Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Columbine by Dave Cullen
Many of you are familiar with the events of April 20, 1999 which took place at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado even though you were probably very young on this day. Two boys came to school with the purpose of shooting the kids that picked on them and the two boys were part of something called the 'trench coat mafia' who were a bunch of angry 'Goth' kids, right? There was also a girl who said yes, she believed in God before they shot here, correct? Well, author and journalist Dave Cullen investigated the circumstances of this event and the aftermath ever since that tragic day and he's discovered that many of the details are completely made up or very different from reality. This book is one of the nominated titles for the 2012 Abraham Lincoln Award and the library just got a copy, maybe you should check it out and find out for yourself what the truth really is surrounding this horrific day in American history.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen
Have you ever had something that you valued alot, but you were willing to give it up for a greater cause? Perhaps your time or money for a charity? How did you feel about your decision later? Good? Not so much? For famed British author Rudyard Kipling had to question whether the sacrifice of his son for his nation in World War I was worth it.
In Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen, we see a fictionalized account of the real life story of Rudyard Kipling and his son John. Rudyard himself had been unable to serve in the military as a young man because of his poor eyesight. He hoped his son though would get to have the glory he was denied. His son though, was also physically unfit for service but Rudyard used his connections to get his son a commision as an officer in the Irish Regiment of the British Army in World War I. John leads other young men into battle in 1915 and finds that his first battle will be his last. He is wounded and as he lays dying, he has suffers from the madness of war and he thinks of all the things that led him to this point. Later, when Rudyard gets word that his son is 'missing', he too reflects on his role in his son's unfortunate mishap. Should he have done what he did to get his son in the army? Should he have written all those patriotic works that encouraged others to enlist? When you read this, ask yourself whether Rudyard's sacrifice of his son for their country and it's cause was a noble thing to do after all.
(call # FIC SPI)
In Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen, we see a fictionalized account of the real life story of Rudyard Kipling and his son John. Rudyard himself had been unable to serve in the military as a young man because of his poor eyesight. He hoped his son though would get to have the glory he was denied. His son though, was also physically unfit for service but Rudyard used his connections to get his son a commision as an officer in the Irish Regiment of the British Army in World War I. John leads other young men into battle in 1915 and finds that his first battle will be his last. He is wounded and as he lays dying, he has suffers from the madness of war and he thinks of all the things that led him to this point. Later, when Rudyard gets word that his son is 'missing', he too reflects on his role in his son's unfortunate mishap. Should he have done what he did to get his son in the army? Should he have written all those patriotic works that encouraged others to enlist? When you read this, ask yourself whether Rudyard's sacrifice of his son for their country and it's cause was a noble thing to do after all.
(call # FIC SPI)
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