Exhalation: Stories

Chiang, Ted. Exhalation: Stories. New York: Knopf 2019. Print

First Sentences:

The story I have to tell is truly a strange one, and were the entirety to be tattooed at the corner of one's eye, the marvel of its presentation would not exceed that of the events recounted, for it is a warning to those who would be warned and a lesson to those who would learn.

Description:

I'll say right off the bat that I am a huge fan of Sci-Fi/Fantasy short story writer Ted Chiang and his mind-bending, exhilarating, and thought-provoking tales. His latest collection, Exhalation: Stories, continues his explorations into the world of the past, present and future in completely unexpected ways ranging from time travel to philosophy to alchemy to who knows what. Just plunge in to each story and hang on.

In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," an alchemist invents a time portal that, when one steps through it, travels exactly twenty years into the future. A common story, perhaps, but in Chiang's capable hands, the story keeps growing, re-shaping itself, bringing characters into completely different roles whether in the past, present, or future where they could possibly (or actually) influence the course of history. What would you do with such an invention? Sit back and find out, but it won't be what you expected.

"Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny" describes the first automated child-raising robot, an experiment to provide all necessities to a baby to ensure the perfect upbringing. Of course, there are problems. But it is the calm, intellectual reasoning behind this story that separates if from a run-of-the-mill robot gone wrong tale.

Then there is a story, "The Great Silence" narrated by a parrot who wonders why mankind seeks intelligent life in the galaxy when he and his fellow sentient parrots are sitting right next to them, about to be made extinct before given the opportunity to talk with humans. Next, in the story "Omphalos," an anthropologist finds fossils (and a mummified man with no belly button) that prove Earth and all its inhabitants were created fully formed on a specific date, not evolved as is widely believed. How does mankind handle this sort of information? 

There's a description of a hand-held device that proves all actions in the world are already fated, not the result of free will. In one brilliant story, a man examines his own robotic brain to realize the human mind is gradually slowing down and their seemingly eternal life is very slowly dying.

Each story really makes readers concentrate, ask themselves questions, and try to understand implications of plots and actions that change the thinking of human since the world begin. Fantastic.

So buckle up and open you mind in every story to new directions and challenges to preconceived notions. Like his first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others (which contains "Story of Your Life" about extraterrestrial contact used as the basis for the Amy Adams film, Arrival). Highly recommended for all readers.

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
About The First Sentence Reader blog

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Chiang, Ted. Stories of Your Life and Others.   

Excellent, thought-provoking Sci-Fi stories involving alien landing on Earth, the construction of the tallest building in history that hits a previously-unknown solid ceiling enclosing the world, and many more exciting, fascinating stories.

The End of Your Life Book Club

Schwalbe, Will.The End of Your Life Book Club. New York: Knopf. 2012. Print

First Sentences:

We were nuts about the mocha in the waiting room at Memorial Sloan-Kettering's outpatient care center.

The coffee isn't so good, and the hot chocolate is worse. But if, as Mom and I discovered, you push the "mocha" button, you see how two not-very-good things can come together to make something quite delicious. The graham crackers aren't bad either.

Description:

Cancer-related books deeply affect me as someone who is three and a half years in remission from Stage 4 Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Been there and done that. 

During that experience and currently, I read a lot of books about cancer and treatment as well as memoirs with personal stories written by fellow "combatants," (my term for any patient, doctor, family member or friend who has had to deal this disease first hand and continues to struggle against its possible return). 

Such writers detail, with humor and intelligence, their efforts to live life as a patient or care-giver without succumbing to the overwhelming sadness and helplessness brought on by this disease.

While these memoirs are fascinating to me as a cancer patient, I think they also are helpful to those living in "Wellville" (as Christopher Hitchens labels the non-afflicted populace in his brilliant cancer memoir, Mortality). These books gently and sometimes not so gently reveal to healthy people what we cancer patients experience, what we are thinking, and how we interact with friends and family. These memoirs reveal the long periods of uncertainty, of waiting, of hoping, and despairing with each new diagnosis and treatment. They describe the humor found in interactions with friends and medical environments alike. And they show the indomitable spirit of ordinary people.

Will Schwalbe's compassionate, humorous, and highly personal The End of Your Life Book Club is one of these great cancer combatant memoirs. In it, Schwalbe documents his relationship with his mother as she (and he) deal with her pancreatic cancer, usually a terminal form of the disease. Mother and son find themselves spending many hours in medical facilities waiting for appointments and treatments, passing the nervous minutes discussing any small matter, including the books each has recently read, to distract themselves. 

