1928: Events and Inventions

Oct24

January 10, 1928. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin exiles all opposition leaders for Moscow. Leon Trotsky is sent to Alma-Ata in Kazahkstan. Other rivals have been sent to Siberia or to small remote villages in the Soviet Union.

May, 1928. Japanese and Chinese Nationalist forces clash in Shantung province in China. The Japanese retain control of the city of Tsinan-Fu

June 8, 1928. Nationalist forces, led by General Chiang Kai-shek enter the Chinese capital of Beijing (Peking). Chiang has expelled the Communists from the Kuomingtang, and he and his Nationalists may now be regarded as ruling the entire country of China, except for a few pockets of rebellion by Japanese, Communist and warlord groups.

'Nationalist government of Nanking - nominally ruling over entire China, 1930' photo (c) 2008, http://maps.bpl.org - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

June, 1928. US aviator Amelia Earhart, as a passenger, is the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air.

July, 1928. The first commercially available TV set goes on sale in the U.S. Cost: $75.00.

August 27, 1928. The Kellogg-Briand Treaty. The United States, France, Great Britain, Germany, and eleven other countries sign a treaty promising not to go to war—ever. the treaty is also called the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War or the World Peace Act. There is an exception in the treaty for wars of self-defense.

September 30, 1928. Scottish doctor and bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovers the antibiotic penicillin. It is hoped that this wonder drug may soon be used to treat human bacterial infections.

October 1, 1928. Stalin announces his Five Year Plan to industrialize the Soviet Union, iprove it socialist economy, and take all farming out of private hands.

October 6, 1928. Chaing Kai-Shek becomes Chairman of the Nationalist government and COmander-in-Chief of all armed forces in China under the new CHinese constitution. Chiang chooses the city of Nanking as his capital, and his alliance with Northern warlords seems to be keeping the Communists and other dissidents out of contention for power in the Chinese government.

October 7, 1928. Ras Tafari is crowned “King of Kings of Ethiopia, the Conquering Lion of Judah and the Elect of God” in ceremonies at the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. Ras Tafari says that he is a descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, but he is required to share power with his aunt, Empress Zauditu.

Kool-Aid, the first powdered soft drink mix to be sold nationally in stores through wholesalers, is packaged in envelopes printed by Edwin Perkins, the inventor of the drink mix, and hits the markets in 1928, first locally and then beyond.

Bring Me a Unicorn by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Oct23

Bring Me a Unicorn: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1922-1928.

Before (and after) she was married to famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, Anne Morrow, daughter of the American ambassador to Mexico, kept a journal and wrote a plethora of letters. This book is the first of five volumes of collected letters and journal entries of Anne Morrow soon-to-be Lindbergh. The others are called: Hour of Gold Hour of Lead, Locked Rooms Open Doors, The Flower and the Nettle, and War Within and Without.

The Deputy Headmistress at The Common Room wrote about and recommended Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s journals here. I second her recommendation.

The journals and letters cover the romance of Anne and “Lindy” as a young Anne meets the famous aviator at a reception given by her ambassador father. Anne Morrow married Charles Lindbergh in a private ceremony at her family home in May, 1929. He then taught her to fly an airplane. She received a pilot’s license, and the two flew together in 1933 to China and Japan. In 1932, the Lindberghs’ infant son Charles was kidnapped and murdered. It was the sensational crime story of the decade. They had five other children subsequently: Jon, Land, Anne, Scott, and Reeve.

From Bring Me a Unicorn on her first meeting with Charles Lindbergh:

I saw standing against the great stone pillar — on more red plush — a tall, slim boy in evening dress — so much slimmer, so much taller, so much more poised than I expected. A very refined face, not at all like those grinning ‘Lindy’ pictures — a firm mouth, clear, straight blue eyes, fair hair, and nice color. Then I went down the line very confused and overwhelmed by it all. He did not smile — just bowed and shook hands.

I highly recommend the journals of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, all five volumes.

1927: Arts and Entertainment

Oct23

In February, Paris audiences are stunned by a recital by 10-year American violin prodigy, Yehudi Menuhin.

On October 6, 1927, the New York premiere of the first “talkie”(feature length talking movie), The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson, causes audiences to stand up and cheer.

In December, jazz composer and pianist Duke Ellington opens at The Cotton Club, a famous Harlem nightclub.

1927: Events and Inventions

Oct23

January-December, 1927. Civil war continues in China as General Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist army attempt to consolidate power over all of China and drive out the warlords who control various parts of the country. In March, Chiang Kai-shek’s army takes the important port city of Shanghai, but Communists in Hankow and in Shanghai refuse to cooperate with the Nationalist government and declare their own revolution. In December General Kai-shek crushes a Communist uprising in the city of Canton.

