The Vaccine Book by R. W. Sears

Did you know that between the ages of 0 and 5 children may receive 35 separate shots for ~14 different diseases if they follow the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule? And, some of these shots are combined, for example, DTaP vaccinates children for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis and 5 shots of it are recommended. The Vaccine Book takes a look at each vaccine, and the severity and frequency of the disease it prevents, as well as the ingredients and manufacturing process.

This is an interesting book for a couple reasons. Even if you plan to get all the shots recommended and follow the vaccine schedule proposed by your pediatrician, there are still choices to be made. Do you want to get the MMR shot or the MMR combined with chicken pox shot? How about the DTap, hep B and polio combined shot? A combined shot makes for fewer times the child is actually poked so that would seem to be a good thing, right? Here’s what Dr. Sears has to say, “I am not a big fan of combo shots. I prefer to spread the vaccines out and give less at each visit in order to avoid overloading a baby with so many shots and chemicals at once.”

Even in if you don’t have kids, you might find some of this information useful for yourself. Each section considers overseas travel and how you might want to vaccinate differently based on where you might travel. This could be helpful reading for the college student or retiree heading off on an adventure.

I found the chapter on the Hep B vaccine very interesting reading. This shot is given to newborns in the hospital almost as soon as they are born. Since Hep B is a sexually transmitted disease, one wonders how could a baby get it except from the mother? Is Hep B so prevalent that this is a huge risk? Sears argues that the reason this shot is required at birth is because the prevalence of Hep B in infants and children was overestimated when the decision about when to vaccinate was made. According to Sears only ~360 kids per year were diagnosed with Hep B before the vaccine was used and now it’s down to about 130 confirmed cases each year. That’s nothing like chicken pox where the US went from 3.5 million cases per year to ~50,000after the vaccine was introduced.

For an up-to-date discussion on vaccines, including the H1N1 flu vaccine, see the book’s website.

Border Songs by Jim Lynch

I vividly remember an experience I had at the US/Canadian border when I was in college. I was crossing back into the US with a couple friends. As the driver I was asked what town I was from. When I replied Mt. Vernon, the border person asked me who was the vice-principal at the high school and when I answered correctly waved me through. He didn’t seem to be concerned with who else was in the car or in seeing any identification at all. It was a kinder, gentler and possibly more naïve time.

Border Songs is set at today’s border near the Peace Arch in Washington State and British Columbia. A ditch is all that separates many parts of Canada from the US there, with neighbors being on one side of the ditch or the other. I hope this is exaggerated fiction as the amount of people crossing illegally to get into the US or to smuggle in pot seems insane.

In this novel Brandon Vanderkool is the newest border agent. He makes many busts right away. It is not because he is trying, but rather he watches for birds and can’t help but see the people or anomalous items around him. His dad, Norm, is a struggling dairy farmer whose wife is losing her memory. With his farm right on the border, Norm’s tempted with monetary offers to look the other way. One entertaining scene in the book takes place when Brandon is being shown all the new video cameras that have been placed along the border. One is pointed right at his dad’s farm and he witnesses some very strange behavior while trying to pay attention to his chief’s lecture.

Brandon does not relate well to people and much of this book is about him trying to figure out if a childhood friend, Madeline, is still a friend or not. Madeline, lives on the Canadian side of the border, and is becoming more and more involved in smuggling. It seems everyone on both sides is trying to get something across the border. Brandon even ends up arresting his sixth grade teacher. Border Songs is definitely a good read and I especially recommend it to anyone who lives near the border. I’d love to hear comments on what it is like to be living in Blaine or Lynden now.

Jim Lynch also wrote The Highest Tide, a young adult novel that focuses on a 13 year old boy growing up on the Puget Sound. I really enjoyed that book as well with its great descriptions of the sound and its marine life.

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I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

I Shall Not Want is the sixth in a unique mystery series. Clare Ferguson is an Episcopalian priest and former Army helicopter pilot in a small town in upper state New York. As a reverend she has a reputation for acting before thinking. Her current Bishop is unsure of her commitment and a deal they’ve made is for her to be in the National Guard as she figures out how dedicated she is to being a priest.

Russ Van Alstyne is the police chief of the small town of Millers Kill and one main reason Clare is questioning her own judgment. To get the back story on their relationship it is best to start with the first book in the series: In the Bleak Midwinter.

In I Shall Not Want a body is found during a church picnic. Other bodies are found, all of young Hispanic men. The police chief and the town begin to wonder if they are dealing with a serial killer. Russ becomes even more entangled in this case as one of the bodies is found on his sister’s property. Even though Russ and Clare are estranged initially, she becomes involved as the number of illegal immigrants in the area and their treatment is brought to her attention.

