Rabble Rousers by Cheryl Harness

20 Women Who Made A Difference
Ann Lee - Mother of the American Shakers
Frances Wright - Passionate Patriot
Emma Hart Willard - Equal Opportunity Educator
Sojourner Truth - The Abolition Movement
Mary Ann Shadd Cary - Abolitionist Activist
Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Revolutionary in Petticoats
Susan B. Anthony - Suffrage: The Women's Movement
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker - Civil War Heroine and Performer
Frances E. Willard - Temperance Activist
Mary E. Lease - Populist "Joan of Arc of Kansas"
Ida Bell Wells - Barnett - Anti-Lynching Campaigner
Jane Addams - Social Worker in the Mankind Business
Mary Harris Jones - The Labor Movement
Margaret Sanger - Birth-Control Activist
Alice Paul - Suffragist: The Last Push for the Vote
Eleanor Roosevelt - First Lady of the World
Fannie Lou Hamer - The Civil Rights Movement
Betty Friedman - Feminist
Dolores Huerta - Champion of Migrant Farmworkers
Doris Haddock - Champion of Government Reform

Hatshepsut - The Princess Who Became King - By Ellen Galford

A.D. 1842-1845 Lepsiu's confirms that there was a female pharaoh - Hatshepsut. 

Hatshepsut's tomb was excavated in 1893 by Henry Edouard Naville. She ruled for about 22 years. She made herself King after the death of her husband c.1501 B.C. After becoming King she rewrites the story of her birth to give herself divine lineage.

"Hatshepsut decorated the walls of her new temple at Deir el-Bahri with a rewritten life story, in which her birth was the result of a miraculous meeting between the divine Amen (Amon/Amun - sometimes called the Creator God) and her mother Ahmose".(p.49) This is B.C. (Before Christ) It's interesting how the story mirrors the Virgin Birth of Christ. The word "amen" is also used at the end of  Christian prayers. 

The New Atlantis by Sir Francis Bacon

Picture from the Yale Library

Utopia is a name for an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was invented by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. (Wikipedia)

We all have individual ideas of Utopia. New Atlantis, published in 1626, is Bacon’s idea of a Utopian world. The island is called Bensalem where people of all races and religion live together in harmony but leaning much more towards Christianity. The people are honest, generous, pious, and enlightened. There is an ideal college “Solomon House” where they study pure and applied science. In Bensalem religion and science co-exist perfectly. Bacon coined the phrase “Knowledge is Power”.

It is theorized that Bacon was hoping that America would be a model of this utopian world. There are many controversial ideas in the novel but it’s amazing all the wonderful ideas that Bacon foresees. Towards the end of the novel he describes all the things they have discovered, here’s an example:

"We have also furnaces of great diversities, and that keep great diversity of heats; fierce and quick, strong and constant, soft and mild, blown, quiet, dry, moist, and the like. But above all we have heats, in imitation of the sun's and heavenly bodies' heats, that pass divers inequalities, and as it were orbs, progresses, and returns whereby we produce admirable effects… Instruments also which generate heat only by motion. And farther, places for strong insulations; and, again, places under the earth, which by nature or art yield heat. These divers heats we use as the nature of the operation which we intend requireth.”

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Reading these books make learning history so much fun. Rick (yeah we’re on a first name basis) takes us on another adventure, this time it’s the history of the Gods of Egypt. He stays true to his trademark with young hero Carter, 14 years old, and his sister Sadie, 12 years old, who team up with the Gods to save the world.

After their mother passed away six years ago under mysterious circumstances Carter and Sadie were separated. Carter traveled with his dad Egyptologist Julius Kane and Sadie lived in London with her grandparents. On Christmas Eve their father takes them for a private tour of the British Museum and the fun begins. I’m looking forward to the second book.

A few Egyptian Gods:

Amon - The creator

Anubis - God of mummification.

Isis – Diviner and the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus.

Osiris - Ruler of the underworld.

Horus – The Falcon/sky god. Son of Osiris and Isis.

Set - God of Chaos and enemy of Horus.

Sobek - The crocodile god.
Ra - The sun god.

From the UnMuseum

The Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas

This is a very detailed account, from Bartolomé, of how the Indies was colonized. Friar Bartolomé de las Casas wrote to Prince Philip II in 1542 about the mistreatment of the Native Americans. The writing is repetitive and filled with examples over and over again of horrible cruelties the Natives had to endure.  The Friar was not only horrified by the treatment of the natives, he was also concerned that Spain would come under God’s judgment for these evil acts. According to him the poor natives never had a chance to know the real Christian God because of the cruelties they witnessed they associate Christianity with the Devil. Bishop Bartolomé said he witnessed liquid gold being poured down a man’s throat, many of them burned alive or had their mouths and noses cut off.

