BOY WITH THE BULLHORN: A Memoir and History of ACT UP New York, clarion call to the quiet youth

BOY WITH THE BULLHORN: A Memoir and History of ACT UP New York
RON GOLDBERG
Empire State Editions/Fordham University Press
$36.95 hardcover, available now

TRADE PAPER AVAILABLE NOW FOR $22.95

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: A coming-of-age memoir of life on the front lines of the AIDS crisis with ACT UP New York.

From the moment Ron Goldberg stumbled into his first ACT UP meeting in June 1987, the AIDS activist organization became his life. For the next eight years, he chaired committees, planned protests, led teach-ins, and facilitated their Monday night meetings. He cruised and celebrated at ACT UP parties, attended far too many AIDS memorials, and participated in more than a hundred zaps and demonstrations, becoming the group’s unofficial “Chant Queen,” writing and leading chants for many of their major actions. Boy with the Bullhorn is both a memoir and an immersive history of the original New York chapter of ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, from 1987 to 1995, told with great humor, heart, and insight.

Using the author’s own story, “the activist education of a well-intentioned, if somewhat naïve nice gay Jewish theater queen,” Boy with the Bullhorn intertwines Goldberg’s experiences with the larger chronological history of ACT UP, the grassroots AIDS activist organization that confronted politicians, scientists, drug companies, religious leaders, the media, and an often uncaring public to successfully change the course of the AIDS epidemic.

Diligently sourced and researched, Boy with the Bullhorn provides both an intimate look into how activist strategies are developed and deployed and a snapshot of life in New York City during the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic. On the occasions where Goldberg writes outside his personal experience, he relies on his extensive archive of original ACT UP documents, news articles, and other published material, as well as activist videos and oral histories, to help flesh out actions, events, and the background stories of key activists. Writing with great candor, Goldberg examines the group’s triumphs and failures, as well as the pressures and bad behaviors that eventually tore ACT UP apart.

A story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, from engaging in outrageous, media-savvy demonstrations, to navigating the intricacies of drug research and the byzantine bureaucracies of the FDA, NIH, and CDC, Boy with the Bullhorn captures the passion, smarts, and evanescent spirit of ACT UP—the anger, grief, and desperation, but also the joy, camaraderie, and sexy, campy playfulness—and the exhilarating adrenaline rush of activism.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: After reading Peter Staley's memoir of the ACT UP days during the AIDS crisis, I was too emotionally fatigued to give this memoir of the same time my full attention. I still find it astounding that this book came out thirty-five years after ACT UP appeared.

Early, noisy days
I have to admit that I am still very tender on the subject of this epidemic because of my own losses during that time. There is no sense hiding away from the terrible, always-there pain of losing someone in this awful way, though. It was quite theraputic to recall that the world might not have cared much, but the world could not just ignore the issue after ACT UP got the noisemakers and angry young folk organized.

My personal favorite demonstration–combining my hatred for the catholic church and outrage at the inaction of the medical establishment
Whatever else has happened to me since AIDS took my first friend in 1984, I have carried the clear and unforgiving certainty that my life mattered less than a straight person's life on a policy level. This is brutal, evil, capitalist greed...costs too much to get those drugs, coverage denied...the Government can't afford this medication, coverage denied...and, while that is nothing new to Black or Indigenous people, or even to women, it was a wake-up call to a privileged white boy.

There is one thing that makes me recommend this as a #Booksgiving idea...your young, gay friend who is doing little, or nothing at all, to protest the inaction on climate change...that is reaching crisis stage earlier than we thought...needs a reminder that PrEP did not come about because the elites thought it was a good idea, but because there was a history of loud, angry agitation among the folk who needed it, a bunch of scientists whose careers were able to focus on AIDS because ACT UP acted, and the way to pay it forward is to start shouting along with Greta Thunberg. Or along with David Hogg abour gun control. Whatever! Read this memoir of the joys of acting up and yelling about important matters, about the crises we face. Goldberg has led a happy, fulfilling life being very disobedient. Encourage your young gay friend to do the same.

