Review of Instaread Summary of "The Summer Before the War" by Helen Simonson

Review of

Instaread Summary of The Summer Before the War: by Helen Simonson 

Four out of five stars

 Most stories involving World War I in Europe, whether fiction or not, concentrate on the major consequences of the conflict. The fall of empires and the rise of the United States and Japan as world powers were the major changes in the world. This story is about events in a small British town called Rye and the changes that take place as the death grind of the war settles in.

 It is clear from the summary that the challenges of living through the war are a secondary backdrop to a convoluted set of relationships between many people in Rye. While one cannot extract a complete understanding from a summary, it seems clear that there may be too many complex relationships to be absorbed in one novel.

 Not only is there the war and the often petty machinations of a small town, social issues also are an integral part of the plot. Male homosexuality, out-of-wedlock births (one due to a rape), the lack of female rights and feminism are included. This just seems to be overwhelming, in reading the summary of the plot I found it necessary to backtrack several times in order to acquire a clarification of a character.

 If you are a fan of complex romances set in “interesting” times, then you will likely be convinced to read the book. Although the spoilers are generally complete, so there will be no surprises. Readers that prefer simpler backdrops to their romance reading may struggle to complete it. 

This book was made available for free for review purposes. 

https://www.amazon.com/Summary-Summer-Before-War-Simonson-ebook/dp/B01F2LENJA 

Review of "The G. H. Hardy Reader," edited by Donald J. Albers, Gerald L. Alexanderson and William Dunham

Review of

The G. H. Hardy Reader, edited by Donald J. Albers, Gerald L. Alexanderson and William Dunham, a joint publication of The Mathematical Association of America, Washington, D. C. and Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 410 pp., $49.99 (paper). ISBN 9781107594647.

Five out of five stars

 Godfrey Harold (G. H.) Hardy was half of what some considered to be the three greatest mathematicians of the first half of the twentieth century, Hardy, Littlewood and Hardy/Littlewood. Hardy was a first rate mathematician and also considered to be a superb author, his most famous work is “A Mathematician’s Apology,” written late in life after his math skills had faded. Published in 1940 as World War II was reaching full fury, it remains one of the best explanations of the world of mathematicians as well as a human description of a professional past his prime looking back on his career. That aspect of the book can be applied to everyone from welders to physicians.

 Yet, despite all of his personal achievements, Hardy’s greatest contribution to mathematics was his reaction to an unsolicited letter from an unknown Indian man named Srinivasa Ramanujan. When asked by Paul Erdős what his greatest accomplishment was, Hardy did not hesitate in responding that it was his “discovery” of Ramanujan.

 Given the breadth and depth of Hardy’s work, the emphasis here is on the breadth with a few points delving deeper into the depth. While there are some short pieces containing advanced mathematics, most of the content can be understood by the general undergraduate. What makes this book worthy of being used in a multi-discipline liberal arts course is that it is about the man and not so much about the math. It shows a mathematician that was very much a man of the world, even though he rejected much of it, specifically religion.

 This is a book that demonstrates the essence of Hardy that made him someone that was willing to take a serious look at a letter from the British colony of India. Rather than adopting the attitude that colonial subjects could have nothing meaningful to say, Hardy read it and acted on it. That one act demonstrates that at times the way to be great is to be humble. 

This book was made available for free for review purposes.

Review of "Stories of Courage & Faith," by Isabella Augustus

Review of

Stories of Courage & Faith, by Isabella Augustus ISBN 9781478760191

Five out of five stars

 For the last several weeks I have seen notices about vacation bible school (VBS) on the signs of churches. Therefore, as I was reading through this book my main thought was that it would be an excellent text for the VBS classes.

 There are two stories in the book, the first is about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and how they refused to bow to the powerful King Nebuchadnezzar. As a consequence, he had them thrown into an extremely hot fire, yet they were not burned and Nebuchadnezzar learned that he was not as powerful as he thought. The second is the classic David versus Goliath story, where tiny David defeats the arrogant and powerful giant Philistine champion.

 The structure of the book is with the image on the left and the text on the right. The text is in four line segments with the first and second rhyming as well as the third and fourth. The level of the reading is roughly that of the second grader.

 I remember hearing about these stories when I was young, and given that I am a VBS veteran, it is very possible that that was my point of first contact for both of them. Given the inexpensive nature of these books and the lower reading level, they are solid additions to church libraries as well as texts for VBS classes. 

This book was made available for free for review purposes.