Seizing on their shared interest of reading, they form a two-person book club to insure that they read what the other is reading and can hold discussions that might take them away from the tedium of waiting. Through their comments about these books and the ensuing bantering talks, they slowly reveal details about their lives, their fears, and their hopes.

We learn that Mary Anne, Schwalbe's mother, is not merely a cancer patient, but a woman of wit and humor, of contemplation and intelligence. She is shown to be a complex, internationally-know humanitarian, the founder of the Women's Refugee Commission, a fundraiser for a new library in Afghanistan, director of admissions for major colleges, and a world traveler. And, of course, she is a voracious, opinionated reader. 

We also get to know Will Schwalbe and his struggles to cope with a family member facing terminal cancer. His worries and his hopes rise and fall with her treatments, revealed through the conversations between son and mother over books. The buoyancy and sadness these two experience with each diagnosis, pulls readers slowly and inexorably into their lives, their thoughts, and their emotions. Truly, these are two people you love getting to know.

While this may seem a depressing theme, the book is uplifting, funny, and introspective. Their dialog is witty and pointed as they argue over authors, chastise each other's book selection, and wander off-topic into areas that reveal their character.  

Each chapter focuses on a specific time period in her treatment and the book currently up for discussion. Schwalbe helpfully includes a bibliography at the end of the book listing all titles mentioned in their discussions, offering a plethora of reading temptations for any book lover.

The End of Your Life Book Club is highly recommended by one who has been there (me) as an accurate, sensitive portrayal of two individuals, one trying to maintain her wit and individuality while facing cancer treatments, and the other struggling with issues of care and support for a family member. Their relationship, their love of life, and their passion for books are inspiring, funny, and poignant. Please read this book.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

Comments 

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Emperor of All Maladies.

Complete history of cancer from its first appearance and initial treatments to current efforts in the battle with this disease. Extremely readable and fascinating in its clear writing style, its depth of research, and its introduction of key milestones in cancer discoveries and treatments. 

Hitchens, Christopher. Mortality.

One man's personal thoughts on his battle with cancer. Very compelling reading to help readers understand what someone with this disease is feeling regarding his illness, how friends interact with him, care from his doctors, and his plans.

Diamond, John. Because Cowards Get Cancer Too: A Hypochondriac Confronts His Nemesis.

Thoughtful, personal, and humorous account of John Diamond's long struggle with cancer as originally told through his column in the Times of London. Highly recommended along with the Hitchens' book for anyone who wants to know what having cancer is like. His words ring true to me as a fellow cancer patient.

Halpern, Susan. The Etiquette of Illness: What to Say When You Can't Find the Words.

Excellent suggestions and practical applications for talking (or not talking) to people with illness: how to say what you want without causing offense or embarrassment, what they want you to say, when to just remain silent. Very valuable examples and advice for well-intentioned friends and family of patients of all ages and illnesses.

Special Post: My Forever Books

My Forever Books. October, 2025. Print

 

First Sentences:

To build up a library is to create a life. It's never just a random collection of books. --Carlos María Domínguez, The House of Paper 

A [book] collection is a reflection of who we are and what we love. It is a testament to our passions and the things that bring us joy. -- Unknown author and source 

Collect with your heart, not just your eyes. Choose items that speak to you on a deeper level. --Unknown author and source 

Introduction:

I am in the process of giving away or donating most of my current library. Why? It's certainly not due to a lack of space as there is plenty of room on the shelves the cosy reading room in our house. It's not that I have grown tired of scanning over the titles of loved books from my reading past. That is a sight I will always enjoy. I do, however, still love getting books as presents as well as recommendations from friends and family. Maybe they'll will become part of my "Forever Books" collection (see below).

 

So why donate them? 

• I don't plan to re-read most of these soon-to-be-eliminated books, although they do give me pleasure to see them lined up on my bookshelves, reminding me of their stories, the worlds they opened to me, their language, and even the circumstances I came to possess them (gifts, funky second-hand bookshops, online used books sites, library sales, and sometimes actually even purchased brand new;

• I can easily acquire from a library any of those books I might possibly re-read;

• I had once thought I would loan/give my books to friends and family when they wanted a recommendation and I would be able to steer them to something great from my collection. Never happened. I was very rarely asked by someone to borrow one of my books, so that dream eventually faded;

• I felt there may be other people, unknown to me, who might enjoy discovering a new, offbeat book that caught their eye and then picked up at a library book sale, Goodwill, or Little Library box (and, of course, read its first sentences).

