text: Anne Hawn Smith's bookshelf: foreign-country (showing 1-30 of 247)
  num ratings 302,742
  num ratings 114,623
  checkbox position cover title Before Ebola: Dispatches from a Deadly Outbreak
  author Apps, Peter
  asin B00O8FO4NM
  review This was a very short book about the Marburg outbreak in Northern Angola in 2005. Marburg is a hemorrhagic diseas that is even more deadly than Ebola
  This was a very short book about the Marburg outbreak in Northern Angola in 2005. Marburg is a hemorrhagic diseas that is even more deadly than Ebola and the period between onset and death is very short.It does not go into the medical aspects of the virus or the source of this particular outbreak. It is about the everyday life that surrounds an outbreak of this kind and the lengths a reporter has to go to inform the world. Usually we just see the story and video clips about sick and dying, but this is what goes into that report. Somehow this made a bigger impact on me than the medical aspects. Apps describes the problems of getting into such an area when most means of transportation refuse to have anything to do with the area. It describes the hotels with no more beds, the arduous task of reporting and the stories under these conditions and of some of the aids workers who chose to stay and work with patients.In passing, he tells of a woman who was sick with Marburg. As soon as her husband saw that she had the virus, he got himself and all the children out and locked the door from the outside. He was doing exactly what doctors recommend, but he will never recover from the sounds of his wife all alone and crying for help. I found that one story, probably enacted all over Africa, almost more terrifying than the disease itself.
  review I really enjoyed this book and will probably read it again some time. I visited Bavaria a number of years ago and saw the castles, so it was easy to p
  I really enjoyed this book and will probably read it again some time. I visited Bavaria a number of years ago and saw the castles, so it was easy to picture the setting. I also did a lot of research about Prince Ludwig II just because he was an interesting and complex person. He is Germany's most famous king and he actually helped the country in providing work for the people surrounding the castles when they were built and in the present. Thousands of people visit these castles and immerse themselves in his legend providing the German government with a substantial income.Before I read the book I had already formed the opinion that he was an artist and a dreamer and totally unsuited for the militaristic government that was being formed around him. It is sad that he was overthrown because he continued to build castles that he couldn't afford. The militaristic German governments have cost the German people so much more, both in money and in lives. This work of fiction is based on the idea that there was a diary kept by someone loyal and close to Prince Ludwig and that the diary told the real story of his death. What was interesting is that this fictional journal was written in the same shorthand that Samuel Pepys used for his diary and Pepys' journal was untranslated for 200 years. The main characters are trying not only to translate the diary, but also to follow a code interspersed between the chapters. I can sympathize with the main characters because my family was left with more than 1,000 old family letters and some of them were written by my grandfather and his brother. They both learned a form of shorthand in college and it is no longer used. It's frustrating to look at those letters and not be able to read them, especially because there is a family mystery about why my great uncle suddenly left school and those letters probably refer to it.
  review This is the story of an ordinary Jewish boy brought up in a town near the Polish border and caught up in Hitler's final solution. Early in Hitler's ta
  This is the story of an ordinary Jewish boy brought up in a town near the Polish border and caught up in Hitler's final solution. Early in Hitler's take over of Poland, he was given some very good advice which helped him survive. The most important was that he could do whatever he had to do and to not give in to hate. During a large part of the early years of Hitler's plan, Jack Mandelbaum was was sole breadwinner for his family. His father was taken away and they never heard from him again. Many times Jack didn't think he could survive, but he kept on pushing himself, becoming such a good worker the Nazi's did not kill him. He also remained cheerful and compliant, a task almost as arduous as the physical work. He realized that hate would consume him and sap his strength and energy if he gave over to it.This is a good book for Young adult readers. It is not so gruesome as most books and yet gives an accurate view of what went on in the cities and concentration camps. ...more
  isbn 1478979798
  isbn13 9781478979791
  review I am finally getting back to this book. I got it from the library and had to return it before I was finished. Not only is it inspiring, it is a view o
  I am finally getting back to this book. I got it from the library and had to return it before I was finished. Not only is it inspiring, it is a view of a totally different culture. I believe that is one of the major problems in dealing with any of the Arab countries. We have almost no idea of the way of life and beliefs of this culture. Reading this is a real eye-opener.I am overwhelmed by this book! I knew of some of the background of Malala and her village, but I had no idea of how overwhelming the depths of corruption and just plain evil there was. I know someone from Karachi and one of his two wives, but I had no idea they lived with this on their doorstep. How can anyone begin to reach these people from the tribal lands and the Taliban? How can anyone change blatant government corruption? How can anyone deal with people who target a child?
  checkbox position cover title George Silverman's Explanation
  review This is the third adventure of Theodosia and I think it is the best. Theodosia gets involved with another Egyptian, this time a magician named Awi Bub
  This is the third adventure of Theodosia and I think it is the best. Theodosia gets involved with another Egyptian, this time a magician named Awi Bubu, who is trying to find the powerful artifacts which she has found inadvertently. In this book, Theodosia has the help of a number of street urchins as well as her brother, Henry. She also learns something shocking about her grandmother and hints about Theodosia's heritage.I am using this series for Homeschool and they are great! The content provides a look at Egyptian history as well as the Victorian era. More than that though is the habits of the main character. She is able to feel the evil spirits and curses which emanate from many of the artifacts in her father's museum and she finds a way to remove or neutralize many of them. Her first step is to do a lot of research at the museum library and then use ingenuity to develop the counter to the curses. In order to research better, she has been teaching herself the ancient languages. Theodosia approaches her problems the way that I wish all kids could. Her research is born out of her natural curiosity and she applies what she learns to her own life.
  review This is the second installment of the life of Theodosia Throckmorton and her amazing adventures in the world of museums, ancient Egyptians and cursed
  This is the second installment of the life of Theodosia Throckmorton and her amazing adventures in the world of museums, ancient Egyptians and cursed artifacts. Theodosia has to rely on her ability to sense the evil from the cursed artifacts and to protect herself and others from their spells.In this book, the mummies are on the move. Imagine the surprise of her father when he finds his museum filled with the mummies from all the museums, and private collections in London. What is more, they keep returning when they are transported to their rightful place. While Theodosia is fending off superlative governesses, at least in her grandmother's view, she gets involved with yet another secret Egyptian society in London. At times they are at cross purposes and sometimes are actually evil, but Theodosia has her marvelous ability to safely handle cursed artifacts and use them to thwart the evil Serpents of Chaos. This book is every bit as good as the first one.