The Internet Archive Part 1: The Beginnings of a Little Bit of Everything (Digital)

Libraries have always been about preserving materials for future generations. From the Library of Ashurbanipal, the first systematically collected library in the 7th century BC, to your very own Dayton Metro Library, Librarians have gathered items of various types in an effort to keep knowledge alive.

To a similar end, the folks at Internet Archive www.archive.org have been working to preserve Internet sites and other digital media since 1996. They are a non-profit organization in San Francisco, and their collections cover audio, video, digitized texts, and much more. Quite a bit of new information these days is being created first online (that is, without any paper copy that a traditional library would collect and preserve,) and archive.org is working to keep that type of information from being lost forever in bits and bytes. Also many cultural artifacts like pamphlets or informational movies are not being collected in their original forms; archive.org and its partners are converting those things to computer files. They are cooperating with various organizations like the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, so there are links that will take you to collections housed on other computers.

There is a lot on this site for researchers, but there is just as much for the casual browser or the Internet thrill-seeker with some time to kill. We say “Part 1” in the title above to let you know that future entries on the Internet Archive will highlight its various parts. For now, sit back in your most comfortable chair and browse their collections. There’s more there than you could ever look at or listen to in ten lifetimes. Happy Surfing!

-- Tim, Main Library

Bois de la Brigade de Marine

The above is translated "Wood of the Marine Brigade," the named bestowed by a grateful France on a mounded patch of woods barely a square mile in size located due east of Paris, but nearer to Strasbourg. It was here that the U.S. Marine Corps encountered its first heavy fighting of World War I and the bloodiest fighting in its history to that point, losing 1087 men in a single day of this month-long engagement. It came late in the war as an exhausted Germany took advantage of the Russian capitulation to shift troops against the French in the hopes of winning a decisive victory before the Americans became fully involved in the war. German forces had turned the former hunting preserve into a stronghold with more than 120 well-fortified machine gun positions while retaining the capability to direct heavy artillery fire around the woods. In multiple attacks, Marines waded through waist-high wheat in the face of withering German fire, often for hundreds of yards at a time. Combat in the wood was frequently at very close range and of a savage nature as bayonets were deployed with ferocity and more than one German machine gun crew succumbed to even the fists and feet of the Devil Dogs. It was truly "hand-to-hand" combat.

Author Alan Axelrod provides a solid overview, prologue, and reflections on the glorious battle in his engaging and balanced work
Miracle at Belleau Wood: The Birth of the Modern U.S. Marine Corps. Axelrod draws effectively from firsthand accounts to create a transporting portrayal of the thoughts and feelings of the involved parties from generals to privates. He reaffirms the importance of the battle to the Allies eventual victory and reveals the central role it played in shaping the Marine Corps in years to come. A highly recommended book for those who enjoy historical nonfiction or have an interest in the subject matter.

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook is a collection of recipes that have been published, some in a different form, in Martha Stewart Living Magazine. The book begins with helpful information. The first chapter is a list of pantry items. Basic items are listed, along with specialty items. Next is a description of equipment that is recommended for purchase. A chapter on menus is a really wonderful addition. There are about ten menus each for Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter. This is a comprehensive collection of recipes. And, they are Martha Stewart recipes, so they have a tendency to have more esoteric ingredients and are a bit more complex than some other recipe collections. But, Martha puts her flavors together well and there are some really tasty recipes in this book. There are the usual cookbook chapters---poultry, pasta, fish and meatless main. But there is also a breakfast and brunch chapter as well as a fruit dessert chapter and a chapter on salsas sauces, and dips. An example of a chicken dish that is fairly easy is Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Sage. From the fruit dessert chapter there is Baked Apricots with Almond Topping. And from the Breakfast and Brunch chapter she offers Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake. If you are looking for something for a really special occasion, look here. It may take some extra effort, but your guests will be impressed and go away feeling special.