Being flamboyant in a good cause is no crime.

BIOGRAPHY OF A FLY, lovely gift item for someone who loves Art & Nature both, either...

BIOGRAPHY OF A FLY
JAAP ROBBEN (tr. David Doherty) Art by Paul Faassen
World Editions
$16.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: For readers of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse comes a beautifully illustrated philosophical book on the value of friendship and life, told from the perspective of a fly, and a gift book for all ages.

What if you were thrown into existence in the middle of your life, with numbered days left ahead of you? Would you see the world in the same way?

In his inimitable style, Jaap Robben answers these questions through the unexpectedly witty lens of a fly, from the moment it enters the world as a larva right up to its deathbed. Watch this humble fly throw himself into life and his unlikely friendships with gusto, however short that life may be. Irresistibly charming, funny, and sprinkled with entomological details, this is a moving tale for any stage of life, about how we are all ultimately alone, and yet also together.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Beautiful, weird little meditation on Nature, and the nature of Life. A fly’s life, from larva to deathbed, told in direct and (as far as I could tell without doing more research than seemed warranted) accurate manner.

That life being short, it’s good to follow it chronologically and to deal with the Stuff of Life (warning to the squeamish...lots of honest talk about shit) in a way that will inform the reader of, say, eight and up about more than just the biology involved in living.

I don’t find bodily functions as unpleasant to discuss as many seem to. The fact is, we all shit or we are dead. Eating, sleeping, shitting, sweating...take the stigma out of bodily functions for kids, I beg of you. It does no good at all to teach a child to feel disgust for their body.

A book like this is a very easy way to start that goal off. Enjoyable on many levels, for many ages...most art fans will like the minimalist color palette and the gloriously weird framing of the images, and thoughtful readers will enjoy the philosophizing.

What kind of squeamish speciesist could resist this face?

GUSTAV AND HENRI: Space Time Cake!, middle-grade fun and silliness from Australia

GUSTAV AND HENRI: Space Time Cake!
ANDY MATTHEWS (art by Peader Thomas)
Red Comet Press
$14.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Opposites attract in this humorous illustrated graphic novel series about two best friends.

Meet Gustav and Henri. This is their book.
It's a bit about friendship and a lot about snacks.

They love doing normal things together, like:

finding a lost shuttlecock – IN SPACE!
returning an overdue library book – 100 YEARS AGO!
or making cakes – IN THE BATH!
You know, completely normal things.

Join them for 100% of your recommended daily intake of adventures, escapades, and capers – all in one book!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I know, I know...what is happening here?! This oldster suddenly does comic book reviews? And yes, I grant you it is weird to see me reading, let alone reviewing, this middle-grade genre of material still less this format for delivery...but there are grandchildren in this world. They need books. We need to know what is in the books before we give them to the kids.

So here we are.

The Dramatis Personae. Where we will be going.

What it will look like.

Sweetly silly, this is just on the bubble of comic book and graphic novel. It is definitely middle-grade in its story and style. I think it would amuse and entertain a seven or eight year old with some challenge in the reading of it, but nine and up might be less enraptured unless they have a silly sense of humor. There are puns and fun galore. You might need to explain some Aussie stuff to US or Canadian kids. I myownself think that is a feature not a bug. Good for kids to relate to those whose culture is different but language is not!

I was very pleased to see this activity sheet, though for my money I say copy it and make it clear the kids are supposed to use the copy not the book.

Cute, fun, funny, and very good messaging about friendship as well as coping constructivelu with conflict. Anyone with appropriately aged giftees, here is a different and good #Booksgiving gift.

ALL THE BEAUTY STILL LEFT: A Poet's Painted Book of Hours, beautiful object with a calming, uplifting message

ALL THE BEAUTY STILL LEFT: A Poet's Painted Book of Hours
SPENCER REECE
Turtle Point Press
$17.95 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: "Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."—Anne Frank

The illuminated medieval manuscripts known as Books of Hours have been used to guide contemplation and prayer for centuries, with their intricate designs and exquisite coloring. Devotional poet, priest, and National Book Award nominee Spencer Reece has revived the tradition with a collection of over 50 vibrant watercolors inspired by his life journeys and his reflections on faith.

His brushstrokes guide us from the bustling restaurants of Madrid, to the expansive seas of Morocco, to the coastal tranquility of Old Lyme, Connecticut. Each painting faces a quote from an acclaimed writer or spokesperson that has inspired him, among them Emily Dickinson, James Baldwin, Elizabeth Bishop, Katharine Hepburn, and Janis Joplin. The perfect gift for Easter, Mother’s Day, or any occasion, All the Beauty Still Left is a delight whose evocative images and memorable accompanying texts are sure to provoke contemplation and reflection for readers of all faiths.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I admit it...this is one of those lovely little gift books that I want to get for everyone. The soothing artworks that give one such a sense of place; the poetically chosen quotes from well known figures; the entire package was put together with my wallet square in its sights.

Lovely way to start the trip, isn't it?

I hope the idea of such a lovely Book of Hours, something to be picked up in the odd moment and simply absorbed as it is, will appeal to you. Whether for yourself or as a gift for someone older who, honestly, has everything, likes books, and is completely impossible to buy anything for, this is a delight not to be denied.

I love this quote so much.

This one, too.

Absolutely the best idea for a #Booksgiving book!

PLANET OF THE ANTS: The Hidden Worlds and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors, correction to the error tha Humankind rule the world

PLANET OF THE ANTS: The Hidden Worlds and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors
SUSANNE FOITZIK & OLAF FRITSCHE (tr. Ayça Türkoglu)
The Experiment
$17.95 trade paper, available now

Rating: 4.75* of five

The Publisher Says: Shortlisted for the 2022 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize

This sweeping portrait of the world’s uncontested six-legged conquerors will open your eyes to the secret societies thriving right beneath your feet—and shift your perspective on humanity.

Publisher’s note: Planet of the Ants was previously published in hardcover as Empire of Ants.

Ants number in the ten quadrillions, and they have been here since the Jurassic era. Inside an anthill, you’ll find high drama worthy of a royal court; and between colonies, high-stakes geopolitical intrigue is afoot. Just like us, ants grow crops, raise livestock, tend their young and infirm, and make vaccines. And, just like us, ants have a dark side: They wage war, despoil environments, and enslave rivals—but also rebel against their oppressors.

Engineered by nature to fulfill their particular roles, ants flawlessly perform a complex symphony of tasks to sustain their colony—seemingly without a conductor—from fearsome army ants, who stage twelve-hour hunting raids where they devour thousands, to gentle leafcutters cooperatively gardening in their peaceful underground kingdoms.

Acclaimed biologist Susanne Foitzik has traveled the globe to study these master architects of Earth. Joined by journalist Olaf Fritsche, Foitzik invites readers deep into her world—in the field and in the lab. (How do you observe the behavior of ants just millimeters long—or dissect a brain the width of a needle?) With more than sixty black-and-white photographs and illustrations throughout, Planet of the Ants will inspire new respect for ants as a global superpower—and raise new questions about the very meaning of “civilization.”

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Decidedly a book for those seeking information about ants, and the unbelievably complex natural world they rule over, manage, and allow us...quite graciously, I think after reading this book...to exist on.

If not for antkind, humanity would struggle to exist briefly, then wink out. This is not a supposition, as reading this analysis of exactly what ants get up to, and how important it is they get up to it, will elucidate for you.

Eminent German myrmecologist Foitzik explains with a fortuitous eye for the *telling* detail the ecological role of the ant species we've learned of so far, and who really knows how many more there are awaiting discovery? We *think* there are over 22,000 species, and we've classified by niches and relationships about two-thirds of those. We think there are tens of quadrillions of individual ants on Earth today: that's over 10,000,000,000,000,000.

Is your mind blown yet? Does the sheer biomass that ants represent now begin to dawn on you?