So I am gradually, sometimes reluctantly, donating books to my local library book sale, dropping them off at the nearby Volunteers of America resale shop, and placing them in Little Library boxes I walk by in my neighborhood. Safe travels and enjoy your new homes.

However:

 

There are some what I call "Forever Books" that will remain with me until I die, never ever to be given away, and only begrudgingly loaned (with blood-signed promises to return them). These will be placed proudly in full view on my bookshelves. 

 

Why keep these particular books?

• The plot, characters, writing, and setting of these specific books' remain fascinating to me even after multiple readings. These elements may be familiar to me, but somehow always seem new, like meeting up with a lifetime friend who continues to entertain, surprise, and confide in you;

• I plan to re-read and immerse myself into the worlds of these books until my eyes won't focus anymore, and then will tell my long-suffering care-giver to read them aloud to me;

• Just seeing the spines of these favorites continue to give me great pleasure and memories. They make me tingle in anticipation of the next opportunity when I will be able to immerse myself into their worlds and characters. Whether through their plots (which never get old and always provide new elements, as well as teach me something about the world, people, and myself); their writing (unique, clear, humorous, clever, wise, or all the above); the characters (brave, silly, noble, skilled, thoughtful, open, honest, self-deprecating, or just likeable); or the setting (challenging, gorgeous, natural, imaginative, violent, or serene), these volumes have a special place in my mind and heart.

 

My Forever Book Titles and Description:  

 (* = Click on these titles to read my reviews)

 

[Note: There will probably be a few more that I simply cannot part with, but here is today's list.] 

* 5 Simple Steps to Perfect Golf  - Count Yogi

My father's short, ragged book with simple, clear, solid instruction by and demonstrative photos of the flamboyant character, Count Yogi, a wonderful golfer who set many golf records on the Los Angeles courses, but refused to join the PGA circuit as he didn't want to get up for early tee times.

* Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare - Isaac Asimov

My go-to reference book for understanding any Shakespeare play. Probably the book I use most often, allowing me to best understand the language, nuances, history, humor, and unique writing of The Bard, especially to bone up on the piece before watching any performance 

* Asimov's Guide to Science - Isaac Asimov

Finally I have a book I can search to understand anything in the world, from the universe to Earth, to biology, the body, evolution, atoms, and so much more, written in highly-readable, clear, sentences for a layman like me. 

The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham - W. Somerset Maugham

Two hefty volumes of the most remarkable, unpredictable, beautifully-written short stories ever, full of fascinatingly human characters and unique tales in Maugham's lovely prose. I've donated away this collection for years, but keep repurchasing used copies because these stories are always fresh, unpredictable, and wonderfully written, stories that will reach me no matter my mood. Guess I can't quit them.

* Cowboys Are My Weakness - Pam Houston

Short stories powerfully and sincerely written, narrated by courageous, outrageous women and their relationships with questionable men in the gorgeous settings of remote towns in the back country of the Western mountains.

The First and Last Freedom - J Krishnamurti

Given to me by a close friend, this unique book of philosophical questions in dialogue form are continually grounding and deeply thoughtful, always forcing me to challenge any easy answer to life and relationship, and search for the truth amidst the reality of living. 

A Gift from the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh 

Crystal clear, quiet thoughts and exquisitely delicate writing on various aspects of love and relationships using sea shells as her metaphors.

* The Golf Omnibus - P.G. Wodehouse 

My absolute favorite, book for cheering me up or just offering escapist fun through a world of goofy characters doing outrageous activities in the stiff-upper-lip language and manner on the golf course.  

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

A book I have loved for years, re-reading it for my own pleasure and to our son from an early age, as well as to young tennis players in India while traveling on long-distant train rides. My copy was a special edition given to me by our son, so I will never part with it and will continue to read it alone and maybe even with a future grandchild.

* The Housekeeper and the Professor -  Yoko Ogawa

There is something about the story of an aging mathematics professor with a memory of only 80 minutes and his humble housekeeper and her son that compels me to re-visit their quiet, challenging world over and over to reclaim their individual struggles and peaceful co-existence.

* Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson

A strange, compelling tale of a wandering transient aunt who is unwillingly given the responsibility to settle down and raise two young girls in a bitter cold environment. Always captivating, unexpected, challenging, and loving.

 The Importance of Living - Lin Yutang

Another book introduced to my by a close friend on the value of noticing small things, not taking everything seriously, enjoying the humor of everyday life, loafing, appreciating details of home, nature, travel, culture, and the art of thinking. Challenging, humorous, and thoughtful on every topic.