-- Mary Ellen, Main Library

Germany 1945: From War to Peace

Richard Bessel, Professor of Twentieth-Century History at the University of York, analyzes how Germany’s defeat transformed the nation from a militaristic and nationalistic society into a pacifistic society. In early 1945, Germany experienced an enormous loss of civilians and soldiers as the Allied armies pushed into German territory. Bessel argues that this exposure to extreme violence and brutality transformed Germans into self-regarding victims of the Nazi regime; despite the fact that German civilians had not been innocent bystanders of the years of conquest and genocide. A combination of brutalities by the invading Allied troops, millions of Germans fleeing from eastern conquered territories, and the brutalities the Nazi regime committed against its own people contributed to a change in the German psyche that became focused solely on day-to-day survival. This change made it possible for the German people to concentrate on looking forward without immediately confronting the horrors committed during the Third Reich. Germany 1945: From War to Peace is a superbly written book that will appeal to anyone interested in World War II. Be sure to also checkout Bessel’s other titles available at the library: Nazism and War and Germany After the First World War.

-- Jared, Main Library

Bastille Day

July 14 is Bastille Day, the anniversary of the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. If you aren't ready for the revolutionary fun to be over yet just because Independence Day is past, why not pick up some swashbuckling adventure from the library in the form of The Scarlet Pimpernel? Not only do we have the original book, but we have many of the sequels as well. If you prefer your swashbuckling on the screen, the best movie adaptations are the black and white one starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon and the version from the 1980s starring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, and Ian McKellen, which is a hybrid of the original novel and the sequel Eldorado.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens set the standard for fictional portrayals of the French Revolution, but although it's a literary classic it actually isn't terribly historically accurate. For example, Dickens depicts constant rate of executions by guillotine throughout the revolution that was actually only reached for short periods of time near the end of the phase called the Reign of Terror. Fans of historical fiction, retellings of classics, and A Tale of Two Cities may want to check out A Far Better Rest by Susanne Alleyn. Alleyn presents the story through the eyes of Sydney Carton, who in spite of being the hero gets very little "screen time" in the original story, and attempts to meld Dickens with historical fact. It's out of print, so the easiest place to find it is here at the library.

Alleyn also writes a series of detective novels set in the years just after and before the revolution. Start with Game of Patience and A Treasury of Regrets, and be ready for the prequel coming out later this month, The Cavalier of the Apocalypse.

-- Kristen, Main Library

Independence Day

John Adams may have been off by two days when he wrote that July 2nd (the day on which the Second Continental Congress actually voted for independence) would be celebrated with “Pomp and Parade with shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this continent to the other from this Time forward forever more,” but he was remarkably correct about how Independence Day would be celebrated. If you need some escape from the heat of the day before going back out for the fireworks, here are some ideas from your library:

1776 is the classic movie musical story of the Declaration of Independence. As far as movies with endings that we already know go, it builds suspense better than any other. If you have only seen the theatrical or video cuts, on the DVD you will find a song from the play that was removed from the movie, allegedly under pressure from the Nixon White House due to perceived anti-conservative sentiments.

If you prefer a documentary approach, try Liberty! The American Revolution, a six part, three DVD PBS series that spans from the period just after the French and Indian War through the writing of the Constitution. Told largely through the words of original documents, the series features many familiar faces depicting various historical figures and a soundtrack by Mark O’Connor, who visited Dayton last fall to play with the Philharmonic, and James Taylor. The soundtrack is also available on CD, and the library also owns a tie-in book by the same title by Thomas J. Fleming.

-- Kristen, Main Library

A Beach Party in Franklin, Ohio?

Blues Traveler performed recently at J.D. Legends in Franklin, Ohio. First, the venue: I like it. It's weird, but so am I. You walk into a bowling alley which also contains a bar and a restaurant. There's a side exit, though, which opens onto a very large sunken sand area - probably three volleyball courts worth of nice, soft sand. At one end is a stage, pictured here at left. The entrance side of the sand area is a massive deck with a couple of bars and a VIP lounge. It has the effect of transporting one to Myrtle Beach or Fort Lauderdale.

Now, the band: Blues Traveler hit the top of the charts with their 1994 LP Four. The singles "Run Around" and "Hook" stayed on the charts throughout 1995. Lead singer John Popper had some serious health issues in 1999 and the band also lost its original bass player, Bobby Sheehan, to a drug overdose that year. Popper also got popped for pot possession in 2003. Despite this off-stage turmoil, Blues Traveler has released a steady stream of studio albums since their 1994 breakthrough and their latest record, North Holloywood Shootout is at the library along with others such as Truth Be Told and Straight on Till Morning. The band put on a very solid show on a Saturday night at Legends. They played a long set with all their early hits, some new material, and a lot of extended jamming, during which John Popper turned his back to the crowd and hot-boxed cigarettes. Fun times for all.

-- Steve, Main Library