Translator Ayça Türkoglu turns the erudite prose by the learnèd expert in ant studies into very readable English. Olaf Fritsche's eye for the journalistically important details (he was an editor at the German-language edition of Scientific American), and long experience as a German-language writer of books for children, means the text is crisp and clearly organized. The photos are quite good at illustrating the points made in the text:

Ants occupy a vital position in the entire planet's ecology. I think this is underappreciated, even among the nature-minded folk who read widely. It really should be required of us that we take more important information about the true rulers of the Earth on board.

Anything else I could tell you is just a bastardized version of the authors' far more educated prose. What I'm here to tell you is that this read is packed with important and interesting facts, presented in a very readable way (you noticed the fact that this book was shortlisted for a German-English translation award, right?), about a very underappreciated genus of animal. It is fine for the science-mad fourteen-year-old and up as a #Booksgiving gift. I would encourage you to gift it to every young woman with a fondness for life sciences of any kind: Susanne Foitzik is world-ranked in her field, and a very prolific scientist with an excellent reputation.

A message we can, I trust, agree is one we need to send to the generation being educated in the US these days.

JANE'S COUNTRY YEAR, another Handheld Classics reissued delight

JANE'S COUNTRY YEAR
MALCOLM SAVILLE
Handheld Classics
$19.99 trade paper, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The first edition since 1946, with full colour illustrations throughout.

'At last she reached the brow of the hill ... now the country opened out below her and she looked down into a wide and lovely valley ... Still patched with snow the little fields spread like a carpet below her and here and there a farmhouse with barns and golden ricks was clearly seen. Across the plain ran, straight as a ruler, a railway line and she saw a toy train puffing and crawling across the picture.'

Malcolm Saville's classic novel is about eleven-year old Jane's discovery of nature and country life during a year spent convalescing on her uncle's farm, after having been dangerously ill in post-war London. This deeply-felt novel was written while Saville was extending his range as a writer, alongside his very successful Lone Pine adventure series, and nature anthologies for children. Inspired by the experiences of Saville's own god-daughter, this marvellous novel is full of the wonder of discovery, as well the happiness of regaining health, making friends, and learning to love the natural world. The novel is also a record of rural England eighty years ago, written by one of the great twentieth century English nature writers.

The Introduction is written by Hazel Sheeky Bird of the University of Newcastle. The illustrations by Bernard Bowerman have been reproduced from the first edition.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A quiet, gentle read for your tween-years reader. Beautiful reprint edition of a very prolific author for children's post-WWII novel. It follows Jane, a young girl recuperating from a serious illness at her aunt and uncle's farm in rural England. The framing device is, I know you'll know from the off, an excuse to write an elegy for the rural life that generations of people around the world were abandoning in increasing numbers as the world adjusted to new realities.

The text is, of course, not telling you this directly. It's a very sweet, very detailed love-letter to a vanishing time as it faded away. The reason it is interesting to read now is the world is rediscovering a need, once amply fulfilled, to recognize and relate our lives to the rhythms of the natural world. We do our descendants a service by giving them books of this sort. The way that urban outsider Jane comes to understand and treasure this world and its beauties and cycles is edifying without feeling condescending.

A kid today will read this with a sense of shock, I think, that this was ever a way of life that millions followed. It is clearly written and, while there are people winking in it, they are doing so from adult to child, so it's revoltingly condescending but not unexpected. The kind of folk who lived this life at that distant time:

...would have done the w-verb without thinking a thing of it. *shudder* The good old days, they were rotten.

The Introduction by Hazel Sheeky Bird is a wondeful overview of Saville's extended career as a writer for tweens and teens. It makes the book suitable for adults nostalgic for an earlier way of life by contextualizing it in its social milieu. I guess most of the people I'd gift it to, those between 11 and 14, will skip past that essay. If you were old enough to remember the Coronation, or the Rosenberg case, this book with Introduction will very likely hit every last nostalgia bump on your noggin.

Gifted to yourself or a younger reader, one who is beginning to wonder about the natural world around them, this novel of self-discovery, and family love, and the cycle of the seasons embedding them all, will hit a high note for #Booksgiving.