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Blog: I.N.K.: Interesting Non fiction for Kids (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: writing, Susan Kuklin, US nonfiction, Add a tag
Blog: I.N.K.: Interesting Non fiction for Kids (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Process, research, Susan Kuklin, US nonfiction, Add a tag
Bath, The Circus |
Blog: I.N.K.: Interesting Non fiction for Kids (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: photographs, Tanya Lee Stone, biographies, US nonfiction, Add a tag
My phone rang last month and a smokejumper was on the other end. “I’m jumping this week, lots of blazes, but I got your message and I’ll find a way into that safe for you even if we have to crack it open.”
I had been waiting for this call for weeks. It all started with a cold call to a guy named Steve who knew a lot about the history of smokejumping—including the period of time when the paratroopers I am writing about worked for the Forest Service as smokejumpers. This guy was an absolute wealth of information, and he ended up sending me interview transcripts and knowing just whom I should talk to.
One of the guys Steve sent me to was Wayne. Wayne was equally enthusiastic and genuinely excited to talk with me. With Wayne I hit the photographic jackpot—almost. He told me an incredible story that resulted in a big orange carrot dangling in front of my nose.
One day, as he was busy manning the jump station, a man came up to him, handed him a manila envelope, said there were priceless pictures inside the Forest Service should have, and walked away. When Wayne had a chance to look at them, he knew immediately what they were, and stashed them in the safe in his office for, you guessed it, safekeeping.
Time went by and Wayne retired. The photos, he realized when we were talking, must still be in that safe—which no one had opened for years. “Call Dan (his successor) and tell him Wayne said to find the combination to that old safe and get those photos for you.”
Okay—I had a location, information, and a plan. The first time I called Dan he was out on a jump. The second time, too. I left a message that must have sounded crazy, to the effect of ‘you don’t know me, but the guy who worked in your office before you left some photos in a safe and he wants you to get them for me.” I didn’t know if I would ever hear from him.
It took a while, what with Dan being kind of tied up smokejumping into blazing forest fires, but he did call me back. He also promised that he would find the combination of the safe in his office. A week later came the bad news that no one seemed to know where that combination was, and the safe was so old and tough it was looking like it would be a big job to break into it by force. Still, he told me not to worry. He’d get the job done. Firefighters are like that.
Not long after, Dan had more news for me. They still hadn’t located the combination, but he had discovered the photos had been digitally scanned at some point. A CD was on its way to me! Some time after that, a package arrived in the mail. On that CD were a few old images I had seen before, but instead of the old blurry, many-photocopied, hard-to-reproduce versions I kept finding, these were crisp and clear and bright. Better still, there were a few images I had never seen before. Jackpot!
These are the kinds of detective trails that need to be found and followed for just a handful of photographs that will end up in my forthcoming book, Courage Has No Color.
There are many more photo stories where that came from. Sometimes these chases turn out to be of the wild goose variety; sometimes they are sheer gold.
Thank you Steve, Wayne, and Dan!
Blog: I.N.K.: Interesting Non fiction for Kids (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: writing, Jim Murphy, US History, US nonfiction, Laura Hillenbrand, Add a tag
While on vacation in the Adirondacks this summer I read Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken. For those who might not know the book, it's about a World War II crew of a B-24 (not affectionately called a "Flying Coffin") that plunges into the Pacific, killing most of the men. The few who lived through the crash, including Olympic runner Louis Zamperini, survive in a tiny, disintergrating rubber raft for over a month, are captured by the Japanese and imprisioned on a small island, and then sent to Japan and made to do hard labor, accented by senseless torture. It's the sort of story where just when you think nothing worse could possibly happen to these guys something even worse does indeed happen.
It's an amazing book and one I would highly recommend to anyone interested in gripping, well-written nonfiction. But here's the thing: it's almost too perfect. Hillenbrand has clearly done a ton of research as even a casual glimpse of her Notes and Acknowledgments makes clear, with Zamperini providing a wealth of information in over seventy-five interviews. Even so, I sometimes found the level of detail startling and wondered if it all came from Zamperini or whether some was author speculation. Take this brief paragraph (that I picked by opening the book and, without looking, pointing at a part of the page) that describes the moments after Zamperini is thrown into a small, wooden cell on the island of Kwajalein:
"At first, Louie could barely see. His eyes darted about uncontrollably. His mind raced, flitting incoherently from thought to thought. After weeks of endless openness, he was disoriented by the compression of the space around him. Every nerve and muscle seemed in a panic."
