Author: Julian Sancton
Crown, 307 pages, $30
Going to the continent of Antarctica (on a three-year voyage) may not be everyone’s idea of a great time although more than 50,000 people cruised to the continent during the austral summer in 2018-2019 but for commandant Adrien de Gerlache, 31, who amazingly never learned to swim, and a handful of sailors, it was their longstanding dream.
“Madhouse at the End of the Earth” author Julian Sancton has written a masterpiece. He writes about culture and travel for Departures magazine as a senior features editor and is reported to have written from all seven continents.
The ship, the Belgica, set off from Belgium in 1897 amid flourishes, firing cannons and jovial music playing to the pleasure of hundreds in the port. The men were setting off for uncharted lands, unknown waters. Only 13 Belgians, 10 foreigners and two cats were aboard. In short order, the vessel withstood storms from the Bay of Biscay near France, making the ship wh
Book review: Vietnam War tales, fictional but founded on fact
Rob Ballister
Author: Bob Stockton
Gatekeeper Press, 439 pages, $16.99 paperback
Jacksonville author Bob Stockton fell back on his extensive career in the Navy to publish “Volunteer: A Vietnam War Odyssey.” A compilation of his three previously published (and successful) novellas, the story follows a Navy sailor through his deployments during the Vietnam War. It is a work of fiction, but it is based on historical accounts as well as the author s own experience.
The book has action, humor, and plenty of liberty incidents to make any vet reminisce fondly. I particularly liked the way the main character was very unassuming; he did some very important work, but to him he was just doing his job for his country, a sentiment to which many veterans can relate. It is an easy read that will spark many different memories for the intended audience. Vietnam veterans, especially those from the Navy, will enjoy this book, as w
Gardening: Poppies a symbol of sacrifice and healing
Candace Barone
We honor loss by finding the joy and beauty in people, places and things that surround us. Our culture ideology identifies that sacrificial loss is perpetually intertwined with the beauty in flowers. And while the outward expression has evolved from personal letters and calls to text messages with emojis, we still offer flowers in support.
This may explain why so many of our rituals and holidays are connected to floral history. Memorial Day is near and takes no exception to the affirmation of flowers and healing.
Sometime between the years of 1915-1917, World War I Canadian Lt. Col John McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields, a poem of grief from the war zone. A surgeon in the 1st Brigade Artillery, he treated injured soldiers in a region between western Belgium and northern France. The battlefield left behind immensely disturbed land that was ripe for limited plant activity. As the buried and remains of falle