 * In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson

Who knew a travel account about Australia could be so outrageously funny? Always something new in this book to learn about this interesting country, always something funny to make me laugh out loud every time I read it.

Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace

I will probably never read even a small portion of this book. But it was given to me by dear friends when I had Stage 4 cancer, along with the note that said they had confidence I would live long enough to read this tome. That meant a lot to me and I will never forget their confidence in me regaining my life and health, as symbolized by this book. 

* Kayaks Down the Nile - John Goddard

This author was a life-long adventurer who at age 15 compiled a list of 127 actions he wanted to accomplish before he died. One of these was paddling from source to mouth of the Nile. My sister gave me this book because Goddard used to come to our high school twice a year to show slides from his latest death-defying exploration. He therefore has a deeply-embedded place in my heart both for his fascinating narrations and for getting the entire school out of class for his semi-annual assemblies. 

Keeko - Charles Thorson

This children's book by the extremely talented illustrator of Bugs Bunny cartoons was the first book in my life I remember, with its lush pictures I drooled over long before I could read. A wonderful story of a young Indian boy trying to find an eagle feather.

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

I just love everything about this book's plot, writing, characters, and setting. Seems to offer me something new and changes my opinions with each re-reading, the marks of a great book

* The Lord of the Rings  - J.R.R. Tolkien

Simply the best epic story ever. These volumes were given to me by a close friend which we read aloud several times, and which later I read to our son. He later carried his own thick volume version to his elementary school class as he read it for himself. Unmatched in every aspect of a great novel.

* The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat - Oliver Sacks

Can never get enough of this volume of very human, unique, fascinating accounts of people with unusual behaviors caused by previously undiagnosed brain disorders 

* Manners from Heaven - Quentin Crisp

Simply a wonderfully witty, barbed, sarcastic, and insightful view of the world, why humans should be well-mannered (not just following stiff rules of etiquette), and how to achieve this highly agreeable personality.

* The Martian - Andy Weir

I simply never get tired of the ingenious bravery of the main character and the setting of his lonely world. Wonderfully concise, precise, funny writing as well. Any books that opens with the first words "I'm pretty much f**ked" promises to be a wild ride ... and delivers on every page.

* The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

These timeless stories about the exploration of Mars, along with the nature of man's ingenuity, emotions, greed, love, and dreams in a unique setting show a mirror of the face of humanity and consequently never grow old for me. 

Moment in Peking - Lin Yu-Tang

Introduced to this book by a man I admired, this sprawling novel is a powerful, yet intimate introduction for me into the world of pre-Mao China, the lives of wealthy and poor people, and the culture of that era. 

 * Never Cry Wolf  - Farley Mowat

Another book that always makes me laugh at the misadventures of the narrator and the natural world he finds himself in, forever confused by his misconceptions about wolves and men. 

* The Piano Shop on the Left Bank - Thad Carhart

Just a delightful memoir about piano restoration in a hidden store, where the author learns about pianos, their history, their tones, and their personalities, as well as the men who bring them back to life. 

* Plainsong - Ivan Doig

My wife introduced me to this gentle, thoughtful book which I return to often when despairing of the lack of kindness of humans towards each other. This book never fails to restore my faith that there are gentle, quiet people out there doing good for the benefit of their fellow humans. 

A River Runs Through It - Norman MacLean

A beautifully-written memoir about a family fishing, and living life in the backwoods of Montana. It never fails to inspire a warm glow about nature, nor evokes such sadness at the foibles of human nature. 

Roughing It - Mark Twain

A book that continues to make me laugh while learning about the untamed West through the eyes of a young "secretary" (Twain) who has free rein to explore and describe whatever catches his fancy, whether odd people, unusual sights, or wild adventures.  

* Shakespeare Saved My Life - Laura Bates

Memoir of a teacher who entered a prison's solitary confinement cell block and, by pushing books, questions, and notes through the men's food slots, leads discussions of the Bard's writings among prisoners sentenced to years of solitary confinement. These men, through lively conversations, eventually re-wrote some of Shakespeare's plays to better express the criminal's point of view behind the action, and then had other prisoners perform these revised versions, performances the solitary prisoners could never attend. Inspiring.

* Tennis for Life - Peter Burwash

The absolute best, simplest tennis instruction book written by the former pro and president of the tennis management company I worked for which changed my life. This company sent me to teach these techniques from this book at tennis facilities on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Chennai (India), and The Woodlands (Houston), Texas where I met my beautiful wife.

