May 2013

The non-fiction book discussion group will meet on Tuesday May 14th @ 6:30 pm to discuss 

"Crashing Through: a true story of risk, adventure and the man who dared to see" by Robert Kurson.

"Mike May spent his life crashing through. Blinded at age three, he defied expectations by breaking world records in downhill speed skiing, joining the CIA, and becoming a successful inventor, entrepreneur, and family man. He had never yearned for vision. Then, in 1999, a chance encounter brought startling news: a revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery could restore May’s vision. It would allow him to drive, to read, to see his children’s faces. But the procedure was filled with gambles, some of them deadly, others beyond May’s wildest dreams. Beautifully written and thrillingly told, Crashing Through is a journey of suspense, daring, romance, and insight into the mysteries of vision and the brain. Robert Kurson gives us a fascinating account of one man’s choice to explore what it means to see–and to truly live".

The book can be requested here.

April 2013

The first meeting of the non-fiction book discussion group will be held on 

Tuesday April 9th @ 6:30 pm 

The book for discussion at this meeting is 
"The Zookeeper's Wife" by Diane Ackerman - a true story in which the keepers of the Warsaw zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands. 

 

"When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants—otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes.

With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors". 

The book can be requested here.

Video courtesy of KPBSSanDiego