Todd Tucker

Over and Under by Todd Tucker is set in the small town of Borden, Indiana where the number one employer is the Borden Casket Company. When the workers go on strike, it affects the whole town. Two young friends, Andy and Tom, are spending the last days of summer doing their favorite activities which means time spent in the surrounding woods exploring the many caves of the area. Tom is the son of a union worker while Andy’s father is in management but the two boys don’t know how this fact is going to divide them in the days to come.

Two workers go too far and set a bomb off at the factory, which not only blows a hole in the back of the building but also kills a manager. Everyone thinks the bombers have left the area but the two boys are convinced that they are hiding out in the woods or caves. They decide to track them down. Tom thinks of helping them, while Andy thinks of informing the sheriff where he can lay hands on them. As tensions mount the company brings in outside workers and armed security guards. The owners of the business are talking about closing the factory down as it is becoming more of a hassle and less of a money maker.

Over and Under is a story of family, friendship and community. As the two boys struggle to understand what is going on and where their loyalties should lie, they are also getting more involved in things that are leading them into danger. The backdrop to the story, that of a bitter labour strike makes for a coming-of-age story that is both nuanced and expressive.… (mais)

During WWII the world did not have guidelines for human medical experimentation, prisoners and other undesirable members of society were often experimented upon without their consent. Dr. K, had a group of volunteers, conscientious objectors, young men who needed to feel they contributed something to the recovery in Europe, who wanted to do more, who wanted to be able to say they did something ‘honorable’ during the war. They volunteered to be starved and studied for a year. Dr. K’s experiment is the only one of its kind on the medical books and is still cited. There are those who question, today, the morality of the study, but most of the men alive today who participated, said they would do it again. They weren’t paid and they received very little recognition. Interesting read for the curiosity factor, but also for the history of medical experimentation and conscientious objectors.… (mais)