Roger Bannister Passes

On a blustery spring evening in Oxford in the 1950s, Roger Bannister, who has died aged 88, became an athlete of world renown, establishing himself as the most celebrated British sportsman of the period following the second world war. He never won an Olympic title, he set only one individual world record (which he relinquished after barely six weeks) and he retired from running at the height of his powers when he was only 25. But on 6 May 1954, on the Iffley Road cinder track that he had helped to lay as an undergraduate a few years earlier, he ran a mile in under four minutes, a target that had begun to assume almost superhuman proportions in the eyes of the public, the media and many athletes, too.

Link to obit:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/mar/04/sir-roger-bannister-obituary

Kindle Pick of the Week: Inside the Star Wars Empire: A Memoir

Wow, what a great read!

Bill Kimberlin may refer to himself as “one of those names on the endless list of credits at the close of blockbuster movies.” In reality though, he’s a true insider on some of the most celebrated and popular movies and franchises of the past century. Jurassic Park. Star Trek. Jumanji. Schindler’s List. Saving Private Ryan. Even Forrest Gump. And perhaps most notably, Star Wars.

Inside the Star Wars Empire is the very funny and insightful tell-all about the two decades Kimberlin spent as a department director at LucasFilm Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), the special effects studio founded by the legendary filmmaker George Lucas.

Late Fee: Library Book Returned After 50 Years

Someone returns Jules Verne's 'Dropped From The Clouds' to Phillipsburg Free Public Library library decades later.

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Kindle Free Pick of the Week: The Old North Trail: Life, Legends and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians

In 1886 Walter McClintock went to northwestern Montana as a member of a U.S. Forest Service expedition. He was adopted as a son by Chief Mad Dog, the high priest of the Sun Dance, and spent the next four years living on the Blackfoot Reservation. The Old North Trail, originally published in 1910, is a record of his experiences among the Blackfeet.

Kindle Free Pick of the Week: 50 Core American Documents

With a Presidential election in our rear-view mirror, let's take a look at something that unites all of us as Americans in these historic documents.

The Ashbrook Center’s 50 Core American Documents is meant to introduce readers to America’s story as it has unfolded from the American Founding into the Twentieth Century. Many of the documents emphasize America’s uniqueness and contributions to the world, but they also present different views on some of the major issues and disputes in American history and government.