January 7 1927. The first transatlantic telephone call is made from New York City to London.

January 31, 1927. Britain orders 12.000 soldiers to proceed immediately to Shanghai to protect British citizens and British interests in the city. The United States orders Navy ships and Marines to the city on a similar mission.

'04-00694 Charles Lindbergh' photo (c) 2003, SDASM Archives - license: http://www.flickr.com/commons/usage/February, 1927. An attempted rebellion against the military dictatorship of President Antonio Carmona in Portugal is crushed in Lisbon. Carmona named himself president in July, 1926. Carmona will be president of Portugal for the next 24 years until his death in 1951.

April 30, 1927. The Mississippi River floods destroying many communities in several states. Over 200,000 people lose their homes.

May 21, 1927. Charles Lindbergh, in his plane The Spirit of St. Louis, becomes the first person to fly alone non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris. He immediately becomes an international celebrity.

July 10, 1927. Kevin O’Higgins, vice-president of the Irish Free State (Ireland), is assassinated while on his way to Mass by three members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The killing fuels fears of further civil war and unrest in Ireland.

July 15, 1927. WWI veterans and striking workers occupy the University of Vienna in Austria and they seize the Palace of Justice and set it on fire. Socialists are calling for the resignation of Austrian Chancellor Ignaz Seipel’s government; the socialist leaders are accusing Seipel of tolerating the illegal activities of the rioters.

October 23, 1927. Josef Stalin expels political rivals Leon Trotsky and Grigori Zinoviev from the Central Committee of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union.

December 2, 1927. Sales begin of the new Model A Ford, a replacement for the Model T. The new Model A is available in four standard colors, but not in black.

1927: Books and Literature

Oct23

Publishing history is made when in 1927 Random House, book publishers, is founded in New York City by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer.

1927 Newbery Medal Winner: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James (Scribner)

Published in 1927:
God’s Trombones by James Weldon Johnson. One of my very favorite books of poetry.
“The Creation” from God’s Trombones.
“Go Down, Death” from God’s Trombones.
“The Prodigal Son” from God’s Trombones

The Big Four by Agatha Christie. In December of 1926, Agatha Christie, already famous as a mystery novelist, produced her own mystery when she disappeared for ten days. She was found living at a Yorkshire health spa under an assumed name. She probably had what was then called a “nervous breakdown.” But she still managed to publish a new mystery novel in January 1927, The Big Four. It’s not her best,but it satisfied her fans and kept them on board waiting for the next novel. Agatha Christie later wrote her agent saying:

I have been, once, in a position where I wanted to write just for the sake of money coming in and when I felt I couldn’t—it is a nerve wracking feeling. If I had had one MS ‘up my sleeve’ it would have made a big difference. That was the time I had to produce that rotten book The Big Four and had to force myself in The Mystery of the Blue Train.

Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers, the third mystery novel featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. To get a flavor of the 1920’s in England, read these and the early Agatha Christie novels featuring Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder. I read this book a long time ago, and I remember thinking that it was quite profound in its treatment of foreknowledge and God’s providence. I’m wondering if I would still think so now, thirty or forty years later.

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Eldest Daughter recommends Virginia Woolf, this book in particular, but I’m afraid that I wouldn’t “get it.” Just as I don’t “get” James Joyce.
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis. I’ve heard of this novel, but I’ve never actually read this story of a crooked evangelist. Elmer Gantry is the prototype for the stereotypical character that appears to this day in novels and movies and TV dramas.

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. Reviewed by Carrie K. at Books and Movies.

The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon, the first book published in the Hardy Boys series of mystery adventure stories for boys. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by author Leslie McFarlane, the original man behind the pseudonym Franklin Dixon. The story begins with Frank and Joe Hardy barely avoiding being hit by a speeding driver with bright red hair, and it goes on from there as the brothers follow the trail of disguises and robbery and hidden loot.

Emily’s Quest by L.M. Montgomery, the last of the Emily trilogy. Eldest Daughter likes these books as well as or better than the Anne of Green Gables series.

The Midnight Folk by John Masefield. I put this one on the list because I plan to find a copy and read it someday. Classic British children’s fantasy.

