New 06.25.05

Our man in London, Harry Fuller wrote that "as the American bodies politic rouse themselves to think thoughts political, it might even happen that the U.S. may once again join the international community from a position besides that of rage-blind bully. If so, there may be reason to read up on old Europe and get ready for some closer Euro contact. "Perhaps I have already mentioned this book, but it bears repeating: Sea Room by Adam Nicolson. Mr. Nicolson became owner of three small, uninhabited islands off Scotland as a young man. They were a gift from his father. As he wrote this book 30 years later, he was about to turn the islands over to his son. "The islands are Shaints, with a long and dark and bright, storied and untold history, which he lovingly, gloriously laid out for us. None of us will ever see the Shaints except through this fine book. It's worth the trip. "For some fine travel and autobiographical writing, you can't miss with Laurie Lee. Lee's a he, born in England's Cotswold in 1914, then off to see the world at age 19. His long walk took him through Spain as the civil war broke out there. As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning is about his travels from Cotswold to Spain. A Moment of War details his experiences in the Republican army in Spain. A Rose for Winter describes his return to Andalusia thirty years later. Cider with Rosie is about growing up poor and rural before the auto changed the world. Lee has also written other books including four volumes of poetry."