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If you like history then you might enjoy In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.
Someone recommended this book in the forum and I literally cannot put it down.
Sometimes I amaze myself with how little I know of history except for 2 or 3 topics. This book validates that amazement.
I finished the book last night. It's one of those that I hated to finish because it was so interesting, exciting and informative.
AND, then this morning I turned on the TV. I was surfing and came across C-SPAN....OMG! It was Erik Larson speaking to an audience in Chicago about his book. What a joy that was.
Nearly 1/4 of his book is the bibliography. This guy did his homework. It's really amazing that an author can publish such an historical non-fiction book and, at the same time, make it so interesting and even frightening at the same time. Politics, foreign diplomacy, family, romance, terror and patriotism are just some of the subjects in this book. I can't say enough about it. I was totally swept away.
I'm probably going to read this one again. It's that good.
I finished the book last night. It's one of those that I hated to finish because it was so interesting, exciting and informative.
AND, then this morning I turned on the TV. I was surfing and came across C-SPAN....OMG! It was Erik Larson speaking to an audience in Chicago about his book. What a joy that was.
Nearly 1/4 of his book is the bibliography. This guy did his homework. It's really amazing that an author can publish such an historical non-fiction book and, at the same time, make it so interesting and even frightening at the same time. Politics, foreign diplomacy, family, romance, terror and patriotism are just some of the subjects in this book. I can't say enough about it. I was totally swept away.
I'm probably going to read this one again. It's that good.
I am currently reading Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. Its different from the usual stuff I read. It follows a woman's story of abduction by a crazy stalker after its all over thru sessions with her psychiatrist. VEry moving and scary on so many levels--but thought provoking too. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists
ETA: Guess I could Google it, but I enjoy your insights.
And I, too, wish I knew Jayber Crow. The book is such a sad/seet chronicle of the change/loss of rural, small town life.
It's about the US ambassador to Germany who was appointed just as Hitler gained power. His name was Dodd and he took his wife and adult son and daughter with him to Berlin. Dodd was not a politician nor a diplomat. He was a scholar who taught college level history and was the chair of the department. He was very middle class and those around him in the embassy were very wealthy. Dodd told FDR that he would live on his salary which was around $17,000 a year while others used their considerable wealth to have a mighty fine time in Germany. FDR asked him to report directly back to him (rather than his supervisors) about what was going on in Germany. His daughter, age 24, slept with numerous people....mostly guys affiliated with other embassies...in particular, the French, a Soviet fellow and several others. She was quite well known for this in Berlin and in the US. But she kept excellent diaries that the author was able to use in puttling the puzzles together.
The diplomacy was crazy. The Nazis were crazy and a few of the American diplomatic corp were also unhinged by hatred of Jews and self-serving good-'ol rich boy priorities. The book is nonfiction and all of these characters were real. It's about international politics and antiSemitism and greed and a man who tried to do the right thing.
I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth regarding the higher-ups in our government in the 30s but I really liked Dodd. He was a plain-spoken man who also got to the point where he pulled no punches. He gave a couple of speeches that were dynamic and had me cheering. This book also led me to a bit of a reassessment of FDR and not in a good way. At that time Germany owed a huge amount of money to rich bankers in the US. I didn't know that. In fact, I knew very little about any of this before reading the book. To many in the US govt' at that time money was more important than nonAmerican human lives.
I hope this synopsis does not sound boring because the book is actually scary in parts and very interesting.
It's about the US ambassador to Germany who was appointed just as Hitler gained power. His name was Dodd and he took his wife and adult son and daughter with him to Berlin. Dodd was not a politician nor a diplomat. He was a scholar who taught college level history and was the chair of the department. He was very middle class and those around him in the embassy were very wealthy. Dodd told FDR that he would live on his salary which was around $17,000 a year while others used their considerable wealth to have a mighty fine time in Germany. FDR asked him to report directly back to him (rather than his supervisors) about what was going on in Germany. His daughter, age 24, slept with numerous people....mostly guys affiliated with other embassies...in particular, the French, a Soviet fellow and several others. She was quite well known for this in Berlin and in the US. But she kept excellent diaries that the author was able to use in puttling the puzzles together.
The diplomacy was crazy. The Nazis were crazy and a few of the American diplomatic corp were also unhinged by hatred of Jews and self-serving good-'ol rich boy priorities. The book is nonfiction and all of these characters were real. It's about international politics and antiSemitism and greed and a man who tried to do the right thing.
I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth regarding the higher-ups in our government in the 30s but I really liked Dodd. He was a plain-spoken man who also got to the point where he pulled no punches. He gave a couple of speeches that were dynamic and had me cheering. This book also led me to a bit of a reassessment of FDR and not in a good way. At that time Germany owed a huge amount of money to rich bankers in the US. I didn't know that. In fact, I knew very little about any of this before reading the book. To many in the US govt' at that time money was more important than nonAmerican human lives.
I hope this synopsis does not sound boring because the book is actually scary in parts and very interesting.
No--it sounds very interesting and I like Erik Larson. I'll definitely put it on my list.
Hi guys I m currently reading "The Good, Good Pig , the extraordinary life of christopher hogwood ". by Sy Montgomery . So far it is pretty good but you would have to be an animal lover to understand some of the things she talks about and her mindset . So if you are an animal lover you should pick it up . Then Im on to either the bird sisters or Icy sparks .
I recently finished reading "In the Neighborhood" by Peter Lovenheim and loved it. It's a non-fiction book that explores the loss of the traditional neighborhood. Lovenheim, a journalist and teacher, was moved to write the book when reflecting on a murder-suicide in a house on the street where he'd lived most of his life. He found that noone really knew the people who had died. He decided to set about getting to know his neighbors by spending time with them -- sleeping over -- and learning about their lives. A well-written and touching book that made me want to get to know my neighbors better.
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