You have reached our free-content limit. If you are a current subscriber, please log in to continue viewing content or purchase a subscription by clicking the Subscribe button below. Thank you for supporting independent Journalism.

Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.

Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.

You have reached our free-content limit. If you are a current subscriber, please log in to continue viewing content or purchase a subscription by clicking the Subscribe button below. Thank you for supporting independent Journalism.

You have reached our free-content limit. If you are a current subscriber, please log in to continue viewing content or purchase a subscription by clicking the Subscribe button below. Thank you for supporting independent Journalism.

Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.

This week at the Quincy Public Library the staff favorite book is The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin. When her sole family member left to become a soldier, Ava Harper admired his patriotism but never imagined becoming involved in the war effort until she received a summons from the Librarian of Congress asking her to fly to Lisbon, Portugal, and use her librarian and research skills to help the Allies. Hélène Bélanger wanted to become part of the Resistance, but her husband refused to allow her to join. It was only when he went missing that she discovered not only was Joseph the best forger in France, but he had also created new identity papers for her before he was captured by the Gestapo. In her search for word of her husband, Hélène, now Elaine, became one of several women who routinely delivered underground newspapers, explosives, arms, and other dangerous but valuable items for the Maquis hidden under a false bottom in their market baskets. After having delivered most of the parts to a printing press, Elaine left the delivery work to help write and print the underground newspapers that delivered not only news but codes for the Resistance. Meanwhile in Lisbon, Ava and her colleagues at the American Embassy collected those same underground newspapers as well as any other written document they could find to photograph and microfilm the information to send to America. Even though Ava was relatively safe in neutral Portugal, the war weighed on her as she waited to hear from her brother, Daniel, and witnessed the never-ending flow of refugees fleeing occupied countries. As the Allies gained ground in France, the Germans were desperate, and it was even more dangerous for Elaine and her colleagues to continue their efforts to supply information to the Resistance. Despite the increased the violence and peril, both women risked everything for their cause and those they care about. The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin is a taut story of courage, endurance, and hope at a time when the world was anything but normal.

1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think

So many of the things and concepts that we take for granted were once just an idea in someone’s head. That someone shared their thoughts, built on their theory, and turned their concept into a tangible product or accepted hypothesis. Robert Arp decided to catalog the best, most revolutionary ideas that changed the world. His book 1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think is a fascinating look at radical notions such as prime numbers, Santa Claus, Utopia, magazines, pasteurization, genetic engineering, and hundreds of other ideas.

William Tecumseh Sherman had it right when he said war is hell. If one good thing could be found during times of war, it is the many medical advances that have come about to address the vast amount and types of injuries experienced. One of the most far-reaching and groundbreaking is that of facial reconstruction. Dr. Harold Gillies was a surgeon specializing in ENT at the beginning of World War I when he was called to assist French dental surgeon, Dr. Auguste Charles Valadier, near the front lines. It was there that Dr. Valadier impressed upon Dr. Gillies the need for a way to reconstruct the faces of those soldiers left with gruesome injuries. The specialty of plastic surgery was in its infancy when Dr. Gillies decided to open a hospital devoted to repairing not only the faces of these soldiers, but also their emotional and mental health with life-altering surgery to make them whole again. Some of the techniques and procedures developed by Dr. Gillies is still in use today. Author Lindsey Fitzharris tells the relatively unknown story of this amazing and innovative surgeon in the book The Facemaker.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.