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What do a 21st century pro football player and a teenage Jewish girl in hiding during World War II possibly have in common? Pat Tillman and Anne Frank both died far too young and each is the subject of fascinating books recently acquired by the Truckee Library.
Perhaps best known for “Into the Wild,” bestselling adventure writer Jon Krakauer tells the tragic story of pro-football-player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman, whose death in the wilds of Afghanistan in 2004 created a scandal of government cover-up. In its starred review, Publishers Weekly summarizes: “Drawing on interviews with family, fellow soldiers and correspondence, Krakauer's page-turning account captures every detail — Tillman's extraordinary character, including the ‘tragic virtues' that led him to give up a comfortable life and athletic stardom for the army; the harshness of military training and life; the rugged terrain of remote Afghanistan — and, of course, the ravages of war. Most critically, Krakauer, by telling Tillman's personal story and blowing apart the ‘cynical cover-up' that followed his killing, Krakauer lays bare the best — and worst — of America's War on Terror.”
In “Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife,” prolific novelist Francine Prose tells the remarkable story surrounding the diary of one of the best known, yet least understood, figures of the 20th century. Paralleling the later experiences of J. K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, editors at numerous publishing houses initially rejected the manuscript of Frank's diary, believing it to be of little interest to readers. “The Diary of a Young Girl,” first published in Dutch in 1947, and since translated into more than 60 languages, is today an international classic, spawning much research about Frank as well as a hit Broadway play and a Hollywood film. Prose calls Anne Frank a literary genius whose diary was a consciously crafted work of literature, rather than the spontaneous outpourings of a teenager. (What a relief! I vividly recall reading the book as a young adolescent and feeling that my diary entries were truly pathetic in comparison. Coming of age in the 1970s suburban California just couldn't compare to being in hiding in 1940s Amsterdam was my lame excuse.) Apparently Frank not only wrote but rewrote her diary, substantially editing many entries with an eye to publishing her book as a novel after the war. Prose poses the question: Is Frank's book in fact a diary or a “memoir in the form of diary entries,” an “epistolary autobiography” or a “novel in the form of a journal?” However you choose to approach the book, it is heartening to see that it is still widely read an appreciated. I was so pleased to see my preteen daughter devour it, just as I did a generation ago.
Perhaps best known for “Into the Wild,” bestselling adventure writer Jon Krakauer tells the tragic story of pro-football-player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman, whose death in the wilds of Afghanistan in 2004 created a scandal of government cover-up. In its starred review, Publishers Weekly summarizes: “Drawing on interviews with family, fellow soldiers and correspondence, Krakauer's page-turning account captures every detail — Tillman's extraordinary character, including the ‘tragic virtues' that led him to give up a comfortable life and athletic stardom for the army; the harshness of military training and life; the rugged terrain of remote Afghanistan — and, of course, the ravages of war. Most critically, Krakauer, by telling Tillman's personal story and blowing apart the ‘cynical cover-up' that followed his killing, Krakauer lays bare the best — and worst — of America's War on Terror.”
In “Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife,” prolific novelist Francine Prose tells the remarkable story surrounding the diary of one of the best known, yet least understood, figures of the 20th century. Paralleling the later experiences of J. K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, editors at numerous publishing houses initially rejected the manuscript of Frank's diary, believing it to be of little interest to readers. “The Diary of a Young Girl,” first published in Dutch in 1947, and since translated into more than 60 languages, is today an international classic, spawning much research about Frank as well as a hit Broadway play and a Hollywood film. Prose calls Anne Frank a literary genius whose diary was a consciously crafted work of literature, rather than the spontaneous outpourings of a teenager. (What a relief! I vividly recall reading the book as a young adolescent and feeling that my diary entries were truly pathetic in comparison. Coming of age in the 1970s suburban California just couldn't compare to being in hiding in 1940s Amsterdam was my lame excuse.) Apparently Frank not only wrote but rewrote her diary, substantially editing many entries with an eye to publishing her book as a novel after the war. Prose poses the question: Is Frank's book in fact a diary or a “memoir in the form of diary entries,” an “epistolary autobiography” or a “novel in the form of a journal?” However you choose to approach the book, it is heartening to see that it is still widely read an appreciated. I was so pleased to see my preteen daughter devour it, just as I did a generation ago.
Truckee Library, 10031 Levon Ave., 582-7846, mynevadacounty.com/library
Library hours Monday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Tuesday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Wednesday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Thursday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Storytimes
Tuesday Toddler Time at 10:30 a.m. (2 to 3 year olds)
Babes in Bookland Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. (6 months to 2 years)
Storytelling with Mrs. Fix on Thursdays at 11:15 a.m. (3 years and up)
Pajama Time, First Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. (all ages)
Winter Reading Program for ages 5-12 through Feb. 28, 2010
Bookshelf's Dry Camp Book Club at the Library
Meets monthly at the Library. Participants at the book group meeting will receive a coupon for 15 percent off a one-time book purchase at the Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks. Everyone is welcome.
Now on display at the library
Portraits by Truckee artist Raphael Jolly
Above the Fireplace: Sand Harbor in oils by Linda D'Toole
