This is one of the scariest books I’ve read in a long time—and it’s not fiction! Published in 2002, it chronicles the strange tale of Smallpox, its world-wide eradication, and the lingering threat of its return. Millions are alive today thanks to the efforts of D. A. Henderson (2) (who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002), the World Health Organization, and an army of public health workers. Smallpox is probably the worst disease the human race has ever known, and now it’s gone—well almost… The demon lives on in at least two freezers, one at the CDC in Atlanta and one in Russia. But there is no way to know how many other caches exist. In a cruel twist of fate, the fact that smallpox no longer exists “in the wild” makes it well suited for bioterrorism! It is the biological eqivalent of an atom bomb, and perhaps worse. This New Yorker article by Preston summarizes the major themes of the book.
Category: Reviews
The Cackle Sisters
I’ve always enjoyed yodeling, both alpine and the more bluesy American variety. So this public radio piece was a pleasant surprise. In spite of my interest I had never heard of this duo from Minnesota; they recorded only a handful of songs. Their performance of the lullaby Go To Sleep My Darling is a true gem, one of the most beautiful bits of old-time county music that I know of! The harmony is so evocative it brings tears to my eyes. For many examples of contemporary yodeling, check out Riders in the Sky.
The Decisive Moment – Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography was my first creative outlet. I started in my father’s darkroom around age 15. I grew up admiring the work of Steichen, Adams, Bourke-White, Weston, and most of all Cartier-Bresson. His “The Decisive Moment” (2) was an early inspiration for me. In the introduction he wrote…
The decisive moment … is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression.