Swing Parade of 1946 is a 1946 musical comedy film directed by Phil Karlson. - starring Gale Storm, Phil Regan, and The Three Stooges.

 Swing Parade of 1946 is a 1946 musical comedy film directed by Phil Karlson. - starring Gale Storm, Phil Regan, and The Three Stooges.

Available on YouTube 

Starring Gale Storm and Phil Regan, the film follows the story of Sally, a struggling young singer, and Danny, a nightclub owner on the brink of losing his club to his millionaire father. Sally lands a job at Danny's club, and sparks fly between them amidst financial woes, hilarious hijinks courtesy of The Three Stooges as waiters, and showstopping musical numbers.

Music and Dance: The film features plenty of swing music performed by Connee Boswell and the Louis Jordan and Will Osborne orchestras. Classic hits like "Stormy Weather" and "Caldonia" provide a toe-tapping soundtrack, while energetic dance routines showcasing the talents of the cast keep the film lively.

The Three Stooges: Moe, Larry, and Curly bring their signature slapstick humor to the film, injecting moments of pure physical comedy into the story. Their waiter routines are sure to tickle your funny bone.

Romance and Humor: The film balances its musical and comedic elements with a sweet romance between Sally and Danny. Their journey, facing challenges and pursuing their dreams, adds a touch of heart to the lighthearted proceedings.

Behind the Scenes:

Production: Filmed over just 24 days, the film's production was fast-paced and efficient. However, it coincided with Curly Howard's declining health, and his performances in the film reflect the impact of his recent strokes.

Critical Reception: The film received mixed reviews upon release, with some praising its entertainment value and others criticizing its plot and acting. However, it has gained a loyal following over the years, appreciated for its nostalgic charm and lively music 

Long ago  my family was a fan of the American comedy TV series My Little Margje starring Gale Storm (85 episodes are available on YouTube) and I watched a lot of programs featuring The Three Stooges as a child so there were elements of fond nostalgia for me brought up by Swing Parade of 1946.

There's No Business Like Show Business- A 1954 Musical Directed by Walter Lang -Music by Irving Berlin - Starring Ethel Mernan, Donald O'Connor and Marilyn Monroe

 There's No Business Like Show Business- A 1954 Musical Directed by Walter Lang -Music by Irving Berlin - Starring Ethel Mernan, Donald O'Connor and Marilyn Monroe

Available on YouTube 

The film follows the Donahue family, a vaudeville act turned family troupe called "The Five Donahues." Led by the flamboyant Molly (Ethel Merman) and the stoic Terry (Dan Dailey), their children Katy (Mitzi Gaynor), Tim (Donald O'Connor), and Steve (Johnnie Ray) each navigate their own desires and ambitions within the confines of the family business. The film explores themes of family, ambition, self-discovery, and the allure and challenges of show business.

With music and lyrics by the legendary Irving Berlin, the film boasts an incredible soundtrack. From the title song's infectious energy to the poignant ballad "After You," each number is a testament to Berlin's genius. The film also features spectacular dance routines, showcasing the talents of its star-studded cast.

This film boasts a true ensemble of Hollywood powerhouses:

Ethel Merman: Delivers a powerhouse performance as the strong-willed Molly, commanding the stage and screen with her vibrant energy and vocal prowess.

Donald O'Connor: Known for his athleticism and comedic timing, O'Connor shines as Tim, the tap-dancing son who grapples with his place in the family act.

Marilyn Monroe: In one of her early leading roles, Monroe brings both charisma and vulnerability to the role of Vicky, a nightclub singer who catches Tim's eye.

Dan Dailey: Provides the film with a grounded presence as Terry, the dependable father who struggles to balance his own dreams with the needs of his family.

Mitzi Gaynor: Exudes charm and talent as Katy, the daughter who yearns for a life beyond vaudeville.

Johnnie Ray: Adds a touch of dramatic depth as Steve, the son who chooses a different path, pursuing a life of faith

Despite its lavish production and star power, "There's No Business Like Show Business" was a box office disappointment and received mixed reviews upon release. Some critics praised the musical numbers and performances, while others found the plot melodramatic and the pacing uneven. However, the film has gained a cult following over the years, appreciated for its nostalgic charm, energetic performances, and iconic soundtrack.

I found the plot kind of tedious at times, The three children somehow did not develop well as characters,  to me in the best of the musicals I have seen in the last few months the songs are very intergral to the story line, here they seemed just interludes, if not the best part of this film.  

 

To Be or Not to Be - A 1983 Film Directed by and Starring Mel Brooks with Ann Bancroft - inspired by the 1938 Film by Ernst Lubitsch

 To Be or Not to Be - A 1983 Film Directed by and Starring Mel Brooks with Ann Bancroft - by the 1938 Film by Ernst Lubitsch 

"When "To Be or Not To Be" was originally made, by Ernst Lubitsch in 1942, the Nazis were in Poland, which gave a certain poignancy to every funny line. Lubitsch's stars were Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, both specialists in underplaying. Brooks and Bancroft go in the opposite direction, cheerfully allowing farce, slapstick, pratfalls and puns into the story, until the whole movie seems strung together like one of the revues in Bronski's theater." Roger Ebert

It has been at least 30 years since I last watched the 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be by Mel Brooks, I had never yet heard of Ernst Lubitsch.

I really liked the 1967 version of the Producers and Blazing Saddles i saw earlier in the month so I was confident I would like today's movie. And I did,

The movie starts in Warsaw about 1939, just before the Germans invade Poland. Everything centers on a theatrical group. The main figures in the company are Joseph Bronski(Mel Brooks) and his Wife Anna (Carole! Lombard).

I do not wish to reveal the plot to first time viewers so I will just make a few observations.

