Review of "Hal Foote’s Walnuts"

Review of

Hal Foote’s Walnuts

Four out of five stars

 First published in 1880, this short adventure of a boy is a look back at a time when life was slower paced, yet in many ways more predictable. Hal is a farm boy and it is October when the leaves and nuts are falling from the trees. Knowing how valuable they are to people, Hal grabs a sack and accompanied by an old dog and two half-grown puppies, he heads for the stand of walnut trees to fill the sack. It takes some time to fill the bag, so by the time he returns home, supper has come and past. Fortunately, Nancy, the old cook is willing to violate house rules and leave some supper for Hal when he comes home late.

 He stores the nuts in a high room in the house and then spends several days at his friend’s house. When he returns, he finds the walnuts gone and is puzzled at the loss. Eventually, Hal discovers what happened, recovers the nuts, sells them and gets the tools that he desired.

 There is no great action, events, moral or ethical dilemma in this story, it is a very simple adventure based on the life of a boy growing up on a farm in the late nineteenth century. It is also one that many boys experienced, including my father. He grew up on a farm with no modern conveniences and gathered and sold walnuts in a manner like what Hal did. My father also stored the nuts in an attic of their house, an act that attracted squirrels.This book is a look back at how short stories for young adults were often constructed in the late nineteenth century.

Review of "Gunman’s Rhapsody," by Robert B. Parker

Review of

Gunman’s Rhapsody, by Robert B. Parker ISBN 0425182894

Five out of five stars

 Fans of Parker that have read his Spencer and Jesse Stone books with their snappy dialog will find the simple dialog in this book to be quite different. The main characters never seem to use even one extra word and the concept of humor never seems to be a part of their lives.

 The main characters are the Earp brothers, their pal Doc Holliday and the setting is Arizona around the town of Tombstone. While the famous gunfight at the OK Corral is part of the story, it is largely an incidental. The main plot line is how these men face life and support each other, often with one or more guns in their hands. The Earp brothers are together through all things, their motto is truly “One for all, all for one.” Danger, the ire of the women in their lives, nothing fundamentally comes between them.

 While some law has come to their area of Arizona, there are still some significant lawless elements. Rustling across the border with Mexico takes place and the identities of the outlaws is well known. There are known hostilities between the cowboys, miners and townspeople and simple political differences between Democrats and Republicans.

This novel is about the Earp brothers, their place in the world, how they live with it and their approach to difficulties in life, including their interactions with women. They don’t talk a lot, but when they say something, it is genuine and to be taken seriously.

Review of "Seven Ages of A City: Pictorial History of Cedar Rapids," Sutherland Dows

Review of

Seven Ages of A City: Pictorial History of Cedar Rapids, Sutherland Dows

Four out of five stars

 This short book is a brief history of the area where the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa is located. It is constructed from a combination of small sections of text on the left and an original oil coloring on the right. As the title suggests, there are seven such pairings.

 It starts with a brief description of the Mound Builders, when the people of the years 500-1000 CE moved massive amounts of dirt by hand to make mounds on the banks of the Cedar River whose purpose is largely unknown. The seventh and last age is the modern one, showing the city of Cedar Rapids in the year 1957.

 The book is written in the form of a Chamber of Commerce handout to visitors from some distance that are unfamiliar with the background of Eastern Iowa. As a history lesson, it is weak and brief, yet as an brief advertisement for the city in the late 1950s, it is quite good.