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MUDLARK

Name: MUDLARK
Author: Lara Maiklem
ISBN: 978-1-63149-496-3

IN SEARCH OF LONDON'S PAST ALONG THE RIVER THAMES

by Lara Maiklem ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2019

Entertaining reading for British history buffs and budding archaeologists.

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British editor Maiklem shares her obsession with the treasures she has found in the mud of the River Thames.

The author takes us on a tour from the end of the tidal Thames at Teddington down to the estuary at Lower Hope Point. As she notes, the tides dictate the course of her investigations. A mudlark, someone who “scavenges for usable debris in the mud of a river or harbor,” must know all of the permutations of the tides throughout the year. The author’s discoveries range from Roman coins to the ubiquitous clay pipes and pieces of tile and pottery to unexploded ordnance from World War II. Mudlarks are easy to spot, with their dirty boots, knee pads, latex gloves, and waterproof suits smeared with mud. Maiklem explains how they rely on luck but also have the patience and time to devote to their craft. Their best guides, she writes, are old maps, especially the Agas map of 1561, which presents a wealth of clues to population activity. Barge beds, wharves, and revetments deteriorate, dislodging the domestic refuse and rubble that filled them, an ever changing source of both banal and intriguing items. Some mudlarks use metal detectors while others dig. After the tides expose her finds, the author has to properly identify and preserve them; if they dry too fast, they could crumble. The author also discusses the role of government in her endeavor, as a permit is necessary and discoveries must be reported to the Museum of London. In 1957, the Natural History Museum declared the river biologically dead, and the cleanup has been ongoing ever since. In the 1970s, fish returned to the river, but there are still dangerous microbes lurking, and London’s storm drains dump raw sewage into the river after heavy rains. Throughout the narrative, Maiklem’s imagination and infectious enthusiasm make for a lovely fantasy world where “the tiniest of objects…tell the greatest stories.”

Entertaining reading for British history buffs and budding archaeologists.

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-63149-496-3

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Liveright/Norton

Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019

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WHY WE SWIM

by Bonnie Tsui ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2020

An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans’ relationship with the water.

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A study of swimming as sport, survival method, basis for community, and route to physical and mental well-being.

For Bay Area writer Tsui (American Chinatown: A People's History of Five Neighborhoods, 2009), swimming is in her blood. As she recounts, her parents met in a Hong Kong swimming pool, and she often visited the beach as a child and competed on a swim team in high school. Midway through the engaging narrative, the author explains how she rejoined the team at age 40, just as her 6-year-old was signing up for the first time. Chronicling her interviews with scientists and swimmers alike, Tsui notes the many health benefits of swimming, some of which are mental. Swimmers often achieve the “flow” state and get their best ideas while in the water. Her travels took her from the California coast, where she dove for abalone and swam from Alcatraz back to San Francisco, to Tokyo, where she heard about the “samurai swimming” martial arts tradition. In Iceland, she met Guðlaugur Friðþórsson, a local celebrity who, in 1984, survived six hours in a winter sea after his fishing vessel capsized, earning him the nickname “the human seal.” Although humans are generally adapted to life on land, the author discovered that some have extra advantages in the water. The Bajau people of Indonesia, for instance, can do 10-minute free dives while hunting because their spleens are 50% larger than average. For most, though, it’s simply a matter of practice. Tsui discussed swimming with Dara Torres, who became the oldest Olympic swimmer at age 41, and swam with Kim Chambers, one of the few people to complete the daunting Oceans Seven marathon swim challenge. Drawing on personal experience, history, biology, and social science, the author conveys the appeal of “an unflinching giving-over to an element” and makes a convincing case for broader access to swimming education (372,000 people still drown annually).

An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans’ relationship with the water.

Pub Date: April 14, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-61620-786-1

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Algonquin

Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020

Categories:

GENERAL HISTORY | HEALTH & FITNESS | SPORTS & RECREATION

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THE VIRTUES OF AGING

by Jimmy Carter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 26, 1998

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A heartfelt if somewhat unsurprising view of old age by the former president. Carter (Living Faith, 1996, etc.) succinctly evaluates the evolution and current status of federal policies concerning the elderly (including a balanced appraisal of the difficulties facing the Social Security system). He also meditates, while drawing heavily on autobiographical anecdotes, on the possibilities for exploration and intellectual and spiritual growth in old age. There are few lightning bolts to dazzle in his prescriptions (cultivate family ties; pursue the restorative pleasures of hobbies and socially minded activities). Yet the warmth and frankness of Carter’s remarks prove disarming. Given its brevity, the work is more of a call to senior citizens to reconsider how best to live life than it is a guide to any of the details involved.