Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
I liked Shadows of the Stone Benders by K. Patrick Donoghue much more than expected. I occasionally enjoy science fiction and rarely like fantasy. Yet the write-up I saw on Netgalley was interesting.
The publisher compared it to the books of James Rollins and Steve Berry. I’ve never tried James Rollins but I have read and liked several books by Steve Berry. So I thought I would give it a try. Continue reading “Shadows of the Stone Benders”
This is an important book. This is also a shocking book. The full title is “The Poverty Industry: The Exploitation of America’s Most Vulnerable Citizens”. The author Daniel L. Hatcher is Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore. Continue reading “Poverty Industry Problem”
The Lewis Man by Peter May is the second novel of The Lewis Trilogy. I had read the first after a friend had suggested I might enjoy it. I liked it very much as is apparent in my review of The Blackhouse.
In The Lewis Man several of the main characters are back but not necessarily in the way expected. Detective Fin Macleod is back. Detective Macleod grew-up on the remote Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. But in this story he is no longer with the police but has moved back to Lewis. Continue reading “The Lewis Man by Peter May”
I liked The Punishments by J.B. Winsor but thought it could have been better. Given the current political climate I think this dystopian thriller is very timely.
Author J.B. Winsor writes about a United States where the government is taken over by Christian fundamentalists. The situation in the county is not unlike that today.
The Blackhouse by Peter May. is the first novel of The Lewis Trilogy. The prologue sets the scene which will become important as the book progresses. Although chapter 1 gets off to a start in Edinburgh where Detective Fin Macleod is dealing with personal tragedy, much of the story takes place on the remote Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
Continue reading “The Blackhouse by Peter May”
The full title New York Exposed: The Gilded Age Police Scandal that Launched the Progressive Era was a bit long to fit as my title. The author is Daniel Czitrom. The history of New York City is an interesting one. At least, I find it interesting.
The story is set in gilded age New York City. It was 1892 and the rich were very rich, the poor were very poor, the police and the city government were corrupt, and Tammany was in charge of it all. Continue reading “New York City Exposed”
I like Jeffery Deaver’s books. I know I have read several and enjoyed them immensely, especially the Lincoln Rhyme novels. So when I saw an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. I was reading another book at the time which I planned on finishing and had several others in line to be read but this one jumped to the front of the “to be read” line.
The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver is the latest Lincoln Rhyme novel. I had high expectations and this did not disappoint. Continue reading “The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver”
Those of us with an interest in Irish history often read about many an Irish Revolutionary. The English held onto Ireland for 8 centuries. The Brits treated the Irish so poorly there were many attempts to throw off the English yoke. Finally in 1916 some of those Irish Revolutionaries had partial success.
By the way, the label does depend on your perspective. To those who believed Ireland should rule itself and the Irish should have rights, these men were Irish Revolutionaries. If you were English or believed England should rule the Irish, these men were rebels or traitors. Continue reading “Irish Revolutionary and American Hero”
I called this book review Crazy, Useless, Shafted. That seems to cover it in a few words. The full title is The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted but that seemed a bit long for a title.
The book is by Mike Lofgren who spent 28 years has a Republican Congressional staffer. His start was with John Kasich who in the 1980s was on the House Armed Services Committee. Mike switched from national security to the House Budget Committee when Representative Kasich became chairman. He retired from the Senate Budgetary Committee in 2011, frustrated by the ridiculous debt ceiling debate and the lunacy and terrorism of the Republican party.
I downloaded a free Kurt Vonnegut short story a few days ago. It was free then and free when I just checked so I’m guessing it will be free for a while but check.
The story was “2 B R 0 2 B “ which does seem like kind of an odd title but it makes perfect sense when you read the story. Well, I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of an older short story of his called Continue reading “Free Kurt Vonnegut short story”
I liked both. The Big Short tells is a good story and an important one. Many of the events are familiar to some of us as they were covered in the news a few years ago after the big crash. Now for some details on both movie and book. Continue reading “The Big Short – movie and book”
One of my Christmas presents was City on a Grid: How New York Became New York by Gerard Koeppel. I spend much of the next few days reading and learning about the New York Grid.
One of the first things that strikes a visitor to New York City is the grid pattern of streets in Manhattan. The grid doesn’t include the southern end of Manhattan since the old city was at the southern tip of the island that that just grew organically. The grid doesn’t extend to the far north of the island. But the grid does rule on most of the island. Continue reading “New York Grid”
I just finished reading Why Bernie Sanders Matters by Harry Jaffe. I had requested an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) from Netgalley because it sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a try. I’m glad I did. I understand it is out today so the ARC gave me a few days head start.
If you have been following the presidential primaries, you know there are 3 candidates left in the democratic field. Bernie Sanders is one. It is seems like Hillary Clinton will be the nominee, but Bernie Sanders is presenting a serious challenge.
I enjoyed the first two of the Erica Donato Mysteries by Triss Stein. I think of it as the Brooklyn mystery series. When I saw on NetGalley that a third in this series was available for review, I immediately put in my request. Fortunately, the request was approved quickly. So thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press.
For those not familiar with the series, Erica is a Brooklyn girl. She was widowed young with a child to raise, went back to school, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in urban history. She lives a rather hectic life balancing the demands of graduate school and single motherhood. This is further complicated by her involvement in a mystery from time to time. Continue reading “Brooklyn Secrets, a Brooklyn mystery”
Thanks to Netgalley I was able to start an advanced reading copy (ARC) of “Gowanus: Brooklyn’s Curious Canal” by Joseph Alexiou before the book was in the stores. Unfortunately I am not a particularly fast reader and so the review is just coming out now, almost a month after the publication date. I grew up in the New York City (NYC) area and enjoy reading about New York City and surrounding areas. I’m also a history fan so this book seemed right up my alley.
I’ve read several books on the history of NYC and Brooklyn is usually mentioned but not in any great detail. This differs from others I have read in that the focus was on Brooklyn. The focus is the canal but there is much about Brooklyn in general but more on the area known as South Brooklyn. Continue reading “Gowanus: Brooklyn’s Curious Canal”