Books

Rajia Tobia recommends Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall:  “I am not a runner so when a tri-athlete friend recommended this book, I was skeptical.  Why would anyone want to run ultra-marathons of 100 miles or more in places like Death Valley and Mexico’s Copper Canyon?  This book answered the question for me – they are all obsessed!   Starting with the simple question -why does my foot hurt? – Christopher McDougall in Born to Run explores the physiology of running, running’s place in human evolution, the commercialization of running as a sport, and the psychology and unique individualism of ultra-runners.  The book also explores Mexico’s Tarahumara Indians and their techniques of happily running hundreds of miles without rest or injury.  This book is an interesting and entertaining read, even if you are not a runner.”

Katie Prentice recommends Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay: “The story of Sarah’s Key centers around July 1942 when Jewish families in Paris, France were rounded up and transported to concentration camps by French authorities.  The book weaves the story of a modern French family with the story of young Sarah whose family at one time lived in the same apartment.  The book alternates 1942 with the present in each chapter and offers insight into the experiences of a child living through traumatic events.  The book is a fairly easy read and a movie came out in 2010.  I haven’t seen the movie yet, but now that I’ve read the book I plan to see the movie.”

Susan Hunnicutt recommends 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann:  “This book explores current thinking about the cultural histories of native American peoples.  They are much richer and more complicated than I ever imagined! One example that was very interesting to me was Mann’s discussion of milpas, companion plantings of corn, squash and beans, also known as “Three Sisters”.  Most of us learned part of this story in elementary school.  But Mann says the milpas show the extent of communication that took place in the ancient Americas, because by the time Europeans arrived variations of the technique, which was developed in what is today Mexico, had spread across North America to the mid-Atlantic coast.”