The on screen chemistry between Ann Bancroft and Mel Brooks, her husband is marvelous.  The depiction of life in a theater company brought to life the characters, egos, and cultural conflicts involved.  Brooks is a master at making even Nazis funny.  Gestapo headquarters is scary.  The trick the theatrical company plays on the Nazis was so much fun to watch. The ending is gratifying 

Sold Into Marriage- A 1916 Silent Film Starring Lillian Gish - Directed by Christy Cabanne - 59 Minutes

 

Sold Into Marriage- A 1916 Silent Film Starring Lillian Gish - Directed by Christy Cabanne 

Available on YouTube 

Sold for Marriage (1916) is a silent film drama directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Lillian Gish. The film tells the story of Marfa, a young Russian woman who is forced to marry against her will. Marfa is in love with a poor peasant boy named Jan, but her greedy uncle arranges for her to be sold to a wealthy older man named Colonel Gregarioff. Marfa refuses to marry Gregarioff, and she is eventually sent to America, where she is sold to another man. However, Marfa eventually escapes and reunites with Jan.

Sold for Marriage was a popular film in its day, and it helped to solidify Gish's reputation as one of the leading actresses of the silent era. The film is notable for its use of melodrama and its sympathetic portrayal of Marfa's plight. However, the film has also been criticized for its stereotypes of Russians and its simplistic view omarriage 

Sold for Marriage is a classic example of the "woman's film" genre, which was popular in the early 20th century. These films often featured strong female characters who were forced to overcome obstacles in order to achieve their goals.

Sold for Marriage is also notable for its use of expressionistic cinematography, which helped to convey the emotional turmoil of the characters.

" Christy Cabanne! He was quite a figure in the early days of Hollywoodp

Who he was:

Multifaceted film industry professional: Christy Cabanne (born William Christy Cabanne) was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor.

Prolificacy: He is considered one of the most prolific directors in American film history, alongside names like Sam Newfield and William Beaudine.

Notable collaborations: He worked as an assistant to the legendary D.W. Griffith and discovered child star Shirley Temple.

His achievements:

Directed over 300 films: His filmography spans various genres, including westerns, comedies, mysteries, and dramas.

Early talkies: He successfully transitioned from silent films to talkies in the late 1930s" from Bard 

The Jazz Singer - A 1927 Musical Starring Al Jolson - 1 Hour 29 Minutes

The Jazz Singer - A 1927 Musical Starring Al Jolson - 1 Hour 29 Minutes 

 Available on YouTube 

Release date: October 6, 1927 (USA)

Director: Alan Crosland

Producers: Jack L. Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck

Awards: Academy Honorary Award

Screenplay: Alan Crosland, Alfred A. Cohn, Jack Jarmuth

Music composed by: Louis Silvers

Box office: 2.6 million USD 

First Feature-Length "Talkie": While not entirely a talkie (silent intertitles were still used), it contained synchronized dialogue and singing sequences, marking a major turning point in film history and ushering in the era of sound films.

Impact on the Industry: Its financial success cemented the dominance of sound films and effectively ended the It tells the story of Jakie Rabinowitz, a young man torn between his family's religious tradition and his passion for jazz music. This cultural clash explores themes of identity, assimilation, and personal ambition.

Family Drama: The film delves into the complicated relationship between Jakie and his father, a cantor who expects him to follow in his footsteps. This emotional conflict adds depth and resonance to the story.

Oklahoma - A 1955 Musical Directed by Fred Zimmermann - A Rodgers and Hammerstein Production - 2 Hours 25 Minutes

Oklahoma - A 1955 Musical Directed by Fred Zimmermann - A Rodgers and Hammerstein Production - 2 Hours 25 Minutes 

Available on YouTube 

 Academy Awatd Winner for Best Sound and Best Score 

The 1955 film adaptation of Oklahoma! is a beloved classic that brought the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical to the big screen. 

Directed by: Fred Zinnemann

Starring: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, Charlotte Greenwood, Rod Steiger, James Whitmore, Eddie Albert

Based on: The 1943 Broadway musical of the same name

Oklahoma! is considered one of the greatest movie musicals ever made. It helped to popularize the widescreen format and is known for its beautiful cinematography, memorable songs, and strong performances.

It was the first film to be shot in the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process.

The film was originally going to be shot in black and white, but the producers changed their minds after seeing the success of Singin' in the Rain.

The film's budget was $6 million, which was a lot of money for a musical at the time.

The film was a major box office success, grossing over $40 million worldwide.

I very much enjoyed Oklahoma 

Florida Founder William P. Duval: Frontier Bon Vivant by James Denham- 2015

 A post in honour of the birth anniversary of 

 our Mother- No finer Floridian ever lived. She was born in High Springs, Florida on January 3, 1916.

In observation of the birth anniversary of my Brother and I, in January I  post on a quality work on Florida History. Florida Founder William P. Duval: Frontier Bon Viviant by James M. Denham is a very suitable work.

Florida Timeline

8000 BC - First Native American settlement, near Sarasota

1000 AD - there are nine distinct tribes 

1500 - estimated population of the state was 375,000- 150,000 speak Timuca

April 2, 1513 - Ponce de Leon lands somewhere between Melbourne and Jacksonville. In time the indigenous population will be reduced to near zero, from disease and warfare. 

1521 - first colony, from Spain, near St. Augustine

1579 - The cultivation of oranges, introduced from Spain begins. By 1835 millions of oranges were being shipped north and to Europe, for the next hundred years oranges, cattle and timber were the major sources of cash

1624 - First African American born in Florida, in St. Augustine

1763 to 1765- England Owns west Florida panhandle area

Based on research my research as well as by others in the family and history, I conjecture my maternal ancestors first entered Florida, coming from. Georgia where they arrived around 1650, about 1800

1808 - importation of slaves into USA is banned, a very large trade in slaves smuggled in from Cuba begins 

1821 - USA acquired Florida from Spain.  

1822 - Tallahassee is chosen as the territory capital, being half way between the then major population centers of St. Augustine and Pensacola

1835 Second Seminole War begins, by 1842 most Seminoles were shipped west but some escaped into the Everglades.  

The make up of the Seminoles was largely not Native originally to Florida but a mixture of escaped slaves and Creeks from Georgia and South Carolina.

March 3, 1845 - Florida becomes a state, slavery legal.

