he Penguin Lessons: What I Learned from a Remarkable Bird
by Tom Michell
This absolutely enchanting true story is about a lovable penguin, Juan Salvado (John Saved) and Tom Michell, the author, who in his early twenties, rescued the “tuxedo like” plumaged bird from certain death, and the astonishing relationship that developed between them.
While walking along the beach in Punta del Este, Uruguay, during a short vacation, Michell discovered a horrible sight: thousands of corpses of oil-coated penguins scattered all over the sand. He spotted one lone survivor among them, a Magellanic penguin barely moving, covered in oil and tar like the other birds, but thankfully still alive. He decided he must save the bird so he took it to his fancy vacation apartment. He hilariously recounts how he laboriously cleaned up the penguin but inadvertently removed the waterproofing on its feathers. The descriptions of his ensuing adventures with the now named penguin, Juan Salvado include how he unsuccessfully attempted to locate a suitable home for him, and his decision to smuggle him into Argentina where Michell had a new teaching position awaiting him at a prestigious boys boarding school.
Incredibly, Juan Salvado formed unique relationships with the students and staff, affecting their lives in heartfelt, uplifting ways. The beloved penguin even became the school mascot and a sought-after celebrity.
Michell briefly relates the economic and political turmoil in Argentina during the mid-1970’s when he lived there. Inflation was 100 % a month, while the local markets doubled their prices every couple of weeks, which meant that the best use of a paycheck was to spend it immediately, then trade for whatever you might actually need. “I bought jeans that wouldn’t fit and shirts I’d never wear,” Michell recalls, “and I had no trouble bartering my goods later on.“
I hope you enjoy this stellar book as much as I did. It definitely is a rewarding read.
The Illegals: Russia’s Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West
by Shaun Walker
“All of us on this earth get just one life. But not illegals. They can live several lives, all full of adventures.” ~ Legendary illegal master spy Yuri Shevchenko (who operated undercover as a French street artist for many years)
If you ever watched the gripping television series “The Americans,” its creation was inspired by true events: Don Heathfield, Anne Foley, and their two children who appeared to be an ordinary Canadian family living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Their real names are Andrei Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova. They were Russian sleeper agents who lived in the U.S for over twenty years. Originally, they were assigned to live and conduct their spy craft in Canada by the KGB during the 1980’s. However, Putin, a former KGB operative, later relocated them to the U.S. They both were returned to Russia in a prisoner exchange in 2010, the same year they were arrested by U.S. intelligence.
Soviet and Russian spies underwent /undergo rigorous training, especially focusing on the language and culture of the country they would be assigned to infiltrate. They were known as illegals. Their espionage activities could include cultivating contacts to spy for the Russians using financial incentives or blackmail. Russian diplomats living abroad would search records and even cemeteries across the globe to locate people who had died in childhood and who had no living relatives. The operatives would then assume their identities and be “resurrected” and were known as “dead doubles.”
Walker adroitly discusses Russia’s 100-year-old program, initiated by Vladimir Lenin sending deep cover Soviet spies into other countries. Walker conducted hundreds of interviews including interviews with former spies and meticulous research for this enlightening book. A compelling narrative, Walker relates fascinating incidents and anecdotes about individual spies and the Soviet/Russian government. His narrative starts in the 1920s, when Bolsheviks excelled in espionage via their past experience. Among that period’s most ingenious “illegals” was Dmitri Bystrolyotov, who took on roles as varied as a Hungarian count, a Canadian timber merchant, a Greek businessman, the Dutch artist Hans Galleni, and the British aristocrat, Robert Grenville! According to the author, after the recent Ukraine invasion by Russia, an enormous “…wave of arrests in the two years after the invasion of Ukraine represented the round up of the last illegals at large. Or perhaps there are hundreds more out there, living undetected as foreigners and changing the world in Moscow’s favor, one piece of intelligence at a time.”
From Penguin Random House Books’ website: Shaun Walker is an international correspondent for The Guardian. He reported from Moscow for more than a decade and is the author of The Long Hangover: Putin’s New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past. His coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine was shortlisted for the Foreign Reporter of the Year category at the British 2023 Press Awards. He has appeared as a commentator on Russia and Ukraine for various television and radio programs, including NPR’s Fresh Air. He currently divides his time between Warsaw, Kyiv, and London.
NOTE: The difference between Russia and the Soviet Union Russia, in contemporary contexts, pertains to the country that emerged post the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, navigating through the complexities of its newfound identity and the geopolitical and economic realities of the post-Cold War era. Today’s Russia, led from the city of Moscow, encompasses a wide array of federal subjects and maintains a form of governance and international policy distinct from its Soviet predecessor. As a nation, it straddles continents, histories, and ideologies, reflecting an amalgam of its storied past.
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
by Erik Larsen
Isaac’s Storm is a riveting account of the catastrophic Galveston, Texas hurricane in 1900 that killed an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people, including Isaac Cline’s wife. In addition, it chronicles the history of meteorology and profiles Isaac Cline’s life, who was the Weather Service’s agent in charge of the Galveston Bureau at the time of the hurricane. Cline lived in Galveston for years and never believed a hurricane of such force could occur there. Tragically, he completely miscalculated the situation.
Larson relates how unprepared everyone was, and how survivors had to struggle in the aftermath. The U.S. Weather Bureau issued warnings urging people to move to higher ground. Tragically, the advisories were ignored. A massive 15-foot storm surge flooded Galveston, which was then situated at less than 9 feet above sea level, and completely destroyed the town. The hurricane remains the worst weather-related disaster in U.S. history in terms of loss of life. As always, gifted author, Eric Larson, has written another well researched and superb book that reads like a thriller.
Adult book reviews are by Susanne Dominguez.