What an informative book. This is not your standard tour guide of destinations... this is a book designed to open our eyes and our hearts to other countries and cultures. And to have a better awareness of what travel can offer us beyond just having a good experience in an exotic locale. Rick Steves has been a travel expert for years and I have used his books in my own travels abroad. But in this book he opens up our minds to the ways that we can be changed by our travels - we can gain empathy for people and recognize connections we have with people we perhaps thought we never could. Traveling with an open mind (and heart) is truly a way toward peace. We could all do well to travel more - outside of the United States. And this book is a great guide toward that endeavor.
Quote from book...
Mark Twain wrote, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness."
Thoughtful travelers do it to have enlightening experiences, to meet inspirational people, to be stimulated, to learn, and to grow.
This was a very good book - but a hard story to read about. Just another reminder of the systemic racism this nation was built on. These are stories that need to be told... white people don't know these stories and there are, sadly, so many. My reading circle group read this book the same month as The Day the World Came to Town. We reflected that those two books showed the best of humanity and the worst of humanity. Thank goodness there are good people with courage and wisdom and curiosity to follow through...
Killers of the Flower Moon tells about a time and place in history that I really knew nothing about. In the 1920's the members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma were the richest people, per capita, in the world. The US had relegated the people of the Osage Nation to what was considered worthless land, but when it became incredibly valuable with the discovery of oil, nearby townspeople literally killed to take it over. A former Texas ranger named Tom White came to the area to investigate and was able to expose, and arrest, many of those responsible for the heinous crimes. But oh, the damage that was done.
Quote from the book...
I don't know a single Osage family which didn't lose at least one family member because of the head rights.
Killers of the Flower Moon - book trailer
Reign of Terror - Murder and Mayhem in the Osage Hills - OETP
Killers of the Flower Moon author David Grann answers your questions - PBS Newshour
Oh my goodness, I loved this book! It was so fascinating to 'meet' all the people - both the locals from Gander and the 'plane people' who ended up there. This is the kind of book that restores your faith in humanity. It was inspiring to read and pulled at me to 'do better'. It also makes me really want to travel to Gander! :) Reading this book brought me right back to 9/11. We all have our story and our memories of that day and those events. It is hard to believe that is over 20 years ago... I remember it all so vividly. This book tells the true story of how the small Canadian town of Gander welcomed 6,132 passengers, plus the crew members, from 38 flights from across the world on the spur of the moment when airspace over the United States was shut down. All those planes were forced to land quickly and this small town had a large enough airfield, left over from WW2 years, to accommodate them. However, once the 'plane people' landed, they nearly outnumbered the residents of Gander - and yet were their guests for several days until the planes could all take off again. What a story of hope, community, love & loss, and the power of hospitality to bring good to the world. Everyone should read this! And then follow up by watching the Broadway musical Come From Away that airs on AppleTV and is based on this same event. You won't be sorry!
Quotes from the book...
The passengers weren't treated like refugees, but like long-lost relatives, and the more he thought about it, the more it moved him.
Nevertheless, given all those human frailties, what happened in Gander is still remarkable. And perhaps the lesson isn't that these acts of kindness occurred because Gander is a magical place, but rather that these people came together in a time of crisis regardless of their own personal shortcoming. And if that's the case, then it offers hope that all of us have that ability within us.
