Upholt writes an engaging and comprehensive history of the Mississippi, the name derived from the Ojibwe name, meaning "amassing of waters" or "great Upholt writes an engaging and comprehensive history of the Mississippi, the name derived from the Ojibwe name, meaning "amassing of waters" or "great river". Part 1 focuses on geological time and formation of the river, and moving into a social and cultural history of the Native American relationship with the river: for agriculture, for transportation, for social and spiritual rites, and the archaeology that sheds light on the history. This section was of particular interest and reminded me of David Graeber's The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity that was a 5* read for me a few years ago - highly recommended for further reading.
Part 2 and 3 move into the industrial and social history after European settlers colonized the region - the French, Spanish, and English, and early American history. The whole of the river - from Minnesota to Louisiana - is discussed, but much of the focus is on the lower third from Missouri to the Delta, specifically as industrialization takes hold. Later chapters discuss infrastructure and engineering of the river - dams, bridges, re-routing, and other environmental / biological engineering related to species and conservation efforts. These chapters called back (yet another) book I loved about the region and environmental history, Dan Egan's The Death and Life of the Great Lakes .
Upholt is a paddler, and sprinkles in some entertaining personal stories about his kayaking /canoeing on different sections of the Mississippi.
In eight long-form essays, Dipo Faloyin offers insight and exploration into uniquely African stories, showing the diversity of peoples, languages, cusIn eight long-form essays, Dipo Faloyin offers insight and exploration into uniquely African stories, showing the diversity of peoples, languages, customs in various regions of the Continent.
One: Lagos - a brief look-around the modern Nigerian city where Faloyin came of age
Two: By the Power Vested in Me, I Now Pronounce You a Country - The long shadow and ramifications of the Berlin Conference on 15 November 1884, when 14 European nations carved Africa up into pie pieces - and what happened from there, and how this moment and the arbitrary lines continue to cause land disputes, border wars, and struggles.
Three: The Birth of White Saviour Imagery or How Not to be a White Saviour While Still Making a Difference - fantastic essay on various aid efforts over the years, from the ubiquitous Ethiopian famine relief in the 1980s, and the birth of worldwide relief campaigns like Live Aid, Band Aid, etc. And more recent campaigns like #Kony2012. What actually makes a difference, and how the people who receive aid think about these efforts. Very interesting philosophical discussion about consequentialism and deontology - do the ends justify the means?
Four: The Story of Democracy in Seven Dictatorships - short surveys of seven autocratic regimes, from Somalia, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, to the well-known cases of Rwanda and Libya
Five: There Is No Such Thing as an African Accent and Binyavanga Wainana Is Still Right - linguistics, culture, immigration, African diaspora, and a survey of films and television series in African countries, or with African characters, from Coming to America to Black Panther
Six: The Case of the Stolen Artefacts - art and cultural repatriation after colonial theft and plunder - Benin bronzes, Egyptian, Zulu, Ethiopian artifacts
Seven: Jollof Wars: A Love Story -West African food culture and differences in the signature rice dish, from Senegal to Ghana, Liberia to Nigeria. Jamie Oliver, the British chef's "take" on jollof, and why it caused such a stir
Eight: What's Next? - How various African nations and people groups are innovating for climate change, energy and advancements in solar and wind power in North and West Africa, public health and Covid response in Africa, Ghana's Right to Abode Law allowing any African Diaspora to come to live in Ghana
A few sentences about each essay don't do it justice. This was a fascinating book, and I really liked Faloyin's style - pathos, humor, and interesting sidenotes and tangents that relate back to his themes.
Happy pub day to The Absent Hand: Reimagining our American Landscape by Suzannah Lessard!
Lessard's literary essays explore the landscapes of the moderHappy pub day to The Absent Hand: Reimagining our American Landscape by Suzannah Lessard!
Lessard's literary essays explore the landscapes of the modern United States of America - their history, their context. Describing places she knows best - where she's lived, and those places where she frequently travels - she speaks of their changes over time. Some of the highlights for me were her discussions of the spaces where we 'bide time' - the liminality of hotel and airport locations. Sweeping histories of urban settings, suburban sprawl, and rural renaissance and deaths. Land and architectural preservation and politics, shopping malls rise and fall, plantations and 'heritage' sites, urban housing projects, landfills/dumps.
Contemplative, sometimes (lovingly) curmudgeonly - she rants a little like an auntie about peoples' casual clothing choices and the way things used to be, etc - Lessard's book is about transitions that happen before our eyes in our own physical and mental landscapes.
As someone who is already into 'landscapes', she brought some new observations and ways of thinking.
My only criticism is that the essays are east coast-centric. She ventures west of the Mississippi only once for an essay on Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (NM ❤️ my childhood home!), and leaves swaths of American land unobserved with her critical eye. I would have liked some more discussion on the Midwest, the Rockies, the west coast and Alaska and Hawaii too... Yet, others have done that - Terry Tempest Williams and Barry Lopez come to mind, and they're some of my favorite writers of all time.
Thank you to @counterpointpress for sending this ARC....more
My hopes for this book were (unfortunately) dashed early on - I wanted a macrohistory of seaweed from a global perspective. I wanted an ecological andMy hopes for this book were (unfortunately) dashed early on - I wanted a macrohistory of seaweed from a global perspective. I wanted an ecological and botanical approach to this flora that keeps the oceans oxygen-rich and the animals that depend on it. Basically I wanted a Blue Planet and a David Attenborough approach, since I just rewatched the nature doc series (I and II).
Instead, it is very much a pinpointed microhistory of the seaweed farming and fishery trade and economy of southeastern 'down east' Maine and the Atlantic coast. There are brief mentions of Pacific and Indian Ocean seaweed trades, but nothing substantial. So yeah, not what I expected, nor what the title implies.
Still, if you are into seaweed, you'll learn some interesting things in this book. Seaweed is becoming a more ubiquitous food in its own right and is used in a lot of processed items. There's a high probability that you consume it and/or wash with it everyday.
Have you ever been hoodwinked by a book's title?...more