Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book” released in Oct of 2018 details the goings on of the Los Angeles Central Library and centers a great deal on the fire of 1986. She also expands on what a library was, is and may become in the not to distant future.
The Library Book
My Thoughts
The Library Book was a somewhat dry informative read with a lot of possibility. Perfect for the topic! There is a more than a hint of the flavor of Southern California in the pages and a lot of reminders of when I used to work for a software company who catered to libraries and librarians.
Recommendation
A good read if you have interest in the subject matter.
Anderson Cooper and his mother Gloria Vanderbilt, talk about their lives and the events which shaped them.
The Rainbow Comes and Goes
My Thoughts
A great read. Most of the book was a surprise to me. I had no idea Anderson Cooper was a Vanderbilt nor that Gloria Vanderbilt led the life she had. So all of that was very interesting.
However, the real value from the book was the great perspective Ms. Vanderbilt had on her life. She was able to articulate some very deep truths through her experiences. She had a level of acceptance with her life which I find enviable. The title of “The Rainbow Comes and Goes” is such and apt description of the life lessons presented as a whole. Good things will come and go. Why not enjoy them when they are here?
The Odyssey of Echo Company is a military history given by multiple perspectives of the people who served our country in Vietnam.
It details how a young man joined the Army went through boot camp and found himself halfway around the world. It documents several battles including the Tet Offensive and gives some perspective on how those soldiers felt both during the war and after.
The Odyssey of Echo Company
My Thoughts
War is hard enough without so many of the public against you. Beyond the horror of theater, the most difficult thing for me to read was how our soldiers were treated when they came home.
A lot of the book had the feel of tall tales as it seems doubtful that one person could be so lucky. Still, I guess anything is possible.
Grant by Ron Chernow is the biography of the Commanding General of the Civil War and our 18th President. Mr. Chernow takes us through the early life of Hyrum Ulysses Grant, on through West Point where he became styled Ulysses S. Grant, through his business exploits, through the Civil War, through both terms of his Presidency, and on through the his tragic death.
Grant
My Thoughts
Growing up, I’ve heard the name Grant more associated with “General” than President. Though he was both, I think that is more of how we think of him.
I was very touched by his honesty and saddened by how he was taken advantage of… Not to be too Pollyanna, I believe there are people like him everywhere. People do the right thing everyday without much fanfare.
I was glad to hear the story and it knit a good deal of history together for me.
Recommendation
Very good read but sooo long. It is well over a 1000 pages so buckle up! However, I must say I didn’t get bored the entire time. That says a lot…
Bible and Sword is a history of the rise of Christianity in Great Britain and ultimately why and how modern day Israel came to exist.
Bible and Sword
My Thoughts
I’ve often wondered why so many countries have been so interested in Israel and why they have been willing to risk so much for little immediate benefit. I have read the biblical accounts about the return of the Savior and know the gathering of the 12 tribes is a big part of what comes before the 2nd coming. However, I didn’t really think that was was the driving force. Of course, it is much more complicated.
The plight of the Jews throughout the centuries has almost been unbelievable. We tend to think of such things as behind us at this point in time yet, with this history has a backdrop, it has vastly improved my understanding of the motivations of the interested parties.
Recommendation
I’m glad I was exposed to this information. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the histories of Europe and the Middle East.
In the garden of beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin is about the Dodd family and their experience in pre-WWII Germany. William Dodd, the American Ambassador to Germany in the 30s, lived in Berlin with his family, including his daughter Martha. Mr. Dodd hoped that Germany’s government would never take on beliefs and practices of the Nazi party forming under his nose.
In the Garden of Beasts
My Thoughts
I enjoyed the description of how the Nazis came into power and how so many of the people really couldn’t believe what was going on. As our country is going through a populist phase, it is all too easy to draw parallels to the same kind of things happening today in our very own great country. Freedom of speech and religion is overwhelming important. We can not lose these freedoms…
Recommendation
I became a little lost with all the characters introduced in the book. It was an important book and I’m glad I read it but I had to push through some slow periods.
The Operator: Firing the shots that killed Osama Bin Laden is the autobiography of Robert O’Neill. He was a kid from Montana who ended up joining the Navy and became a SEAL. It also happened to be him that killed the most wanted man in our time.
