Sea Stories by William H. McRaven

SEA STORIES: MY LIFE IN SPECIAL OPERATIONS by William H. McRaven is my favorite book of the year so far.  Over the course of a long road trip, I just listed to the 10 plus hours of stories told by McRaven, a retired naval Admiral who qualified as a Navy Seal and subsequently spent over 37 years in the Navy.  He begins his book with stories of his childhood, first in Europe, listening to stories from his father and others in the Greatest Generation, and later in Texas where he attended high school and college. The events of Hell Week and Navy Seal training are amazing, but so are stories that McRaven shares about adventures in the Philippines, sky diving in California and working in the White House. One might suspect that the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound (which McRaven directed) would be the highlight, and it is certainly memorable.  However, what struck me is the patriotic tone throughout the text, especially when the admiral offers important - and often humble - words of wisdom, much as he did in his 2014 commencement speech at UT Austin (video below).

SEA STORIES received a starred review from Booklist which described this memoir as “inspirational and full of life lessons that are applicable far beyond military special operations and a great choice for teens.” I have already been recommending this title to faculty and look forward to book-talking it with students.

For more by McRaven, see his earlier book Make Your Bed which, like SEA STORIES: MY LIFE IN SPECIAL OPERATIONS, has appeared on best seller lists.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

SORCERY OF THORNS by Margaret Rogerson (An Enchantment of Ravens) is a fantasy novel with a strong young adult heroine: Elisabeth who has been raised since an infant at Summershall, one of Austermeer’s great libraries.  She aspires to join the ranks of the librarian wardens who forbid sorcery while guarding the kingdom’s magic books, called grimoires. These books hide spells and centuries old secrets while having the capability to turn into powerful monsters.  Salt and iron chains are two tools to keep them in check, but one (The Book of Eyes) is released and Elisabeth attempts to destroy it.  Instead of being hailed as courageous, she is suspected of the criminal sabotage, perhaps even murder.  A sorcerer, Nathaniel Thorn and his “demon,” Silas, are tasked with transporting her to the capital for interrogation.  More adventures ensue – including several battles with a magical sword named Demonslayer. Gradually, these three characters question their preconceived notions and begin to develop trust and respect for each other, something which is sorely needed as the danger grows.  

With many chapters ending in cliff hangers, SORCERY OF THORNS is an entertaining fantasy and a great choice for summer reading. This new title received a starred review from Kirkus while School Library Journal recommends SORCERY OF THORNS for readers who enjoy novels by Robin LaFevers and/or Naomi Novik.

Hacking Darwin by Jamie Metzl

HACKING DARWIN by Jamie Metzl is subtitled “Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity.” Earlier this year Metzl was appointed to the World Health Organization expert advisory committee on developing global standards for the governance and oversight of human genome editing and clearly feels a sense of urgency in addressing breakthroughs in genetic engineering. Obviously familiar with his subject, he includes chapters on “Decoding Identity,” “Stealing Immortality from the Gods,” and “The Ethics of Engineering Ourselves.” Highly relevant to today’s societal debates, Metzl contrasts practices and beliefs across generations and religions, commenting at one point: “it seems likely that parents will affirmatively want to screen out genetic diseases before their pregnancies even begin.  Choosing from among preimplanted embryos in a lab will simply seem far less brutal than abortion.”  Another example which Metzl highlights is the differences between countries, noting, “although China was far behind the West in assisted reproduction technologies only a decade ago, the country is showing the biggest global swing toward widespread acceptance of assisted reproduction.”

HACKING DARWIN is a well-researched text; Metzl includes almost 40 pages of source notes, a helpful index, and suggestions for additional reading.  Our students – who tend to be highly interested in this topic and related CRISPR advances - will appreciate his note that “because the genetic revolution is unfolding so quickly, there are many incredible (and faster-moving) websites, blogs and podcasts that are essential resources very much worth exploring.”