I have no problem with the basic facts; the notes for p. 174 say that Zamperini provided them. But do any of us think he described his eyes darting about or the panic in his nerves and muscles? I'm willing to say "well, maybe," but in my heart I'm thinking this is made up stuff. And I wouldn't be bothered by one or two places where this happens. Or ten. But it seemed that every scene (whether Zamperini is the focus or not) is fleshed out with similar rich, dramatic detail and emotional insight. It's almost as if they're too complete and rounded out
It's possible that I was recalling the numerous blog-o-sphere discussions recently where non-fiction writers have been urged to speculate more about their subjects (to build drama and emotion and to help go beyond "history as story" in order to discuss opinions and ideas). Or maybe I was remembering an article that (wiesly in my opinion) warned about fictional details sneaking into children's non-fiction. So I may be a little too sensitive to these things and as a result totally unfair to Hillenbrand. Maybe she did write a perfect book! Even so, it did make me wonder where the line should be drawn when it comes to speculation and who, besides the author, should be monitering it. I've had editors (Dinah Stevenson to name one) who know history and can sniff out every false note in a text. But I think that a lot of editors might not be quite so versed in history and might not be able to spot fact from decent, based-on-solid research speculation versus made up stuff. Reviewers? Again, a mixed bag of expertise that might allow a nonfiction book loaded with questionable speculation to pass unchallenged.
It's a complex and potentially troubling situation (especially considering who our main audience is) and one that may never be resolved in a clear and satisfying way. I'd love to hear what others think about this and what we should do.
Blog: I.N.K.: Interesting Non fiction for Kids (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tanya Lee Stone, Jim Murphy, US nonfiction, Add a tag
Well, Susan, what a great way to start October, with tears in my eyes. Thank you for this post. I love thinking about endings. I struggled over the ending of my novel (sorry, I know it's not nonfiction), but when I got it, I smiled and then cried. I am so happy to know what Jamie is doing now, and I just love how you get into your subjects so thoroughly. I will be using YOU and this blog in a talk this weekend. Thank you!
The most powerful lesson in writing came from my first husband's high school English teacher whom I never met. I wrote a post about his lesson back in March, 2009, "Begin with a Bang, End with a Snap." I've found that often, the close is a huge generalization that is powerful because it is at the close. The last sentence of my book Lots of Rot is "Rotting is a part of the circle of living things." If that sentence had been the first in the book it would have been a huge yawn. I think the same thing could be said of Susan's closing sentence. A powerful closing sentence is usually a weak opening one. Flat, uninteresting writing begins with the generalized conclusion, and preempts the suspense that comes from building the case and making it the point of the book.
Can't remember who said this, but I typed it out and pinned it on my bulletin board: "The first scene shines like a flashlight throughout the story, and the last scene will be haunting, something to chew on."
Susan, your quote is perfect. I'm going to put it up on my bulletin board, too, next to "Life Is Huge Reclaim the Awe.
Vicki, your closing sentence is so evocative it would be great anywhere. Rot! What an interesting subject.
And dear Deborah, thanks for the tears, smiles and struggles. Can you take me with you this weekend?
You're right, Susan, endings are so important. As both a writer and a reader, I feel a great sense of satisfaction when the ending hits just the right note. My favorite quote about endings comes from modern dance choreographer Doris Humphrey. She said "The ending is 40% of the dance." She knew the right ending makes a huge difference to the effectiveness of the entire composition--and it's equally true for piece of music, a dance, a poem, a movie or a book.
Great post, Susan.
My favorite endings are the ones that make me want to flip back to page one and read the book again :)
A NF book that eventually shaped my life is Karen, by her mother, Marie Killilea, telling the early life of her daughter and their struggles and advocacy for equal opportunities and experiences (long before IDEA). The last line of that has never left me:
I can walk, I can talk, I can read, I can write- I can do anything.
Great post, Susan.
I think a good ending often brings the reader full circle, back to the beginning of the book. There is something very satisfying about that.
Thank you all for your comments. I'm so glad Susanna mentioned the great choreographer Doris Humphrey. Sandy's last line made me want to read KAREN. And Melissa and Barbara's comments bring us full circle. What a pleasure it is to share this blog with you all.
Great Susan. My favorite ending is "only connect" and this so connects-- and I am thrilled with reading about Jamie. It is such a struggle....
Cheers,