* To Serve Them All My Days - R.F. Delderfield

A shell-shocked WWI soldier is hired by a boys' school to teach for the first time and by this experience, hopefully achieve some recovery and encourage his re-entrance into the world. Warm, funny, insightful, and always full of characters I would love to meet. 

* Total Immersion - Terry MacLaughlin

My reference book on how to swim efficiently. I return to it often to improve my stroke and understand the body's relationship to the water to swim more "fish-like" and efficiently. 

* We Took to the Woods - Louise Rich 

A wonderful memoir of life in the isolated woods of Maine by a woman who, in each chapter, answers the most common questions she received about living alone in the woods. Inspiring, funny, clear-sighted, and beautifully written. Always a book for me to bring calm to a frantic world.

* The Whistling Season - Ivan Doig

Small Western town novel about a widower and his sons who hire a housekeeper (who can't cook) to organize their home and life. She and her brother who joins her are whirlwinds of new ideas, strong personalities, and challenges to the widower, his family, and the community. Always new, unexpected, and delightful. A book I recommend to more people than all the other books I have ever read. 

* Why We Swim  - Bonnie Tsui

Inspiring essays on the history and wonders of swimming that continue to remind me of why people are fascinated by and thus lured to enjoy the water. 

So there you have my list. I might have a change of heart over some other books of mine before I donate them, but for now these are the books that continue to inspire and entertain me. Each book makes me wish I were a better, funnier, braver, more thoughtful, or admirable person, or at least a better writer. And I wish I were reading each one for the first time again.

Hope you find something here to interest you. Please me know your own "Forever Books." Just reply to this email. I'd be very interested to read about your choices and your reasons behind each selection

 

Happy reading.

Fred

Click here to browse over 480 more book recommendations by subject or title (and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

My Life in Prison

Lowrie, Donald. My Life in Prison. New York: Mitchell Kinnerley. 1912. Print

First Sentences:

I was broke. I had not eaten in three days. 

I had walked the streets for three nights. Every fibre of my being, every precept of my home training protested against and would not permit my begging.

I saw persons all about me spending money for trifles or luxuries. I envied the ragged street urchin as he took a nickel in exchange for a newspaper and ran expectantly to the next pedestrian. But I was broke and utterly miserable.

Have you ever been broke?

Have you ever been hungry and miserable, not knowing when or where you were going to get your next meal, nor where you were going to spend your next night?

Description:

I recently went through a period when I was drawn to prison books that describe life behind bars, particularly accounts written at the turn of the 20th century. It was fascinating to read these eye-witness accounts of men, prison life, guards, food, solitary, parole hearings, and, for some, eventual release into the world. 

While you may not be immediately attracted to this subject, let me tell you these memoirs have all the elements in spades for great reads: interesting characters, unusual plot, and high-quality writing. These books prove that, in the hands of an observant, sensitive, and skilled writer, any topic can be gripping and moving to read. To avoid them is to miss an opportunity to see a world and its inhabitants invisible to most people but, of course, well-known to criminals.

One of the best historical prison memoirs, in my opinion, is My Life in Prison by Donald Lowrie. In the early 1900s, Lowrie, ravenously hungry, steals a watch and purse (together worth about $100), is apprehended and sentenced to the maximum 15 years in San Quentin prison. Sentences were meant to be punitive in those days, as was every minute of the time spent behind bars.

Through his careful descriptions, readers immediately recognize that Lowrie, the narrator, is neither a low-life habitual criminal nor a violent, evil man. His words, descriptions, and reasoning shows an intelligent, sensitive observer of the men around him, his world of incarceration, and of himself. Step by step he calmly describes his short trial, sentencing, and initial walk into his new home where he is to be locked up for 15 years -- seemingly forever.

His first impressions are about the small details of his prison life, one of "long days and nights of chloride, of lime, [and] the carbonized atmosphere of jail."

Disinfectants are typical of jail; they are responsible for the "jail smell"; they are the mute apologies for a paucity of soap and water and the absence of God's sunshine....Jail atmosphere is always several degrees lower than that of the outside world -- it is always cellar-like. 

He describes the men he lives with who have committed minor as well as major crimes. Through their conversations and Lowrie's thoughts, these men do not appear as animals with untamed violence that must be treated with harsh means. These are men, like Lowrie, who faced challenges in their lives and responded quickly to steal, break, or harm something or someone. And they have been caught and given very long sentences as was the manner in those days. Their lives are now in the prison where they work in the jute mill, live in cells, and eat silently with others who also watch the days pass. 

