I remember the days when checking out a library book meant perusing the shelves for what I had in mind. The call numbers of my favorite non-fiction topics were in my head, and that made it easy to pluck books off the shelf to devour.
Now I usually listen to books, and find that most have good narrators who bring the stories alive (there are a few horrid exceptions...). The books of the world are open to all of us whose libraries provide Libby or other audio services.
Someone needs to give book publishers a color wheel--they're neglecting half of it. Too many book covers are black or gray. Is it because non-fiction tends to be about dark or depressing subjects? Maybe, but still. Or, perhaps I only notice the colors because I line them up one after the other, as below. More green, blue and yellow are needed!
------NON-FICTION-----
The Last Million*** by David Nasaw: Examines the plight of post-war displaced persons (DPs). Some refused to go home to live under a government that just months before, been trying to kill them. Jews had a particular problem in that the West suspected they were Communists, or Communist sympathizers because many had lived under that system before the war. The creation of Israel assured their future would be brighter. The book is informative but not riveting.
Influenza***1/2 by Dr. Jeremy Brown: History of disease with a focus on the 1918 pandemic. He digs into causes, cures, and how to prepare for another pandemic. The book was written about 2018, just a couple of years before Covid hit. Educational, thoughtful book.
Team of Rivals**** by Doris Kearns Goodwin: Lincoln was gifted in encouraging and expecting folks to work together, even if they did not see eye to eye politically or otherwise. He unexpectedly won the Republican nomination over men of higher class and education than he, and once president, appointed some of his rivals to cabinet positions, and included them in the trials that followed. I love how Goodwin takes historical events, weaves in the lives of people who lived them, and shows that personalities, flaws and gifts affect the lives of all. A less skilled writer would create a dry story of events and cardboard characters, but Goodwin's people are 3-D and the events happened as if yesterday.
Life of a Klansman**** by Edward Ball: Holy cow, I had no idea just how deep and brutal racial discrimination was in the South back in the day. Ball has ancestors who were active in the KuKlux Klan. The family lived in New Orleans, owned slaves, fought as loyal Confederates fight, and once slaves were freed (which did not happen all at once, or as it should have, by the way), could not accept blacks as freemen. The story is awful and haunting. The book is a must read if you are as ignorant as I have been about why things are the way they are in the South today.
Flashes in the Night: the Sinking of the Estonia**** by Jack A. Nelson: In 1994 the Baltic Sea ferry, The Estonia, sank to the bottom of the sea taking down almost 850 souls. About 150 passengers survived. This book isn't a deep, examine-every-detail type of book. But it does give a pretty good overview of what happened that violent stormy night. The author follows about 20 passengers and crew, describing where they were when trouble began, if and how they escaped, and where they ended up. The sad truth is that almost zero children and elderly survived, as did fewer women than men. The ship had rolled over in such a way that climbing up from lower decks meant you were pulling yourself almost vertically up railings, hand-over-hand, requiring strength that few had. That 150 folks survived is amazing, given the near freezing temperature, 30-foot seas, violent wind, water-logged rafts, and no rescue for at least six hours.
Reading this book enforced in me that you must look out for yourself. If circumstances don't seem right, or if you hear or see or feel that something has happened, you must investigate, take a look, search out to confirm the truth. That attitude saved a cousin of mine on 9/11. He escaped from the second tower when others did not because basically, better to act than to wait to be told what to do. Anyway, the same goes for almost any situation you are in. When you take action but find nothing wrong, well, that's ok, but if there had been a developing danger you would ave discovered it in time to save yourself.
My daughter now lives in a seaport in Finland where in 1994 the Estonia survivors were brought to hospital. She says that local residents still talk about that night and day that helicopters came and came and came, transporting victims of the sunken ferry to the local hospital.
