Review of "Bungling Pedro and Other Majorcan Tales," by Alexander Mehdevi

 Review of

Bungling Pedro and Other Majorcan Tales, by Alexander Mehdevi

Four out of five stars

Folk tales from an island culture

 Majorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands of the eastern coast of Spain in the Mediterranean.  It has been inhabited by humans since the 3rd Millenium BC and while the culture has been influenced by the continental states, it has developed some unique features. The tales in this book originated in Majorca, yet their themes are generally similar to those of other cultures. 

 There are stories about the simpletons that do things wrong yet somehow manage to be successful at the end. There are the classic stories of the king searching for a beautiful bride amongst the population and the monsters and curses that must be overcome. All of the stories end with the Majorcan suffix, “And they are still alive if they’re not dead.” The openings are “Long before the snow fell on the rock,” a reference to the fact that it almost never snows on Majorca. An interesting change from the classic, “Once upon a time.”

 The stories are written at the level of a middle school child and are a worthy addition to multi-cultural studies. Easily understood and with hints of the origin within an old island culture. 

Review of "Derailed," DVD version

 Review of

Derailed, DVD version

Five out of five stars

Very strong villain, many plot twists

 This movie starts out with a scene and premise that has been used before. Professional man Charles Schine (Clive Owen) is under stress and is in what appears to be a chance encounter with an attractive professional female Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) on the commuter train. There is instant magic between them, and they end up in a hotel room about to have an affair. 

 A male criminal bursts in and robs them, knocking Charles unconscious and raping Lucinda. The next morning, they are still there, and Charles wants to report it to the police. However, Lucinda rejects this, citing her marriage and daughter.  The criminal then blackmails Charles into giving him all his money. 

 However, all is not what it first appears. There is a much deeper conspiracy taking place and this leads to many unusual plot twists. While the performances are all first rate, what makes this a chilling thriller is the power of the villain. He is a ruthless murderer, and a very vicious fighter. He is also a smooth talking person capable of speaking fluent French, charming people that do not know who he is. When he threatens Charles’ family, Charles realizes that he must deal with the situation himself. 

 A great deal of time is spent building up to the tense climax, there are several plot twists, most of which are unexpected. Charles proves that he is much more than an advertising account executive, he is capable of plotting violence when it is necessary to save lives. This is a great movie.

Review of "D-Day to Berlin," BBC Video on DVD

 Review of

D-Day to Berlin, BBC Video on DVD

Five out of five stars

History that must always be studied

 The most amazing point made in this video is that the first person to use the phrase “iron curtain” to describe the behavior of the Soviet Union in the territories occupied in Eastern Europe at the end of World War II was not Winston Churchill. As the Soviet Red Army converged on Berlin German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels used the phrase in his prediction of what they would do once the war was won. The idea that Churchill would have borrowed and made famous a phrase first used by Goebbels is astounding. 

 As the title implies, the video is a history of the Second World War in Europe from the allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day to the German surrender and immediate aftermath. The producers use a combination of historical footage interspersed with scenes acted out by modern actors. While the acting is not of the highest quality, it is good enough to make the points that the creators wanted to make. No mention is made of the war in the Pacific. 

 The rift between British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery and Allied Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower is dealt with in detail. Montgomery’s arrogance and clear attitude of superiority towards the Americans is described. Eisenhower demonstrated incredible diplomatic and professional skills in preventing a breakdown in the alliance between the U. S. and the British. 

 This is history that must be studied by every generation. It was the greatest war in history and there are many aspects that every citizen should know. While the aftermath was not optimal, it was likely the best that could be achieved without a continuation of the war between the Allies and the Soviet Red army. 

Review of "The Prairie Remembers," by Janice Brozik Cerney

 Review of

The Prairie Remembers, by Janice Brozik Cerney

Four out of five stars

Homesteading in South Dakota

 Originally from Bohemia in the Empire of Austria-Hungary, Frank and Marie Brozik emigrated from Europe to the United States in 1902. After short stints in a couple of places, they established a homestead in eastern South Dakota. This is their story, from the decision to move across the ocean to making their life on the often unforgiving prairie. 

 As was the case for so many immigrants the reason for their move was a desire for land. With an increasing population, there was simply not enough land in most European countries so that all that wanted to farm could. With the liberal government policy regarding homesteading, moving to the United States gave them an opportunity to have a sizable farm. 

 At first they lived in a sod house with the bare minimum of furnishings and frills. Fortunately, the first years were ones where the rain was good, leading to excellent crops and an ability to expand. There were several neighbors that were also from Bohemia, so they were able to maintain a form of community. 

 As is always the case, the prairie was unforgiving, and they had to somehow survive drought and a plague of grasshoppers. It was a difficult time, but they had some reserves and so were able to stay in their home while some of their neighbors were forced to pack up and search for work elsewhere. 

 While this story features a specific family and their willingness to work very hard in making a life for themselves and a large family, it is also a common one. Stories about pioneers out on the prairie making a living working from sun to sun are always interesting. For that group of people did a great deal to make America a rich and prosperous country. Their history is something that should always be taught to the next generation. 

Review of "American Negro Problems," Workers Library Publishers

 Review of

American Negro Problems, Workers Library Publishers

Four out of five stars

Must be read in the historical context

 America of the first three decades of the twentieth century was one of ingrained segregation, there were many laws, written and assumed, designed to keep black people in a form of servitude. With little movement by the political parties towards ending this situation, some blacks turned to the small, but often vocal American communist party. 

 This short pamphlet is designed to encourage blacks to support and join the communist party. The promise is that the party is pledged to work for equal rights and privileges. If you read this pamphlet without knowledge of the historical context of the times, you will likely not like it. However, if you do have that knowledge, it is easy to see the appeal of the communist party. At a time when all the entrenched aspects of American society are united in keeping blacks down, the communist party seemed to provide them with the only hope to achieve a measure of equality. 

Review of "PBS Thomas Jefferson, a Film by Ken Burns," DVD

 Review of

PBS Thomas Jefferson, a Film by Ken Burns, DVD

Five out of five stars

Captures the enigmatic genius

 The sheer intellect of Thomas Jefferson is enough to humble the smartest of people. As a writer, statesman, scientist, academic and inventor among other major achievements, he was also a man of contradictions. He was a foremost champion of the basic rights of man, but when he used the term, he generally meant “white men.” In many ways, he was held back from including other genders and races in his call for the assignment of “inalienable rights.”

 Jefferson was a slaveowner that did little to emancipate those he owned. Yet, there is no evidence that he was cruel to his slaves in any way. Although he did occasionally speak against the institution of slavery and seemed to realize that it would eventually tear the country apart, Jefferson took almost no action against that dark feature of American society.

 Among all his achievements, there are three that must be mentioned. The first is that Jefferson was the strongest proponent of making his country a secular one. It cannot be overstated how radical this notion was in the later part of the eighteenth century. The second was his establishment of the first institution of higher learning that was not affiliated with a religious order. This was also a very radical idea for his time. The third was his doubling of the size of the country by purchasing the Louisiana territory from France. There was nothing in the constitution that gave him the power to do so, but when he needed to do so the champion of small central government extended the reach of the federal government.

 As is clear from this video, no matter how much he may have wanted to, there was only so much he could do that was radical in the times he lived. While necessarily limited due to the breadth of Jefferson’s achievements, there is enough to leave the viewer in awe of all Jefferson accomplished. This video should be required viewing in the American history curriculum in both the K-12 and college levels.

Review of "In Search of Dark Matter," by Ken Freeman and Geoff McNamara

Review of

In Search of Dark Matter, by Ken Freeman and Geoff McNamara, ISBN 0387276165

Five out of five stars

Excellent popular explanation of a fundamental principle

 For some time, it has been known that the universe is expanding. There is a well-defined point of origin that is known as the moment of the Big Bang. As the universe exploded into existence the amount of energy and mass were fixed and the various components few away from each other.

 With this fact established, the next major fact that was pursued was determining the amount of mass in the universe. If the amount was above a certain level, then the mutual gravity would cause the components to eventually slow down, reverse their direction and then come together in an event that was referred to as the Big Crunch. If the amount was less than the threshold, then the universe would continue to expand forever, eventually experiencing a heat death.

 Therefore, there is a concerted effort to determine how much matter is in the universe. Initial computations of the amount of matter that was visible clearly indicated that this was  a small percentage of the total matter. The mutual behavior of the components indicated that there was much more matter in the universe. This missing matter was referred to as “Dark Matter.”

 This book is an excellent popular explanation of all facets of this fundamental issue in our understanding of the universe. It starts with an explanation of the fundamental issue of the ultimate fate of the universe and then moves on to the obvious lack of known matter. Following this there are simultaneous explanations of the various types of potential dark matter and the ways in which the improvements in the collection of astronomical data have made it possible to investigate whether the specific postulated forms of dark matter do in fact exist. All are done with a minimum of equations and with images that encapsulate the information.

 While it is unlikely that any human will live to see the universe approach its end, it is important to learn what that end will be. This book gives a great deal of information regarding the search for this ultimate truth.