The Summer of Hummingbirds - Christopher Benfey

Martin Johnson Heade introduces the theme of hummingbirds as a symbol of what one character said "was like trying to describe where a cloud had just been." This theme spread throughout group, enabling them to capture the attention of the reconstruction era. Mark Twain is always delightful. Emily Dickinson was surprisingly warm - and that's just the art; there is still the love and scandal.

For anyone who enjoys the classics, this is a page turner; these characters have been developing for a lifetime and that leads to an effortless narrative.

Tesla, The Modern Sorcerer - By Daniel Stewart

For years I operated under the assumption that heroes are very limited in history, the only two I have ever had are Mark Twain and Ezra Pound. I now have a third hero, Nicola Tesla; probably the single greatest mind of the 20th century.

This Biography of Nicola Tesla was an absolute shock. Other main players in Tesla's life include Tom Edison and J.P.Morgan. Both of these men are complete frauds. I'm surprised that Edison is/was ever considered a national icon. He was useful at the theft of patents and good at killing small animals. While Morgan was so fervent in his religion, he thought Tesla was from outer space(no really) and used this as a justification to ruin Tesla.

Without Nicola Tesla there would be no power, no tele, no phone, musical recordings or lights on the streets of New York.

Common to this magnitude of genius comes eccentricities such as the fear of round objects and a developed obsessive disorder that led his competitors to believe he wasn't even human.

This biography leaves me in awe that the single most important engineer in American history was a Serbian immigrant who arrived penniless in New York harbor.

Read anything you can on Nicola Tesla.

I dare you to find a better biography of a more amazing human being.

Washington Burning - Les Standiford

Billed as a biography of the District of Columbia, Washington Burning deals more with Pierre Charles L'Enfant and his relationships with George Washington and the commissioners hired to oversee the invention of the Capital city. The one and only disappointing part of this otherwise delightful book is the now cliche 9/11 reference and tie in to the war of 1812. I found L'Enfant to be a highly intriguing genius who, for years, struggled to see his vision of the first Capital city constructed from scratch.

Les Standiford drives this subject with a surprisingly compelling narrative, delivering Thomas Jefferson as the antagonist spent-thrift to L'Enfant's expensive and artistic vision. A great way to spend a day.

Island Of The Lost - Joan Druett

When I was 18 I hardly did anything but sit in the sand on the banks of the local river. In 1864, an 18 year old was a man, I mean a real man, setting sail in search of their fortune. Some went looking for veins of gold in distant hills and others looked for wealth in exotic animals, drugs, or spices.
After reading Island Of The Lost, I know I would have died within weeks of the shipwreck that left these men stranded near the 60th parallel, about 250 miles south of New Zealand. Do you know anyone who could survive 40 months of ceaseless cold and wind on a diet of seal fat?
Telling the true story of two similar shipwreck tragedies that have drastically different outcomes, award-winning maritime historian Druett tells a gripping cautionary tale about leadership, endurance, human ingenuity, and the tenuous line between order and chaos.