Category: History

During the first few months of 1986, the world was swirling in a double-helix of tragedy. In January, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, extinguishing the lives of six astronauts and a beloved teacher. The Russian nuclear disaster at Chernobyl happened on April 25th, bringing with it an apocalyptic panic that resonated for years.

So it is no wonder that when the Los Angeles Central Library caught fire on April 29th, the event did not get the press it deserved. I can attest to this personally. I was fifteen years old, a sophomore in high school living ten miles away, and I never even knew this devastation took place until reading about it nearly forty years later.

But Central Library has a life beyond the fire. There is richness in its design and in the ebb and flow that has mirrored world and national events for decades. Wars, Prohibition, the Depression, women’s rights, homelessness, politics–whatever is happening outside the library’s doors also affects its interior.

And then there is the mystery. Was this conflagration a crime or an accident? Old wiring or arson? There are conflicting theories, but some facts were undeniable. The inferno raged for nearly eight hours, reaching nearly 3000 degrees, becoming the worst library fire in American history. Restoring what was damaged would take years. Recovering what was lost would be impossible.

Susan Orlean has written a fascinating book that is about so much more than a building on fire. We learn about the colorful characters who worked on and in the library, the directors, the conflicts, the changes, and the employees. We also learn about the eccentric suspect who may or may not have been behind the blaze, whose story kept changing, and who basked in all of the attention.

This was a great read. You’ll never look at any library in quite the same way again.

9/10 Stars

Some interesting links:

Who Started the 1986 Fire at the Los Angeles Library? (LA TIMES, 2018)

Susan Orlean Dissects the Catastrophic LA Library Fire (Daily Beast, 2018)

Remember these words: Operation Underground Railroad. Visit their site, donate to their cause, and find interviews with their founder, Tim Ballard.

If you feel like modern-day heroes do not exist anymore, look no further. They do.

Timothy Ballard was working as a special agent for Homeland Security when he was inspired to take a very brave step: leave a secure government job and start a nonprofit. Why? Because a government agency has restrictions that a nonprofit doesn’t.

Since 2013, Ballard and his organization have recruited former police officers and agents to rescue thousands of trafficked children around the world. Not only do they rescue them, but they house them in aftercare facilities to help them get the psychological, medical, and emotional help they need to heal, and to gain skills and education so they can proceed with their lives. When possible, they reunite them with their families. No matter what, O.U.R. stays in touch with all of the kids they rescue. And let’s define “kids.” These trafficked children could’ve ended up in that terrible situation at any age, from infancy to their teens. Some were sold by their very own families.

It’s as heart-breaking as it sounds, but it is something about which we need to be aware. After all, change doesn’t happen when we’re comfortable. In case you’re nervous, know that Tim Ballard is very good at shielding his readers from the “worst of the worst,” while still reminding us of its existence.

Meanwhile, he also spends time writing about the life of a Civil War era slave named Harriet Jacobs–her escape attempts, the abuse she endured, the unfairness that abounded in her life, and her minor triumphs. That time period is getting further and further away. It needs to not be forgotten.

Slave Stealers should be required reading for everyone, especially for those of us who enjoy Life’s everyday comforts and luxuries. The accounts will both outrage you and make you grateful. It will make you feel like you want to do something, even if it is just donating to O.U.R., supporting those heroes who risk their lives to save these kids from hell on earth.

9/10 Stars

If you’ve never heard of the “radium girls” and their sensational trial in the mid 1930s, you’re not alone. Until reading this book, neither had I. But it is a piece of history that needed to be told.

After Marie and Pierre Curie discovered Radium in 1898 it became the “wonder element.” Radium was put into face creams and lotions, people drank radium-infused water, and its glowing properties were put to use in special paint at the Radium Dial Company in New Jersey. “Fortunate” women were hired to paint over numbers on watches worn by American GIs fighting in WWI. Later, radium watches and clocks were sold across the US.

The highly trained women who painted the dials made more money than most in the workforce. They could help their families and still afford expensive clothing. Others longed to follow in their glowing footsteps. That’s right, the dust from the workroom clung to them, making their glowing figures instantly recognizable as they walked home each evening.

Speed was of the essence and these women kept up, 6 days a week, long hours every day. Paid by the unit, they were trained to use the “lip, dip, paint” method, a quick way to give the brush that perfect point necessary for such delicate work.

But over time the radium worked its way in deeper than the women’s skin and hair. A toothache here, a painful hip there, a sore arm, and worse. Much, much worse. Radium poisoning was making its appearance, starting slowly until it could not be ignored.

Radium Girls tells the story of these women and what they endured physically, emotionally, and financially as their health issues began dominating their lives. Eventually their illnesses forced the medical community to connect the dots and someone needed to be held accountable. So began the lawsuits against Radium Dial, who, for years, stubbornly refuted all accusations.

The book is important and I’m so grateful to finally know of this segment of history, one you would never learn about in school. These women’s suffering cannot be overstated, as you read believing…hoping…knowing that surely the company will be made to pay, right? Sometimes the company’s reactions were so, so frustrating.

A very impressive recounting of the events and, although long in coming, the vindication these women deserve.

9/10 Stars

June 2020 Update: This morning I learned that Radium Girls has been made into a film, set to release last April, but delayed due to COVID-19. This is a story that was crying out for more attention. I hope the film does it justice. More info is available HERE.