It’s the end of the first full week of February and here in Nebraska we’re fully entrenched in icy, wet, snowbound winter weather. Perhaps in tribute to the end of the work week, the sun has decided to nudge its head through the clouds, brightening things up here a bit this morning. It’s almost enough to make me forget the snow and cold. Almost. Well, when you’re less than thrilled with the present, it’s always fun to take a look back at…

This Week in History

February 3, 1959: Famed musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" died in a plane crash in Iowa.
Flying has become such a common activity that many of us have forgotten the danger inherent in air travel. Not so for author W. Scott Olsen whose book, Hard Air: Adventures from the Edge of Flying takes the concept of flying to new, well, heights. Olsen acknowledges the great risk in his brand of flying: the hurricane-chasing, flying-over-the-Arctic, performing rescue missions, and combating-forest-fires-with-heavy-air-tankers variety, but also pays homage to the great thrill of flying under these perilous conditions.

February 4, 1902: Charles A. Lindbergh, the celebrated American aviator, was born.
Took a look at Hard Air and are now hungry for more literature on air travel?  Ready to take flight to the next level, as in rocket level? UNP has you covered. Check out To a Distant Day: The Rocket Pioneers by Chris Gainor, an engaging history of how human beings actually gained the ability to catapult themselves into space.

February 5, 2006: The Pittsburgh Steelers won a record-tying fifth Super Bowl, defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10.
Ever wonder what it’s like for the wives of NFL players? With all of the media attention, the constant need to relocate, and the time demands of practices and games, do these women sometimes feel like they have two spouses: their husbands and the game of football? These questions and more are addressed in the pages of Wedded to the Game: The Real Lives of NFL Women by Shannon O’Toole.

February 6, 1895: Baseball legend Babe Ruth was born.
What better way to discover more about the life and times of this great hero of baseball than by reading his own account of his years spent playing the game? Snag a copy of Babe Ruth’s Own Book of Baseball, written by “The Bambino” himself.

February 7, 1804: John Deere, the agricultural inventor and businessman, was born.
Since 1837 when John Deere invented his famous steel plow, America has faced a number of challenges in preserving its agricultural community. The forthcoming Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture (University of Nebraska Press, May 2008) by John E. Ikerd addresses our newest and perhaps most important challenge: rebalancing the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of agriculture to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future.

February 8, 1878: German-Jewish religious philosopher Martin Buber was born.
For insights into the life and work of one of Buber’s fellow German philosophers and contemporaries, read Max Horkheimer: Selected Correspondence, edited, translated, and with an introduction by Manfred R. Jacobson and Evelyn M. Jacobson. These collected letters show how Horkheimer’s thought was influenced by and engaged with the historical events of the twentieth century, particularly the Holocaust and the Vietnam War.

That’s brings this week’s TWIH to a close. I hope you all have a relaxing, sun-filled (or at least sun-touched) weekend! Until Monday…