A thorough but idiosyncratically narrow Boy Scout history with a limited appeal.
A history book explores Boy Scout Troop 11 in Houston.
Boy Scout Troop 11 was first established in 1914; its inaugural scoutmaster was John Dixie Smith. The First Presbyterian Church began its sponsorship of the troop in 1920. This sprawling history of the troop commemorates a century of its association with the church. The troop is now the oldest continuously operating one in Houston, and its proud history parallels the last 100 years of the nation. Davis furnishes a remarkably detailed account. The book is structured like a combination of a scrapbook—there are historical photographs and news clippings scattered throughout—and a meticulous chronological record that clearly aims to present a comprehensive account rather than a thematically unified narrative. There is no bit of minutiae too small to warrant the author’s attention—individual awards and citations, scoutmaster profiles, meetings and luncheons, relay races and deaths are all documented with punctilious scrupulousness. Davis escorts readers through a century of these events, all the way to the disruptions recently caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. (The work does not address the recent sex abuse claims filed against the Boy Scouts of America.) From this bundle of facts emerges a sense of the philosophy fundamental to Boy Scout life, including its religious commitments: “Religious liberty is essential to a free people. Scouthood is not worthwhile unless it continues to struggle for religious liberty. It’s not much of a religion that does not allow you to follow your conscience worshipping God. The only requirement for scouts is that they worship God.”
At its best, Davis’ account provides a parallel commentary on American history writ large. For example, Boy Scouts suffered a “heavy toll” of casualties during the nation’s participation in the major wars of the 20th century: “During both World War II and the Korean War,” Troop 11 “served in many types of semi‐military auxiliary work while its graduates fought all over the globe. Quite a few former scouts who went into service became professional military officers and are still stationed abroad.” Readers will truly become immersed in Boy Scout culture, including a taste of its admirably lofty ideals as well as its quotidian affairs. But the price to be paid for this microscopic thoroughness is the history’s readability—this is a massive data compilation rather than a story. Even the most enthusiastic readers are likely to feel interred under a mountain of miscellany. Only the most ardent student of the troop will want to read about the importance of keeping purple neckerchiefs clean or a trip to England in 1929. Davis’ overriding aspiration seems to be the creation of an encyclopedic record, a reference book that can be consulted in posterity, either for administrative or nostalgic purposes. But it doesn’t seem to be intended to be read in the way one typically peruses a book—all at once, from start to finish. For those who have some personal connection to the troop, this could be a source of happy remembrance, and for those who work for the Boy Scouts, it’s a potentially valuable resource. But it’s hard to imagine this granular volume will appeal to a readership beyond those two groups.
A thorough but idiosyncratically narrow Boy Scout history with a limited appeal.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 228
Publisher: First Presbyterian Church
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An engrossing, intense, and highly descriptive narrative chronicling the ghastly conditions three pregnant women suffered...
The incredible true story of three Jewish women who survived the Holocaust.
Priska, Rachel, and Anka were married Jewish women in their early 20s when the Nazis took control of Europe. Like millions of other Jews, they were forced to give up their normal lives, all of their belongings, and their homes. Shuttled into ghettos and then off to one of the most notorious camps, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, they suffered through the Nazis’ increasing atrocities. But these three women all held a secret: they were pregnant. They were moved from Auschwitz and ended up in Mauthausen, another notorious death camp. With facing the most horrible conditions imaginable, all three gave birth right before the Allies accepted Germany’s surrender. In this meticulously detailed account, Holden (Haatchi & Little B: The Inspiring True Story of One Boy and His Dog, 2014, etc.) compiles an enormous amount of information from interviews, letters, historical records, and personal visits to the sites where this story unfolded. The graphic history places readers in the moment and provides a sense of the enduring power of love that Priska, Rachel, and Anka had for their unborn children and for the husbands they so desperately hoped to see after the war. Even though it occurred more than 70 years ago, the story’s truth is so chillingly portrayed that it seems as if it could have happened recently. These three women and their infants survived in the face of death, and, Holden writes, “their babies went on to have babies of their own and create a second and then a third generation, all of whom continue to live their lives in defiance of Hitler’s plan to erase them from history and from memory.”
An engrossing, intense, and highly descriptive narrative chronicling the ghastly conditions three pregnant women suffered through at the hands of the Nazis.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-237025-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2015
Less a sequel than an addendum, the book offers a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour.
Four decades after Watergate shook America, journalist Woodward (The Price of Politics, 2012, etc.) returns to the scandal to profile Alexander Butterfield, the Richard Nixon aide who revealed the existence of the Oval Office tapes and effectively toppled the presidency.
Of all the candidates to work in the White House, Butterfield was a bizarre choice. He was an Air Force colonel and wanted to serve in Vietnam. By happenstance, his colleague H.R. Haldeman helped Butterfield land a job in the Nixon administration. For three years, Butterfield worked closely with the president, taking on high-level tasks and even supervising the installation of Nixon’s infamous recording system. The writing here is pure Woodward: a visual, dialogue-heavy, blow-by-blow account of Butterfield’s tenure. The author uses his long interviews with Butterfield to re-create detailed scenes, which reveal the petty power plays of America’s most powerful men. Yet the book is a surprisingly funny read. Butterfield is passive, sensitive, and dutiful, the very opposite of Nixon, who lets loose a constant stream of curses, insults, and nonsensical bluster. Years later, Butterfield seems conflicted about his role in such an eccentric presidency. “I’m not trying to be a Boy Scout and tell you I did it because it was the right thing to do,” Butterfield concedes. It is curious to see Woodward revisit an affair that now feels distantly historical, but the author does his best to make the story feel urgent and suspenseful. When Butterfield admitted to the Senate Select Committee that he knew about the listening devices, he felt its significance. “It seemed to Butterfield there was absolute silence and no one moved,” writes Woodward. “They were still and quiet as if they were witnessing a hinge of history slowly swinging open….It was as if a bare 10,000 volt cable was running through the room, and suddenly everyone touched it at once.”
Less a sequel than an addendum, the book offers a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1644-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2015
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