Set in 1927:
Fordlandia by Greg Grandin. Nonfiction. The story of Henry Ford’s experiment in utopian rubber production in the Brazilian rain forest (begun in 1927).
River Rising by Athol Dickson. River Rising is set in southern Louisiana, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, just before and during the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927.
Joy in the Morning by Betty Smith, author of the classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Fourteen year old Annie and twenty year old Carl marry and go together to live at the university campus where Carl is a student.

Sunday Salon: What I’m Reading, Watching, Enjoying

Oct22

The Sunday Salon.com

Can a thriller be literary? by Adam LeBor from the London Financial Times.

“So what exactly is a thriller, and how does the genre differ from ordinary novels? The key word is conflict. The protagonist will confront a series of threats before the plot builds up to a climax, which is often violent. The hero will confront his inner demons along the way and be forced to make an impossible choice. All this should unfold in vivid scene-setting that takes the reader into a new and unknown world.”

What a great idea! Little (20 book) public lending libraries. I want one.
Little Free Library.

Literature-inspired sneakers and iPhone cases. I would want some of these if my favorite books were included. Maybe The Three Musketeers would be worth showing off.

I spent my TV watching time for the past couple of weeks with the first (and only) season of the program Commander in Chief, starring Geena Davis as the vice-president of the United States who is unexpectedly thrown into the job of president after the sudden death of the sitting president. It was a good series, 18 episodes about an independent woman acting as a credibly authoritative president. Unfortunately, the writers or somebody associated with the show couldn’t sustain the “political independent” part of the equation. The “bad guy” in the show is, of course, a nasty old Republican, played wonderfully by Donald Sutherland, and President Mackenzie Allen is supposed be an independent, neither fish nor fowl, neither Democrat or Republican, neither liberal nor conservative. So she supports an airline strike instead of ending it by presidential fiat, sends the FBI into Maryland to solve some crime without authorization, defends gay marriage, and finally, in fit of liberalism that can’t be denied, she resurrects the ERA and tries to get it ratified by three more states so that women can finally have the equal rights that have been so long denied to them. You may or may not agree with all of those policy decisions, but liberal Democrat is the only label that can be used meaningfully to describe a person who pursues those policies and others on the show.

And, yet, it was a well-acted, engaging TV show, and I’m not sure why it was cancelled after only one season. Wikipedia cites “declining ratings.”

I’ll be reading a lot more INSPY-nominated books, Cybils-nominated easy readers and early chapter books, twentieth century history, and anything else that takes my fancy. So expect review of those genres and books, coming up for your reading pleasure.

What are you reading, watching, and enjoying these days?

Saturday Review of Books: October 22, 2011

Oct21

“For me, book reading is not a chore, it’s more like a necessity of life, like breathing. I start feeling panicky and lost when I’m between books.” ~Phyllis at Life on Windy Ridge

SatReviewbuttonIf you’re not familiar with and linking to and perusing the Saturday Review of Books here at Semicolon, you’re missing out. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can just write your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read. That’s how my own TBR list has become completely unmanageable and the reason I can’t join any reading challenges. I have my own personal challenge that never ends.

The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow

Oct19

Nominated for 2011 Cybil Awards, Young Adult Fiction category. Nominated by Teacher.Mother.Reader.

Berlin, 1935-1938. Fourteen year old Karl Stern doesn’t look Jewish, and he doesn’t feel Jewish. His family has never been religious, and Karl’s name doesn’t give him away either. However, Germany is slowly but surely becoming a place where it doesn’t matter what you think or believe or feel: being Jewish is like being a rotten apple. And, according to Nazi propaganda, the rot will come out and become apparent for all to see.

So, Karl is one of those “self-loathing” Jews who denies his heritage and just wants to fit in. He wishes he could join the Hitler Youth like all of the other boys in his school. He wishes he weren’t Jewish. The problem with reading these Holocaust and pre-Holocaust novels is that one knows the ending. Karl won’t be able to hide from his Jewish background for long. His family isn’t safe in Germany no matter how much his father thinks that Nazism is a passing political phase. The Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht and Dachau and the entire Holocaust itself are coming, impending doom hanging over the events of any novel set in pre-war Germany, especially any novel involving a Jewish protagonist.

Yet, The Berlin Boxing Club held several surprises and revelations for me. I didn’t know much about German heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling who stars in this novel as Karl’s mentor. As Karl learns to box from the champ, he “comes of age”, and he learns to respect his own father, an intellectual and an art dealer with his own secret past. Over the course of the novel, Max Schmeling, the hero of Aryan racial superiority, has two fights with black American heavyweight champion, Joe Louis. I had a vague memory of the matches, but I didn’t remember who won.