Here’s Russ trying to tell Clare how he feels:
“It’s me. I’m …stuck. I’m like an old truck up to its hubcaps in snow. I go forward, I go back, nothing ever changes or shakes loose, and the whole time I’m cold, inside and out. The only time I feel anything is when I’m angry.”

The mystery is almost secondary to the ongoing story of Russ and Clare. Other characters are also well developed. New to town is Hadley Knox, the first female police officer in Millers Kill. A good portion of the mystery explores Hadley’s growth as an officer and her attempt to balance her job with being a single mom to two kids.

If you’re looking for a mystery that has more focus on character development than most, definitely try out these books by Julia Spencer-Fleming.

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The Assist by Neil Swidey

I know I just reviewed a book set in Boston, but this non-fiction book recommended by a friend is too compelling not to mention here. The Assist, subtitled Hoops, Hope, and the Game of Their Lives, is the story of a high school basketball coach and his players. It is more than the typical feel good sports story of coach pushes players, players go on to win a championship.

Jack O’Brian is a tough coach and he does want to win championships. However, his ultimate goal is to get his players into college. And, what I find really impressive is he is not trying to just get his star player on a Division I team, but he is trying to place every senior somewhere. I think people forget that you can play basketball (or most other sports) at small, private liberal arts colleges. An athletic scholarship may not be available, but often, if you are a good enough player, that school will meet your financial need. For inner city kids without financial resources (or poor, rural kids) that could mean a full ride at a great school.

The author has incredible access to the lives of the coach, his players, and their families and friends. He also includes some historical perspective. Two of the main players he follows, Ridley Johnson and Jason “Hood” White, have serious bus commutes to get to their high school in Charlestown, a traditionally white area. Swidey spends time on the attempts at desegregation that lead to this current system.

“So black kids like Hood and Ridley – as well as kids all the way down to the elementary level – still spent a big chunk of every day commuting across the city, navigating through gang turf wars, to get to white neighborhoods where the schools were just as dominated by black and Hispanic students as the schools down the street from their apartments. That couldn’t possibly be what the social engineers of the 1970s had in mind.”

O’Brian is very good at placing his players in colleges. Not every player is successful once he gets to college though. The story of Hood is especially compelling. He receives a great scholarship offer to college, but doesn’t seem to appreciate it. He seems to purposely sabotage himself with pregnant girlfriends, as well as by hanging out with a cousin with a record. I’d really like to see a follow up on where he is now.

There is a website for the book that includes a link to an interview with the author, Coach Jack O’Brian and Ridley Johnson.

The Given Day by Dennis Lehane

I have read a few books by Dennis Lehane. Mystic River, later made into a decent movie, was quite a good thriller, but I was disappointed with Shutter Island, which was more of a psychological thriller. For some reason, I was expecting another thriller when I picked up The Given Day, but it is definitely not that.

A primary character in this novel, Danny Coughlin, is a police officer in Boston in 1918 from an Irish American family. Danny is asked to infiltrate some suspected terrorist groups and in the process becomes interested in blue collar workers’ rights and very involved in trying to start a policemen’s union. This does not go over particularly well with his police captain father or district attorney brother.

Another main character, Luther Laurence, has to leave his wife and unborn child in Oklahoma after becoming involved in a murder. He ends up in Boston with some distant relatives and is hired by Danny’s father, as a houseboy. His predecessor leaves him an interesting letter about working for the Coughlin family.

“If you are reading this, I am dead. If you are reading this, you are also Negro, as was I, because the white folk on K, L, and M, Streets only hire Negro housemen. The Coughlin family is not so bad for white folk. The Captain is never to be trifled with but he will treat you fair if you don’t cross him. His sons are mostly good. Mister Connor will snap at you every now and again. Joe is just a boy and will talk your ear off if you let him. Danny is a strange. He definitely does his own thinking. He is like the Captain, though, he will treat you fair and like a man. Nora is a funny thinker herself but there is not any wool over her eyes. You can trust her. Be careful with Mrs. Coughlin. Do what she asks and never question her. Stay well clear of the Captain’s friend, Lieutenant McKenna. He is something the Lord should have dropped.”

This letter really sets the stage for what happens next. Nora is a servant that the family took in five years ago and she becomes an important figure in both Danny and Luther’s lives. Friendships across racial lines are unusual for this time in Boston. Also, Luther does get on Lieutenant McKenna’s bad side with serious repercussions.

The third story that is interwoven between these two is that of Babe Ruth. This story is loosely tied in with the Babe meeting Luther at the beginning of the novel and Danny at the end. It is always interesting to me to take a historical figure and attribute various actions or thoughts to that person. And, for the record, I don’t know if Luther or Danny are historical figures as well or simply fiction.

The Given Day is a relatively long novel with many characters. Each character is so distinct that I never had to remind myself about who was who or who had done what. I think this is a significant and complex work that gives you a glimpse of Boston during a tumultuous time.

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