It was a blustery Easter afternoon in 1939 when Marian Anderson sang to a crowd of 75,000.  They came to hear her voice and as she ascended the platform built on the Lincoln Memorial the crowd hushed.  The gray day seemed to fall away as the clouds broke open to accept the first song, “America.”  Why was she singing outside on the Lincoln Memorial steps?  Adequate indoor spacing could be found in Washington DC’s Constitution Hall, which as a DAR establishment unfortunately did not allow black artists to perform.  Ironically she had just returned from a tour where she sang to mixed race audiences in all the major cities of Europe and South America, but was unable to perform in her own nation’s capital.  Freedman brings this “rags to riches” story to life with the incredible photos of the time.  This book reminds us that this woman’s struggle, which she handled as graciously as an operatic aria, should be revisited and hailed as a true heroine.  No collection should be without this “sure to win an award” selection.

Karen Armstrong's The Spiral Staircase has had many excellent reviews, but I still wasn't sure what I was getting when it turned up under my Christmas tree.  What I found was a wonderful story of a woman who is always a bit of an outsider-whether as a nun, a student, a teacher, or a writer.  Some of that isolation is a physical disability, which is not diagnosed until midlife; some is the effect of entering the convent at age seventeen, and undergoing rigorous training in prayer and silence.  But Ms. Armstrong has redeemed that isolation, and found a place in the world that is a bridge between peoples who do not understand each other-most notably Christians and Muslims.  Whether or not you accept her theology, this story of redemption is worthy of notice.

Y: The Last Man Series by Brian K. Vaughan
Reviewed by David Brown, First Regional Library

The next time you're browsing the library for something to read, don't forget to check out the "Graphic Novels" section. While most of the titles there are of the traditional superhero type, you can also find titles that are every bit as thrilling, complex and ADULT as any other book in the library.  One of the best series is Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan. The concept of this book rivals some of the best science fiction.  Twenty-something Yorick Brown, an aimless, wannabe magician, and his pet monkey, Ampersand, are literally the only survivors of a plague that wiped out EVERY mammal on the planet with a Y chromosome. The United States is plunged into chaos, with low ranking female politicians ascending to lead the country (including Yorick's congresswoman mother) and bands of female rebels and criminals creating turmoil. Yorick is protected by the mysterious Agent 355, who leads him on a cross-country trip to reach a lab in California, where they hope to find the answers to WHY he and Ampersand weren't infected.

Each chapter brings new adventure as Yorick makes his way across this tumultous "new" America. Even if you haven't read a "comic book" since childhood, I urge you to try this series. The artwork by Pia Guerra, while not exceptional, helps move the story along quite effectively. Vaughan, who is also a popular writer of superhero comics like X-Men, has created a suspenseful, thought-provoking, classic. While definitely not for children, these books have no more profanity, sex, and violence than your typical best-selling thriller.

The Broker comes right out of the newspaper and Washington politics. The President of the United States makes a last-minute pardon of Joel Backman, a Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in federal custody.  This pardon is not done out of the goodness of the President’s heart but out of CIA pressure exert on him as he is about to leave office. Backman is privileged to some highly sensitive secrets that the CIA director wants and is willing to even kill his broker to get them.  After Backman agrees to leave and go into hiding he is smuggled out of the country, given a new identity and a new home in Italy. The plan is that after the broker gets comfortable in his new life the CIA will leak out his whereabouts to the primary powers interested in the sophisticated satellite surveillance system Backman was brokering. The CIA will then wait and see who kills him: the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, or the Saudis. The chances of his survival are nil, but Joel doesn’t know that. Only when his protectors start acting strange does his instincts get in gear and he starts to run for his life. This is a real stretch from some of Grisham’s other books, but it is also one of his best. When you get the book, look at the cover and see if you see the resemblance of the broker with the author?

The old city of nineteenth century Ghadames comes alive in this historical fiction set in North Africa’s Libya.  Malika at the awkward age of twelve straddles the world of grown-ups and children.  Her brother Jasim shares the same awkwardness and will soon be banished to the ground level of Ghadames.  In this Muslim country which edges the Sahara desert men use the ground floor passageways while the women travel on the rooftops.  For fun the children decide they will race on the rooftop like when they were little.  Aware this race may be his last Jasim is quick to claim the side closest the ground.  Malika is forced to take the steeper, three story side.  As she mounts the four inch wide edge she experiences slight vertigo.  So she takes off her sash and ties it over her eyes to block the view.  With a quiet whisper, “Oh help me, great goddess Tanit” Malika is off.  This is a well written tale that brings the culture and country into focus.  One experiences the confined spirit of these women which looks like Malika’s unfortunate destiny.  This book will be a collection must have for the everyday life of average Muslims.

Not being a huge NASCAR fan, I wasn't sure if I would like this book or not. It turned out to be very enjoyable. The characters were very likable. Some of them would remind you of people you may know. The book also made me more interested in NASCAR. This book also does away with some of the typical stereotypes of NASCAR fans. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a family member that likes NASCAR but you don't know much about it.

Glass's novel is set in Greece, Scotland, and New York and spans several years in the course of a Scottish family. Although it covers many years, it actually only takes place during three months--three Junes. You will meet the father of the McLeod family as he is trying to escape the loss of his wife from cancer by going on a tour to Greece. While in Greece, he meets
many different people including a young lady whom he develops a crush on but her affections are aimed in a different direction. Strangely, we get another glimpse into her life later on in the novel. In Scotland, we meet the whole McLeod family as they deal with the death of their father and with thoughts of the future. In the last June, we again meet up with the young lady from Greece as she is at a turning point in her life. She inadvertently becomes friends with the son of the father she met in Greece but she is unaware of the relationship. The author makes it easy to see how little our world really is and--even though we don't often think about it--how important each small relationship is to our larger existence.

The most important thing ever to happen in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, was the day Elizabeth Taylor came to town (campaigning with her husband, soon-to-be Senator John Warner), and choked on a chicken bone.  Around this true event, Adrianna Trigiani has fashioned a novel peopled with characters from her small Virginia town who give us reason both to laugh and, perhaps, to cry. Ave Maria Mulligan's world is turned upside down when her mother's will is read.  She wants to find new worlds, but the world she is looking for is closer than she knows.  Watching Ave Maria learn this lesson is truly a joy.