1859 - by the end of the third Seminole War the around four hundred survivors retreat to the Everglades

Population of Florida 1861. - 154,494 - 92,741 Free, 61,75 enslaved

January 10, 1861 Florida suceeds from The Union. Per capita, Florida sent The most men into war, 15000. It was then the least populated southern state.

In January 2019, in consultation with Max u, it was decided every January there would be a post about a book in tribute to our Mother. Our mother was born in a very small town in northern Florida, High Springs on January 3, 1920

An ancestor started the first public library in the central Florida era in 1820.. I speculate our ancestors probably entered Florida about 1790.A knowledge of history indicates our prior maternal ancestors came to the USA from the UK in the 1600s,possibly in part as bound servants. Somehow they wound up in South Georgia. After the American Revolution people from that area began to enter then Spanish Florida, which the USA acquired on February 22, 1819 from Spain.

The colonies of East Florida and West Florida remained loyal to the British during the war for American independence, but by the Treaty of Paris in 1783 they returned to Spanish control. After 1783, Americans immigrants moved into West Florida.

In 1810 American settlers in West Florida rebelled, declaring independence from Spain. President James Madison and Congress used the incident to claim the region, knowing full well that the Spanish government was seriously weakened by Napoleon’s invasion of Spain. The United States asserted that the portion of West Florida from the Mississippi to the Perdido rivers was part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Negotiations over Florida began in earnest with the mission of Don Luis de Onís to Washington in 1815 to meet Secretary of State James Monroe. The issue was not resolved until Monroe was president and John Quincy Adams his Secretary of State. Although U.S. Spanish relations were strained over suspicions of American support for the independence struggles of Spanish-American colonies, the situation became critical when General Andrew Jackson seized the Spanish forts at Pensacola and St. Marks in his 1818 authorized raid against Seminoles and escaped slaves who were viewed as a threat to Georgia. Jackson executed two British citizens on charges of inciting the Indians and runaways. Monroe’s government seriously considered denouncing Jackson’s actions, but Adams defended the Jackson citing the necessity to restrain the Indians and escaped slaves since the Spanish failed to do so. Adams also sensed that Jackson’s Seminole campaign was popular with Americans and it strengthened his diplomatic hand with Spain.

Adams used the Jackson’s military action to present Spain with a demand to either control the inhabitants of East Florida or cede it to the United States. Minister Onís and Secretary Adams reached an agreement whereby Spain ceded East Florida to the United States and renounced all claim to West Florida. Spain received no compensation, but the United States agreed to assume liability for $5 million in damage done by American citizens who rebelled against Spain. Under the Onís-Adams Treaty of 1819 (also called the Transcontinental Treaty and ratified in 1821) the United States and Spain defined the western limits of the Louisiana Purchase and Spain surrendered its claims to the Pacific Northwest. In return, the United States recognized 

In Florida Founder William P. DuVal, James M. Denham provides the first full-length biography of the well-connected, but nearly forgotten frontier politician of antebellum America. The scion of a well-to-do Richmond, Virginia, family, William Pope DuVal (1784-1854) migrated to the Kentucky frontier as a youth in 1800. Settling in Bardstown, DuVal read law, served in Congress, and fought in the War of 1812.

In 1822, largely because of the influence of his lifelong friend John C. Calhoun, President James Monroe appointed DuVal the first civil governor of the newly acquired Territory of Florida. Enjoying successive appointments from the Adams and Jackson administrations, DuVal founded Tallahassee and presided over the territory's first twelve territorial legislative sessions, years that witnessed Middle Florida's development into one of the Old Southwest's most prosperous slave-based economies. Beginning with his personal confrontation with Miccosukee chief Neamathla in 1824 (an episode commemorated by Washington Irving), DuVal worked closely with Washington officials and oversaw the initial negotiations with the Seminoles.

A perennial political appointee, DuVal was closely linked to national and territorial politics in antebellum America. Like other "Calhounites" who supported Andrew Jackson's rise to the White House, DuVal became a casualty of the Peggy Eaton Affair and the Nullification Crisis. In fact he was replaced as Florida governor by Mrs. Eaton's husband, John Eaton. After leaving the governor's chair, DuVal migrated to Kentucky, lent his efforts to the cause of Texas Independence, and eventually returned to practice law and local politics in Florida. Throughout his career DuVal cultivated the arts of oratory and story-telling—skills essential to success in the courtrooms and free-for-all politics of the American South. Part frontiersman and part sophisticate, DuVal was at home in the wilds of Kentucky, Florida, Texas, and Washington City. He delighted in telling tall tales, jests, and anecdotes that epitomized America's expansive, democratic vistas. Among those captivated by DuVal's life and yarns were Washington Irving, who used DuVal's tall tales as inspiration for his "The Early Experiences of Ralph Ringwood," and James Kirke Paulding, whose "Nimrod Wildfire" shared Du Val's brashness and bonhommie." From The University of South Carolina Press

I highly recommend this marvelous book to any one with a serious interest in Florida History 

Un Chien Andalou (An Andulsian Dog) - A 1929 Film - directed by Luis Buñuel with script cowritten by Salvador Dali - 16 minutes

 Available on YouTube with English Captions 

Chien Andalou is a 1929 French silent short film directed, produced and edited by Luis Buñuel, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Salvador Dalí. Buñuel's first film, it was initially released in a limited capacity at Studio des Ursulines in Paris, but became popular and ran for eight months. 

The film is a series of unconnected images and scenes that explore the subconscious mind and the irrational. It is often shocking and disturbing, and it has been interpreted in many different ways.

One of the most famous scenes in the film is the opening scene, in which a man cuts a woman's eye with a razor. 

Other scenes in the film include a man dragging a piano down a street, a woman's hand being covered in ants, and a man being attacked by a swarm of locusts. These scenes are all surreal and disturbing, and they create a sense of unease and anxiety in the viewer.

Un Chien Andalou has been interpreted in many different ways. Some critics see it as a commentary on the irrationality of the human mind. Others see it as a reflection of Buñuel's and Dalí's own personal obsessions and anxieties.

Luis Buñuel Portolés (22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Buñuel's works were known for their avant-garde surrealism, often infused with political commentary.