Massacre at Mountain Meadows**** by Ronald W. Walker: What feels to be a minutely researched work, is the newest book on a brutal massacre of a wagon group that occurred over 160 years ago in the wilderness not far from what is now the city of St. George Utah. We listened to this book on our trip to St. George in March, and it nicely concluded as we pulled up to the first of three areas marked as where portions of the massacre happened. The authors do not apologize for what happened, nor do they sugar coat the involvement of members and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I did not know that the killing was spread over a period of five days, a fact that deeply damns the perps. There was time to pull back, to change minds, to admit to a lesser crime, yet they went forward until the final victim was shot and / or hacked to pieces. Yes, I understand the bitterness embraced by the perps, but if they had practiced their religion they could have let the Arkansas travelers peacefully pass, and reached peace and forgiveness in time.
A Promised Land**** by Barack Obama: I'm not a fan of his politics, but am glad I listened to this very long autobiography in which he explains himself, plows through every detail of his campaigns, administration, etc. and thus I have a more rounded look at what went on in the US and the world from 2008-2016. His frustration with the closed ranks of the GOP is something that even I, a Republican since 1972, understands and am frustrated with. I highly recommend it.
We Keep the Dead Close***1/2 by Becky Cooper: in 1969 a Harvard archaeology student was murdered in her campus apartment. The case eventually went cold, but for 50 years various theories were espoused as to who the perp could have been. The list included professors from the archaeology department and students, and other acquaintances of the deceased. The author, herself a Harvard alumni, delved into the case, and along the way she unearthed unsavory details of Harvard life, including the demeaning treatment of women at the time. Harvard was a good-old-boys club, and the good old boys preyed on naive students and shunned women who tried to get a foothold in teaching positions.
Land**** by Simon Winchester: A detailed look at land, what it is, what it means, who owns it, who should own it, its uses, and its meaning in modern society. I like Winchester's books a lot, and enjoy listening to his personal narration. Land has been used as money, as a weapon of control, as justification for war, and as the ultimate sign that an individual has become successful. In the end though, you get a 6' x 3' piece of land to call your very own, even though you are not here to enjoy it.
Winchester looks at land at various times and places, and describes how land has either benefitted or ruined peoples and civilizations.
Apollo's Arrow**** by Nicholas Christakis: A thorough book on the history of Covid-19, published fall 2020. I wish the same could be written now or updated, as there is so very much more known about the virus now.
Notes on a Foreign Country**1/2 by Suzy Hansen: Grrr, too much America-bashing. Some of it is well-founded, yes, as we know there's no better way to offend when in a foreign country than to be that person, the ugly American. She either quotes people excessively and unreasonably critical of America or just states it herself. Not that there aren't things to be critical about, but still. Author refers to poor American behavior during and after WW2, such as not caring about the Japanese after dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and stuff like that. I'm not sure what we were supposed to have done to end that war. Just keep fighting for the next 10 years at the destructive rate we were? The Japanese thought of their emperor as a god, and as we saw in Okinawa and Guam decades after the war--soldiers crawling out of caves they had been defending for 20 years--they were never going to give up on their own. So yes, America hasn't always been compassionate or fair, but the author seems to overlook the positives.
Murder at the Mission***1/2 by Blaine Harden: The Whitman Massacre of 1847 near what is now Walla Walla Washington is examined. Whitman was killed because the Cayuse felt his treatment of them for measles was actually killing them rather than saving them. Previous to this however, the Cayuse were disenchanted with his missionary efforts and asked him to leave the area, and he did not. Henry Spaulding, another Protestant missionary in the Pac NW, created the myth that Whitman implored the American government to take possession of the Pac NW, in other words, he saved Washington, Oregon and Idaho from becoming British. Harden thoroughly debunks the myths that arose about the Whitmans after their deaths. This all takes up the first half of the book, and from there the author covers treatment of the area's Indian tribes, who suffered greatly from white policy and treatment, plus their association with the death of Whitman. Finally, he reviews the current situation of the Indians in the Umatilla area, who have finally got the return of water to the Umatilla River, the return of spawning salmon, and who have an income from a casino and other facilities. I drive by the Umatilla area regularly, and have seen some of what they are doing, and even though I don't agree with having casinos, the tribes appear to be managing their resources well.
