BRIEFLY.Byline: The Register-Guard Rogue River Rogue River A river, about 322 km (200 mi) long, rising in the Cascade Range of southwest Oregon and flowing generally south and southwest to the Pacific Ocean. Journal By John Daniel For other persons named John Daniel, see John Daniel (disambiguation). John Daniel was a 17th century musician, born in Somerset, England. Daniel held some offices at court, and was the author of Songs for the Lute, Viol and Voice (1606). (Shoemaker & Hoard, 352 pages, $26) To kick-start this memoir, the Elmira resident and two-time Oregon Book Award winner accomplished something almost unimaginable in our 24/7 information age: He spent five months alone, in a remote cabin in the Rogue River Canyon. He had no radio, no music, no clocks, no mail, no newspapers. As readers might expect, the book emerging from that experience five years later has much to say about the underrated power of solitude. In contemporary society, mental health is measured in terms of sustaining meaningful relationships with others, Daniel muses. Why, he asks, is the ability to spend satisfying time alone less important? In his case, the gift of solitude allowed him to make peace with the memories of his father. Daniel will read today at Tsunami Books; see Book Notes, Page G7 - Karen McCowan, The Register-Guard NEW IN PAPERBACK A Crack in the Edge of the World By Simon Winchester Simon Winchester, OBE (born September 28, 1944), is a British author and journalist. Winchester studied geology at St Catherine's College, Oxford before working in Africa and on offshore oil rigs. (HarperCollins, 463 pages, $26.95) With hurricanes Katrina and Rita shining a spotlight on natural disasters, the timing couldn't be better for Simon Winchester's new book. He recounts the 1906 earthquake and fire that leveled San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden through the eyes of such witnesses as Ansel Adams and Enrique Caruso. But it is as much science as history. He applies the latest discoveries about the Earth's fragility and unpredictability to explain how growth and development can increase our vulnerability to the power of nature. The book's dust jacket dust jacket n. 1. A removable paper cover used to protect the binding of a book. Also called dust cover. 2. A cardboard sleeve in which a phonograph record is packaged. is a work of art in itself: It unfolds, accordion accordion, musical instrument consisting of a rectangular bellows expanded and contracted between the hands. Buttons or keys operated by the player open valves, allowing air to enter or to escape. The air sets in motion free reeds, frequently made of metal. style, into a poster. The bestselling author (``Krakatoa,'' ``The Map That Changed the World'') divides his time between Scotland and New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. , but this work will hit home with tsunami-wary Pacific Northwesterners. Winchester will speak Thursday in Portland; see Book Notes, Page G7. - Karen McCowan, The Register-Guard |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion