Every so often I come across a book that, for me, at least, is a wonderful find. The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History, by Anne D. Williams, was one of those books. The puzzles we know as jigsaw puzzles started as dissected maps for teaching geography, now dozens, if not hundreds, of sites provide us with on-line versions ranging from simple to nearly impossible. In between there have been puzzles made from wood, cardboard, plastic, foam, and chocolate. Some pieces that merely fit against each other, some interlock (there are variations on these, too). There are puzzles with layers (think inside the house, outside the house), and 3-D puzzles where the result might be the Eiffel Tower, or the Golden Gate Bridge. The industry actually created jobs during the Depression, and for women during war time. Pieces could be uniform, or cut in shapes such as birds, dogs, hats, etc. There are simple puzzles for children, and, more recently, easier puzzles with a more grown-up theme for those of us with arthritis or dementia. (And yes, there are R and X-rated puzzles, too). There was even one mystery book that came with a puzzle that had to be put together to discover the murderer. All in all just a wonderful read!

Doom and gloom, death and despair. Does it sometimes seem like there's a lot of bad stuff going on? And has been since the beginning of time? The Pessimist's Guide to History: an Irresistible Compendium of Catastrophes, Barbarities, Massacres, and Mayhem --- From 14 Billion Years Ago to 2007 by Doris Flexner and Stuart Berg Flexner confirms it! Granted, this is a somewhat dark and overwhelming journey through history, but it's also very interesting. I find myself referring back to this book from time to time, most recently when I read about London in WWII to see what was happening in other parts of the world.

Go ahead, blink twice at this title, I know I did when I first saw it, but The Humble Little Condom: a History, by Anne Collier turned out to be a great read. The condom has been around for a very long time, as far back as the ancient Egyptians. Follow it through history, learning about customs, beliefs and attitudes towards birth control and disease prevention. Gabriello Fallopio (yes, the discoverer of the Fallopian tube) added a pink ribbon to his design. When so many businesses failed during the Great Depression, the condom business didn't. While other governments provided the military with condoms, the U.S. didn't (at first), with sad results. Witty, funny, well researched ... all in all just a fun popular history read.

What would happen if humans suddenly vanished from the Earth? No decomposing bodies, no pockets of a few survivors, we're all just gone ... poof. This idea is explored in The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman, and then later in the History Channel series Life After People. While I found the book to be most interesting, this is a rare instance when I recommend viewing the dvds as well since the images created there are amazing. Watch as bridges collapse, vines over take buildings and eco-systems evolve in high rise buildings with broken windows. What survives, what doesn't? Lots of food for thought here.

Reading Hermit with Dog