Sunnyside Streetcars, The Streetcars of Southeast Portland by Richard Thompson; 2019; $24.99; 127 pages; America Through Time; 978-1-63499-117-9; purchased at the Title Wave Used Bookstore;11/20/19-11/21/19
An informative picture book of the Street Cars of Southeast Portland. Interesting to see where the streetcars went and the routes max and the street car are retracing today. It is amazing how many buildings in Southeast Portland are still standing.
10/10
The Drain Black Sox of Oregon vs The Alpine Cowboys of Texas, The Glory Days of Semi-Pro Baseball: 1930-1960 by Joe R. Blakely; 2016;$14.95; 100 pages; Groundwaters Press, Lorane, OR; 9781536912609;purchased from the Friends of the Multnomah County Library Sorting Room; 11/19/19-11/20/19
Many small towns used to have semi pro baseball teams, but Drain is small small town. In 1958 the players can together and challenged a much better funded team in the Alpine Cowboys from Texas in the Championship series. The Cowboys traveled in luxury and were promised bonuses for their efforts during the season. The Drain team traveled in station wagons for hundreds of miles during their season. Drain bet several other teams in the Double Elimination tournament to win, beating the Cowboys twice. There will be several names you will be familiar with if you follow baseball. Eugeneans will recognize Hugh and Dan Luby. This is a great baseball book and would make a wonderful movie.
10/10
Blue Moon by Lee Child; 2019; $28.99; Delacorte Press, New York, NY; 978-0-399-59354-3; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Midland; 11/14/19-11/18/19
Lots of action, too much talking and thinking out loud. I think this is the weakest Jack Reacher book I have read. Reacher reaches a anonymous city that is run by the Ukranian and Albanian mobs. They each run half of the city and have reached a certain level of detente. However Reacher gets involved when he sees an abuse of power by a mobster. Once Reacher is involved there is a firestorm that is set off as he plays each side against the other and discovers that there is another mega player involved. Reacher spends too much time explaining and having an inner monologue. At no time are the police ever involved as you would think they might be in a small town.
8/10
So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo; 2018; $27.00; 242 pages; Seal Press, New York, NY; 978-1-58005-677-9;checked out from Multnomah County Library, Gresham; 11/5/19-11/13/19
A very forthright book on how racism is not necessarily an individual act, but a cumulative effect from a lifetime of racist actions perpetuated by a system that was designed to elevate one group and subjugate many others. It also talks about the intersectionality of many different kinds of discrimination. A very good book that anyone who wants to understand what is being talked about and wants to help things change for the better. 10/10
Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay; 2019; $26.99; 453 pages; William Morrow, New York, NY; 978-0-06-267828-7;checked out from Multnomah County Library, Woodstock; 11/1/19-11/5/19
Some one has taken control of elevators in some of the buildings in New York City. The right wing miltias, Islamic jihadist and more are all suspects. The mayor is reluctant to close all the elevators in the city, because of the economic cost to the city, country and globe, because NYC is such a vertical city. I was getting disappointed in the book because I thought the author had made it too easy to figure out who was responsible, but he put in a very effective twist and I had ignored some foreshadowing. I will read more by the author.
10/10
All The Devils by Barry Eisler; 2019; $24.95; 352 pages; Thomas & Mercer,Seattle, WA; 978-1542094238;checked out from Multnomah County Library, Albina; 10/29/19-11/1/19
Seattle police detective Livia Lone specializes in solving human trafficking cases. She escaped from traffickers earlier in her life and lost her sister to them. Her abuser had been a powerful politician who also was her foster parent. When she is approached by a homeland security investigator whose daughter disappeared many years and points out that the abduction of young girls is happening again in the same manner of his daughter, she agrees to help him investigate. As she begins to investigate certain people in very high places insert themselves into the investigation to keep her from finding the truth. Using her connections in the intelligence field she uncovers the truth and in a tense confrontation in an unusual location brings the bad guys to justice.
10/10
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates; 2019; $28.00; 403 pages; One World, New York, NY; 978-0-399-59059-7; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Gresham; 10/22/19-10/29/19
Another take on slavery and the underground railroad that involves magic. The bi-racial son of a slave owner is the main character. He is assigned to be the servant of his half brother, the owners heir. The heir is a clueless moron while the slave is a prodigy with a flawless memory. At some point he is recruited to be a member of the underground railroad after he tries to escape and is betrayed by a Negro freeman. He possesses a power that he inherited from his mother and shares with Harriet Tubman. He has the power to fold time and space to make it easier to get from the south to the north. Harriet also has this power and is how she helps people escape slavery.
This is a powerful book and shows the problems with slavery. The characters are well rounded and fully characterized. My only problem with the story is that the magic minimizes the struggles and bravery of those who ran the railroad.
9/10
