NNHS Class of '55 Reunion Activity 

Book Club

Find it Quick - click on an item below

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here’s an activity we all can participate in during the reunion year. I know we can all read (even though we didn’t have to take an SOL) because I know the English teachers we had in high school.

The purpose of the book club and all the other activities we are planning for the reunion year is the renewing of old relationships and the development of new ones with those that have had common bonds in the past. By doing this, we also hope to entice some class members to join us at the main events in the fall of ’05 who might otherwise not attend.

There are two primary ideas for the book club. First, to identify, read, and comment upon books connected in some way to the period we were in high school or to the Newport News area. That makes it special for the reunion. This might be done by selecting books from the New York Times bestseller list of the period, and there may also be some books that have been written over the years that examine the early fifties from a historical perspective by delving into the politics, social situation, pop culture, etc. of the times. We might also identify writers from the area, like William Styron, or those that have written about the area, like Park Rouse.

Hopefully, those that identify an interest in the club might be able to supply a list of those books they feel suitable for the group to read, thereby reducing some of the research burden on our volunteer Activity Coordinator, Anne Morris Gordon. Anne has a Masters in Library Science, so she should find this task a breeze.

Reviews or comments by those that have read the selected books will be exchanged among the club members via e-mail or postal mail and organized and posted on the Web site for all to read. This posting will, hopefully, attract even more readers to the book club.

Of course, there is no reason we shouldn’t take advantage of having a group of avid readers in regular contact to identify good books, which is the second element of the book club idea. After all, we might have grown in different directions over the intervening years, but our common roots might still engender common interests. It’s always nice to have a reading friend that can recommend a good book. Again, the club members could post lists or comments on books they have read recently and recommend to others of our ilk.

All of this is still very preliminary, and we are looking for ideas from those that have an interest in the book club. We hope there are many more ideas for how the club might steer its efforts. E-mail the Web site staff or Anne to indicate your interest and any ideas you might have about how the club could function. If you have some suggestions for books that fit the criteria above for reunion related reading, send those too. Postal mail will also work.

Anne has already done some research on what we might consider reading, and has identified the two lists below as a start.


  1955 Best Sellers
Wouk, Herman. MARJORIE MORINGSTAR
Dennis, Patrick. AUNTIE MAME
Kantor, Mackinley. ANDERSONVILLE
Sagan, Francoise. BONJOUR TRISTESSE
Wilson,Sloan. THE MAN IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT
Ruark, Robert. SOMETHING OF VALUE
Costain, Thomas. THE TONTINE
O'Hara, John. 10 NORTH FREDERICK

  History of  Newport News
Quarstein, John & Parke Rouse, Jr. NEWPORT NEWS: A CENTENNIAL HISTORY
Rouse, P. THE GOOD OLD DAYS IN NEWPORT NEWS & HAMPTON 
  "      "   .  THE ENDLESS HARBOR: THE STORY OF NEWPORT NEWS.
Taylor, R Cowles. NEWPORT NEWS DURING THE 2ND WORLD WAR
Brown, Alex. NEWPORT NEWS' 325 YEARS

 

Anne points out that these books are out of print, but inexpensive copies can be found at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and on the out-of-print book site, ABEBOOKS.com. She also pointed out that the reference librarian at the Newport News Public Library was very helpful in putting the latter list together.  She also communicated some additional reading possibilities, "I thought about how WW2 was such a strong part of my childhood, especially because I lived in the Hampton Roads area and had cousins and uncles in the services, so I am recommending 2 books about that time."

1. Goodwin, Doris Kearns. NO ORDINARY TIME: FRANKLIN & ELEANOR ROOSEVELT - THE HOME FRONT IN WW2.   Truly fascinating , reads like a novel.

2. Bradley, James & Ron Powers. FLAG OF OUR  FATHERS : The Heroes of Iwo Jima. Bradley was the son of one of the flag-raisers, and spent years searching out the memories and family histories of the other men.  It is a good examination of the burdens of war born by the people who fight in them.

Anne also suggests a book about aging  -

3. Heilbrum, Caroline G. THE LAST GIFT OF TIME: LIFE BEYOND 60. Written when she was 70, it is an interesting look back at this valuable time.
 


 

The list of those interested in this activity so far are:

Anne Morris Gordon

Jim Michie

Jay Burke

Rodney Llewellyn

Jim Horton

Vernon Brinkley

Horace Williams

Nancy Willey Small

 

 

Monthly Selection Book Reviews and Comments

 

The reviews and comments on regular monthly selections of the Book Club can be reached by clicking the appropriate button below.  Please send your reviews, comments, and recommendations to the Web site Staff or to Anne Morris Gordon.

 

January Goodwin, Doris Kearns. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt - The Home Front in WW2.  Review by Jim Michie

February  Styron, William.  Lie Down in Darkness.  Review by Anne Morris Gordon

 

March Quarstein, John & Rouse, Parke, Jr. Newport News: A Centennial History.  Review by Nancy Willey Small

 

April  Bradley, James. Flags of Our Fathers.  Review by Jim Horton

 

May  Waugh, Evelyn. Officers and Gentlemen.  Review by Jim Michie

HomeReturnE-mail Us