What I tried to get my head around is the total number of natives killed. Is it 10 million, 20 million?  I don’t know if I believe that the Prince had no idea of what was going on? Where is all the gold that was taken from the Natives? How sad that the Natives never recovered?

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

This book slowly reels you in and you are not quite sure what the story is about because there are so many layers. The original title of the book is Men Who Hate Women.  The story is gripping pulls you in with small details like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey/horse. Whatever, you know what I mean.

The best part to me is towards the end. Even after the mystery is solved there are still bigger mysteries to solve. I truly enjoy the challenge of thinking about and working through the dilemma the author poses at the end. How do you choose between two evils when your integrity is at stake and there are no clear winners?  I enjoyed how everything about the story challenges the way I think about life and the culture we live in.

The story reminds you that you have no idea what the people who live near you or that you come in contact with everyday are doing behind closed doors. What deep secrets is the person sitting next to you or standing in front of you keeping? Are you being studied or watched by some crazy stalker, rapist or killer? Please don’t feel paranoid, I don’t but I do feel aware and alert to my surroundings. This was an intense wonderful read. Oh by the way it is extremely scary how easy it is to hack into your computer. I’m not trying to scare you – LOL!

The movie does a great job illustrating the violence in the book. I wonder if the American version will be as bold and forthright.

Larson lists a few facts about women and violence in Sweden. This is the saddest one to me:  Ninety-two percent of women in Sweden who have been subjected to sexual assault have not reported the most recent violent incident to the police.

The Storyline - Harriet Vanger disappeared over 40 years ago. Her 80 year old uncle is still consumed with her disappearance and hires journalist Mikael Bloomkvist to investigate. Along the way Lisbeth Salander, a troubled young woman covered in tattoos, is hired to help him solve the puzzle. Together they uncover so much more than the disappearance of a teenage girl.

The Fat Smash Diet and extreme Fat Smash Diet by Ian K Smith, MD

I really like these 2 books but I must say if you buy one you do not need the other. Dr. Ian Smith wrote an easy and practical diet book. The recipes are easy and the meals are for everyday regular people. Everything can be found in your local supermarket. The menu is easy to follow and easy to read.

But, yes there is a But, like any diet or healthy eating plan, the plan must be followed. The individual must have discipline and NO; you can’t eat all you want and still lose weight and be healthy.

The Fat Smash Diet is a 90-day program

extreme Fat Smash Diet is a 3-week program

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

The character is based on the legend of the greatest Alchemist who owns the stone that changes all metals to gold, and can be used to make an elixir that makes the drinker immortal. In this series he is the protector of “the Book of Abraham the Mage”, the most powerful book on earth, which has the recipe for making the elixir of life, and many other powerful prophecies and magical knowledge.

The story has great historical facts about the Flamels and Dr. John Dee but I did not care for it and I am not moved to read the rest of the series. I felt it was choppy, forced and repetitive. The magical characters are not interesting and I don’t like the heroes: twins Sophie and Josh Newman who have the power to save the world. I must say young adult readers might disagree with me because the book is a New York Times best seller and has an average of 4 stars on Amazon.

A little history- The real Nicholas Flamel was born in France and lived in Paris around 1330-1418 and was married to Perenelle (an alchemist herself). He started out as a scriber and manuscript salesman but became known for his research as an alchemist devoted to finding the secrets of the Philosopher’s Stone. It is rumored that he discovered the secrets in an old copper-bound book he bought: “the Book of Abraham”.  Flamel was extremely wealthy when he died in 1418. The house he lived in still stands in Paris at 51 rue de Montmorency, and is the oldest stone house in the city. There is a street named after him near the Louvre Museum.

Meditation -101 Essential Tips by Naomi Ozaniec

This is a really clear and practical book for anyone interested in meditation. It’s an easy to follow step-by-step series. I’ve had this book for many years and it never gets old or out of date. It has great illustrations and just looking at the book makes you feel calm.

An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I don’t remember what a wrinkle in time was about but I remember loving it as a kid. I have to re-read it because I’m not enjoying An Acceptable Time as much. I don’t think it’s because I’m older. It’s because the characters are not believable and don’t connect to each other which makes it impossible for me to connect to them. The story seems chopped up and doesn’t flow. I like religious fiction but this one was too preachy and predictable.

Young adult science fiction -

Polly takes some time from her large family and is spending the autumn with her grandparents. Zachary Gray comes to visit, a troubled college student whom Polly met in Greece and dated the year before. Then, while walking near her grandparents' Connecticut home, Polly travels through time, three thousand years ago, meeting druids Karralys and Anaral and a warrior named Tav.