Lost in Shangri-La

Lost in Shangri-La
by Mitchell Zuckoff

I bought a new cell phone in January.  Part of the package was a book app. I don't recall exactly when I purchased (for free) this book on that app, but I found myself reading it on my phone when ever I had a chance.  

This true story takes place in New Guinea toward the end of WWII. A military plane filled with service men and women takes off on a sightseeing tour to view a recently discovered valley in the center of the island. This beautiful valley, nicknamed "Shangri-La" was home to thousands of native people who had never seen or been visited by any other humans on earth.  They were indeed very frightened by the planes that had suddenly begun flying over their villages. 

This sightseeing tour ends tragically when the plane crashes into the dense jungle and bursts into flames.  All but three of the 28 people on board are killed.  Two of the three survivors are seriously injured.  Their survival appears uncertain unless they can move out of the cover of the forest to where they can be seen and hopefully rescued.  Making matters worse is the unknown demeanor of the natives. They are believed to be cannibalistic, and the survivors have no idea whether they are friendly or hostile.

The rescue mission is complicated by the high altitude of the valley, the dense jungle with no options for landing a plane and the distance and terrain that separates them from their post.  The book is scattered with photos of the survivors, the natives, and the paratroopers who came to rescue them.  The story is gathered from diary entries and interviews of those involved.  The epilogue satisfies my curiosity of what became of the military men and women involved in the crash and rescue, as well as the primitive culture found previously undisturbed by outside influence. 

I loved this book and look forward to reading more by Zuckoff.  I give this book 4 of 5 shots

 

Half Broke Horses

"Half Broke Horses"(Audio)
by Jeannette Walls

I read the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls many years ago and loved it.  Sadly I wasn't writing about the books I was reading at that time.  It was a memoir of growing up with parents who were dreamers and drifters.  Parts of it romanticizing (my take on it) the childhood of living without boundaries and much of it horrific, living homeless, cold, and hungry. 

This prequel delves into the history of Ms. Walls' family, through the life of her maternal grandmother.  Ms. Walls calls it a "True Life Novel" as she has filled in and embellished, as a writer, the stories passed down in her family.  I don't believe she has embellished on facts, so much, as taken liberties with conversation and such, as the story is told through the voice of her grandmother.

Ms. Walls tells the story of this remarkable woman, her grandmother, Lily, starting with a time in our history where cars were just a vision of the future and families struggled daily to make a living off the land.  Lily was a bright, courageous and adventurous woman.  As a teen she rode by horse alone for days to take a job teaching a couple of states away.  She later moved to a big city to find work just to end up as a maid. She fell in love with and married a man who already had a wife and children, unbeknown to her.  

She left the city and returned to teaching when teachers were scarce due to the war. She married, raised a family, eventually got her college degree, helped run a ranch, learned to fly a plane, continued teaching school and more.  A true pioneer coming into the industrial age.  

Walls also tells of the life of Lily's daughter Rosemary, who was to become her mother.  Initially she wanted to tell Rosemary's story, but her mother insisted the real story was about Lily.  It's hard to believe the book could be as entertaining without Lily.  

I enjoyed this story very much and I'm now inspired to re-read The Glass Castle, something I rarely do.  

Four of Five Shots by me.  

Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck
By Erik Larson

I have looked at books by Erik Larson before, the covers always intrigue me.  I finally decided it was time to give one a go.  I chose Thunderstruck, which intertwines the history of wireless telegraphy with a story of murder.  It all sounded very interesting and, in fact, was.  But drawn out and boring and little connects the two stories until the very end. 

Indeed.  Through much of the book, jumping between stories, they are not even in the same year.

The history of wireless communication is told in regard to the inventor, Marconi.  Although he didn't discover or invent all the technology involved, he was instrumental in refining the technology and pushing the limits of how far wireless communications could be sent or received.  Although interesting, the story mired down in the the details of his protagonists, his travels abroad and back for experiments, and his single minded obsession with secrecy.  Far too much detail and too little meat. 

The tale of Doctor Crippen's murder of his wife was also slow but more entertaining in its telling than the telegraphy account.  Toward the end of the book when the British detectives begin to realize that Dr. Crippen really was capable of killing his wife and discover the evidence they need to prove it, may have been the most interesting section of the book.  Although morbid, I found it a fascinating contradiction to the man described up to that point. 

Where the history of telegraphy and Dr. Crippen's crime intersect is during Dr. Crippen's attempted escape at sea.  Prior to the wireless, discovery of a fugitive at sea could not have been relayed to shore, and no authorities dispatched to take the fugitive into custody upon arriving in port.  The wireless became largely responsible for Dr. Crippen's capture. 

I was not thrilled with this book.  I give it 2 of 5 shots.  However, I am not dissuaded from giving another Erik Larson book a try. 

The Zookeeper's Wife, A War Story by Diane Ackerman

Originally published on MySpace, Mar 4, 2009

This is a biographical story of Antonina Zabinski, a polish woman and the wife of a zookeeper in Warsaw, Poland. The story is told of their life and activities during WWII. The author tells the story through other biographies and journals kept by Antonina, and therein lies the 'problem' with this book.

For my tastes this is written much too much like a text book. Instead of creating the story around the events of their lives, the author is overly concerned with keeping to exact truth in her story and often uses quotes from the source or journal to be sure the reader knows how accurate it is. I found this disturbing and distracting from the tale.

The Zabinskis were active in helping many Polish Jews escape the Nazis by providing their villa and zoo as part of the underground resources. Mr. Zabinski battled and fought with the Polish Resistance and was, toward the end of the war, held prisoner. The story should be fascinating and exciting, but told in such a way that I never felt too concerned or frightened for those involved.

I can tolerate some author priviledge in embellishment as long as the basic facts of the story hold true. If the author would have chosen to expand on the horrors or emotions that were being experienced at that time, I would have forgiven her. But she tells only what she is absolutely sure of and I feel she missed making me feel all the empathy and passion I would otherwise have felt.

I give it a C. The content was excellent but the story telling lacked far too much.

1:09 PM

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