George Washington – Endlessly Worthy Subject by Janice Clauser

 

Tomorrow being the 281^st birthday of President George Washington, we note that there are 79 titles at the Crawfordsville Public Library about him and his world. Each time we look, different titles might attract us, perhaps “George vs. George” relating him to his contemporary adversary George III, perhaps stories about figures in history given his name, like agricultural researcher George Washington Carver, bridge building engineer George Washington Ferris, Civil War infantry participant George Washington Partridge. There are also 13 titles of fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Here are new books of recent developments. “Open Heart” by Nobel Peace Prize winner and the “world’s tireless ambassador of tolerance and justice” Elie Wiesel, asking if there is hope for mankind, as he faces his personal challenges. “Reading the Old Testament” by Lawrence Boadt first appeared in 1984. Now Richard Clifford and Daniel Harrington have brought it into the 21^st century, updating archaeological reports, adding new research, new maps, Jewish-Christian interpretations, and new dialogue. ”Reading the New Testament” third edition, has also been updated with an expanded bibliography and new illustrations by Pheme Perkins. “A Jew among Romans” is Frederic Raphael’s presentation of the life and legacy of Flavius Josephus, the Jewish general turned Roman historian, whose betrayal is a touchstone for the Jew in the Gentile world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Nate Silver’s “The Signal and the Noise” tells about the world of prediction, investigating how we can tell a true signal from our universe of noisy, ever-increasing data. How can being smarter about the future help us make better decisions in the present? W. E. B. Griffin’s novel “Empire and Honor” begins in October, 1945 when the Germans and Japanese have surrendered, and the United States made a secret deal with the head of German intelligence’s Soviet section. In exchange for lots of intelligence, especially the identity of the Soviet spies in the U.S. atomic bomb program, his people would be spirited to safety in Argentina. J. D. Robb’s “Delusion in Death” starts with 80 people dieing in a happy-hour bar downtown after work when sharp words were exchanged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Danielle Steel’s “Until the End of Time” follows two separate couples who have changed their lives for new goals, each with complications. ”Suspect” by Robert Crais is a suspense novel beginning when a cop who survived the death of his partner is paired with a German shepherd who lost her handler. They both suffer from stress syndrome but it gives both of them one more chance at success. This book is also available in a sound recording and a large print version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Linda Howard’s “Shadow Woman” finds one waking up to have no memory of her own face or of the last two years. Suddenly she can elude surveillance like a trained agent. Then she’s paired with a stranger whom she doesn’t trust. (A large print version is also available.)  Having been acquitted for the murder of her best friend, but still untrusted, how does Sharon McCone solve the unsolved murder in “Looking for Yesterday” by Marcia Muller? “Cold Wind” by C. J. Boxes shows a wife arrested for her husband’s murder at a wind turbine. “Robert Parker’s Ironhorse” by Robert Knott takes us to the Indian Territories above Texas where two territorial marshals set out to escort Mexican prisoners to the U.S. border; boarding their train they notice the Texas governor and his family and ruthless bandits boarding too. “What the Cat Saw” by Carolyn Hart shows us a woman who has been plagued by a sixth sense since the death of her fiancé. She can understand the thoughts of cats. This ability helps her solve a death in the neighborhood. (A large print version is also available.)