Unwell Women*** by Elenor Cleghorn: This book explores the phenomenon of women's health being ignored throughout history. Women's concerns were brushed off, chalked up to female hysteria, and even laughed at. Worse, some women were put in institutions because of their obsession that something was not right with their bodies. Oh, there's that word: bodies. It must have been repeated hundreds of times in the book, and I hated the narrator's tone enough already without her constant pronunciation of that word--"boe-dees." There were parts of this book that I hated and fast-forwarded through. The author is right about the horrors women have endured at the hands of the male medical establishment, but she didn't have to repeatedly sarcastically refer to males through most of the book. The past is just the way it was, and can't be changed. I personally suffered indignities at the hands of male docs, especially in the 70s and 80s, so I'm well aware that a change needed to happen. I think we all recognize that women's health began to receive proper attention on as women began to fill medical schools. So, there is valuable info in this book, but I would have liked it more if I had read the book rather than listening to the grating narration.
Rage***** by Bob Woodward: Author conducted many hours of interviews with President Trump over several years. Much of the book quotes conversations directly. Woodward doesn't put in heavy judgement, even though he's a flaming liberal. As his speeches and now this book shows, the former president can hardly string 2 thoughts together coherently. Trump did not run for president for altruistic reasons; his motivation was "what can being president do for me and for my brand?" And that's is one major thing I got out of this book. He seemed to do OK when he and Americans were getting richer, but when Covid hit, he became disinterested and neglected his duties. What a vacuum of leadership we had especially during his last year. Leadership required him to face the American people, tell them what's coming, and here's what the government can do about it and here's what you can do about it. Instead we got: "it will go away" many times over, and the later confession that he didn't want to impart information to the public because they would panic. Worst insult ever. People descend into fear and panic when they have no information. Armed with information they can make informed decisions and feel more in control than when they know nothing. The rambling, disorganized leadership vacuum America was given 2017-2021 will have long-lasting unfortunate effects.
The Plague Year***1/2 by Lawrence Wright: The story of Covid: what went wrong, what went right, and all explained in the context of what else was happening at the time. I would like to see the book re-written a year from now when (cross-your-fingers) Covid won't be an issue anymore.
Cadillac Desert**** by Marc Reisner: First published in the 1980s, the book was prescient, as today the West is deep in a disastrous drought that is testing century-old water systems. I grew up near the terminus of the Owens Valley water project (opened 1913) and always thrilled at the fresh cascade of water bubbling effortlessly down the spillway and into the Van Norman lakes, water that had traveled hundreds of miles to slake our thirst. It wasn't until my 20s that I learned the sordid tale of that water project. Even now Owens Valley residents still hold hard feelings towards the city of Los Angeles.
During my childhood we were taught in school about the marvel of engineering called the Feather River Project. Again, it did not occur to we children how odd it was that our drinking water came from places we would probably never visit personally. I wondered why those places were so generous to the thriving city of Los Angeles.
Author covers the water situation in other western states besides California. He really harps on the building of dams. Dams seemed to be how male politicians showed off their hubris in a bygone era, even to the point of public servants procaliming "I'll vote for your dam if you vote for mine." A lot of them were bad ideas to begin with, then built in the wrong places, and for the wrong reasons even. The Teton Dam and its failure are a prime example. I remember the day it failed and now several times a year I visit family in that area where folks still talk about the 1976 disaster. Sugar City Idaho features a sign on a silo that shows the level of the high water mark. My college roommate and her husband once bought a Teton flood-ravaged house for a song, then stripped it to the studs, rebuilt it, and lived in it for a while.
Kennedy's Avenger*** by Dan Abrams: The story of Jack Ruby's trial. I honestly recall practically nothing about Ruby's fate except him dying of cancer in the late 60s. The book isn't riveting, but is interesting enough to stick with. In some ways his trial for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald became a circus, what with almost-celebrity lawyer Melvin Belli at the defense. Ruby's life was pitiful--he was single, called his dogs his wife and children, came from a family with mental health issues, and so on.
