distinct literary quality to her book.  She covers the expected topics of her life growing up in West Texas and how the "Old Maid of Midland" married the "Most Eligible Bachelor" of Midland.  She also provides insight into the 2000 election and the war on terror and talks with candor about her trips to Africa and the Mideast to reach out to the oppressed women of the Third World.  Librarians and non-librarians alike will appreciate the insight into what life was like in the White House before, during and after 9/11.

Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush

Dawn