HMCO has to one of my favorite publishers. They really balance well be between novels and deep, thoughtful nonfiction and I'm consistently impressed by what they have to offer every season. This is one catalog that I always look forward to.
The Best Day The Worst Day by Donald Hall. This came out in hardcover this year and looks wonderful. It is the story of Hall and his wife poet Jane Kenyon and their working relationship as well as "the best marriage I know about" according to Hall. I always wonder about the lives of writers - how they attain personal and professional balance. This looks like a great example of something that worked.
The Last Gentleman Adventurer by Edward Beauclerk Maurice. Prior to WWII (no date is given in the catalog) Maurice went to work for the Hudson's Bay Co. in the Canadian Arctic and lived among the Inuit - learning their language and way of life in a place with no phone, radio and one ship each year. (I'm puzzled about the lack of aircraft, even in the 1930s, but I need to see specifically where he was stationed.) I have a degree in Northern Studies and love this stuff (see my current article in Eclectica and recent entry on Kelly Tyler Lewis; book on the Shackleton party).
Sky Time in Gray's River by Robert Michael Pyle. I first read one of Pyle's books last year and was so impressed with his writing style. He's apparently a great ecologist and writer (and renowned butterfly expert) and has lived in the Pacific NW for 30 year at Gray's River. This book is about his town and its place in the world. Sounds lovely.
Charity Girl by Michael Lowenthal. So apparently in WWI 15,000 young women who were infected with VD (or thought to have it) were imprisoned by the US gov't. The thought was this would prevent them from spreading it to soldiers (who often gave it to them in the first place) and keep the war effort from collapsing. There was also some lame moral effort going on as well. (Hard to believe, right?) Lowenthal has written novel about one young girl, Frieda Mintz and how she gets sent to a detention center and finds a way, with the other young women there, to rise above the shame that is thrust upon them.
I am so freaked out by this - and that I've never heard of it - that I can't wait to read the book.
Cheating Destiny by James Hirsch. The author was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 15 and has had it for 25 years (along with his brother and 3 year old son). The book is about how to live with it, the science behind it, the impact this epidemic has on our economy and society. It's also about all the "psychological and emotional hurdles diabetics confront everyday." My 4 year old son was diagnosed a year ago and it is harder than hell to manage. This book is long overdue and I can't wait to read it.
There's also The First Total War about the age of Napoleon and the aspects of modern way which date back to his time: "conscription, mobilization of civilians, guerilla warfare and the perverse notion of war fought for the sake of peace". Author David Bell follows the parallels between that time and our own, keeping an eye on history while looking forward to Iraq. Sounds excellent.
And finally, I am reminded by Ward Just's new book, Forgetfulness, that I still have not read An Unfinished Season. Must read that this year - really. Just was so compelling in his interview with Donna Seaman in Writers on the Air. He is on my Christmas list for sure.