Undaunted Courage***** (3rd reading at least) by Stephen Ambrose: I will never get enough of this epic story. The incredible feat of the Lewis and Clark expedition has probably never been matched. For 30 men to set off from the known into the unknown, facing wild people, ferocious animals, strange plants, horrendous weather conditions, unscalable mountains, enormous rivers, and return nearly three years later with only one loss of life, seems impossible. Along the way they kept journals, and before getting too far from civilization were sending back samples of plants and animals (even live ones) to President Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson for over 15 years had tried to get some kind of exploration of the west going, but it never worked out. Funds were unavailable, and the right people to do the job could not be found. Once he was president, that changed. His personal secretary was Meriwether Lewis, the right man to lead the expedition. Lewis's friend William Clark consented to be co-captain. Both had military and exploration experience. The trip was deathly hard for even these rugged proven men, but they succeeded. I'm lucky to live 90 minutes from Fort Clatsop, the reconstructed fort where the expedition lived in the winter of 1805-06. We visit regularly.
Paradise***1/2 by Lizzie Johnson (read in book form): 3 years ago the Butte County, California town of Paradise almost entirely burned to the ground. The fire began about 6:30 a.m. and by about 10:30 a.m. most of the town was gone. 85 people died, many were injured, and thousands became homeless. The stories that were born that day are insane. Doctors treating injuries in one wing of the hospital while the other wing was burning. A school bus full of children driving all over town looking for a way out, and nearly succumbing to the fire-generated heat and wind. And my favorite, the woman who had just had a C-section hours before the fire was driven away from the smoking hospital by a stranger. She told him that if they couldn't make it out he was to take the newborn and make a run for it.
The author chronicles a handful of residents of Paradise to give a well-rounded picture of what occurred that day: the delay of an evacuation order, the firemen who did their best, the dispatcher who took one 911 call after another and couldn't do a thing to help the callers, families who were separated by circumstance and had no way to contact each other, neighbors trying to save neighbors, and so on.
The weakness in the book is that dramatic as this story is, it didn't put me on the edge of my chair. As she switches from the narrative of one person and place to another, it isn't always clear to me where the fire was in relation to the people she's describing at the moment. All of a sudden a person's house has suprisingly burned without a lead-up to it. There are two small maps included, one an overview of the larger area, and another providing a close-up view of Paradise. But it isn't very detailed so I was constantly using Google Maps to figure out who was where and when.
Tunnel 29**** by Helena Merriman: The author extensively interviewed an elderly man who participated in digging a tunnel under the Berlin Wall for the benefit of people he didn't even know, to facilitate their escape from East Berlin. She highlights others of those who worked on the tunnel or escaped through it, those who were tragically separated from loved ones overnight back in 1961 when the wall was created. Quite a riveting story, and one that hopefully, will never be repeated. I remember sitting in front of the TV on November 9, 1989, absolutely bursting while watching East Germans dance on the wall. Not long before an expert said the wall would not come down in our lifetime. And there it was, being hacked to pieces by jubilant Germans before the eyes of hostile East German guards, and millions around the world.
Peril**** by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa: This book covers the transition from Trump to President Biden, focusing on the period between the November 2020 election and the inauguration in January 2021. It is based on hundreds of interviews done by the authors, interviews with those who had a front-row seat on history.
Rough Stone Rolling***** by Richard Bushman: A thorough bio of the Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844). Bushman is a practicing Mormon, but shies away from lionizing Joseph Smith, or putting him on a pedestal. He explores Joseph thoroughly enough that his faults, errors, and controversial ideas are hung out on the line, so to speak. I really loved this book. I love that flawed people can do great things and make the world a better place. It bothers me not that the Prophet of the Restoration was a flawed man, and in fact, gave up a peaceful predictable life to do what God expected of him. He was hauled into court countless times, was betrayed by close friends and associates, and could have easily lost his wife had she not been his equal in her own way. In the end he was murdered in cold blood, despite the governor's promise of protection. The Church Joseph established has grown many times over since Joseph's death at the hands of a mob in 1844.
The Boys In The Cave***1/2 by Matt Gutman: A thorough moment-by-moment examination of the Thai cave rescue that brought out 11 boys and their soccer coach, alive. The drama portrayed is shocking and amazing. The hard part in reading the story was keeping all the players straight, players meaning boys, coaches, divers, officials, military, etc. Thousands of people were involved in doing their part to make the rescue a success. The greatest part is that when the boys were unexpectedly discovered alive 2.5 miles deep into the cave, it was thought there would be an 80% fatality rate during the rescue. Thankfully that was completely off. NOTE: because I listened to the book and didn't get a physical copy from the library, I googled photos and diagrams online, and there's plenty available.
