Review of Pinkerton's Great Detective: The Amazing Life and Times of James McParland by Beau Riffenburgh

In this book on James McParland, the Pinkerton's most renowned detective, Riffenburgh endeavors to answer "the question of who James McParland really was" (loc. 125). Was McParland a brave force for law and order or was he a tool of the mine operators who used his powers of deception to frame innocent union members for crimes they did not commit and to serve as an agent provocateur urging otherwise peaceful citizens to illegal acts? While Riffenburgh largely comes down on the side of the former he does not shy away from giving evidence of the latter, though he does at times seem to dismiss such evidence with little consideration.

McParland is rightly most famous/infamous for his actions related to the prosecution of the Mollie Maguires in Pennsylvania's coal country. As an undercover agent, McParland infiltrated the union and the the Ancient Order of Hibernians/Mollie Maguires. As Riffenburgh presents the story, McParland, while of necessity concealing his true identity from his compatriots, simply gathered information on illegal activities and reported back to his superiors in the Pinkerton Agency. In several instances he apparently provides warnings to individuals who are targeted for assassination though in other instances he claims to have either been too infirm to give warning or states that the risk to his own life was too extreme. In several instances McParland played a central role in the planning of illegal activities though the author suggests that "he trod a fine line to avoid being a participant." (loc. 1327)

McParland's actions defined the way that what would become known as the "Labor Spy" operated. Central to the activities of the labor spy were the infiltration of the union organization along with working one's way into union office holding. A notable follow up to McParland was the work of CE Lively who infiltrated the mine organizations first in Colorado during the 1912-3 troubles and later in West Virginia in the aftermath of the Matewan Massacre. The parallels between McParland's dramatic courtroom appearance with the Mollie Maguires and CE Lively's during Sid Hatfield's trial are astonishing.

Throughout the book the author shows very little sympathy for the labor movement and gives a rather one-sided account of events such as the Haymarket Affair (loc. 3190). I would assume that the bias stems from heavy use of Pinkerton Company archives in the construction of the narrative but unfortunately the eARC that I reviewed did not include either the endnotes of bibliography from the finished volume.

The book follows the remainder of McParland's career as he oversaw the Pinkerton's Agency's western division and waged a personal struggle against the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). This struggle climaxed in a multi-year investigation and trial whose chief aim was the conviction of Big Bill Haywood, head of the WFM. This investigation and trial saw McParland use dubious legal means to indict defendants in multiple jurisdictions in order to ensure that any time that the accused were released on bond from one charge that another charge was there ensuring their rearrest and transport to yet another cell as well as at several points perjuring himself on the witness stand (and likely the fabrication of confessions from several witnesses). The trials were the show trials of the day with none other than Clarence Darrow for the defense. In the end McParland failed to secure a conviction of Haywood and he was let go free.

Riffenburgh has crafted a splendid narrative of a somewhat elusive character. While I feel that he was overly generous to McParland and lacking in empathy for the right of workers, this volume is an excellent addition to the literature on the Pinkerton's and labor history in general. I highly recommend this book especially when read together with other works written from a more labor friendly perspective.

Review: Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids

Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids by Daniel Loxton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Abominable Science! is a Hit

Growing up, everyone I know went through a "Bigfoot" or "Nessie" phase. I remember being thrilled as I watched Leonard Nimoy on "In Search of" exploring the possibility that there was something unexplainable "out there". I devoured every book I could find on what I now know as cryptozoology. As I grew up and went to college I became far more skeptical about the possibility that these fantastic creatures existed but even now I harbor a secret felling that it would be really cool if they did.

Paleontologist Donald R. Prothero and "professional skeptic", writer and artist Daniel Loxton take a scholarly approach to the field that was decidedly missing from the books I sought out in my youth. In this work they examine the history and science behind the stories of Bigfoot, the Yeti, Nessie, Sea Serpants, and Mokele Mbembe or the Congo dinosaur. They open the book with an examination of cryptozoology as a field and point out places where the methodology used by cryptozoologists falls short.

Each chapter carefully explores the origins of the creature in question and examines the main evidence given by cryptozoologists in favor of the creature existing. Every piece of evidence used is carefully cited and the authors strictly avoid outright dismissal of evidence without scientific proof. They also scrupulously avoid resorting to ad hominem attacks and in places go so far as to state that regardless of the character of the individual, the evidence should stand alone. Prevalent theories behind sitings are carefully considered and the likelihood of each is evaluated.

The book ends with a chapter that explores the question of "Why do people believe in monsters?" This chapter looks at the psychological research behind these seemingly extraordinary beliefs and examines trends in cryptozoological and other paranormal beliefs as shown in popular surveys. Surprisingly, it seems that belief in the paranormal and in the existance of popular cryptozoological creatures such as Big Foot or Nessie is quite widespread among average Americans.

Abominable Science! has a place in every high school and college library. While the subject matter may be fantastical, the contents are one of the best examples of solid, scientific and historical research I have seen. This book is guaranteed to grab the attention of readers at all levels.

John Adkins
University of Charleston
Charleston, WV




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Review: Avengers vs. X-Men: Vs.

Avengers vs. X-Men: Vs. by Jason Aaron

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



I picked this up thinking it contained the primary AVX storyline and found instead that it consisted of a series of lackluster battles taken out of context. Without reading the main storyline this was worthless. I doubt it would be any more interesting within the context of the main event. Sad.



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Review: A Memory of Light

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Sanderson does a wonderful job of tying up the many loose threads in the Wheel of Time series. If you have read your way through the many thousands of pages in the previous volumes you will find this an excellent ending to the story.



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Review: Practical 3D Printers: The Science and Art of 3D Printing

Practical 3D Printers: The Science and Art of 3D Printing by Brian Evans

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This book is a well written overview of 3d printing. It covers 3d printing from creating a usable 3d model or locating one online through processing the model for printing and the actual production of the model. Most importantly, the book does not focus exclusively on any one particular printer.



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Review: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



While I have enjoyed all of the books in the Vorkosigan series this may be my favorite of the lot. This book follows Ivan Xav Vorpatril instead of Miles Vorkosigan as he finds himself. . . "in a family way". An absorbing plot line, lots of action and intrigue, and some of the best characterization in the series.



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Quick Review of Mark Hurst’s Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload

Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload.  By Mark Hurst.  New York: Good Experiences Press, 2007.  180 p.  (ISBN 978-0-9793681-0-3).

Mark Hurst provides a set of tools in this book to help the busy, information overloaded worker regain control of their work and home environments.  By following these tools the user will become “Bit Literate” and be able to spend their time doing the work they are paid to do rather than being overwhelmed the sheer volume of unsorted information they are confronted with. 

Hurst identifies the misuse of the e-mail inbox as one of the main reasons that people become overwhelmed.  He feels that people use the inbox for many purposes for which it was never meant such as a todo list, a filing system, a calendar, their bookmarks list, and an address book.  As he says, “[t]he inbox is appropriate only as a temporary holding place for e-mails, briefly, before they’re deleted or moved elsewhere.” (loc. 273).  By moving e-mails out of the inbox and into the appropriate location, be it your web browser’s bookmarks, your address book, or whatever todo list that you use, you can become far more organized and spend less time searching for what you need.  Hurst is a proponent of the “zero inbox” theory that says that you should strive to keep your inbox empty by moving items to the appropriate location as they arrive.  This is the chief “hack” offered in the book and many of the other hacks build upon this concept.

After you have moved everything from your inbox the next hack Hurst suggests is that you do the same thing for your sent mail box.  He suggests that users BCC themselves on all e-mails that they might wish to save and to then manage these items through the inbox.  He is a fan of automating various functions and among his recommendations is that the sent mail box should be automatically emptied after a certain amount of time.

Hurst argues that the most important resource that any worker has is their own attention.  Accordingly he suggests that to help avoid information overload the worker should put themselves on media diet.  Basically, you must accept that there is only so much time that you have to consume media and that we should focus on those items that provide the most information that you need and filter those of only tangential interest out.  Tested items become part of what he calls the “lineup” and he suggests that other items be rotated in for “tryouts” periodically to see if they are better suited to your information needs than any of your existing sources.  As a librarian, this is perhaps the hardest part of the book to implement.

Hurst also provides considerable advice on “bit literate” information creation.  He suggests ways that you can name and organize various bits of information from reports and your own e-mails to digital photographs and music files in order to make them more accessible and less cluttered.  The suggestions here range from standardizing the ways that you name files to choosing the right file format for any given file.

Bit Literacy focuses on organizing the digital information that we each deal with on a daily basis.  The principles contained in the book are equally effective in managing our analog information.  Simply put, we must use the tools we have for the purposes that they are best suited and we must accept that there is a practical limit to the amount of information we can consume.  If like me you have often felt overwhelmed by your inbox, your to-read box, your bedside reading pile, etc., then this book may be a good place to start in your quest for greater productivity.