I learned about Schmelling, about the culture and atmosphere of pre-war Berlin, about the art scene in Berlin at that time, about boxing, and most of all, about how complicated people can be. Schmeling hobnobs with the Nazi elite, including Hitler himself, and yet Schmeling’s manager is Jewish.

Karl feels the contradictions and conflicts of the time within himself. He’s an artist and a fighter. He loves his intellectual father, but he identifies with the more physical men at the Berlin Boxing Club. He despises and fears homosexuals, but it is a homosexual friend who rescues him and his sister on Kristallnacht. He admires and is grateful to Max Schmeling, but he doesn’t know if he can really trust him.

I would recommend this book for older teens. Some of the scenes and characters are too mature for younger readers. As I think about it, the book would make a good movie, but it would definitely be rated at least PG-13, probably R.

Mr. Putter & Tabby Ring the Bell by Cynthia Rylant

Oct18

Cybils nominee: Easy Readers. Nominated by Maria Ciccone at The Serpentine Library.

Cynthia Rylant has published twenty Mr. Putter & Tabby books with this latest adventure, Mr. Putter & Tabby Ring the Bell. If I were a first grade teacher or librarian at an elementary school, I’d buy all twenty, line them up on an accessible shelf and watch the books fly off the shelf. And I’d watch the smiles and the laughter. And the soaring reading abilities and enjoyment.

In Mr. Putter & Tabby Ring the Bell the fall weather reminds Mr. Putter of school, and Mr Putter waxes nostalgic for the sight of erasers and pencils and globes and schoolrooms. Mr. Putter then has an idea: why not take Tabby and go to school for show-and-tell? Of course, Mr. Putter’s neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry and her pet, Zeke, a rather disreputable-looking dog, tag along. But what ae they to do when the first grade teacher expects Tabby and Zeke to do tricks for the first graders?

My favorite character in this story was Zeke the dog. Zeke is the kind of dog who wears a half of a stolen cake on his head. Then he eats it. He loves banana cake. He also eats a whole tray of cupcakes. Zeke’s tongue hangs out a lot, and he probably drools. And he learns a new trick—all in the course of a forty-four page easy reader.

If you already know and love Mr. Putter and Taby (and Zeke), this book is a worthy addition to the canon. If not, Mr. Putter and Tabby Ring the Bell would be a great introduction to a great series.

Z-baby: “Mr Putter wants to go to school even though he’s really old. I don’t know why.”

*This book is nominated for a Cybils Award, and I am a judge for the first round thereof. However, no one paid me any money, and nobody knows which books will get to be finalists or which ones will get the awards. In other words, this review reflects my opinion and Z-baby’s and nothing else.

Kylie Jean, Blueberry Queen by Marci Peschke

Oct18

Cybils nominee: Early Chapter Books. Nominated by Jennifer Glidden, Capstone Press.

Kylie Jean, who lives with her family in Jacksonville, Texas, has a lifelong dream: she wants to be a beauty queen. I’ve never heard of Jacksonville, but it’s a real town in East Texas, Cherokee County, and it has a population of 13,868 (2000 census). Jacksonville is “the Tomato Capital of the World”, but it’s blueberries that play the starring role in Kylie Jean’s journey to becoming a beauty queen.

In the story the big festival in Jacksonville every year is not Tomato Fest, but rather the Blueberry Festival. Kylie Jean wants to be Blueberry Festival Queen, and since Kylie Jean is not only pretty, inside and out, but also determined, she enlists some help and sets out to realize her dream.

I’m not much on beauty pageants, but I liked Kylie Jean. She talks and acts “Texas” through and through with her “right pretty” and her “hollering” and her “yes, m’am” and “no, m’am.” I liked the way Kylie Jean makes a list of the things she needs to do to enter the beauty pageant, and she goes right down the list, checking each thing off as she gets it done. And I learned a few things you might not know (I didn’t):

“Shouting is not ladylike.” Beauty queens don’t shout.

“Beauty queens always wear a slip because it is classy.”

“Pretty is as pretty does . . . means being nice to the old folks, taking care of little animals, and respecting [my] momma and daddy.”

I’ll just bet at least one of those pieces of information is new to you, too. Consider it a part of your free education in Texas culture.

Z-Baby: “I think all of the books about Kylie Jean look good: Rodeo Queen, Hoop Queen, and Drama Queen.”

*This book is nominated for a Cybils Award, and I am a judge for the first round thereof. However, no one paid me any money, and nobody knows which books will get to be finalists or which ones will get the awards. In other words, this review reflects my opinion and Z-baby’s and nothing else.