Danbury Library Blog

Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization chronicles the role of the Irish monks in saving the books and, in effect, western civilization when libraries and their contents were destroyed as the barbarians overran Europe beginning in the fifth century. Cahill's assertions about the monks may be exaggerated a wee bit--but St. Patrick and company did indeed copy the majority of manuscripts which would have otherwise been lost forever.

In This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All Marilyn Johnson contends the present-day saviors of civilization are the librarians who "fuse the tools of the digital age with their love for the written word" and provide "quality assistance to anyone in need".

Posted by Mary at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We all know that Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse of the New York Yankees, had his career ended by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (which is now called Lou Gehrig's disease). It is an insidious, fatal disease which gradually destroys a person's ability to move breathe, swallow and talk. One of its more recent victims is prominent historian Tony Judt. He is a professor of history at New York University and the creator of the Remarque Institute. He has published many important works on European history which include Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945 and Reappraisals: reflections on the forgotten twentieth century. He is fighting back against the disease and is still giving lectures from a wheelchair. He is also still writing. He has done a series of articles for the New York Review of Books in which he discusses vignettes from his past. ALS has indeed encountered a formidable adversary in the person of Tony Judt.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The celebration of Presidents' Day is a good time to celebrate the men who protect the president and various other dignitaries. The Secret Service officially assumed responsibility for protecting the president in 1902. The recent gaffe at the White House whereby uninvited guests came in close proximity of President Obama points up the difficulty of this job. The job has grown more complicated and complex in the modern era. The best source of information on this topic is In the President's Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect. One of the most dramatic attempts at assassination targeted Harry Truman in 1950. Two Puerto Rican nationalists attacked Blair House (where Truman was staying) and engaged in a pitched gun battle with police and the Secret Service before one was killed and the other captured. The biggest gunfight in Secret Service history was over in forty seconds with a total of twenty-seven shots fired. The incident is recounted in a spellbinding book titled American Gunfight: the Plot to Kill Harry Truman and the Shoot-out that Stopped It.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Valentine's Day is named after St. Valentine (270 A.D.) who may have assisted a young couple in their courtship by passing notes for them--the young man was in prison. The existence of St. Valentine is not disputed, historians dismiss the saint's role as a go-between for young lovers but the myth persists. We do know by the MIddle Ages St. Valentine's Day was an annual celebration and by mid 19th century became very popular as it remains--more then a billlion valentine cards are purchased annually.

This year I've noticed a number of radio stations and retailers are asking folks to send in stories of their worst Valentine's Day--which kind of dampens the spirit of the holiday. I would like to hear some heart-warming Valentine's Day stories--send us yours.

Posted by Mary at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The literature on mountain climbing has been understandably dominated by Mount Everest. However, the Eiger mountain in Switzerland has also received attention for its North Face. There is a German movie titled Nordwand (North Face) which tells the story of an ill-fated attempt to climb the Eiger's most challenging peak in July of 1936. The first successful attempt to climb this part of the Eiger took place in July of 1938. It was accomplished by a four man German-Austrian team which included Heinrich Harrer. He was an Austrian and a very skilled climber. After his successful assault on the Eiger he joined the German Army and was sent to India in 1939 to scout some potential climbing sites there. While he was in India the Second World War started and he became a prisoner of the British. He eventually made an escape (with another prisoner) and made his way to Lhasa in Tibet. He befriended the Dalai Lama (who was eleven years old at the time) and became one of his tutors. He wrote a book about his stay entitled Seven Years in Tibet which was also made into a movie. Harrer and the Dalai Lama remained life-long friends until Harrer's death in 2006.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)