In this era, there are no gangs, drugs, or rapes that have come to represent prison life in modern-day writings. This is a group of ordinary men who live an incredibly restricted existence of silence, punishment, and complete lack of opportunities to make any choices whatsoever: food, activities, conversations, clothes, hair, exercise, etc. It is this lack of self-direction that weighs the heaviest on them.

Of course, there are shocking occurrences related by Lowrie, including the punishment of wearing a special strait-jacket that trusses up the entire body from head to foot like a mummy. The man being punished is left for hours and sometimes even days encased in this jacket without the ability to move anything. It's a punishment that did drive men to insanity -- all for a small prison infraction. Lowrie calmly, intelligently details the bad food, riots, and other run-ins with guards and wardens. He also describes the silence that occurs in the evening before a court-decreed execution, and the policy where the dead man's clothes, if fairly new, are reassigned to a new prisoner, an action that disgusts Lowrie:

There was something unspeakably horrible about it. You smile! ... How would you like to be compelled to wear such clothing? How would you like to have your son, or brother, or father compelled to wear it?

What there is in these pages are friendships, stories of previous lives both in and out of prisons, and the sad and (sometimes) lighter daily life of these people that make this memoir so deeply affecting. The power of this book is the careful observations and conversations with inmates, guards, and the warden. Lowrie reveals their individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as their fears and sorrows. 

My Life in Prison is a challenging book which exposes readers to the realities of people experiencing prison life. It can be shocking, but overall there are never gratuitous descriptions of violence or horrors. Lowrie tells what he sees and hears, honestly, compassionately, and often sadly. That is all, and that is good enough for me. I loved it.

[Spoiler alert: In Lowrie's second book, My Life Out of Prison, we learn he was paroled after serving 10 years in San Quentin. In this second book, he describes his struggles with adapting to the outside world and his eventual success creating a position where he can assist former prisoners adapt to the outside world. He becomes a renown prison reform speaker and advocate for prisoners' rights. Equally well-written it is definitely worth reading as a follow-up to Lowrie's fascinating life and work.]

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Lowrie, Donald. My Life Out of Prison 

Followup to My Life in Prison that details Lowrie's life after being released, working and lecturing for prison reform. An excellent read about a fascinating life and commitment to change.

Number 1500. Life in Sing-Sing 

A man voluntarily goes undercover and is committed to Sing-Sing prison in the early 1900s to reveal what life behind bars is really like. Fantastic glimpse into early prison life and the men who populate and oversee these prisons.

Bates, Laura. Shakespeare Saved My Life 

Modern, true account of an English teacher who works with prisoners who have lived long terms in solitary confinement. Together, she and the prisoners discuss passages and plays from their cells that prevent them from seeing either the teacher or the others in their own cells. Riveting. (Previously reviewed here.)

Earley, Pete. The Hot House: Life inside Leavenworth Prison 

Reporter Earley spent almost two years interviewing prisoners deemed the most dangerous and incarcerate to long terms in the worst federal prison in the US. Similarity in revelations with My Life in Prison, but this shows a contemporary prison of 1987-1989 with deplorable conditions and prisoners much more violent and hardened than Lowrie or Number 1500 portrayed.

Denfeld, Rene The Enchanted

The "enchanted place" is a prison where the unnamed author writes from his death row cell. This fictionalized tale of life without names, without hope, with difficult lives and motivations, is sad, tragic, and anonymous. Yet there is a possible future through a woman and a priest who work with these men to have their cases re-examined and possibly change their sentencing. But not every prisoner, as we find out, want to stay his execution.

The Apprentice

Pepin, Jacques. The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen. New York: Houghton Mifflin 2003. Print.

First Sentences:

My mother made it sound like a great adventure.

Description:

Although I know next to nothing about food and its preparation, I still can appreciate quality writing and interesting, real-life stories from someone at the very top of this profession. Therefore, I highly recommend Jacques Pepin's autobiography, The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen for a glimpse into the world of kitchens, training, restaurants, and innovation by a renowned chef.

Pepin's mother opened a simple restaurant, Le Pelican, in rural France with a few recipes, no business experience, and certainly no restaurant training. Here Pepin and his brother Roland learned how to cook, clean, wait tables, and all other roles necessary to a professional enterprise. And where he learned to love cooking and restaurante, although his brother hated that life.

Pepin left school at 13 for Paris, boldly getting a position at Le Grand Hotel de l'Europe. More on-the-job training, growth, and then moving on to other restaurants. He climbs from being a gopher called "P'tit" [Kid] to tending a stove, an honor recognized when the chef finally drops the nickname and calls him by his real name, "Jacques." He moves up to be the commis [chef assistant] and finally head chef. Pepin brings readers into each kitchen and their head chefs, carefully describing the environment of a first-class restaurant and the tasks necessary to produce the highest quality food. 

There are humorous stories as well, as when the very young Pepin was sent by the head chef to several restaurants to pick up their "machine a dessosser les poulets [chicken-boning machine] from another restaurant. Each location had an excuse for not having that machine and sent him along to another location, over and over until Pepin returned sadly empty-handed to his chef. Only then did he realize there was no such machine and he had passed an initiation into the restaurant family. In another story, Pepin's love of juicy pears is tested as he sneaks one of the chef's "des poires avocat" [avocado pears], biting into the leathery skin and hard seed of an avocado for the first time.

Later, Pepin travels to New York and contrasts the restaurant standards and chefs with those from France. His experiences lead him in the 1960s to, of all places, Howard Johnson's restaurants to help them upgrade the quality of their food and make it consistent in all their one thousand restaurants, a unique concept at the time. Instead of cooking for only a few restaurant patrons, Pepin now learned how to prepare clam chowder, a HoJo specialty, in stockpots of 500 or 1000 gallons.

Story after story are simply told as if Pepin is sitting next to you recalling his life. He has a charming writing style that fully reveal the picture he is painting:

Then there was [the chef's] look, a look that will recur in my nightmares as long as I live, not so much a look of anger as one of disdain, a gaze that lasted but a fraction of a second, yet made it clear that your pathetic little error was far beneath the level of his contempt. 

From cooking for Charles de Gaulle to working with Julia Child and every other great chef, from writing the classic book on the exacting techniques of preparing and cooking to traveling the world conducting cooking workshops and television shows, Pepin shows he is a giant in the kitchen and the world of cooking. Highly recommended for lovers of food, kitchen life,and fine writing.

Happy reading. 

Fred

(See more recommended books)
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Fechtor, Jessica. Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home. 

After a chef suffers an unexpected aneurysm, she rediscovers her love of cooking and eating. The book is filled with beautiful writing, recipes, and stories of the joy and struggles in her life. (previously reviewed here) 

Gaffingan, Jim. Food: A Love Story

The opposite end of the food spectrum. Stand-up comedian Gaffigan is a self-proclaimed "Eatie," who will eat and enjoy simple items like hamburgers. He reviews food choices in the United State and some international cuisines, as well as comments on several restaurants both ordinary and pretentious. Very funny. (previously reviewed here)

Nothing To Do But Stay

Young, Carrie. Nothing To Do But Stay. Iowa City: University of Iowa.1991. Print

First Sentences:

My pioneer mother was wild for education.

She fervently believed that young people given enough schooling and using the brains they were born with could rise above themselves as far as they wanted to go, the sky the limit. She herself, with no formal education of any kind, had managed to live a life characterized from end to end with vision and courage.

Description:

This winter has been pretty cold for most of us living in the United States, dipping to minus temperatures from the Midwest to the east coast and even the south, with wind chill in double digit minus degrees. Schools were closed, businesses shut down, food shelves picked bare, and most of us hunkered down underneath blankets in our homes to wait it out.

Now picture yourself around the turn of the century, living alone in a one-room shack on your undeveloped 160 acres on the North Dakota plains facing a real winter. You must live there for six months to qualify to purchase the land. Now imagine you are a young woman with little education, no knowledge of farming, and whose nearest neighbor is miles away, leaving you alone ... alone in the cold. And then the temperatures dip even further below already impossibly cold temperatures, with high drifts of snow blocking all roads and even paths to the barn and the responsibilities of farm animals. 

Now that is a hard winter, one experienced every year by Carrie Gafkjen, Norwegian settler and pioneer in the early 1900s in North Dakota. Nothing To Do But Stay by Carrie Young tells the stories of her mother and family pursuing their homestead dreams in the early 1900s in North Dakota when thousands of acres were unclaimed, ready to be improved by early intrepid settlers. 

Having worked as a cook and housekeeper in Minneapolis for ten years, saving all her earnings, Carrie Gafkjen set off in the late 1890s for North Dakota at age 25 along with other Norwegian immigrants with the determination to settle her own land. If she could live in her hastily-erected one room shack for six months, break a portion of the land with a plow, and bar the door against the wolves that came around every night, the government would allow her to purchase the land. 

