How the Beatles Changed the World by Martin W. Sandler

Did you know that the Beatles ready did change the world in more ways than you think a simple rock band could? Music, yes, but fashions, movies, and religion also??? If you want proof of this, read it here. Were they really responsible for the fall of the Soviet Union and the eastern bloc? There was never a band like the Beatles before them and probably never will be again. But what was the cost of all that fame and success? Would you want to go back in time and trade places with them? Really?? Just read about the wild ride and all the hard work that 4 guys from working class Liverpool had and did. You will never listen to another Beatles song the same way from when they were a group or the songs that Paul, John, George, and Ringo did after. I promise you that.

Up Close: Frank Lloyd Wright by Jan Adkins

If he was alive today, talk show hosts would be fighting to get him to talk. The press would have a field day about his private life, but this man changed American architecture and he didn't even have a college education. His buildings were so wanted by people that he could get away with not listening to his clients and even staying in budget. The home you live in may have been different if not for his ideas. Look up Fallingwater  or the Guggenheim Museum or the Robie House or any other of his masterpieces online to see why. Maybe this is why he could be such a cad and still be designing buildings 65 years after he started.

Colonel Theordore Roosevelt by David A. Adler

If you saw the PBS documentary by Ken Burns about the Roosevelt family and want to find out more about one of the most unique characters that even Hollywood could not have thought up, you will enjoy this. Maybe I am a little biased since after watching the PBS show, my husband agrees that I am too much like him. What would cause his daughter Alice to say that her father "wanted to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral?" Why would a senator be clearly upset enough to say "Now look, that damned cowboy is president of the United States?" Whatever he was, our country would be much different without him. If he was alive today, he would be still fighting some the same battles he fought years ago because he started most of them. But to really understand him,  you need to understand what made him the way he was. To do that, please read this book. To see why he is responsible for our way of life, click on the Biography label to find the other biography about him on this blog. I told you I had a little bias about him.

Dewey, the Library Cat by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

Librarians find weird things in book drop boxes, but on January 18, 1988 when the temp hit -15 degrees, the librarian found a gift that changed a town and may be even the world. That dirty, cold 8 week old kitten became Dewey Readmore Books, the Spencer Library cat. Dewey became world famous without even leaving the library. TV crews from around the world traveled to film him. A little girl's special wish was not to go to Disney World, but to meet and give Dewey a mouse. Why in the world does anyone care about Dewey? Maybe it has to do with rubber bands, catnip, a Christmas tree and one smart place to hide? Or could it be how he "ran the library" or his "daily routine?" To find out, you need to read the book. If you don't believe me, just ask your younger brothers or sisters what they think of Dewey. Yes, he even managed to reach them. Will he reach out and make you a Dewey lover or are you going to be like that non-library user who threatened to bring a cow in if that stupid cat stays?

Babe Ruth (Up Close M.V.P) by Wilborn Hampton

You never know what book will change your life. While this Babe Ruth biography was not the one, another one was for EML. I was 10 years old when I read it and didn't have a great home life. But reading what the Babe went through, I know I could make it through mine with ease. It gave me an anchor when I needed it. He lived his life his way, looked out for the kids, and enjoyed getting paid for playing a game. He set his records not using steriods, but eating and drinking too much. My big questions have always been, was he a better pitcher or a better hitter. This is for the reader who loves baseball and the reader who's life is not easy. Both will find a hero they need.

Our Eleanor by Candance Fleming

Written in a scrapbook format, this book brings to life a lady who did change the world by just trying to be herself. An unhappy childhood lead to a not-that-happy adulthood that would have brought most of us to being a drain on society, not a person who sets out to make the world a better place. If she was alive today, talk show hosts who be doing anything to get her on their show, if she would spill her guts. She wouldn't and didn't, but after her death, we now get the read the juicy parts. She was once the most powerful woman in this country and how she got to that point did make a few enemies but most strong indepent women usually do. Would you be willing to do the same?

Theodore Roosevlet and the Rise of Modern America by Albert Marrin

The youngest man to ever be president, he was the last person many Republicans wanted to be president that is why he was put in the job of vice president to kill his political career. But when Mckinley was fell by an assassin's bullet, he became president. Larger than life, he used his new job to change the way many Americans lived, worked, and even vacationed. From a sickly childhood, to the wild west time, and travels all over the world, he didn't let anything or anyone stand in his way. If you have half the life, he had and even enjoy it half as much, you will die happy. Just don't try some of the things at school and you will be fine.