Pox Romana: The Plague That Shook the Roman World

Pox Romana: The Plague That Shook the Roman World by Colin Elliott

A plague broke through the Roman world and killed a large portion of the population. It helped amplify some of the problems that were occuring in the empire. In some cases, the responses were worse than the problems. Price controls seem like a good solution until they cause a shortage. A form of religious piety also arose as an attempt to appease the gods. Alas, this also involved attacks on those that were "different" (like Christians). The Christian ended up doing better despite the persecution. They cared for the sick. This helped them gain immunity and thus greater numbers survived.

We are unsure what the plague was that hit Rome. Perhaps it was small pox, or perhaps it was something else. There seemed to also be a plague in China around the same time, so it could have been global. There seemed to be a significant reduction in human activity during this time. Records in the Greenland ice confirm some of this changes. The epidemic was likely spread via soldiers and trade. The city got hit harder, likely due to people living in close quarters without immunity. Modern medicine can also trace some of its roots to the Roman plague.

The book is very cautious in the analysis. There are many possibilities. We are not sure what happened, but it can be fun to analyze.

Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love

Back in the days, people could carry out long term letter-writing relationships. The slow pace of the communication allows for a more deep level of contact than is present in the more instantaneous forms of communication. 

Love and Saffron is a short novel that details the correspondence of two women. One person initially "cold wrote" another in response to a column she wrote. They slowly became more and more personal (and even had a "surprise" meeting together.) In the process, they help each other to better live their lives and improve the relationships with their significant others. There are also plenty of touches of history, from the assassination of JFK to the efforts to save Pike Place Market. There are also plenty of tidbits on life in LA and Seattle.

The novel moves quickly and quickly comes to the bittersweet ending.

Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World

Empathy is a key to raising a child today. How do we help children to develop empathy? The book provides a number of anecdotes (often in a classroom setting) showing how the research on empathy can be put in practice. Empathetic Children have a moral compass and think of "us" instead of "Them". They work for the betterment of everyone. Alas, there is a great tendency of children to focus on themselves and seek after their own personal desire fulfillment. It can require a lot of work to help teach them empathy.
The Epilogue contained a few points that had proven successful for teaching empathy.

• Be friendly
  
• Break Down Barriers
  
• Give Kids a Voice
  
• Play Chess and Unplugged Games
  
• Create Parent Support Networks
  
• Build Caring Relationships
  
• Don't Give Up.
  

Working towards increasing empathy is a long process. Different children may respond differently. (Though how they respond may be surprising. A baby can help bring out empathy in groups that you would not expect.) This book provides some research and toolbox to help achieve greater empathy.