Shutdown***1/2 by Adam Tooze: A thorough run-down of the social & economic effects of the Covid shut-down. Parts of it were very interesting to me, other parts not so much. Probably my brain isn't large enough to comprehend all of the economics of the crisis. Even though this book has been published early in the study of Covid, it will stand as a measure of what things were like from the perspective of still being immersed in it.
The Happiest Man on Earth**** by Eddie Jaku: Jaku was a German Jew who had the benefit of an education, and a savvy family. Nevertheless he ended up in several concentration camps and lost friends and family members during the Holocaust. Jaku was so grateful for his survival that he became a force for positivity and happiness, instead of being dragged down by his painful past. He lived to be 100 years old and called himself "the happiest man on earth." He died in October 2021.
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days****: by Rebecca Donner: Mildred Harnack, an American woman living in Germany from the 1930s on, observed the rise of Hitler, and began working in the resistance movement. Once the war began she engaged in spying for the Allies. Her German husband was also involved, and both paid the ultimate price for their efforts. The author is related to Mildred. I again learned obscure facts pertaining to World War 2 that I had no idea about.
I Alone Can Fix It***** by Carol Leonnig & Philip Rucker: The year 2020 in Trump's White House is chronicled, which was dominated by the arrival of Covid and by the events surrounding the 2020 election; the details of the January 6 insurrection are included. The authors interviewed those who witnessed the president's actions first-hand, and even those who advised him. I couldn't stop listening. There is value in reading and studying recent historical events, as understanding what just happened can prepare one to look out for looming trouble in the future. As time goes on more books will be written about the same subject, and those will have not only the benefit of hindsight, but also will show the long-term effects of events in the past. Recommend.
The Incredible Journey*** by Sheila Burnford: 3 pets take off into the wilderness to find their owner: a Siamese cat, a lab and a terrier. Their adventures and trials make up most of the book. It's a great story.
Traitor**1/2 by Amanda McCrina: In 1944 parts of Poland were Soviet-controlled, but the borders shifted from time to time so people didn't always know who was ally and who was enemy. Insurgents and resistance fighters--hard to tell who is who. In fact it was so hard to tell, that I was pretty much lost in the book. Couldn't keep track of the characters. The value of the story to me is that it helped me understand the chaotic situation in Poland during the war.
And the Mountains Echoed*** by Khaled Hosseini: Hosseini's first two books were riveting and even life-changing. He writes about regions I am not too familiar with. This book was hard to get into (and out of). Many people, many places, hard to keep them straight at times. The story seemed to have less point than his previous books. OK.
The Children's Blizzard*** by Melanie Benjamin: In 1888 an unusually harsh blizzard hit the Midwest. After a relatively warm day it was not expected and came too suddenly for people to take shelter. That included scores of children in one-room schoolhouses out on the prairie. Some teachers let their children out to go home so they would not freeze to death in unheated schoolhouses. Others led their children to safety. It's a tragic story involving death and maiming frostbite, and though fiction, gives one an idea of how folks suffered in that most unusual storm.
As the Ward Turns and Around the Ward in 80 Days**1/2 by Joni Hilton: These two books were loaned to me by a friend. We have both been Relief Society presidents (RS being our church's women's organization) and are familiar with some of the "troubles" people have in their lives. The books are meant to be humorous, and they usually fill the bill. Some of the situations are over the top ridiculous but the realistic ones made me laugh. For example, Edith, the homemaking leader, had built her house out of particle board and a glue gun (don't we all know people like that?). At another home an Elder called the cops because he thought a crime happened in Claudia's home (he looked through the window when she didn't answer the door). Turns out she likes her house chaotically messy with overturned furniture and junk everywhere; she threatened to gun down any compassionate sisters who tried to clean it. If you've been an RS president you've had comparable book-worthy experiences.