Buñuel was born in Calanda, Spain, into a wealthy family. He received a strict Jesuit education, which sowed the seeds of his lifelong obsession with religion and subversive behavior. After moving to Madrid to study philosophy and literature, Buñuel became involved in the Spanish Surrealist movement. In 1929, he collaborated with Salvador Dalí on the short film Un Chien Andalou, which is considered to be one of the most important Surrealist films ever made.

After the Spanish Civil War, Buñuel fled to Mexico, where he made a number of films, including Los olvidados (1950) and El (1952). These films are considered to be masterpieces of Mexican cinema, and they helped to establish Buñuel's reputation as one of the world's leading filmmakers.

In the 1960s, Buñuel returned to Europe, where he made a number of his most acclaimed films, including Viridiana (1961), Belle de Jour (1967), and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). These films are known for their subversive humor, their exploration of taboo subjects, and their challenging and innovative filmmaking techniques.

Buñuel died in Mexico City in 1983 at the age of 83. He left behind a body of work that is considered to be among the most important and influential in the history of cinema.

Some of Buñuel's most notable films include:

Un Chien Andalou (1929)

L'Âge d'or (1930)

Los olvidados (1950)

Viridiana (1961)

Belle de Jour (1967)

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

Tristana (1970)

The Phantom of Liberty (1974)

This Obscure Object of Desire (1977)

Buñuel's films continue to be studied and admired by filmmakers and film scholars alike. His work has had a profound influence on generations of filmmakers, including Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch, " From Bard 

In time I hope to view all of these films

One interpretation of the film is that it is a metaphor for the sexual act. The image of the man slicing the woman's eye could be seen as a representation of the male penetration of the female. The image of the woman walking down the street with a severed hand in her pocket could be seen as a representation of female castration.

Another interpretation of the film is that it is a commentary on the nature of reality. The film's dreamlike imagery could be seen as a way of exploring the idea that reality is not always what it seems. The image of the cloud cutting the moon in half could be seen as a representation of the fragility of reality.

Land Without Bread (Las Hur Des) - A 1933 Documentary directed by Luis Bunuel - 30 Minutes

Available on YouTube with English Captions

 Land Without Bread (Las Hur Des) - A 1933 Documentary directed by Luis Bunuel - 30 Minutes

The film focuses on Las Hurdes, a remote and impoverished region in western Spain, capturing the harsh living conditions and struggles of its inhabitants. We see their basic necessities like clean water and nutritious food being scarce, their homes being simple and often dilapidated, and their livelihood relying on backbreaking labor and traditional 

Buñuel's approach is what makes the film truly unique and thought-provoking. He blends documentary elements with surrealist touches, blurring the lines between reality and artistic interpretation. The narration, often deadpan and detached, contrasts with the stark visuals of poverty and hardship. He also incorporates jarring juxtapositions, like shots of starving children next to scenes of religious processions.

Land Without Bread was met with mixed reactions upon its release. Some praised its unflinching portrayal of social injustice, while others criticized it for its bleakness and perceived manipulation of the truth. The Spanish government even banned the film for several years, fearing it would damage the country's image.

Despite the controversy, Land Without Bread remains a significant work of cinema. It challenged audiences to confront uncomfortable realities and sparked conversations about poverty, inequality, and the role of art in social critique.

The film was originally silent, with Buñuel himself providing narration at screenings. A French narration was later added in 1935.

The film's score features excerpts from Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 4, creating a haunting and ironic contrast to the visuals.

Buñuel has admitted to staging some scenes for dramatic effect, further blurring the lines between documentary and fiction.

Luis Buñuel Portolés (22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Buñuel's works were known for their avant-garde surrealism, often infused with political commentary.

Buñuel was born in Calanda, Spain, into a wealthy family. He received a strict Jesuit education, which sowed the seeds of his lifelong obsession with religion and subversive behavior. After moving to Madrid to study philosophy and literature, Buñuel became involved in the Spanish Surrealist movement. In 1929, he collaborated with Salvador Dalí on the short film Un Chien Andalou, which is considered to be one of the most important Surrealist films ever made.

After the Spanish Civil War, Buñuel fled to Mexico, where he made a number of films, including Los olvidados (1950) and El (1952). These films are considered to be masterpieces of Mexican cinema, and they helped to establish Buñuel's reputation as one of the world's leading filmmakers.

In the 1960s, Buñuel returned to Europe, where he made a number of his most acclaimed films, including Viridiana (1961), Belle de Jour (1967), and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). These films are known for their subversive humor, their exploration of taboo subjects, and their challenging and innovative filmmaking techniques.

Buñuel died in Mexico City in 1983 at the age of 83. He left behind a body of work that is considered to be among the most important and influential in the history of cinema.

Some of Buñuel's most notable films include:

Un Chien Andalou (1929)

L'Âge d'or (1930)

Los olvidados (1950)

Viridiana (1961)

Belle de Jour (1967)

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

Tristana (1970)

The Phantom of Liberty (1974)

This Obscure Object of Desire (1977)

Buñuel's films continue to be studied and admired by filmmakers and film scholars alike. His work has had a profound influence on generations of filmmakers, including Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch, " From Bard 

In time I hope to view all of films above.

Cronus -Directed by Guillermo del Toro- 1993 - His First Feature Film - 1 Hour 29 minutes

 Cronus -Directed by Guillermo del Toro- 1993 - His First Feature Film - 1 Hour 29 minutes 

The story revolves around Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi), an aging antiques dealer who stumbles upon a curious golden artifact shaped like a scarab. Unwittingly, he awakens an ancient invention promising immortality, but at a horrifying cost. As Jesús regains his youth through a grotesque metamorphosis, he grapples with the device's addictive power and becomes entangled with a mysterious American named Angel (Ron Perlman), who seeks to claim the artifact for himself.

Cronos delves into profound themes, weaving a tapestry of immortality, obsession, and the corruptive nature of power. It compels us to ponder the consequences of defying the natural order and the seductive allure of eternal life, even amidst its monstrous sacrifices.

