Books I am Reading at the Moment

So I've been really enjoying a few books at the moment. First on my list is The Brothers by Lesley Downer about the Tsutsumi Family of Japan who have the infamy of being among the wealthiest of that countries families. I unfortunately can not find a cover image for it but here is an amazon link.

Two Brothers

I am also reading a book on the American Chestnut Tree that has proven to be informative more about the sociological niche that tree held in the Appalachian South than about the tree itself.

I finished reading a book on Mule logging a few weeks ago that was intriguing because of the series of interviews that the author held with loggers. Sustainable forestry is one of my interests and I am currently waiting to get in two books about forest agriculture using perennials that require very little maintenance. This is all part of my long term of goal of having a few acres of forest with a cottage in the future.


Finally there is this delightful little volume on the history and uses for clay. I try to use illustrative examples for my students about different technologies and this book has given me a number of ideas. Last year i did a project for my Sumerian unit where the students wrote cuneiform on clay tablets; this spring I'm goign to attempt to make a bake oven on the grounds at Ballou.