The Searcher***1/2 by Tana French: This mystery is set in Ireland. A retired Chicago detective needed a place of peace to settle, but he finds no peace. He gets drawn into a missing person's case by a teenager who begs for his help. I like the depth of some of the relationships in the story, I like the setting, and the village personality seems real to me. However, the revelation of the true nature of the teenager was absurd and unnecessary--it adds nothing to the plot, but otherwise, I looked forward to the resolution of the mystery. The other negative was that in the 2nd half of the book the language deteriorated and constant repetition of the f-word was almost unbearable. Honestly, if someone had said the word banana or the word petunia that often, it would be just as tiresome. An author should realize how banal it sounds, and how lazy it is to keep falling back on an offensive expression, rather than making the effort for the characters to express emotion. 3.5 stars for the character development and the mystery.
Every Last Fear*** by Alex Finlay: A college student's parents and siblings die during their Mexico vacation, and it appears to be the result of a gas leak. But before long some sinister elements creep in, and the deluge begins. Not a perfect mystery, yet intriguing enough to recommend.
The Girl From the Channel Islands*** by Jenny Lecoat: Jewish girl living on the Channel Islands during World War Two falls in love with a German soldier stationed there. Challenges and danger follow. A good story, but too much mushy romance for me.
A Man Called Ove***** by Fredrik Backman: a lonely cantankerous Swedish widower wants to end his life, but the process is constantly interrupted. Spoiler here: over the course of the book Ove is able to work through his pain and disappointment, and comes to find love and caring, and begins to help others in his own way. Backman's books are like no other I have read.
Anxious People**** by Fredrik Backman: A long list of very diverse Swedes find themselves held hostage while attending an open house at a local apartment up for sale. The interactions of the hostages lead to a deeper understanding of each person of themselves, and of the others stuck in the situation together.
The End of October*** by Lawrence Wright: Published in early spring 2020, this is an average story centered around the breakout of a deadly pandemic. The central character is an MD and scientist who tries to figure out the disease and find a way to fight it. It's obviously based on a Covid-type scenario, only a lot worse. Society completely breaks down. Hopefully that's not our future. It's a thoughtful story with some points to consider like, what would you do if the disease was EVERYWHERE and no matter what you did you probably were going to catch it? And then when your family members die and nothing is operating, well, you just bury them in the backyard. Not that far-fetched when you think about it from a December 2021 perspective.
The Likeness*** by Tana French: a murder is discovered, and the victim is a dead-ringer (hah) for a local police detective. She impersonates the deceased in order to draw out the murderer. She actually lives in the home of the deceased among her house-mates and very carefully keeps her cover. It's interesting but not riveting, and much longer than it needs to be.
A Test of Wills*** by Charles Todd: Recommended on GoodReads by someone I know, it seemed worth reading this first book in a series starring a detective named Rutledge. The story is fine, although I had to pay sharp attention to keep characters straight. Because the setting is so stuffily British I won't read more in the series. You know the type: people so rich and helpless they need a servant to unfold their napkin to put into their lap, etc. And worse, a respected war hero could not possibly have committed the murder because . . . he's a respected war hero. Seriously.
Deep River**** by Karl Marlantes: Set over a period of about 50 years, the novel chronicles a Finnish family who is forced to leave Finland because of the economic and political situation around the turn of the 20th century. These Finns end up in the area of Astoria Oregon, and become fishermen and loggers, and in one case, a member of the IWW, or Wobblies. I loved the book for several reasons. First, I have been to Finland three times and have developed an interest in these uncommon people. Second, I live not far from Astoria so am familiar with the areas the author has placed these immigrants. The main female character was somewhat grating--she walked away from family and responsibility to give her all to Marxism. But that was the story. I'm giving it only 3.5 stars because I got tired of her, but the rest of the story and its setting area intriguing and interesting.
A Line to Kill***1/2 by Anthony Horowitz: Horowitz and ex-detective Hawthorne attend a literary festival on an English island, and eventually a local VIP and benefactor of the literary society is found murdered. The two solve it, naturally, and the guilty party is one you wouldn't suspect. There are twists of course. I love the way the author weaves himself into his stories, and how he allows Hawthorne's wit and expertise to shine brighter than his own.