The film garnered widespread critical acclaim for its masterful storytelling, unsettling atmosphere, and groundbreaking special effects by Rick Baker. It established del Toro as a rising auteur and earned him international recognition

"Mrs. Turner Cutting the Grass" - A Short Story by Carol Shields - included in The Collected Stories of Carol Shields - 2004

“Her stories have given me happiness, not just pleasure. They delight me at first by the clear and simple elegance with which they’re made. Then there’s something so bountiful and surprising about them, like the beautiful broken light of a prism.” —Alice Munro

'In all of her fiction, Carol Shields excels at character creation. She conjures up a character in a few lines of dialogue, in a pungent authorial aside." Penelope Lively

This year, Buried in Print, a marvelous blog I have followed for over ten years,will be doing a read through of the short stories of Carol  I hope to participate fully in this event.

http://www.buriedinprint.com/

"Mrs Turner Cuts the Grass" is the third story by Carol Shields I have so far read,  I like her work so much I am planning to do a post on all 60 of the stories in the collection. 

This story begins with a 19 year old woman being, in 1930, expelled from the family home for having an affair with a married man.  She left her small town birthplace and travelled to New York City.

"The journey was endless and wretched, and on the way across Indiana and Ohio and Pennsylvania she saw hundreds and hundreds of towns whose unpaved streets and narrow blinded houses made her fear some conspiratorial, punishing power had carried her back to Boissevain. Her father’s soppy-stern voice sang and sang in her ears as the wooden bus rattled its way eastward. It was summer, 1930. New York was immense and wonderful, dirty, perilous and puzzling."

The story ends nearly 50 years later, back in her home town, a widow, mowing her yard, 

I do not wish to relay much of the plot. Along with her siblings she begins to travel the world.  There is an interlude concerning a poet they meet.

The Carol Shields Literary Trust Website has an excellent biography 

https://www.carol-shields.com/biography.html

 

Crimson Peak - Directed by Guillermo del Toro- 2015- Starring Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, - 1 Hour 59 Minutes

 

Crimson Peak - Directed by Guillermo del Toro- 2015- Starring Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, - 1 Hour 59 Minutes 

Available on Dailymotion 

Films Directed by Guillermo del Toro I have seen

The Devil's Backbone (2001)

The Shape of Water (2017) - This film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro. It was also nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and seven BAFTA Awards.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Pinnochio (2022) 

Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy II - The Golden Army- 2008

Crimson Peak is a gothic romance film directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Matthew Robbins. The film stars Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing, an aspiring author who is swept off her feet by the charming and mysterious Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). Edith marries Thomas and moves into his crumbling mansion in the English hills, only to discover that the house is haunted by the ghosts of his past wives. As Edith delves deeper into the mystery, she learns that the true monsters in Crimson Peak are not the ghosts, but the living. 

Crimson Peak is a visually stunning film, with rich colors, detailed costumes, and stunning sets. The film has been praised for its atmosphere, performances, and direction. 

Hell Boy II: The Golden Army Directed by Guillermo del Toro. - 2008 - Starring Ron Perlman and Selma Blair

Hell Boy II: The Golden Army Directed by Guillermo del Toro. - 2008 - Starring Ron Perlman and Selma Blair 

 Available on Dailymotion and HBO Go 

Films Directed by Guillermo del Toro I have seen

The Devil's Backbone (2001)

The Shape of Water (2017) - This film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro. It was also nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and seven BAFTA Awards.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Pinnochio (2022)

Hellboy (2004)

The plot follows Hellboy as he faces off against Prince Nuada, an elf who wants to reawaken an ancient army of mechanical soldiers called the Golden Army and wipe out humanity. Hellboy, along with his  team of Liz Sherman (his pyrokinetic girlfriend) and Abe Sapien (the fish-man with water manipulation powers), has to stop Nuada before it's too late.

The film is packed with action, stunning visuals, and del Toro's signature dark humor. Perlman is perfect as the gruff yet lovable Hellboy, and the rest of the cast, including Selma Blair, Doug Jones, and John Hurt, is equally fantastic.

 Del Toro creates a rich and believable world where humans and mythical creatures coexist. It's full of fascinating lore and hidden corners, and it's just a joy to explore.

Each character is well-developed and complex, even the villains. You can understand their motivations, even if you don't agree with them.  

The action sequences are very thrilling.The film is full of epic battles, from fistfights to giant monster clashes. They're all well-choreographed and exciting to watch.

 Del Toro's dark humor is perfectly balanced with the film's action and drama. It keeps things light and prevents it from taking itself too seriously.

I will next watch Crimson Peaks

Hellboy- Directed by Guillermo del Toro - 2004- Starring Ron Perlman and Selma Blair - 2 Hours 1 Minute

 

Hellboy- Directed by Guillermo del Toro - 2004- Starring Ron Perlman and Selma Blair - 2 Hours 1 Minute 

Available on Dailymotion and HBO Go

Films Directed by Guillermo del Toro I have seen

The Devil's Backbone (2001)

The Shape of Water (2017) - This film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro. It was also nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and seven BAFTA Awards.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Pinnochio (2022)

Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy is based on the Dark Horse Comics character of the same name. It's a film that blends action, fantasy, and dark humor in a way that's both thrilling and visually stunning. 

Set in the present day, the film follows Hellboy (played by Ron Perlman), a red-skinned demon raised by humans and working for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD).

As Hellboy investigates the reappearance of Rasputin, the mystic who summoned him, he uncovers a plot to bring about the end of the world.

He must team up with his allies, the amphibious Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and the pyrokinetic Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), to stop the forces of darkness.

Hellboy was the first live-action film based on the Hellboy Comics

Del Toro  is a longtime fan of the comics and had been wanting to make a Hellboy movie for years.

The film is full of Easter eggs and references for fans of the comics, including appearances of familiar characters like Lobster Johnson and Sammael 

City Lights - A 1831 Silent Film Directed by and Starring Charles Chaplin- 1 Hour 21 Minutes

 

Available on YouTube 

"If if only one of Charles Chaplin's films could be preserved, “City Lights” (1931) would come the closest to representing all the different notes of his genius. It contains the slapstick, the pathos, the pantomime, the effortless physical coordination, the melodrama, the bawdiness, the grace, and, of course, the Little Tramp--the character said, at one time, to be the most famous image on earth.

