The Ossining Review of Books
Volume 1, No. 8September, 2006
The Ossining Review of Books is an online public forum to discuss what you've been reading. Its editor is Bob Minzesheimer, President of the library's Board of Trustees and a book reviewer for USA Today and WFUV. We welcome comments and reading recommendations. Please send to bob@ossininglibrary.org.

FROM OSSINING TO HARVARD:

Recommended reading: Essays by two recent graduates of Ossining High School now at Harvard that are in the September issue of Westchester magazine, as part of its story on public vs. private schools. Ryan Williams and Sarah Joselow are two of the four members of the OHS class of '06 accepted at Harvard, where the acceptance rate is just 9%.

Our Readers Speak
Email your comments to: bob@ossininglibrary.org.



WHAT I PLAN TO READ THIS SUMMER (A belated entry)
by Jonathan Dwyer
Consultant, and former senior market analyst (retired) for IBM.

Augustine: A New Biography
by James J. O'Donnell
New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005

O'Donnell is Professor of Classics and Provost of Georgetown University. He has also taught at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Avatars of the Word (1998).

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa (present-day Algeria) from 396 until his death in 430 CE, has been and is today one of the most important influences in western civilization over the intervening 1,600 years. Philosopher, theologian, mystic, saint, author of a legacy of writings exceeding five million words, he has had a profound effect on every side of every major intellectual current. New discoveries and research have justified an entirely new look at this truly seminal thinker.

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
by Francis S. Collins
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006

Dr. Collins, a medical doctor and geneticist, formerly headed the Human Genome Project.

This book once more confronts the question of a trained, practicing scientist addressing belief in God. Comments from an interview in The Sunday Times of London and excerpts from Publishers Weekly suggest that this will be an "engaging "reopening of the old debate by a notable member of a new generation of scientists working at the leading edge of scientific research. It is of personal interest because I originally planned to be a scientist (I have a degree in physics).

FIVE GREAT BOOKS ABOUT NATURE CONSERVATION

by Fred W. Koontz

FIVE GOOD BACK-TO-SCHOOL BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

By Bob Minzesheimer

Minzesheimer is President of the library's Board of Trustees.

reserve it online

READ AND REVIEW A NEW BOOK BEFORE IT'S PUBLISHED

read away your fines

STAFF PICKS

What the Library staff is reading



LOCAL LITERARY NEWS:

Children's Book Day, Sunday, Sept. 10, 11 am. - 5 p.m.
An annual event that's great for young readers and their families at Sunnyside, Washington Irving's old home in Tarrytown. Meet more than 60 authors and illustrators, including Jules Feiffer (Room With a Zoo), Lane Smith (John, Paul, George and Ben), Jerry Pinkney (Little Red Hen), Jean Craighead George (Julie Of the Wolves), Alice Low (The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches), Lloyd Moss (Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin), and Gloria Pinkney (Music From Our Lord's Holy Heaven) Details and ticket info: 914-631-8200, www.hudsonvalley.org

YIKES!: Author Joy Masoof, whose latest book is "Oh, Yikes! History's Grossest, Wackiest Momments," will speak and sign her books at Scarborough Church, Route 9, Sunday Sept. 10, at noon.


REMEMBERING 9/11: At the Hudson Valley Writers Center, Sunday, Sept. 10, 4:30 pm
with authors Hayan Charara (The Sadness of Others), Marian Fontana (A Widow's Walk) and Brad Kessler (Birds in Fall). Reservations suggested, 914-332-5953.

Nyack Library African-American Author Conference & Book Fair
Author panel, Friday, Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m. Nyack Public Library, 59 South Broadway. For details and to reserve a free seat: Stephanie Taylor stephanie@itsinny.com/ 845-893-3037 Book Fair: Saturday, Sept. 30, 11 am - 5 p.m., at Palisades Center Mall, West Nyack.
The opinions expressed here are not those of the Ossining Public Library, which is serving as a clearinghouse for readers and writers to express their opinions.

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