Dispatches from the End of Ice by Beth Peterson

The story of a drama professor who becomes paralysed after falling from a porch and breaking his neck. They’ve clearly grown up idealising their father, so this exploration of the past reads as a labour of love. We get a good account of WWII military life, fascinating for those interested in the period, and a strong sense of the sisters' own emotional journey. The book is nicely structured, and written with fluency and depth. They trace his wartime route around England and Scotland, culminating in a visit to the site of the airbase at which he perished. Based on his own diaries, the book details his military training, and his posting in the UK, alongside accounts of his daughters' research visits to Europe. All in all, the depth and breadth of Fitzsimons’ research is very apparent and it's a well-researched, eminently readable biography of an impressive woman.Ī memoir in which the author and her sister, Robbie, reconstruct their father's life in WWII. References to Nesbit’s books are woven into the biographical detail, how the name of a real-life acquaintance or friend was chosen for one of her characters, so since it's subtitled 'author of the Railway Children', it’s perhaps surprising that there isn’t more information about the genesis and development of her most famous book. Shaw, and it presents an informative, entertaining context for her work, quoting extensively from letters, newspapers and previous biographies. The book offers nice portraits of her many interesting friends, lovers, and acquaintances, particularly G.

This is a well-written biography, beautifully put together, and something of a revelation, both in terms of Nesbit’s astonishing creative energy, and pleasing eccentricity. We can probably assume that the authorities in Wuhan didn't spend much time pondering the civil rights implications of this moral quandary! In the main it’s an entertaining book, underpinned by intelligence and philosophical nous. Particularly apposite to our times is the case of Typhoid Mary, and the issue of mandatory quarantines. While it would have been nice to have seen some issues unpacked more fully, he is able to cover a lot of ground, and the book teems with interesting dilemmas.

The book is well structured and the bite-sized case studies make it easily digestible. Who Says You're Dead?: Medical and Ethical Dilemmas for the Curious and Concerned - Jacob AppelĪ fascinating book about medical ethics aimed at lay readers.

Dispatches from the End of Ice by Beth Peterson