When he made it, three years into the era of sound, Chaplin must have known that “City Lights” might be his last silent film; he considered making a talkie, but decided against it, and although the film has a full musical score (composed by Chaplin) and sound effects, it has no speech. Audiences at the time would have appreciated his opening in-joke; the film begins with political speeches, but what emerges from the mouths of the speakers are unintelligible squawks--Chaplin's dig at dialogue. When he made “Modern Times” five years later, Chaplin allowed speech onto the soundtrack, but once again the Tramp remained silent except for some gibberish." from Roger Ebert 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-city-lights-1931

City Lights (1931) is a silent romantic comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It tells the story of a lovable tramp, played by Chaplin himself, who falls in love with a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill) and tries to help her regain her sight. Despite being released during the Great Depression, the film is a beautiful and touching story about hope, resilience, and the power of love. 

He embarks on a series of hilarious and often dangerous exploits to raise money for her to undergo a sight-restoring operation.

Along the way, he develops a turbulent friendship with a drunken millionaire and faces numerous hardships, showcasing both the comedy and pathos of his life.

Although sound films were already gaining popularity, Chaplin chose to stick with the silent format for City Lights, believing it allowed for a broader emotional palette.

The film's score, composed by Chaplin himself, features the hauntingly beautiful "La Violetera," a leitmotif for the flower girl.

Battling Butler- A 1926 Silent Film directed by and starring Buster Keaton - 1 Hour 16 Minutes

Alfred Butler (Keaton), a spoiled and pampered millionaire, takes his loyal valet, Snitz Edwards, on a camping trip. Alfred is smitten with a beautiful mountain girl named Sally O'Neil, but her family disapproves of his weakling ways.


In a desperate attempt to impress Sally, Snitz lies and tells her that Alfred is actually "Battling" Butler, a famous boxer. This sets off a chain reaction of hilarious chaos.


Alfred, clueless about the lie, gets entangled in a boxing match against the real Battling Butler, leading to a series of slapstick mishaps and acrobatic stunts.


Through it all, Alfred tries to win Sally's heart while avoiding the wrath of the real boxer and navigating the confusion caused by his mistaken identity.


It was directed by Keaton himself, along with Edward F. Cline.


The screenplay was written by Joseph Farnum and Carl Roberts.


The film was shot on location in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
It was released on September 19, 1926.

Diaghilev's Empire: How the Ballets Russes Enthralled the World) - by Rupert Christiansen - 467 Pages -2022

 Diaghilev's Empire: How the Ballets Russes Enthralled the World by Rupert Christiansen- 2022 -467 Pages

Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev

Born: March 31, 1872, Chudovsky District, Russia

Died: August 19, 1929, Venice, Italy

If you wish to expand your knowledge of Ballet I suggest you start with

Apollo’s Angels : A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans- 2010- 1103 Pages

then Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century also by Jennifer Homans

In Russian ballet history an excellent start is Bolshoi Confidential Secrets of the Russian Ballet From the Rule of the Czars to Today by Simon Morrison - 2016

Here is how Rupert Christiansen describes his intentions:

"-to show how a unique enterprise and the individual who drove it, ballet became a crucial piece in the jigsaw of Western culture. Conceived in 1909 by its mastermind, the impresario Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev, as a Russian export designed to appeal to Western tastes, the Ballets Russes came to an official end after many vicissitudes with Diaghilev’s abrupt death in 1929. But the achievements of its heroic prime had established a paradigm that would continue to define the terms and set the standards for the next generation – a period during which ballet for most people meant ‘the Russian ballet’.

The Guardian has a great review of the book 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/16/diaghilevs-empire-by-rupert-christiansen-review-brilliance-of-the-ballets-russes

I very much enjoyed this book.  I loved that Christiansen used as his jumping off point one of my favourite movies, The Red Shoes, 1948, based on a ballet company.

I did at times think there was too much emphasis on the sexual orientation of those involved with the ballet 

"The Rebbetzin’s Sense of Justice" - A Short Story by Lilly Barger -1955? - translated from the Yiddish by Ronnee Jaeger - 2020

"The Rebbetzin’s Sense of Justice" - A Short Story by Lilly Barger -1955? - translated from the Yiddish by Ronnee Jaeger - 2020 - included with 18 Jewish Stories translated from 18 Languages-edited and introduced by Nora Gold with a forward by Josh Lambert

Lily Berger 

Born December 30, 1916 in Bialistok, Poland 

Died November 30, 1996 - Paris

The story is set in a small shetl, we do not really learn precisely where or when it is set.  Like many a Yiddish story, it centers on a married couple:

"He was small, skinny, timid, eyes always downcast. She the opposite, big , fullbodied, a Jewish Cossack who tolerated no injustice. A big talker! These were my teachers, Reb Fishel and his wife Khaye.....Behind his back they called him “Fisheleh hunchback,” although he was not a hunchback, merely bent over. And her they called Big Khaye. We, the seven-year-old pupils, called Big Khaye “Rebbetzin.” How two such opposites were brought together, only God in heaven knows. In our shtetl there was a story told that when Fisheleh saw his be- trothed for the first time, under the bridal canopy, he almost fainted from fear. Opinion had it that this first scare pursued him all his life, not because Big Khaye was a miserable or wretched wife, quite the opposite. She had a good heart and could bear no injustice. She protected her husband like a mother hen protects her chicks, as if , without her , Fisheleh Hunchback would, God forbid, have drowned in the waves of life like a leaky ship in the ocean." 

The narrator is a seven year old girl enrolled in Reb Fishel's supposedly boys only class.  The pupils range from children from rich families to kids who are only given a piece of stale bread for lunch.  His wife sees to it that everyone has a decent lunch.  She adjusts tuition based on family wealth. She also maintains class room discipline.

The story gave me a good feel for not just the class room but with the mothers as well.

