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Sections read like poetic romance, others like adventure, some like fantasy of the best and most convincing kind, some like philosophy. The pace varies much in the way one's daily experience might in a place where the only means of transport are one's own legs, horses, or boats without motors. The reader is fully immersed in a complete new life in a very few pages, and by the last of over a thousand, has been in some way imprinted. The outstanding characteristic of Islandia is that it will leave no reader unmoved, or even untouched. To make your way through this tour de force of imagination will change you, according to what aspect of it touches you most closely. more »

Jo Freeman Reviews: The desire for liberty is at the core of the United States — which Brookhiser calls America — from long before there were any states. In 13 detailed case studies ranging from 1619 to 1987, the author identifies instances in which the pursuit of liberty has framed the future. There is an unintended subtheme. Culture change is slow. Even when lighted by the lamp of liberty, ending slavery and giving women the vote took a long time. If you like to re-live historical moments, you will enjoy this book. Brookhiser takes you inside, using words to help you feel and see what it was like to be there. more »

Julia Sneden wrote: Taste: A clean mouth. Miner's lettuce, a small, wild leaf that grows in the California hills. I used to nibble on it straight out of the field, and I can still recall its astringent freshness. Turkey: For kids reared during the war, when meat was rationed and "organ meats" and Spam filled our tables, turkey was a Big Deal. I didn't know what steak was until long after the rationing ended, but turkey was on our table at both Christmas and Thanksgiving, and to this day it tastes like a treat, even the leftovers! Pumpkin pie, because of its association with holidays. Chocolate. Bread. And, again, that first cup of morning coffee, the one that gets the blood flowing and reminds me that I'm glad to be alive and in the comfort zone. more »

A few years ago interest revived in the passage of the ERA. Nevada and Illinois were persuaded to ratify. On November 5th Virginia elected a Democratic majority to both houses heightening expectations that it will become the 38th state to ratify the ERA. In the meantime a resolution to remove the deadline from the original 1972 resolution was introduced into the House by Rep. Jackie Speier (D CA). On November 13, the House Judiciary Committee marked-up the bill. Only a few Republicans attended. They all spoke against it, mostly claiming that the ERA would make it impossible to restrict abortion. "Sex" has replaced "protection" as the primary rationale against equality.  more »