Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
I don’t think I read anything by Harlan Coben before but I was looking for a good mystery/thriller and this was available on Netgalley. I knew Harlan Coben was a best selling author of this type of book so I thought I’d give Win a try. I’m glad I did. I highly recommend this book and thank Netgalley for the chance to read it before publication.
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The Scorpion’s Tail is another great mystery by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I reviewed the first in this series about 18 months back. At the time I remarked “Preston and Child are about all you need to hear to know it is going to be a good, and likely great, mystery novel. Their collaboration is simply amazing.”
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The FBI Way is about integrity of an organization. The full title is The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence by Frank Figliuzzi. It is specifically about the FBI and how they maintain high standards which is interesting in itself but the lessons can be applied to other organizations.
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I thought I would not like this book after I read a little bit. But I was wrong and am glad I continued. Despite our very different opinions about the handling of the Covid-19 crisis, I think this book teaches a valuable lesson.
The full title is The New Great Depression: Winners and Losers in a Post-Pandemic World by James Rickards. The differing opinions do not matter here. We agree as to the economic problem. I come at this from a public health background. The author from the world of finance.
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I found the The IRA and Retirement Plan Owner’s Guide to Beating the New Death Tax by accident. I am retired and have some money saved in IRAs. I knew there were some changes around the IRA law but didn’t know the whole story. So I was hoping to find a new book explaining those changes in detail.
The full title is The IRA and Retirement Plan Owner’s Guide to Beating the New Death Tax: 6 Proven Strategies to Protect Your Family from The SECURE Act by James Lange.
Still Life is the third novel I have read and reviewed in the Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid.
The other two are Broken Ground and The Distant Echo . The first was because someone had suggested this book and the second was because I wanted to read more of the series.
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As a retired geneticist myself, I found Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality by David J. Linden fascinating.
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I am glad I read On Fascism: 12 Lessons from American History by Matthew C. MacWilliams
Dr MacWilliams starts with survey data indicating that 46% of Americans inconsistently support democracy (https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publication/follow-the-leader) and explores surveys that indicate support for various ideas inconsistent with democracies.
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Last year I reviewed a new book by Ann Cleeves I had read. I gave it a try as I liked the TV adaption of Shetland which was based on another series of her books. I liked it very much so when I saw another Ann Cleeves book on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to read another.
The Darkest Evening is part of the Vera Stanhope series. I had heard of this series but had not read any or watched the TV adaption. I was very pleased with the book. Now I’ll have to give the TV show a try.
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I completely enjoyed Plunder : A Brett Carson Thriller by Keith Wilson. I read it over a 2 day period and only rarely putting it down. I thank Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the privilege of reading Plunder . The book is now available as both Kindle and paperback editions.
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The book is Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny by Edward J. Watts
I became interested in Mortal Republic because the founding fathers of the United States had many of the ideas of the Roman Republic in mind when they wrote the Constitution. I would like to thank Netgalley for the chance to read this. This is a paperback edition of a book published about 2 years ago.
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A very good book and unexpectedly so. I thank Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the privilege of reading Dominant Trait: A Story of Social and Genetic Inequality by Michael Abramson. The book is now available as both Kindle and paperback editions.
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This is the third book about reporter Jack McEvoy. I first encountered Jack in The Poet many years ago. It was a very good book as I recall. He had a second book on Jack McEvoy called The Scarecrow but I didn’t read that one. When I saw there was a third book I decided it was time to revisit Jack, the reporter, and Rachel, the former FBI agent who lost her job with the FBI because of Jack.
Continue reading “Fair Warning by Michael Connelly”
A book about a scientist and by a scientist, Galileo and the Science Deniers is much more than a simple biography.
Astrophysicist Mario Livio tells about the man and scientist as only a scientist could. Galileo Galilei ‘s achievements are placed in the context of present scientific knowledge. His ideas are explained clearly. His struggles hold lessons for today’s climate of science denial. I believe the perspective of a working scientist is very important to this last point.
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Several years ago I read A Colony in a Nation by Chris Hayes. The book is highly relevant today. If anything, things have gotten worse for African-Americans in the United States. The title comes from American ways of policing that treat African-Americans as a colony within the United States. The privileged among us live in the Nation.