Lili Berger (1916– 1996), born in Malken, Poland, was a prolific literary critic and essayist, novelist, and playwright. She settled in Paris at the end of 1936, teaching Yid- dish and contributing to important periodicals. During the Nazi occupation of France, she was active in the Resistance and was involved in the rescue of Jewish children from deportation. She returned to Warsaw after the war but left in 1968 during the great exodus, returning to Paris and resuming her literary activity until her death in 1995. Her many articles and essays were often about writers and artists, many of whom she had known personally.

Seven Chances - A 1925 Silent Movie Directed by and Starring Buster Keaton- 59 Minutes

Seven Chances- A 1925 Buster Keaton Film

With time running out, Jimmie embarks on a frantic search for a bride, going through a hilarious list of seven potential candidates. His attempts at wooing them get progressively more chaotic and disastrous, involving everything from runaway buses to unexpected avalanches.

The film culminates in a legendary chase sequence, where Jimmie is pursued by hundreds of marriageable women through the streets.

"Seven Chances" features early Technicolor sequences, making it one of the first silents to utilize color technology

The Cameraman- A 1928 Silent Film Directed by Buster Keaton and Edward Sedgwick- 1 Hour 15 Minutes

 Available on YouTube 

Buster Keaton Films I have posted upon

The Navigator- 1927 - 

The General - 1924

Our Hospitality- 1926

Sherlock, Jr. - 1925

The Cameraman- 1928

Keaton plays a hapless photographer named Buster who falls head-over-heels for Sally, a secretary at the MGM newsreel department. To impress her, he ditches his still photography and tries to become a newsreel cameraman. But let's just say he's not exactly a natural... 

Hilarity ensues as Buster stumbles (literally and figuratively) through a series of mishaps:

He can't seem to operate the bulky newsreel camera without getting tangled in its cords or tripod.

He chases after sensational stories, like a Chinatown gang war, but always manages to miss the action or film the wrong thing.

He even ends up accidentally saving Sally from drowning, only to have another cameraman take credit for the heroic act.

But through it all, Buster's determination and unwavering optimism never falter. He eventually wins Sally's heart, not with his filmmaking skills, but with his genuine kindness and perseverance.

It was Keaton's first film with MGM, and he had a lot of creative control over the project.

The film was shot on location in New York City, which was unusual for silent comedies at the time.

The monkey who plays Buster's sidekick, Josephine, was actually a trained vaudeville performer.

A truly delightful movie, great stunts, charming romantic comedy,a stab at pompous early film directors 

The Echo and the Nemesis" - A Short Story by Jean Stafford - included in The Complete Short Stories and and Other Writings of Jean Stafford - 2019

 

Jean Stafford 

Born - July 1, 1915 - Covina, California 

Married 1940 to 1948 to Robert Lowell . One of three marriages.

She published three novels but most now regarded for her wonderful short stories, most of which were published in The New Yorker or The Psrtisian Review as her Glory.

1970 - Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 

Died - March 26, 1979 - White Plains, New York

Today's story, "The Echo and the Nemesis" is a delightful story.  I am quickly becoming enraptured by Stafford's exquisite prose, the brilliant way she incorporates her characters reading life into the stories.

I do not want to give away much of the extraordinary plot of this story. It is set in the late 1930s in Heidelberg, Germany:

"Sue Ledbetter and Ramona Dunn became friends through the commonplace accident of their sitting side by side in a philosophy lecture three afternoons a week. There were many other American students at Heidelberg University that winter— the last before the war— but neither Sue nor Ramona had taken up with them."

The relationship of Sue and Ramona is complex, sometimes seeming like just a convenience, sometimes the core of their lives.

"Soon after the semester opened in October, the two girls fell into the habit of drinking their afternoon coffee together on the days they met in class. Neither of them especially enjoyed the other’s company, but in their different ways they were lonely, and as Ramona once remarked, in her highfalutin way, “From time to time, I need a rest from the exercitation of my intellect.” She was very vain of her intellect, which she had directed to the study of philology, to the exclusion of almost everything else in the world. Sue, while she had always taken her work seriously, longed also for beaux and parties, and conversation about them, and she was often bored by Ramona’s talk, obscurely gossipy, of the vagaries of certain Old High Franconian verbs when they encountered the High German consonant shift, or of the variant readings of passages in Layamon’s Brut, or the linguistic influence Eleanor of Aquitaine had exerted on the English court. But because she was wellmannered she listened politely and even appeared to follow Ramona’s exuberant elucidation on Sanskrit."

Ramona comes from a very wealthy family. She is obsessed by food and extremely heavy.  We gradually learn about her parents, brothers and twin sisters.

Non-fiction Featured in 2023

2023 - Narrative Non-fiction on The Reading Life 

January 

1. The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston -  one of the very best works of narrative non-fiction I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time. It is a brilliant combination of adventure travel, Meso-American history, contemporary Honduran politics, jungle archaeology, a precis upon tropical diseases, as well as a look about the work and politics of modern archaeology.

2. Caeser:Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy- 2006 - 583 Pages

3. South to America : A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry. - 2022 - 410 pages 

National Book Award Winner for Non-Fiction -2022

4. This Torrent of Indians: War on the Southern Frontiers by Larry Ivers - 2016 - 266 Pages 

February 

1. And There Was Light:Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meachem- 2022- 1268 pages

2.  Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meachem- 2012- 1196 Pages- 

March

1. THE APPRENTICE OF BUCHENWALD THE TRUE STORY OF THE TEENAGE BOY WHO SABOTAGED HITLER’S WAR MACHINE by Oren Schneider- 2023 - 212 Pages

2. The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn- 2006- 530 Pages 

3. The 1619 Project : A New Origin Story - created by Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine. - 2021 - 559 Pages

4. War Diary by Yevgenia Beloruset - 2022- translated from the German by Gregg Nissan  offers an explication of this deeply moving memoir of the first 41 days of Russia's attack on The Ukraine.

5. Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racism in America by Ibram X. Kendi - 2016- 582 Pages 

April 

1. Mr. B : George Balanchine’s 20th century by Jennifer Homans. -2022 - 1234 Pages

On Saturday, May 20, winner of this year's Plutarch Award, presented to the best biography of the year. One of my favourite works of 2023. This book is a masterpiece. If you have been into ballet all your life you will treasure it, if like me, you have never seen a ballet you will be overwhelmed by the extreme cultural depth of the world Jennifer Homans has presented. The cast of characters is immense, fascinating. The story begins in pre-revoluntunary Russia,suffers through the fall of the Tsar,with young George eating rats, lingers for a while then proceeds to Paris, travels in Weimer Germany, spends a bit of time in London then settles in New York City with some interludes in Hollywood.

2. Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisted by Vladimir Nabokov - 1947 - 352 pages

"THE present work is a systematically correlated assemblage of personal recollections ranging geographically geographically from St. Petersburg to St. Nazaire, and covering thirty-seven years, from August 1903 to May 1940, with only a few sallies into later space-time." From the Preface

3. How to hide an empire: a history of the greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr.- 2019 - 517 pages

4.  The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow - 2021- 674 Pages - an instant classic- The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action.

6. Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives 

By Siddharth Kara -January 31, 2023 - 288 Pages

This powerful account of how and why cobalt especially along with other minerals like uranium found almost exclusively in the Congo brought great misery to millions of Congo residents and great wealth to international corporations like Apple and Tesla will shock anyone of integrity who reads it. 

May

1. Insurgent Empire : Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent by Priyamvada Gopa - 2019 - 628 Pages

2. In the Forest of No Joy : The Congo-Océan Railroad and the tragedy of French Colonialism by J. P. Daughton. -2021- 368 Pages

3. Apollo’s Angels : A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans- 2010- 1103 Pages

4. The Frequent Troubles of Our Days-The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of German Resistance to Hitler by Rebecca Donner - 2021 - 577 Pages - Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography 

5. Vilna, The End of the Road by Sarah Shimonovitz -2021- 158 Pages - Vilna, the End of the Road is the story of the survival of a mother and daughter from a large Jewish family firmly established in Vilna, who, with the rest of the family, were also destined to be murdered and thrown into the pits at Ponar. The path of suffering began with the deportation of the Jews from their homes to the ghetto, and from there to the killing forest and the death camps. In the dead of the night, the writer boldly and with determination, jumps from the death train into the unknown, into the surrounding horror. 

June 

1. The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel - 2023 - 624 Pages

The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are among the greatest works of European art and literature.. De Hame details their crucial role in the transmission of knowledge.

 The Manuscripts Club provides details about men and women who made, collected and preserved them through the centuries, and to whom they owe This entrancing book describes some of the extraordinary people who have spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand years

2.  Travellers Through Time- A Gypsy History by Jeremy Harte -2022- 320 This  is the only work that focuses on the history of the Gypsies in England. It is a very valuable addition to Romi literature.

3. The World Is Blue:How Our Fates and the Ocean's Are One by Sylvia Earle - 2010- 320 Pages

4.Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy by Adam Tooze - 2008- 829 Pages - must reading

5. The Ruling Familiies of Rus: Clan, Family and Kingdom by Christian Raffensperger and Donald Ostrowski - 2023- 300 Pages - Pre-Romanav Russian History 

July

1. DOCTORS AT WAR:THE CLANDESTINE BATTLE AGAINST THE NAZI OCCUPATION OF FRANCE:by Ellen Hampton-2023 

2. The Ruble: A Political History by Ekaterina Anatolʹevna Pravilova -2023- 435 pages - I highly recommend  this work to anyone with a serious interest in pre-revoluntunary Russian History.

3. Paper Bullets - Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis - 2021 - 326 Pages by Jeffrey Jackson is the first book to tell the history of an audacious anti-Nazi campaign undertaken by an unlikely pair: two French women, Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe, who drew on their skills as Parisian avant-garde artists to write and distribute “paper bullets”—wicked insults against Hitler, calls to rebel, and subversive fictional dialogues designed to demoralize Nazi troops occupying their adopted home on the British Channel Island of Jersey. Devising their own PSYOPS campaign, they slipped their notes into soldier’s pockets or tucked them inside newsstand magazines.

4. The Written World : the Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization by Martin Puchner.- 2017 - 567 Pages 

This is a wonderful book for anyone who wishes to increase their understanding of how, from the days of Gilgamesh up to Harry Potter, literature has shaped society as much as the reverse.

August 

1.  A Great and Monstrous Thing: London in the Eighteenth Century by Jerry White - 2012 - 729 Pages 

2.A Wilderness of Destruction Confederate Guerrillas in East and South Florida by Zack C. Waters -  2023- 326 Pages - for those with a strong interest in Florida civil war history 

3. Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America's First Imperial Adventure by Julia Flynn Siler - 2012 

September 

1. America Midnight- The Great War-A Violent Peace and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis by Adam Hochschild - 2022- 422 Pages

2. The Counterfeit Countess:' The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust by Elizabeth B. White and Joanna Silwa -2023-

3. The Jews of Ottoman Izmir: A Modern History by Dina Danon - 2021

4. Hitler's Rockets: The Story of the V2s by Norman Longmate - 2009 - 569 Pages

5. 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley - 2005 - 569 Pages - a

marvelous account of the history of the novel as an art form and a very instructive account of how novelists make the form work.  She includes at the conclusion detailed comments on 100 novels.  I have read about half of them and have now added several to my Amazon Wish List,

6. The Newspaper Axis: Six Bress Barons Who Enabled Hitler by Kathryn J. Olmstead - 2022 - 401 Pages - a very valuable highly interesting account of how powerful English and American Newspaper Publishers did all they could to keep England and America from entering what they saw as "continental entanglements" involving the ambitious of Adolf Hitler.

October 

1. The Kings of Algiers How Two Jjewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World During the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond-  by Julie Kalman

November 

1. Alexandria in Late Antiquity: Topography and Social Change by Christopher Haas - 1997- 520 Pages -

December 

1. Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire  by Katja Hoyer - 2021 - 255 Pages

2. Ernst Lubitsch : A Biography Laughter in Paradise by Scott Eyman - 2015 - 660 Pages - 

3. Russia : Revolution and Civil War, 1917–1921 /by Anthony Beevor - 2022 - 576