The prospects were daunting. Some women had come to these prairie lands with new husbands, men who had been desperate to convince someone to help with housekeeping and companionship in the vast loneliness of the prairie. Most of these women had packed everything, left their homes, and traveled far from civilization by train and wagon to this isolated territory. Now, facing this foreign treeless land, their new ramshackle "home," sensing the isolation from friends and family, but realizing the impossibility of return, they decided that whether they liked it or not, there was nothing to do but stay. 

But Carrie Gafkjen knew what she was in for, what she had worked and saved for, and she never looked back. After "proving up" (qualifying) to purchase her land, for the next eight years she spent the winters working in another household before returning in spring to her property and hiring herself out as cook for a local threshing crew. She continued to cook for the men even after she married one of the threshers (who also happened to be from Norway), and raised six children.

And what a life she made for herself. Cooking for a ravenous, 40-man threshing group involved her preparing breakfast for the entire crew at 4:30am (eggs, pancakes, coffee); mid-morning meal (pies, sandwiches, doughnuts, coffee); noon dinner (mashed potatoes, beefsteak, creamed carrots and peas, fresh-baked bread, pie); mid-afternoon lunch at 4pm (more pies, doughnuts, coffee); and finally a cold supper (fried potatoes, cold pork, macaroni, pickles, and cake). The men often did not leave her house until dark, with the author's oldest sisters doing dishes until past midnight. And she did this every single day. 

Author Young recalls many vivid stories about her own life on her parents' small farm as well. Particularly vivid are stories of cold, with snows so heavy that she and her sister have to live in their school house for weeks at a time because the roads are blocks. Not so bad, you might think. But when the wild mustangs come each night to bump up against the thin walls to seek protection from the wind and bitter cold, the noise is definitely frightening to very young school children on their own.

There are struggles during the desperate years of drought in the 1930's, excursions into turkey-raising, the secret Christmas tree for the church decorated by two bachelor farmers, and pooling funds to pay for brothers and sisters to attend college.

And the food she cooks. Author Young lovingly describes the luscious Norwegian cookies, the elaborate feasts at Thanksgiving and Christmas, potato salad, lefse (potato pancake), rommegrot ("the Norwegian national porridge whose recipe reportedly has been handed down from generation to generation"), three-day buns, cakes, pies, and the unbelievably delicious ice cream fresh-churned on Christmas and the Fourth of July. 

The ice cream is made by two men who open their ice house to their neighbors for the annual Fourth of July feast. The local woman create the mix and the children take turns churning fresh ice cream from noon to dark. It would be their last ice cream until Christmas, so is enjoyed in huge quantities. As people leave the celebration absolutely stuffed with ice cream and many other plates and bowls of food, the ice house men yell, "Do you call this eating ice cream? Come back this evening and we'll show you some real eating!"

I loved these people, these settlers and their families who could do whatever it took to survive and proper in this harsh prairie land. Their experiences, from schooling to farming, from social gatherings to private traditions, are wonderful to real and experience vicariously. They live without complaints, tolerating the bad luck and differences in others quietly, and supporting each other in their families. It is just what people do in that place during those times, a matter-of-fact way of life that is so admirable in its purposefulness and personal satisfaction in doing a job well.   

While this well-written, captivating depiction of a wide variety of people, it is the adult women like Carrie Gafkjen who takes the spotlight. It is the women who make this inhospitable world manageable for their men and children.

...most of these women had an inner strength that seldom failed them. They could cry like babies at christenings and weddings, sniffling into their hemstitched handkerchiefs, but when the chips were down they were dry-eyed and fearless as lions. They could seize a garden hoe and cut a snake to ribbons who was approaching a baby on the grass,. They could stand beside their husbands and beat off prairie fires with wet rugs. They could climb a seventy-foot windmill tower to bring down a terrified child. They could lance infected wounds. They didn't know what taking a vacation was.

These are the women of our history. Nothing To Do But Stay is one of my favorite books to recommend to anyone interested in personable writing about quality people and their lives of perseverance, tradition, and family life.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Young, Carrie. The Wedding Dress

More wonderful recollections about the people and life in the small farming community on the North Dakota plains. (previously reviewed here)

Rich, Louise Dickinson. We Took to the Woods

Memoirs of her isolated life in the backwoods of Maine with family and friends, working as a guide, facing daily trials humorously, and lovingly depicting the beauty of the wild nature around her. (previously reviewed here)