The Operator
My Thoughts
I have read through other descriptions of Navy SEAL training and those who have gone through it but I really enjoyed it this time around. I found his story to be authentic and to ring true with what I know of military service. He was always making sure the reader knew he didn’t do it on his own. I particularly liked his description of the Navy SEAL wife network. Good book and great to peal a layer or two back from that time in our nations history.
Recommendation
Not for the younger reader but it was a great book.
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly is a non-fiction book that tells the story of the contributions of African American women to NASA during the early days of the space race. The book provides a detailed account of the lives of these women and their work at NASA, as well as the broader social and historical context of the civil rights movement and the Cold War.
Hidden Figures
My Thoughts
Having grown up out West, the idea of racism wasn’t really played out in front of me. Before the trolls start lambasting me on that comment I feel I should mention I hold a degree in sociology and I’m well aware of the systemic and institutional forms of racism which are much more difficult to discern. That being said, it really wasn’t a thing for us. I grew up in a culture where we were constantly told that the white male was taking advantage and yet we were pretty much all white. Then I moved to the East Coast…
My first day of government service was at the Pentagon. I was attending orientation and was sitting next to a former Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant who happened to be black. We got along pretty well and spent our lunch together. He asked me if I was racist. I told him I didn’t think so. He told me, “You will be.” He then told me about how he had spent his entire career on the West Coast and no one had ever had an issue with the color of his skin until he came out East. He told me of an incident at a bowling alley just the week before involving his wife and some men who didn’t seem to believe she and their family should be there. (I have come to refer to these folks as rednecks.) Many experiences out here has demonstrated time and again that racism is still a thing along the coast.
Yet, it goes two ways as well. My first day on the job, before I even had a desk or a place to put my bag, a woman accused me of being racist and sexist. I was the incoming supervisor and the outgoing supervisor was writing up this person for not showing up to work on time. I sat in the corner of the room and didn’t say a word through their interaction. Yet, I was labeled sexist and racist because she felt I should have defended her. I’ve learned through sad experience after sad experience that this is the modus operandi of many federal workers. The good news is these folks are as easily spotted as the rednecks were in that bowling alley.
What does this have to do with the book? Well, I am particularly thankful for those who stood up for what is right and continue to do so. There are wonderful people of all colors and creeds who are a credit to themselves and their respective cultures. However, there are more than a few folks, again of all colors and creeds, who put the brakes on this progress by acting the fool. This book was a painful reminder of both sides of that coin.
I felt the message was powerful and something we should know so we can avoid the same pitfalls in the future. Yet, as a story, I felt it could have been much better put together. Perhaps the movie is better in this sense, but the book jumped around through too many people and too many time periods to keep my attention.
Recommendation
If asked, I would tell someone to see the movie. The book was hard but I had to will myself to continue.
Bill O’Reilly’s book on the assassination of Lincoln comprises the end of the civil war and the few days after the funeral of one of our best known presidents. It was published in 2011 and was on the best seller’s list for 65 weeks. There were some criticism of the book and there were changes made in subsequent versions.
I enjoyed the read and feel I learned a great deal. I do feel there were more than a few points where I stopped and thought, “there’s no way we know that”. Mostly, this is when the author tries to read the thoughts of the people as they are going about their day. Yet, I feel the book gave a balanced look at what happened and even gave time to discuss the conspiracies.
Julia Baird’s biography of Queen Victoria was published in late 2016 and was named one of the best books of the year on Amazon but I couldn’t find the reference. I did find this though. Not every monarch has a whole era named after them but Victoria was ruled for a long time and over a time of great change and expansion. This book takes us from her birth to her death and gives the context through those years.
Victoria the Queen
My Thoughts
I guess the biggest revelation was that she was short and plump. I knew about her being linked to hemophilia but didn’t know she was in as good of health as she was purported to be. I also didn’t know how devoted to her husband she was. I don’t recall the name Albert being linked to her at any point before. I had heard to John Brown though and I had no idea of how much of her life was edited by her daughter.
Reading about the royal families is difficult. I wish I had started with this before I read Elizabeth II’s autobiography. It would have made a lot more sense having this background.
Recommendations
An interesting read. I would recommend it if you are interested in the Queen.
